By Don M. Ventura
Incognito: Bad Influence #1
Icon
Incognito: Bad Influence brings us back into the life of Zack Overkill, a former villain who was forced into the witness protection program and then begins to fight crime for the thrills of using his powers. As the story begins, Zack is out of witness protection and has begun working with the S.O.S.
While the world Brubaker is writing is set firmly in the present, there are great flashes to the types of villains that were rose to prominence in the Silver Age of comics: G.I. Gorilla, Dick Deadly, Zhing Fu, and of course Dark Leopold and his Nuclear Nazis. Brubaker is having a good time on this book and it shows with some of these throwbacks, illustrated nicely by returning artist Sean Phillips.
Phillips draws grittiness quite capably and fits Brubaker’s style perfectly. Incognito has a classic pulp/noir comic book feel to the art and the story. Like Chris Samnee or Mike Deodato, Phillips uses shadow appropriately to capture the tone of the story.
There’s a great narration by Zack as he walks home with his groceries. “I guess another plus was I didn’t have a shitty day job for cover. But I still had to deal with the lame details… Paying rent, buying groceries, taking out the garbage… All the little human bullshit.” With that last line, the panel is a crossing signal. What says conformity to the rules of man like an illuminated “Walk” sign on a city street?
The story begins with Zack being taken into custody for returning to a life of crime. He protests, claiming to be set-up, but his arresting officer Zoe Zeppelin isn’t buying it. Brubaker flashes back to the beginning of the story to explain how Zack got into this predicament. Zack has inadvertently been set up to look like an unreformed villain and S.O.S. is going to use this to bring down Simon Slaughter, a rogue S.O.S. agent.
Brubaker is a master storyteller and it is enjoyable seeing him produce more creator-owned work. I’ve been following his recent titles (
Secret Avengers and
Steve Rogers: Super Soldier) but I enjoy the spontaneity of a book like this, where the fate of a character might occur at any point in the story.
Action Comics #894
DC
Of Paul Cornell’s run on
Action Comics, this issue has been the strongest. Each month, Cornell has pitted Lex Luthor against a classic DC villain as Superman’s greatest enemy continues his search for a mysterious source of power.
The strength in this issue is that it showcases Lex approaching a problem in a manner that most people wouldn’t. That problem is that he’s dead. Cornell writes a good Lex as he becomes frustrated that he is dealing with death in too predictable a manner. “I feel helpless…” he says. “I can’t be helpless."
Cornell is not presenting a new take on the character, he’s using what has always been there and is saying to readers, “Well, this is what Lex would do in this situation” and it all feels true to the character. It’s the antithesis of what Straczynski is doing on
Superman.
Pete Woods is back after a month off and his work is excellent as usual. Specifically with Death, a Vertigo character with whom I am admittedly not familiar. His Death is charming and slightly whimsical as she listens and explains to Lex throughout the issue.
Fantastic Four #584
Marvel
Man oh man, did this book have some good stuff for fans of Benjamin J. Grimm, arguably one of Marvel’s most beloved characters. This is the second issue of Writer Jonathan Hickman’s infamous “Three” storyline, but the focus is primarily on the everlovin’ blue-eyed Thing.
Ben has a serum that will allow him to become human-form Ben for one week every year. Hickman has all of the team’s voices down and he uses this to perfect effect in the Johnny/Ben scenes. But it’s the final scene between Ben and Alicia that is so powerful, so amazingly touching, that you will regret not giving this book a try.
Credit the appropriately simple dialogue and Steve Epting’s gorgeous artwork. Alicia’s expression and the knowledge that this is something that both character’s have longed for (for far too long) makes this scene so damned chilling. Add to this, an appearance by the Silver Surfer and his employer in the final scene and you have yourself one of the best books of the week.
Supergirl Annual #2
DC
Annuals. The Bald Eagle of comic books. A spare amount appear here and there every few months to remind readers of the olden days when most comic books had a big fat Annual or Special to end an ongoing storyline or tell a super-sized story.
I was surprised to see an Annual in my comic stack this week and I became immediately nostalgic—until I saw that $4.99 cover price. But Sterling Gates has brought another solid Supergirl tale. After leaving the Bizarro world in
Supergirl #57, she crash lands in the future and meets up with the Legion of Super Heroes—only this is the Legion that Superboy grew up with.
Gates sets up a really interesting storyline in this issue as Supergirl, acting one hundred percent like a teenage girl, and snoops into her future… and her fate. I’m hoping this is something that doesn’t have to be wrapped up immediately because Gates is leaving the book in December.
Gates catered to my rule of using no more than ten Legionnaires in the book, which keeps things from becoming confusing. The art is split between Matt Camp and Marco Rudy, but the work is distractingly different. Camp has a crisp clean look to his work, while Rudy’s has a rougher quality and in some places rushed.
While regular Annuals might infringe on my ability to eat and drink, it’s a format that I would enjoy seeing more frequently.
Secret Avengers #6
Marvel
Brubaker can write straight superhero stories too, and
Secret Avengers has been a good one. Of the three ongoing
Avengers titles, this one is easily my favorite though it doesn’t feel like an
Avengers book.
Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, makes an appearance in the first story of the “Eyes of the Dragon” arc. The story involves the reappearance of a sinister group called the Hai-Dai who have been using violent means to locate a magic scroll that will bring Shang-Chi’s evil father back to life.
I applaud Brubaker’s sparse use of characters in this team book. One of my gripes about Brian Michael Bendis’s
Avengers books is that it has wall to wall characters that all seem to speak similarly. Brubaker only uses who he needs.
Mike Deodato as always is well paired with Brubaker. This book is something of a Special Ops superhero book and Deodato style of using a great deal of shadow helps convey the book’s tone. The story opens with great fight scene—Brubaker and Deodato demonstrate why nobody should wake Shang-Chi from his slumber.
Teen Titans #88
DC
Nicola Scott knows how to draw a good comic book. And
Teen Titans #88, while not Earth-shattering, is a good comic book. Scott’s pencils are clean and energetic when they need to be. We’re treated to a great fight scene between the Titans and a marauding group of zombie-like men called the feral boys.
This is Writer J.T. Krul’s first issue as the ongoing writer on the book and this is solid start. He’s assembled all the familiar faces to the team and we are treated to a final panel (and another beautiful two page spread) with the newest Titan: Robin. Krul includes a great scene between Batman and Robin in the middle of the issue where Batman is concerned that Damian has no exposure to his peers.
Krul opens the issue by giving each of the characters enough face time, aptly demonstrating that he can write a good team book. Writers like Geoff Johns and Brubaker make it look easy. Krul gives us a peek at where he is going to be taking each of the characters over the course of the arc, and perhaps further, and he doesn’t seem to be throwing any of the characters to the sidelines.
This is my first trip back to Titans Tower in a few years. It feels as though I never left.
