This Week’s Reviews: 2nd week June 2009

This week’s haul isn’t everything that came in. In fact, only Doctor Who: Cold Day in Hell didn’t come in because it wasn’t ordered. (Long story.) So some of those comics will end up in next week’s review because I’m not exactly made of money. Still, I’ve gotten five good ones, so it works out OK.

Spoiler-blocked versions of my reviews available at ComiXology.

Doctor Who: Autopia

PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing (June 2009)

WRITER: John Ostrander

ARTIST: Kelly Yates

COLORIST: Kris Carter

LETTERER: Kubikiri

EDITOR: Denton J. Tipton

(Cover “A” shown; cover “B” is a photo cover, using promo photos)

The Doctor and Martha Donna Noble (yay!) head to the planet Autopia, an “automated utopia” that doesn’t like visitors, demonstrated by a big energy shield surrounding the place. A century ago, a mission was sent to convince them to join the intergalactic community, but they were never heard from. The Doctor learns the crew was killed, and he and Donna are about to join them. Luckily, Donna has made friends with a robot who is on the verge of achieving sentience, who helps them escape. A probe of his systems reveals that the Autopians have purged that from them in the past, but now the humans are so set on contemplation that they’ve lost that knowledge. The robots are about to stage a bloody slave revolt, but Donna convinces them to turn the place into a spa world.

What they got right: Since the upcoming ongoing will feature original Companions, much like the UK magazine comics, this was probably our last chance to get a Donna comic story. Ever since I heard that IDW was going to have the Doctor Who license in the states, I was curious to see what an American take on the Doctor would be like, but we ended up with British writers anyway. (Although I’ve loved Tony Lee’s stories thus far.) Although John Ostrander treads ground already tread by other sci-fi stories, he does put a fair DW spin on it. He also gets the characters of the Doctor and what I assume is an early Donna right. Also, they brought in Kelly Yates, whose fill-in work for Pia on The Forgotten I had fair praise for and the work is just as good here. Mostly.

What they got wrong: I wasn’t thrilled with her* Donna. It’s the facial features that felt..not “off”, but I felt was missing something. Her* Doctor is still just as good as in The Forgotten, except for one panel where he looks rather short. She does a better job on the close-ups. Also, John still does use ideas that have been done from Issac Asimov to Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Automatrons are no Ood. Also, how does interacting with ONE human lead to the entire planet accepting Donna’s plan? Is Ixtalia the leader of her world or something?

(*According to a commentor below, Kelly is a male, not a female. Shows what I don’t know. My apologies, Mr. Yates. Now to run and fix that in the ComiXology review.)

Recommendation: Not the best Who story, but not a bad one, either. Worth at least a read.

Buck Rogers #1

PUBLISHER: Dynamite Entertainment (2009)

WRITER: Scott Beatty

ARTIST: Carlos Rafael

COLORIST: Carlos Lopez

LETTERER: Simon Bowland

COVER “A”: John Cassaday with Laura Martin

COVER “B” (shown): Alex Ross

COVER C: Matt Wagner with Dave Stewart

Anthony “Buck” Rogers is testing a new gravity drive, but the military wants it. Although we don’t learn how, thanks to the back and forth linear time line, Buck ends up in the future, where his ship crashes. He is rescued by Colonel Wilma Deering, but they’re both attacked by a bear wearing cybernetic gear, with which he shoots both Wilma and Buck, the humans disappearing in a pink glow.

What they got right: An updating of the classic series, I think they found a fair balance between the original concepts and what we know now about science and what classifies as “science fiction” today. You get a good sense of what kind of person Buck is. The art is very good, and I like the way color is used, including the “glow” of Wilma’s suit.

What they got wrong: Evil military guy wants the new toy for whatever reasons evil military guy has. It couldn’t just be a test gone wrong? Honestly? Why does every story involving new tech always lead to “military wants to turn it into a weapon” stories? Also, we know Buck isn’t dead not because he’s the title hero, but because we already saw how he dies in #0, and this will come up time and again, I’m sure. And do you really need FIVE variant covers, including two “negative-flipped” incentive covers? FIVE? Really?

Recommendation: Good story, great art, and a bear in cybernetic gear and a big “gun”. Definately pick this one up.

Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! #5

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

WRITERS: Art Baltazar & Franco

ARTIST: Byron Vaughns

INKER: Ken Branch

COLORIST: David Tanguay

COVER: Mike Kunkel

ASST.: Simona Martore

EDITOR: Dan Didio (really, he took the time to edit this comic himself? seems unlikely to me)

After rescuing a group of kids from a bus, Billy checks in at station WHIZ, introducing us to the supporting cast of his boss and a female reporter Billy seems to have a crush on. Then a giant robot attacks, while Dr. Silvana escapes prison. With the help of one of the original designers of the robot (back when Silvana was attorney general and claimed it in the name of national security–and you know, that sounds more off talking about it than it did when I read the comic), the Marvels are able to take “Mr. Atom” down. Or have they?

What they got right: I can understand the use of fill-in writers since Kunkel is having trouble with the schedule due to outside factors, and we do get a decent story. It’s also nice to extend the supporting cast beyond the Wizard. Back in the day, the Shazam! series featured a larger cast than the Wizard, the three Marvels, and a few odd reoccurring villains, which seems to have disappeared in today’s DC.

What they got wrong: I thought Silvana was supposed to be some kind of mad scientist. In this version, however, it seems he’s a former attorney general who can claim giant robots in the name of national security. I know this is a “kid-targeted comic”, but does that even make sense? Also, the best way I can describe the artwork is a mix of Chuck Jones’ later cartoons, Tiny Toon Adventures, and maybe a touch of Ralph Bakshi. I suppose it works, but not with Kunkel’s character models. (At least they didn’t try to mimic his style.) Mary squeaks by, but Captain Marvel looks too big to fit in with the other characters (and the cape’s still too small) and Billy’s eyes turn into big black dots for two panels. It just doesn’t line up. And I’m sorry, but not only is that not Mike’s best artwork on the cover, but it has nothing to do with what’s going on inside. “Family Affair” doesn’t seem to have any connection to the story, unless that’s the name of the next arc or something.

Recommendation: A fun story while reading, but there are some major flaws that need to be fixed.

The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks #3

PUBLISHER: Moonstone (2009)

WRITER/PHANTOM GROUP EDITOR: Mike Bullock

STORY CONSULTANT/EDITOR: David Michelinie

ARTIST: Silvestre Szilagyi

COLORIST: Bob Pedroza

LETTERER: Josh Aitken

PHANTOM CONSULTANT: Ed Rhoades

COVER “A”: Herbe Trime & Terry Austin with Renato Guerra

“COVER B” (shown): Mick Collins

The Phantom and Chane escape Kamil’s attack (although Dubaku does not). Kit heads to the Tunisia desert to head off the terrorists, but is captured and strapped to a cross. However, he is rescued by a passing safari group (including the two women from the cruise ship) and stops Kamil’s group from launching a missile targeting the Pope in the hopes of starting World War 3. Kamil escapes, but the rest are put in custody. The Phantom heads for Dr. Axel’s funeral, only to find he was resuscitated after Kit left him.

“Behind the Mask” features a look at previous Phantom villains, and the short prose story concludes.

What they got right: This was quite a bit shorter than the usual Moonstone Phantom arc. The art (except for an “ensemble” panel on the last page) is up to the usual standards in this series. The conclusion is satisfying, and leaves open the possible return of Kamil Kazi.

What they got wrong: What’s with the plot devices in this story? I can buy the safari tour coming by; the Phantoms mostly continue thanks to that kind of luck. However, why did the two women from the cruise ship happen to be on there? If was supposed to be a cute moment, it doesn’t work, at least for me. Then there’s Dr. Axel’s last minute return from the grave. It felt as if Karen Moy (the King Features liaison) came back to Mike and said “my bosses would prefer that Axel stay alive”. Cute “doctor who cannot die” joke aside, it takes some of the sting out of his death scene and just feels forced in there.

Recommendation: Plot devices notwithstanding, a satisfactory end to this arc. Snag if possible.

Sonic the Hedgehog #201

PUBLISHER: Archie Comics (August 2009)

WRITER: Ian Flynn

PENCILER: Tracy Yardley

INKER: Terry Austin

COLORIST: Matt Herms

LETTERERS: John Workman (main story) & Teresa Davidson (back-story)

EDITOR/MANAGING EDITOR: Mike Pellerito

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Victor Gorelick

Everyone is celebrating Robotnik’s defeat, except Sonic–who actually feels sorry for the twig-snapped Robotnik. Just as Mina begins her concert, Monkey Khan arrives and denounces the celebration, informing the Freedom Fighters that his nemesis, the Iron Queen, has seized control of the Eggman Empire. Sonic’s defeated her and the Iron King before and thinks doing so again will be easy, so he runs off with Khan right behind him. Sonic informs Monkey Khan that he and Sally are no longer together, which Khan seems to find good news.

In the second story, Lightning appears to tell Espio that the Shinobi are all now under the control of the Iron Queen, including Espio. Espio leaves with Lightning, and leaves Nicole confused. (And me as well, as I haven’t been reading this series again until recently.

What they got right: A satisfying beginning to the new arc.

What they got wrong: It’s really too soon to tell anything. Everything is all set-up, so I can’t get a proper read. I’m a little concerned about Espio potentially joining the enemy and Khan’s interest in Sally when he learns she and Sonic are no longer a romantic couple.

Recommendation: Until a few more issues under the new arc comes out, I really can’t say if I can recommend anything beyond the fact that there’s a good reason this is called a “way past cool comic” after 201 issues.

Best Scene of the Week

Buck Rogers #1

Insert Yogi Bear joke here.

And so ends another week of new comic reading (or at least what my budget allowed for). I also started reading the prequel novel Transformers: The Veiled Threat, but not much to say after only 5 chapters. Still, a good weekend for reading.