it’s a big night on the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation -- the grand opening of the multimillion-dollar Crazy Horse Casino.

And for ONE of them, it will be their last night on Earth.

One of the interesting things about Casino Boogie is how it changes things up from Indian Country. In Indian Country we are introduced to Bad Horse as our main protagonist and through 5 issues the plot follows him through a linear path in which we get to know some of the other main characters and a bit of the workings of The Rez. But if Indian Country is a story told linearly then Casino Boogie spreads out and is told laterally. This manifests itself in a few ways.

Issue #6 acts as a good transition between these two different story telling styles because it follows a similar pattern to the previous 5 issues allowing us to shadow Bad Horse before imparting on us the important textual lesson that he is not the only character. In this volume we will start to see the broader canvass of characters, their fractured personal histories and the intricately plotted connections that inform their depths.

Red Crow becomes further a Shakespearean figure carrying the weight on his shoulders, the weight of identity, the weight of history and the weight of power. He is compelling, interesting and dare I say that he is a tragic figure; I do have to wonder if his days are numbered. Gina Bad Horse decade’s later still carries the wounds of one moment in time, when two federal agents were killed, and still can't reconcile the embodiment of 'the end justifies the means' that everyone and everything around her has become. She will be a catalyst for explosive change. For Catcher, the alcoholic medicine man, it remains to be seen if he is strong enough to handle what he sees, and more importantly, what he will do. He is the wildcard. Interestingly it’s in Diesel, a white man who claims a 1/16th Kickapoo heritage and self identifies as an Indian, that we get an interesting study in identity politics. He is fervent in his belief of the purity of his heritage but revels in the stereotypical trappings of the race. He is a caricature but a dangerous and violent one. He is a steam roller plowing through everything so his role remains unclear. Dino Poor Bear, who we saw in the first volume, comes from a once powerful family, and is ambitious but a dreamer. His story will be an interesting one, to see if he becomes a pawn moved by greater forces or accumulates some power and changes the configuration of the board. His is a character to watch.

One other way that Casino Boogie spreads out laterally is that it approaches a near-Ulyssean portrait of one single day. Though each section will focus on just one character of this diverse cast the larger exploration of the nuances and facets of the day from every direction possible won't be lost. It’s an exercise in precise plotting to weave together this tapestry of characters and events and Aaron's skills are improving with each book.

This touches on something that is demonstrable here; that each issue functions as a complete story arc but progresses the larger narrative arc forward. This can be a hard balance to strike sometimes, especially in this age of graphic novels, but Aaron never forgets those readers who are purchasing each individual issue on a monthly basis.

Sometime the punch you dont see coming is the one that just hit you. That’s how I felt a couple of times while reading Casino Boogie. Aaron is such a skilled writer that he literally repeats and recycles not one but two reveals from the first volume. But the damdest thing is that you just don't see it coming. It's a deft trick that I would imagine is a tough one to pull off but yet again Aaron nails it.

Casino Boogie capitalizes on the strengths that were shown in Indian Country and improves at every level to tell a compelling and interesting story. It will take us from the top of the power structure all the way down to the kid who mops the floor of the casino and everyone in between. We will go from fifty-five years ago to the present. We will go to the spirit world and come back changed. What’s next? Dunno but I can’t wait.

Pulp seems to be in these days in all mediums and let me just say: It’s about time. It is inevitable such a phase will be sniffed out by charlatans (and in some cases have already) and we will soon be drowned in the coming wave of mediocrity but we should not let I had been waiting for people to once again take heed of another man who seems always a step ahead - one Alan Moore in this regard and while I am not sure if Powell gives a damn I’m pleased to see a minor pulp-renaissance occur and Powell is part of that in comics. I should note that I while I have read some scattered issues of Eric Powell’s Goon, I am not an authority on the series as a whole. I am not reviewing the Goon’s adventures in its entirety, but a hardcover collecting an arc that takes place in an original graphic novel and titled Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker. As I have said before I think all comics should be published in this manner so I love seeing the product.What you find is a completely accessible book that will allow us to visit three stages of Goon’s life and succeeds as both a current adventure and allowing you to get the gist of the character without seeming obtrusive: Lifelong streetwise crook who has worked himself to be the big fish. Pretty basic concept that allows unlimited opportunities and quick assimilation no matter when you want to tell a story. Afterall, there are crooks everywhere, and there has been a long American-romantic love affair with crime. The world you are in is your own, except there are brushes with the fantastic – an Eastern God, a cursed book – aspects that are assuredly not normal but are choices that aren’t completely out of leftfield. They could be real; in the reality right next to ours, too the slightly mad, or those slightly more perceptive - take your pick - and what you are left with is a Polanski directing Big Trouble in Little China but take it back 80 or so years.

The current Goon is dealing with a takeover from somebody who has information that only somebody who has broken bread with you can have and what is apparently – an beautifully more apparent - his right hand has gone missing. On top of that we get this incredibly atmospheric story from his past as he consolidates turf power, meeting with the Triad, and finds what has the look of love. On the back cover Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker is described as a ‘formative chapter from Goon’s early years’, so of course it’s about a dame – I don’t where the female Life Dojo is, but not only are all men given life by women – we learn life’s hardest lessons from them. And that classic image we formulate of that same girl that walks into a 40’s P.I. office or once resided in a Matt Baker’s sketchbook that just kind of stroll into our lives and makes things…more interesting. What I found in this experience is the presence of two distinct stories, the former is forgettable and latter is truly – and I think a bit surprisingly - fantastic and it has nothing to do with a dragon. What is supposed to occur is a layering that acts as an echo and source of tension in the current story from the past, and the flashback provides a soul – in this it is partially successful.

”This aint funny”

While a admittedly starting a funny book in this manner is indeed funny, humor always seems a second away, it is there, but it resides underneath – Powell is able to show humor in an atmosphere that doesn’t call for it. We could be having fun and we may later, but we got to handle shit right now and Chinatown is ultimately about handling your business and loyalty. We can laugh later, or better yet, we once laughed and perhaps more than anything we want to see a chuckle.

For any men who have those chapters in our lives that would not have not have taken a turn for the fictional in thinking the possibility of getting knocked was a daily thought and ultimately not surprising if it became an outcome – you know when every house you frequent has bent blinders on the windows because every car that goes by gets a thorough look-over and mentally-cataloged – we have all met a woman that we at one point propped up as an excuse to enter the real world, to give it all up, to go straight, to live happily ever after, a view that can be seen as romantic but is more a door to the skewed, controlled-madness that to often turns from a phase to a lifestyle. At any rate, either way it is an acceptance and desire of being shackled. To catch a dream we would bet against reality and the first rule of gambling is the house doesn’t lose. I think there may be danger in Chinatown when viewing the female characters that may lead one to conclude a stance or agenda by the writer. Let me first say that stances and agenda don't tend to bother me - there are all types of people in the world and a creator should be able to use any of them in that context. What we have in Chinatown actually are women who merely refuse to rescue Goon from himself – he on both occasions is the pleader and while neither Bella or Mirna are examples of what we would likely attach with the word ideal – they were certainly desirable to Goon and in this story they are depicted as any other – wandering their own way, and the exception (Franky) is the power in the story, but not I feel an accusatory one. There is a lot of truth in these pages or ones that I find to be - if we all had some competition and gods to kill right after our heart is broken I dare say a lot of Playstation controllers would have been saved.

Franky is a ridah. You are going to have your circle, but you are also going to have your ace – and the segments of Chinatown that felt the most emotional were the actions of Franky. Simply put, this guy holds it down; he takes care of Goon and does so in a way that defines the strongest of bonds - he doesn’t have to tell him about it. Proven, the guy that is down forever, that let you look past him once, forgave you – and possibly loved him (Goon) more for it. I felt myself oddly moved by some panels where Powell taps into the essence of friendship – if you ever lost your ace, the last pages of Chinatown, brings back memories. Powell exhibits the ability to render more than emotion, but relationship as well as anyone I have read in sometime and you can see it in a phone conversation Goon is having when someone questions the loyalty of Franky – there is no answer because the question has no substance – it is a verbal absurdity that can’t be heard, as if a foreign language to a mono-lingual mind. Absolute trust is a rare commodity and in that instance we want to warn him that such is foolhardy, we can almost taste betrayal around the corner – but the more powerful outcome is to see him justified.

These are themes we are all familiar, that we know carry gravity and they do in what would seem telling the part of Goon’s life that would in later incarnations look like a scab. It’s ugly, but it protects something tender, a layer closer to you and they work really well but there is a what I perceive as a weakness in the conflict – the situations and feelings are wonderfully captured and framed magnificently by Powell’s art and story-telling tone but they are in someway betrayed by a hokiness that oversteps even the obvious pulp sensibilities of the series itself. It is a story that should be an amazing, poignant; certainly familiar, but in a manner that is never outdated, and it is until we get the reason in the story why Goon has to beat something up. I want to say that the story would have been an excellent chapter, perhaps a deviation, that didn’t require the actual conflict in the current storyline. I realize that such a statement possibly may grate on existing fundamental Goon traditions that I’m not aware of but the conclusion and dynamic involving Mr. Wicker comes off as severely campy when in the presence of an otherwise beautifully rendered story. I guess some could say that it is that very element that makes Goon, but it doesn’t come off as charm in Chinatown it come off as a burden. Powell may have felt the same (admittedly, more likely not) as he does choose to end the story with the thread from the past and due to that, Chinatown is able to conclude with its better half in some way insuring the aroma of satisfaction as we close the door.

I collect original comic art and while across the board I feel much of the modern work is a bit overpriced and I expect that to correct itself after a surge of awareness and the market stabilizes from an influx of buyers and while I think more vintage work will keep escalating as legitimate, relevant, pop-art there are some contemporary artists who have even seen their work go to another level and generally on creator-owned work – a Mignola Hell Boy page, an older Wagner Grendel page, a Keith Maxx page, a Smith Bone pages, a Sim Cerbebus page and while Powell I don’t think has achieved quite that status, Goon pages have shown to be very desirable and you can tell why from thumbing through Chinatown. While some comics seemed to be filled mostly with panels to lead to the next, Powell finds reason for each individual one. Splash pages almost seem to have become added strictly for the purpose of selling them at premium prices in the OA market but Powel utilizes them for a purpose on story– not comely to begin with, we see a man buckle, we see realization, we see a man gain clarity and he has to look at himself to find it. He stood before a mirror to bear witness his own pain and like a man he would not learn from his mistakes he attempts to conquer them. From the perspective of art, Powell can really do no wrong – it’s absolutely gorgeous and while it is an industry that traditional lies in duos and even more in current comics, something about comics that have only one name next to ‘by’ – for what I think obvious reasons – have a more cohesive vision. It is here, where it seems you will most likely find true creative outlets that remind us comics are art, in an industry that is more and more a factory production line.

I fee like I’m riffing VanderMeer and the Post, but somewhere within Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker is a great story and I think we can find the lines of separation quite easily. I think I love Chinatown but the Mystery of Mr. Wicker I could have done without – it doesn’t deliver what is weird in the manner that I think pulp masters would see translated today, it comes as quite goofy and honestly has the feeling of being thrown in. I come away from my first prolonged experience with The Goon with a definite interest in reading more; Powell is undeniable as an artist and with Chinatown we see a storyteller that is able to capture a classic and mundane story and infuse it with personality that makes it Goon’s classic story and through it, ultimately a recommendable read and in Mystery of Mr. Wicker we get the feeling that we haven’t seen the best of Powell - that perhaps there may be a haphazard inclination to include certain elements just to have them in-story and I think what we wanted was Anthony Shaffer and we got Nicholas Cage instead.

I’m going to cop more Goon for Franky baby.

Jay Tomio
The Bodhisattva

While often times I think fans of comics and thus its creators are a bit too preoccupied with the same ailment that some Fantasy and Science Fiction writers and tend to trade the walking stick for the mirror often and further, stand so close they fog up the picture. Thus my conclusion is that one Brian K. Vaughan has no reflection but truly exists in both worlds, one the fan, one the creator, all the skills, that he has taken on a project spurned on by the creation of another planewalker, Michael Chabon, whose Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay certainly won the Pulitzer throughout the Multiverse in a socially acceptable double dip. Either that, or he doesn’t breath.

The Escapists is several stories, a very isolated, focused and a lay’s Vellum in a small sense, that follows the story of Maxwell Roth chasing a dream and buying the rights to his favorite character simply because the feeling of existing in a world with no more adventures of his pulp hero The Escapist was unacceptable. It is from many perspectives rather pathetic, even going to the extreme of spending essentially all that his family left him to purchase the property and start publishing the comic again. Those who would aid in this rebirth were people he met in real life, doing real things – there is no lab, no dungeon that’s only in and out is a net hook-up and though a Warren Ellis can expose crooked little veins simply by rummaging through e-trash it is an eye trained in the field and that has reflected back at him others of the same that can create so bounty from such rummages. It would just seem sensible that the dungeon comes after the success not before. Roth would meet the pencils that would free the Escapist at his job providing elevator maintenance helping free her from the corporate highway, a freedom she - one Case Weaver - would later put into focus for Roth later. His letterer, Denny Jones, could actually be a superhero in a world that had such – a protector in school and since a lifelong friend. In limited pages it succinctly chronicles The League of the Golden Key’s figurative return to the world and success achieved by literal return in a marketing ploy gone bad until the day was saved. To take from Mr. Vaughan, not really a mistake – but more of a happy accident. Those who haven’t experienced Vaughn’s prowess or can’t read a comic without tights are yawning on their way to pick up the latest issue of what used to be Spider Man and I won’t bore you with Vaughn’s turn of phrase, his timing, his delivery and how this fictional-biography is a creative-reality check, coming of age story that pulls universal strings. I’ll just tell you that there are tights, there are superheroes, there are villains – and the narrative shifts from the ‘real world’ to the adventures in the comics themselves, both current and classic. Shift is perhaps not a correct word, they are layered – and could be viewed next to each other but offer an enhanced landscape when stacked or removed from one another. One of chief and possibly not intentional pluses in reading The Escapists is that a modern reader is able to stroll into past ages without the stigma we may attach going into reading a "Golden" or even "Silver” Age story. There is a preconceived camp many seem to associate with the era, a detachment from our sensibilities, that even someone like me who is a comic collector of examples from both era is not immune to, however, presented side by side by top talent we see the excitement that can be barely contained on page – it’s bigger than life, these pulp masters didn’t need to escape as they lived in a world of possibilities and mystery and as within the pages of The Escapists boundaries did not exist. We will see the rise of Escapists return, another hot product creating buzz that got the attention of the Corporate machine that wanted to buy it back. Vaughan is careful here, he doesn’t come of as creator lobbyist – the Corporation gave what we are to believe is a more than fair value for a borrowed dream, something he gives to us via the Case's reaction to Roth's decline.

There is a touch to The Escapists, or rather an embrace that I liken to another read, Tony Fleec’s underead In My Lifetime but though you get a strong sense that certainly Vaughan is drawing upon self, it’s not at all as biographical as one may think. The description of it being a ‘love letter’ while alluding to a past is telling. We write most love letters for ourselves and they often go unsent, they are an attempt at personal clarity, to make things real and though The Escapists points to the past it’s message is posted to today and the future. We may dream of the past – but they (dreams) are instruments of tomorrow in reality and this is why The Escapists is oddly enough not in advocacy or a – though all forms of fiction are in some degree escapist in nature – call for us to look to fictional locales and occurrences of our imagination to get away from hardship, the grind, or negatives we may associate with our own realities. We can look to other Vaughan projects (any of them – they are all sweet) and see this is not a theme in any of his other work, so much so one may even come to believe he views such crutches with disdain by his avoidance and would rather limp to engage then sprint to avoid. The titular message is something a rather famous white boy from Eight Mile has shouted to us from main street to mainstream – you have to lose yourself to the muzak and I bet Vaughan was the a hellion when it came to hide and seek. To be an Escapist you have to be able to be it and bask in chasing others, learning, experiencing, loving, and even hate – but in the end you have to want to step out and be on the run yourself – to get lost. What separates the super-fan and the marginal (and in some cases even profound) talents who have jobs in the industry from the true creative forces is never to allow our selves to be attached to the thrill of the chase of other’s dreams.

As a reader, even as a life-long fan of sequential art, my considerations bordering on exclusivity always focus on the writer and writing. Narrative, dialogue, plot – all products of great art as well – via the writer has always been my focus. A comic can have just competent art and I could hold it in the high of regard. I have always painted my own pictures in my reading with paints given to by artisans of vocabulary like Calvino, Peake, Clark Ashton Smith, Kafka - and newer scribes who paint with words like Mieville, Valente, and Ducornet and I find that I read comics the first time around completely unaware of art. I go from word to word, balloon to balloon, and then if satisfied I go back and compare visions. By its very nature it’s not very hard to portray or convince us of something that is fantastic, the accomplishment of the art in The Escapists is to illustrate the journey within that is put across in our own world and a fictional comic. The real journey was Bastian's; running from the bullies and reading a book, not Atreyu's. This is the fictional story of fictional storytellers in the midst of creating fiction – sometimes finding themselves in the pages – not breaking the fourth wall, but creating the 6th. The use of books as literary devices is something readers are familiar with recent work like Shriek: an Afterword, or more famously by Lovecraft and so on, but to give seamless physicality to these gates was almost breathtaking. The flashbacks to vintage funny books make you want to go out and explore an era that when names like Schomburg didn’t need variants to make a fool of you and buy books and were labeled by the only titles with words that could contain them: Weird, Amazing, Astonish, Mystery, Strange, Two-Fisted, Suspense, Planet Comics, Wings. The modern pages reminded me of Totleben, who along with the aforementioned Moore heralded the next evolution. No matter where on the timeline or in what reality they chose to inhabit, the art in The Escapists given to us by Jason Shaw Alexander, Eduardo Barretto, Philip Bond and Steve Rolston gave me not only something to interact with, but offer visual bridges to Vaughan’s generational collage. Simply put, the art is top notch throughout and display an era when every page was a Tale or and Adventure. Where dreams were seen for all to witness, but more importantly where one was put down on paper.

I didn’t go to Comic Book inventions when I was a kid. To me they were these semi-mythical events that I could only read about in some Wizard’s report. I was either overseas or never in an area close to these tourneys when I wasn’t but I had a magic kingdom and it was called a flea market. A place that opened its gates every weekend where I could communicate with Hama, Gaiman, McFarlane, Claremont, Shooter, Windsor-Smith, Keith, Lapham, Simm, and Byrne – they were never there but they spoke to me, sometimes through balloons. I was there when people carried on conversations of such gravity only in person, "Who the heck is this Stephen Platt?" - "I don’t know bro but I’m coppin’ Moon Knight". It was a time when Scott Lobdel had the keys to the hottest titles when they had rarely been hotter, when Generation X wouldn’t be thought of as just another X-book in a lame era – but when it was perhaps the only mutant title that carried on the original mandate that once made the X brand great – these kids were different and Chris Bachalo came out of the lab with stuff up he still doesn’t get enough credit for and when Travis Charest pages were still affordable. It’s when we were introduced to some dude named Hellboy in the pages of Byrne’s Next Men, when Gaiman and Moore were advancing the possibilities of the craft, when we read a Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow comic with no word and didn’t miss a beat. I was there when the creation of Image created actual excitement about comics, when Shooter was valiant and defiant, and witnessed Kraven’s Last Hunt. When was the last time comics impacted pop-culture like cowabunga, four turtles and a rat? I didn’t live during THE Golden Age that Vaughan apparently invokes and to many who did I probably fell into their Dark Ages, but it was the only Golden Age I had and one thing that all of them had in common is the wonder they instill. I’m close to thirty years old and you aren’t telling me shit about Archer and Armstrong or Harbinger that isn’t in a reverent tone or risk getting hemmed up and this is why my previous comment was a lie. It is exactly what Vaughn invokes – it is an atmosphere shared by decades and generations; this thing of ours, a specialized bi-lingual attribute shared by those who are otherwise altogether different and never would share more than a nod in passing.

Vaughan goes beyond the admirable skill of knowing how to tell stories – he understands them. He can tell you how to open and close them and then tell you why you shouldn’t as he slams the window that you didn’t see before – that wasn’t even there - on you. Every child who has ever dreamed and any adult who isn’t living it and wants to see Vaughan get missing should lock themselves up with Escapist and watch it break free and then, and only then can you have the chance to know it is not he who Vaughn followed, but what lay a step further, he was chasing that yet and always unseen that the Escapist himself was chasing.

I’m a quoter, a look at my other reviews will indicate such, I pick out lines of no more relevance than any other to consume space in my reviews. Some display stylistic characteristics and others I choose just because they make me smirk. With this read I almost wanted to skip the practice as every line is so in tune I didn’t want to spoil the melody but right after a table-setting intro by Chabon, Vaughan kicks it off with:

We all do.

Jay Tomio
The Bodhisattva

Some may know I’m a big fan of VALIANT comics and as I of late I have been rereading the early VALIANT titles, which is not to say - at least not limited to - that I am just enjoying the individual origins and exploits of great characters. No, the creative goal of most companies is only half of the obligation, only a portion of the mandate cast upon a Pre-Unity title. With VALIANT, every title, every arc, every issue has significance and relevance. How do we gauge this? The answer to this question is muddled by how we have come to gauge what is important in comics. Presently, companies view the success of a comics on the complex formula of initial kewlness - if it works when it’s thrown out there and purchased, it’s worthwhile. This, again, is only halfway to optimal storytelling. You see VALIANT is not just an umbrella brand, it is more than a unifying selling point for otherwise an in cohesive product - VALIANT is a true comic universe. Certainly such a product demands more of the readers, and investment, or invitation to walk a world full of lives, not just in one; where one can brush up against others and the effect will still be applicable not just a month after. It is not the history dissected into runs or creative teams - it is the history of the entirety of the universe and the footsteps left by characters.

Stranger in a strange land…

So when we read X-O Manowar#1, part one of Retribution, you, even if unknowingly, are not only introduced, but become a participant not in a single life, but a world through his eyes. What shouldn’t be lost is this: it’s about an ass kicking Visigoth barbarian living in our time with who happens to have sweet, semi-sentient, alien suit of armor that makes one Aric Dacia one of the most powerful men on earth that forgot him. It - like the universe it inhabits - is a measured mixture of reality and pulp sensibilities. The first page looks to be something that could have been discussed at a meeting with the Lovecraft Circle or seen in the pages of 1920’s Weird Tales, something Edgar Rice Burroughs may have enjoyed flipping through; a splash of a single man going toe to toe with spider-like monsters, some of which who carry guns in backdrop from a technological level feels much too advanced for either and has you asking who is being invaded who? You come to find out that the man is a displaced barbarian, abducted from his time by a technologically advanced alien race that are a fixture in the VALIANT universe, present in some fashion for thousands of years in the continuity. Aric Dacia spends several years as a slave most of which in a stasis and when we join him in his attempt at escape, a rush to an alien weapon, an armor and a ring, that he has been told will grant him the ability to leave the prison. The X-O Manowar armor is the pride of the Spider Alien’s military development and thus when taken by the enemy become their greatest fear. It leaves, now in the possession of a man who has a history of violence and upholding vendettas. How long a history would surprise even Aric, as he plummets home, to earth, where it’s now 1992.

These opening issues show us a man trapped out of his time, yet the keeper of an armor that’s technology that is before its time. Aric has gone from a warrior amongst many in the 5th century to arguably one of the most powerful individuals on the planet and that’s before via hostile take over, he achieves controlling interest in a powerful corporation. There is a simplistic quality or plainness to the narrative that in some regard may be overdone, I’d like to think humanity didn’t have a personal train of thought of a retard even in the 5th century, but I think for the most part conveys, before you are even told that his is not you or me - yet he is - in true VALIANT fashion we are thrust into a story that not only has more to come, but is already the culmination of an as of yet untold story. We assimilate the new environment with Aric; to him he is in a foreign land of wizards and magic, where he as if a member of Arthur’s court visited Hank Morgan instead. Aric becomes a target, even as he always perceives himself as the ultimate predator, he is the true wolf, and indeed in wolf's clothing, yet still a perceived sheep in a world that has passed him by. The Aliens on earth - able to disguise themselves - want their armor back and perhaps even more of a threat he garners the attention of other powers in the world.

“What men won’t do for power"

I have said this before but the VALIANT Universe’s continuity - the portion of which that took place in our time - is chronicled in real ‘time’. Toyo Harada, the head of the Harbinger Foundation and one of the most powerful men in the world even if he wasn’t an Omega Harbinger first perceives Aric as a threat then see’s the possibilities of being his ally, we see the cast from the Harbinger title - a group dedicated to stopping Harada also take an interest in Aric due to his communication with Toyo. Solar appears; VALIANT’s most powerful character leaving a warning in true hero fashion. In short we witness convergence of powers, a reaction to another extraordinary element added to the world - X-O Manowar. What must be understood is that the VALIANT Universe is meant to be our own world, where its inhabitants may be reading DC and Marvel comics. What is also a rather unique VALIANT technique, and illustrated in this issue span (issue#4) is the unheralded first appearance of a future major player in the universe. In an era associated with the speculative boom, and certainly VALIANT practiced in some of the more undesirables flair associated with it, this was the best gimmick: When I say unheralded, I mean no crazy banners, no audacious or obnoxious billboard covers advertising it - they give you a reason to read their books, and in the future, the promises revealed occur in-page, not on the cover or final page, and be it days or months later it affords the reader that special, almost now unheard of opportunity to think, "Oh shit, the books I read before really matter", and it was planned, not a retcon, it was creative not clever manipulation. In the case in this issue you literally just have to sit back and enjoy the ambiance and just listen to the music.

Now do not mistake me, these issue don't force you to buy other titles to get a complete story to then decide whether the first one was worthwhile or not - it instead genuinely makes you want to explore the other titles, other corners, to follow that glimpse. It appeals to our curiosity. Who were those crazy kids in taht ugly green careand why did they jump me? If I want to find out I can go read Harbinger - but for now Aric has more important things to do like getting his pimp on at Mardi Gras. It's so not superhero-comic like yet completely rational to us, we don't question it, we just love it.

"House…Broken.."

We also see that Aric is not a ‘hero’ at this point, he certainly has a moral compass and belief system, but it is from his time. Aric may go out and bring back somebody’s head - without the body - you see him make gaffs and his frustration as he assimilates our language and modern customs but he draws apt parallels; muggers are bandits, and again we see those instances that keep us grounded.: In true comic fashion he foils an ambush and promises vengeance but what does he do next? He has to rest - the tranquility of the moment exhibits that this is what Aric has done his whole life - X-O Armor or not. You are able to use panels to showcases this when you are committed to the atmosphere by expressing it in the pages. His rite of passage, his understanding will take him where many of us thought to go in our own youth, in our own exploration of a brave new world, where stage names are given to performers on stage not to men or women in spandex.

The zero issue was actually released around the same time as the 19th issue yet can be read prior to the regular series. Personally, I prefer reading it after the first 6 issues I this case as it takes us to the activities just prior to the first page of the first issue and offers Aric in his own time, the birth of his rage, where in a short turbulent time span, Aric will change faiths, witness Roman demons, and find himself the prisoner of Aliens. It does not answer all the questions, but it attempts to, even finally telling us the fate of the King.

There is this semi-prevalent comparison between Iron Man and X-O Manowar, and I guess the comparison would have some veracity on a very superficial level. X-O Manowar done badly, could have been a catchpenny pastiche of Iron Man, a thought that may have been perpetuated by a crossover between the two characters in 1996. This hypothetical concern, at least in VALIANT’s early years was averted. Creative direction is not all about pushing boundaries and just seeing what can be done, it’s also about knowing what shouldn’t be done - and acknowledging the key word ‘direction’ is as important as the preceding word. On top of that, ‘creative’ doesn’t imply originality, the man lost in time, the man given something beyond him, a suit of kick ass armor, alien invasions, the rise of powerful Global Corporations exerting influence in our world, a barbarian warrior, these are elements any functional semi-aware person has seen or experienced in fiction or in the real world, but much in the way they took two, storied, pre-existing characters in Magnus and Solar to be the foundation of their new Universe, it is the application and the editorial sensibilities that make it work. There is a distinct ‘real science’ flavor to the universe that one would comically think and is contradicted by being ran amok by a mixture of iconic pulp facsimiles’, Conan finding Robotechnology, yet what occurs is this fascinating place - our own world, and the exploration of it from as many diverse perspectives as possible. I feel like the first family on Yancy Street in 1964, stalking down familiar but fictionalized roads, I know where I am, but something else is out there, watching, fighting, and drawing the same breath as me.

I’m holding mine for the hope for more, not just looking up in the sky, but in the corporate board room, the Jazz filled bar, the strip club, central park, N'awlins, stories can come from anywhere, and with the early issue of X-O Manowar, VALIANT tried to take us there.

Jay Tomio
The Bodhisattva

*Just a note: As I noted before VALIANT Entertainment apparently has plans to offer hardcover edition reprinting the early issues of X-O Manowar that will also include a new story by Bob Layton and cover by Sean Chen much in the way they released Harbinger: The Beginning earlier this year. I will next be reviewing Harbinger: The Beginning and for those interested in a recent VALIANT review please check out my thoughts on the RAI TPB that I reviewed earlier this year.

VALIANT as a universe began with the Solar: Man of the Atom and Magnus: Robot Fighter, two former Gold Key titles given new life and chosen to draw the first breath in a universe that would in its early years rival the creative height any other company – large or small – would reach. It is against our nostalgic sensibilities to makes such claims, but there is a magic to early VALIANT that I relate to in feeling – obviously not industry or social impact – but in terms at being in its bare roots gee-whiz science fiction and kindred to the magic of Ditko Spiderman, or Kirby and Lee Fantastic Four, or O’Neil and Adams Green Lantern; explorative works of wonder that still catered to our sense of the reality around us. With VALIANT it was a universe; and featured a not always linear manner of storytelling but fit with a tight continuity and if Magnus and Solar were the lungs that initiated breath in the setting with two era-essential storylines (Steel Nation and Alpha and Omega respectively) then RAI was its heart.

I wasn’t able to get these books when I was younger as when I became aware of the top-notch storytelling the prices of VALIANT back issues simply exceeded my weekly allowance. VALIANT was on fire, and caught in the speculator boom of the early 90’s when coupled with a miniscule print runs really priced these out of my range excluding reading about them in Wizard Magazine, cementing spots in their Top Ten hottest comics (this was when Wizard was a comic book magazine and practiced some form of journalism in its pages) feature.

This TPB collects and chronicles the first four issues of Rai, the first major original VALIANT character, as well as the pivotal issue #0. These do not account for his first appearance as they would occur in the pages of Magnus as the secondary story in a flip-book format in that title. It is there where the story of Magnus and Rai joining forces to defeat an alien invasion was chronicled, a victory that’s ramifications would include the country of Japan to be cast into the atmosphere orbiting the earth and its god-like patron to depart for love. Japan now floating above the rest of the world, not cut off but instead just serving a Tokugawa-like, symbolic and active isolationism but also has the more immediate impact on the central character. One cannot even pretend there has been no change, you live in the same place but the horizon seems different – it is gone – and you cannot run from it, there is no place to go and Rai would not want to but the comfort of knowing you can is a unknown presence you are not alerted to until it is no longer an option.

Rai is the traditional guardian of Japan, a responsibility of blood that served Grandmother – the robot that effectively maintained and managed the country. Their robo-obachan lost, Japan enters a scared new world and the symbol of the old world is going through personal crisis, he finds himself without a master, a ronin, and left without someone to dictate his cause he is forced to confront his identity not just a role. He struggles to find his place in a civil war, in his family, in the world he helped save. The people of Japan are shown to be in two rival social-political camps during this transition period and the country is in involved in a civil war between what could be considered the legitimate government, a government of the people, ran by humanity for humanity and that of those who yearn and try to facilitate the return of their mechanical god. It is all however, not so simplistic – yet certainly fundamentally – at the heart of it all are just individuals who seek power for themselves. What is left is a country that doesn’t know which to embrace more; its past, present, or future, a dilemma that is personified and magnified in Rai’s personal life by his father (the previous Rai), his wife, and his infant son. We see choices and not too subtle political and social options played out, we see the development of a drug culture and how one governs individual self and how to fit that into government. In the end you can’t help anyone or stand for anything until you are satisfied with doing either for yourself.

It is an interesting project for Micheline who probably has more quality runs on several glamour titles than anyone who is not more of a household name helming some classic Iron Man work with Bob Layton that’s probably the definitive run for many not to mention being the writer during Spiderman run that saw the creation of Venom that was also the mega-popular McFarlane Amazing Spiderman era. He offers an unfixed view of Rai, VALIANT readers had already been introduced to him, and while he is clearly a noble-hearted figure at his core he does not offer him to us on a pedestal, we make our choice, as Rai himself does. As a reader, it wouldn’t be an unfair observation to label Rai’s personal struggle to border on incessantly whiney and bordering on annoyance on par with the worse examples that occur currently in comics, you find yourself wanting him to take any advice just to give him a direction – we pity him, we are annoyed of him, we root for him, and before we know it, we care. In many ways he is Peter without Ben, with power and conscious of responsibility but not the direction or anchor mimicked by his free floating nation.

The art for the first four issues was supplied by Joe St. Pierre and the third issue sports one of the great covers of that decade, a traditional beast created with a future technology attempting to swallow Rai whole. While VALIANT certainly had high profile (or those that would become such) and even legendary figures working for them in various degrees like Steve Ditko, Barry Windsor-Smith, Frank Miller, Dave Lapham, Bob Layton, Dave Lapham, Rags Morales, Sean Chen, Bart Sears, Joe Quesada, Bart Sears, Paul Gulacy among others, their early accomplishment was a brand of storytelling that seems almost a vintage novelty in today’s market: that art and writing combined to make a greater whole – the story. The art tells a story, it’s not just splash art around dialogue; it’s a synergy between two skills to craft story, the very essence comic books and the first issues of Rai like the rest of the Pre-Unity VALIANT aren’t only worthwhile reads but also combines with the others to create a unique corner in the medium that represent the most impressive attempt at a superhero universe outside of the big two.

Forgive me a moment as I practice the very height of arrogance, I will quote what I said in May when I made this comment at my blog about VALIANT:

"People ask me about the television show: Heroes. I dig it, I really do - and the reason why is that it’s essentially Valiant-lite, they keep you in reality, revel in it, but understand wonder is a fundamental ingredient, it is not the escape it is the diving into the exploration of, and reestablishment of what can and cannot be real."

Which brings us to a weakness in the TPB. Understanding and applying it as a piece - a significant piece - of the tapestry, it’s a fundamental cog in a project that‘s whole is better than the parts. RAI#1-4 are real nice reads, but isn’t a brilliant example of comic book storytelling, it is part of a greater dream. The VALIANT fan cherishes the pieces with the benefit of the image of the whole picture, and no matter how nice some won’t be able to appreciate a piece of the frame completely especially how the fourth issue ends. What you get in Rai is not only the next piece in the grand scheme but you get the contrast with the Magnus character, two that are as close to being reflections of each other but are still opposites.

Holy blood, holy grail…

The VALIANT universe was rendered to readers via titles that were published simultaneously at two different parts of the timeline, present day (and in real time) and in the far future (4001). The blood of a future Rai is one of and perhaps the most significant binding element of the two threads, as the remnants of the nanotech that resided in a character of the present day VALIANT setting, a former mob hitman Bloodshot, through history will be over what wars were fought for and why revolutions would begin and affect entire generations of the VALIANT universe. It became a real sangreal and openly desired by one of the most powerful men on earth, Toyo Harada whose corporation would come to control the majority of the world and himself was an Omega Harbinger, a being of almost unsurpassed natural ability and power – and one of the two or three most potent minds not just in the world, but in its history. The last arc of the collection is Rai#0, a time jumping mosaic piece that tells the story of the Blood of Heroes and works in a manner much like Brad Meltzer’s zero issue for the recent JLA relaunch – it casts the possible and inevitable, creating different perspectives running in both directions of the timeline. We witness heroes fall and heroes born, of legacies earned and lost and of familial bonds that spanned centuries. It is a piece that is often the subject of differing opinions and represented a transition period for the company’s creative infrastructure, for myself however, it remains the fulcrum, an issue that echoes the greatness that was and a view – even if fractured and tainted – of what could have been, an issue on reflection that is a memorial of VALIANT’s rising sun in the process of burning out. Still hot – but not the light in the industry it once was.

Jay Tomio
The Bodhisattva

Identity Crisis is a DC mini-series that love or hate is a legitimate benchmark on the DC timeline noting the company’s trends as the beginning of a shift in their line’s direction as a whole. While being far removed from my introduction to the DC Universe, as I had been a fan of several characters and runs at one time or another prior to reading it, it is the series that made me a fan of the DC Universe and ultimately is the series I credit for bringing me back to the hobby itself after more than a decade away. I was what I’d call a Marvel-fan boy and excluding scattered reads I’d extend that to not even thinking DC so much as fell off as much as me not ever being alive when it was ever ‘on’. One day, no longer a comic collector or reader, a chance encounter led a stranger to loan me this series in its collected trade paperback form and in a way that watching the first Superman movie introduced me to the concept of heroism, this story felt like my first encounter with characters and institutions I had known for years but hadn’t met yet. When reading the series it is your fan boy subconscious that is stimulated , as someone who had never read the Brave and the Bold, when Meltzer invokes the title in story you intuitively know it is significant, you know it is part of comic book lore that still tugs at you when there was never a previous tangible connection.

Whodunit Love Story…

The seven issue miniseries is written by Brad Meltzer, a bestselling novelist, and Identity Crisis is in its most basic sense, a classic old-fashioned murder mystery; the targets seemingly the spouses and/or loved ones of the heroes themselves. The wife of the Ralph Dibney, the Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, herself a fixture in the DCU is murdered at her home as she sets up a surprise for her Husband – the first time she has ever been able to fool her husband for his birthday - her pregnancy. It is act that will rock the core of the DC Universe, and expose a rot in the legacy of the heroes that turns into a debate of the definition of a hero and the reality of it. It will tear it down and leave it as a hanging query to be answered every issue of ever title afterwards. Something to prove, something to live up to, a mantle earned daily, never to be taken for granted by those they serve and more importantly amongst themselves.

The Crimes…

The murder of Sue is the first crime revealed but not the first committed and with it answers to a question never asked – what readers accepted a leap of faith – dealing with how Heroes have been able to keep their and the identity of their families and loved ones a secret from villains possessing power or resources that would make one believe such information would be impossible to keep from. Amidst telepaths, time travelers, geniuses, magicians, demigods, and aliens among others, how are such secrets maintained? They burnt Prometheus. A group within The JLA had been in the practice of having Zatanna mind-wipe certain adversaries to protect themselves. It is one of these former victims who became the chief suspect, a villain we have come to know as being rather incompetent even with formidable powers, Dr. Light. We learn that Dr. Light previously infiltrated the Watchtower only to find Sue alone and they would remain so until he was caught mid-rape by the JLA. He is subdued and a decision is made that would become semi-policy – it’s always the hardest the first time – he would be brainwashed and made a shadow of his former self (the one we know). It would not be the worst of their deeds…

Batman returned, and mortal, just a man, he charges the rest of the league – Hawkman, Flash, Ralph, Zatanna, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Green Lantern, Atom and what would occur would then start the schism that would create the true Dark Knight and would tear the Justice League apart. This is Metzler’s assault on our heroes, their home, the DC Universe as a whole but most importantly reader expectation.

The Trinity…

What Meltzer is able to capture is that truly iconic quality possessed by the trio that is known throughout the hobby as the Big Three. No matter what triumphs another company or even DC will have, no matter what the flavor of the month or even decade is, no other characters will assume the position of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman – The Trinity. They are the very foundation of the current superhero genre, not the first, not perhaps the best selling in a given Diamond report, but they are the benchmark for everything that occurs afterward either as facsimiles or reaction. They are at the same time classic and the standard, and even though a title like Wonder Woman has struggled to find a consistent audience or benefited from as successful a modern retelling like Batman or Superman, her in-comic presence is one that befits her permanent stature. To construct a story that could be viewed as a viable candidate for being described as the starting point of everything that would come after from DC and to tip toe the line of having the Big 3 in subsidiary roles but still loom large via how they interjected them in the storyline was a large part of what became policy. What we see is DC acknowledge the position of the three, they don’t refute or run away from it, and they separate by embracing it and having the other characters – pantheons themselves in any other company, like the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Green Arrow, the Atom, Robin, the Elongated Man, Zatanna, members of the mighty Justice League, the classic Justice Society, and Teen Titans acknowledge this without diminishing themselves. It offers a unique vantage of gods from the perspectives of heroes and validates an understood hierarchy as if the rest of the DC all broke the fourth wall for a moment and winked at us - we know.

The Essence…

Ultimately I have issues with the actual story, there is a hokiness to the ending, and while a showdown between the JLA and Deathstroke is the stuff of fan boy gushery, the scene ultimately feels cheapened because – simply stated - it’s rather stupid. Don’t get me wrong, Deathstroke is pimp, but he’s not Doomsday* – Flash and a Green Lantern? Isn’t this the guy that historically gets thwarted by the Teen Titans? I understand that this was supposed to be a vehicle to heighten the stakes by heightening the villains themselves, and I love the idea, but this particular transition was just a bit over board and it would succeed as a legacy much better than it does in-story. I'm definitely for the result, but how we got there felt a bit odd. If nothing else it served as the action scene that needs to be thrown in.

As noted above however Meltzer hits the moments with unbelievable precision, his understanding of not only these characters and where they have to go to be relevant and compelling beyond this series is dead on. You walk away from this series with the feeling you just found a new best friend, but you have known each other forever; he maximises moments, and makes them part of the permanent tapestry of storied characters. Meltzer brings intangibles that negates some of the negative tangibles of the story itself – he is the Mark Lemke squared – and is the writer that I credit to introducing me to DC and the characters that all others aspire to. His is a seven issue crash course, that has turned into a love affair, and the series fulfilled the promise that came with it when it was handed to me: If you don’t know Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman – you cannot claim you love comic books, as you don’t have the bible to validate preaching of any other scripture be it labeled Love and Rockets, Bone, Blankets, Maus, Eightball, or the Endless.

I’m not at all sure there is a finer example of universe start -off point for a new reader while still being a story that has impact to long-time fans. You may not love the Elongated man, but you will love, cry, smile, - you will feel Ralph Dibny.

Riches to Rags…

When a book goes beyond simply being successful it is because the writer and penciler create this synergy that transcends achievement in either facet and becomes a storytelling accomplishment. Modern examples include combo like Moore and Bolland, Gaiman and McKean, Moore and Totleben, Ellis and Cassady, Ennis and Dillon, Shooter and Lapham, Moore and Ha, Miller and Mazzucchelli, Moore and Gibbons, and Morales delivers his most powerful, meaningful work to date that dabbles in that company. His pencils make scenes like a meeting with the Spectre – the Green Lantern to prior generation – and Green Arrow into a heartfelt chat between old friends: Ollie and Hal that goes back to days of O’Neil and Adams. The way Wonder Woman was rendered in her brief appearance shows the proper majesty an encounter; the look of horror on Tim Drake as Bruce Wayne embraces him; the pure love emanating from Ralph when speaking about his wife…she saw him, the grief - twitch and all - of a husband. Rags Morales has put his stamp on a work that is unique in that it occurs in continuity and involves touches on so many. I’m not sure I’d describe Morales, - whose work in VALIANTS’s Turok I also admired - as an all-time penciler or one that will come to represent the cream of an era but he has under his belt a project that stands artistically as an achievement It’s a legitimate top shelf effort in my mind that’s a label people don’t like to give modern art – but they’d be lacking for not doing so. Art and story really were as one here, in a way it wasn’t in say another major storyline like Civil War where McNiven (minus a few instances in the final issue) really delivered first-rate work but Millar never exhibited the desire to write dialogue that would be appropriate for anyone but John Cena, and didn't display his range as a writer.

Prefunctionary (Over) Reaction…

Originally this section of the review had about a page and half on some of the reaction this series. My final decision was to remove it as I’m trying to get away from reacting to reactions as honestly when I read the book the issues in question didn't even occur to me. Call it being socially unaware, simple dimwittedness, whatever, I tend to view it as not practicing in actively looking for elements to be offended by. I think I’m known to be able to identify layers, and strands of storytelling (whether existing or not!) but I don’t read looking for blanks to fire. Personal reflection equals content, the best ammo for a review in my mind. There are some thoughts that some may find interesting regarding the rape of Sue Dibny and I suggest googling them to get that angle from others. They just weren’t part of my original experience and my reviews are about my sandbox not the playground. Back to a comic book…

I read the story as a fictional tragedy. The Dibny family - and thus the DC universe - became family and turned Doctor Light into public enemy number one, but we were conflicted. He didn’t respond to violation with violation - indeed it was the opposite. Our heroes did. There have been failures in scattered call backs to the series and some apparent continuity gaffs regarding background appearances and while it speaks on some amount of sloppiness it also speaks on the undertaking itself; no foundation is without its cracks originating from above and below and Identity Crisis is no different but it succeeds at being an evolution that occurs overnight; it’s arriving at the summit and finding an infinite staircase.

Godfall…

No, not the horrific, puerility-personified Superman story by Kelly and Caldwell, but speaking on the effects of the occurrences in Identity Crisis would effect the entire DC you and in a series that would come out later the fallout and ramifications of Identity Crisis are summed up rather aptly by the most unlikely of characters when in the series Villains United – Catman – tells a smug Green Arrow:

What occurs at the top reverberates and is felt by everyone beneath. These are not just our heroes, they are the heroes of heroes, they are what villains or what the anti-hero couldn’t be but still - from somewhere - admire. The destruction of that truth…well, I have always said a good story is one that continues and lives past it's pages.

The next day, my new friend - after giving him back his book - talked comics. The first time I had done so in my adult life.

Jay Tomio
The Bodhisattva

_{*as dumb as Doomsday admittedly is}

In Drafted #1 Earth was in turmoil with earthquakes destroying cities, aliens trying to get Earth to join their side in a fight against other aliens, and when were refused to help, they utterly destroyed Jerusalem. Drafted #2 picks up the story at the disaster site that is now Jerusalem.

In Drafted #2 we get a look at the aliens and some of their capabilities. One poorly thought out plan to strike back at the aliens is hatched. A hero returns from contact with aliens with a plan. However, that's just about all that happens in this issue. We keep seeing pictures and ads for Drafted showing these cool images of these warrior types but have yet to see any.

Again in this issue the art and writing is good but not outstanding. The promise of a great payoff that I perceive from reading the first two issues needs to come sooner or later. So in some respect, I'm not going to fault the pacing of this issue since it seems to be a transitional issue. I will be terrible disappointed if the next issue doesn't give us a glimpse of these "Drafted" I think we are all waiting for.

The good things in the issue is that it again explores the reactions people may have to such a strange thing happening. Gabriel is just trying to take care of his family, others are organizing to defend themselves, and others are going to Jerusalem in hopes of finding loved ones. There's a very good doom and gloom feel to the story at this point.

In the end Drafted #2 seems to lack the pacing and "bangs!" that the first issue had but I chalk that up to it being a transitional issue. My feeling is that this is a lead up to a huge Drafted #3 where some our questions are answered and the story picks up. That said I think that issue #2 did serve as a mood setter and did drive home the fear and dread that all of the characters were feeling. For me, issue #3 could make or break this series, it'll either fly or flop depending on if it can keep the readers interest.

The 28th issue of G.I.JOE: America’s Elite present an interesting opportunity for this reader as the opportunity to find out if somebody can miss an issue or two and still come back on and enjoy the storyline and also to see if avoid its tendency to inch even more toward the hyper-dramatic, team-Horatio pop television story via sequential art. At the beginning of every issue there is a file-card styled report that successful catches a reader up to the pertinent gist of recent events. That aside, and to something I noted in my first dip back into G.I.JOE with this series all preconceived worries are once again put to rest. The broken record spins, but if one flips through the Powers-helmed run what becomes evident is that this creative team knows how to introduce every single issue in a manner that invites at least momentary clarity. All thoughts are brushed to the side an instead Is it a Eel? Is it a Plague Trooper? Who is snuffin’ people from behind on nuclear submarines? The fun is not diminished even when you’re wrong. Powers is able to instill this due to credibility established in previous issues, surprising old and new fans alike with utilizing players never used before in a singular vision.

In many ways this creates an atmosphere that was similar to Valiant’s line in the early 90’s when any panel or any page could bring you to the next major player and I this case, with an established identity with deep roots in a generation, it is a reintroduction of one’s own memories to current continuity. It’s a balance between gimmick and craft but for now the title is given the benefit of the doubt as in this issue there are more old comrades introduced that make you tilt your Vodka, giving the devil his due in a page that needs to find a way on my wall.

This issue is the continuation of yet another event in the comic industry, part 4 of the 12 part World War III storyline continues and what seems to be a focus on Duke. To see what was for at least part of the time the character that was the figurehead of G.I.JOE delved into, to meet the father of the man, and to meet Connie is a part of the morphing of Joe from toy and cartoon line adaptation to comic book individuality. In truth these are the moments that make some otherwise bearable popcorn television shows into cringe-fests (Lana shut up, Bone’s quit talking about his son, H, I don’t care about your brother) but are the quiet moments needed on paper in the midst of a World War. Something tells me that perhaps there have been too many in the two issues I have missed - as its seems WWIII started just here in this issue but in this single issue it works.

The art that I have remarked that has grown on me and was at first questionable is now remarkably atmospheric. When you get your issue Put your hand over “Dawn” on the first page and tell me if you actually need it. Backdrops have a vibrant, poor man’s Guarnidoesque feel, it’s a vivid picture but as if viewed through a fog. Dark alleys, doctor offices, clandestine meetings in the middle east, a special operations war room - all carry the intensity and dangers one would associate with them.

My favorite part of the issue may have been instances of dialogue. Kicking down doors, ‘Wassup Snakes!’ - as strange as it sounds it maintained a real non-comedic, intense quality while also living as a source of a smile as I could almost hear the M60 totting cartoon character taking back his family’s Red Rocket restaurant. These are self-made moments to some extent by a reader but even the “Don’t you ever shut up” leveled at Falcon takes me back to the animated movie (a good and bad memory). No, this isn’t exactly your childhood’s G.I.JOE - and thankfully it isn’t your child’s G.I.JOE - but it continues to be more than a best of worlds through various incarnations and medium - it has become its own world, a crisis that found its way. There are pacing issues throughout the run, instances where you feel that the storyline is either rushed or prolonged in each issue but I attribute this with a smaller company always trying to maintain a schedule in terms of the story and issue numbers (the events are really not events they are more pre-announced mega-arcs) but these are stumbles not crashes.

A licensed out political intrigue, spy, war, and cloak and dagger book, America’s Elite may be targeting a specific audience groomed by the brand name, but is worthy of even more readership. G.I.JOE has the catch phrase and now you know attached to it, this series would be best suited with you better ask somebody.

Jay Tomio
The Bodhsiattva

The conclusion of the Sunwell Trilogy is satisfying, even if there aren't any twists or real surprises. The good guys stay good, the bad guys stay bad, and the ending is the ending that readers were prepped for from the first book.

That said, this is more more than just a competent and servicable tie-in to a gaming franchise. I'm often disappointed by how mechanical and soulless such tie-ins can be, but I was happily surprised by this trilogy.

I don't game, and I especially don't involve myself with massive on-line RPG. This is actually due more to the fact that I have an old and slow computer and don't really want to devote the time to such an undertaking than any real distaste towards gamers and the gaming community. (In fact, some of my best friends are gamers). I do have great respect for the individuals that devote such time and effort into creating their characters and creating stories and quests for them. I suppose that's why I've been so disappointed with franchise books. I know the kind of passion and devotion that so many players put into the worlds of their choice and they deserve better than formula books with cardboard characters. Players are storytellers of a unique and dedicated variety.

There are good tie-in books available and I don't want to trash an entire genre in my review because there are fine examples of really good fantasy literature available within the context of gaming universes. This trilogy is good and enjoyable read and I'd love to see more of this offered to gaming communities.

Readers who purchased these volumes when they were first published had to wait a year between the second and third volumes. I know that had I been forced to wait for the conclusion I'd have been frustrated and slightly angry. The final volume of the Sunwell Trilogy was, in my opinion at least, worth the wait.

There's a summary at the beginning, just in case the reader needs a little refresher and there are some nice miniature character bios underneath the illustrations in the summary that remind the reader what we know about each of the heroes. There's little about the villains because the majority of that information is revealed in this volume.

The heroes are once again united in the last elven outpost on their world. As the heroes have converged in an effort to save one of their own, the dark forces working against them have also made their way to the ruined city. There are some smoother introductions of new characters in this volume, especially since any reasonable reader would certainly expect the elves in this story to protect their ancient, sacred city. The meeting of the heroes and the evil undead army they face results in a climactic battle.

"Ghostlands" is, again, well-paced and full of action. The dialouge forwards the story and keeps the reader informed of pertinent information without threatening the flow of the story. There are little pieces of background thrown in to keep characters from being little more than stock pieces of scenery and it all comes to the expected but ultimately satisfying conclusion.

The artwork is, again, well done. I'll refrain from using lovely or beautiful because there are parts of this book that required the artist to draw grotesqueries that were every bit as skillfully drawn as the parts that were pleasant to view. My only real quibble is that the elves all seem to look the same, which may just be the nature of elves in this setting, since the human and dragon characters are all quite distinct. Any "floating characters" in the book are actually floating so the lack of backgrounds makes perfect sense in the rare instances they occur.

I'd recomend this trilogy for those who particularly enjoy epic fantasy or for any gamers you know whom you may want to peel away from the computer for a little while. It's got a lot of action and some gore but the gore isn't particularly graphic, nor is it gratuitous.

This is the second book in the Warcraft Sunwell Trilogy.
As with most middle books, the whole purpose is forwarding the story to the conclusion. Of course, this one has a cliffhanger ending, which made me glad that I had the third book (which will get its own review) to start immediately.

The plot picks up immediately where the first book ended and there is a nice summarization of the previous volume to refresh the readers' memory. Unlike the first book's introduction to the Warcraft Universe, this summary was much shorter and, while in an ornate calligraphic font, in larger print.

In the first volume our heroes were separated by the evil forces trying to take over the magic in the world for their own uses. The story now focuses on getting all four of them back into a single place. They are assisted by characters that are introduced into the story slightly abruptly, since, for the most part the characters seem to just stumble onto them. This should not give the reader the idea that this trilogy is a dull cliche-driven clunker of a book, either. The pacing is very good, which keeps the reader both engaged in the story and entertained and the help the heroes receive isn't of the deus ex machina type. These are logical characters with motives that are consistent with the information we are given about them and they are, in fact, introduced into the story in a believable manner. It's just that, all of the sudden, the reader needs (and does get) explanations of what, exactly, was missed in the implied part of the story that probably would have been dull and interrupted the flow of the book, so it was glossed over in order to give the reader a reason to care that it happened at all.

There are captures, escapes, magical artifacts, and characters that are not what they at first appear to be. Honestly, there aren't many surprises but the story is well crafted and should keep fans of epic fantasy and action fans happy.

The artwork is lovely and I don't think the covers of these books quite do the interiors justice. The introduction of Taurans, which are minotaur-like characters, really gave the artist a chance to show his talent. The combination of bovine and human anatomy was executed beautifully. The characters seem even more distinct in this volume, although I'm not sure if that's a byproduct of being familiar with the story or if it's simply an improvement in the artists' work. In this instance, I would prefer to give the credit to the artist himself. While the characters do carry that look that is particular to manga (particularly around their feet) there are still differences in their features that go far beyond costuming and hairstyles.

The backgrounds are well done, with no evidence of "floating character syndrome" in sight. Textures and lighting differences are all carefully rendered and it gives the artwork a very polished feel. This is the artwork of someone who cares about their subject matter and the world those subjects inhabit.

It's a solid story with above average artwork and definitely worth checking into, especially now that all three volumes can be purchased at the same time.

Devil's Due is well known for their excellent comics including G.I. Joe, Hack/Slash, Voltron, Xombie, and others. They are one of the great smaller comic book publishers out there. This time they take their great creative energy and come up a new original series that is more than a simple comic bash, but a thought harvesting story in a world near annihilation.

Drafted's storyline follows a phenomenon happening across the world: emergency rooms are filling up with people that are having severe migraines. Then the story takes a leap in the direction of the War of the Worlds, while exploring cultural tensions and human rights. The story toys with the Israeli VS Palestinian conflict some and also hits home about how the US is relied on to come to the aid of the whole world. After the migraine phenomenon blows over another disaster hit: Earthquakes kill hundreds of thousands of people. If things couldn't be worse they are contacted by aliens who forecast impending doom.

The characters seem (at this point) very well thought out. Nasr & Ben are the odd couple; Nasr is Palestinian, while Ben is Jewish. Both are quarantined in Jerusalem following the migraine outbreak. President Walker and his staff are trying to manage the USA's response to the problem. Gabriel is the owner of a local corner store in New York, but we're not entirely sure what his role will be just yet. There are a bunch of characters that are spread all over the world, with no known role at this point. The cover gives us a hint that the people of earth might come into possession of some more futuristic weapons and equipment as well.

Drafted #1 does what only comic books can do: deliver a combination of current events blended with the exploration of the human condition. Throw in politics, cultural tension, aliens, and one hell of a cliffhanger and Devil's Due has a surefire thrilling read. Now I have to sit here hating the fact that I will have to wait for Drafted #2.

Previous experience has led me to the conclusion that books that are tied into RPGs, no matter how cool the universe may be tend to be-well-very boilerplate. It might be a relief to deal with a world where the physics and general rules are all laid out in a very rational matter but it seems to lend a very stilted quality to the prose. Graphic novels and manga based on RPGs also tend to leave me cold. However, I'm doing these reviews because I hope to get books that I wouldn't ordinarily read with the goal of opening my reading horizons at least a little. I can happily say that this World of Warcraft book did accomplish that for me.

My previous experience with WoW involved a music video from YouTube a friend of mine played for me because he was pretty sure I'd think it was hilarious. I did, but that was really as close as I wanted to come to anything even resembling a massive on-line game. I've tried RPGs but it's just not a part of the sci-fi/fantasy world that I enjoy all that much.

Conveniently, there's a nice introduction to exactly what this WoW adventure is about, or at least, it's a very good but slightly long (nine pages) summary. It's printed in white on black, but the font they use is a reasonable size and fairly legible, so it's not a strain to read it. It might prove to be tedious for those who are familiar with WoW, but for those who are getting their fist taste through this manga, it's a welcome and much needed service.

The story centers around a pair of dragon shapechangers, a young woman, a dwarf, and a fallen paladin who go on a quest to find a lost artifact that essentially held all the magical power of a race of ancient elves. This first volume in the trilogy shows how the group came together and introduces their enemy, the Lich King and his hoard of undead warriors. The plot follows a rational arc, though there is a pretty forumlaic and ab