Tag Archives: Image

Amazing Prophecy

by Darren Burr
1 Comment
A new age for the Prophet begins

Regular readers of this column will be well aware of my conflicted opinions of Rob Liefeld early work for Image and the original cast of Extreme Studios characters. Great characters in the right hands, really good ideas that drove the plots, but some of the most terrible execution in their early days. Youngblood were indeed a good team with a diverse selection of members, motivations and histories, tied nicely to the Spawn continuity before the great split. Let’s not mention how they were also an obvious merging of the Teen Titans and the Avengers. However, Alan Moore’s treatment of Supreme and the excellent three issue Judgement Day demonstrated just how Read more »

Challenging The Status Quo

by Darren Burr
Leave a comment
A bold new era? Hopefully a fun read at the very least.

Taking the opportunity of the Christmas period to catch upon my comics reading (and supplementing this with fanfic when I reached the bottom of the stack), I must confess that I re-read Jonathon Hickman’s Fantastic Four and FF (Future Foundation) numerous times. Although I have raved bout this particular run of the FF numerous times already, and enthused about the quality of story-telling that has gone into the title, it is hardly a dramatic revamp of our favourite Foursome and their family. Cleverly weaving in all of the traditional facets of FF lore, I am finding myself wanting to know where Lyja is (considering the manner of Johnny’s resurrection), or Read more »

Fatal Hopes For New Readers?

by Darren Burr
Leave a comment
Fatal Hopes For New Readers?

So, are there any of the so-called ‘new readers’ out there reading this column? Anyone recently discovered the worlds of comics due to the movies or the DC relaunch and has been drawn into the accompanying universe of message boards and articles? Anyone? As more and more of the market turns to mail order or more importantly digital, it is increasingly hard for this fan to tell whether the Holy Grail of ‘New Readers’ being drawn into our cosy little world has been achieved or not. Is the new reader little more than a mythical beast? Certainly the sales figures would bear out that there is a strong possibility that Read more »

Releasing The Fear

by Darren Burr
Leave a comment
Xenoholics #1 from Shadowline

So, Fear Itself finally concluded (sort of) this week, and unlike Dark Reign, I find I am quite looking forward to the fallout. We can anticipate a new Defenders series, Hulk and Banner are split, a new Thunder God and a more prominent role for Brunnhilde the Valkyrie, which is not before time. Yet my attention has been drawn away from the large events with two new mini-series and a third series that should be a HUGE event for fans everywhere. One question demands to be asked. Just how many stories can companies tell about zombies? Of course, zombiegeddon makes the perfect backdrop for stories about human nature itself, and Read more »

Strange Talents

by Darren Burr
Leave a comment
Strange Talents

When my magpie instinct for first issues was pinged by the new release of the Strange Talent Of Luther Strode, I was not sure quite what to expect. I certainly did not anticipate shades of Flex Mentallo, one of my all-time favourite series. A series that one would think would be very hard to imitate, and I am pleased to report, no such attempt was made. Other than the similarity between Flex’s Muscle Mystery and Luther Strode’s Hercules Method, the direction of this new release from Image is completely different. The story begins with the familiar convention of the geeky high school teenager, bullied and certainly a candidate for getting Read more »

Military And Corporate

by Darren Burr
Leave a comment
A smooth new world of intrigue

  Two first issues caught my eye this week, the first eagerly awaited and the second a total surprise. Some months ago I promised the esteemed J. T. Krul a review for Captain Atom #1, and the day has now arrived. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about it. I like it, but there are a number of factors that make me question the whole ‘soft-reboot’ business, to which I need to go into further detail. Firstly, I love the Captain’s new look. If anything based on a masterful use of colouring, his illuminated form simply exudes power. Thing is, I loved his old look as well, the chrome Read more »

Mutant Therapy

by Darren Burr
1 Comment
New Mutants #28 Harsh therapy

With it being shipping day today, I probably should wax lyrical about any issue ones released today, such as Robert Kirkman and Rob Liefeld’s Infinite #1. I mean, this is Robert Kirkman, creator of Invincible and the Walking Dead, what’s not to like? I confess I am not a fan of Liefeld’s art, and what I have read of the plot in advance interviews with the writer, I see very little to differentiate it from say Stan Lee’s The Traveller or various other time travel stories I have read. I pray Mr Kirkman will surprise me. Should I write about the fact that Flashpoint has its penultimate issue today? My Read more »

It’s Gonna Be A Long One….

by Darren Burr
Leave a comment
It’s Gonna Be A Long One….

Remember the halcyon days of Box Office Poison? Or the incomparable Love Sucks? Possibly not. They were small press titles in the mid-Nineties, the former from Antarctic Press, later re-printed by Top Shelf; and the latter a 1996 five issue series from Ace. Both were quite the deviation from my standard spandex fare, but were classics, portraits of modern relationships without being soppy, without undue drama and with a touch of humour. But just a touch, these were observational pieces designed to make you smile, not bwah-ha-ha slapstick. Now David’s Hahn’s All-Nighter seems to lack that humour, the central character carry a far greater cynicism as we like to think Read more »

Another Vampire Hunter? Sure, Why Not?

by Darren Burr
Leave a comment
Another Vampire Hunter? Sure, Why Not?

It is a well-known fact that everything that Ron Marz touches has the potential to turn to gold. After all, this is the man that turned a totally new character into Green Lantern much to the disgust and horror of long-time GL fans; and see how that turned out. Kyle Rayner is now as beloved as the man Hal Jordan himself. Of course, whether Kyle survives into the new revamp as part of the new Care Bear Corps as the furiousfanboys call them is up for discussion. Ha! Care Bear Corps! Love the name. Anyway, I digress. I picked up Shinku #1 yesterday, a new title from Image Comics, mainly Read more »

50 Girls 50: A Refreshing Surprise

by Darren Burr
1 Comment
50 Girls 50: A Refreshing Surprise

Now, when I first saw 50 Girls 50, my expectations were actually quite low; although flicking through the issue after picking it up, I confess I was very attracted to the art. Nikos Koutsis’ colours with Axel Medellin’s art combine to form a visual treat, certainly reminiscent of those old pulp sci-fi novel covers of yesteryear. Taking the issue home, the actual story was a pleasure, and more importantly, fun. We have the backdrop of an Earth depleted of its resources but that’s all it is, backdrop. No focussing on a depressing dying planet, but concentrating on the pioneer spirit of an expedition returning home with new supplies for the Read more »