Comics

Will Eisner’s The Spirit #5

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Will Eisner's The Spirit #5The fifth issue of Dynamite Entertainment’s twelve-issue maxi-series Will Eisner’s The Spirit opens with Ebony White and Sammy Strunk caught in the Octupus‘ death trap while the Spirit searches for both his missing friends and answers about his own disappearance as he continues to let his friends (and enemies) believe the masked vigilante is dead.

I’m coming in a little late to the party with issue #5, but Matt Wagner provides the kind of story I want to see the hero tackle, and I enjoyed artist Dan Schkade’s version of the character balancing his bright blue coat and hat with the noir shadows that surround his world. The pairing of Wagner and Schkade works well to offer fans an old school version of the character (particularly important with the creator’s name in the series’ title).

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Daredevil #1

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Daredevil #1For the third time in five years Daredevil relaunches in a new title. Since the last time I checked in on the character a lot has changed. Matt Murdoch has relocated back to New York from San Francisco, he’s somehow made the entire world (with the exception of Foggy Nelson) forget that he’s Daredevil, he’s taken on a protege in Blindspot, he’s altered his trademark red costume, and he has forsaken his role as a defense attorney to accept a position with the District Attorney’s office. That’s a lot of change (not all of it good).

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Dark Knight III: The Master Race – Book One

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Dark Knight III: The Master Race - Book OneYou know what they say about a tree falling in the forest? Well, can you truly have a Batman comic without Batman? And if it you could, would it make a sound? Taking place an indeterminate amount of time following DK2, Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello team-up with artist Andy Kubert for the first issue of… well, something. Far removed from The Dark Knight Returns, Dark Knight III: The Master Race may play in the expanded universe created by Frank Miller’s original mini-series but the magic of the original (at least from what we see in this first issue) is nowhere to be found.

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Astro City #29

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Astro City #29Known for taking a different perspective on the super-hero concept, the latest issue of Astro City is presented not from the view of a hero, villain, or even civilian of the planet Earth. Instead the entire issue takes place on the planet Zirros, throneworld of the Zirr Empire, from the perspective of a young dreamer named Zozat who grows up hating the alien invaders known as humans.

Although mostly backstory for the story which should unfold in the next issue, Astro City #29 does what writer Kurt Busiek and artist Brent Anderson do best: flip a familiar story on its axis and present it in a new way. The result means delving deep into Zirros and the life of Zozat in particular. I have no doubt that Zozat’s talent as a bonder will play a large role in the story to come which begins with the capture of a member of the First Family and an attempted rescue by her teammates.

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Usagi Yojimbo #150

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Usagi Yojimbo #150Miyamoto Usagi‘s wanderings lead the rabbit ronin to an encounter with a stranger from another land whose outrageous demands cost the life of a good man in “Death of a Tea Master.” After besting the best swordsmen of the town the stranger demands the prize he was offered. To satisfy honor, the lord is force to grant his unreasonable demand to witness Hara-Kiri of a noble tea master.

Outraged by the injustice, and tied up to prevent any interferance, Usagi is unable to stop the unnecessary bloodshed. However, when the bloodthirsty stranger requires more demonstrations of ritual suicide, an angered Usagi agrees to a duel in able to enact some measure of justice for the loss of the tea master.

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