Comics

Darth Vader #1

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Darth Vader #1The first of Marvel’s new single-character driven titles, Darth Vader #1 opens with Darth Vader returning to Tatooine for an audience with Jabba the Hutt in which the Dark Lord of the Sith brutally teaches the gangster the difference between a Jedi and a Sith in a way that leaves several dead and the Hutt agreeing to whatever Vader wants. The setting is meant to conjure images from Luke‘s appearance in the same throne room from Return of the Jedi but given this scene takes place decades later in real time and years before in Star Wars chronology it feels a bit odd.

After seeing our protagonist kick butt for several panels we’re stuck seeing Vader bow to his master for forgiveness given the failures the Emperor chooses to lay at Vader’s feet. Given this encounter, and Vader and the Emperor both keeping secrets from each other, the comic’s remaining pages deal with his attempts to find the Millennium Falcon and the young warrior who he does not yet realize is his son as well as figure out just what plans Palpatine is hiding from him. Although it seems like two-steps back from the character’s journey in the recent Dark Horse title, Darth Vader #1 is a strong issue fans should enjoy. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $4.99]

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Secret Six #2

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Secret Six #2The second issue of the new Secret Six continues with the entrapment of six strangers while also offering us flashbacks to Catman‘s previous incarceration to help explain the super-villain’s dislike of confined spaces such as a coffin-shaped tomb in the bottom of the ocean.

Although I think the team is still missing the right chemistry creating a void (which someone like Deadshot or Ragdoll could help fill), Secret Six #2 is a step-up from the first issue as Catman, even in his tortured flashbacks, gets to be more of the bad ass mother fucker fans of the previous series came to know and love and less of the emo douche that we saw in the new volume’s opening issue. I’m still not sold on Ken Lashley’s art which works better when the team leaps into action than when they are standing still (something they’ve done much of in the first two issues).

The issue ends with the escape of the villains who it seems are going to stick together long enough to get some answers and take some vengeance on the hidden voice responsible for their capture and torture. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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All-New X-Men #36

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All-New X-Men #36The time-displaced X-Men’s adventure in the Marvel Ultimate Universe comes to a close as the two teams work together to take down their version of Doctor Doom. This also (rather coincidentally) leads to the return of the young mutant who has been jumping through realities unable to find her way home (at least until she gets the right kind of help).

Like most of Marvel’s current multi-issue arcs the storyline dragged far longer than necessary to properly fill the inevitable graphic novel trade paperpback. That said, even if it is two issues too late, the conclusion to the arc does offer some fun moments including the Beast‘s explosive revenge against Doctor Doom, Miles Morales getting a proper thank you from Jean Grey, and both teams being annoyed by the wisecracking of not one but two versions of Iceman.

The issue is really a microcosm of the entire arc in that it includes some fun moments but never quite lives up to the promise of its premise ultimately offering a mostly forgettable adventure. For fans.

[Marvel, $3.99] …

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Velvet #9

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Velvet #9Velvet #9 introduces us to Damian Lake, the former head of Intel Division who may have been set-up in a similar manner to Velvet before spending a forced extended stay in a psychiatric prison. Or he may me a master manipulator, gifted liar, and completely insane. Or, what’s worse for our heroine, he may very well indeed be both. The question is will Velvet discover what is true before the man gets her killed?

As Velvet gets one story out of Damian concerning an investigation that got his team killed and him thrown into a dark hole to be forgotten we get the official account from Arc-7 as well painting a far darker version of the man. It’s likely both have some truth to them just as both are missing key details to give Velvet the information she desperately needs.

The real question is whether, after going to the trouble of breaking him out of prison, Damian is a comrade or a potential new enemy who may only complicate her attempts to learn the truth about who has framed her and arranged the deaths of two men she loved. Worth a look.

[Image, $3.50] …

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Batman ’66 #19

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Batman '66 #19Widening the cast of villains, as the show did in the 1960s, to allow more variation unfortunately sometimes leaves you will bad guys like Lord Marmaduke Ffogg who arrives in Gotham City with his Londinium fog to plague the Caped Crusaders in the older sections of the city.

As expected given its guest-villain, Batman ’66 #19 is a mostly forgettable affair. There are a few bizarre touches like FFogg’s ridiculous giant pipe (which somehow steals Time Lord technology as it appears far larger on the inside), but I found the art of Leonardo Romero very inconsistent throughout the issue. Given that the story (with a villain whose motives are questionable at best) can’t stand on its own that leaves the reader with a very mixed bag. The villain’s henchwomen, and their obvious attraction to Robin, are actually more entertaining than the main villain.

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