Comics

Samurai Jack #16

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Samurai Jack #16As a new arc begins rumors of a man with a control over time reach the ears of Samurai Jack who, along with thousands, flock to hear just what the self-professed Master of Time has to say. When the public audience does little more than pique the samurai’s interest he attempts a private audience with the man by sneaking into the heavily-guarded compound. Sadly, our hero isn’t as good a sneak as he is a warrior and ends up dumped (literally) out of the fortress.

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Star Wars #1

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Star Wars #1Over the years both Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics have released a plethora of forgettable and mediocre Star Wars comics. Over the past couple of years however Dark Horse had found a way to recapture a bit of the old Star Wars magic with a series set shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star featuring the struggling rebellion’s battles against the evil Galactic Empire. Sadly cut short due the Star Wars rights returning to Marvel, a new adventure begins (with an insane amount of variant covers) as Marvel tries their own hand at classic tales featuring Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and the droids you most assuredly are looking for.

Writer Jason Aaron offers an issue highlighted by Chewbacca’s attempt to kill Darth Vader with a sniper rifle while his rebel pals break into a Imperial Weapons Factory. I mostly enjoy John Cassaday’s art but he struggles getting the right look of the characters in several panels that aren’t close-ups. I thought it was an interesting choice to draw Vader like he appeared in the old Marvel issues (with his mask occasionally stretched) which gave me a hit of nostalgia but also felt a bit wrong.

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Scooby-Doo! Team-Up #8

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Scooby-Doo! Team-Up #8Scooby-Doo and Mystery Inc.‘s time-travel mystery tour which began in Bedrock in the previous issue makes one more stop before returning the meddling kids back home to their own time. Through the use of a Stone Age time machine seen last issue, Scooby-Doo! Team-Up #8 sends Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Velma, and Daphne far past their own time and into the future where they meet George Jetson, Jane his wife, daughter Judy, his boy Elroy, and another talking dog with something of a speech impediment (who was conincidentally also voiced by Don Messick on The Jetsons).

Although I far prefer the previous issues of teaming the Scoobies with the DC Universe’s vast array of comic crimefighters, this month’s issue works a little better than Scooby-Doo! Team-Up #7. There are a couple of nice touches including Judy swooning over Fred and a fun team-up with Scooby and Astro. In the end the group solves another mystery involving the Space-Age Specter which offers a reveal used before, most notably in “Foul Play in Funland,” where a robot is responsible for the trouble. Worth a look.

[DC< $2.99]

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Usagi Yojimbo: Senso #6

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Usagi Yojimbo: Senso #6Usagi Yojimbo: Senso comes to a close with the future version of Usagi Yojimbo leading the fight against the remaining alien tripod with Usagi Gundam. While properly framing the entire episode as a story told from the far, far future (leaving some of the specific details in doubt), Usagi creator Stan Sakai gives his creation one last epic battle before our hero falls (but not before once again saving the day).

Is this the “last” Usagi story? Is this how our hero is meant to meet his end? Perhaps, but given how far in the future the six-issue mini-series takes place I think we have plenty of adventures to look forward to concerning the rabbit ronin before this dark day ever comes to pass.

And thankfully we don’t have to wait very long as Sakai and Dark Horse return to the current adventures of everyone’s favorite rabbit ronin later this year picking up the ongoing series where it left off. Usagi may not live forever, but hopefully we’ll get more of his amazing adventures for years and years to come. Must-read.

[Dark Horse, $3.99]

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Detective Comics #38

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Detective Comics #38After Batman saves Wayne Tower from exploding, the Anarchy storyline continues as the villain decides to enlist the people of the city to help create the chaos he so desperately wants to achieve. It’s hard not to think about V for Vendetta (the so-so movie not the terrific graphic novel) as Anarchy somehow leaves blank masks on every doorstep in Gotham enlisting others to redefine themselves and fight back against the system. The derivitive plot twist isn’t helped by the final panel where the police gun down an innocent kid… which somehow becomes Batman’s fault? Um, what?

On the plus side Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato offer some beautiful panels, but even the tease of what the Mad Hatter‘s story has to do with Anarky isn’t enough to keep my interest once the masks are put in the hands of the people of Gotham. As I’ve already seen this story maybe I’ll take a break from the comic for a few months to see what it might have in store after the Dark Knight Detective after this arc runs its course. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $3.99]

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