Comics

Transformers: Regeneration One #94

Transformers: Regeneration One #94Galvatron tries to repeat history in his brutal battle with Ultra Magnus while deep below the surface of Cybertron Hot Rod finds the possessed Grimlock. The Dinobots will get their leader back, but Primus has other plans for Hot Rod leading into next month’s Zero Issue. Meanwhile the rest of Cyberton is rocked by the arrival of Bludgeon and his Warworld which begins attacking the surface of the planet.

Although we don’t get more with Starscream and Shockwave, the issue is full of appearances by several favorite classic Transformers, rendered beautifully by Guido Guidi, including Omega Supreme who takes the war ship. We also get Soundwave taking on BlasterProwlKup, Perceptor, and one hell of a great battle between Galvatron and Ultra Magnus that takes up a big chunk of the issue.

No big fan of Zero Issues, I’m not sure what exactly to expect from next month’s issue. This month, however, certainly delivers. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Six-Gun Gorilla #1

Six Gun Gorilla #1In a futuristic western adventure set during what appears to be the 22nd Century Civil War based on the struggle for limited natural resources, Six Gun Gorilla #1 isn’t quite what I expected (especially from a comic with a gun-totting Gorilla on the cover from Boom Studios).

Although our cryptic title character is teased throughout the first issue in the distance, we only get our first good look at him in the comic’s final pages to save the life of a soldier known as Blue-3425. This means the story we’re given focuses on a bizarre group of kamikaze soldiers known as “Blues” whose dual purpose is to be cannon fodder for the real soldiers and record and transmit the images of the battle for those watching back home.

The comic is more dystopian and less whimsical than I expected from the title. The world writer Simon Spurrier and artist Jeff Stokely throw is into takes awhile to get used to (and I could have done without the number of oddball sci-fi terms thrown in). I’m not sure it’s a comic that I’ll stick with it, but it’s certainly worth a look.

[Boom Studios, $3.99]

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Scarlet Spider #21

Scarlet Spider #21Kaine returns from New York a broken man after his encounter with Doc Ock Spidey and the Jackal and the return of his degeneration scars that mean the clone’s days are once again numbered. However, things really pick up when the frustrated Scarlet Spider is confronted by his namesake – the original Scarlet Spider who proceeds to kick our hero’s ass.

Without giving too much away, despite Kaine’s untrustworthy perception the clues to the identity of the other Scarlet Spider not being Ben Reilly are impossible to ignore well-before the character is unmasked. I’d have certainly preferred the return of Reilly in some form of another to the switch we get here, but the joy of getting two Scarlet Spiders in one issue helps mollify that disappointment (and the return of the Jackal’s clones certainly doesn’t rule out Reilly’s return sometime in the future).

Most of the comic centers around the fight between the two heroes one clad in black and red and the other in crimson and his trademark blue hoodie, but we also see several of Kaine’s friends being attacked as well as if someone is systematically hunting the former assassin and all who he loves down.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures #2

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures #2The second issue of the new comic based on the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon pits our foursome of amphibious ninjas against Snakeweed who has turned Manhattan into a jungle.

Although Snakeweed is far from my favorite TMNT villain, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures #2 does provide some fun interactions between the characters: Michelangelo attacking a Central Park tree after mistaking it for Snakeweed, Leonardo‘s angry diatribe about the evils of nature when it ruins his sci-fi marathon (and another heroic call to action the earns Raphael‘s disapproval), and a courteous nod to the original cartoon as April O’Neil makes her first report for Channel 6 News.

Where I though the first issue did a terrific job of kicking off the new series, issue #2 is solid and enjoyable comic but it’s certainly a (small) step down from issue #1 (although fans of Snakeweed may enjoy this one more than I did). Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Supergirl #23

Supergirl #23It isn’t every month you get the death of a title character in her own book. Fighting Kryptonite poisoning, Cyborg Superman, and an entire legion of replicated heroes and villains created from her own memories (Superman, Superboy, Wonder Woman, Power Girl, Silver Banshee, Reign, Tycho, H’el, Appex) Supergirl battles valiantly until the end.

With the disillusion of Supergirl’s physical form, used to purge the Kryptonite from her system and to create a new body for Cyborg Superman, we learn the identity of our villain (who sure isn’t Hank Henshaw). The comic also gives us the arrival of the creature who created him as Brainiac arrives on I’noxia.

With the number of villains thrown at Kara the issue is filled with action but still packs an emotional punch with Kara facing both the mistakes of her past and her own mortality. Don’t weep for our heroine quite yet as I’d be very surprised if Kara isn’t back among the living and trashing Brianiac’s ship before the end of the next issue. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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