Comics

Atomic Robo and The Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur #2

/ / Comics

Atomic Robo and the Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur #2Everything considered, Atomic Robo has had better days. A secret black-ops unit of the United States Government is framing the robot as a nuclear terrorist in order to seize Robo for their own, and while searching for evidence of Cryptids in the jungles of Venezuela suspiciously close to an old Nazi Science city under Kukenan Tepui Atomic Robo and his team run into the robot’s least favorite person (who just happens to be an insane dinosaur scientist) – Dr. Dinosaur. Let the insanity begin!

I really enjoyed the first issue of the latest volume, but this one raises the stakes with some great banter between Robo and Dr. Dinosaur, the dinosaur’s “facts,” and the increasingly impossible situations Robo and his team find themselves in including the dinosaur’s rock minions with lasers in their faces, a secret underground city with a time bomb and lava pit that the deranged dinosaur has plans for.

I simply can’t recommend the awesome of this comic, and the first two issues of the latest series, enough. Bring on issue #3! Must-read.

[Red 5, $3.50]

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #24

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #24There’s action aplenty in the latest issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine as various factions battle miles below the surface of the Earth inside The Deeper Well for Dawn‘s life, the future of magic, and the lives of everyone on Earth.

Leaving Willow to find the magic needed to save Dawn (which she discovers in the form of a new seed slowly growing near the center of the Well), Buffy heads after the now turned Simone (now twice as strong and dangerous), which leaves the rest of the group of defenders to deal with the awakened Maloker, and the most unlikely person of all to talk Severin down from his mad quest to reset all of reality by sharing her own pain and loss.

The season is certainly going out with a bang as this issue is packed with characters, actions, and even a couple of nice surprises. Aside from Willow looking decidedly Joker-like (seriously, what’s up with that?) this not much for me to complain about other than how sad I am to only have one issue left to wrap-up the season. Must-read.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

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Astro City #3

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Astro City #3Astro City #3 continues the story of Marella Cowper, a computer systems major who works secretly for the Honor Guard Emergency Contact Line. At the end of issue #2, Marella realized she had made the wrong call on a cry for help that had blown up into a full-scale war zone in a small village in Ecuador. Whereas last issue was Marella’s wild-eyed wonder at discovering the Contact Line and the time it took her to grow into her place in the system, this issue focuses on her attempts to rectify her mistake.

Astro City #3 plays very much on the themes of what it means to be a hero as a call center worker goes above and beyond to rectify a mistake that no one else is blaming her for. Using the door technology, Marella travels back and forth to Ecuador bringing supplies and volunteering at various aid stations, all while searching for the little girl whose call began her involvement in the crisis.

Although it may not be as good as Astro City #2 (which is easily one of the best comics I’ve read this year), it’s a joy to see a comic delve into this side of super-hero comics again. Must-read.

[DC, $3.99]

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Scarlet Spider #20

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Scarlet Spider #20Picking up after he end of Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #2, the second-half of “Sibling Rivalry” begins with both Kaine and Doc Ock Spidey captured by the Jackal who has taken a lab full of genetic samples for his latest clonetastic enterprise.

Thanks to Kaine (the only one of our heroes to show any heroics), the pair manage to escape and destroy the lab. Sadly, that means a fiery end for the clone of Gwen Stacy but not for the Jackal or all of his precious knowledge which manages to survive. The fallout leaves Kaine and the new Spider-Man far from on friendly terms, but that’s hardly Kaine’s biggest concern after he discovers the cellular degeneration which has plagued him his entire existence has once again returned.

My only real complaint (other than the fact in involves the “superior” Spider-Man) is the art of In-Hyuk Lee. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s a drastic change from both the first-half of the story as well as the regular art of the comic which has stayed relatively consistent despite showcasing the work of several different artists.

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G.I. JOE: Special Missions #6

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G.I. JOE: Special Missions #6With Tripwire, Hard Drive, and Beach Head all captured by Zartan‘s crew of Dreadnoks and thrown into a serious of death traps for the outlaws’ amusement, Roadblock and Spirit set out to stage a daring rescue of the group’s compound while Zartan’s new soldiers become a little concerned with their mini-despot’s obsession over the object retrieved from the crashed satellite.

G.I. JOE: Special Missions #6 does a good job of reintroducing both the character of Zartan and the importance and lure of the M.A.S.S. Device as well presenting the dangers of such technology falling into the wrong hands. And Zartan is very much the wrong hands (can you imagine army of genetically created Zartan’s loosed on the world?).

With the focus on Zartan and the JOEs we don’t get as much of the Dreadnoks as I’d like (who only really see cheering on during the various death traps they can think up), but there’s certainly enough here for fans of the characters to check out. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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