Comics

Fairest #10

Fairest #10Three issues into “The Hidden Kingdom,” after Rapunzel has been temporarily abandoned by Joel in Japan after fleeing from her former lover Tomoko (by way of orgasm), the storyline finally fills in the back story explaining Rapunzel’s distrust of men (and mother figures), her pregnancy, and the loss of her infant twin daughters whom she has search for over the centuries.

The latest issue, the end of which marks the halfway point of this arc and delivers our first look at Rapunzel’s “children,” includes a pretty cool giant cat (of the Cheshire variety), a long train ride, assassins, Bigby Wolf, quite a bit of back story for our hairy heroine, and Rapunzel facing her revenge.

Although the cliffhanger works pretty well, the story behind it isn’t as clear as I’d like (especially for an issue that finally spends time to explain the past and motives of our main character). However, once again Fairest delivers one of the best comics of the month. I wouldn’t expect anything less. If you aren’t reading this comic you are missing out on one of the few bright spots in comics this year. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

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The Lone Ranger #11

the-lone-ranger-vol-2-11-coverAfter spending several issues exploring Tonto‘s past before he met the Masked Man, The Lone Ranger #11 returns to the “present” to focus on the Lone Ranger‘s struggle to get his wounded friend the medical attention he so desperately needs.

The warriors of the Ute tribe would prefer to kill the Ranger, and the elders seem perfectly willing to turn him away, but the Masked Man argues persuasively for the life of his friend. However, to save Tonto he’ll have to work with the braves to save the Ute medicine woman from local Mormons.

What should be a relatively simple mission is complicated by the braves’ double-cross and a second twist involving the identity of the doctor the Ranger doesn’t see coming.

I was hoping the flashbacks would take us up to the first meeting of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, but with only one issue left in the arc we may not get to see writer Ande Parks’ take on the famous scene following the death of all but one Ranger at the hands of Butch Cavendish. For fans.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

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Worlds’ Finest #7

worlds-finest-new-52-7-coverThe children of Batman team-up to take on a werewolf. Seriously, what’s not to like? The Huntress, Damian, and Power Girl team-up set out to discover who (other than Helena) has been siphoning off huge amounts of cash from Wayne Enterprises.

As Power Girl heads to the Congo, where she runs into child soldiers armed with Apokolips weaponry, Damian and the Huntress come to an understanding while fighting off a pack of wolves, the bitter cold, and a werewolf while teaming up to do their own investigating.

When the comic introduced Damian last month I wondered if the plan was to allow Helena to step into the big sister role a character like Damian sorely needs (which was filled by Stephanie Brown before the New 52 reboot). I really enjoyed the two together, including Damian’s promise to keep her secret – even from Batman. I hope we get to see more of the pairing in the future. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #9

marvel-universe-avengers-earths-mightiest-heroes-9-coverAlthough I’ve grown disinterested in Marvel’s Avengers titles as of late, with the fallout of AvX and the newly relaunched title by writer Jonathan Hickman (neither of which I enjoyed), I have been a fan of Marvel’s animated The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes cartoon and the cover of this issue promised the kind of Avengers story I was interested in reading. I wasn’t disappointed.

The first story involves Thor and Ms. Marvel (wearing her classic costume) taking on a long-dormant Skrull killing machine who attacks the pair when it recognizes Ms. Marvel’s powers come from Kree origins. The one-upsmanship between the mighty Thor and the mighty Ms. Marvel is a lot of fun.

The back-up story involves the Black Widow and the Wasp sneaking into Doctor Doom‘s laboratory to rescue a pair of scientists whose work Doom is corrupting to turn into a biological weapon. Complete with insane escape, quarreling scientists, and Doombots, it proves to be just as much fun. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]

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Iron Man #3

iron-man-marvel-now-3-coverIron Man continues to protect Maya Hansen‘s legacy by hunting down stolen black market versions of Extremis. His latest trip takes him to Columbia where he tries out his spiffy new Lightbender Stealth Armor. Not expecting much resistance, the lower-powered armor will allow Stark to sneak in and out of a Columbian drug lord’s compound.

Things don’t go quite according to plan when he discovers the drug dealer has hired the Living Laser, Firebrand, and Vibro to protect himself from Iron Man. Even with the limitations of his stealth armor, Iron Man dispatches the C-List villains with relative ease before turning his attention on the drug dealer and discovering what his plans for Extremis are.

I like the new new stealth armor (even if it makes Stark look like a huge fan of Tron: Legacy). The twist involving the health of the dealer’s young daughter is interesting, but it does end the comic on a rather flat note. For fans.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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