Wonder Woman #20

I've been enjoying the "New 52" version of Wonder Woman (though I continue to regret the fact that it's too filled with violence and horror to be appropriate for young readers).

The story continues to spool out - and that's the problem.

We started in the first issue to follow Diana's attempts to protect a young mother and her child from attacks by assorted figures from mythology. The reason for the attacks is because of a prophesy around the child - whose father is Zeus.

All well and good, but that same story continues to be the focus of the series, and to be honest - it's getting a bit tired. You do get the sense that we're near the end, and that's good, because each issue feels like deja vu.

Once again, Wonder Woman faces off against Artemis while other forces close in on the infant.

Cliff Chiang provides the strong breakdowns and the finishes on five pages, with Goran Sudzuka covering the rest. It's not a perfect mix, but still entertaining.

So hopefully writer Brian Azzarello is ready to move on to bring this to a close - the adventure is getting mighty thin.

Grade: B+

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Doomsday.1 #1

One of the treats to be found in the present age of comics (whatever it might be called) is that we occasionally see the return of some of yesterday's better comics series.

I would definitely rank the original Doomsday + 1 in those ranks (published in 1975).

Featuring some of John Byrne's earliest comics work, the series published by Charlton Comics was an interesting mix of science fiction, a smidge of fantasy (in the form of a caveman revived from his icy prison) all set in a post-apocalyptic world.

It focused on a team of space explorers who return to an Earth devastated by nuclear war - they confront an assortment of menaces and monsters.

It was a clever, entertaining series - but sadly, it only lasted for six issues (though it was reprinted often).

Thankfully, IDW has revived the title with Byrne returning as creator, writer and artist. The new version, slightly retitled as Doomsday.1, allows room for some updating, factual adjustment and assorted fine tuning.

The crew has been expanded and their mission is a bit more real-world (they're assigned to the Internationsl Space Station). The cause of the "Doomsday" is also a more modern, reality-based version of how that might happen, as is what happens during and after the disaster (obviously I don't want to give away too much of the fun here).

Byrne sets up several upcoming story lines here and provides an interesting and diverse cast.

The art, of course, is terrific. What little Byrne may have lost in youthful enthusiasm in the almost 40 years since the original he more than makes up with skill and craftsmanship.

It's a terrific start to a new series and requires no knowledge of the original version. But fans of the original will enjoy the return of an old favorite, all decked out for a modern audience.

Grade: A

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Iron Man #10

Longtime fans (like yours truly) may remember a character called Mopee.

In an early episode of The Flash, the character appeared to announce that he had given super-speed powers to the hero, not the accident that had long been accepted as the origin for The Flash.

The story was so hated by fans that readers generally ignored it completely, and it was the butt of jokes forever after.

Which brings us to this issue of Iron Man, as we learn the "Secret Origin of Tony Stark." It's too soon to say we're in Mopee territory here, but it's looking very similar.

The story focuses on the discovery by Tony of a film with his father telling a dark secret about Tony's past. We flash back to see his parents discovering the unsettling news that their unborn child has a serious medical problem and will not survive birth.

That sends Howard Stark on a mission to "fix" the problem, one that takes him into strange, "Oceans 11" territory and the promise of an extraterrestrial solution.

So is Tony only exceptional because of his alien assistance? Can we buy him as a genius if his mind is attributed to an almost-supernatural intervention?

It all treads very close to the kind of story readers will reject outright, as it takes the character away from his "self-made billionaire" origin and into science fiction territory.

There's still plenty of story to be revealed, so perhaps the story will end up being terrific - but right now, I'm smelling Mopee.

I hope I'm wrong.

Grade: B

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Age of Ultron #8

Well, this one has me conflicted.

On the one hand, this issue of Age of Ultron is the usual action-packed, mystery-laden adventure by writer Brian Michael Bendis, with lots of great dialogue and characters along the way.

On the other, it's another example of the kind of time-travel mumbo-jumbo that I'm really not crazy about.

The series has split into two fields of combat - the one in the future (not seen this time around), and the one in the present - but the present reality is completely changed because of the actions in the past by the unlikely team-up of Wolverine and the Invisible Woman.

After their trip to the past (during which one of the two killed a certain key player), they return to a world that seems only slightly better than the Ultron-devastated one they had left.

A different menace threatens humanity now, and there may be no defense against it. And Logan and Sue Richards are prisoners, suspected of working for the enemy.

So the story's a bit of a muddle, with lots of alternate reality / timeline alterations playing hob with the "real world."

The art, however, is terrific. Brandon Peterson provides the finished art, and it's outstanding, with lots of personal moments, big hoo-hah events, great character designs and a new look for New York.

Even though the story's kind of all over the place, I have to admit that it's still compelling enough to keep me coming back for the rest of the series, just to see how they untangle this mess.

Grade: A-

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The Dreamer: The Battle of Brooklyn Vol. 1

Originally printed in 2011, this is a series I discovered recently - and I'm glad I did!

The Dreamer: The Battle of Brooklyn (Vol. 1) reprints the first six issues in a series written and drawn by Laura Innes - and it's an impressive collection!

It tells the story of a teenager named Beatrice Whaley whose life revolves around school and friends. She loves theatre, dreams about the guy she's had a crush on for years, struggles to work up the courage to talk to him, fights with her cousin, plots with her friends - in other words, she's a real person in the real world.

But suddenly, when she falls asleep, she finds herself experiencing a completely different life as a woman during America's Revolutionary War. She has the same name, but she's a bit more... mature (she's a young adult), and she finds herself falling in love with the handsome soldier who saves her from British captivity.

Of course, when you say it out loud like that, it sounds completely improbable - but the characters and the situations seem real.

I'm certainly no expert on the late 1700s or the War for Independence, but the characters, the uniforms, the settings and the dialogue all seem authentic - and that's part of the problem Bea has. She finds herself preferring to be in her dream world, and she's surprised to discover that her experiences there actually correspond to historic events.

The story and the characters are wonderful. The teens act and talk like real teenagers, and their reactions (especially Bea's) are spot on and believable.

And I love Innes' artwork - it seems to be inspired by John Byrne but is never a slavish imitation. Her characters have loads of personality and are expressive, the action sequences are original and fun to follow, and the characters are unique and lively - she's a real talent to watch.

This is just the first collection - there's at least one other one, which I'll be tracking down ASAP.

It's a fun, sexy story of impossible love (and real-life romance), told with humor, adventure and and eye on historic accuracy.

Highly recommended!

Grade: A

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New Comics (One Day Late)

I finally made a visit to my comics shop, where I picked up:

- Age of Ultron #8 - The past has been changed, but things are not better.

- Conan the Barbarian #16 - Nightmares abound.

- Doomsday .1 #1 - End of the world (again).

- FF #7 - Is Medusa a traitor?

- Iron Man #10 - The secret origin of Tony.

- Nova #4 - Battle in deep space.

- Shadow #13 - Who is the Lady Phantom?

- Sword of Sorcery #8 - Final fight with Eclipso!

- Wolverine & the X-Men #29 - Back to the future.

- Wonder Woman #20 - Fighting with the gods.

And that's it!

No New Comics?

Your pal Chuck hasn't picked up any new comics this week - work has me on the road at the moment - but I'll have a special review later today and then we're back to the new stuff tomorrow.

As Stan always says, "Hang in there, True Believers!"

(Or was that "Excelsior?")

The Classics - Adventure Comics #371

The Legion of Super-heroes seem to go through ups and downs on a regular basis.

The team has gone from being the most popular title in DC's lineup to cancellation more than once. (In fact, the "New 52" title has just been canceled by DC.)

It all seems to hinge on the creative team (as such things always do) - when the right team is working on the series, it hits new heights. Here I'm thinking of Dave Cockrum, Mike Grell, Keith Giffen, Paul Levitz, Curt Swan, Jim Shooter, Adam Hughes - you get the idea.

At other times, the creative team just doesn't quite work, and the results are less than impressive.

For example: this issue from 1968. There are no credits on the story, but the Comics Database says the first story is written by Jim Shooter (who also did layouts), drawn by Curt Swan with Jack Abel inks.

It feels like a rush job - definitely not the best work by any of those creators. The story has Colossal Boy blackmailed into betraying the Legion (and his method for doing so is silly at best)

Worst of all, the 11-page story is continued to the next issue. All this for some inept blackmailers? Surely the Legion can manage bigger stories than this.

The backup story is actually a reprint from Superboy's comic in 1949, with two panels added to shoehorn the Legion into the story (we never do find out what terrible menace they need help with).

Written by Edmond Hamilton and drawn by George Papp, it certainly feels like a Golden Age story - it's silly, as Superboy and heroes from other worlds are lured to a distant planet, where they thwart their captives... by throwing temper tantrums.

So a below-average issue at best. In fact, the only good thing about it is the cover by Neal Adams - and it's spoiled by a goofy word balloon, wherein Superboy says, "That's the way the kryptonite crumbles." Yeah.

Luckily for the Legion, there were better days ahead - this was definitely a low point for the series.

Grade: C-

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Executive Assistant: Assassins #10

It's surprising to realize that Executive Assistant: Assassins is the only ongoing title Aspen publishes.

The company has quite a few titles on its roster, of course, and Fathom has been published in a number of mini-series over the years - but this title is the only regular comic they publish.

It follows the dark adventures of a group of beautiful women trained to be the perfect assassins-for-hire. Each woman is named for a different flower (Rose, Iris, Aster and Ivy, for example).

But just because they're in the same business doesn't mean they all get along - in fact, this issue wraps up "Executive Extinction" - a war against the organization.

And as you'd expect from a war, there are casualties.

The story by Vince Hernandez would be a bit of a challenge for new readers - there are lots of characters running around and it's not always clear who we should be rooting for. But my biggest complaint is that we get to the end of this five-issue storyline with no real resolution.

The art by Jordan Gunderson and Charlie Mok is good, with clear depictions of each character (not always easy, since they're all beautiful women dressed in (mostly) black.

Like most of the series, this issue offers lots of action and destruction... but the story could use some tweaking.

Grade: B

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