REVIEW: Avengers #322

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Paul Ryan
Inks: Christopher Ivy
Colors: Renee Witterstaetter
Letters: Jack Morelli
Review: Art Bee

Some weeks ago, Avengers #322 caught my eye from a back issue box at my LCS. The cover screams for an action packed issue and it delivers. This issue is part four of The Crossing Line story arc and is subtitled, “Bombs Away!”
The truth behind Avengers #322 is there’s a lot going on in this issue, but the creative team does and incredible job of keeping the reader on the proper path with little confusion.
Why would I say this?
The answer is simple: this issue has three super hero teams working together; the Avengers, Alpha Flight, and The People’s Protectorate.

The story opens with these three teams delivering a coordinated attack on the Atlantians, who have commandeered a submarine loaded with nuclear weapons with the intent of starting a World War. I wish I knew more of the back story from the first three parts, but there seems to be some big reveals in this issue. Something I don’t like, and don’t somewhat understand, is who is spearheading the leadership of the three groups to coordinate the attack.
Capt. America seems to be the leader in a small capacity but does not show it much.
The goal of the team up is to shut down the launch sequence that has been started with about four hours at the start. I bet you can already guess this is going to come down to the wire, otherwise there would be no drama.

REVIEW: Elric #3

Script: Roy Thomas
Layouts/inks/colors: P. Craig Russell
Pencils/colors: Michael T. Gilbert
Lettering: Tom Orzechowski
Review: Will Dubbeld
 

Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné was always, in my opinion, a bit of an unsung hero in the sword-and-sorcery genre. He has a large fan base to be certain, but hasn’t the widespread attention of his peers.

Falling somewhere in between the trope-laden swashbuckling of Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser and the visceral paganism of Conan, Elric tells the tale of the decadent, crumbling island civilization of Melniboné and its emperor. A sickly, albino sorcerer king who is both puppet master and pawn to the lords of Chaos and Law, Elric seems like a 1960s counterculture answer to the Pulp fantasy heroes of yore.
Reliant on drugs to maintain his vitality and betrothed to his cousin, Cymoril, to boot...

Issue 3 finds Elric and his rat-bastard cousin, Yyrkoon, at the head of a flotilla returning victorious to the homeland after repulsing an invasion force.
Enfeebled from battle, Elric is helpless without his drugs and Yyrkoon tosses his sickly, albino ass overboard.
Confident Elric will drown, Yyrkoon crowns himself emperor and sails home, eying the Ruby Throne and with designs on fair Cymoril.
Cymoril, his sister...
G.R.R. Martin didn’t start the trend, folks, he just slipped it into the mainstream.

REVIEW: What If…? Vol 1, #24

“What if Spider-Man had rescued Gwen Stacy”
Writer: Tony Isabella
Artists: Gil Kane & Frank Giacoia
Colorist: Gafford
Review: Madman

Every Marvel fan knows the infamous happenings of Amazing Spider-Man #121-122. Of course I’m referring to the battle between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man atop the George Washington Bridge that lead to the death of Gwen Stacy.

The Green Goblin, aka Norman Osborn, had discovered Peter was Spider-Man and had kidnapped Gwen, the love of Peter’s life, in order to hurt him. During the faceoff Osborn knocked Gwen off the top of the bridge and Parker webs her, saving her from falling to her death, but in doing so inadvertently snaps her neck. Everyone that knows anything about Spider-Man knows this, but I figured I’d catch up the DC fans...
This event is arguably the largest influence (next to Uncle Ben’s death) that shaped Peter Parker into the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man we know and love today.

In this issue of What If…? that infamous battle still happens but with a different outcome.

REVIEW: Barb Wire #1

Creator: Chris Warner
Script: John Arcudi
Pencils: Lee Moder
Inks: Ande Parks
Colors: Pam Rambo
Letters: Pat Brosseau
Review: Art Bee

Recently at my LCS, Comics Cubed in Kokomo, Indiana, the shop owner overheard me direct my offspring to the back issue boxes to find a book for review.
He said, “you can have this one to review.” Instantly my ears were piqued at the word, “free”, but when my eyes rested on the title my hope sank.

My only experience with Barb Wire featured a barely-clothed Pam Anderson. Granted my main interest in the movie was Pam Anderson, but that interest fizzled out 30 minutes in and lead to my flight from it five minutes later.
Imagine my plummeting excitement with this floppy book.

The cover is very appealing and exciting. The foil title is eye-catching and still a sought after cover attribute more than 20 years later. Most of the color is done in neutral colors to allow Barb Wire’s blonde hair and red outfit stand out along with the red motorcycle and blue steel pistol.
All of these things are exciting by themselves, but the contrast the artist uses makes them doubly so. 
The bombshell on the cover is saying, “Don’t call me BABE!”, with her pistol pointed at the narrator, but the cue doesn’t stand out above the title, “Steel Harbor’s Babe on Wheels”. I really like this because it says so much about the character. It is very possible to know her from just this cover.