REVIEW: The Darkness vol. 1 #1

Story: Garth Ennis
Pencils: Marc Silvestri
Inks: Batt
Colors:  Steve Firchow
Letters: Dennis Heisler
Review: Art Bee

The shame  you only wish to see on my face is present only because I’ve realized in my time with HCB there is only one review of any Darkness title bearing my name (and at all). This will now be remedied. In December, 1996, my feet carried me into DNC Comics in Kokomo (it has long since closed down), and my eyes beheld an intoxicating title on the shelves. For me The Darkness #1 was like the first shot of heroin...purely addictive. The book had many features that grabbed my attention from the start.

This first issue kicked off a long-term intellectual property Silvestri had been sitting on for a long time. With Image well on its way to success, this issue unveiled that vision. The focal character of the series is the main attraction for me. Jackie Estacado is an enforcer for a large mafia family headed by Don Franchetti. Jackie is a cool, collected badass with little to fear. Here is one of my favorite exchanges in all of comicdom:

Bartender: “Mm. You know, this being the late twentieth century and all, taking advantage of the mentally retarded is generally frowned upon…”
Jackie: “She’s not retarded--!”
Bartender: “Jackie, I just heard you promise to get her a walk on part on the Simpsons.”   

REVIEW: Cloak and Dagger #1

Writer: Bill Mantlo
Penciller: Rick Leonardi
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Review: Will Dubbeld, a.k.a. Identity Crisis

I've always thought Cloak & Dagger were under appreciated characters in the Mighty Marvel roster. Understandably, from a certain point of view. A couple of superpowered teen runaways are certainly not as dynamic as Iron Man or the X-Men, and I'm not sure the book ever found its target audience. They're great characters though. Underutilized, to say the least.

There was, however, a sweet spot in the '80s that afforded Cloak & Dagger a taste of the limelight. Whether it was capitalization on the War on Drugs movement or some other opportunistic move, the duo enjoyed a miniseries and subsequent ongoing book.
Short lived though it may have been...

The premier issue opens with the pair rescuing teen girls from...
I'm unsure how to eloquently put this...
A Times Square sex shop?
You know the type. That 1970s-80s, seedy, red light district type of establishment that fits right into Taxi Driver.
"XXX GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS!", and the like.
The kind of place where you drop 50 cents into a slot and raise a curtain to reveal an undulating lady...
It's really quite cringe-worthy but not in that lowball sleaze way. In a way that forces the reality upon you of such places existing in the real world. It's a fantastic open, full of harsh reality and populated with lowlife scumbags who'd fit right in to a Frank Miller book.
I was astounded at the approach, to be honest. Mantlo makes no bones about the fact that these are underage girls working in the sex industry, not with innuendo or oblique references, but flat-out telling you they're in pornography.
I don't know if the angle was public awareness, but I'm surprised this was approved by the Comics Code Authority. In any case, kudos to the creative team.   

REVIEW: What If…? Vol 1, #30

“What if Spider-Man’s clone lived?”

Writer: Bill Flanagan
Artists: Rich Buckler, Jim Mooney, Pablo Marcos
Colorist: Roussos
Review: Madman

I don’t know why I do this to myself. I’ve been over the clone thing for, ohhhh, give or take 25 years, but that doesn’t matter because Marvel likes to milk the clone-cow to death…
Way past death in some cases. As in the cow shuffled off its mortal coil in the mid-90s and they’re still squeezing that mummified udder. In fact, for some great reason Marvel decided that Ben Riley needs not only make a triumphant return to the funnybooks, but he needs his own title…
Fantastic Four doesn’t get a book but Marvel decided the Earth would cease to spin if there were no Ben Riley books. I haven’t glanced at the series at all. Total boycott. A line has been drawn, and I will ignore that book until long after I’m dead.

I knew this comic would just end up making me turn green and rip my favorite corduroys, but none the less it is a What If…? book.  It did involve Spider-man, and plus! There was an untold tale of the Inhumans inside…
Ok, I didn’t really care so much about that last point but to be honest I just felt, petrified udder or not, this is something I definitely “needed” in my collection.  That “need”, no matter how dirty it made me feel, made it ok...just this once.          

REVIEW: X-Men #32

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Andy Kubert
Inks: Matt Ryan
Colors: Kevin Somers/ Digital Chameleon
Letters: Bill Oakley
Review: Art Bee

Upon looking through the posts on this site it was abundantly clear there is a lack of X-Men reviews, so it’s my pleasure to rectify this oversight. While digging through my box of said comic issues one of my favorite X-Men covers glistened in my eyes with one of my favorite mutant characters, Psylocke (shown at left). This issue is the second of two installments in the “Soul Possession” story arc. If any of you know anything about this amazing character, she actually gets exciting AFTER this issue, but this issue concludes the why.

Prior to this issue, Psylocke, Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock, was just a strong telepath with the unique ability to form a blade consisting of psychic energy capable of disrupting the nervous system and accessing memories. Mojo and Spiral have always had a particular interest in Miss Braddock and, at one time, they hijacked the young telepath and fitted her with robotic eyes to spy on mutants. Without going into a lot of details, Psylocke washed up on the shore of The Hand’s secret island without her memories. The Hand’s leader, Matsu’o, wanted to restore his brain-dead girlfriend, Kwannon (ninja assassin), so he made a reckless deal with Spiral. The two were taken to Spiral’s Body Shoppe for restoration. Spiral fused the pair into a shared mind, body, and powers but separate personas. Spiral then sent Psylocke to Matsu’o and Kwannon, now Revanche, to the X-Men.
Wasn’t she so nice?