The comics reviewed are chosen by David not by THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT management
or staff. The opinions expressed are his alone. If you have an opposing view you
are welcome to respond to David directly by Email at the address above.
Title: ROVER RED CHARLIEIssue Number: 6 (of 6)
Title Story: The Angel with His Darker Draught
Publisher: Avatar
Creator: Garth Ennis
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Michael Dipascale
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
Price (USD): $5.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Science Fiction
Mature - Comics on the Edge
This is the closing chapter of the story about three friends making their way in
a world where an apocalyptic disease destroyed all human life. The three
friends, as you might guess from the title, are all dogs. Rover is a Basset
Hound, Red is an Irish Setter and Charlie is a mixed breed service dog. The
story has followed these three from the start of the plague that found the
humans, whom the dogs call feeders, going insane and killing each other or
eventually committing suicide. They started in a big city and decided they had
to make their way off the island, over the big splash, into the countryside.
They have had some harrowing adventures along the way not the least of which
were other animals who have taken to attacking whatever they can for food now
that the feeders have gone. One fun episode was with a band of cats that tried
to lure the three into a trap for that purpose. But the three persevered and
stuck together to make it over the water and now have reached a haven of sorts
near the ocean where many other dogs have congregated. They are feeling safe now
and even have learned to catch birds for food when necessary. This final chapter
provides another threat they did not see coming. A pit bull, raised by cruel
masters for fighting, manages to isolate Charlie at one point and has plans to
treat him as he was all those years, essentially making Charlie his own pet.
When the other two realize Charlie has been gone too long they rush out to
search for him. But Charlie is not entirely helpless and manages, quite by
accident, to provide a signal for the others to follow. The final confrontation
is one that shows the bravery and loyalty of the three friends, no matter what
the circumstances. I have thoroughly enjoyed this series for a number of
reasons. The art is perfect for this type of story. While the animals are drawn
true to their breed there is a small element of cartoon-like features in their
faces that adds to their personalities. The coloring is also perfect making the
entire experience a visual delight. The whole premise is imagining what dogs and
animals would be saying if they could talk to each other as humans do. Ennis
captures the essence of this communication from the unique words they use for
things and other animals to other behavior, right down to sniffing butts as dogs
do. Under it all is a story of friendship, courage and loyalty. There is sadness
at first to the loss of the feeders and resolution to make it on their own. Even
the ending is a fitting tribute as all the dogs resort to a ritual each night
that pays tribute to their owners and affirms their status in this brave new
world. I for one hope Garth revisits these characters in the future. While it
can be classified as a mature story it is not over the top as are some of his
other efforts. It is definitely worth your time to seek out these issues or buy
the collected trade when it comes out.
Title: TREESIssue Number: 1
Title Story: All This is Normal
Publisher: Image
Creator: Warren Ellis & Jason Howard
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Jason Howard
Letters: Fonografiks
Price (USD): $2.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Science Fiction
Mature - Comics on the Edge
While I am always willing to try anything written by Warren Ellis this one is a
bit more difficult to wrap my head around. It begins ten years after the alien
life makes an appearance on Earth. Unlike other first contact stories this one
approaches the subject in a different manner. Giant columns with strange
markings on the sides have risen into the cloud in various places around the
world. They were just deposited all over the world as if oblivious that people
or things even existed here. The people have taken to calling them trees for
their resemblance to giant tree trunks from ground level. They found out early
on that these things have devastating effect to the local infrastructure,
creating a flood in Manhattan for example when one bored down through the
island. They also learned that bombs and bio-weapons became useless when in
proximity of the tress. With the damage came panic and riots. Even in New York
the cops acted more like a street gang than peace officers. Lately the trees
have been oozing out a substance from the "bark" that has more devastating
effects on the environment. And yet in all this time no beings have emerged or
tried to make contact. This first issue show scenes from different areas of the
world - panic in the streets of Rio, politicians in New York plotting how to
advance their own agenda under the new status quo, a young artist in China
moving to a big city with a wall surrounding the tree that landed there, and a
scientific research team in a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. In each
case the segments are more introductory to the few characters that will
presumably be main characters going forward. Ellis has laid the groundwork for a
larger story with the last segment perhaps being the most indicative of things
to come based on strange flowers now growing in the frozen wasteland. I am
intrigued enough to see where it goes. The art is somewhat rough in the
penciling but the overall effect captures the weirdness of the alien life and
the desperation of certain segments of humanity. I think this comic will become
more popular with each issue and it is something to check out now.
Title: DOCTOR SPEKTOR: MASTER OF THE OCCULTIssue Number: 1
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Neil Edwards
Colors: Jordan Boyd
Letters: Marshall Dillon
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Supernatural Adventure
This is the latest revival of Gold Key characters from Dynamite Entertainment.
They have previously introduced new versions of Turok, Magnus and Solar. With
Mark Waid at the helm we now are introduced to Doctor Spektor. He is billed as
the Master of the Occult but in this modern version he is a multi-media
celebrity, a very rich one. He indeed hunts down paranormal threats to mankind
but he does it on live TV at considerable risk to himself and his crew. The
opening scene shows a rather spectacular episode in which he confronts a vampire
and after the proper manipulation, and near death heroics, dispatches it in a
brilliant climax. This scene serves to introduce us to Spektor and his closest
employees. But as the new hire, Abby Horne, soon learns from the Doctor's right
hand man Lenny all is not entirely well with the Doctor. It seems like after
every big win he retreats into himself like a scared child. Spektor claims he
needs to share his triumphs with a woman who is not there. He has no memory of
her, she is just a presence he can feel. His shrink believes he has an inner
demon to conquer and perhaps by going after bigger real threats he is seeking a
way to banish the inner demon. Regardless Abby is his new personal assistant
charged with protecting him, maybe from himself. It is early on in the series
but things come to a head quickly as his next episode is set up as a filler for
the more exciting shows. The plan is to expose a fake psychic but things go
horribly wrong with deadly results. This is off to a good start with the main
character both a powerful personality but also very flawed. The supporting cast
is strong, as you would expect from Mark Waid. By the end of the story we are
fully involved in the characters and can't wait to see what comes next. Edwards
and Boyd turn in a stellar effort on the art, especially the depictions of the
supernatural aspects of the story. I fell this is the best one of the bunch of
Gold Key characters from Dynamite. You should give it a shot.
Title: C.O.W.L.Issue Number: 1
Title Story: Motivation
Title Arc: Principles of Power
Publisher: Image
Writers: Kyle Higgins & Alec Siegel
Artist: Rod Reis
Letters: Troy Peteri
Cover Artist: Trevor McCarthy
Price (USD): $3.50
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero
Mature - Comics on the Edge
The title C.O.W.L. stands for Chicago Organized Workers League. But this is no
ordinary labor union. COWL represents the super heroes of the city. It is also
kind of cool that the acronym is also a word describing part of a hooded hero's
costume. The head of the union is Geoffrey Warner an expert marksman, combatant
and strategist who went by the name Grey Raven. He is now retired from field
work and works to run the organization. But this after al is a book about super
heroes and so the first seven pages runs through an action sequence with a batch
of the current group of the city's protectors take on the latest threat to peace
an order. Once that is done with we move forward to the obligatory press
conference and the behind the scenes working of the union and its latest
negotiations with the city. While some of the dialogue has to do with how things
are going and certain disagreements between certain players in the structure
that aspect of the story is not all that interesting. And indeed the story
shifts to more basic plot development. One is a conflict between two members
over the personal habits of one of them. Another is some members tracking down
the hidden cache of weapons that belonged to their latest captured villain.
There are subplots about the relationships among some of the players but looking
back on it as a whole none of it is all that interesting to me. The action
sequences are better reading even though there is nothing unique about them.
What I think is the concept of the super hero union is being used as if it is a
major core of the story but I find it secondary to what I find interesting. The
art is not very appealing to me, but that is a personal preference for cleaner
lines and brighter coloring than what is used here. It is not a bad comic but it
is not something that excites me to buy more. Your experience may be different.
Title: CHEW/REVIVALIssue Number: One-Shot
Publisher: Image
CHEW story
Writer & Letters: John Layman
Artist & Colors: Rob Guillory
Colors Assist: Taylor Wells
REVIVAL story
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Mike Norton
Colors: Mark Englert
Letters: Crank!
Cover Artist: Jenny Frison
Price (USD): $4.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Horror/Supernatural
Mature - Comics on the Edge
This is probably one of the most unexpected crossover books you will see outside
of the recent MARS ATTACKS books. What we have are two different creator-owned
comics with their own "universes", so to speak. In this flip book each set of
creators have crafted a crossover of the characters in different plots. Since
the setting of REVIVAL takes place in the quarantined town of Wausau, Wisconsin
it is the place where all the action occurs. In REVIVAL this small town was
forever changed when one day the dead came back to life. They are not zombies
but they sometimes act very differently than they used to, some get more
violent. The sheriff's daughter, Dana, is also a cop and she has been working
with a government agent to control some of the consequences of the aftermath.
Additionally, her sister Em was killed and is now a Reviver. A black market has
arisen for Reviver body parts by those who believe they can be used to cure
disease or provide immortality. In CHEW the main character is Tony Chu. He has a
very unique ability. He is what is called a cibopath. That means with a bite of
anything he can read all about the past of what he ate. If he eats an apple he
gets a read on the tree it grew from, the pesticides used on it, when it was
harvested and so on. Eating meat is a whole different experience. In the CHEW
half of the book Tony and his partner from the FDA John Colby come to Wausau for
help in investigating a case of a missing hand from a dismembered body. They are
hunting down a chef who left the town of the murder and they believe he might be
here. After a trip to the morgue, where various body parts are a jig saw for the
coroner to figure out, they head around town to a particular eatery that will
give Chu the clue he is looking for once he tastes the fare. On the REVIVAL side
of the flip book After Chu and Colby arrived Dana asks for Chu's help on a
recent rash of what appear to be grave robberies for body parts. They figure Chu
could taste the snow around the graves and get a read. What the case really
turns out to be is about a Reviver who is having trouble letting go of the past.
What I like about this comic is that each of the teams play to their strength of
their own characters and add the elements of the other book to flesh out the
plot. They are not trying to tell a story about the other book they are just
using ideas to make an interesting story about what they know best. Each have a
unique style in art. CHEW is more cartoony and fun while REVIVAL is more a
realistic serious style. I think anyone can read this book and get something out
of it. It might even stimulate to read more of either or both regular series and
that is a good thing.
Title: CLIVE BARKER'S NIGHT BREEDIssue Number: 1
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Creator: Clive Barker
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Colors: Juan Manuel Tumburus
Letters: Ed Dukeshire
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Horror
Mature - Comics on the Edge
Clive Barker does a very different kind of horror story. Rather than using the
same old horror stereotypes he invents some of his own and build on things you
probably have never seen before. What this does for the readers is keep them in
a state of anticipation because we don't know what to expect. In this case there
is an introductory scene narrated by an old man that basically defies that
notion by declare everyone thinks they are unique with their own struggles when
actually there is an ancient being calling to all her children. That no doubt
ties in to things later on. The book spans different areas and decades. The
first is the Louisiana bayous in 1857 as a runaway slave couple are being hunted
by the white folks. They encounter a strange man beast who bites the female who
shortly transforms to something else with long claw-like nails and razor sharp
teeth. Shortly after the white men with their guns appear and try as they might
the man beast cannot be killed. And now he has a new ally. In the other main
plot we are in Boston in 1945 where a US Senator is just concluding dinner with
friends and then begs off staying for a nightcap to ostensibly do some work.
What he is really doing is going to his favorite house of ill repute to visit a
very special lady. We don't see her until the very last panel. Like the other
plot if you paid very close attention to the opening narration you will
recognize where you have seen her before. While there are elements of horror and
outright strange this book is only touching on them to begin. There is much more
to be explained about what I have called the man beast and the mystery lady in
the whorehouse. Where have they come from? What have they evolved from? What is
the larger story behind the two diverse plots? The art is pretty decent since
it adds to the action without distracting from it. I would say this one is a
slow starter because I get the feeling it will be much more as it develops
further. It deserves a few more issues to prove that idea.
*****
TRIVIA CONTEST!!!! WIN REAL PRIZES!!!!!
If you think you know the answer to the trivia question send your guess via
Email to me at ComicBkNet@aol.com and you could win the prize. The first six
correct answers will be assigned a number and a roll of the dice will determine
the winner. You should put your real name in your message so we know who you
are. Prizes must be claimed at our store within 30 days of winning. The prize
will be a $10 credit slip, which will be redeemable for merchandise at regular
retail or in-store ongoing specials only. Only one prize per person will be
allowed per every 4 weeks. I will be the sole judge of the correct answer even
if more than one answer could be correct. Submit only one answer per Email
please but guess as often as you like.
Last week's trivia question:
With the latest X-Men movie just out I decided to go to the source material for
this week's question. DAYS OF FUTURE PAST ran for two issues of THE UNCANNY X-
MEN in 1981. The second half of the story was titled "Mind Out of Time!" - Or
was it? How did the previous issue actually promote the closing chapter of this
now classic story?
In UNCANNY X-MEN #141 the blurb for the next issue read, Next: "Time Out of
Mind!" In issue 142 the story was titled "Mind Out of Time!"
Here was your no prize question:
The song "The Power of Love" was nominated for an Oscar for best original song
in which film?
"The Power of Love", is a 1985 single by Huey Lewis and the News written for and
featured in the 1985 blockbuster film "Back to the Future." It gave the band
their first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, their second number-
one hit on the U.S. Top Rock Tracks chart. The song was nominated for an Academy
Award for Best Original Song at the 58th Academy Awards.
This week's no prize winner is Mike Dooley.
THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION:
What is Bill Anderson's relation to what DC Hero?
Here is your no prize question:
With the advent of electricity to the home what were the first six items run by
electricity introduced for home use?
Folks, you never know who among the readers is knowledgeable about the question
so don't hesitate to send in an answer - even days after it appears.
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