Author Archives: Sebastian Villegas

Review: Captain America #698

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When we last left Steve Rogers a.k.a Captain America, he had been hunted down by Kraven the Hunter under orders from Rampart and despite Cap’s efforts, he is caught and put on ice-literally.

So here’s the thing, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee took over Captain America from Nick Spencer (especially since this Waid’s second go around at writing a solo book for the character) after the whole Secret Empire event Spencer had set up since 2016. This book seemed to have started as a response or apology to the backlash where the character is now back to his roots while at the same time, tries to redeem the character for the readers who were displeased with Secret Empire.

And this is where things get interesting, the book starts out exactly as it does with Steve Rogers going on a redemptive road trip after the whole HYDRA Cap incident. And then he gets trapped in a black of ice and is then sent to the future. A dystopian future. That is a pretty big leap given how issue #696 started that I admit, I didn’t see coming but it did and it’s a curious direction.

Yeah, dear Steve once again is out of the ice (which, deja vu) and has now woken up to a dystopian future where the head of Rampart is now king. No more presidents, no more superheroes, no more law as we know it. It’s all run by this single jerk who wants to control everything. This book seems to be a response to the Trump administration and how it seems Waid is predicting where this country could go. And it’s not a bad idea and so far, I’m on board. Especially given the whole rebellion against rich monarchs plot where Cap joins in. It’s kind of an ideal scenario. Captain America was never about jingoism or sucking up to governments, the character always presents as we should aspire to be with our morals and Waid is still embodying that spirit, just with a different premise for the character.

In fact, I think this may be a solid Captain America as it goes on. There are no Avengers, no Sam Wilson or Bucky to help him, he has ordinary people like Liang and others as his comrades to help him fight against oppressive monarchies. And the rebels themselves are no pushovers, they still keep on fighting despite the odds against them. And with Cap on their side, they have a boost. Cap isn’t just a leader, he is a symbol of hope and given this country’s president promoting bigotry, hate and screwing over the lower class, we need to aspire to be like Cap and fight on against such oppressive forces.

Storywise, Waid does offer plenty of set up and intrigue especially given his choice of year for when Cap wakes up, that’s an interesting choice of year but I won’t reveal it. And really, nothing ever seemed forced. Everything just comes naturally especially one of my favorite scenes being a kid and his mother rescued by Cap himself just as a drone was closing in on them. There’s even a cute touch of him going along taking a picture with the kid. Given the circumstances, he suggested to take it quick but he obliged all the same but he wasn’t annoyed-even gave a smile too. Those single pages and panels feel like Captain America as he should be and Waid is extremely good at that. It just feels like Cap is Waid’s bread and butter as opposed to others he has written in the past.

New characters work well as much too like Liang, she’s a character people can relate to and her motivations and actions are understandable and she gels well with Cap himself. Liang is certainly promising among the Marvel universe’s stable of awesome women.

Chris Samnee’s art certainly helps matters with plenty of shading, looks pretty stylized that it fits the tone of the book Waid is going for and he stages the action scenes well enough, probably elevated the staging on what was written on page. Even his use of shadows works well to good effect especially given the colors look a bit degraded but again, fit the tone of the book Waid is going for. So it’s another Marvel book where it feels like the artist and writer are in sync with each other, neither feel contradicting to each other.

If you’re a fan of the character and looking for a return to form of sorts if you hated Secret Empire, this new arc, and this issue, is not a bad way to go with. Check it out!

Review: Quantum and Woody! #2

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If I had to describe Quantum and Woody in one way I can, is that they’re essentially the superhero equivalent of a buddy cop duo like Riggs and Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon. Though given the origins of these characters, Luke Cage and Iron Fist aren’t a far off comparison either. And it’s even more apparent with this new ongoing by Daniel Kibblesmith (frequent collaborator of Stephen Colbert and writer of the upcoming Marvel miniseries Lockjaw) with art by Kano (Mark Waid’s Daredevil). And you can tell Kibblesmith was definitely channeling every buddy cop movie he has seen like 48 Hours. And he nailed it hard.

It really does feel like it could have been a film in of itself. Some panels feel a bit cinematic like they were storyboarded. I say this in a good way. It’s simply something I find to be a nice touch. There are wide panels that allow the characters to move without cutting to a new panel sequentially like one by one to showcase movement. The art and colors certainly make the art pop-fitting the tone of the book. It can appear very funny with the art elevating whatever Kibblesmith was going to emotional when it needed to be based on for example, the first few pages of the book with the young heroes playing a game where it started to turn into drama with Woody finding out that Eric (Quantum) had kept a secret about his real father this entire time.

Kibblesmith really does nail the characterization and the book’s tone very well where it didn’t once feel jarring, they both came in naturally. Narrative wise, you understand Woody’s motivation to find his father-even if it means teaming up with a supervillain he knows by the name of Negative One, who was kind of a scene stealer due to her sardonic attitude and how she was able to get both heroes to go along with her. Though with Eric, she didn’t even have to say anything to get him to come and I’ll leave it at that.

Kano’s art as I said, compliments the writing and I want to spotlight the facial expressions on all the characters. They emote just about right without going over the top. It never once feels exaggerated, maybe aside from one or two moments where maybe it didn’t look right but that could just be me. And Kano is not a pushover with the action scenes either or when displaying the superpowers from both characters like when Woody pushes away Eric, the impact and aftermath is very well done especially when you toss in the fact that while it started dramatic, it ended with a small joke for levity.

If there is one qualm I have with this, is that this could leave potential new readers lost. I mean, this new ongoing could serve as a good introduction but if you’re coming to these characters and this new ongoing late, you may be lost. I mean, I got the gist of it easy enough but other readers may not be lucky but it’s a testament to Kibblesmith to make this book accessible to even non-fans of this book. While in terms of superheroes, my heart will always belong to the likes of Marvel, Sailor Moon, Power Rangers and others, Valiant superheroes I don’t doubt will be added to my personal favorites.

If you’re a fan of these characters and enjoying this book so far, keep on reading. If not for either, well, there’s always reading the likes of other Valiant heroes like Faith.

Review: Inhumans: Judgment Day #1

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Inhumans as of recent has had a rocky relationship with Marvel fans. There are a lot who love them like myself and the good folks at the “Attilan Rising” podcast but others who detest them due to the recent push by Marvel to get them into the forefront. But regardless, Marvel moves forward with their Inhumans books especially under the ResurrXion lineup which had a selection of X-Men and Inhumans books. On the Inhumans side to be specific, we have Al Ewing‘s Royals, Matthew Rosenberg’s Secret Warriors and my personal favorite, Saladin Ahmed’s Black Bolt-the latter being incredibly well received ever since its debut back in 2017.

Al Ewing is really among Marvel’s many MVPs at the company with his knowledge of the Marvel universe (or at least the amount of research he puts into), creative scenarios and character lineups like in Mighty Avengers or Ultimates and finally how he writes his choice of characters especially in whatever situation he puts them in and you can tell with Royals and his own contributions, he has a love of weird Sci-Fi and it’s working to effective use here and in Royals. He’s added to the mythology of the Inhumans like the Progenitors, these sort of alien/android race where one of them looks like Baymax on steroids. So this book kind of, sort of serves as a finale to his book Royals but also plays a part in Ahmed’s book Black Bolt in a future. We’ll get to that part soon.

Anyone new picking this up, might be lost if they haven’t read Royals but Ewing does at least have Maximus provide some kind of recap in beautiful two page spreads by Mike del Mundo which contain elements from Royals and a reflection in the second set with a skull faced Black Bolt and an aged Gorgon stomping around. The art by Kevin Libranda and certain pages done by Mike del Mundo really compliment Ewing’s writing, never a disconnect like say, if Cullen Bunn writes an X-Men book, there’s art by Greg Land that can be distracting. None of that is in Judgment Day. Branada provides solid artwork for the characters for the normal scenes but del Mundo serves effective art for the sets of two page spreads and a sequence involving Medusa in a dream state interacting with Black Bolt and the Progenitors.

These moments I feel are the best part of the book. It’s effective in showing how much both Black Bolt and Medusa had grown since the start of their respective books as well as their first debuts in the comics way back in the 60’s. They’ve become wiser, more empathetic than usual due to learning much about themselves and the world and the universe around them. There’s a solid amount of emotion from their interactions and informing themselves of what they’ve been through. The book didn’t take the easy way out of hooking them back together immediately, they are essentially just friends but they are powerful together, married or not.

In a beautiful last splash page, something missing from Medusa does come back and it is gorgeous to look at based on del Mundo’s artwork and Branada’s art as well mind you. And the colors by Jose Villarrubia and Del Mundo’s colors really make the book’s art stand out further-giving them solid flair in both types of pages with del Mundo’s page providing the artistic flair and Libranda’s pages a cosmic, colorful touch. Yes, the book is setting up what’s to come in the future and in Ahmed’s future Black Bolt issues (there was a curious scene of how Bolt exited the story which hints you have to read a future issue of Black Bolt to find out what happened). And then one last surprise in the very last two pages of the story that rather bluntly hints that the adventures of the Inhumans have just begun. It’s the end of another chapter for the Inhumans, the royal family to be specific but the next chapter is about to begin whether it’d be a new book or someone else’s. Either way, I am looking forward to what happens to the Inhuman royal family and I’ll be there for day one.

If you’re a fan of the Inhumans and been following books like Royals and Black Bolt, this is the book to satisfy your needs but if not, I’m sure Phoenix Resurrection is more for you which is also a good book too! Check it out, either way.

Review: Legion #1

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So, what do you do when Marvel and FOX have a hit TV show on FX? Bring back that specific character in the comics to capitalize on it, even if it’s for a miniseries. Of course! I’m not cynical about this, honestly. Given the character of David Haller or Legion, his codename, has a lot of story potential. You could create a ton of psychological Horror stories surrounding this character given his powers involve telepathy and reality warping especially given he has multiple personality disorder. The possibilities are really endless especially if someone is talented enough to make it all interesting. Hell, the TV show Legion showed you can do it in other media.

So like I said, no doubt Marvel decided to bring back the character due to the TV show being a hit and who’s the guy they hire to bring him back? Peter Milligan, who previously wrote for Marvel and the X-Men with the book X-Statix. Admittedly, as a big Marvel fan I am, I am not that familiar with X-Statix but I am curious about his work now given he has put in a lot of twisted intrigued with Legion and seems to fit him like a glove. The book is pretty much psychological horror through and through but with a different flair than say, the TV show. Okay, I swear I’ll cut back referencing the TV show.

I describe the book’s feel so far as like a Stuart Gordon horror film like Re-Animator meets Beyond The Gate, at least in regards to tone. I don’t know how to describe it but it seems blunt with its weirdness. It’s colorful but also dark with its content. The entire book revolves around two characters. Yes, it’s not just David Haller. There’s somebody he has to warn of an incoming danger he has been meeting often times face to face in the first opening pages of the book. Haller has to work Dr. Hannah Jones, a psychotherapist who as of recent has been treating celebrities. And whatever force is after David, is after her too.

So the book has two POVs and it can be a bit jarring at first but it works once the last couple of pages have the two together, thus, setting up the next issue to come. And the book does at least do a good job introducing both characters as to who they are, what they do and how they’re reacting to this new, dangerous situation to them. Especially since Jones has had multiple encounters with tentacles. This book is fond of tentacles for whatever reason. Though thankfully, it wasn’t throughout the book. In fact, there’s a good scene of a statuette of Sigmund Freud seemingly talking to Hannah-really demonstrating how far this force will attempt to mess with her.

The art, I felt was jarring at first because it’s not bad art. I really love the art by Wilfredo Torres and the colors by Dan Brown. They make the art pop. Just that with a premise like this, I kind of got it in my head that a Legion book would be more twisted with its visuals to empathize the horror aspect in a way. But I think the art is growing on me as it reminds me of Mike Allerd’s art and I say that in a good way and I think it can fit the book the more it goes on. I mean, whatever twisted visuals are there, works to its effective use.

And Peter Milligan does do a solid job establishing the characters and situations to behold. It’s a set up but it’s good set up for things to come. It did feel a bit jarring from the first page when the book is dumped straight into the action where David Haller is running for his dear life. The text narration from him does help a bit but I’m too sure if that was the right call if only because maybe a build up to that moment would have sufficed. The rest, Milligan did well really from what this evil force can accomplish like having his victims relive their traumas or how David is coping with not just the situation but himself and what brief interaction was shown between him and Hannah does show promise.

If you’re a fan of the Legion character whether it’d be the comics or the TV show (whoops, did it again!), this comic is guaranteed to feed that satisfaction.

Review: Abbott #1

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The 70’s provided a lot of change for the world but also like in today’s world, not much has changed. For one, racism isn’t over as watered down history books or even bio books for children about Martin Luther King Jr. would like you to believe. And two, the second wave feminist movement had gotten started. Both sets of minority groups to this day are still fighting the oppressors that continuously try to put them down but the groups never gave up and still don’t, no matter what. So in comes Saladin Ahmed with Abbott, fresh off the success of his book for Marvel, Black Bolt. Which received high acclaim and hey, it’s a solid debut for a dude who previously wrote fantasy books influenced by Middle Eastern mythology. How wild is that?

So here is his (so far) first Non-Marvel comic book. It is not based on an existing property, it’s creator owned. And he makes just as much of an impression here as he has done for Black Bolt but of course, he added a different flair.

For one, it’s a period piece. The book takes place in 1972 where the aforementioned aspects of history I mentioned are in full swing especially based on the opening pages of the book (complete with sections of Elena Abbott’s article spread throughout the book) as well as the all out bigotry by old white men whether they’d be cops or people who run the newspaper. Even some who can appear to be allies either have ingrained racism and misogyny or just flat out ignorant.

In any case, it doesn’t deter Elena Abbott herself from delivering the truth to her readers. One of the main driving forces of the book-plotwise, is Abbott’s article about the murder of a 14 year old African American boy by a police officer and yeah, you can see what the motivation no doubt was. Abbott is confident, unapologetic about who she is, a hard smoker and drinker and always seeks out the truth to bring justice. And I loved this woman right from her first scene. She doesn’t allow the men to intimidate her and just doesn’t give one fuck what they say or think of her. One panel just said it all, it was glorious to behold.

There is a murder mystery involved however but it serves as a nice twist because as it turns out, a decapitated horse head and a dead human body are part of a occult scenario. Yes, this book has a supernatural aspect driving the story as well as provides backstory to Abbott herself and what changed her on that very day when she first encountered various demons first hand. Which makes her backstory very tragic and engaging. And it’s this aspect of the story that provides a lot of intrigue especially since given this is the first issue, it set up what kind of world this comic takes place in. And there’s a curious running choice of words about order which I don’t doubt there’s a payoff in future issues.

Saladin Ahmed, artist Sami Kivela and colorist Jason Wordie really do a solid job setting up what this comic has to offer in its world building, its characters and the type of story it wants to tell. Ahmed, Kivela and Wordie with a solid combination of writing, art and coloring gives the book a dark, noir edge to it from the 70’s aesthetic to the last page of the comic. All of which compliment each other very well. Ahmed always has a good grasp on character and it’s no different here. As I said, I love Abbott from her first page and throughout the book, he really made her such a compelling character to read the more I dived into the book. Kivela and Wordie do just as much of the heavy lifting between the character designs and emotions and the backgrounds and gritty, noir feel to the proceedings. It feels natural especially given the setting of Detroit which in a way reminds me of Robocop but less 80’s. Both simply nail the rundown, gritty feel of Detroit, Michigan that makes it interesting to see. And the Horror/Supernatural elements again, do add to the book. You can tell all three creators are eager to dive further into these aspects and how Abbott will cope with them and fight against them.

If you like much of these elements I mentioned, then this book is definitely for you. It’s a must read.

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