Review: Kahlil #9 Last Lights
The mythology of Superman is quite dense and has many allusions to the real world. The one thing that has always fascinated me, was the fortress of solitude, as it kept many of his secrets and history in one place. When he needed to get away, he can always come back there, and this place is where he found solace most of the time. The other facet of this place, was how he could see his whole history.
In the many times, they have sought to show his parents and what happened at Krypton in the comics, on TV and in the movies, not once it appears it felt real, at least to me. As it all felt like he was watching a movie play out every time. I never felt like there was any loss, but more like he is watching a documentary. In this issue of Kahlil, Kumail Rizvi accomplishes what all those other creators, could not do, bring heart to what is devastating event.
We catch up with Kahlil and Jor-El, as he is brought to the fortress of solitude and he is shown, who is and where he came from. Kahlil, finds out how his parents met and what Jor-El, had hoped for Krypton to be. We also meet Lara, his mother and ow she struggled to part was with her newborn son and to send him in such a disparate situation, knowing she will never see him again. By issue’s end, Jor-El, reveals Kahlil was never meant to be alone.
Overall, an excellent issue which gave this writer all the feels, as this portrayal was more realistic than past retellings of Kal-El’s origins. The story by Rizvi is emotional and heartfelt. The art by Rizvi is luminous. Altogether, this has to be the best issue yet, as Rizvi revisits some origins within canon but deviates at the right places.
Story: Kumail Rizvi Art: Kumail Rizvi
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy
It’s been quite a while, but Rocket Girl is back with sharp, emotional plotting from writer Brandon Montclare and some of the best layouts and cartooning in the game from artist Amy Reeder. In issue 8, Dayoung Johansson, a teen cop from the future who is stranded in “the present” 1986, is trying to stop the evil corporation, Quintum Mechanics from ending the world. Commissioner Gomez and a couple other ex-teen cops are trying to do the same thing in the “past” of 2013. Dayoung might have a super cool jetpack and rocket suit that is perfect for beating up criminals in video arcades, but she and her fellow youthful, idealist counterparts are in way over their head.
In the pantheon of heroes, none are more lovable and loyal than everyone’s beloved good ol’ dog, Sparky. Surviving in the wintery apocalypse of the undead, this former TV star turned zombie killing machine just wants to make friends and be a good boy. As his fellow survivors scavenge for supplies in the frigid wasteland, will Sparky be able to protect his companions from threats both undead and not yet undead?
The comic achieves that uniqueness by focusing on translating the game. In the game you’re limited to actions such as scavenging, attacking, clearing trash, moving between locations, etc. and this comic has each of those moments making it feel like decisions are being made in a game. What also works is that each character introduced has their own personality in a way that it feels like a group of people sitting around the game table tackling a scenario. Its translation of the game experience creates a bonus in many ways. Whether more mechanics, like secret win conditions, will be introduced and if they are how. Those secret win conditions are simply enough motivations for each character and how closely the comic will adheare to that is unknown.
Once a year, giant robots from outer space come to Earth and bond with young cadets from the elite Sky Corps Academy to defend the world from the terrifying aliens known as the Sharg. It’s a great honor to be chosen, but this year…well, the wrong kid was picked.
“Year Three” of the Eleventh Doctor in comics features the two-part arc The Memory Feast, which takes place over issues #3.6 and #3.7 of Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor. In the story, Eleven, his human companion Alice Obifune and their, uhm, progeny?, a creature called “the Sapling”. The three find themselves on an impossible ship in deep space, chased by hooded figures through portal after portal of an alternate reality. The Doctor soon determines that the ship is a memory ark for an extinct species called the Xerzes. The species only exists now in the memories stored by the ship. Immediately, he empathizes and encourages his companions to help him eradicate the hooded baddies called the Thrake.
Loma Shade hits Hollywood, or mostly a rest home for old actors and actresses in Shade the Changing Girl #11, and finally meets her idol, Honey Rich, who is ready to die. However, Shade grabs Honey just before she reaches the afterlife, and they switch bodies. For most of the issue, Shade is in Honey’s body, and Honey is in Shade’s body. It’s a little bit of a mind screw from writer Cecil Castellucci, artists Marley Zarcone and Ande Parks, and colorist Kelly Fitzpatrick. The plot veers from poetic meditations to soap opera, but Zarcone and Fitzpatrick’s visuals and the bits of Rac Shade poetry keeps the story beautiful. Who doesn’t love a comic book that has a cut out paper doll double page spread?
The body swapping, location hopping story of Shade of the Changing Girl #11 is tied together in a sort of sunny way by Kelly Fitzpatrick’s use of yellows and golds from the stars above Hollywood on the first page to the life Shade. breathes into Honey. It kind of climaxes with the sixteen suns that shine about Honey’s rest home and alert River and the Metans to Shade’s location. Throughout the book, it reoccurs in the background when a life altering decision is about to happen like when River asks Teacup to go to L.A. with him to find Shade, or Mellu reveals his true motivation for wanting the M-Vest and becomes slightly sympathetic. The colors that Fitzpatrick chooses throughout Shade #11 are like notes on a keyboard with the rainbow, M-vest induced bursts acting like glorious chords during memorable parts of the story.
Have you ever read something and felt like you were missing a key thing? That’s what reading Generations: Banner Hulk & The Totally Awesome Hulk #1 is like. The comic, written by Greg Pak with art by Matteo Buffagni, brings together Bruce Banner and Amadeus Cho. Both individuals have carried the curse of the Hulk and now they’re face-to-face. But how and why?