drive-by readings 021709

I Am Legion #1 (DDP/Humanoids) "The Dancing Faun" Fabien Nury John Cassaday Laura Martin Justin Kelly Crank!

so this is what John Cassaday has been really up to, in between years of penciling Astonishing X-Men (24 issues in 4 years!). Je suis légion, a trilogy originally issued by Euro publishers Les Humanoïdes Associés, has been translated into English via Devil's Due, and Cassaday also lends his scintillating pencils to the project (and maybe a future directing stint?). I Am Legion, a phrase long associated with demons and their ilk, is a fitting title to a tale of mystery involving demonic possession, supernatural weapons and freedom fighters, set in the backdrop of WWII-ravaged Europe. this would look like a Hellboy story, but the protagonist detectives have no superpowers, only their wits and experience. up against Nazis and a demon jumper, they'd better pray to all still be alive by the time this series ends.

Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead #1 (Radical) "Read Me First" Steve Pugh Warren Ellis alternate covers: Stjepan Sejic Alan Brooks Luis Royo

only from the fertile mind of Warren Ellis would there be such a future where the undead coming back to haunt us as wandering electrostatic wraiths ("blue-lights"), and we actually need to employ specialists (DecExs - Detective Exorcists) to deal with the problem (Peter, Ray and Egon unwittingly started the tradition). Alice Hotwire, a cyborg with a personality befitting her name, is the department's top DecEx, but nobody likes her or her devil-may-care attitude. With more blue-light incidents taking place, having battle lines being drawn between the angry immigrant population and the police department adds fuel to the fire. Steve Pugh turns in some nifty artwork, though we'd like to see Stjepan Sejic do the interiors for an issue at least.

Secret Six #6 (DC) "Compound Fracture" Gail Simone Nicola Scott Favi Pina Doug Hazlewood Jason Wright Sal Cipriano

just when you think you're comfy with this title, Gail Simone pulls the rug out from under your dainty baby feet. after surviving the encounter with Ragdoll's sister (ugh), someone in their ranks turn traitor and really mess up everyone else (i think you have an idea who that can possibly be). the next issue better be worth it, and someone better be shot dead. you feelin' me? wait, they're all not dead, right? which means everyone comes back for the big reveal ...

iHaul (Wk 18+19)

hey, there! sorry, last week was just too busy. plus i do have a life too. ummm ... not!

anyway, here's a bunch of notable books that caught my eye in the past few days.

	This Fraction guy is getting his legs. don't even get me started with his cool-as-a-dragon-tattoo Iron Fist. a continuing examination of the ramifications of Peter's decision re Civil War, "To Have and To Hold" doesn't yield much action except his rescue of MJ from the clutches of S.H.I.E.L.D. foot agents. interspersed with blasts from the past (story and art from a Spidey era gone by), this one stands up with the best of 'em and won't make you feel it reads like a chick flick with all its sappy goodness (well, maybe some of you cynical geeks who never had a girlfriend - boooooo!).
Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1 Matt Fraction, Salvador Larroca
Peter just added loitering to his list of crimes

	two Marvel characters that annoy me and need to be put down for good: Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) and Black Bolt's loony bro Maximus. the former for starting this cold war between the humans and Inhumans, and the latter for figuring in just about every conflict that the Inhumans faced. that being said, it was clever to use the morally-challenged Pietro to start this crap (stealing the Terrigen Mists which eventually winds up in the hands of the US government, who's always the poster boy for the paranoid and narrow-minded). and what's with Black Bolt losing it? i've always been interested with the Inhumans (especially the Paul Jenkins/Jae Lee run), and this one does not disappoint.
SILENT WAR #4 David Hine, Frazer Irving
"betcha couldn't kiss like that without killing her huh?"

	after kicking myself for not getting Simone Bianchi's autograph at the 2007 NY Comic Con, while he was just walking around most of the time, and they were giving away free copies of #50, i just hunkered down and checked what was this latest Sabretooth-Wolverine scratchfest was all about. the whole thing started with a rehash of the classic claw-popping, face-slashing Wolverine #90. and its already 2007 and we're still having this conversation. deep in Wakanda, someone takes the imprisoned Sabretooth and makes short work of Logan too. and there's this issue of evolution that man came from dogs. like Logan said, "what the @#$%?!?!"
WOLVERINE #53 Jeph Loeb, Simone Bianchi, Andrea Silvestri
gone are the days when Vic used to say "you're dead, meat!"

	having never seen any of the Child's Play movies (should i?), i'm not sure what made me pick up this indie comic crossover of one Cassie Hack, slasher to the slashers, and that unkillable bastard doll. turns out its a fun piece - i guess we're all closet fans of those slasher movies back in the day. some weirdo chick wants to create zombies and switches bodies with Cassie's strongman pal Vlad in the process. since said chick stole the amulet to do her shtick from Chucky, it goes to the 'enemy of my enemy' scenario. but not before fighting with each other several times. although eventually, that's where its gonna end up. if someone wants to make a movie of out of this, and they get Jennifer Love Hewitt to play the role of Cassie (please, please, please say yes, Jen!), i'm in!
HACK/SLASH vs. CHUCKY #1 Tim Seeley, Matt Merhoff
"this is so NOT the sex doll i ordered!"

	if Andy Hartnell wants to hook more readers into this new Danger Girl incarnation, he should do better than this. alright, so we have some nut named Arthur Franco who's holding the Master Key (and i'm the nut who's holding my TV's Remote Control) and threatening the free world (with what? oh that's right ... remote-detonating their nuclear arsenals). and that's why he wants the US President in exchange (if its set to current times, i'm sure its not to preserve Bush's brain for posterity). we also have Johnny back, but he's with the Special Forces and sort of still with Syd. of course the cover has absolutely nothing to do with the issue at all. and the teaser sequences like the on below seem more forced than a natural smile -inducer. good thing i don't have to drop another $2.99 to check out the next issue.
Danger Girls; Body Shots #2 Andy Hartnell, Nick Bradshaw, Jim Charalampidis
you could say Homeland Security is ... handling things too well.

	continuing the Mandarin (re)resurrection, Director Tony has no choice but to conduct an illegal yet necessary covert strike (against his policy of transparency) into the heart of Mongolia to find out what's up with a terrorist who has connections with all the bio-tech terrorism popping up all over the world. too bad he's too late - Najeeb has been dead for awhile and the trail's cold. well, he's dead and also been implanted with some weird alien creature. or something. speaking of implants, the new improved Mandarin seems to have taken piercing to a new level. fascinating political thriller from the Knauf Bros. - kinda like if Tom Clancy worked with Marvel.
IRON MAN #17 Daniel/Charles Knauf, Roberto De La Torre, Jonathan Sibal, Karl Kesel, Cam Smith
stop the presses! T-Stark gets down and dirty.

	let me get this straight. M.O.D.O.K. is dying, the cure could come from a DNA bomb, half of A.I.M. wants him dead, the Scientist Supreme most of all, someone in Ms. Marvel's Lightning Storm team is feeding M.O.D.O.K. info, and A.I.M. keeps hiding the DNA bomb in Calabi-Yau spheres, six extra dimensions in space which only Stephen Hawking-types can understand. you got all that? good. because we need the next issue to find out how all things come together. over me. seriously, Brian Reed opens up something for you nerds out there. someone oughta write a Dummies guide soon so you can hide your porn from your mom. or your wife.
Ms. Marvel #15 Brian Reed, Aaron Lopresti, Matt Ryan
right. if this happened, they wouldn't have any stitch of clothing on. duh.