This review originally appeared on Goodreads on November 14, 2012.

The Punisher, Vol. 1: In the Beginning

By Garth Ennis (Writer), Lewis LaRosa (Artist) – Marvel Enterprises – January 1, 2006

Review by Robin Marx

I've been a Punisher fan since I was a kid, but I wasn't reading much in the way of mainstream comics when the MAX series was being published. I'm glad I got around to checking MAX out, however, as it (or at least this volume) is the purest Punisher I've ever read.

Although he was introduced in an issue of the Amazing Spider-Man, the Punisher has always occupied a sort of uneasy place in mainstream comics. After losing his family to the Mafia, Vietnam vet Frank Castle takes up his guns and decides to wage a one-man war on crime. It's a similar premise to DC's Batman, but there's always been more of an edge to the Punisher. Unlike most incarnations of the Bat, he has no particular compunction about killing, and he usually works closer to the street, squatting in warehouses and funding his war with money scavenged from dead drug dealers rather than living the billionaire playboy lifestyle. The Punisher was a Marvel comic, however, so Castle was invariably drawn into tedious, goofy conflicts with super heroes and villains, and censorship (both imposed and self-) kept the series from becoming too dark and violent.

Here, under Marvel's adult-oriented MAX imprint, Garth Ennis succeeds in portraying the Punisher in a way only coyly hinted at in previous comics. Frank Castle is a singularity of hate, a broken machine driven to kill mobsters and thugs. He has no friends, no social life, no secret identity, no James Bond gadgets. There are no costumed heroes and villains. He's trapped in an ugly, brutal never-ending war, with his own violent death as the only possible conclusion.

This volume centers upon a reunion with Microchip, a computer hacker and Castle's one-time ally. In earlier comics, Microchip used to act sort of like James Bond's Q, providing a variety of plausibility-stretching tools for the Punisher. In this story, however, Micro is clearly alienated from his former friend, pushed away by Castle's relentlessness and borderline psychosis. In his interactions with Castle he repeatedly attempts to analyze the reasons for why Castle acts as he does, attempting to push him into a more socially-acceptable path, hunting terrorists for the CIA rather than snuffing Mafia enforcers and pimps. This sounds exciting. It sounds healthier. But Ennis takes the story in the direction truest to the character. Castle vehemently rejects the attempt to put him on a leash, and denies Micro's pat psychoanalysis; Frank Castle is a machine powered by smoldering rage, he's not yearning to break free from a dysfunctional feedback loop.

Some reviewers dislike the explicit language and the graphic violence in the MAX series, but I felt it was appropriate. It's true that these elements were minimized in previous Punisher series. However, that always rang false with me, just as his encounters with other residents of the Marvel Universe seemed unconvincing. It's a comic about an ugly, hate-filled character in an ugly, hate-filled world. Why try to sanitize it?

This was an excellent start to the series. I look forward to subsequent volumes.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on June 24, 2012.

Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris Volume 1 – The Colossus of Mars

By Arvid Nelson (Writer), Carlos Rafael (Artist) – Dynamite Entertainment – November 1, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

Set four hundred years before the events of Edgar Rice Burrough's A Princess of Mars, this comic focuses on the adventures of Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium. This five issue miniseries is about a renegade jeddak (Martian chief) and his attempt to destroy rival city-states through the use of an ancient golem-like war machine.

While it'd be disingenuous to deny that cheesecake artwork—Dynamite's specialty—is a major selling point (as in ERB's original stories, Martians wear very little clothing, and they don't call her “the incomparable” Dejah Thoris for nothing), I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the storytelling.

If anything, Dejah Thoris is a stronger character here in the comics than in the original Barsoom tales. While in the novels she tends to function as a kidnapping victim or quest object, here she takes a much more pro-active approach. She's generally in a leadership role, comfortable in battle, and proves herself to be exceedingly competent and resourceful. She's got more depth than the cover would suggest.

This story was much more engaging than Dynamite's other Warlord of Mars spin-off, Fall of Barsoom. I look forward to future volumes.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 6, 2012.

Blue Estate Volume 1

By Viktor Kalvachev (Writer/Artist), Various – Image Comics – September 27, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

I picked this comic up after seeing a glowing review on BoingBoing, but unfortunately the content doesn't live up to the fantastic issue covers. The interior artwork is a massive disappointment. Characters are all rendered in a sketchy style that makes it hard at times to keep track of just who is who. Characterization is likewise rendered in broad strokes, with much dependence on cliche (there's a Russian gold-digger, Italian thug, Eastern European dealer that can't resist his own product, etc.). I've been searching for a hardboiled crime comic that can live up to the standard set by Andrew Vachss's novels and TV shows like The Wire and The Shield, but it looks like my search continues. I'm not going to bother picking up future volumes.

★★☆☆☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on July 28, 2020.

Aliens Omnibus, Vol. 1

By Mark Verheiden (Writer), Mark A. Nelson (Artist), Den Beauvais (Artist), Sam Keith (Artist) – Dark Horse – July 3, 2007

Review by Robin Marx

This volume collects the first three story arcs in Dark Horse Comics' classic Aliens series. The first two parts, Outbreak and Nightmare Asylum, are absolute classics that made a greater, more positive contribution to the Aliens canon than several of the films. The third part, Earth War (here titled Female War), is a much weaker story, however.

Set after the second movie, Outbreak follows the further exploits of Corporal Dwayne Hicks and Newt. Hicks' trauma and unanswered questions about his previous mission has led him to have a rocky career in the Colonial Marines, prone to drunken brawls. With Ripley nowhere to be seen, young Newt ends up involuntarily committed to an insane asylum, spending much of her time in a drugged daze. When Hicks finds himself drawn into a mission involving a trip to the alien home world, he breaks Newt out of confinement and smuggles her aboard his ship, hoping that the both of them can find closure despite the deadly circumstances. As always, however, the company has a different agenda.

I first read Outbreak circa 1991, collected into graphic novel format and purchased at a mall Waldenbooks. I was a devout Marvel kid, and had never read anything much darker than some Punisher and the original Eastman & Laird Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. These early Aliens comics came as sort of a shock to my preteen system. The black and white art was moody and grim, and although I was a fan of the movies I wasn't accustomed to seeing this much detailed gore in my comic books. I was a little unsettled by the Aliens comics, but I also found them incredibly compelling. I would spend hours practicing my own xenomorph illustrations based on the artwork from the comics.

Thirty years later, Outbreak still holds up. Hicks and Newt were renamed Wilks and Billie in reprints when both characters were perfunctorily killed off in the opening credits of Alien 3 in 1992, but the story works best as a sort of alternate timeline and I therefore mentally filled in the original character names whenever the retconned ones came up in the text. The artwork in the omnibus has been colorized, which diminishes some of the stark impact of the original black and white, but it's still a fantastic-looking series.

For me, if Outbreak was the appetizer, Nightmare Asylum was the main course. With Earth overrun by aliens, Hicks and Newt find themselves unwilling guests on an orbiting space station run by a ruthless Colonial Marine officer obsessed with the idea of weaponizing his growing stock of xenomorphs and using them to reconquer Earth. The premise of the story—the attempt to tame and weaponize the aliens—is a natural fit for the Aliens universe, and echoes of it later turned up in Alien: Resurrection. Unlike Outbreak, the Nightmare Asylum artwork was color from the very beginning, and incredibly vivid color at that. For a franchise that tends towards dark tones, the effect was striking. Nightmare Asylum remains a great-looking miniseries.

The omnibus includes with Earth War, here retitled Female War. Ripley, heroine of the movies, returns, but her introduction feels strange with the renaming of Hicks and Newt. Why are they so happy to see her? Why does she care for them? Just ignore it and blame Alien 3 for the awkwardness. This time, the story involves yet another return to the alien home world, this time to pick up a “Queen Mother” xenomorph that manages to look far less imposing than the cinematic alien queen. The xenomorphs are psychically connected and it's hoped that by dropping her on Earth they can get all the aliens to flock to her and then conveniently nuke them all in one massive strike.

While the first two story arcs were important parts of my youthful comic collection, I always left the Earth War graphic novel on the Waldenbooks shelf unpurchased. The artwork always struck me as so ugly, and such a major step down from Nightmare Asylum. I bought this omnibus because I finally wanted to read Earth War as an adult, with a more sophisticated palate. Unfortunately, younger me was right not to spend his precious allowance money on this particular installment in the series. The artwork still felt ugly and poor to me, and despite sharing the same writer as the previous series both the plot and characterization seemed to take a step down. The newly introduced Colonial Marines are characterization-free, the premise is kind of goofy, and the whole operation is taken care of with surprising ease. Compared to the first two volumes, Earth War felt muddled and rushed.

Despite ending on a tremendously weak note, this omnibus contains some excellent comics that add a great deal of flavor and excitement to the Aliens universe. Wholeheartedly recommended to fans of the movies.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 2, 2012.

Michael Moorcock's Multiverse

By Michael Moorcock (Writer), Walter Simonson (Artist), Mark Reeve (Artist), John Ridgway (Artist) – DC Comics – November 1, 1999

Review by Robin Marx

Beautiful art, but this comic is for the hardest of hardcore Moorcock fans only. I've read about two dozen Moorcock books and have a decent grounding in his Eternal Champion mythos, and this series was still largely incomprehensible.

The idea of three parallel plot lines linking at the end of the story is an interesting one, but things never quite mesh, and the various threads don't seem to share equal relevance to the overall story. In the end the reader is left with a host of mostly cipher-like characters shouting about how “destruction of the multiverse is imminent” without gaining any real sense of the how and the why behind the threat.

Moorcock has written many of my favorite books, but this is him at his most impenetrable.

★★☆☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #SwordAndSorcery #DCComics #MichaelMoorcocksMultiverse #MichaelMoorcock #EternalChampion

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 7, 2011.

The Chronicles Of Solomon Kane

By Various – Dark Horse – December 8, 2009

Review by Robin Marx

This volume collects a two volume series called “The Mark of Kane” and a later six issue miniseries called “The Sword of Solomon Kane.”

Despite scripts by Roy Thomas, the former is a little on the cheesy side, but I was pleasantly surprised by the “Sword of Solomon Kane” series. With only six issues to work with, I found it baffling that they spent time making a few original stories (one called The Prophet was particularly sleight and disappointing, despite excellent Mike Mignola artwork) rather than sticking with adaptations of the original Robert E. Howard short stories, but the comic versions of “Red Shadows,” “Hills of the Dead,” and “Wings in the Night” were well done.

The highlight of this volume was the characterization, however. While the authors of the current Dark Horse series seem to be struggling with how to present Kane, the staff of this old Marvel comic got him right. Dour, vengeful, and above all driven.

While I wouldn't recommend this volume as an introduction to the adventures of Solomon Kane, it's certainly worth a look for those already familiar with the character.

★★★☆☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 24, 2012.

The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures

By Dave Stevens – IDW Publishing – October 2009

Review by Robin Marx

Like many people, I first encountered The Rocketeer through the 1991 movie. The character seemed so pitch-perfect that I took it for granted that he dated back to the golden age of pulp, so it was surprising to find out that his first appearance was as late as 1982.

This volume collects the entirety of the all-too-brief comic series, cut short by creator Dave Stevens's death from leukemia at 52. And it's great, my only complaint it that there isn't more of it. The pace is fast, the action exciting, and the whole tone of the series is exhilarating and fun. I especially appreciated the sly references to pulp heroes like The Shadow, distinctive horror actor Rondo Hatton, and pinup queen Bettie Page. The artwork, complete with remastered color, is stunning as well.

Highly recommended to pulp adventure fans.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #PulpFiction #TheRocketeer #TheRocketeerTheCompleteAdventures #DaveStevens

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 24, 2012.

Rocketeer Adventures Volume 1

By Various – IDW – December 14, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

This anthology series resurrects the Rocketeer, a great character that had been largely out of action since creator Dave Stevens's fatal bout with cancer.

The talent tapped for this miniseries make a valiant effort to deliver adventure yarns in the spirit of the original. While the final product is well worth a read, living up to the creator's original work proves an impossible task. There's some great storytelling on display—particularly with one story hinting about the Rocketeer's Pacific War exploits—but the artwork is a bit weak for some stories. And while anthology stories are nice, I missed the longer plots from the first series.

★★★☆☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 4, 2012.

Vampirella Archives Volume One

By Various – Dynamite Entertainment – December 28, 2010

Review by Robin Marx

Initially, the original Vampirella comic was almost exactly like Warren Publishing's earlier horror comics, Creepy and Eerie, themselves both very similar to EC Comics' Tales from the Crypt. Each issue had a half dozen or so self-contained short stories, nearly always ending in some sort of ironic twist. While she apparently grew to have a more prominent role as the series progressed, in the issues collected here Vampirella herself acts in a Cryptkeeper role, setting the scene for the story and then wrapping it up with cheesy puns.

The artwork is hit-and-miss, with the exception of the occasional stunning Frank Frazetta cover. The stories are a bit dated and often corny, but the good ones are a lot of fun and the tedious ones end quickly. At least at this point in the series there's not much to separate Vampirella from Creepy except for the charm of the Vampirella character herself.

Still, this collection is a good bargain and an interesting look at the way horror comics used to be. I'd recommend it to horror fans, as long as they don't pick up this volume expecting to read many adventures of Vampi herself.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #Horror #Vampirella #VampirellaArchives

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on July 27, 2020.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 2

By Various – Dark Horse Books – November 3, 2015

Review by Robin Marx

Like the first volume, this collection delivers a fun look at the mini comics included with the Masters of the Universe toy line. In addition to the later He-Man mini comics not included in the first volume, this book contains the She-Ra: Princess of Power mini comics, the few that were produced for the more space opera-oriented New Adventures line, and some fun fan service-filled comics that were created for the recent Masters of the Universe Classics toy line for adult collectors.

While the volume itself is assembled with every bit as much care and attention to detail as the first, it suffers a bit in that the stories included aren’t quite as entertaining as those contained in Volume One. While the entire line was conceived as a marketing instrument to promote toy sales, the earlier comics had more of a “wild and wooly” feel. As the comic line progressed, the formula became a bit more repetitive and the commercial aspect slightly more obvious. This book is still a fun read and a worthwhile companion to the first, but I missed the weirdness and mystery of the first comics, where the setting of Eternia was less developed.

★★★☆☆

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