Didja Read This Yet?

Daytrippers #1
Everyone has expectations, whether set by themselves or forced upon by others. Sometimes we live up to them, rarely we exceed them, most of the time we don't meet them. The pressure of living up to an expectation is worse when growing up under a parent that's successful and attempting to follow in their footsteps. The only comic book examples I can think of are the Kubert boys (Adam & Andy) and John Romita, Jr. Meet and exceed for both families. Oh yeah, Leah Moore (daughter of Alan) and Joe Hill (son of Stephen King). Time will tell, but so far so good with them also. But here's the neat thing about expectations; they can be changed. They can be tweaked, or done away entirely for new ones. Your expectations, your life, your rules. That, and tomorrow, if you're lucky, is another day for meeting your expectations. This daunting task is the balancing act being worked on by Brás de Oliva Domingos, the main character in this tale.

You see, Brás' father is a famous writer. Brás is a writer as well, of newspaper obits. Not exactly the route that his father took towards stardom. And that's also not saying that he's not trying, but at the same time Brás is fighting a case of writer's block. While stepping out of an award ceremony honoring his father, life changes drastically for Brás.

A very interesting premise with a cliffhanger that I am eager to find out the conclusion of in issue #2, all complemented with enjoyable art and coloring. The writing and art duties are the handiwork of Fábio Moon (Casanova) and twin brother Gabriel Bá (Umbrella Academy).

A great start to what should be a compelling and thought provoking series. I might just drop Amazing Spider-Man in order to pick this up. Quality over quantity, gang.

Didja Read This Yet?

JSA All-Stars #1
So let's see if I get this straight: An older, established team of superheroes goes about boosting their ranks by seeking younger like-minded do-gooders in search of guidance. But the old ways of tackling crime don't work as well in the new millennium, causing the young'ins to break rank and and form a splinter team under a grizzled, battle-tested leader. They'll have a few battles, catch some bad guys, destroy some property, and eventually end up in a head-to-head clash between the old guard.

Where have I read this before?

Now, let me say that I am not the Leonard Maltin of comic-book critiquing, seeing as how my body of comic knowledge doesn't extend into the deep, historical archives of DC Comics Silver-Age heroes and their offspring. I go as far back as early-to-mid 80s and I am more preferential to the crime, street-level hero types with a serious bias towards Marvel's stable of writers and characters. But my friends that are "old DC heads", guys that will rattle off history with impeccable accuracy at a drop of a 40-something writer's pen ret-conning 60's throwaway writings, enjoy the JSA stories by Geoff Johns. So, what do I do? I give the new spinoff book, JSA All-Stars, a shot, thinking that I could have something to talk to them about in their wheelhouse. I did, and I'm done.

That's it. No more. No less. It's Rob Liefeld's Cable-led X-Force. It's a first issue showcasing a new team. Familiar territory. They get into a skirmish with an army of baddies that will have greater repercussions in later issues, you see the human side of certain members, talking about their personal insecurities that may have greater impact in later issues, you get a brief tour of their headquarters/crib, which will probably be infiltrated somewhere in later issues. Writing by numbers. The standard template for a new team book is all there, except for the shadowy, mysterious team member with the questionable past that will have greater repercussions in later issues.

Not a good issue. Not a bad issue. Not enough for me stick around to find out what happens next. EVEN with the hopes of Power Girl having a nip slip by letting her uniform get blown up and shredded twice in this issue, it's just not enough.



Speaking of which, who does Power Girl tailoring; the seamstress at that works for the WWE? There must be some serious quadruple-stitching going on in and around that circle of cleavage, or as I like to call it, her mammary symbol. Who needs help from someone with an 'S' on his chest, or a bat, when you can call on 2 Ds? And I don't mean Daredevil.

Didja Read This Yet?

Avengers The Initiative #31
As a kid, I was always fan of Taskmaster. To me, he was my horrible attempts at sketching superhero characters brought to 22-page life. Gloves with fins, cool weapons (shield, sword, and sometimes axe), pirate boots, and a cape with a hood! His powers to mimic any fighting style presented to him and retain through his photographic reflexes were what I aspired to be growing up. Well, that and a professional Jai-A-Lai player, but that's another story. Sure, he looks like Deathstroke crapped into a spare Captain America suit, but you can't deny that he has a certain coolness factor. With that type of power and a strategic mind, he can go toe-to-toe with most lower powered heroes. It also keeps him in demand and out of prison. Hell, he was paid by the government to train one of Steve Rogers' replacements as Captain America.

A merc and trainer for pay throughout his career, he is now the supervisor/trainer at Camp H.A.M.M.E.R., the basic training grounds for the 50-state hero initiative that has supplanted lower-rung villains in place of lower-rung heroes for nation-wide protection; with further sinister implications, being run under Norman Osborn.
And from the looks of it, Taskmaster has been doing a great job. So well, in fact, that Osborn hand picks him for a seat at the new Cabal table for the next phase to maintain Osborn's reign. Tasky joins not only Osborn, but the revitalized Hood, Orlando-gender-bending Loki (read LXG: The Black Dossier), and Dr. Doom.

Finally, A call-up to the pros! And not done by Bendis. (no disrespect, he is the Grant Morrison of Marvel, but give someone else a chance to bring back their favorite childhood heroes. Challenge, bendis: make Rocket Racer cool.) But stepping into that spotlight brings about questions of a philosophical nature that could make you question yourself and your place at the table. The answers for Tasky, and yourself, might surprise you.

Really strong issue, great character building, nice tie-in to the upcoming Siege, and oh yeah, lots of hooking up.


What did you think of this issue? Comment.