47. Lucifer #1 to 3 ... DC Vertigo ...

Finally we take a breather from the Marvel archives (a temporary reprieve we assure you hehehe) and go to the world of Vertigo. This series is finite and has ended but while it was running, it has a significant online chatter and cult following

Basically it is a spin off from one of the early issues of Sandman where Lucifer (yes that Lucifer) has decided he has had enough of the games of running Hell and being disliked/ despised and decided one fine day to lock up Hell and go off into the world of men. That's at the obvious thrust of the storyline

But naturally as this is Vertigo there are layers upon layers of substory threads running through and nothing is what it seemed but for this first few issues we are shown the opening moves of Lucifer's gambit and nothing is what it seemed

Lucifer is now on Earth establishing a nightclub where some really odd characters come by for their entertainment. A lady of unearthly origins signs on to assist in performance and shares odd remarks with him. Yet all the while though Lucifer seems to run the club on the outward, inwardly what is he truly scheming? We are shown hints throughout the series as he has bigger things on his mind

And hell?

Hell is actually now run by reluctant angels because ... hey ... apparently Hell is a necessity in the greater scheme of things. This series may not be for everyone or general consumption but there are certainly some interesting ideas thrown about

Ratings: 7/10 (merely for being different)

46. Killraven #1 to 6 ... Marvel ...

Yes, yes, and yes! This is yet another review from the archives of old Marvel. If you are bored with so much Marvel and want to call us Marvel Zombies, by all means, do so! Hehehe!

There are many different series and series within a series on old Killraven. And usually each subsequent series retells the main story of how the world as we know it has ended after the Martians invaded. Yes, this is an alternate future assuming Wells War of the Worlds came true and that the bulk of all heroes and soldiers failed. Martians enslaved our world and used humans as slaves for work and entertainment

In the arena like Rome of old, warriors of human breed were trained to fight and kill for the pleasure of their alien overlords and it is in this arena that Killraven, an orphan child was raised. He became one of the fiercest warriors there but not satisfied with staying the same and waiting to one day die by the sword something PINGed inside of him and he strove for freedom

This is their tale

It shows how they finally managed to break free, their travels in the outside world, the wonders and shocks and awakenings while hot on their heels are aliens, machines and other humans who are loyal or programmed to be loyal to the aliens. Will there be a happily ever after ending? Please go buy this and find out for yourselves

Ratings: 8/10

45. Jack of Hearts #1 to 4 ... Marvel ...

In Marvel's wonderful character trove, there is yet another chap who is unique. He is currently dead thanks to Avengers Disassembled storyline like 10 years plus ago ... unless he has made a resurrection. Everyone who died in that story is back including Hawkeye, Vision and the Witch ... so let's see, yes?

Anyway, Jack

Yes, Jack is unique as his parents are one half earth human and one half alien. Hence he is born with that weird skin look. In addition, he is able to generate vast amounts of a type of energy. And for some weird reason, he decided to use it to do good

Somewhere along the line, he needed a special suit to help him control the energies within in order to stay alive!

Well this miniseries shows Jack having had enough of life on earth ... one fine day ... and decides to find greener pastures abroad as in outer space ... he is that cosmic. So will he find some place he can call home? Or will he find more troubles ahead before he can find peace?

It's a comic book. It has to last 4 issues with action sequentials. So what do you think? Hahaha! I believe the story is good but that the artwork though adequate for the era in which it was printed ... could be helped a lot using today's production quality!

Ratings: 6/10

44. Iron Fist vol 2 #1 ... Marvel ...

Marvel did a very odd thing just a few years ago ... among its stable of characters that could have benefited from an ongoing series ... they selected Iron Fist. I liked Iron Fist and enjoyed reading the first volume (about 15 issues if memory serves) when it was re-released in collection format in black-n-white ... and to a certain extent his adventures subsequently with Power Man ... but even then I have doubts how long it would survive and to its credit, it survived more than 2 years with even special one shots, annuals and what-not during the height of its popularity

So what made this lame ass martial artist become a hot property when this volume was launched?

Artist: David Aja's almost realistic, quiet, not over the top workmanlike style ... and a generally engaging storyline that doesn't require you to know Iron Fist background ...

The change in uniforms also work and the stress to show you how Danny came to be where he is ... his corporate multi millionaire side of his life ... and the forthcoming problems from his role as Iron Fist .. as he finally learns that it is more than channeling his chi unto his fist making it "like unto a thing made of Iron" ... it's just plain entertaining and makes you want to come back for more

In this first issue, we are shown Iron Fist today with problems coming in the form of his corporate world even as we are shown glimpses of something coming from Kun Lun the fabled mystical city where Danny disappeared to learn his martial arts skills. All is not well there and we are not just talking about the villains but apparently there is a bigger problem brewing across the various classes in that world

And as if that wasn't enough, we are shown that there are other mystical cities ... and that each of them have their sworn champion ... and there comes a time every few years where the stars aligned and the champions will come to do battle!

See? A lot of new information to make Iron Fist interesting. If you have never read this, I do encourage you to pick up the first TPB

Ratings: 8/10

43. Infinity Gauntlet #1 to 6 ... Marvel ...

Jim Starlin is Marvel's original superstar creator (writer and artist) when it comes to cosmic storylines and he did a bang-up job with the first of many Infinity mini-series including last year's/ this year's latest itineration

So what's this one about?

Basically, Thanos comes from the moon Titan except that where everywhere is zen like, he is the total opposite. He so loved the concept of Death that he finally found a way to contact the cosmic embodiment of Death who appears to him as a skeletal lady in a purple robe and who never speaks. To win her "love and approval", Thanos decides that he must kill in massive genocidal quantities and in order to do so, he goes out to locate the Infinity Gems. Basically each of these ancient gems have a certain aspect of godlike abilities. If someone can somehow find them and fitted them onto the special glove/ gauntlet, he/ she will be like unto a god as long as he or she can mentally handle the sudden availability of such power

The 6 gems? Space, time, mental, soul, strength, reality and whatever the actual words are. So our earth superheroes find out about this and together with cosmic characters try their best to stop Thanos. That's it ... but it's a good fun ride!

Unfortunately, the immediate 2 sequels got worse with each issue. Sigh! I am talking about Inifinity War and Infinity Crusade. Years later there was Infinity Abyss and that's generally abyssmal as well. Sigh! The recent version is good though. All these will be reviewed at another day, eh? 

Ratings: 8/10

42. Iron Man vol 1 # 189 & 190 ... Marvel ...

While my last Iron Man posting was a trip down memory lane, about the only thing memory lane on this review is 189 as I picked up Iron Man hoping for it to be regular and NOPE no way ... so 190 is bought years later from Mile High ... hehehe

Why?

Well if Vibro isn't enough for villain of the day to be trashed, let's introduce the Termite. A guy in a suit who disintegrates stuff ONLY if he touches them. Shoot! We are talking Iron Man. Iron Man sees him, Iron Man shoots a repulsor ray at him and he is out for the count, right? Sigh! Talk about your lame-ass villains. This guy should be peeing in his underwear when he sees Iron Man!

So anyway, what is more interesting is the back story soap opera as we see Tony and team now moving forward faster on their new business venture while Rhodey who is currently Iron Man is having more and more problems with his migraines to the point that he is wondering if he is being set up. The Scarlet Witch is a guest star simply because Iron Man now is a member of the West Coast Avengers ... and nothing more ... she doesn't get to do much ... The Termite, man, we are talking the Termite. Why would Iron Man need help?

Ratings: 3/10

41. Eternal Warrior vol 2 #1 to 4

When Valiant first came to prominence 2 decades ago with its stable of titles, I will be the first to admit that I paid it no heed because Image was knocking everyone aside thanks to their stable of flashy artists and over-the-top posing. Sorry mates but that's the truth

After all the hub-bub has died down, after Valiant folded, then only did I started picking up Solar and subsequently sampled here and there Turok, Eternal Warrior, Archer and Armstrong and Harbinger. Eternal Warrior then didn't enthralled me and I didn't follow up on the back issues unlike Solar

But when this came out in TPB, the cover looked violently interesting that I plunked down the money, took the book to a local coffee chain and read it ... cover to cover ... it is that good

Gilad Anni Padda - if you do not know his past, it doesn't matter. If you do not know the current launch of the sister titles, it doesn't matter. All you need to know is that this chap is a Sumerian from man's prehistoric times. We see the opening sequence where he has aligned himself with the Geomancers of Earth, a special individual each generation whose gift is to communicate with the spirit of our world. He is its Fist and Steel ... which means he kills to maintain whatever the Earth dictates and killing is what he loves ... until one day, we see in flashback, he harbours 2 children, a boy and a girl

Although both are killers like him, the boy understands the importance of life while the girl, with her own opinions, believe in ends justifying the means and in one bloody combat (SPOILERS) kills her own brother deliberately so that he cannot slow her down in exterminating the entire opposition. With that, Gilad has had enough and disappears

Cue the present and said daughter hunts him down because something is coming for all of them and it is the spirit of many of the world's different embodiment. But is Gilad interested in rejoining the fold? And where does his daughter's true loyalty lies? And is there really a spirit or spirit gods or have they all been fighting for nonsensical justification?

Violence, gore and more abound in each issue and it ROCKS! I wished though they had gotten a different artist. Sorry, the current artist does a good job but his style is just not my taste

Ratings: 7/10