Shipping May 31, 2006

ABC A-Z: Top 10 & Teams #4 (of 6)
DC / Wildstorm / America’s Best Comics
(w) Peter Hogan & Steve Moore
(a) Gene Ha, Zander Cannon & Rick Veitch
FC 32 pgs w / ads $ 5.50 CAN / $3.99 US

I used to read all of America’s Best Comics, but slowly one by one Alan Moore stopped writing them and the titles themselves have all but disappeared. There was the recent Top 10 miniseries, but I didn’t bother picking it up because Moore wasn’t writing it and Gene Ha and Zander Cannon weren’t doing the art. All that’s seemingly left of the line currently is these ABC A-Z one-shots. I hadn’t bothered with any of them, but Gene Ha and Zander Cannon take one last crack at Top 10 in this issue, so I decided to take a peek.

Peter Hogan writes the Top 10 story, which is a recap of the history of Neopolis and the history of Leni Muller aka the Skywitch. She talks about the formation of the city, the people in it and, of course, the police force. It’s interesting, but little else.

The second story by Steve Moore and Rick Veitch is about Tom Strong’s team, America’s Best, in a goofy fight with America’s Worst in the Millennium City Colosseum for the 1958 Super-Brawl. It’s kind of amusing, but it’s also kind of a waste of Rick Veitch’s talents.

It’s sad to see what was once a great comic line reduced to this mediocre miniseries of short comic stories. (Shane Hnetka)

2.5 of 5

Daughters of the Dragon #5 (of 6)
Marvel Comics
(w) Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti
(a) Khari Evans & Jimmy Palmiotti
FC, 32 pgs w/ ads $4.25 CAN / $2.99 US

The catfight between our sexy and capable bondswomen and the deadly diva Ricadonna occurred last issue, though to be honest it was only a precursor to the main event that is still to come. You see, Misty Knight had her arm chopped off, and thus the victory went to Ricadonna. Oh don’t worry too much about Misty, the arm she lost was cybernetic.

She gets a new arm from Tony Stark, and now fully armed (heh heh) again, she wakes up in bed with Iron Fist, an old flame whom she looked up last issue during a bout of self-pity. She and Iron Fist continue to stoke the rekindled flame in this new issue, with Iron Fist agreeing to join the fight against Ricadonna.

Daughters of the Dragon is a lot more fun than I would have initially expected. I’ve gotten use to the switches from serious to comedy, though some of the banter still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The art though is what really holds this book together. Everything is just so darn attractive. (Chad Boudreau)

3 of 5

Deadworld volume 3 #4
Image Comics
(w) Gary Reed
(a) Dalibor Talajic
BW, 32 pgs w/ ads $4.00 CAN / $3.50 US

Believe it or not folks, but while Robert Kirkman was in diapers, you could find a semi-successful zombie comic series called Deadworld on comic shop shelves. Deadworld has had three volumes to date; each reaching a cult following (650,000 issues sold!) throughout the 80s and 90s. I remember reading a few issues when in high school after tracking down Cannibal Corpse’s album cover artist’s bibliography. Deadworld was hardcore. The violence was harsh, and writer Gary Reed’s vision was dark. Deadworld isn’t straight out zombies; the series borders on the fantastic with its supernatural elements.

Deadworld, in its third incarnation, resumed a number of months ago after a long hiatus. Jumping on with the fourth issue had its difficulties for me, but I managed well enough. King Zombie still commands his legions of dead, but also has some new creatures on his side. The characters within have history as they try to survive the zombie plague. With an ever rotating art crew, Dalibor Talajic’s style is cleaner when compared to pages from the past.

It’s probably worthwhile to look into the Deadworld Comic Book Library CD-ROM come July, which contains the first 46 comic books of the Deadworld series. The back issues will be impossible to find. Plus, Vince Locke’s artwork alone should keep your interest. (Dana Tillusz)

3 of 5

Emissary #1
Image Comics / Shadowline
(w) Jason Rand
(a) Juan Ferreyra
FC, 32 pgs w/ ads, $4.15 CAN / $3.50 US

"He’s got the whole world in his hands." Another new series kicks off at Image Comics as Jim Valentino brings us Emissary. Valentino is the creator of Shadowhawk and is running the Shadowline imprint of Image Comics. With Emissary, we are introduced to an entity that is seeking to lead humanity into the future and bring us all to enlightenment. By definition, an emissary is sent on a mission to represent the interests of others and we are left to wonder who those others really are and what their interests may actually be.

If you are going to start a mission for humankind, you may as well start in downtown New York. And to really get people’s attention, you may as well dress up in your favourite skin-tight, black and red, "superhero" jumpsuit. Known to walk among us in your average black trench coat and baseball cap, the Emissary may decide to climb the "stairway to heaven" at any time and hover menacingly above us. Though on an apparent mission of peace, the actions of the Emissary immediately attract the attention of the United States military who decide they must ground this U.F.O. by any means necessary. We are left to question the motives of the Emissary as he reveals some of his otherworldly powers to the chagrin of the U.S. military.

When not focused on the Emissary, this issue eavesdrops on the conversations between two detectives, a newspaper editor and a reporter, and two intelligence officers during their coffee break. Writer Jason Rand shows how each of these civilians respond to the appearance of the Emissary, though I’m not sure what the roles of these characters will be in the overall plot of the story. Ferreyra supplies fairly standard visuals with a few nice splash pages. I am interested to see how the Emissary plans to accomplish his mission and how he will deal with the many naysayers that will get in his way. (Darren Peters)

3.5 of 5

Godland #11
Image Comics
(w) Joe Casey
(a) Tom Scioli
FC, 32 pgs w/ ads $3.50 CAN / $2.99 US

Godland is one busy comic; there are four story arcs currently underway. The first involves Adam Archer’s capture by the nefarious Fruedrich Nickelhead. The second, to which we get a small visit, concerns Neela Archer’s flight into the deep regions of space. Issue #11 starts with the third story arc, a thread that has three otherworldly beings finding one of our nuclear warheads and deciding it might be fun to use. The fourth story arc is the one on which Joe Casey has spent most of his time in this issue and the previous; a large, floating pyramid has arisen from the ocean floor, has moved to New York, blown up the Statue of Liberty and now hovers ominously just offshore. With Adam detained by Nickelhead, it has fallen to two Angie and Stella Archer, and their space dog Maxim to save the day, not that they do a very effective job.

Godland #11 is one busy comic, but it doesn’t feel overly crowded. Each story arc gets its due, with Casey re-visiting or starting new threads as one story wraps this issue and another ramps up for a climax in the next issue. (Chad Boudreau)

3.5 of 5

Halo Graphic Novel Preview
Marvel Comics
(w) Various
(a) Various
FC, 16 pgs $0.99 US

Marvel rarely produces an original graphic novel – if memory serves me well there have been two in the last decade – so I suppose some sort of hype is in order. Halo, The Graphic Novel will be released in July. It is based on the popular video game property. The stories within build upon the games, and are meant to expand the Halo mythos beyond the first-person shooter point of view.

There isn’t much to this preview. It is short, and contains a few pages of each of the four stories that make up the complete graphic novel, including a short write up on the premise of the stories. The good can be measured only on art by Simon Bisley and Moebius, and the bad stems from Marvel actually charging for this throw away promotional item.

The Halo Graphic Novel Preview is a flimsy handout, but will give the potential consumer a chance to eyeball the collected book (retails at $24.99 US) before deciding to buy. I’m a fan of the game, but I’m still sitting on the fence about this book; is the Halo property worthy of comic buyers’ spending money? I’m not so sure. (Dana Tillusz)

Not Rated