DEATHLOK #6

****

It's been a little while since I have made a post for this site. For anyone secretly following this blog, I apologize. However, I finally have had some time to read another comic book. It's another Deathlok, however, not the same series of Deathlok that I have reviewed earlier. However, for background on the character, please check out my previous blog about DEATHLOK 1.

That being said, DEATHLOK #6 is written by Gregory Wright and illustrated by Denys Cowan for Marvel Comics and released in December of 1991. I don't have the previous issues for this one, but I don't think they are needed to understand the story as this is the first issue of a miniseries. We start the story as Deathlok secretly checks in on his son, Nick, who is eight years old. Unable to allow himself to be seen by Nick, he is watching him as he is on the playground at school. Suddenly, a vehicle approaches and starts blasting away at the school yard with gunfire, springing Deathlok into action. He neutralizes the situation, completely demolishing the car and the shooters end up escaping.

Later we find that the Punisher is also involved as he is investigating the shooters in a "war" on drugs. We also find that Silvermane (former head of HYDRA, currently believed deceased) is the one who ordered the hit on the school. We also discover that Nick and his friend are currently involved in the drug trafficking. During what the kids think is a pick-up, Silvermane kidnaps them. Deathlok takes chase and discovers that Silvermane is now a cyborg just like Deathlok, only not as powerful. Punisher, who is a shoot first ask questions later type of guy enters the fight and comes out guns blazing. Deathlok, trying to protect his son from stray bullets begins doing battle with Punisher. Meanwhile, Silvermane escapes on a subway car and the comic book ends on a cliff hanger "To Be Continued..."

First off, I like the look of this book. Cowan's drawing is phenomenal. The whole issue is eye-catching and full of action. He is also able to convey emotion quite well, even on a cyborg's face. As far as the writing is concerned, I thought it was quite good. I always like the banter between Deathlok's human brain (Michael Collins) and the cyborg's on-board computer. Also the whole story line of Michael Collins, who is a pacifist, and being trapped in a machine created to produce death, the whole time, not being able to be a part of his family who are too afraid of what he's become to believe that his is inside the cyborg.

This issue is entitled "Similar Machines," which can be taken in two ways. Deathlok and Silvermane are both cyborgs, one pursuing a peaceful world the other producing evil. Meanwhile Deathlok and Punisher are both engaged in a war against the drug dealers that are corrupting and poisoning the youth, however one refuses to cause the death of anyone (Deathlok's "No Killing Parameter") while Punisher is willing to play judge, jury and executioner with those whom he deems an enemy in his "War." With DEATHLOK #6, I think that I'm going to have to give a rating of four out of five stars.

GHOST RIDER: THE VISUAL GUIDE

***

Occasionally I wish to read something a little more substantial than a 24 page comic book. Enter the graphic novel! :) The last one I read is more of a informational reference book on the Marvel character "Ghost Rider." The book is called "Ghost Rider: The Visual Guide." It is written by Andrew Darling and edited by Laura Gilbert with visual designs by Lauren Egan and Jon Hall, though most of the artwork in the book is taken from the original comic book series.

This one honestly took me a long time to get through. It is 125 pages long, and for a book with pictures has an awful lot of words. Normally, I would find this to be refreshing, except for the fact that for many of the words, I needed a magnifying glass! Lots of VERY small type. In addition, the reading is generally pretty dry, as it is simply an informative look at the character, and not really a storyboard format. It felt like a graphically intense history book!

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book. For someone like me who hasn't been able to find and/or afford every back issue of Ghost Rider going all the way back to 1972, this book was very informative as to the background of this edgy demonic hero in the Marvel Universe. I've always been a huge fan of Ghost Rider and his look and what he stood for - vengeance - and The Visual Guide does a great job of capturing all the eras of Ghost Rider, from Johnny Blaze to Danny Ketch.

Even though I thought that the writing was very dry and drawn out, I do think that the overall look of this book redeemed it to a halfway decent score in my book. I'm going to score "Ghost Rider: The Visual Guide" at three out of five stars.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #212

***1/2

Previously I have reviewed the issue prior to this one. Feel free to check out my review of CAPTAIN AMERICA #211. Issue #212 was written and drawn by Jack Kirby as well and was released by Marvel in August of 1977. We pick up where the last one left off, in the living castle of Arnim Zola, the brilliant but evil geneticist who is responsible for preserving the brain of a high ranking member of the Third Reich. Zola has implanted the brain into a body built for speed and strength. The plan is to put Cap's face on the newly rebuilt Reich officer, who we find out in this issue is in fact Adolf Hitler.

Kirby throws the reader directly into the action in this one. The Cap and Donna Maria are doing their best to escape the clutches of Zola as they are in a castle that was genetically engineered by Zola as a living prison with the soul purpose of holding Captain America prisoner. We find Cap's girlfriend, Sharon, being escorted by the Red Skull to the castle to witness Cap's demise. However upon escape from the castle, the Captain and Donna Maria have to do battle with some more of Zola's creations. During this battle, Captain America is blinded by a chemical explosion caused by Donna. This blinding occurs just before the Skull shows up. Now Captain America has to do battle with Red Skull while blind.

A whole lot of action! Well done Kirby! Couple that with Kirby's great artwork, and you have yourself a pretty darn good comic book. Once more I think that this one deserves a three and a half out of five stars. Gotta love consistently good comics by the masters. Of course, I guess that's why their called the masters!

DAREDEVIL #355

****
Daredevil #355 is a Marvel publication from August of 1996. This issue was written by Karl Kesel and penciled by Cary Nord and S. Epting.

In this issue, Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson have partnered with Rosalind Sharpe's law firm, and Matt has been put in charge of defending a known killer. This is a test of Matt's ethics as he knows that Hyde, his defendant, is not guilty of the accused crime, but is guilty of numerous other crimes. During Matt's investigations, he, as Daredevil he faces off against Pyro, the mutant master of flames who is trying to destroy evidence in the case that Matt is investigating.

I've always been a fan of Daredevil stories. Kesel run at this time was no different. There are always layers to the Daredevil character. Plenty of action, and there is always light into the life of the blind lawyer and his personal coping with the death of his father, the stress of a legal career and the pressure of a secret identity.

Kesel's writing was very well balanced by the great overall look provided by Nord and Epting and the colors from Christie Scheele. All the elements really make this comic come alive, which is why I give DAREDEVIL #355 a four out of five stars.

CYBER FORCE #3

**

CYBER FORCE #3 was published by Top Cow Productions Inc., which is a division of Image Comics. Released back in June of 2006, CYBER FORCE #3 was written by Ron Marz and had an art team of Pat Lee (pencils); Erik Sander, Sal Regia (inks); Alex Milne (background design); and colors by Dream Engine.

What a slow story. Though it starts out with a dog fight between the airforce and alien crafts, there wasn't any decent action until the last page. I actually had to re-read parts of this one because I fell asleep somewhere in the first half of the issue. That's not a good sign.

I've never been too fond of comic books that are all artwork with very little written word. However, usually with comics of that nature, the story moves quickly, propelled by the drawings. Not the case with this comic. While the drawings were awesome, the story just kept dragging; one page in particular left a couple of characters talking in a bigger series of frames that were elaborately drawn, but really the dialog was next to meaningless for the amount of space that it took up.

I would say that the only thing about this book that was redeeming was the art. It was wonderfully drawn. The characters actually seemed to live on the page. The art team did an outstanding job of giving the characters emotion and depth in the visual, even if the story didn't provide it.

I think that if I found more of CYBER FORCE in a back issue discount rack, I would probably buy some more so that I can get to know the characters a bit better. Who knows, if I know the characters and the background better, maybe the slow storyline in this issue would have more meaning for me. But since I don't know the background on this one, I'll have to rate it at two stars out of five.

GARFIELD'S NINTH BOOK (Loses His Feet)

****

Occasionally, it is fun to get back to basics. I first started out reading my Mom's Garfield comic strip books as soon as I learned how to read! She had a lot of them. My wife and I happened across this gem at our church's rummage sale.

As always, Garfield is by Jim Davis. "Garfield Loses His Feet" was published in 1984 and combines the strips syndicated by Davis during 1983. This collection finds Garfield up to his ever popular antics of eating lasagna, hating Mondays, bullying Odie, courting Arlene, plotting against Nermal and destroying plants (and other of Jon's belongings!)

I know that there's not much in the way of plot in a Garfield book, nor is the artwork something of amazement, but it's a newspaper comic strip that is hilarious, and for sheer entertainment value, you can't go wrong picking up a Garfield book! I would have to give this one a 4 out of 5 stars!

CAGE #1

****

The first book of the Cage series was published by Marvel Comics in April of 1992. Written by Marc McLaurin and illustrated by Dwayne Turner, "Cage" is the story of Lucas Cage, who used to be Power Man, who used to team with Iron Fist to form the "Heroes for Hire." Cage, to me, is a fascinating character. He started out a criminal, and when he was actually imprisoned, it was for a crime that he did not commit. He volunteered himself for the Power Man Project, under the condition that he would get early release from prison. The Power Man Project is what transformed Cage into Power Man, the man with incredible super-human strength, healing factor and steel-hard, impenetrable skin.

"Cage #1" begins by telling the background of this character in a way that quickly establishes the plot of the magazine, a news team discussing Cage (we'll find out why in a little bit.) Next they blast into the action as we find Cage battling four men at one time. We find that he has been hired by a Chicago union to protect those on strike from the violence of the corporations strike breakers. During this sequence we meet a man that is sure to become a huge nemesis for Cage, a Caribbean killer by the name of Hardcore.

Hardcore is a master of martial arts and has an arsenal of modernized ancient weapon that can keep Cage at bay. These weapons include Manrikisas (chains with blades at the end) which Hardcore has outfitted with electric tazers, or explosives. The other unfortunate feature that these weapons have is their ability to pierce steel (as in steel-hard skin). Hardcore is a loud mouth and constantly is verbally badgering Cage as they fight, calling him a relic who needs to learn how to stay down. Cage is bested in the first encounter he has with Hardcore in this issue.

Cage then makes a deal with a Chicago newspaper to allow them exclusive access to photos and stories of him in action, if they put up for the expenses of his new Heroes For Hire company. Now Cage seems to have a partner in the form of Micky, a photographer who is now to go anywhere that Cage goes. Straight from the deal with the newspaper comes news of the corporations CEO (Angel) who was having issues with the union that needed Cage's protection. Cage and Micky are off to stop Angel from leaving the country. We find out more about Hardcore's involvement in the whole ordeal. He is supposedly protecting Angel's assets.

Now we have another showdown between Cage and Hardcore. Even though Cage has to stop occasionally to protect Micky, he does manage to use his raw power to defeat Hardcore, despite his massive arsenal of fancy weapons. Thinking that Hardcore is dead, as the result of an airplane explosion (masterfully drawn by Turner by the way), everyone goes home, end of story. Or is it?

I do like this story. Cage is a man who is truely trying to find out who he is. The man he was before the Power Man Project is dead, along with most of his memory of that time, so he really is trying to find out who he is. A hero of pure instinct, his style is very forceful and blunt. The contrast between him and Hardcore was very good. The over all look of the book was awesome as well, with the exception of a couple of panels that looked odd, like the News editor's monsterous hand being held up for a handshake on the bottom of page 14. Also, Mike Thomas did a wonderful job with the full, rich colors in this one. I'm going to have to give "Cage #1" four out of five stars. I look forward to reviewing the others that I have of this series!