Comic Nation

by Rosemary Kiladitis

It’s an interesting concept, isn’t it? Making small changes in one place can have large impacts in another. That’s the premise behind New York’s ability to keep running and even recover from disaster so quickly in Charles Soule’s Strange Attractors.

Dr. Spencer Brownfield knows that the city needs help. It just can’t run on its own; it’s too big, there’s too much going on. So he takes complex notes and maps the city, then makes “adjustments” – releasing a rat in a restaurant, diverting traffic, or dumping ice cream cones throughout Central Park – that keep the balance of good and bad forces in play.

Heller Wilson is a grad student who uncovers one of Professor Brownfield’s papers in the university library and thinks the good doctor can help him finish his thesis, but doesn’t realize what becoming the professor’s assistant entails. He finds himself drawn into Brownfield’s theory, and puts his future and relationships on the line to follow him.

Is Brownfield a kook? Is New York City really headed for a big disaster that can be avoided through these adjustments? You be the judge.

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 by Rosemary Kiladitis

For anyone who hasn’t yet read Dynamite’s Prophecy Crossover – it’s out in trade paperback, and you should give yourself the luxury of reading it. This is a spoiler-free review, though, so read without fear.

After the events of the Prophecy crossover, Red Sonja has gone missing. No one knows where she’s been, but when she reappears on the scene, she’s being hunted, and there are rumors flying about what’s happened to her. Sonja’s own memory seems to be compromised  saying her recollections are “shrouded in mist”.

I can’t give too much background here, to avoid spoilers, but this issue – Part 1 of the 5-part Crimson Well series – begins the last Red Sonja storyline before the book relaunches with Gail Simone taking on writing duties. Brandon Jerwa has writing duties on Red Sonja; Crimson Well, and he wastes no time throwing Sonja – and us – into action. If you’ve ready Prophecy and know what’s going on, fantastic. If not, and you either have a basic idea of what’s going on or don’t mind having things revealed as you read on, that’s great, too – Jerwa’s writing draws you right in, with enough teasing to keep you on your toes until the next issue, while at the same time, leaving you satisfied with a well set-up story.

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by Edward Gambichler

All of us, at one time in our lives, have hypothetically entertained what is commonly known as the “Six Months” scenario. A scenario in which we imagine a doctor calling us into their office and giving us the ominous results of a blood test or a routine examination. Results which lead to a diagnosis of an incurable and fatal disease… A disease which gives us six months to live. And when the initial shock of that news passes and its bleak reality sets in, we ask ourselves the inevitable question: “What do we do with the remaining time we are given”? Do we start making up a “bucket list” that includes things we’d like to achieve before we die…like sex with a 6′ 2″ female Swedish contortionist/ aerialist? Or…do we accept our fate, skip the Swedish sex circus and “go gently into that good night”, lying in bed, in the company of our loved ones? However, what if fate has given you a chance to be decidedly more altruistic in meeting your end?

That is the option given to the three main characters in the new six issue comic mini-series, Death Sentence ( by writer Monty Nero and artist Mike Dowling ). In the book, rock star guitarist Weasel, graphic designer Verity and media personality Monty contract a sexually transmitted virus known as G-Plus. This virus differs from other STDs by enhancing the victims before killing them and imbuing them with extraordinary abilities. The three characters differ in their reactions to the dim prognosis, some more positively than others. All the while, government agents are maneuvering around them to take advantage of their special abilities once they reach their full potential.

Although this book has drawn praises from esteemed writer Mark Millar ( Kick-Ass ) and artist Leinil Francis Yu ( Superior ) with both citing its originality……I just don’t agree with them. This is not the first idea centering around individuals who suddenly find themselves acquiring extraordinary abilities. Artist Bryan Hitch and writer Jonathan Ross have almost wrapped up their seven issue series America’s Got Superpowers. And the subplot of the government’s involvement mirrors the now cancelled T.V. show Heroes. Plus, none of the three characters really stand out as particularly interesting. The story revolving around a virus could have used more characters and with different backgrounds and ethnicities ( which is one of the things Heroes actually got right ). Sure the added component of the characters dying from the very thing that makes them powerful is an interesting dilemma, but I feel that Nero doesn’t take full and more inspired advantage of it.

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I have children, therefore I bear Lego scars. Up until now, the only Lego comics that I’d read are the comic strips that run in the Lego magazine my son gets in the mail, so getting a peek at a few panels for this Ninjago book was a treat.

In this seventh volume in the Ninjago graphic novel series, masters of Spinjitzu Jay, Cole, Zane and Kai face the evil Stone Warriors, but become frustrated at their inability to defeat them. Sensei Wu may be able to help them to victory, but he has to reveal secrets of his past adventures first.

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