by Aaron Lightfoot, Comic Columnist
Red Hood and Arsenal #1:
Written by: Scott Lobdell
Artists: Denis Medri and Tanya Hork
Red Hood and Arsenal return as the famous outlaw group in this number one issue. Although missing Starfire, the third member of the last series Red Hood and the Outlaws, the chemistry between the two protagonists is palpable. After the serious tone of the death of Jason Todd, now the Red Hood, the tone of the two working together has turned comedic.
Arsenal definitely takes center stage in this comic, as Red Hood does not make his appearance until the last few pages. You follow Arsenal as he stakes out a deal that takes place in the middle of the desert, and like many deals, this one goes wrong fast. Taking out the bad guys, Arsenal gets caught in a vulnerable situation where Red Hood finally appears and saves him. The two heroes unite together and go off to tackle other adventures, which the last page eludes to while it sets us up for what is to come.
Rating: 7/10
Constantine the Hellblazer #1:
Written by: Ming Doyle and James Tyrion IV
Artists: Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascensia
John Constantine, a keystone for Justice League: Dark, has been launched after his last series only lasted 23 issues. The writers have been given the task to restore Constantine’s dark edge. The result is a mix of the demonic world, which he is known for, with a splash of dark comedy.
With all of the spirits that Constantine has encountered, there are a lot of ghosts that follow him. The ghosts try and ask him for favors, but John just wants to be alone for a while. He goes into a bar where a person named Blythe tracks him down. She asks for him to rid her of an imp that has control over something that she wants. John cleverly dispatches the imp and in the process, forces Blythe to finish the ritual where afterwards she gets taken away by demons. The story reaches its end after the ritual where John gets news that one of the ghosts that follow him around has been destroyed. Not knowing how a ghost gets killed, John sets off to find out who is responsible.
Rating: 7.5/10
Ghost Racers #1:
Written by: Felipe Smith
Artists: Juan Gedeon and Tamra Bonvillain
In a world where there are multiple Ghost Riders, you have to ask yourself one question: how does watching them compete in a knockoff Death Race sound? Basically, that is what this comic is. The story is fairly straightforward as the winning streak and popularity of Robbie “The Hell Charger” Reyes takes on four other competitors in a race to the finish. The other four racers are Alejandra “Nicaraguan Hellfire” Blaze, Carter “Satan Stomper” Slade, Daniel “Danny Boy” Ketch, and Johnny Blaze.
Although every member of the race has a different vehicle from one another, the originality of the concept is lacking. Reyes barely wins, and as you read, you begin to realize that the race is fixed. Even the ending was not much of a cliffhanger. The person who runs the races proclaims that Reyes won’t reach the finish line so that he can become even richer when he bets against the favorite. The story may develop into something unexpected from what it seems, but as for now, all I can say is that it is Ghost Racers: Death Race Edition.
Rating: 5/10
Weirdworld #1:
Written by: Jason Aaron
Artist: Mike Del Mundo
Aptly named, Weirdworld has had a rough publication history. Marvel has made a couple of attempts at trying to give it a foothold with a handful of appearances in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jason Aaron is also writing the Star Wars Marvel series, and I hope he doesn’t intend to stray away from this series.
A better title for this comic could not be named, due to how bizarre the world is in which the main protagonist, Arkon, lives. Arkon is remenicent of Conan the Barbarian. What separates him from Conan is that Arkon lives on a floating island, where you must be on your toes every second of every day. Being attacked by flying spiders, giant squidsharks, and even ogres, Akron is trying to find his way back home while carrying a map of Weirdworld. You get to see his emotional side for what seems like a brief second before he is plunged back into the world which he inhabits. Akron ends up getting entangled with a dragon, who falls for bait that causes Akron and it to plunge towards a water world where they get captured by apes. Although many stories from the Secret Wars story arc will end, I do hope that Weirdworld will continue while it can keep an interesting dynamic.
Rating: 7.5/10
Injection #2:
Written by: Warren Ellis
Artists: Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire
After reading Injection #1, I believed I knew what I was in for. As it turns out, it seems like the entire focus has flipped around and it’s almost like reading a different series. In most cases this is a bad thing to have happen, however it is not so for this instance. The second issue can be summed up with a James Bond spy kind of scenario, whereas the first issue focused on someone that you could practically call the female version of Dr. House.
Simeon Winters, a member of the British Foreign Office, is a spy who is equipped with enough gadgets to handle almost every situation. After taking out his targets with the use of some interesting gadgets, he discovers another man who wasn’t supposed to be there. The two duke it out in a manner that can only be described as action packed. Resorting to whatever he can get his hands on, Simeon struggles against the man until he grabs one of his gadgets that immediately wins the fight for him. The end of the issue takes place after the end of the first issue and raises a lot of questions. With multiple storylines going on all at once, it will surely keep you on your toes while you try to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Rating: 7/10