by Aaron Lightfoot, Comic Columnist
Doctor Fate #1:
Written by: Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew
Artist: Lee Loughridge
Doctor Fate makes his return to his own comic for the first time since 2003, when the series only lasted five issues. Throughout the past twelve years, Doctor Fate has made minor appearances in several story arcs but has yet to find mainstream success. As one of my favorite, lesser-known superheroes, I was happy to see that DC has given him his own series where, hopefully, his name will begin to pick up.
With Doctor Fate being the name of the identity one adopts when they put his helmet on, there have been many people “behind the mask.” The newest recipient is a teenager named Khalid, who lives in Brooklyn while a storm begins to flood the city. In a nutshell, Khalid is told that to prevent the Egyptian god Anubis from flooding the city, he must put the helmet on and “accept his fate.” The artwork is a little odd, however, it seems to fit the comic in a nice way. I hope that DC intends on running this series for a while because Doctor Fate has a lot to offer, and with a push in the right direction, he could become a more prominent superhero.
Rating: 6.5/10
Justice League of America #1:
Written by: Bryan Hitch
Artists: Alex Sinclair and Andrew Currie
Everyone who knows comics has heard of the Justice League. However, some people will struggle to name the core seven to ten members that are commonly identified with the group. Bryan Hitch has decided to take the comic series and focus less on individuals and more on the team as a whole. The result is a very well-balanced story that seems like the heroes need one another in order to succeed, instead of just hoping that Batman or Superman will save the day.
The Justice League encounters a secretive group of individuals who claim that the only way the world can be saved is for Superman to do nothing. The JLA members are put to the test when they are forced to fight Parasite, who absorbs all energy, and in turn, can use the energy he takes. This means when he absorbs Flash’s energy, he can use it to move at a much faster speed. After working together in what is a very action-packed engagement, the team is able to beat Parasite, but the best part of the issue is the cliffhanger that throws Kryptonian legend into the mix and sets up what should become a very interesting series.
Rating: 7.5/10
Thors #1:
Written by: Jason Aaron
Artists: Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, and Marte Gracia
Jason Aaron has become one of the most prevalent writers for Marvel in recent years. He brings his talents to this series and completely nails the tone he was going for. The artwork isn’t bad either, but my problem with this comic is the lack of originality in the characters. I understand the Thors are practically a police force, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that there is a Groot Thor, a Storm Thor, and, appearing in Squadron Sinister #1 is, an Iron Man Thor. This isn’t necessarily the choice of the writer or artists, but it seems to me that the lack of originality might turn readers off of the series.
Thors #1 consists of the Thor that everyone is familiar with and his partner, Beta Ray Bill, as they try to solve a murder case in which five women have been murdered in one week. What follows is a detective-show-like comic that concludes with a strong cliffhanger. The comic also brings the Weirdworld and Ghost Racers universes into the mix although not in a major way. I know this series may blossom into a nice series, but I cannot tell if I will continue to put up with the lack of originality that Marvel tends to show when it comes to characters in different universes.
Rating: 7.5/10
Squadron Sinister #1:
Written by: Marc Guggenheim
Artists: Carlos Pacheco, Mariano Taibo, and Frank Martin
With criminal groups like the Crime Syndicate, Suicide Squad, and Sinister Six, a lot of people like to read about what would happen if a handful of villains form their own coalition. Many times, the end result is a solid performance, however, this series is not one of them. The five members of the group are underdeveloped and have no depth. The series is lacking in a lot of departments like writing, where in the first few panels there seems to be a lot of unnecessary expletives. I don’t mind expletives in writing, but make the language for a purpose and tone appropriate.
Squadron Sinister, in order to keep their home safe, is annihilating their neighbors. As the comic goes on, the members begin to distrust one another, and all comes to a complete stop when two of them discover Iron Thor has been murdered. In an attempt to avoid any unnecessary attention from the Thors, the group decides to hide the body and pull one last job before keeping a low profile. The end shows that there is a lot of corruption in the group, but with no character development in sight, I can’t really see what the end result will be.
Rating: 4.5/10
Ghostbusters Get Real #1
Written by: Erik Burnham
Artists: Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado
A lot of people like crossovers in comics. Crossovers do interesting things like telling you who is better when Batman takes on Predator, or even become a staple that no one would have thought could have been something decent like Archie vs Punisher. This crossover is a very unique one because of the fact that the people involved are practically the same. Taking the animated Ghostbusters and mixing them with the live action Ghostbusters was a very interesting idea, which happens to turn out fairly well.
Making sure to keep a lighter tone while the comic develops, the series shows the two groups running into each other and bonding almost immediately. As far as content goes in this comic, not a lot happens until the end where both groups get assigned to take down a ghost that will require them to work together. With an almost perfect art style and writing for this comic, I will be sure to check out the next one in the series to see if the team at IDW can keep up their good work.
Rating: 7.5/10