In 12th century France, a set of crusaders and monks are packed off on a fool’s errand to get them out of the way. After all, they’ve all pledged forty days of service, and there’s a tiny little village twenty days’ ride away, perfect for getting rid of overzealous boy knights, drunken angry veterans, and overly enthusiastic inquisitors. Of course, this assumes they’re not going to stumble into trouble, namely a bunch of aliens, which is exactly what happens in Lake of Fire #1 (Image).
Nathan Fairbairn and Matt Smith have a fairly sturdy trope to put their story on: Aliens have been invading historical eras ever since Poul Anderson wrote The High Crusade. What makes it work is Fairbairn and Smith have heavily researched the era and invest equally heavily in their characters. We spend 30 pages meeting our motley crew and learning what makes them tick before the aliens attack, and we get invested in them rather quickly. It helps that nobody’s quite a hero: The young knight Theo has a point about taking control of his life, but Henry, the man sent to keep him out of trouble, also has a point that Theo is, at best, naïve.
It’s also aided by Smith’s clean, spare art, taking cues from the paintings of the period, and colored by Fairbairn (who also letters the book in addition to writing it), and overall, while the plot may not break ground, it’s a sharp execution of a well-told story.
Kingsway West #1, Dark Horse
Greg Pak and Mirko Colak mash up high fantasy and the Old West in some amusing ways in this new book. The basic premise is the discovery of “red gold,” a supernatural power source, touches off a massive civil war in the California territories that ends with the whole region divided up between Chinese immigrants and Mexican authorities, both with rebel factions on their hands and a United States over the Rockies eager to take them both out. In the middle of all this is Kingsway Law, a legendary outlaw and sharpshooter who wants to be left alone.
The grim tone is a little at odds with the whimsical touches like flying boats and pet dragons, but if nothing else, Pak and Colak let their imaginations run riot, and that’s always fun to read. Kingsway West has a lot of promise, and it looks to deliver on it as it unfolds.
Blue Beetle: Rebirth, DC Comics
Keith Giffen to a character with whom he’s fondly associated, with master action artist Scott Kolins in tow, to revive not one, but two Beetles. Both Jamie Reyes and his predecessor Ted Kord are back, with Ted as a sort of over-enthusiastic Alfred and Jamie as his incredibly reluctant and annoyed Batman. The book takes its cues from Jamie’s story, though, as he’s still a teenager with a good home, good friends, and an inexplicable ability to fall afoul of superpowered organized crime.
Honestly, if you’re a DC fan, it’s just good to see both Ted and Jamie back in action, and Giffen gives the two of them a hilariously exasperated interplay as Jamie tries to explain to Ted he hates being a superhero and Ted, well, Ted doesn’t get why you wouldn’t want to be a superhero. Kolins, however, more than carries his end of things with action-packed, imaginative panels that are a pleasure to read. It’s a welcome return for two of DC’s best loved heroes.
Star Wars #22, Marvel
Jason Aaron and Jorge Molina offer up their most audacious Star Wars story yet. What’s great about this issue, aside from the brilliant ending twist that we’re not going to ruin here, is that it opens with a space battle you can dive right into. Molina, working with colorist Matt Milla doesn’t really get enough praise for the difficult job of drawing these sprawling fights: His depictions of complicated skirmishes in space flow like water and are incredibly fun to read, while feeling like the movie. It’s a difficult job he makes look easy.
And, of course, there’s what this issue sets up. One of the consistent pleasures of this book is that it creates Star Wars movies you want to see on the screen, and this issue is no different.
Generation Zero #1, Valiant
Fred Van Lente and Francis Portela take on the unenviable task of reinventing the teen superhero team book, and pull it off with aplomb. Generation Zero are a sort of teenage superhero A-Team, summoned via the internet, and who turn up when you least expect them. The focus, though, is on Keisha, a teenage girl who just lost her boyfriend and isn’t sure his death was an accident.
Van Lente smartly uses Keisha to anchor the book; she’s got an autistic brother, a law enforcement father, and a bizarre town that’s gone from utter poverty to the 22nd century in a flash. Of course, there’s more to that town than just a tech company’s help, as you might have guessed, but foregrounding the human aspect makes this a far more compelling book than you might expect.
Weird Detective #3, Dark Horse: Fred Van Lente’s hilarious mash-up of cosmic horror and street-level police work is one of the cleverest, funniest books on the stands.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #10, Marvel: Superpowers are a common metaphor for puberty, but what makes this book stick out is that it lingers not on the physical, but the emotional, the awkward fumbling towards real friendships and real responsibilities, and what a struggle it is to make sense of those.
Faith #2, Valiant: Jody Houser and Pere Perez team up for what would seem to be a fairly classic story of a superhero and a wanna-be supervillain… but there’s more to the story than you might expect, especially with the final twist.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual #1, BOOM! Studios: Rob Guillory, James Kochalka, and Terry Moore, among others, have a lot of fun with this anthology of short stories surrounding everyone’s favorite helmet-and-spandex clad fighting force. Whether you’re a fan or just enjoy the nostalgia, it’s worth a read.
Deathstroke #1, DC Comics: Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan deliver a brisk, witty action book that’s a useful palliative for all the grim Deathstroke stories lately. Come on, an assassin should at least enjoy himself.
This Week’s Best Collections
Omega Men: The End Is Here, DC Comics (Softcover, $25): Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda explore, in 12 issues, what makes a terrorist, using DC’s cosmic “heroes” as a backdrop. It’s one of the most intelligent and hard-hitting comic books to arrive in a long, long time, and possibly one of the best on shelves in decades. Don’t miss this.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: A Complete Guide to the Classic Animated Adventures, Dark Horse (Hardcover, $40): Pretty much everything you could possibly want to know about the show, including a complete collection of the promotional comics, between two covers.
X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever, Marvel (Softcover, $17): What if you were a superhero, and your powers sucked? That’s the basic premise of this hilarious, loving tweak of the X-Men’s nose.