Sneak Peek Reviews: 03/31/2009

Flash: Rebirth #1


Written by: Geoff Johns


Art by: Ethan Van Sciver

There are a whole lot of books that get labeled "Most Anticipated Book of the Year" ... for a whole lot of people though Flash: Rebirth really and truly is that elusive beast. For the last 24 years a whole lot of people have wondered if Barry Allen would ever return to the pages of DC comics and if so when and under what circumstances. Final Crisis revealed the when and the how of Barry's eventual return and now we have to deal with some of the bigger questions like the why and the what next. How will Barry Allen fit into a world where there are already several other crimson clad speedsters? How will his relationship with his wife be effected after years seperated by the untravellable distance of death? How will his city take to his return, and more importantly how will his rogue's gallery react to his sudden reappearance? There are a lot of questions and this story starts to answer some within the first issue but at the same time there are plenty of new questions posed. Geoff Johns' love of The Flash mythos is clear from the very first page and Ethan Van Sciver's talent has never been more evident, his art is better than it has ever looked. This is going to be one of those stories that will have an incredible impact on the look of comics for a long time to come. This is the kind of book that only Johns and Van Sciver could do. If you thought that Green Lantern: Rebirth was great then you are in for one hell of a treat, and if you thought that Green Lantern: Rebirth changed the way you looked at a character then you haven't seen anything yet.

Irredeemable #1


Written by: Mark Waid


Art by: Peter Krause

MARK WAID IS EVIL. It was plastered across a shirt that The Fantasy Shop recieved a few months back and it was the first hint that Mark Waid was going to be doing something big. Since I was the only manager who wore and extra large t-shirt I was given the shirt and shortly thereafter I tried to learn as much as I could about what it meant. I would come to find that it was an indicator that the next series that Mark Waid was going to be working on wouldn't be the kind of work he had done before (or at least not the kind of work he had done before if you never read EMPIRE). Irredeemable is what I learned it would be called and the premise would basically be "What if a superhero with the power level of Superman snapped and became the world's most terrifying supervillain?". I was sold. I told tons of people about it thanks to them asking about my shirt. And I am glad that I did. Cause this book rocks. A whole lot. Mark Waid has always been a preeminent story teller in my opinion and his teaming with Peter Krause on this story is visionary. Krause has a style very reminiscent of Jerry Ordway and thus there is this classic style to the look of the book while there is also this incredibly modern feel to the storytelling. All in all I think that anyone would like this book and that everyone should at least look through it before they leave the comic store tomorrow, it'd be in you best interest.

Destroyer #1 (of 5)


Written by: Robert Kirkman


Art by: Cory Walker

This is going to be one interesting book. The basic premise of this book is an aging superhero is told that he's got a very limited amount of time to live and so he decides that once and for all he is going to make sure that the world is safe from those who only he could stop. Since it's a MAX book we can safely assume that there is going to be a decent amount of blood. Come to think of it since it's written by Kirkman I think that there should be a safe assumption that there is going to be a Kill Bill level of blood. This first issue sets up an interesting world that could very easily be explored at a later date should Kirkman ever decide to revisit working for one of the BIG TWO. Previous adventures of The Destroyer would be madcap fun. But working under the assumption that this is going to be the only exposure we'll get to the character I'll simply say that I think that anyone who likes Invincible and perhaps more importantly Brit should be reading this book. Cory Walker's artwork looks great as ever and if he would work more frequently in the industry I think that he would be a household name by now. But in the meantime we'll just continue to enjoy his work on books like The Destroyer.