Retro Comic Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 #26

Name: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 #26

Published by: Mirage Comics

Writer & Artist: Rick Veitch 

Letterer: Gary Fields

The 'River Saga' ends with style, providing an exciting issue with a satisfying final battle and closure for all the relevant characters. The main villain behind the powerful and brutal Bloodsucker turns out to be a weird one, as per the rule in TMNT, who gets defeated in an epic way, leaving us wondering what fun could have been had if not for the rights issue.

The story progresses smoothly unlike the second issue and Veitch has gotten the hang of characterizing the turtles perfectly this time and conflict is told through his unique and weird style, giving some memorable moments well after you have finished.

The art is as good as ever; there are some brilliant moments like the psychic punch and Raphael's triumphant return that are bound to stay with you if you are a turtles fan. 

All in all, this one closes the story with a massive sense of accomplishment and a lingering desire of seeing Bloodsucker return to wreak havoc once again.

A whooping 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Retro Comic Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 #25

Name: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 #25

Published by: Mirage Comics

Writer & Artist: Rick Veitch 

Letterer: Steve Lavigne

The second issue of the 'River Saga' may be the weakest of the trilogy, but it is still way better than most other issues of the guest era. The story takes a new direction with the introduction of new characters and new story elements, keeping the reader guessing as to where the story is heading next.

The turtles get pulled into an environmental subplot, involving a greedy corporation and corrupted authority, and the pursuer for the Bloodsucker takes a back seat. But the ecologically motivated semi-conflict does end in this single issue as the trio restarts their quest with the help of a new ally.

Despite the enjoyable premise and execution, the new characters are quite generic and stereotypical in their depiction, and the dialogue at times contains some uninspired puns. And the story might have been polished a bit to make the issue even more powerful and enigmatic.

As like the previous issue, the art is quite detailed and engrossing. Once again, the villainous design of Bloodsucker was the highlight of the character's work.

This gets 3.5 stars out of 5 stars from me.

 

Retro Comic Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 #24

Name: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 #24

Published by: Mirage Comics

Writer & Artist: Rick Veitch 

Letterer: Steve Lavigne 

The notorious 'guest era' in Mirage comics' original TMNT is known mostly for its inconsistency. These issues are often filled with pure randomness, awkward humor, and sheer mediocrity. But there are also some issues that are still regarded by some fans very highly even these days.

Issues 24-26 are fondly remembered by most fans as 'The River Saga' and the first issue brilliantly sets up the story. We get introduced to how Veitch characterizes the Turtles and their companions, get acquainted with his unique style of storytelling and also get our first glimpses of the main villain, who might be one of the best antagonists of this guest era if not the best.

The art is also quite beautiful, with detailed character works and poignant facial expressions. The first reveal of the humanoid depiction of the antagonist is master class of horror storytelling that I keep remembering quite often when I think of this arc.

There are a few gripes regarding how the characters speak at times or some unorthodox clothing choices not in touch with the general personalities, but these are things that can be easily overlooked based on the overall merit of the plot.

I'll give this a well-deserved 4 out of 5 stars.

Retro Comic Review - Gizmo and the Fugitoid #2

Name: Gizmo and the Fugitoid #2

Published by: Mirage Comics

Writer: Peter Laird and Michael Dooney 

Artist: Michael Dooney 

Letterer: Steve Lavigne 

The second issue picks up just where the first one left off. We find our heroes prisoners of the Triceratons and trying to figure out a way to get out this prickly in one piece.

The story suffers a bit with some unlikely coincidences as the author tries to finish everything in this issue and the Triceratons come out a bit out of character because of this. 

Although the art is as good as ever, even better than the first at times with the detailed spaceships and background work. Throughout the whole two issue series, I kept coming back to back pages just to goggle at the detailed art.

This gets another nostalgic 4 out of 5 stars. 

Retro Comic Review - Gizmo and the Fugitoid #1

Name: Gizmo and the Fugitoid #1

Published by: Mirage Comics

Writer: Peter Laird and Michael Dooney 

Artist: Michael Dooney 

Letterer: Steve Lavigne 

I have been checking out the original Mirage comics and came upon this 2 issue mini-series. Initially I was a bit sceptical about checking this out as these didn't feature the turtles at all and although I knew Fugitoid and I had no idea about who this Gizmo guy was. I am glad I decided to check this out.

The first issue does a fine job of introducing us to the main characters, the humourous dialogues of Gizmo and Fluffy was quite enjoyable and I really did feel for the strange situation Fugitoid was in.

The story was fast paced and enjoyable, but the thing I really liked was the detailed art, once again one of the most attractive things of these old Mirage black and white issues. And it also ended in a cliffhanger throwing one of my favorite extraterrestrial factions into the mix, great stuff so far.

4 out of 5 stars from me.

Graphic Novel Review - Planet of the Apes Archive Vol. 1

Name: Planet of the Apes Archive Vol. 1: Terror on the Planet of the Apes

Published by: BOOM! Studios 

Writer: Doug Moench

Artists: Mike Ploog, Frank Chiaramonte, Tom Sutton, Herb Trimpe, Virgil Redondo

Let me start by saying that I am a relatively new Apes fan. Despite watching the original movie as a kid and the reboot as a teenager I was never much invested previously, which might have been due to the fact that I wasn't never really aware of the racial and political issues that this franchise tried to focus upon. But after quite recently rewatching the first movie and following up with watching (for the first time!) the next four I became quite enamoured. 

As I began to gradually delve deeper into the tie-in stuff, I decided to check out the various comics from different publishers. And these archives published by BOOM! Studios seemed a great way to read the older Marvel stuff in an organized way. 

The first volume of this archive series contains an original storyline set in the Planet of the apes depicting an action packed tale of two friends, a human and an ape going through almost limitless obstacles while re-exploring their friendship. Despite losing momentum towards the end and not having a proper ending, 'Terror on the Planet of the Apes' is an action packed journey that manages to combine the epic tone of the planet of the apes with the weirdness inherent to the comics as a medium. 

The story has many interesting and varied characters. Although the protagonist Jason and his friend Alex and the main antagonist Brutus might seem rather one dimensional caricatures; the likes of Gunsmith Julius, Steely Dan, Saraband, Lightsmith and a myriad of interesting villains  steal the show with their uniqueness. 

Doug Moench really knows how to spin a tale to keep his readers guessing what new perils might come next for our heroes and what new fascinating bits of weird and unorthodox locale or creatures we might experience next. And especially during the first half each chapter adds further layers of world-building to keep readers excited to keep on turning the pages. 

The first nine chapters are drawn by Mike Ploog, and his drawing is just something that is a pure joy to experience. The level of detail in his black and white pages kept me engrossed and returning for stuff I might have missed. The last six chapters are also well drawn and eye catching, but lack Ploogs artistic brilliance and pales a bit in comparison. 

Overall, the merits far outweigh the minor lacks in this story and the introduction and ending by the Apes expert 'Rich Handley' also add a sense of perspective to this historic piece of work. 

This gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

Graphic Novel Review - Jonah Hex: Welcome to Paradise

Name: Jonah Hex: Welcome to Paradise

Published by: DC Comics 

Writers: John Albano, Michael Fleisher

Artists: Tony DeZuniga, Doug Wildey, Noly Palanigan, George Moliterni, José Luis García-López

I have experience of reading some western novels from my childhood, but never really got into western comics much. I had my knowledge of Jonah Hex from seeing the movie, which I didn't like much. My experience with this introductory volume of Jonah Hex is almost exactly as I expected it to be. 

While this had some cool parts it also was a bit boring at times. I began to appreciate the protagonist Jonah Hex after I got his backstory in the later half of the story, as a matter of fact the second half of the story was more entertaining and engrossing with its story arc and interesting supporting characters.

The art was kinda reverse in this regard, as I found the art by Tony DeZuniga in the first 4 stories to be the best of the bunch and the in last few issues the art seemed a bit rough for my liking.

On the whole I am glad I picked up this collection of classic Jonah Hex tales, but I just wish they were a bit more consistent and had more even art.

3 out of 5 stars from me. 

Graphic Novel Review - Xenozoic Tales Vol 1: Cadillacs & Dinosaurs

Name: Xenozoic Tales Vol 1: Cadillacs & Dinosaurs

Published by: Kitchen Sink Press

Writter: Mark Schultz

Artist: Mark Schultz, Steve Stiles

Letterer: Denise Prowell

The kids of my generation in my country (Bangladesh) grew up playing only a handful of arcade games and 'Cadillacs and Dinosaurs' were one of the crowd favourite. I didn't know till a few years back that it was based on a critically acclaimed comic series, but boy am I glad that I finally decided to check this one out. 

The premise itself is very interesting for 'Xenozoic Tales'. A future earth with only a few traces of technology, some vintage cars, a veritable horde of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals and very interestingly fleshed out pair of main characters. The setup is almost too good to be true and Mark Schultz knows how to deliver short yet thought provoking stand alone tales, and short story arcs weaving a kind of mesmerising tapestry. 

The 'black and white' art might seem a bit odd to people generally reading colorful comics, but if anyone spends a bit of time getting accustomed to the style; the rich details, masterful depiction of facial expressions and exquisitely drawn prehistoric animals will surely a sight to behold.

The unpredictable nature of each story was another aspect I loved, despite playing the video game a lot in my childhood, I was never sure in which direction the writer will take his story or how might the characters actually behave. Hannah Dundee is a specially delightful character because I kept wondering what new trouble she might get into next with her schemes. 

May be I am a bit biased due to my childhood nostalgia, but I will give this 5 out of 5 stars. I really wanna dig into the rest of the issues as soon as I can. 

Retro Comic Review - All-American Comics #61

Name: All-American Comics #61

Published by: DC comics

Writter & Artist : Alfred Bester, Paul Reinman, Joseph Greene, Joe Gallaghar, Stan Aschmeier, Jon L. Blummer

This issue is mainly famous for the first story featuring the first appearance of 'Solomon Grundy' fighting the golden age Green Lantern Alan Scott. It has 4 other stories and a few extras. 

'Fighters never quit' is the first one, which is the aforementioned Green Lantern issue. Ignoring its historical value for the first appearance of Grundy it does have a message of heroes never quitting despite odds and despite a bit of repetitiveness was fairly enjoyable. (3 out of 5)

'Van Dorra's Box' was a story featuring golden age Atom. This one seemed a bit confusing to me due to the opening page, and the author seemed a bit interested in wanting to tell a humorous story but didn't quite nail it for me. (2.5 out of 5)

'The men with two lives' featured Doctor Mid-nite. This was the best of the bunch for me its wacky and unbelievable yet fantastic plot, some interesting characters and a twist ending. Golden age storytelling at its best. (4 out of 5)

'Captured', a Red, Blue and White story. Typical war story with a bit of humour, cheesy dialogue and some familiar racism of the 1940s. (3 out of 5)

'A Letter from home', another war story, this time featuring Hop Harrigan. This one was a bit too unbelievable at times with the hero overcoming too many obstacles rather easily and had so many one dimensional characters. (2 out of 5)

There were a few extras including a two page text story by 'Evelyn Gaines' also in the issue. 

Overall rating - 3 out of 5 stars.