Beware Spoilers Ahead!

My reviews do contain spoilers about the main stories but I do attempt to keep them at a minimum. I will not reveal any major plot points or twists unless stated at the beginning of a review.

Monday 28 September 2015

Harley Quinn Road Trip Special - It puts the trip in road trip


Harley Quinn Road Trip Special

Harley Quinn Road Trip Special is written by Jimmy Palmiotti, art by Bret Blevins & various artists, letters by Dave Sharpe and published by DC Comics. I've already voiced my opinion on Harley Quinn before, and as much as I do like the character I feel she is a very dark character and not so much a fun wacky character, as such I was a little reluctant to pick up the Road Trip Special but I was taken in by the fun and colourful cover and really it wasn't a bad read.

The comic begins with Harley Quinn, currently separated from the Joker, living in Coney Island and practising as Dr. Quinzel by day and wreaking havoc as Harley Quinn by night, receiving a call from her mother informing her that her beloved uncle Louie has died and that she will need to travel across country to collect his ashes and a gift he left her. Harley decides to enlist the help of her two best friends, Poison Ivy and Cat Woman, to make the long cross country journey more bearable as an all girls road trip. The story is fairly simple the group travel across country and then return it's really what happens along the way that makes the story. Is it a masterpiece of a story that tackles real world issues and makes you think? No, but is it fun and enjoyable with plenty of giggles? Hell yes.


The art is colourful with something interesting going on in most panels and all together is actually a really nicely illustrated comic. The characters spend half their time dressed in outfits inspired by their classic costumes, which is done really well, and the rest of their time half/completely naked. I'm all for sexy characters I do feel that in this comic it as a little overdone because nobody walks around in their underwear that much.
Girls don't do this at sleepovers, stop pretending girls do this.
The characters, despite being pretty silly, are quite likable and their friendship will actually tug at your heart strings a little. There is a moment between Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn as they look through a photo album that belonged to Quinn's uncle that is done particularly well showing so real compassion between the two characters. The comic heavily implies on a relationship between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy but doesn't give any definitive answers just a whole lot of innuendo that the characters themselves acknowledge and make jokes about. The comic also has a cameo of one of my favourite duos Bizirro and Jimmy Olsen who hitch a lift and end up play a game of truth or dare.
Yay Bizarro!
Harley Quinn Road Trip Special is not a fantastic comic nor is it a terrible one, being very tongue in cheek and not taking itself particularly seriously in showing a lighter side of characters that are, in their best known forms, a murderous eco-terrorist, a former prostitute turned burglar and a psychotic victim of an abusive relationship. This comic may actually be a pretty good jumping on point for people who have never read a comic but are interested in getting started as you don't need any back story and can really just accept the story for what it is: a story about a woman on a road trip with her two best friends.
A lot of real road trips have a moment like this
I give Harley Quinn Road Trip Special 2.5 out of 5 Bffs

Find out more about Harley Quinn Road Trip Special here.

Monday 14 September 2015

Archie Issue #1 - A new beginning

Archie Issue #1

Archie Issue #1 is written by Mark Waid, art by Fiona Staples, colours by Andre Szymanowicz, letters by Jack Morelli and published by Archie Comics. Archie first began appearing in comics in 1941 (Pep Comics #22) and has been around since, making him a pretty big deal and spawning some of the most bizarre team ups of all time including The Punisher, Predator, Sharknado, Kiss and zombies (really, I'm not making this up) to name a few. You could arguably say that Archie is on par with other characters such as Batman or Captain America but in more of the teenage high school drama kind of way rather than a super hero way. This year Archie comics decided to reboot the entire series and begin again at issue #1 which was a big surprise to old readers and a great jumping on point for new readers.
Dear Fiona Staples, I love this cover, I love you and everything you do
Archie begins with our main character Archie (duh!) introducing the reader to the town of Riverdale and a quick overview of some of the characters. Archie mentions that the entire school is talking about his recent breakup with long time girlfriend Betty after the "lipstick incident" to which they have both sworn to never speak of again. Archie and Betty's friends are devastated at the news and think that the former couple belong together and begin to hatch a plan at the upcoming school dance to bring them together again.

The reboot of Archie actually had a whooping 21 variant covers in total which is just a staggering amount from some of the greatest artists in comics at the moment. The main art and cover is done by the fantastic and wonderful Fiona Staples of Saga fame who draws the comic world's most magnificent hair. For characters originally designed in the 40's Staples manages to bring them into the modern era while still keeping the characters most identifying features e.g. Archie's red hair, Jughead's crown, Betty's blond hair, etc.The art is bright, colourful, beautiful and realistic, The face's are so expressive my favourite being Betty's sad face while drinking a milkshake alone.
How can someone be sad with a milkshake?
The characters seem really well rounded and given the chance I'm sure we will learn more about them as the series continues but so far we have had a good look only into Archie and Betty and they seem like really sweet people. The nicest thing about the two is that they don't want to make anyone the bad guy in the break up and they just want to deal with it in their own way despite everyone elses desire for gossip. One of the things that I really enjoy is the way Archie talks directly to the reader as its very different way to catch the reader up on events before the beginning of the comic and Archie's feelings and inner thoughts.

I'm not normally one for romance stories and the few Archie comics I have read are usually the goofy crossovers like Archie Vs Predator and Archie Vs Sharknado but I really enjoyed Archie #1. It is just beautiful and sometimes its nice to read something that there is no imminent death or end of the world situation.

I give Archie #1 3.5 out of 5 Jugheads
Find out more about Archie #1 here.

Monday 7 September 2015

Hank Johnson, Agent Of Hydra - Average Guy, Average Henchman

Hank Johnson, Agent Of Hydra issue #1

Hank Johnson, Agent Of Hydra written by David Mandel, art by Michael Walsh, colours by Matthew Wilson and published by Marvel comics. Agent of Hydra is a one-shot comic that follows the everyday life of a Hydra henchman, while you may expect that this involves intensive training, attending top secret terrorist meetings and plotting the demise of The Avengers it actually involves a lot more making school lunches and children's birthday parties. Hank is just an average guy who works for your average evil organisation.

The comic begins with Director Fury (leader of S.H.E.I.L.D.) breaking into a Hydra base knocking out one guard with a kick to the face and shooting another. We later see the guard who received the brutal S.H.E.I.L.D. sponsored face-kicking sitting in his family home, with a bag of frozen peas held to his black eye, as his wife, Becky, begin asking about the school lunches for the children and requesting that they hire a nanny. Being a one-shot and a novelty one at that there really isn't a huge amount of story, which is in no way a bad thing considering the point is to show the everyday life of the average henchman.

The art of Agent of Hydra is simple with the characters looking like just average people, Hank is a slightly doughy father, his wife looks like an average middle-aged mother, there is nothing particularly remarkable about the character designs which works just so well for this comic being about the every day life of the regular Hydra employees rather than those with super powers that are behind the grand plans. The really fun part of this comic is seeing things like M.O.D.O.K. signing amazing grace, the cyborg head of Hydra's human resources and the Jr. Agents versus Tiny Hydra little league baseball game. The story does actually stand up on its own as a coherent story but what makes it really funny and entertaining is the art and character cameos.
I just can't not laugh at this
The characters are great with Hank being just this lovely goof and the relationship between Hank and his wife, Becky, is really genuine as they have their disagreements but are a happy married couple that make compromises and support each other. The characters interact in a normal realistic way that seems so at odds with their surroundings, its great and always gives me a chuckle every time I read it.

Agent Of Hydra is a charming little gem that is really good for some laughs while some of the cameos might be lost a little on the casual Marvel fan but its hard not to find things like M.O.D.O.K. in a suit and tie funny. I would really recommend picking up a copy of Agent Of Hydra.
There is also a super realistic portrayal of what happens when babies drink Red Bull

I give Hank Johnson, Agent Of Hydra 4 out of 5 Black Eyes.

Find out more about Hank Johnson, Agent Of Hydra here.

Yep, still funny