Justice, Inc.: The Avenger #1

Written by Mark Waid
Art by Ronilson Freire
Colored by Marco Lesko
Letters by Troy Peteri
Cover art by Alex Ross, Walter Simonson, Francesco Francavilla, and Marc Laming
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 3, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

Justice, Inc.: The Avenger #1 is the latest in a long string of hits from Dynamite Entertainment adapting classic pulp heroes. These books are some of the most under appreciated books on the stands today. Seriously, you need to be checking these books out, and let me tell you why…

Flash Gordon Annual 2014
Written by Chris Eliopoulos, Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Jeff Parker and Nate Crosby
Art by Chris Eliopoulos, Faith Erin Hicks, Lee Ferguson, Jeremy Treece, Craig Rousseau
Colors by Jeremy Treece, Marissa Louise, Omi Remalante
Letters by Chris Eliopoulos, Simon Bowland,
Cover art by Marc Laming & Jordan Boyd
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 26, 2014
Cover Price: $7.99

Flash Gordon Annual 2014 is a really more than just an annual. It’s a love letter to the franchise from the creators that all had their work published in it. And, boy, there sure were a lot of them. With five different stories covering the whole Flash Gordon universe, almost nothing goes untouched. But, is it worth the $7.99 price tag and your time?

Flash Gordon #1
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Evan Shaner
Colors by Jordie Bellaire
Letters by Simon Bowland
Edits by Nate Cosby
Covers by Gabriel Hardman, Jonathan Case, DeClan Shalvey, Marc Laming, Stephen Mooney, Ken Haeser
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 9, 2014
Cover A | Cover B
Cover Price: $3.99

Let’s be honest, I KNEW I was going to like Flash Gordon #1, but what I had NO idea about, was that I was going to absolutely LOVE it! Seriously, in one issue it’s all ready my favorite Flash comic since the 1980s.

OK, so you’re launching a comic series that is based on something that is, at it’s very core, FUN. Light-hearted. Lively. And, witty. So, your obvious choice? Jeff. Parker. The man who has written a ton of comics, none of which have made anyone want to shoot themselves in the head. He’s the guy who brought all the fun, charm, and wit out of the Batman ’66 TV show and put it into comic form! But, let’s stick to this book.

Kings Watch #5
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Marc Laming
Colors by Jordan Boyd
Letters by Simon Bowland
Edits by Nate Cosby
Covers by Marc Laming & Jordan Boyd,Ramon Perez
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 9, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Kings Watch #5 is seriously one of the most stunning comics that I’ve read in MONTHS. And I read a LOT of comics. It’s not your usual licensed comic fare. I really hope that Dynamite picks up this ball and runs with it; they could get a lot of mileage out of the conclusion of this series.

Jeff Parker turns in an absolutely incredible script that had more twists and turns than I could possibly count. This is not your typical “all the heroes save the day” comic. I never saw any of this coming in the issues leading up to this issue. Now I wish that this mini series was actually an ongoing, because I think there’s more than enough story here to carry one for years.

Kings Watch #4
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Marc Laming
Colors by Jordan Boyd
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Marc Laming & Jordan Boyd and Ramon K Perez
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 19, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Kings Watch #4 is the penultimate chapter in this modern day “Defenders of the Earth” reboot. And I have to tell you, even though I can’t wait for the next issue, I hope it NEVER comes out! Because then there won’t be anymore issues of this book to read.

About a month ago, people all across the United States could hear me scream when Dynamite announced an ongoing Flash Gordon series starting in April written by Jeff Parker. And it’s comics like THIS that made my scream for joy that loud. Right off the bat in this issue, he brings you up to speed on the characters, the villains, the immediate situation in the book, and the sense of urgency. From then on, it just gets better.