The Spirit #1 Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Dan Schkade
Colored by Brennan Wagner
Letters by A Larger World Studios
Cover art by Eric Powell, Matt Wagner & Brennan Wagner, Alex Ross, and John Cassaday Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: July 1, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99
The Spirit #1 is the latest addition to Dynamite Entertainment’s pulp library and I honestly have to say, with very few exceptions, these pulp characters are being given rock star treatment by Dynamite editorial, and it really shows.
The Shadow: Year One #1 Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Wilfredo Torres
Colors by Brennan Wagner
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Matt Wagner, Alex Ross, Chris Samnee & Howard Chaykin Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 20, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99
The Shadow Year One #1 is the first part of the untold origin of The Shadow. Kind of. What I was expecting and what this book delivered are two VERY different things.
Author Matt Wagner is legendary in the comic book business, and rightfully so. His list of credentials are WAY too long for me to list here, and let’s face it, you know who he is. Thankfully, he’s his awesome self writing this book. When I first hear about this series, I pictured something much different. I was looking for a great story about how LaMont Cranston BECAME The Shadow: his training, his reasons for doing so, etc., sort of like a Batman Begins type story for this character. Instead, what we have is a Batman Year One type story. Cranston returns home from abroad to New York, and that’s where the book starts. It’s about him becoming the masked vigilante hero that we all know and love.
Rocketeer Adventures, Vol. 2 Written by Marc Guggenheim, Peter David, Stan Sakai, Tom Taylor, Paul Dini, Walter Simonson, Dave Lapham, Kyle Baker, Matt Wagner, Louise Simonson, David Mandel, John Byrne
Art by Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Stan Sakai, Colin Wilson, Bill Morrison, John Paul Leon, Chris Sprouse, Kyle Baker. Eric Canete, Walter Simonson, J. Bone, John Byrne
Inks by Karl Story, Bob Wiacek
Colors by Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave Stewart, Serban Cristescu, Jordie Bellaire, Eric Canete, Cassandra Poulson, J. Bone
Letters by Robbie Robbins, Bill Sienkiewicz, Stan Sakai, Colin Wilson, Chris Mowry, Shawn Lee. Kyle Baker, John Workman, Neil Uyetake
Cover by Darwyn Cooke
Design by Randall Dahlk
Edited by Scott Dunbier IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 2013 Hardcover | Kindle
Somewhere, Dave Stevens is reading his copy of The Rocketeer Volume 2 and smiling, as you will be when you pick this book up. To say it brings honor and respect to the late Steven’s work would be an understatement. This is comic storytelling at its finest.
Rocketeer Adventures, Vol. 2 #3 Written by Dave Lapham, Kyle Baker & Matt Wagner
Art by Chris Sprouse, Kyle Baker, Eric Canete & Eric Powell
Inks by Karl Story
Colors by Jordie Bellaire, Eric Canete, Cassandra Poulson & David Stewart
Letters by Shawn Lee & Kyle Baker
Covers by Darwyn Cooke & Dave Stevens
The Rocketeer Created by Dave Stevens
Design by Chris Mowry IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 30, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99
Rocketeer Adventures reminds me why I love comics. And why I’ll always love the traditional comic medium. No, I’m not one of those who hates digital. I have MORE than plenty of digital comics on my computer and 100% of the books that I review are sent to me via computer. But there’s something about holding a comic book in your hands. You get totally lost in the story and in the book itself. Cheers to IDW for putting together another fantastic issue of this series.
The first story in Rocketeer Adventures, Vol. 2 #3 is written by David Lapham with art by Chris Sprouse. It’s a great truth or dare type of story that really speaks to ANYONE reading it. The underlying message in the book is universal and applies to the audience. We can all find a piece of ourselves in this fantastic short story. It reads light, with no heavy moral issue, but when you get to the end, there’s a great “ah-ha” moment that will make you want to read it again. This is, by far, my favorite story in the issue.
Zorro Rides Again #2 Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Esteve Polls
Colors by Oscar Manuel Martin
Letters by Simon Bowland
Cover by Matt Wagner Dynamite Entertainment
Release date: August 31, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99
I’ve always found Zorro interesting, although I sometimes confuse him with the Lone Ranger. (Even though the Ranger has a sidekick and Zorro doesn’t, figure that out.) Zorro Rides Again is the kind of comic book that shows why comic books get to keep the word book in their name. This book takes place in a Spanish colony, where corruption runs rampant, and the weak need to be defended, by none other than Zorro!
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press