The Spider #15
Written by David Liss
Illustrated by Ivan Rodriguez
Colored by Vinicius Andrade
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Covers by Colton Worley
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 23, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The law is not only after the masked vigilante known as the Spider, but The Spider #15 opens with the Spider’s alter-ego, Richard Wentworth, a wanted man!

Furious about his situation, Richard sinks even deeper into his vigilante persona. As the Spider targets members of the Red Hand gang, he also transforms his one-man-struggle from a battle for justice, into a half-drunken journey of revenge.

The Owl #1
Written by J. T. Krul
Illustrated by Heubert Kahn Michael
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Colored by Vinicius Andrade
Cover by Alex Ross
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: July 3, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The Owl #1 is the latest entry in Dynamite Entertainment’s pulp heroes line, which has been pretty successful, both critically and financially. Does The Owl measure up to the rest of the books in the line? Let’s take a look..

J. T. Krul gives us a different take on the pulp heroes with this book. It’s got a heavy Captain America vibe, and normally that kind of thing would bother me, but here it doesn’t because it fits both the book and the character so well. Krul avoids all the “poor me” traps that normally would fall under a time displaces hero, and instead, let’s the hero have fun and be aggressive in this “brand new world” that he’s been flung into. He allows The Owl to have some fun here, and while there is some regret about his part, it’s pretty few and far between and doesn’t weigh down the book at all.

The Spider #9
Written by David Liss
Art by Ivan Rodriguez
Inks by Antonio Lima
Colors by Vinicius Andrade
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Francesco Francavilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 20, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The Spider #9 is the latest in many reasons why Dynamite Entertainment is KILLING it with all of the pulp hero properties that they publish. Who’d have ever thought that almost a CENTURY after his debut, The Spider would be as exciting as he was back then. Actually, I can’t verify that. You’ll just have to trust me.

David Liss brings us a story that’s SUPER retro and yet 100 percent set in the modern day and doesn’t even begin to feel out of date or like it should have been told in the past. It’s all the great trademarks of an old pulp yarn — betrayal, seduction, action, adventure, suspense, and mystery — all mixed together by a great narrative that really sucks the audience into the book. What I loved about this story was the fact there’s a great level of believability in it. Sure, there are some things that happen in the book that couldn’t really happen in real life, but about 95 percent of it COULD actually happen and I think that’s what makes this issue such a great read.

Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #4
Written by Steve Darnall & Alex Ross
Illustrated by Jonathan Lau
Colors by Vinicius Andrade
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Alex Ross & Stephen Segovia
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: December 12, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #4 is one fantastic comic book! It’s got a very old school vibe, yet it’s set in modern times, making it one of the few properties that can actually work in modern day. Dynamite has done other pulp heroes and wisely left them in their original time frame, but the creative team proves that Peter Cannon can be updated for current times with great success.

Steve Darnall and Alex Ross bring you an action-packed, well thought out, fun, and entertaining comic to us this month. There is SO much going on in this book, it’s crazy. You’ve got about six different mysteries and subplots running at the same time, yet it’s never confusing or misleading. This issue in particular is a lot of build up to what’s coming, yet the writers are able to weave some great action seamlessly into the story without going out of their way and making it awkward. The character of Peter Cannon is SO interesting, I dare say he’s one of the most entertaining characters in comics today. He’s a modern day guru with deep, dark hidden secrets and he’s also headed towards a war that he probably won’t win. Yet, the character is never bogged down in needless self pity; he’s a true hero and there’s a lot of those missing in comics today.

Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #1
Written by Steve Darnall & Alex Ross
Art by Jonathan Lau
Colors by Vinicius Andrade
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Alex Ross, John Cassaday, Jae Lee & Ardian Syaf
Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt Ashcan
Foreword by Mark Waid
Written & Illustrated by Pete Morisi
Colored by Mike Kelleher
Pete’s Dragon
Written by Steve Darnall
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: September 5, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #1 is probably one, if not THE MOST, original super hero story that you’ll read this year. Hands down, bar none. It’s a great change of pace from the “normal” super hero genre books that are being published right now. In short, pretty sure you’re gonna enjoy this one.

Where the heck has writer Steve Darnall been? I read a LOT of comics, ladies and gentlemen, but I haven’t seen his name in a looooooong time. And that’s a shame. In fact, after an exhausting internet search, I can’t find anything credited to him since 1999. Again, really a shame. I absolutely LOVED this book and so will you. It’s quite different from a lot of first issues, there’s no book length long origin, no “I shall be called THUNDERBOLT” moment, but there are panels and inner monologue that give us small clips and snippets of an origin, and the rest pretty much takes care of itself.