Human Bomb #4 Review!

After finding themselves above Jupiter, the only survivors of their mission, Joan (ostensibly Miss America) and Michael the new Human Bomb find that the aliens are terraforming the moon. They also discover that the aliens had acquired a lost space shuttle from the 1980s.

They're overwhelmed but Joan taxes her abilities to sending a mental distress signal into space. Just then she is struck by a blaster that rips virtually through her entire chest. As she dies, she transfers all of her memories and knowledge into Michael.

From Human Bomb #4 (2013). Art by Jerry Ordway.

Human Bomb #2-3 Review!

 

 

Human Bomb #2 (Mar. 2013)

Human Bomb #3 (Apr. 2013)

The adventure in this series began immediately and has escalated with every issue. Jerry Ordway shows no signs of slowing down in his artistic ability; this is some of his best work. And in addition to the new Miss America (introduced in issue #1), issue #3 features a new Neon! This Neon somewhat resembles the reinvented one from the previous Freedom Fighters series, a purely glowing man with teleportation powers.

Human Bomb #1 Review!

Cover of Human Bomb #1.
Art by Jerry Ordway.

I enjoyed this issue a whole lot more than the bulk of  the Phantom Lady series. Even a tad more than The Ray, but we'll have to ride it out to see how it progresses. As it stands, this issue moves at a clip, getting introductions underway and moving right into the action. Perhaps things are getting more exciting now because some threads from the three series are coming together. Uncle Sam, who debuted at the end of The Ray, is already central to the current story.

Jerry Ordway provides full (and beautiful) art for the cover and interiors. No doubt this influences my impression of the book. But hey: comics are a visual medium and the quality of the art is going to affect the reader's impression, no?

The new Human Bomb's story begins three years ago in Afghanistan, where Sgt. Michael Taylor's troop of five Marines was ambushed not by Taliban, but by men in black body suits and gas masks. The men were shocked unconscious, and he apparently did not remember the incident afterwards.

DC's Who's Who: Quality Pages

From the cover of Who's Who #2;
art by George Pérez.

I never once looked to these profiles when writing my book for any kind of background information, probably because I always prefer to go to the source (original stories) for those things. But it occurred to me I might find something interesting, so I dug out all of my old Who's Whos and scanned the entries for Quality's characters.

There's some gems here in the art. Most notably, Brian Bolland draws Lady Blackhawk, and Murphy Anderson draws the lion's share of the rest. A couple are pretty bad, but it's clear that the artists had to do a minimum of research in order to render the supporting cast and historical details. William Messner-Loebs (very crudely) drew the Human Bomb—who knew he was once an artist? Jerry Ordway, as always, turned in a gorgeous Black Condor.

DCnU Roundup: New Solicitations

Catching up to the DCnU Blackhawks!

Before we get to the new stuff, some housekeeping... The DCnU Blackhawks series is a while gone, but I still had a couple of adventures to log. These are included now in the profile at Cosmic Teams! It includes the last issue of their series (#8), and their origin from DC Universe Presents #0.

Phantom Lady #4

I guess DC forgot to add this issue to its solicitations. OMG.
In this concluding issue, Phantom Lady goes to head-to-head with the most unusual adversary of all: Funerella!
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, with art by Cat Staggs and a cover by Stephane Rouz. 

Human Bomb #2

• John discovers the secrets of his metahuman gene. • Who are the Men in Black?
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art and cover by JERRY ORDWAY
On sale January  9, 2013

Human Bomb #3 

The Human Bomb and Joan lead a military invasion into a hidden C.R.O.W.N. installation.
• They discover an alien invasion is in the works!
• Plus: The Human Bomb discovers his new abilities!
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art and cover by JERRY ORDWAY

On Sale  February 6, 2013

Human Bomb #1!

Who knew that this would continue? Just announced: another Quality character mini-series, following The Ray and Phantom Lady—the Human Bomb!

There's something new going on this time around, though. The book is part of other books called "Beyond DC Comics—the new 52." Other titles include those based around TV shows and "Elseworlds" concepts. This appears to put Quality characters back on their own Earth again.  Grant Morrison's project to define DC's parallel Earths, Multiversity, is still slated for publication, and after that we my know more about DC's preference for multiple Earths and who lives where.

And very exciting news for me: art by Jerry Ordway! No hint from the solicitation that this character borrows from any Quality history. The character is Michael Taylor, a name which has no relation to any of the other iterations of the Human Bomb.

HUMAN BOMB #1
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI Art and cover by JERRY ORDWAY

On sale DECEMBER 5 • 32 pg, FC, 1 of 4, $2.99 US • RATED T
• Ex-Marine and war veteran Michael Taylor discovers a conspiracy to use human bombs to destroy the United States! But how can he possibly stop them when he could be their ultimate bomb?