Ten-Month-Old Comics!: The July 26 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Blade Runner 2039 #5:  Holy fucking shit, that's a helluva ending.

Niander Wallace, Jr. chews some scenery here, as he's want to do, as he introduces Rash to Luv and tells Luvthat Rash will obey her every word, except, like Luv, to kill a human.  Meanwhile, at Ash and Freya's refuge, Freya tells Ash that giving reproductive technology to Replicants is obscene because it means the Replicants themselves would need to build more Replicants and Freya believes no one should make more Replicants.

The argument goes unresolved as Freya and Chloe head to San Francisco.  Chloe notes that Luv knows Isobel was from San Francisco, but Ash reminds Chloe that the Bay Area is a dark zone and Luv doesn't likely have a contact, like they do, to get them into it.  (Man, I'm excited to see the Bay Area.)  Given the lack of electricity in the Bay Area, Ash and Chloe are taking an old, fuel-powered truck.

Problems occur when they get a flat tire and a group of cannibalistic yahoos who populate the Central Valley find them.  The leader sends one of the yahoos to check the truck bed, and Lexi opens fire.  Ash and she take out the rest of the gang, only to discover Chloe has a bullet wound above her heart!  Fuck!

Pathfinder:  Wake the Dead #2:  This issue is a lot better than the first one; with the characters and premise established, we actually get something approaching a story.

We begin with the Pathfinder Chronicles entry about Ecanus informing us that all its citizens graduate from Skirmish School, ready to fight the undead at any notice.  To this point, the authorities call the citizenry to action to capture the team for its "murder" of the two deathsealers.

Speaking of the team, Lem manages to send away last issue's threat with his flute, and Quinn grabs an "interesting blade."  Seelah suggests they escape to the sewers., but Quinn notes the citizens train blindfolded in the sewers.  He instead suggests they head to one of the city's "canvasariers," where the city makes all foreigners stay, figuring they can try to blend.  

Thankfully, Quinn's blade is a screamsword and warns them of danger.  It leads them a dark room in a nearby building, where a woman named Nyctessa silences the "crying blade" and introduces herself.  Seelah realizes Nyctessa was controlling the sword, which she confirms; she informs the team that it responds to necrotic energy, which she has "in abundance."  (I don't get this part.  Was she controlling it or was it just responding to her?)  The team learns Nyctessa was also trying to meet Gabsalia Venris but got trapped in Ecanus when they shut down the city.  

Nyctessa informs the team that her divination spell showed her Gabsalia trapped at a refuge for escaped Gebbite "quicks" in the Spellscar desert or, as Harsk calls it, the Mana Wastes, "with the wild magic storms and the zombie dinosaurs."  Harsh is ready to call it a day when Nyctessa reveals why everyone wants Gabsalia:  she has a list of embedded quicks in all the organizations that hired them.  That said, the quicks don't know they're spies:  when they die, they'll be reborn as loyal to Geb.

Without much choice, the team accepts Nyctessa into its ranks and flees the oncoming skirmishers.  Quinn reveals the Fleshforges on the city's border with the Wastes release their "unholy creations" into either the city or the Wastes.  If they can make their way through a Fleshforge, they can "escape" into the Wastes.  Sajan manages to save the team from a creature, and Lem uses his illusion skills to cover their escape.  With little choice, Harsk decides to stick with the crew to head into the Wastes to find Gabsalia.

Again, this issue is much stronger than the last one, with surprise twists that still make sense.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfurls.

Star Wars: Darth Vader - Black, White, and Red #4:  This issue is great.  If last issue showed us where Anakin still exists inside Vader, this issue shows us where Vader is in complete control.  In fact, the authors make you almost root for Vader here as he faces some arrogant opponents.

First, I thought Cyn's story ended last issue, but Aaron shows us Vader actually taking out Cyn and his crew.  Vader first takes out Cyn's friends, who curse him as they die.  He leaves Cyn for last, and Cyn gloats that he exploited Vader's weakness in a way Vader couldn't do to him.  Somehow, though, Vader uses his powers to shut down Cyn's motor functions, allowing him to feel and watch as some local denizens eat him alive.  Honestly, I don't really feel bad for ol' Cyn.

Steve Orlando wrote the second story and, while I'm not normally a huge fan of his work, I think this story is probably the best of the bunch.  Vader conducts a reconnaissance mission on a seemingly uninhabited planet called Uokara in the Unknown Regions, declaring it ready for mining.  Later, we see a limbless Vader in a bacta tank, itself a remarkable site.  It reminds you that a man - Anakin - exists in that suit.  The medical droid tells Vader that even he needs quarantine after contact with a Class IV planet.  Suddenly, Vader finds himself in his mind, and we meet Ghymnon, the virus that inhabits the world.  He informs Vader that he's destroyed many would-be conquerors, but, of course, as Vader says, "There is will...and there is me."  Vader manages to expel the virus from his body, which the bacta sterilizes.  We later see Vader supervising the beginning of the mining mission.

Finally, Vader returns to Hoth after an officer gets word that something has destroyed a leftover Imperial probe droid.  Vader says he'll look into it, and the officer suggests it's too dangerous even for Vader.  The officer is proven correct when a family of Wampas attack Vader.  The battle sequence involves an overwhelmed Vader barely managing to hid in the remains of an AT-AT before calling for help.  He collapses after taking out the Wampas, and the Empire collects him.  When the officer notes that he warned Vader, Vader kills him.  Ha!  Seriously, only an idiot would do that and, as we know, Vader doesn't tolerate idiots.

Ten-Month-Old Comics! The June 21 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Red Zone #4:  This series is one of the few I've read where the tension just never wanes.  Every page is as propulsive as the previous one.

We begin with Volkov sending another assassin after Crane, this time a cowboy-obsessed one named Maxim.  Meanwhile, Deidre is trying to find a way to extract Crane and Nika.  Abramov promises to keep them safe, and he and Randall take a walk through the deserted town surrounding Abramov's dacha, remembering the old times.  Surprising no one, though, Abramov alerted Volkov to Crane's presence, and Deidre warns Crane just in time.  Abramov asks Crane to forgive him as they are in "new days" but dies after drinking wine Belov poisoned.  (This part is a little unbelievable, given that Belov had to plan for Crane arriving at Abramov's and Abramov serving exactly that wine to Crane at some point.)

Crane and Nika escape to the nearby town with Maxim in pursuit.  Maxim is poised to kill Crane when, surprising me (and Crane), Vasiliev the cyborg and Milena the sniper stop him so they can kill Crane.  Vasiliev kills Maxim, Milena shoots Vasiliev, and Nika kills Milena (quipping that she "didn't even need a special bullet," an allusion to Milena's rocket-powered bullets).  A dying Vasiliev puts Milena's body in his lap and confesses that he loved her, wishing he had told her or she had noticed.  He dies, and Nika confesses that she feels badly for them.  

As the reader, I do, too.  Abramov made it clear that they've all suffered under this new Russia, their years of "expense accounts" and "fancy suits" ended.  Crane might've missed the old days but clearly built a new life for himself.  Volkov, Vasiliev, Milena, and Abramov were all still living in the past, given how much better it was then the present.  It's an example of Bunn's excellent writing where the "villains" aren't just revenge-motivated communists.

Speaking of Volkov, he arrives and engages in a fist fight with Crane.  They both delight in the battle, to the point where Crane lets him live because he hasn't felt so alive in years.  He pledges to return once he gets Nika out safely.  The issue ends with Deidre and Nika watching Crane teach his class back in New York.  Deidre asks Nika if she's going to tell Crane the truth, that he's her father, but Nika demurs.  Deidre tells her that she's going to give him the last known location of Belov, signaling that they all know his days of "laying low" are over.  Deidre is also Nika's handler now, so we're moving into "Alias" territory here, which I fully support.

Again, it was really a fantastic mini-series and I'm thrilled we're getting another installment.  I can't recommend it highly enough.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #35:  This issue is great, a return to everything I want this series to be.  

T'onga sells the Edgehawk to pay her crew and hire her former boss, Khel Tanna of "Star Wars:  Han Solo and Chewbacca" fame.  She needs to find Boba Fett, whom she thinks can help restore Valance's memory.  Tanna's associate, a Clawdite named Catak, starts a bar fight in the Bounty Hungers Guild Social Club, and Tanna hires the last two bounty hunters standing, Deathstick and a Gen'Dai named Surge.

On the Enigma Catalyst, Valance is trying to draw the faces he remembers, and Bossk snaps at a Clawdite who makes fun of Valance, warning him to let Valance grieve his loss.  It's an interesting turn of events given these two guys were ready to kill each other last issue.  

The raid on Boba Fett's hideout goes as poorly as expect, though T'onga gets over her fear of him and disarms him.  (He is *smoking* hot here thanks to Medina and Prianto.)  He agrees to help so long as they do a favor for him first, which I'm sure won't be complicated or dangerous at all.

Again, this series has been struggling for a while so I'm thrilled to see it find its footing.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader - Black, White, and Red #3:  This issue is probably the best of all these "Black, White, and Red," series.  

Aaron's Vader story wraps up as expected, with Vader using his powers to take out Cyn and his allies.  But it's Johnson's story of Vader using a transport full of Rebel soldiers' family members to destroy their base and Bernadin's of Vader forcing a Rebel spy to become a double agent to save her family (even if she could never speak to them again) that underscore how far Anakin fell.  

I often struggle with depictions of Vader, because it's hard to see Anakin in there.  But in both these stories you can see where Anakin's overconfidence - which we saw in "Star Wars:  Yoda" #8 - leads him to play with his food, as he so often does, in his pursuit of order.  It's unusual to get one story to push that point so elegantly, so it's a treat to get two doing so here.

Eleven-Month-Old Comics!: The May 24 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Dungeons & Dragons:  Saturday Morning Adventures #3:  Dana and Eric find themselves face to face with a beholder when the real Phaelona arrives and saves them.  She explains that the Phaelona they met told the truth - the real Phaelona has been stuck in the monastery - but neglected to mention that she (the fake Phaelona) threw her (the real Phaelona) in the dungeon after coming through one of the portals the real Phaelona summoned.  

With stirring speeches about how they've become a family since arriving in the Forgotten Realms, Eric and Dana awaken their friends from the spell fake Phaelona cast over them.  Eric realizes the fake Phaelona is after their weapons, prompting her to reveal herself as Venger!  

I don't remember why Venger wants their weapons, though, to my defense, I haven't seen the cartoon in 40 years.  But for a comic about a TV series aimed at kids Booher does a solid job keeping up the tension.  I do find myself wishing we could up the story's target age and get a more adult version of what the team's life is like in the Realms.  But for now I'm happy with what we have here.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader - Black, White, and Red #2:  Aaron's story improves here, as we learn that Cyn wants to destroy Vader (Cyn's father's crowing achievement) as punishment for the cybernetic implants to which his father subjected him.  Cyn has disabled Vader's motor functions though kept his neural receptors active so he can feel the pain of what Cyn and his allies are going to do to him.  But Vader uses the Force to take over Cyn's team, forcing the survivors (including Cyn) to flee outside the chopshop and regroup.  Honestly, I'm not going to feel too badly for Cyn when Vader eventually gets him.

Pepose's story is perhaps the best so far as Vader and his team of Stormtroopers arrive on the Endless Mercy to investigate a rumor that a former Tagge Corp. engineer, Dr. Sera Lemare, has engineered the perfect killing machine.  It turns out Lemare has turned herself and her team into Z'Rakkon hybrids and she now wants to do the same to Vader.  The "Alien" vibe is great as Vader fights off the possession and takes out Lemare, crashing the Endless Mercy into a nearby planet.

Ying's story is also solid, as a young child watches their bullies cower in fear when Vader comes to their village searching for a Rebel in hiding  The story is particularly effective in amping up the emotions, as the bullies don't just try to break the child's wagon but burn down their home when the child wasn't initially cowed.  When Vader arrives, the lead bully is shown sniveling and clinging to his mother, and the child realizes the bully was right when he said the only thing that matters is power.  It's grim but definitely a lesson kids in this galaxy probably learn.

Eleven-Month-Old Comics! The April 26 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Blade Runner 2039 #4:  As usual, Johnson tells a story where it isn't totally clear - in the best possible way - where we're going and it's definitely unclear if we're going to get anything close to a happy ending.

Ash has two goldfish-eating twins decrypt the disk Hythe gave her, revealing that Niander is trying to create Replicants who can breed.  (One of them refers to the new Replicants as "new Isobels," so I'm not sure Isobel is safe, wherever she is.)

In her penthouse, Chloe reminds us how sharp she is when she figures out Luv isn't there to protect her.  Luv lets Chloe know that it was Chloe's use of her mother's maiden name when she arrived on Earth that threw up the red flag.  Ash arrives and hands Luv the disc, which I initially thought meant she didn't really care about Niander's efforts and just wanted to save Isobel.  Instead, Luv departs to verify the disc, and Ash reveals to Chloe that it's blank.  They bolt in Ash's spinner, but Luv is in pursuit.  Ash crashes the spinner just past the Seawall, and she and Chloe swim to where Taki runs the Railroad.  She informs him that she's closing the Railroad for a while and makes her way home with Chloe.

At home, she learns the Replicants from last issue are still trapped on Earth because the off-world smuggling network has gone to ground.  Freysa and Ash are warmer here, which makes me happy.  Freysa reveals that she knows about the Replicant cop, and Ash tells her that Luv seemed "less human than human" to her.  (Johnson may be setting up some reveal where this breed of Replicant is indeed less human, which seems to track with K's portrayal in "Blade Runner 2049.")  When Ash reveals Niander's experiments in fertility, Freysa pushes her to destroy the disc since no one should have that knowledge.  Ash archly asks, "Not even Replicants?"

Chloe exits the bathroom having shaved her hair to make her look like Rabbit, and it's a really warm moment between the three of them, which, again, makes me happy.  Chloe reveals that Isobel is likely in San Francisco since the original Isobel had family with money there.  Freysa says the Bay is a "dark zone," making entry and exit difficult, and, man, I can't wait to see what the Bay is like after the glory of Vegas in "Blade Runner 2049."

The issue ends with Niander revealing to Luv that he made her a partner better able to navigate the world with information the LAPD gave him:  a Replicant young Ash!

Local Man #3:  The issue starts with Jack attending a book reading, which isn't exactly the way you'd expect this series to start an issue.  It turns out Hodag's former teammate, Stacy Wohl, a.k.a. Frightside, wrote the book.  Stacy's power is that a "hateful, whispering, inky monster from beyond" possesses her, and Jack doesn't find it a coincidence that Stacy is in Farmington the week someone murdered Hodag, particularly since The Fright (Stacy's monster) could perpetrate the crimes against Hodag's body the murderer did.  

Jack shows Stacy Hodag's drawing of the Aphek Engine and wonders if the Desolators were trying to find it.  To Jack's mind, Hodag couldn't join the team due to his condition, and the Desolators iced him given his knowledge.  Stacy laughs and reveals that Hodag made the drawing based on a conversation they had in an online support group, the Constructors, which Hodag established for ex-villains.  But Hodag never got the token because he kept backsliding, "trying to burrow into a quarry...looking for imaginary doomsday devices so he could play villain."  Interestingly, Stacy reveals that Hodag developed an eidetic memory after the accident, even though all his drawings look like a toddler drew them.  Stacy says that she was in town to help Hodak but is now just staying for the funeral.

There's then a hilarious sequence where Jack thanks the metal-detecting priest who watched Pepper for him (after Pepper yet again unexpectedly followed him) by letting him know God is real, even if God is a "weird android thing made out of gold and platinum" and "eats souls."  He then saves said priest from a car hitting him.  

Meanwhile, at Stacy's hotel room, someone attacks her, telling her that he read the parts of her book he was supposed to read.  She admitted in the book that the Fright gets stronger the more scared she is, so it seems like he's trying to kill her to bring out the Fright.

We end with a few quick hits:

• Jack talks to Inga, and he (not unreasonably) thinks they're flirting.  But he crosses a line when he kisses her, which is pretty much Jack to a T.  She doesn't react too badly (though makes it clear it shouldn't happen again).  When thinking about how Inga's husband is basically just guarding the quarry since nothing happens in the town, Jack realizes he needs to go to the quarry to investigate the Hodag mystery.
• At Third Gen HQ, Cutting Edge sends Soft-Kore into Camo Crusader's quarters; as he pulls a huge cross, she shows him a headline about Jack saving the priest.  
• At Stacy's hotel, a maid discovers Stacy's body as the Fright appears ready to enter our dimension.

As expected, we're going interesting places that didn't seem obvious at the series' start.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader - Black, White, and Red #1:  I haven't been a fan of the previous iterations of this idea, to the point where I felt like an idiot buying this one.  But I'm happy to say this one is much better, perhaps because Vader lends himself so well to the concept.

Aaron's story is the series' marquee event, in part because it's going to run through each issue.  If I'm guessing correctly, "Doctor Sendvall" helped transform Anakin into Vader, a fact Sendvall's son leverages to lure Vader into an ambush.  Vader is aware that the ambush is coming but mistakes Sendvall as a Rebel, which he assures Vader he isn't.  Vader is impressive as usual, using a Stormtrooper as a battering ram and severing the hands of several of the attackers and then using said hands to continuing firing the weapons they're holding.  (It's a little...much.)  Vader corners Sendvall, who utters "Padmé...help me."  (It's part of the reason I assume his father was in the room when Vader uttered those words.). Vader is enraged, and Sendvall uses his rage against him, triggering a device that incapacitates Vader.  He then calls someone to say that he's bringing Vader to the chop shop.  That'll go well.

Although I don't know who Momoko's character is, she dreams of Vader chasing her regardless of what she does to escape, definitely underscoring the story's "Inescapable" title.

The final story does involve rebels, though not the Rebels we know.  A group of Torku residents engage in a suicide mission, planning to use an orbital weapon (I think) to destroy an Imperial base hosting a gathering of some of the Empire's most elite citizens, including Vader.  The rebels sneak in a scientist who can fix the weapon, which they've been sabotaging for a year so the Empire couldn't use it.  Of course, Vader somehow knew their plan, allowing the scientist to fix it and then killing him before he can use it.  It's an interesting story in that it reminds us that not everyone was just waiting for the Rebellion to save them.  But it does lean a little too much into omnipotent Vader for my tastes.

Also Read:  Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures #2