Geek Of The Week : Super Crooks

I Think Its Time To Get The Old Gang Back Together

Super Crooks from Millar World, and published by Icon, a Marvel imprint, is shaping up to be an Ocean’s Eleven type of caper with super villains. Johnny Bolt runs with a group of fairly low level super crooks. They may have enough juice to put them over on the local authorities, but when it comes to handling heroes like The Gladiator, they’re over powered and out classed.

This leads the crooks into a routine of trying to pull off heist, and then being captured and thrown in jail. Jump ahead a few years and these former super criminals are attempting to work mundane jobs and live normal, boring lives. Lives that forbid them from using their powers. Of course for some its hard to walk the straight path.

Carmine, a.k.a The Heat, an old-time costumed bank robber tries to build up a retirement fund by cheating a casino. Using a psychic that can see 30 seconds into the future to feed him numbers, Carmine makes a killing at a roulette table. However, he gets too greedy, and keeps pushing his winnings which draws serious attention from the casino’s security team. The casino catches the pair, and to show that they mean business, they kill the psychic rather  bruitish, mobster manner.

Of course the casino is being run by criminals themselves. Criminals with connection and a long reach. Carmine tried to take them for $12 million, well now they’re putting the squeeze on Carmine to pay them $100 million within one month. And if he can’t come up with the money then they’re going to make an example out of him.

Desperate and beaten, Carmine seeks out Johnny and Kasey, two former criminals trying to get by in their ordinary reformed lives. Carmine was a friend and a mentor. They owe him a lot. And they feel that they have to help. That’s when Johnny comes up with a plan to pull off the mother of all heists. But there are capes everywhere. Being a criminal in America carries a high risk. So why stay in America? Johnny’s idea is to go to Spain. That way they won’t have to deal with all of the super heroes in America that always win, and always throw the crooks in jail. But first they’re going to need a crew.

Johnny and Carmine travel about to piece together their the rest of their team. They have Johnny with electric powers, Kasey the psychic, and The Heat with an old school ray gun. Then they set off to recruit The Ghost, a cat-burglar turned architect. TK McCabe, a telekinetic working a warehousing job. Forecast, a street vendor with weather control powers. And then Roddy and Sammy Diesel, brothers with incredible regenerative abilities fighting in a brutal underground fight-club. Appealing to their sense of loyalty to Carmine, or their need for money, or a more fulfilling life, the team is assembled.

Arriving in Spain there is just one piece left to put in place, the bad-ass. They blackmale The Gladiator, a hero who in the past had put them behind bars, into joing their crew. And at the end of the second issue Johnny reveals their target. Not a bank, or abusiness, or any honest citizens, but the “greatest super villain who has ever lived.”

Mark Millar is writer on Super Crooks, and along with co-plotter Nacho Vigalondo, they are telling a fantastic story. I like how instead of being another super hero comic book, this comic follows the guys on the other side. And it places them in a compelling story that I can’t wait to see more of. This is a cool caper with a lot of character. The art looks great. Lenil Yu is the artist on the comic, with inker Gerry Alanguilan, colorist Sunny Gho, and VC’s Clayton Cowles doing the lettering. The art team is creating a stylish book, and does a superb job of storytelling. These first two issues are a real page turner. This is one of the best comics of the year.

Venom # 1

Marvel is adding some new wrinkles to the Venom character. The alien symbiote that has been a long time villain and Spider-Man hater, has been contained by the military and is being used as a super suit to give super abilities to a special ops soldier on field missions. The first special ops agent chosen to wear Venom is Eugene “Flash” Thompson. Flash is a war hero and a huge Spider-Man fan-boy, who lost his legs serving his country, and now he becomes Venom to serve, and walk, again.

Venom # 1 opens in a Eastern European country that is being ravaged by war. A UN Peacekeeper unit in Stark tech heavy mech armor has been sent in to stop the devastation. To their horror they are met by a new Jack O’ Lantern. This Jack is being backed by a mysterious benefactor, and is outfitted with weapons that burn right through the mech armor. Then Flash drops into the scene.

With Venom’s special abilities, Flash moves fast and hits hard. Jack O’ Lantern is out to capture a doctor who has turned Antarctic Vibranium into a super weapon. Flash is out to make sure the bad guys don’t get him. However, the mission takes a back seat when Flash comes across a mother and her baby, and he makes it a priority to get them to safety. And he does this amidst the hail of gunfire, grenades, and tank artillery.

When Jack and Flash cross paths, Jack actually gets the drop on Flash, and is taking it to him. But Flash starts to lose control over Venom, and when more of the symbiote comes to the surface, he dispatches Jack O’ Lantern rather brutally. Some how Jack is able to keep himself together and stay on mission, and seems to be getting away with target. But Venom makes sure that the bad guys don’t get him.

Back at base a containment unit is used to separate Flash and Venom. And there Flash’s commanding officer gives him a dressing down and asserts the severity of the situation of working with Venom. Afterwards Flash returns home to wait his next mission. And he finds that being a super secret military agent is greatly damaging his personal life.

This is a cool super hero action comic. They’re handling Venom a little differently then he has been in the past, and that makes this an interesting read. Rather than someone who hates Spider-Man and/or Peter Parker, they have a friend of Peter’s and a Spider-Man fan tyring to control Venom. And the book has something of a military/dirty dozen feel to it, rather than a straight super hero genre. In this issue they set up that Flash will be in a struggle to keep from sub-coming to Venom, and watching for that ads to the tension. The ending where they seem to throw some of Flash’s personal problems at you at the last second seemed to come out of nowhere, and felt a little clunky, but this is likely to be another wrinkle to the character that will be developed more as the series goes on.

My first impression of the art was that it seemed a little muddy. But after giving it a second read, I think it fits with the bulk of the story where they are in the middle of war and devastation. The art conveys a frantic battle, and Venom and Jack O’ Lantern do have stand out moments. I also like the new design for Venom, taking on more of a soldier in armor armor look when Flash is in control, but at times a bit of the overly bulky Venom comes out.

Rick Remender wrote the issue, with Tony Moore as the penciler, Inks by Crimelab! Studios w/ Sandu Florea and Karl Kesel handling a few pages. John Raunch is the colorist, and VC’s Joe Caramagna is the letterer.

I recommend this book, and I also recommend finding Amazing Spider-Man # 654.1. Its the first appearance of the Flash-Venom, its a good issue, and it gives a little more background on the situation with using the symbiote.

Venom is the new super soldier. Stay out of his way, but buy his book.

Heroes For Hire # 1

“Hello, Hero. This Is Control. Are You For Hire Tonight?”

This is the introduction that meets our heroes in Heroes For Hire #1 from Marvel Comics. The comic book team that has been on again, off again periodically since 1978 is back in a new incarnation.

The mysterious Control acts as the nerve center of the new Heroes For Hire organization. Using wireless headsets, she contacts heroes and coordinates their efforts to bring down the bad guys. The issue opens with the Falcon and Black Widow being sent out on a high speed chase to bring down a semi-trailer truck full of a new desinger drug called Hook. This drug is an ultra-addictive narcotic that first appeared in the colonies of Atlantis, and now its moving to the surface drug markets.

It looks like it should be a fairly simply mission for the Falcon and Black Widow, but when the truck throws out some surprise tricks, the heroes suddenly have their hands full. However, the experienced pros are able to handle the job. That’s why Control hand picks people for each mission.

Having ferreted out the location of a Hook processing lab, Control sends Moon Knight to the scene. Investigating the facility he finds that their process is a grotesque horror show. In order to track this operation to it’s source, he has to take on a team of armed guards. He’s out numbered, but the thugs guarding the place are out classed by Moon Knight. And his interrogation techniques seem to be effective enough to extract access codes and passwords.

The trail leads to an Atlantean National who has devised a sick drug trafficking trade. The circle of obtaining, processing, and then distributing a newly synthesised drug is making him a killing. And Electra is sent to return the favor to him.

The identity of Control is revealed at the end of the comic, but things are not as they appear for Control. And she may not be the one that is really pulling the strings behind the scenes.

The first issue is composed of a few short vignettes. And although they are working on different parts of an operation, they are all working towards the same goal. Its this networking of heroes that pulls this story together into one piece.

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are writing a Mission Impossible type of super hero story. The right people are selected for the right job. And explosions ensue. This a cool way to work the Heroes For Hire angle. The art is top notch with Brad Walker as the penciler, Andrew Hennessy is the inker, Jay David Ramos is the colorist, and VC’s Joe Caramagna provides the lettering.

Heroes For Hire is cool super hero action with a touch of Mission Impossible. And it looks like the book will focus on the more “street level” heroes that lends some grittiness to the comic. I also like how this type of book has a little intrigue to it. You might not know everything until you get to the end. And there is a reveal at the end of this issue that makes me eager to read the next one. This is a quality comic book.

Amazing Spider-Man 648

Amazing Spider-Man 648 is a new begining for Spider-Man. Dan Slott takes over the writing duties with this issue and gives us an introduction to the current life status of the wall-crawler. The book opens with The Avengers launching an attack against an army of giant robot Octopuses that are rampaging across New York. On this team of Avengers Spider-Man is joined with some of the heavy hitters in the Marvel Universe, and Spidey is the one who takes the point on this mission. It was interesting to see how Spider-Man is handled in this situation. He still has the quips that you expect, and his amazing spider power, but he also shows his ability for creative problem solving. When its revealed that the robots are walking time bombs its Spider-Man who diffuses the problem with his quick thinking.

This looks to be an aspect of his character that is going to be brought out more in Slott’s run. After the crisis is adverted it looks like it’s back to the same old same old for Peter. He’s broke and unable to find work with the newspaper, so Peter starts knocking on the doors of friends to find a place to stay. However, he come up empty at every turn, and it looks like once again he has to go back to Aunt May. This is where there’s another break from the Spider-Man of old. Peter is introduced to the head of a big time technology company and receives an on the fly interview. When trouble arises again Peter puts his genius to work to save the day, and land the job. I always liked the photographer angle for Peter, but it seemed like he was always holding himself back. This new job will give him the chance to show his brain work, as well as keep him from needing to beg from friends.

And all the while there is a new collaboration of Spider-Man villains putting together a plot in the background. And the end of the issue reveals another old villain who has reemerged.

The artwork takes on a more cartoonish look, with Humberto Ramos doing the pencils, Carlos Cuevas inking, Edgar Delgado on colors, and VC’s Joe Caramagna doing the lettering. At times the expressions may seem a little exaggerated. When Peter and MJ have a laugh over the idea of Peter staying with her for a while, I was taken out of the story by how over the top their reactions are. However, over all the art is enjoyable, and there are some stand out pages.

Dan Slott does an excellent job of setting up the next chapter for Spider-Man. I think that this issue gives you everything that you need to know to get into the story without being bogged down by years of history. You get a sense of Peter’s character, you’re introduced to the supporting cast, and you’re brought in to where Peter will be starting his new life from. And its great to see Peter using his head. Peter Parker is a genius, but it seems to be something that has been forgotten about. The mix of Spider-Man power, the quick jokes, and Parker’s brain brings new and entertaining dimensions to the character.

There are a few villain reveals in this issue that are setting up futures stories, and those have me anxious to see what comes next. There were a few spots where I wasn’t crazy about the art, but over all its very good. And it does have its highlights. Dan Slott has set the stage, and now I want to see what comes up next. You should buy this issue and start following Amazing Spider-Man from here on in.