Island

“Island” #1 is a creator-owned anthology of original comics, curated by Brandon Graham and Emma Ríos. The debut issue has three major stories, a personal essay and some extras. After a lush painted title page by Marian Churchland, “Island” #1 launches with “I.D.” by Emma Ríos. Three characters — all very different in appearance, background, personality and motivation — are brought together. While the body modification twist is new, the shape of the story is old. Misfits are drawn together by a shared crisis, and the resulting themes of disenfranchisement and alienation go hand in hand with the plot. “I.D.” has spectacular, swiftly flowing artwork, but Ríos’ dialogue is stilted and unnatural. Exposition is smooth, however, beginning in medias res. The doctor’s office scenes that follow the cafe opener make the facts clear very quickly without feeling like information dumps. Ríos’ facial expressions and body language are excellent for Noa, who is nervous and agitated, but they ar

Taken from a world where the Spider-Queen’s reign over Manhattan took root and the Earth’s Mightiest have fallen, writer Christos Gage and artist Paco Diaz tell the tale of Venom, Vision and Spider-Woman as they try to stay alive and figure out how to save the day in “Spider-Island” #1. The story is straightforward desolate future stuff: tragedy took an even more tragic turn, but humanity is clinging to existence and has hope to buoy it up. The good guys are insanely outnumbered and out-powered but, in this case, Flash Thompson (Venom) has a plan, one that relies on help from Jack Russell, Werewolf by Night. Right there is the core of what makes events like “Secret Wars” and concepts like Battleworld fun and engaging: mixing characters and scenarios just to see what happens. At no point in this story does it feel like the plot leaves Gage’s control, but Gage sneaks in some surprises that are certain to hit the fun zone for long-time Marvel readers. Diaz’s art is polished and cris

“Itty Bitty Comics: Grimmiss Island” #1 opens with a pair of witch doctors tossing various items — hot peppers, flowers, staplers and more — into a steaming cauldron. Punctuated with Art Baltazar’s typically playful sound effects like “TOSS!,” “SIZZLE!” and “THROW!,” this scene welcomes readers to a tropical locale filled with imaginative imagery. Joined by his creative partner Franco Aureliani, Baltazar makes this comic a welcome refuge for readers of all ages and humors. The witch doctors mentioned earlier are the Mama Woogees. Baltazar and Aureliani also bring in a pair of talking cacti, a grumpy armadillo with a penchant for writing the Volcano Goddess, Mr. Easter, Big Woogee and the titular star of the issue: Grimmiss. Summoned to appease the Volcano Goddess, Grimmiss is a Spanish speaking, skull-headed imp with a knack for bounding movements that amplify the fun of this story. Baltazar draws the sound effects into the story, frequently using them to move the story along or de

Finally, “Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island” #4 has come out. The mini-series began in February 2010 with the most recent issue coming out in March of this year. That’s a fairly scattered release schedule, one that lessens the impact of this fourth issue. Unless you’re going to go back and reread the first three issues, this issue has a few moments of catching up in the story as it all comes back to you. Once you get past the gap since issue three came out, though, this fourth issue is a strong conclusion to an odd little story. Constable Charles Gravel finds himself working with the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island to avenge the deaths of Captain Swing and one of his fellow Peeler constables. The driving force of this issue is attitude, and the wavering conflict between Gravel and the pirates. Throughout the issue, he insists that there isn’t any difference between a policeman and a pirate except for each’s conception of rules (or laws), something he pro

Finally, “Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island” #4 has come out. The mini-series began in February 2010 with the most recent issue coming out in March of this year. That’s a fairly scattered release schedule, one that lessens the impact of this fourth issue. Unless you’re going to go back and reread the first three issues, this issue has a few moments of catching up in the story as it all comes back to you. Once you get past the gap since issue three came out, though, this fourth issue is a strong conclusion to an odd little story. Constable Charles Gravel finds himself working with the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island to avenge the deaths of Captain Swing and one of his fellow Peeler constables. The driving force of this issue is attitude, and the wavering conflict between Gravel and the pirates. Throughout the issue, he insists that there isn’t any difference between a policeman and a pirate except for each’s conception of rules (or laws), something he pro

This “Spider-Island” tie in mini started incredibly strong. There was a fatally kinetic quality to the narrative in its beginning and, while it ends well, it lacks that hungry desire to bring you something amazing. This issue doesn’t elevate the tale, which would have been a hard task admittedly. Instead it delves into some relatively rote ideas and concepts. It’s still pretty to look at, and fun to run with, but you’ll be wishing it had lived up to the promise of the start. We open here on Shang Chi suffering some serious effects from the plague disturbing Manhattan. What started as an intriguing hook slowly becomes something very different. It’s a unique direction to take the tale but one that suffers from perhaps going too far one way. It’s a fine line between exploring new creative avenues and going places no one wants to see — this idea borders that line dangerously. It may appeal to some while others may find it off putting. It’s certainly something you haven’t seen before. Th

In yet another “Spider-Island” tie-in, the Heroes for Hire — or rather, Misty Knight, Paladin, and whoever they can hustle up at the time — are tasked by Mayor Jameson with preventing the infected from leaving Manhattan. The only problem? Paladin is showing signs of infection, too. . . Although tagged with “Spider-Island” and (in fairness) relying fairly heavily on the crossover to provide a basis for the story, this isn’t a comic about Spider-Island or the ideas that crossover is attempting to advance, but about the relationship between Misty Knight and Paladin – apparently building off the plots of the most recent “Heroes for Hire” series. In truth, this would probably have functioned better as an issue of “Heroes for Hire”, though perhaps the status quo (or sales expectations) wouldn’t have lined up had that been the case. Abnett and Lanning do their best to justify calling this a Heroes for Hire book, with appearances from the likes of the Black Cat and Elektra, but these are c

The second part of a Spider-Island tie-in starring Shang Chi sees the character infiltrating the house of one of the Immortal Weapons to rescue Iron Fist – only to discover that the fight isn’t as easily won as he’s expecting. Shang Chi’s role in the crossover has been surprisingly peripheral, given the character’s recent role as a supporting character in “Amazing Spider-Man,” but as with Spider-Girl’s miniseries, the intent appears to be to tell a character-appropriate story that spins out of the overarching narrative of the event. That’s fair enough; at least the premise is more interesting than the “Hero fights enemy with Asgardian hammer” template so prominent in the “Fear Itself” tie-ins. Johnston’s habit of naming the martial arts techniques on-panel is an interesting one, but it can also be distracting. Are these genuine techniques? Are they fictional ones which have been assigned to Shang Chi, like when Dr. Strange’s spells are named in “New Avengers?” It isn’t clear. While t

With the Jackal’s plot in its tertiary phase, citizens across Manhattan are mutating into spiders and wreaking havoc. With Alicia Masters trapped in her studio, Reed Richards enlists the help of Spider-Woman to go and rescue her. But Spider-Woman’s old foe, Gypsy Moth, seems intent on getting in her way. Although the plot is flimsy by half, Van Lente does his best to turn the story into a character piece for Spider-Woman that actually relies on Spider-Island as a backdrop, rather than simply using it as scenery. Jessica’s feelings of alienation are used as a lens through which to refract her interpretation of events. While it’s unlikely that she was hand-picked to enter the so-called “Spider-Island” because her peers were mistrustful of her arachnid mentality, the fact that she considers the idea at all tells us enough about her to make it an intriguing read. Of course, it’s the same plot thread that also causes the book’s internal logic to falter. The idea is that Reed sent her to r

Some crossovers – the likes of “Civil War,” “Secret Invasion,” “Siege” – require that the readers to take them very seriously in order for the story to work. Others – the currently ongoing Spider-Island, for example – are somehow inherently less sensible. And that’s why a comic like “Spider-Island: Avengers” can get away with being as funny as it can. Leaving aside the “one arm” joke on the first page, which justifies the cover price alone, “Spider-Island: Avengers” reminds us that just because you’ve got spider powers and you’re a superhero, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to be good at both together. Much to Hawkeye’s chagrin. In an era where comics are often accused of being too realistic and too sober, it’s nice to find a book that’s aiming squarely for comedy over drama. Ms. Marvel, the military woman, makes for a great straight man in the book’s routine, while Hawkeye is the butt of the jokes, and Frog-Man, the jester. You couldn’t get away with this level of comedy week afte