Brandon – As much as I’ve always been a fan of the mainstream superheroes, sometimes the offbeat ‘B’ list heroes are where it’s at. This is the case with Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Like a lot of the new 52 titles, this one seems to take place earlier than current continuity (just an assumption I’ve come to in reading certain titles). From the get-go, we’re introduced to S.H.A.D.E.’s new headquarters: The Ant Farm, designed by Ray Palmer (and never is The Atom mentioned at all when he’s around). Next, we get introduced to Father Time, the leader of S.H.A.D.E., whose newly regenerated body is that of a 12-year-old girl. Frankenstein seems like a no-nonsense take-care-of-the-task-at-hand kind of agent and prefers to work alone. As we find out that monsters have invaded the city of Bone Lake, and that his wife has gone missing while in the middle of eradicating the monster problem, Frank goes in. But not without the help of his new team (and OH MY GOD have I been waiting to see these guys in an ongoing series): The Creature Commandos! I see this book as nothing but non stop fun and action. Alberto Ponticelli’s gritty artwork is the perfect match to Jeff Lemire’s writing. I hope this book catches on with a lot of you. This is a title I’d love to get some longevity out of. 5 out of 5 Nerdskulls is my rating.
Jim – I will state this with every review I write for the DC Relaunch, I’m a Marvel guy so I know very little of the DC world beyond the heavy hitters (Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, etc.), and even to that end I have not kept up with their latest story lines. I found the recent relaunch extremely enticing in that I might find a better connection with these characters. I’ve caught a lot of flack for this within the Nerdlocker circles: I was not a big fan of this book. I love the concept, but the execution fell short. I found there to be an extreme amount of exposition, which at times was cool, but also very boring too. I did not like the art at all, very distracting. And if you really break down the good parts, most of them occurred in the last quarter of the book. The sum parts of this read did not translate into quality for me. That being said, when the team finally gets into battle, I was hooked. Loved it. Hope that’s the route the story continues. Overall though, I can only give this read 2.5 out 5 Nerdskulls.
Cubby – Without a shadow of a doubt this was my most anticipated book. I fell in love with the DC version of this character in the Grant Morrison epic Seven Soldiers, and ever since I’ve been fiending for a book centered on our reanimated hero. As the monster equivalent of Rambo and the Terminator combined, in this new series he’s the top agent for an organization that deals with monsters and other supernatural disturbances with, of course, monsters of their own. Frankie may have his name on the book, but this book isn’t just about him. He has a supporting cast of monster greats. Yes they’re new creations but they’re based off the Creature Commandos, the coolest WW2 fighting squad ever. Other than being a fanboy’s wet dream, this book just has the right tone for what it’s trying to accomplish. It’s not about pretty characters, and the art gets that point across. While the art isn’t clean by any means, it still works. Overall I have to give this book 5 out of 5 Nerdskulls, mainly because this is what I’ve been waiting for since I started reading comics.
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