ROCKETFELLERS #1 IMAGE/GHOST MACHINE COMICS
The newest title launched for Image’s collaboration with Ghost Machine introduces us to Rocketfeller family. Who for some reason, needed to escape from the 25th century and ended up … well … now. But transplating themselves into 2024 has a lot of problems. First off, Grandma Rose was killed in the escape. Their temporal exile keeps getting extended. And the worst is that the family is made up of tinkerers with an unlimited supply of past technology to upgrade and fiddle with. Who was the mysterious person chasing after them in the future? What is the item in the bubble jar? And just what is happening in the future that Roland’s brother keeps hinting at? While taking place in a different universe as the Geiger/Redcoat titles are in, this one has an interesting premise and slight nods to Jonny Quest and Rip Hunter Time Master. I give it an 8 out of 10 Grahams.
GODZILLA RIVALS KING GHIDORAH VS SPACEGODZILLA #1
Rumor has it that this will be the last issue in the Rivals one-shot series from IDW. Which is sort of a shame, as while I bounced back and forth on the previous issues, I would much rather see the characters of the Godzilla Universe here instead of the other Godzilla series that IDW is putting out. Godzilla ve the Great Gatsby? Oy vey! And while I am definitely not a fan of SpaceGodzilla (nice crystal shoulder pads!), writer Dave Baker doesn’t waste any time as we hit all out Kaiju battle from page one! And while Kevin Anthony Catalan’s art is a bit different, it is head and shoulders above some of the art in earlier issues. And in all fareness, he was given the two most out of proportion characters in the Godzilla Universe. The story of a family devistated by kaiju fighting is sad but for once the mad scientist chooses his family over his work. And tossing in Godzilla at the end to take care of business was a nice way to end the series. 8 out of 10 Grahams.
MILESTONE UNIVERSE THE SHADOW CABINET #1 DC COMICS
Truth be told, by the time the original Milestone Universe of the 1990’s had started new titles such as Shadow Cabinet, my interest had started to wane. Sure Icon, Static, and Hardware were pretty good but when the line started to branch out into secondary titles, the thrill was gone for me. And then there was a universe swapping crossover with the DC Universe (who remembers the Colorforms cover!). Then they were gone. Then they returned for the Milestone Forever limited mini-series. Then some Brave & the Bold and Justice League appearances. Then, the were gone again. And so on and so on. The truth is that many of these characters had very interesting stories to tell. And while this is part 1 of 4, Joseph P. Illidge’s story delves deep into the history of the Milestone universe. Which has always been one of DC’s strong points (even if the forget that and keep rebooting it). Again, this incarnation proves that these stories are top notch. It’s up to us the readers to keep it going. 9 out of 10 Grahams.
