GeekMom: Comic Book Corner — Alien Smugglers, Zombies & A Mysterious Superman

Happy Comic Release Day! Welcome to another installment of GeekMom Comic Book Corner, where we recap our adventures in comics for the week.

Dakster Sullivan — Starburn #1 by Kelly Bender and art by Brian Balondo (Emerald Star Comics)

Starburn follows a group of scoundrels that make their living by smuggling, stealing, and killing (not necessarily in that order). The team consists of mostly aliens, with three humans thrown into the mix.

I get a Han Solo-like feeling when I read about Guage (human male), but I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because he had the nerve to ask the Captain if he had a plan other than for them to fly into a mission blind. Captain Aphi comes off as an alien who cares for his team, but also likes money. I haven’t decided which he would choose, if it came down to only having one or the other.

Amongst the team, there are two strong female types that know how to handle the trouble they find themselves in. The creative team gets bonus points for both women being 80-percent clothed.

After an introduction to the characters, the story picks up and takes off into their first mission. It comes off as an easy pick-up-and-deliver job, but of course, something has to go wrong and we are left wondering how they will get themselves out alive.

I’d recommend this book for anyone 14-years-old and up because of a violent scene where heads fly (literally).

Curious to know what I’m pulling this week? Check out my pull list on Comixology.

Corrina —  Star Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie #2 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Scott Hampton

Futures End #17, various creators, DC Comics

One title is far too long and isn’t at all reflective of the material inside and the other title still bothers me for the missing apostrophe.

Of the two, read Zombie. It’s about an intelligent zombie who works as a federal agent and is infiltrating an American militia bent on anarchy. Zombie has a female partner and the power of not being able to die, and, as Palmiotti promised me at Boston Comic Con, he indeed rides a missile, a la Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove. The book has a similar sensibility to the movie, though without the political commentary. I have no idea who’s reading this except me (sales of #1 were very low), but if you like the work of the creators or zombies or cop stories and you have a skewed sense of humor, you should be reading this. Plus, the cover is by Darwyn Cooke.

Futures End is one of the DC events books, detailing how things have gone wrong on two different earths five years into the DC future. I didn’t like the first few issues and I don’t like it much now, but the story has improved marginally and the various creators seem to be using Lois Lane fairly well. Plotwise? Lots of DC characters are doing some things that seem random that will no doubt be connected at the end, and this entire story will all probably be retconned because the future will be reset so that these events never happened and Green Arrow is alive. Killing off a character now starring in a hit television show is certain not to stick.

The bright spot in #17 is the revelation of who’s pretending to be Superman. Hint: It’s one of the popular theories.

Age recommendation:

G.I. Zombie: 12 +

Futures End: 10 +

Looking for something else, readers? Check out this week’s listed books:

Adventures Of Superman #16 All-Star Western #34 Final Issue Aquaman #34 Batman ’66 #14 Batman Beyond Universe #13 GM Batman Eternal #21 Batman Superman #13 Bodies #2 (Of 8) Catwoman #34 DC Universe Vs The Masters Of The Universe TP GM Dead Boy Detectives #8 Fables Vol. 20 Camelot TP Flash #34 Green Lantern New Guardians Vol. 4 Gods And Monsters TP Harley Quinn #10 GeekMom Recommended He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe #16 GM Injustice Gods Among Us Year Two #10 Justice League Dark #34 New 52 Futures End #17 Weekly Series Red Lanterns #34 Secret Origins #5 Sinestro #5 Star-Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie #2 Superman #34

All-New Invaders #9 All-New Ultimates #7 All-New X-Men #31 Amazing Spider-Man #1.4 Avengers #34 Avengers Undercover #9 Avengers Undercover Vol. 1 Descent TP Cyclops #4 New Series Deadpool Vs Carnage TP Fantastic Four #9 Fantastic Four Vol. 1 The Fall Of The Fantastic Four TP Guardians Of The Galaxy #18 GM Inhuman #4 New Series Jessica Jones The Pulse The Complete Collection TP Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Tales Of Suspense Vol. 1 TP Marvel Masterworks Marvel Rarities Vol. 1 HC Marvel Previews #133 (October 2014 For Products On-Sale December 2014) Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man #29 New Warriors Vol. 1 The Kids Are All Fight TP GM  Original Sin #5.4 Original Sin #6 Oz: Dorothy And The Wizard In Oz TP Kid Friendly Savage Hulk #3 Secret Service Kingsman HC (Premiere Edition) Silver Surfer #5 Thunderbolts #30 Uncanny Avengers #23 Wolverine #12 Wolverine And The X-Men #8 X-Force By Craig Kyle And Chris Yost The Complete Collection Vol. 2 TP X-Force Vol. 1 Dirty Tricks TP

Acronym Key: VC = Variant Cover / HC = Hard Cover / TP = Trade Paperback

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