Frank Jarome Comic Reviews

I have made no secret of the fact that I was not a fan at all of the last Daredevil ongoing series; it actually soured me a little bit on a character that I love so much. This miniseries has helped to rekindle my love of the character, and has made me more appreciative of a well-written Punisher as well. It has driven me to pull out some of my older Daredevil issues, and I have actually tracked down some Punisher books to read more about him. If that does not tell you that the creative team has done a great job with these characters, then I do not know what will. In the end, the penultimate fourth issue of Daredevil & Punisher: Devil’s Trigger is just a darn fine comic book, which knows what it wants to do and does it with skill and precision.

There are a lot of dominoes being set up in this book right now, and I am a bit concerned about how many of them do not even pertain to the Joe team at all. At the end of the day, the name of the book is still G.I. Joe, not Cobra or M.A.S.K., and so the team should always be the primary focus. I do not want the creative team to stray too far from that, and it feels like they are doing so a bit. In the end, G.I. Joe #19 brings the book further into the wider Energon Universe, but at the risk of losing its own identity. Hopefully, future issues can help the book reassert itself and get back a bit of what was making it work so well up to this point.

In the end, you won’t find any surprises in the pages of The Phantom #5, but if you like old-school pulp stories, you’ll find something to enjoy in what the creative team is laying down here.

Going back to my food analogy from above—Marc Spector: Moon Knight #1 isn’t the best meal that this creative team has ever prepared, but even their “off” servings like this issue are still an absolutely enjoyable experience that should keep you coming back for more.

There are some interesting ideas in place leading into the ongoing series, which won't carry the gratuitous Red Band label; perhaps the storytelling will work a little better there. In today’s world, Frank Castle remains incredibly relevant, so it’s definitely the right time to have brought him back. In the words of a much better Punisher story: "Welcome Back, Frank."

Chocolates are synonymous with Valentine’s Day, and as Forrest Gump famously said, “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” Well, in this case, you actually do know. You’re getting a solid story that will make fans feel right at home and might even inspire newcomers to finally check out the series.

The highest praise I can give this issue is that it made me want to dig out some of my own old Archie comics—and I’m seriously thinking about popping Army of Darkness into the Blu-ray player once the kiddo goes to bed tonight. It did exactly what the best comic books should: leave you wanting more and chomping at the bit for the next issue.

Time period complaints aside, these stories are a solid encapsulation of Logan as a character. If you’re already a fan, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. If you’re not, I’m not sure these will be the hook that converts you, but you won't feel like you’ve wasted your time. Either way, it’s a bloody good time.

If you’re a fan of the Fantastic Four, the Planet of the Apes movies, or—better yet—both, I think you’ll have a great time with this issue, even if the title is quite the mouthful. It’s a madhouse! A madhouse!

That’s what this book is. I feel like I’m starting to repeat myself, so I’ll finish with this: please, give Spirit of the Shadows a shot. No matter what your taste, I really do think you’ll find something in here that you’ll like. If you do, I’d love to hear about it.

Now that we’ve had a chance to catch our breath and have a laugh or two, it’s time to get serious again with Duke’s impending crashout. I’m excited and anxious to see where the book goes next, and am still waiting for the Arashikage ninja plots from the Scarlett miniseries to come into play somehow, but if Williamson and company can keep putting out books like this each time, I’ll keep coming back for more. The old Larry Hama-written Marvel comics are still the high-water mark for G.I. Joe comics, but given enough time, this book could give those a run for their money.

Hopefully, all the preamble has been worked through now, and the next issue gets the main show on the road, or else things might start to wear out their welcome. And we don’t want that. There’s still a ton of potential in the core concept of this book, and if the team plays their cards right, then when all is said and done, we should end up with a fun story from start to finish.

If you are a fan of either character, or you like the more gritty and grounded side of the Marvel Universe, or you just like good comics, you should check this book out. Again, it is not trying to change the world or anything like that. It is just trying to tell a good story. So far, it is succeeding. Three issues are down, and there are two to go. Fingers are crossed that they can stick the landing.

Will this book be remembered in the same way as seasons one through five of the show, or will it be regarded more like season seven (the Leviathans were not very good)? Only time will tell.

Either way, this was a very good first issue. If you have any nostalgia for the X-Force property, are a fan of Cable, or if you like stories of rough men and women who make the hard choices so that good people do not have to, then this just might be the book for you.

The stage has been set for all sorts of interesting things to come in not only this book, but the rest of the Energon Universe as well. The future of G.I. Joe looks very bright, indeed.

All in all, these stories add up to three solid hits with no misses. That is a really good result for an anthology book, which is generally a mixed bag. But like Logan himself, these creative teams are the best there are at what they do — only in this case, what they do is make some fine comic books.

The Punisher Red Band series has not been a bad book. It is just not really anything special either. Its continuity is shaky, the language issue is very distracting, and frankly, the Red Band violence is just a gimmick. This is further illustrated by the fact that the ongoing series will not be a Red Band title. If you are a big fan of the Punisher, you will be thrilled at seeing him explode heads and shove people into the backs of garbage trucks. If you can take or leave the character, nothing here is going to change your mind.

If you have not checked out The Phantom yet, this is a good, solid issue to do so with. It is an interesting take on the Die Hard scenario while taking the story in directions beyond what you would expect for such a tale. If you were already checking out the book and were starting to see your interest wane a bit, this issue should go a long way toward recapturing your attention. Although he looks to be down for the count right now, the Ghost Who Walks will be back again, one way or the other. Let us hope he gets back on his feet before it is too late and that you are here to greet him.

There is potential for the story to be a more serious science fiction tale like The Expanse, or a more pulpy adventure in the vein of Flash Gordon. This latter direction is probably more likely, given the art style and the magical elements. Not knowing which direction things might go in is exciting, and it is one more reason to check back in for the next issue. The story of Mark Mitchell and Stacy Pulkowski and their quest to find the missing Joey is a compelling one. If future issues can keep up this level of quality, this will be a book to watch.

Given Greg Pak’s comics pedigree, my hopes were a little higher that the series would hit harder right out of the gate; however, there are the restraints of working within a licensed property that need to be considered as well. I still think it is a good adaptation of the show and a solid extension of the stories told within, and it is much better than most of the novels that they have put out. Some of those were just dire. I would still recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the show and looking for more stories featuring Sam and Dean; I would just caution them to temper their expectations a bit while the creative team finds its footing.

Darn it, Chip. It looks like you got me invested in the lead-up to Marvel’s next big event. Well, maybe not the Red Hulk parts—but still, well done.

All of the Energon Universe books have been doing a good job of taking beloved old properties that were basically—let’s be honest—glorified toy commercials and turning them into something that has an edge, character, and, most importantly, heart. It’s quite a feat. If they can keep it up, and if Skybound doesn’t get carried away with crossovers or flooding the line with too many new books, they’ve got something truly special on their hands. Check it out if you haven’t already; it’s well worth the time.

Tying this story to “Welcome Back, Frank” continues to be a smart idea, as it anchors the story to a specific time and place in Marvel history while still leaving plenty of room to tell a tale in between the pages of that book. If the rest of the series can keep up the level of quality it’s shown so far, then the eventual collection of this miniseries just might earn a place next to that beloved series. And that’s something that I think even Matt Murdock and Frank Castle could agree on.

I don’t know how much longer this run will go on for, or how many more times it’ll get relaunched before it’s over, but as long as MacKay and company keep the quality up, I’ll be there for every moment of it. Hopefully you are too. If enough of us join the Midnight Mission, maybe Marvel will let the journey continue for a while longer.

King of the (Skull) Ring It may seem like I’ve grumbled about this book more than I’ve praised it, and maybe I have. That doesn’t mean it’s bad—far from it, in fact. It’s well-written, with expressive art and solid coloring. The story is starting to feel a little stretched out, though, which isn’t anything new in the age of “write for the trade.” Four-or-five-issue arcs make for nice, tidy collections, after all. That’s just a reality of the business, so I can live with it. I really do wish that things felt a bit more “pulpy,” though. I dunno. Mayb

None of this is enough to suddenly make me a full-on Punisher fan, but it is enough to say that I genuinely enjoyed my time with this book and am actually looking forward to seeing how it all wraps up.

If you haven’t been following the book to this point, you’re not going to jump in with a “Part 3 of 5” on the cover, but if you go back to Part 1 and start from there, you’ll be able to pick up enough to follow along and see if you like it. If you do, there’s plenty to go back and catch up on. I recommend the two “Codename G.I. Joe” deluxe hardcovers, they collect all of the initial setup miniseries, then you can get the trades of the main series and be pretty much caught up. Then you’ll know - and knowing is half the battle. (Come on, you knew I had to fit that in here somewhere!)

All in all, much like my history with the show, the first issue left me wondering if this book was for me, but then the second issue changed my perspective and now I’m on board. If you are a fan of the show (and given its streaming numbers, there are a lot of you out there), or if you just like good done-in-one stories with a more supernatural bent, check this book out. I’d like for it to last a bit longer than most licensed books do, so that it can have some time to really hit its stride. There aren’t enough books out there, licensed or not, with single-issue stories anymore, so even if this isn’t your usual cup of tea, maybe still give it a look.