Triple Shot With a Digital Chaser: ‘Action Man #1’, ‘She-Wolf #2’, ‘James Bond’ #7 & ‘Adventures of Supergirl’ #11

This return of Triple Shot brings us a little known action hero from the UK getting his due with IDW’s Action Man #1, a teenage girl wolf’s out in She-Wolf #1 from Image and the Duke of Dapper James Bond starts in on a new adventure “Eidolon” written by Warren Ellis issue #007!.

Are you missing out on Supergirl lately? Don’t fret because Sterling Gates has been keeping Kara and the Danvers girls busy in our Digital Chaser for Adventures of Supergirl #11.

Action Man #1

Writer: John Barber
Artist: Paolo Villanelli
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Pub. Date: June 22, 2016
UPC: 82771401090900121
BUY IT HERE

John Barber (Transformers) starts us out in media res with our hero Action Man infiltrating Doctor X’s headquarters.

Don’t know who Action Man is? Picture G.I. Joe but for Anglophiles.

I’m not talking the little guys, we’re talking Original 1960’s Kung-Fu Grip that might ask for a spot of tea.

Paolo Villanelli (Snake Eyes) is on art and if you crave a modern G.I.Joe title (one that is noticeably missing from the current IDW line), Action Manmight be what you are looking for!

Action Man is a highly trained soldier in martial arts, weapons and even the culinary arts according to this incarnation. He’s Duke, Snake-Eyes and Roadblock all rolled into one!

That is, of course until a Wrath of Khan moment changes the fate of Action Man!

This is a fun start to the series that I look forward to continuing, a mashup of James Bond, The Kingsmen: Secret Service, G.I. Joe and Torchwood, Action Man has what it takes to keep me interested!

And to be honest, the Train Fight certainly jumped my ratings from a low 4 to a high 5, targeting for my own locomotive combat preference.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK.COM]

TRIPLE SHOT - FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2016 ROUND-UP at FORCES OF GEEK

Captain America and Civil War II! Rom The Space Knight Returns! The Tick multiplies! Supergirl has test anxiety in DC Superhero Girls!

We cleaned up at Free Comic Book Day this year and here are the books that caught our eye, if you are lucky, maybe your store will have some left over when you pop in there on Wednesday!

We’re plowing through the stack, but these are the books that we were most excited about in this roundup report edition of Triple Shot!
Alright, we crammed more than three books into our Triple Shot but isn’t that always the case? Who cares about numbering anyway? Not the big comic book companies, that’s for sure!

Hopefully you were able to make it to your store this weekend for the free fare. Many places had cosplayers, free candy and creator signings to make the event (their largest retail date of the year) even more special. From 8-months-old to eighty-days-sober, the fifteen year tradition continues to bring comics and regular people through the doors of your local comic book store. 

This year’s associated film for Free Comic Book Day was Captain America: Civil War, so it makes sense to tackle the two big Marvel offerings for our special nerd holiday!

CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 FCBD 2016 EDITION

Cap is back, baby! He’s celebrating 75 years this year, so that makes it special that Steve Rogers is returning to the Captain America cowl and pirate boots (in my mind only).

The current Marvel Universe will have two Caps running around, Sam Wilson and Steve donning separate shields. The costume revealed for Steve in FCBD is very cool, and his shield is like Joe Simon’s original concept, the ‘badge’ shield design.

Why the change? Who knows…but this is a different and cool design and I’m fine with that.

S. H. I. E. L. D.  is facing charges in a Senate committee hearing. Agent Sharon Carter is doing her level best to defend the actions of the team before Steve steps in and sets the Senate straight! More to be revealed in Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 written by Nick Spencer. 

Welcome back, AGAIN, Cap!

Backup Spidey story sets up the next big move for Slott and team. Is anyone ever truly dead? Ask Cap! He’s been there before!

{READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK.COM]

TRIPLE SHOT with a DC CHASER: The Road To REBIRTH – Grayson #18, We Are Robin #12, Teen Titans #18, Secret Six #12 at FORCES OF GEEK

It’s a DC Comics takeover today as we get closer to the Rebirth event and a new Batman on screen. We start off with a new creative team on Grayson before Rebirth, more Gotham sidekick action with We Are Robin and Teen Titans (guest starring Wonder Woman). Over in Secret Six, Strix is faced with dilemmas from the League of Assassins.

Are you ready for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Be sure to check back Friday morning for the Forces of Geek review when it is posted!

Grayson #18
Writers: Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
Artist: Roge Antonio
Publisher: DC Comics
Pub. Date: March 23, 2016
UPC:  76194132185101811
PRICE: $3.99
BUY IT HERE


Things are really heating up for Dick and Spyral this issue, but Grayson aka Agent 37 isn’t really at the center of all the action.

With Lanzing and Kelly (Batman and Robin Eternal) jumping on as writers to wrap up this arc, where a lot of threads were just sort of hanging there, we start the issue in the middle of the action at the St. Hadrian’s school for wayward spy girls.

With guest appearances from Bronze Tiger, Grifter and Midnighter, Dick leads a team against Leviathan. 

Helena is seriously injured in the melee, but at the end we have Agent Zero and her sister vying for the top of the stack as someone from their past makes a surprise appearance.

This is most certainly not a jumping on point for readers, perhaps not many people out there are even aware that Dick is a spy now, but no matter. With Rebirth, Nightwing returns and we can turn our back on this now overly complicated spy story. 

I sure wish Seeley wrapped this arc up, though because this issue is a bit confusing, and I have been reading this book since the beginning!

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

Triple Shot With a Digital Chaser: NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #17, STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY #3, G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #225 Plus ADVENTURES OF SUPERGIRL Chapter 2 at FORCES OF GEEK

Harley’s shaping up to ship out of Belle Reve as Tim Seeley takes over on New Suicide Squad #17, the cadets are up to their necks in secrets and competition in Star Trek: Star Fleet Academy #3 and Springfield might not last as ‘A Nice Little Town’ as it survives the conclusion of Cobra World Order in Hama’s G.I. Joe #225. 

Still reeling from this week’s Alan Moore inspired Supergirl episode? There’s more to be had in ComiXology for the tie-in weekly Adventures of Supergirl Chapter 2 written by fan favorite Sterling Gates!

NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #17
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist/Cover: Juan Ferreyra
Publisher: DC Comics
Pub. Date: February 10, 2016
UPC: 76194132184401711
Price: $2.99
BUY IT HERE

Tim Seeley has been an architect of the current Batman & Robin: Eternal and other Bat-Books, Nightwing and most recently, Grayson.

Aside from his work as an artist and writer on many independent books, Seeley has grown into a DC Comics powerhouse, adapting to these important legacy characters and making them his own.

This August’s Suicide Squad movie will re-introduce the world to Joker and Harley Quinn with familiar faces filling the rolls. Suicide Squad is soon to be a household name, beyond the reach of the CW version we’ve seen in the Arrow-verse.

This jumping on point for readers feels much the same for Seeley, as he has admitted to not knowing much of Task Force X before taking this assignment. This is refreshing for me as well, as I’m not a huge Suicide Squad fan generally speaking, but was excited to check out these pages.

When Fred Van Lente took over on G.I. Joe in 2013, I feel like he had the same attitude, and these were some of the most refreshing stories I have read in the IDW run. Van Lente played it loose but with reverence, a fine line and difficult to do if you are a dyed in the wool fan. 

Tim Seeley’s Suicide Squad starts fresh with a basic mission of mismatched baddies selected by Amanda Waller to kick some ass before being locked up again. It’s formulaic for sure but a great jumping on point.  Seeley himself cites Harley Quinn for a big influence on his own Hack/Slash’s titular character Cassie Hack. All of that seems right.

If his first issue is any indication, there will be roster changes in the coming months and status quo will be messed with. This new run is off to a fun start, and a welcome shift from the issues leading up to #17.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

Triple Shot With a Heavy Metal Chaser: SUPERMAN: AMERICAN ALIEN #2, THE LEGEND OF WONDER WOMAN #1, EVIL DEAD 2: CRADLE OF THE DAMNED #1 & NARCOPOLIS: CONTINUUM #1 at FORCES OF GEEK

From Krypton to Themyscira to the Deadite infested woods of North Carolina, we are kicking off 2016 with a return to form of the classic Triple Shot comics review column! 

Can’t make heads or tails of a pull list? Are you easily confused by staring at rows of comics on the shelf? We hope these recommendations do you well. Why think when we can tell you what comics to buy!

This week, Max Landis and Joëlle Jones give you a unique spotlight on a young Clark Kent, Renae De Liz (Peter Pan, The Last Unicorn) and Ray Dillon retell Wonder Woman’s origin in Legend of Wonder Woman and lastly Ash is back, baby, inEvil Dead 2: Cradle of the Damned!

This week you get an extra bonus Heavy Metal chaser as one of our very own FOG!’s very own (Steven) Scott Duvall! drops his new book Necropolis: Continuum #1 from Heavy Metal Comics.
That’s right, that Heavy Metal!

Groovy!

SUPERMAN: AMERICAN ALIEN #3 (of 7) 
Writer: Max Landis

Artist: Joëlle Jones
Publication Date: January 13, 2016
Price: $3.99
Publisher: DC Comics
UPC: 76194133061700311
BUY IT HERE

Max Landis (Chronicle, Dirk Gently) has been surprising comic fans the past few months with his take on different eras of Clark Kent, Superboy and Superman. With different artists assigned to each chapter of this mini-series, we are able to appreciate different aspects of Clark’s home life. 

Of course, this is the almost predictable ‘modern retelling’ of the Superman origin. What sets it apart, besides the art treatment, is a feeling that Superman is a legend.

No chapter picks up where the last story left off.

Much like in American television, each artist on a chapter shows a different era of Clark’s life, and each of the artists would be the guest director of the episode.

This particular chapter’s director is the talented Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer, Adventures of Superman).
The story takes place on Bruce Wayne’s yacht, but master Bruce is not even there to celebrate his birthday. Clark stands in for the absent Bruce, who is ‘Never at his (own) parties’. 

A young Clark lives it up, hooks up with a lady, gets drunk and has all of the fun Bruce Wayne would only pretend to have. 

There have been plenty of stories where these two have switched places but what sets this story apart is that they have yet to be acquainted. 

It’s not all booze and cupcakes as a popular DC villain is after Bruce Wayne and Clark has to face him.

In conclusion, this a fun issue, even if it just stands alone. It is a fun take for fans of the classic Batman and Superman dynamic that flashes back to the pre-superhero days.

The art is gorgeous and I’m enjoying what Max has to say with ‘his’ Superman!

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]