SOLID STATE TANK GIRL #1 (of 4)
WRITER: Alan Martin
ART: Warwick J. Cadwell
Publication Date: May 15, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Titan Comics
UPC: 07447028032301
Buy it HERE


Remember Tank Girl? I sorta do. There was a 1995 movie, right? With the guy from Body Count and SVU.

Do you remember rock and roll radio, The Clash, Love and Rockets? The creators crammed all of that into a dyke role model with post apocalyptic kangaroo sidekick that live in a tank in Australia.

Jamie Hewlett went on to form Gorillaz, and original creator Alan Martin sort of wandered the countryside (seriously) looking to uncover ancient mysteries.

Martin has since resurrected the character in 2007, and Titan Books has released his latest story, Solid State Tank Girl with art by Warwick Johnson-Cadwell.

We see familiar faces—Booga, Jet Girl and Tank Girl.

We’re in a radio repair shop, something likely useful I the ‘80s or in post apocalyptic times. Booga zaps himself on an old radio and Tank Girl is put to task to revive him.

How do they do it? Honey I Shrunk the Kids style.

There’s a delightful few pages of ball humor before they do the Osmosis Jones bit and float into the gross kangaroo insides.

To cram just one more Netflix classic in there, perhaps the reason Booga has fallen ill could be found in the plot of Three Men and a Baby.

A fun, punk rock read with a female leading cast.

A backup story pits Tank Girl against Dick Strangeballs!

Tank Girl is Dead. Long Live Tank Girl!

DOOMSDAY.1 #1 (of 4)
WRITER/ARTIST: John Byrne
Publication Date: May 15, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: IDW Publishing
UPC: 82771400459500111
Buy it HERE


Master of storytelling and the comic book form John Byrne reboots a classic concept of his from the ‘70s withDoomsday.1 this week.

The four issue limited series is a post apocalyptic tale of solar flares wiping out the most of the habitable places on Earth.

Stuck in orbit on an international space voyage, a crew of seven watches helplessly as the planet is decimated by fire.

On the ground, The President, The Pope, a prison and a submarine crew hunker down away on different parts of the planet to save themselves. This gives us an idea that some pockets of humanity will survive the destruction.

A sacrifice is made in space to return the astronauts home after many orbits and the flare subsiding. A crash landing in the southern United States leaves the crew to to survive on a familiar an foreign planet.

I am a fan of John Byrne’s polarizing artwork and storytelling, and follow his work at IDW closely—from Angel to Star Trek. This book is for fans of The Walking Dead, Planet of the Apes, and Mad Max. Will these astronauts survive past the four issue mini-series, or will they bake on the surface of a planet they used to call home? I’m along for the ride!

Dream Merchant #1 (of 6)
WRITER: Nathan Edmondson
ART: Konstantin Novosadov
Publication Date: May 15, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Image Comics
UPC: 70985301362400111
Buy it HERE

Nathan Edmondson is no stranger to poking around in someone’s head.

His spy-fi action comic Jake Ellis takes place somewhat in protagonist Jon Moore’s head, as the specter of Jake Ellis guides him through missions. The Dream Merchant mini series is off to a strong start here.

Winslow has been plagued by persistent and recurring dreams, that preoccupy his waking moments. He’s checked for observation into a mental hospital in Burbank.

While there he befriends the cafeteria worker, juvenile delinquent Anne, who has a fondness for Wilson and lends him many books on dreams.

Sleep demons chase the two out of the hospital and they are guided by a mysteriously shrouded mentor with a staff, one who seems to have control over the dream state. The two hop a train and escape onto the road, following the bizarre figure.

This is a different type of story that Edmondson’s other work, The Activity or Jake Ellis in that there is no spy action or military tech involved yet.

This is more of a teenage adventure story that half takes place in the realm of dreams. The flavor of the dream world is more Harry Potter than it is ‘The Dreaming’ of Sandman books, and a bit more fun. Chapter 1 has the heroes on their journey, with no hints at where the roads may take the three next.

Art by Siberian Konstantin Novosadov is more Disney cartoon than Darwyn Cooke ‘50s illustration, but the solid black line work and facial expressions are seemingly influenced by both. 

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]

Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce and CG&C have merged to handle the Chevrolet account and bring the forces of both firms together.

Not everyone is able to keep their jobs as the union comes with some redundancies. In this episode we marvel at how the higher ups at the company deal with the power shifts in the workplace and at home.

All the while, those at the bottom of the totem pole scramble to prove their worth and save their own jobs.

The story opens with the recurring elevator scene in Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) building. On his way in to the new company’s first day, the elevator door opens to Sylvia’s (Linda Cardellini) floor. We hear her argue with husband Doctor Arnold Rosen (Brian Markinson) who is leaving his practice and headed to Minnesota. Don closes the door, just before the doctor turns the corner for the lift.

At Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, the as yet unnamed amalgamation of the two firms is physically taking place. Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) is shown to her new office by a put upon Joan (Christina Hendricks). Joan assigns new offices to the salesmen and the secretaries.

Sterling moves upstairs, as Ted (Kevin Rahm) takes the office directly across from Don’s. This positions these two gentlemen at an equal level psychologically.

The first board meeting divides the client base among reps. Ted Chaough shows an assertive and clear headed side.

Pete (Vincent Kartheiser), the last to the meeting and temporarily without a seat is called away to deal with his senile mother. This accompanies the theme of any self-imposed punishment he’s carved out for himself these past weeks. He is, in his own way, compassionate toward his mother, and puts her up in his stag apartment, offering her the bed.

Don leaves the partner meeting for a different calling. He and Sylvia have a hotel quickie that devolves into a master/slave BSDM power play. It’s clear that while she plays along, this is Don’s game, not her as he demands she stay naked waiting for him to be done with work.

After blowing off a meeting with the creative department and Ted about Fleischmann’s Margarine to have his affair, Don returns to the office. Ted dresses him down about the tardiness, and Don slams the door on Ted.

In a power play, Don visits Ted’s office with a full bottle of Canadian Club. Not being as much of a drinker as Don, Ted is quickly hammered and unable to do any more work. They visit the creative suite in the middle of the offices where Peggy, Stan and Ginsberg are still meeting.

Ted passes out, with Don assuring everyone that Ted will “Sleep it off”. The move to embarrass the new partner gets Peggy irked, and she says as much to Don later in the episode.

Our new pal, Bob Benson (James Wolk), the man who has been sticking his nose in everyone’s business, but in a friendly ass-kissing sort of way has moments with Joan that redeem the character in the eyes of the viewer. Joan is not only dealing with the merger of the two companies, but is doing so under incredible pain. Bob takes her to the hospital and is able to use his sideways smirk to get her immediate treatment for what turns out to be an ovarian cyst. When it comes time for Joan, Jim Cutler (Harry Hamlin) and Pete to fire redundant employees, Joan saves Benson.

What mysterious reveals about Bob will we see in the second half of the season? He is certainly having many people talking about him and some important allies in the office (Ted and Joan). 

Don has imposed an imprisonment for Sylvia as he leaves with Ted in a two-seater plane to deal with the Mohawk plane account upstate. In this instance, Ted has the upper hand, being a pilot and identifying more closely with the client, trumping Don’s history with the client.

When Don returns to the hotel to boss Sylvia around and get kinky, she is about to leave and calls off the affair. She realizes that she needs to end the whole thing, and Don protests. In the end, that’s where it leaves off. Drenched from a downpour, Sylvia returns home on to the floor below Don’s, departing the elevator without a word. Don returns home, and Megan (Jessica Paré) fixes him a drink.

Megan asks Don to go on vacation with her, but Don can hardly focus on her words. His world seems to be falling apart. Can he reinvent himself again?

Pete’s mom awakes him to tell him the news of the RFK assassination, but also that he is going to be late for school at 6AM. Chalking this up to her senility, Pete returns to sleep on the couch in his apartment. A grown man who is also powerless, though in a different way that Don.

The story ends with Don staring into space as Megan cries, touched by the loss of Bobby Kennedy.

In a world where freedom rings, there is a sense of unknown powerlessness. Don has lost some control of his business and creativity and his mistress. Is he losing control of everything? Time will tell.

What do we have to look forward to in episode 8 from the teaser?

Furrowed brows, a reaction to the RFK shooting, tired partners and the return of Ken Cosgrove from the midwest with what seems like dire news. Is this merger a success? We’ll see in the long-tail, this new super agency doesn’t have a name yet!

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]