#and Mr. Sienkiewicz is so real for that

[age-of-moonknight]

Cover of Amazing Heroes (Vol. 1/1981), #6 by Bill Sienkiewicz.

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: Making the Break (Issue 11)

Moon Knight, Issue #11: To Catch a Killer 

Written by Doug Moench and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz

Another blast from the past. Another one I skipped for…poorly thought out reasons. 

We open in lower manhattan! 

Under a bridge, we see two men exchanging something in the rain. 

One of the men is a BIG guy named Creed and the other just a little young guy. The young guy seems surprised to see Creed doing the exchange himself. Creed notes his usual girl is missing but when he finds her, she’ll be missing for GOOD. 

Moon Knight watches from above. "There's a likely pair...Yes, indeed--Making a connection...Time to break it." 

Moon Knight pulls out a silver crescent dart and nails the cash and coke to the wall. 

Moon Knight jumps down to question the men. "Relax, small fry, I'm not interested in you--It's the BIG fish I'm after." 

It would seem that cocaine was starting to pick up flow in Manhattan and Moon Knight wants to know where it's coming from. 

Now, keep in mind we are back in 1981. I've brought it up before, but back in the 80s, cocaine became the problem drug and it was a huge problem in New York. So this is a modern problem of the time. 

Getting the information takes a little coercion. Moon Knight fights the big guy, who apparently is in charge of the movement of cocaine in Manhattan once it gets there. 

The big guy, Creed, doesn't go down easy and surprises Moon Knight by taking the hits. Creed makes a run for it and Moon Knight lets him go. He's after bigger fish, after all. 

He calls in Frenchie to head home. 

In the old classic style, Moon Knight enters the Grant Mansion by diving down through the pool. 

The pool opens down at the bottom into a passage that leads to "Grant's sunken bath". 

What's interesting is that the mansion is implied to have been built and modified by Steven Grant and there are multiple hidden entrances/escape hatches. 

A hold over from Marc's days and possibly in fear of an enemy finding him there. 

Exiting the pool, it leads right into the bedroom. And here we see a rare shot of Steven doing Steven things. 

“Listen, Marlene, I think I’ll take a bath and change to Grant. Then I want to go over those annuity stocks before breakfast.” 

“Right–Meet you in the library in twenty minutes. And one of these days real soon, it might be nice if you caught some sleep.” 

She has a point. In the early comics, Moon Knight never seems to get any sleep. He fights crime all night as Moon Knight then returns at dawn to either be Steven to take care of business or Jake to head to the diner. 

Now, a lot of people with DID do suffer from some form of sleeping disorder. Not all, mind you, but I’d wager a good portion do. Insomnia, night terrors, night flashbacks, or other issues. I find it interesting that they the Moon boys do seem to push themselves to breaking point. And more interesting is that Moench doesn’t ignore the fact that they don’t sleep. He writes out many many times other characters telling them to get rest. To get sleep. To stop and take a break. 

So we end up with this heroic character that we know is always pushed to the edge. Always exhausted and beaten up and in pain and still pushing himself. Moon Knight is a hero that is always on breaking point. 

A bit later, a frantic knock at the front door interrupts their day. 

Samuels, the butler, finds a woman there. 

"I'm aware that Marc Spector receives his mail here, in care of Steven Grant. Could I see Mr. Grant, please? My name is Isabelle Kristel." 

Now, there's a bit of interesting things to note about that. That Marc Spector is afraid of enemies of his past finding him, but he has his mail sent to their mansion anyways. Not only that, he has it sent in care of Steven. One might argue that this is supposed to indicate that he doesn't live there and that only Steven knows where he is and can have it sent to him... But how much mail is Marc Spector getting? What sort of mail? 

Samuels goes to find Steven and announce the visitor. 

"There is a woman to see you, Sir, but it's about Marc Spector. I don't think she's aware that you and Mr. Spector are in fact one and the same man. She seems to be French." 

Steven jumps up, asking for her name. 

The second he hears her name, we note that Marc Spector has taken charge. 

Marc demands that Isabelle be shown in despite protests that it would give away his secret that he and Marc are the same person. 

He calls up Frenchie from the roof in a hurry. 

She takes one look at "Steven" and recognizes Marc. 

"Marc--! It's you! But why does he say you are....Steven Grant?" 

"Because that's the name I use most often these days, Isabelle. And this is my assistant Marlene...." 

Interesting further that Marc still calls Marlene his assistant. Marlene has always been in a relationship with Steven but the other two... Which is why I ALWAYS raise an eyebrow at the whole "We loved Marlene" stuff from later comics. 

Marc asks how she's doing and she cries. She doesn't want to burden Marc with her troubles. Instead she asks him if he knows where to find Jean-Paul these days. 

Hilarious that Marc Spector gets his mail sent there in care of Steven but Frenchie doesn't send his mail anywhere. I would kill for a proper back story for Frenchie. 

AND YOU ARE IN LUCK. Because this particular issue is about Frenchie! 

And Jean-Paul enters the room behind them and stands stunned. 

What is so fascinating about this is that Marelen has no idea what's going on. 

She wants nothing to do with Marc Spector and his past life as a killer/soldier. So of course she has never bothered to ask him OR to even speak with Frenchie about his life. Frenchie is a product of Marc Spector's life and she tolerates him because he comes with Moon Knight. 

After their tearful embrace, she admits that she is only there to deliver a package. 

"I had planned to leave it here with Steven Grant, to pass along to Marc, with instructions that he deliver it to you. But now... To find you both here...I... I was not prepared..." 

Jean-Paul asks if she plans to return to him soon. She agrees, but first she has to finish some business. 

They ask what is in the package. She cannot say, but she asks them not to open it. 

"Just keep it for me. Keep it safe. If I do not return for it within ten days, we...We shall never see each other again. In that case, you may open the package and keep its contents." 

She promises to tell him everything when she returns, if she returns. 

"I'm ready for it now, Jean-Paul, Truly ready. I've made the break. If the fates are kind, we will meet again in ten days... And we will be together for a much longer time to come. Until then... Farewell. And please...Do not follow me." 

She leaves in a hurry. 

Marc moves to comfort his friend. 

Marlene asks why he never spoke about her when it is so obvious that he loves her. 

"Why? Because words are sometimes haunted...by zee ghosts of memory..." (That's beautiful) 

Now we get a beautiful French memory of a younger Jean-Paul. 

"As Marc already knows, Marlene... Isabelle and I were once lovers in France. Like all such lovers, we felt uniquely blessed. We had been granted the magic of two souls in perfect union... And the magic was like a sweet, silent music that hummed around us always. It was a magic which could never be broken, never be denied, never lost or forgotten... Until the day she left without a word. Not even a note." 

"As Marc knows" implies that Marc has heard the story before. And honestly, as brothers in arms, they probably did sit around and tell one another why they were there. One gathers from all the stories of Marc's past that he didn't make friends. He had allies and ONE friend. Jean-Paul has always been a constant in Marc's life and, depending on which version of the beginning you read, Jean-Paul was the one that invited Marc to join the mercenary group in the first place. This may also mean that Jean-Paul knows more about Marc Spector than most people. Perhaps this is why Jean-Paul stuck around for so long. It makes me wonder if he knew about Steven and Jake too, back in the beginning. 

Anyways... 

"I learned from one of her friends that she had been frightened by our love, the change it had forced upon her soul. She felt the need to flee it--before it consumed her. 

I never understood, not until much later.. Not until long after I forced myself to forget, forsaking Paris for the strange parts of the world... those places I had never seen before, where memory could not haunt me. 

I met Marc in Africa where as mercenaries, we fought a revolutionary coup attempt. 

And there, half a world away, I found her again- Working for the rebels, and for an agency of the French Government." 

NOW THIS IS JUST SPECULATION. But a revolutionary coup in Africa with the French government involved on the side fighting rebels. 

This means that she was working with France to attempt to overthrow the current governmental station and implant a new leader that France approves of (usually someone that France feels will be more willing to work with them in their favor.) 

HISTORY TIME! 

France had several colonies in Africa called "French West Africa, which was a federation of eight territories: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea, Upper Volta (Now Burkina Faso), Dahomey (Now Benin), Niger, and Côte d'Ivoire. 

France did not like the idea of giving up territories (look up France and Vietnam if you really want to get mad about the Vietnam war). In fact, some of the colonies didn't declare independence until 1962!!! And guess what? FRANCE STILL HAS EYES ON WEST AFRICA. 

We know Jean-Paul was once a Legionnaire. A corps of the French Army that exists specifically to let foreign nationals join the French army. They also have a reputation as being the world's premier mercenary corps. Purely voluntary, it primarily works abroad and is OFTEN sent to Africa. 

We know that around this time, Jean-Paul had broken away from the Legionnaires for reasons unknown and started working independently as a Mercenary and Marc was also working independently. 

They later met up with Bushman's group and we all know how that went. 

Back to the comic! 

"We spent one more night together in talk, alone in the shadows, and she said that perhaps someday she could make the break from what she was...And she hoped that on that day we would meet again--And I glimpsed what my love could not give her--Independence, the satisfaction and pride of asserting herself, accomplishing things on her own." 

She left him again with promises to be ready for their love someday. 

Marlene tells him to be happy. That she seems ready and in ten days she will return to him. 

"Oui, Marlene, I should be happy...But I am not." 

He knows there was something in her eyes. Something that knew she could not be coming back. 

Frenchie opens the box and finds $250,000. (That's $846,179 in today's change.) 

Marc notes the box was purchased from "Ritter's New Orleans." 

Frenchie is distraught. 

"Who? Who was she running from, Marc? Who was after her? And why did they have to kill her?" 

"I'm afraid it was the money, Frenchie, but I'll try to find out for sure...As soon as I change to Jake Lockley and tap some of my sources." 

So we see Frenchie in pain and asking Marc for help and Marc's response is to send Jake out. 

Considering how early on in the comics this is and before the system really started to come together, this is a really good display of delegating between alters. Jake is the one that helps and comforts his friends. 

So now we cut to Jake at Gena's diner talking to Crawley. 

"Yes, I've been apprised of the murder, Jake. Word has it that an out-of-town pro made the hit. Nasty trademark--An icepick. His name is Cajun Creed. Ostensibly, he's an extraordinary character, Jake--" 

Uh oh. Creed. 

Jake instantly knows and looks so sad. 

"I may've had him in my grasp...And let him escape." 

Apparently she failed to deliver goods already paid for. 

He goes back home to tell Frenchie. Interestingly it's Jake that tells Frenchie the news, not Marc. 

"[....] And the guy on the pier--the one who got away--may not have been such a small fry after all. He might have been her killer." 

Jake explains that the cocaine is running from France to New Orleans to New York. Isabelle was working undercover for the French agency when she came across Cajun Creed. When she infiltrated Cajun Creed's business, she took the money and ran. 

And if there is any doubt on who is talking to Frenchie, that is a VERY Jake pose and response. No one really gets people or forgives people for their traits like Jake does. 

“People are People, Frenchie. We’re a strange breed. At any given moment, in any given situation. Any one of us could do something crazy–any one of us could turn sour.” 

And he comforts their friend. This is not a place for Marc Spector, a man of vengeance. This is a place for Jake Lockley, a man who is kind and compassionate. 

Now that Frenchie has been comforted, we see Marc slip in. 

"Either way, her murder deserves to be avenged. In two weeks, Frenchie, they hold their Mardi Gras down there-A perfect cover for us. Marlene can stay here and hold down the fort. In Two weeks, you and I--You and Moon KNight--Are going to new Orleans...To settle final accounts with Cajun Creed." 

And true to his word, two weeks later we see them in New Orleans. It's Fat Tuesday and the festival is underway. 

We see Moon Knight using the festival as an excuse to move about the streets in full Moo Knight attire. 

Frenchie is dressed as a pirate for some reason. 

Well... Actually. Now that I think about it...

SMALL HISTORY INTERJECTION: 

We all knew (or should know) that New Orleans has a high Creole culture, which originated from France (I'm not going to get into that bit of history unless you want me to.) BUT New Orleans also had a big Pirate influence too! Specifically French and Creole ones! It's really fascinating, but you should totally look it up if you like pirates. Jean Lafitte was the first Pirate to hail out of America. 

ANYWAYS. That's why Frenchie is dressed like a pirate and no one cares. 

We see Moon Knight asking if they should give up for the night since they've already tried 18 joints. 

"No, Marc--This is one fishing expedition that does not end until zee big fish is caught, gutted, and fried." 

"Slow down, Frenchie! You've been obsessed with this for two weeks now! It's time to get a grip on yourself before the venom in your gut explodes and poisons your heart!" 

Really? This coming from Mr. Revenge? Perhaps he doesn't want to see his friend falling down the same hole he fell down. He wants to see Frenchie escape from their past and be happy. 

He agrees to let Frenchie try one more club while he waits out front. 

So of course Frenchie finds Creed inside showing off his strength. 

He sneaks up behind him "Creed--Isabelle sends her love." and challenges him to a fight. 

Moon Knight wonders what is taking so long when Frenchie comes flying out the front door into the street with Creed attempting to stab him with an ice pick. 

Moon Knight disarms him but takes a hit. 

"Ugn! He's just as mean and strong as I remember--which means this fight's gonna be a killer!" 

Distracted by a goon, Moon Knight watches Creed get away then presses the goon for information. When he turns to gather up Frenchie, he finds him gone! 

"No--The fool! Not alone--He can't face Creed alone!" 

Moon Knight rushes to an old warehouse filled with crates of cocaine. 

Inside, Frenchie has cornered Creed and holds a gun to him. 

He yells at Creed that he is there to settle the score, but first he must know what Creed gave to Isabelle to make her change. 

"What did you do to her?! I couldn't make her change, but you did! My Love couldn't change her--but your evil did! How?" 

Creed tells him that Frenchie's love wasn't big enough. That "She changed because she wanted to." He taunts him until a random goon happens around the corner to see what's going on. 

He shoots Frenchie just as Moon Knight arrives. 

Now, we’ve seen them lose friends before. We’ve seen Jake lose friends and go quiet till Marc takes over to get revenge. We’ve seen Marc lose old allies before and go on a rampage of vengeance across countries. 

But this is Frenchie. The one person in the world who knows the true him. That has followed him despite knowing the true him. The one person who can honestly say Marc Spector is my friend. 

I shudder to think what would happen if Frenchie ever was killed. 

Despite his troubles from before, he gives it his all to fight Creed now. He moves around like a professional and delivers blows and kicks. 

His final blow is a crushing double fist to Creed's face that probably breaks his nose/cheekbones/eye sockets. This is not an easy to hit to get around. 

Creed instantly gives up to avoid another hit. 

He admits that Isabelle didn't love him. She stole his coke and money and shut down his whole operation. 

He admits to killing her in New York after he found her trying to get in touch with the French Embassy. He tortured her for five days to try to make her talk. He killed her then after she said it was her last chance to retire with Jean-Paul. 

Moon Knight goes to punch him out but is stopped by Frenchie...

Marc takes Frenchie to Paris where Isabelle is buried. 

Here, Jean-Paul is able to say goodbye to the past. He lays to rest what could be, and Marc waits for him at a distance to take him home. 

I’ve always loved Jean-Paul. The mysteriously loyal frenchman that seemingly lives on the roof and is always working on their chopper. He’s always there and always ready to fly them off at a moments notice. He has no social life and almost never has a day to himself. 

In later comics, they interpret it to mean that Jean-Paul was in love with Marc Spector. That he followed him because of his love, but that Marc was too dense to pick up on it. Jean-Paul eventually leaves them after a tragic accident leaves him double amputated from the knees down. He falls in love with his PT person and the two run off to start their own restaurant together. Since then, we haven’t seen Jean-Paul in the comics aside from a brief appearance in Lemire’s run. 

It is so bittersweet knowing how it all ends, but until then, we have the most beautiful friendship and one stable and loyal aspect to Marc Spector’s life. Something he needed. Something we, the reader needed. 

We have Marlene to connect us to Steven. Genna, her boys, and Crawley to connect us to Jake. We even have Detective Flint to connect us to Moon Knight. But Frenchie must connect us to Marc Spector. To show us that there is more to this man than anger and death. Why else would Frenchie stay with him so fiercely? 

And the same can be said for Jean-Paul. A man that has lived his own time as a soldier and mercenary. A man that may have his own guilt and pain. A life he left behind. Rich with no ties to anyone or any place, he chooses to spend his after war times with Marc and Moon Knight, helping to protect people and do right. I wish we could see more of this man. Maybe someday he’ll be remembered and returned to us, the friendly man in the moon cap ready to pick us up and take us away. 

[baura-bear]

OK MAURA FIRST OF ALL BANGER POST!!! AS FUCK!!!! 💯💯💯 and now i will take the opportunity to dump. a bit of info + thoughts about david and his fav polish books.

as i mentioned!! pan tadeusz (mr. thaddeus) by adam mickiewicz is definitely one of david's favorites. it's basically a very important (for polish folks obv) epic that tells a story about a bunch of people in a traditional polish manor house, it has elements of love and also mentions uprisings (fighting against the oppressors at that time) and i just. always imagined david's grandpa (before david had to leave poland) also telling davey stories about both the uprisings and how life used to look like in a manor like that or at least a village nearby! and i think davey just loves to reflect on that and his favorite part is definitely the description of how life looked like and how the house looked like and. yeah.

while talking about mickiewicz! he's just a well known poet and i think david likes his ballads in general. they're all from the romanticism epoque and so they're a little mystical and very dramatic (which davey learns to appreciate with age i imagine?) and he definitely loves some of the quotes from these. example (rough translation of course) "a heart isn't a servant, it does not know what a master is" and. i think that one little quote helped david connect with his queerness a lot especially!

ok moving on. i mentioned wesele (wedding reception?) by stanisław wyspiański. it got published in 1901 soo 2 years after canon but whatever. and basically it's a drama about a polish reception in a small traditional village style but its main charm is that it's also a critique of various polish attitudes at the time! i won't dwelve into it obviously because it could be boring but i just think that it would give david a grand old time with connecting all the subtle references to actual real life events and he definitely just loves the symbolism

and also. latarnik (light house keeper) by henryk sienkiewicz! a very short novella that tells a tale of a man who's supposed to turn the light on in a light house every single night, but one night he gets a shipment of a few polish books (such as pan tadeusz) and he gets very emotional about it because he spent 40 years away from poland and. i think david relates to that a little? he definitely misses his home at least a little (or at least some parts of it) and. yeah

and !!! you mentioned david loving long and good descriptions!! well then henryk sienkiewicz is known for that (and that's also usually why a lot of people [read: teenagers that have to read his books for school] don't like him)!! quo vadis, krzyżacy (teutonic order), potop (deluge) or w pustyni i w puszczy (in the desert and the wilderness) are all chok full of loooong descriptions of everything and davey would love that.

okay holy hell that turned out to be a little longer than i wanted it to be but ! i just have so many thoughts about david and his polish heritage! rant over. tee hee

Had to pause reading several times to giggle and scream into my pillows. DAAVVVEEEEE I’m just sitting here making different sounds trying to figure out how I can verbalize how much I love this. The thing about his grandpa reading to him??? 🥹🥹🥹scream sobbing. AND THE THE HEART QUOTE AND DAVEYS QUEERNESS HHHHHHHH OH MY GOD th thank you so much for sharing I am cradling this information like 🤲

I need to find this one fic I once read because it was just 🙌 idk why this made me think of it but I’m gonna find it and post it on here because I need the world to read it

[ulubionywuja]

Can you talk more about your time as a film extra? It sounds very interesting

Sure!

It started in winter 2020, during my second year of uni. I studied graphic design and prinmaking, both are expensive af (Adobe programs for design + special papers and ink for prints, one sheet of said paper can cost up to $20/80PLN). I was born in the city that I went to uni in, so there was no need for me to pay landlords or even buy my own food, but still, the materials were bonkers costly, so I decided to earn some money for them. It's really easy to become an extra, all you have to do is find an extra studio (Wrocław has two, I'm signed to ABM to this day), record a scene straight from a shit pseudo-documentary (ukryta prawda, Polacy wiedzą), which isn't published, it's just for them to see if you're ok for speaking roles. Then you sign a paper and they send you emails with movies or shows they need people for. It doesn't pay well, but it's ok if you just need a tiny, tiny bit of money.

My first show was Pierwsza Miłość, it was an episode about some guy getting spiked during a party? I never watched this series before and had no idea what was going on :) But turns out the medical people in Polish TV are actual medical pros and the equipment (like defibrillators) is 100% real! On my first shooting day it was freezing cold, around -8 C, but we could eat and drink everything that was on the tables during the fake party we were filming. I went for that show a few times, since they were making an entire season.

The main event of this job happened last autumn, when TVP (we hate TVP here I hate the government I hate homophobia I hate sexism <3 I want them dead) was filming a (kinda crap) historical drama Kordian. The source material is a classic of Polish romanticism, but they took it let's say liberally. I went because I like the book and it's a historical costume film. A few days before shooting, me and the other extras had to go to the main TV and radio building to get our costumes fitted. I had no idea who was about to play the important speaking roles, and when I found out I was literally shocked? Some of my mutuals know that I'm into Sienkiewicz's trilogy (a book series from the 1880s), which got adapted into movies when Poland was a communist country. I love the films a lot, the most known one is The Deluge (which happen to be the movie with the most historically accurate saber fight in film history), starring some of the most well known Polish actors of that time. And they were about to be in the movie I was in IN THE SAME SCENES? We had mr. Olbrychski (Kmicic), mr. Teleszyński (Boguś) and mr. Nowicki (Ketling z Pana Wołodyjowskiego). And Pazura but I found out he's an awful dude, and he didn't have a role in Trilogy movies, he's just famous. I got my makeup done right next to Pazura and I wanted to punch him in the face because of all the sexist stulejarz stuff he was saying <3

99 % of extra work is waiting, so we did that for like 7 hours (legit) and then played a few scenes by the Wrocław cathedral. It was brutal since I was in a historical outfit and heels on a renaissance pavement :/ I talked to some fellow extras, tbh it was slightly intimidating to be next to mr. Teleszyński, dude is like 2m tall and very, very proud and stoic. Mr. Olbrychski on the other hand is such a walking meme. He's like a million years old, yet I wish to be as fit as he is. Bro literally run off into the churchy distance because he was done with the film crew, smoked a cig and came back only because he was excited to see a horse he was about to ride. (he likes horses a lot and I think rescues horses on his own or somethin??) When he met the horse and befriended him (just a disclaimer, I know nothing abt horses), he got on it and escaped the set yet again, to have a ride around the cathedral. The street wasn't closed off so it was pretty funny watching pedestrians be like "o kurwa was that Olbrychski on a horse rn?". He played his role, it took two takes, his voice is as loud as a whole ass Rammstein live show, pyro included. Also he uses a flip phone from the 2000s. I got a picture with him. I was sitting on the pavement, scrolling on discord, while he just materialised out of thin air right in front of me and talked to some coffee people I believe? So I got up as quickly as I could and screamed CAN I SNAP A PIC into his unimpressed face. He just murmured "yea", and we got a photo. I have a pic with all the actors, but I'm an average young (1970s-1980s) Olbrychski enjoyer and my pinterst board is impressive. Mr Teleszyński I met maybe after 30 minutes of being on the set, as I said he was very stoic but much less done with everything.

I must admit, I expected these actors to be just kinda normal, but they're such unforgetable personalities! Can't say much about mr. Nowicki, because I didn't notice him in the makeup camper :)))) I didn't move my head much since I didn't wanna piss off the makeup artist, it was a different extra that told me we even were in one place together.

That was my last time on a set, but I'm willing to go back once or twice, if they do some other historical movies.

[adventseven]

Static Has Some New Hardware | COMIC BOOK REVIEW

What's up, everyone! Tré from Advent Seven here, and I'm back with another review from DC’s Milestone Returns. This time we’re talking about the first issue of Hardware: Season One and the third issue of Static: Season One.

Hardware: Season One #1 is written by Brandon Thomas with art by Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Chris Sotomayor. Static: Season One #3 is written by Vita Ayala with art by Chriscross and Nikolas Draper-Ivey. Hardware was released on August 10th, 2021. Static was released on August 31st, 2021. Both are available in both digital and print.

The following section contains spoilers for Static and Hardware

Hardware: Season One #1 is titled “Angry Black Man��. Hardware’s story starts with a short flashback showing a 3-year-old Curtis Metcalf at his first protest. It’s one of his happiest memories because he was with his father, but it's also a memory that he goes back to whenever another injustice happens. In the present, Dr. Metcalf is preparing for the inevitable arrival of the police.

In case you forgot, Dr. Curtis Metcalf is a brilliant scientist. He is being accused of causing "the Big Bang" by former boss and mentor Edwin Alva. Metcalf is not surprised it turned out this way, but he's not going quietly. The proceeding event is a bombastic demonstration of Hardware's power suit. With the aid of Metcalf's AI, P.O.P, Hardware blows up his lab, takes flight, and is chased by two military-grade helicopters. He’s able to take down one helicopter, but another damages his jetpack causing him to crash.

At Alva Industries, Edwin Alva speaks to the police. It's difficult for Alva to believe that Curtis could be responsible for the horrors of "the Big Bang". Alva recounts to himself how he discovered Curtis at a science fair. Alva recognized Curtis’s potential and invested heavily in Curtis’s future. According to Alva, Curtis had become entitled, wanting more. When Alva denied him, Curtis used "the Big Bang" as the perfect opportunity to ruin Alva and his company.

Hardware awakens after his crash. He’s a little sore, but he immediately focuses on taking down the helicopters. He does this by throwing a flaming knife at one, causing it to explode. Hardware then flies to Alva Industries to confront Alva. Alva condescends to Curtis like he's a disobedient child. Alva claims that Curtis would be nothing without him. Curtis responds by shattering the window in front of Alva. Hardware could have easily ended this here and now, but he decides Alva needs to suffer first. Hardware flies away, declaring, "We'll see who made who."

Hardware is not the style of character or story that I enjoy. He’s almost a Punisher archetype. He is someone who is out for justified revenge, and anyone who gets in his way is probably going to die.

The paneling is a little hard to follow during the first helicopter encounter. The coloring uses a lot of grays with bursts of orange explosions. An interesting detail throughout the story is that it is raining at night. It gives everything a somber, yet intense feel, which is a plus in my book.

It’s amazing to have one of the co-founders of Milestone Comics, Denys Cowan, return to do the penciling for this series. We are also treated to the “caged canary” allegory from the original Hardware comic. I rate this issue: 7/10.

Static: Season One #3 is titled “Run It Back”. This issue begins with Virgil about to be arrested. Using his wits and powers, Virgil manages to escape with a bag full of goodies from Mr. Metcalf's lab. We're also treated to a Static staple, him flying on a manhole cover.

When Virgil gets home, he goes through the bag hoping whatever was inside would be useful. To Virgil's excitement, there was enough gear in the bag to put together a complete superhero outfit. We also learn that Virgil was an anime fan when he was younger. He even learned to sew, so he could make costumes for himself and his friends.

After finishing his costume, Virgil decided it was time to clear the air with his dad. They have a real heart-to-heart while fixing the roof. The good feelings keep coming. Ritchie and Daisy show up to help repaint, apologize, and eat some home cooking.

Sadly, the good times can’t last. The next day, government agents arrive at the school. They are here to find potential Bang Babies. Unfortunately, the agents have someone with them that can point out the targets, Hotstreak.

Static: Season One continues to be one of my favorite stories to read. However, this issue takes a small step back. Nikolas Draper-Ivey only illustrated the first half of the comic. Pages 13-20 were drawn by Chriscross and Will Quintana. Their art is not bad by any means, but the art change proves that Nikolas’s skills have given Static new life.

Static’s new costume is solid. It takes elements from previous Static costumes, including the OG Malcolm X hat. I also love that it takes inspiration from Power Rangers/ Super Sentai. I rate this issue: 8.5/10

The next issue of Static is due to be released in October. Icon & Rocket #2 is already available, and #3 will be available on September 28th. Hardware #2 will also be available on September 28th.

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TL/DR: Static: Season One #3, available now, rating 8.5/10

Hardware: Season One #1, available now, rating 7/10

By: Tré Hanzy

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[thegeekerynj]

Death Metal: Infinite Hour EXXXTREME! One Shot

An Occasional Attempt to Read, Discuss and Review the Wonders of Comics

By: John Rafferty, cranky old man, and Fan of All Things Comics

Death Metal: Infinite Hour EXXXTREME! One Shot 

Writers: Frank Tieri / Becky Cloonan/ Sam Humphries   Artists: Tyler Kirkham / Rags Morales / Denys Cowan & Bill Sienkiewicz

‘Zactly which one o’ ya BASTICHES is gonna change my diaper?!’

———————————————————————————————————

Ambush Bug and Cheeks, the Toy Wonder. 

Buddy Baker, Animal Man. 

John Byrne’s Jennifer Walters, She Hulk. 

Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk. 

Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor, Junior. 

Tippy-Toe and Monkey Joe, Squirrel Girl’s companions.

And of course, Wade Wilson, the Merc with the Mouth, Deadpool.

All characters who joyously break the Fourth Wall, and interact with you, Gentle Reader, on a regular basis, should you in fact choose to read any of the publications they are featured in.

Add to this list my personal favorite, the Fraggin’ Ultimate Bastich from Czarnia, the Main Man hisself, and you have the subject of the current one shot of this speeding train to hell, LOBO.

WHYYYYYYY? You might scream, at the top of your lungs, in a near pandemonium induced frenzy… What possible reason could there be for this lunacy, outside of Keith Giffen’s mind? 

Well, be at peace, Gentle Readers, for there is a reason for this madness. Reason and, believe it or not, direction. For, you see, this is a story of three parts, each unique, and special, and glorious in their lunacy. 

Oh, and did I mention the last one is done by the artistic teal of Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz?

I didn’t? Wall…. Shut your fraggin’ pinhole and listen to the Main Reviewer!

The first Story is the preluder to Death Metal for Lobo, and how he becomes involved in the actual story. For those who have been following the Death Metal book, you already know Lobo has been working for Luthor, hired to find something of immense value.

Today, we get the lowdown.

We also find out that on one of the Dark Universe Earths, Bruce Wayne has combined Czarnian DNA with his own Human DNA, creating a hybrid, ‘the Mainest Man of All, the Batman Who Frags!’

The Bat’s training, with Czarnian abilities… Holy Mother of Cthulhu! But is he a match for the Ultimate Bastich?

This segment is a neat little story, the lead-in to Partytown, if Partytown is decorated in guts and every possible weapon down to living being. Needless to say, Lobo gets the advantage, takes it, and is able to get out of the Bar, right to Luthor, and his contract.

I must say before going forward that the Writing / Art Team on this Story is a complete unknown to me. This could be due to the fact I am a cranky old jackass, and only like what I like. More likely though, I am not nearly as well read as I should be, and am remiss in saying so. Either way, snob or ignorant, I will cop to both.

Frank Tieri lays the groundwork in this story like a well crafted stone floor. The imperfections, while barely noticeable add to the nuance, the ambiance of the story. You see, the Czarnian’s story is one of legend, and his autobiography (see LOBO #0, October, 1994), which could be legend, or outright bull, or whatever… Anything which appears to be out of character can be attributed to the ‘Legend of The Scourge o’ The Cosmos’.

However you happen to see it, this story works as THE kickoff point for Lobo’s introduction, and the Reader’s first real look at Stan Lee’s favorite DC Character.

Now, let’s talk the art. Tyler Kirkham is a well kept secret for me. His style complements this character very well, to the point that, should the Future State include a Lobo book, he might be a nice to see on art. There is a primal roughness that complements this character completely, and more so when the interaction between Lobo and the Bat is taking place.

Second Story, through the wormhole to the Death Metal…

Earth - Prime. Blackhawk Island. 

Enter Lobo, Stage Right, with Bat Monday right behind him!

Can I say again how much I love the concept of a Batman / Solomon Grundy cross? A Batman who cannot be killed, does not feel pain, is built like a mystical brick house, and has retained SOME of his intellect and fighting skill? How do you defeat that?

Well, being a little bit smarter than Grundy, and dropping the outer wall of Blackhawk Citadel on him is a good start. 

Once past the Bat Monday, on to the Death Metal… and its guardian, Katar Hol, Hawkman. It seems Katar has been studying the properties of this ultimate metal, and journaling all his findings as compiling all the information he could find about it.

Unfortunately, Hol’s notes have been stolen. Luckily, he was able to protect the Death Metal, itself.

Luckily for Lobo. Contract, part 1 complete.

I miss Rags Morales. I didn’t realize how much until I started reading this section of the story. My introduction to his artwork was Identity Crisis, one of the most polarizing stories of the last 40 years ( I highly recommend it, as an example of how grief and the ‘HUMAN’ portion of SUPERHUMAN can be portrayed in literature - Kudos to Brad Meltzer, once again), and if you, Gentle Reader, couldn’t tell, seeing it here brought the feelings back again.

The layouts, breakdowns, detail work… it all works so well in this section of the story. There isn’t a real need for the grittiness evident in the first chapter. This is a more nuanced chapter, with less breakage, and damage.

Writing by Becky Cloonan. Who the F#@% is Becky Cloonan, and why haven’t I read anything by her before? Maybe because she’s primarily known as an artist? Yeah, that’s probably it… But, Sweet Old Ones, why isn’t she writing more??

This was a phenomenal segue from the First Chapter. Well written, great action, characters were really on target, Hell, the interactions between Lobo and Monday were fantastic, and gave me the second great laugh of the issue:

‘…A Lady Never Tells!’

The drop into GemWorld is a nice touch, especially with Lobo now in possession of a material which will allow him to rewrite history, or remake the universe… now with magic!

Part the Third, and my hear starts skipping beats… Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz, Fanboy Viagra!

We start off with a Lobo-ized retcon of the Trinity’s Origin Stories, complete with LOBO in every part! 

Exit to a reclining Lobo, watching this all play out in a pocket universe he created using the Death Metal, fantasizing about his next story, something involving Starfire, … Fraggin’ imaginative Bastich, that Lobo is!

So, rather than delivering the Death Metal, and completing his contract, Lobo has decided to have some Main Man Time, until Brainiac shows up to ruin it. Not by attacking, or fighting, but by pushing Lobo to complete the contract fo Luthor could get the Final Steps of the plan in gear.

Never one to be pushed, Lobo takes the opportunity to remake the Coluan in the image of Miss Tribb, his Fourth Grade teacher (who he detests), until… you guessed it, the Bat who Frags shows up. And comedy ensues!

Sam Humphries finishes this story off perfectly. Total irreverence, complete disregard, and ultimately, Lobo’s need, no his code of honor, which revolves around his completion of a contract which he has undertaken. Sure, Lobo is the ultimate cosmic jerk, under any and every  word which reverences mayhem, destruction and disrespect, one would find the Czarnian’s grinning face, clenching a cigar in his teeth. But, the same photo would be found under HONOR. 

This is the redeeming characteristic of Lobo, his sense of honor.

Sam Humphries redeeming characteristic? Lobo World.

As for the ART TEAM? Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz by themselves are separate perfect storms, capable of rendering incredible work. These two together, well, to quote Wayne Campbell:

‘We’re not worthy!’

These 11 pages are a glorious sensory experience. The detail work, the homage pieces (the Bat-Lobo Retcon has a very Year One look and feel), are marvelous. Nothing left to be misinterpreted, right to the shoulder push through the portal into Lobo World, these Masters of the Craft play off each other to bring about the most amazing visuals, while telling Humphries unadulterated story. 

Like I said, Fanboy Viagra.

This is One for the Ages… well, Three for the Ages, and not to be missed!

Out of 5🌶        🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

[aion-rsa]

They’ve Got A TV Show, But Who Are Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger?

With the recent announcement that the leads have been cast for the upcoming Freeform TV series based on the Marvel characters Cloak and Dagger, the question becomes – just who are Cloak and Dagger?

RELATED: Cloak & Dagger TV Series Reveals Stars, Character Descriptions

The early ’80s were an interesting time in comic books, as it was becoming increasingly popular for comics to take on social issues. We had seen that happen already in the early 1970s with “Amazing Spider-Man”‘s famous “No Comics Code” issue showing the problems of drugs, and the similar “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” storyline dealing with Green Arrow’s sidekick, Speedy, becoming addicted to drugs. However, these types of stories became more and more prevalent in the 1980s. Therefore, it is important to note that Cloak and Dagger were very much of their time when they were introduced at the end of 1981 in the pages of “Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man” #64 (by Bill Mantlo, Ed Hannigan and Jim Mooney), behind a Will Eisner-inspired cover by Hannigan…

That issue established both the origins of Cloak and Dagger and their motivations. Tyrone “Ty” Johnson and Tandy Bowen were runaways who were experimented on by some drug dealers who were trying to synthesize a brand-new drug. The experiments left almost all of the test subjects dead, except for Ty and Tandy, who instead gained superpowers. Ty gained a cloak that allowed him to teleport and also send items (and people) to a “darkforce dimension” while Tandy gained powerful blades of light. They promptly decided to hunt down the drug dealers who almost killed them. This was much to Spider-Man’s dismay, as while he was surely no fan of drug dealers, he did not agree with the idea of killing them, either…

Interestingly, Cloak and Dagger actually predated the famous “Runaways” story arc from Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s “New Teen Titans” by nearly a year. This is interesting because that “Runaways” arc is often pointed to as the epitome of the early 1980s socially relevant comic book phase (that arc led to the White House commissioning a special anti-drugs issue of “New Teen Titans,” and that, in turned, inspired the creation of a comic book starring Spider-Man and Power Pack by the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse in 1984), and yet Mantlo and Hannigan were ahead of that game with their pair of runaways dealing with evil drug dealers.

While they were introduced more as anti-heroes than anything else, the characters were so popular that Mantlo soon began to tone down their methods. In fact, in one infamous story arc, Mantlo used the Punisher to show Cloak and Dagger the dangers of going too far in their crusade, as the Punisher’s obsession with murdering the Kingpin was clearly driving the Punisher insane (which was highlighted by the Punisher beginning to use lethal force on minor crimes during the story). Cloak and Dagger eventually eased off on the whole killing thing (this was aided by Dagger discovering that her blades of light could also be used to cleanse people of drug addictions rather than simply stabbing people).

RELATED: Jeph Loeb Reveals Why “Cloak & Dagger” Landed At Freeform

This led into their first ongoing series, with artists Rick Leonardi and Terry Austin taking over the art duties.

The interesting thing about these early “Cloak and Dagger” issues is that Mantlo made sure to hold true to their origins, in the sense that Cloak and Dagger really almost entirely fought only against drug dealers. While it might have been true to their origins, it also served to somewhat limit the characters, as they became tied very clearly to one specific topic, which can be a problem over time as you typically do not want to get too tied down to one specific era of history.

After their miniseries, Cloak and Dagger were prominently featured in a storyline in Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz’s “New Mutants,” as their latent mutant abilities were explored a bit, but moreover, they saw their powers transferred to Sunspot and Wolfsbane and they had to address something that became a major recurring feature with these characters over the years. As Cloak and Dagger, Ty and Tandy are completely tied to one another, but if they weren’t Cloak and Dagger, would that still be the case? Is there a relationship between the two if they are not inherently tied-together heroes? And is that relationship worth the downside of being Cloak and Dagger?

Ultimately, they decided to take their powers back. This led to a new bi-monthly ongoing series in 1985. Sales were a bit slow on that series, so in 1987, “Cloak and Dagger” and “Doctor Strange” both ended their individual series and launched a new “Strange Tales” anthology series. Bret Blevins was now the artist on the series. Less than a year into this series, Bill Mantlo was removed as the writer of his creations. Former inker on the series, Terry Austin, was promoted to writer. Austin introduced the first superpowered nemesis of Cloak and Dagger, the dangerous sorcerer, Mister Jip. Austin explained to “Back Issue” magazine that “Characters are never more interesting than when they have a seemingly unopposable force to push against, and to that end I came up with what I hoped would be their major reoccurring arch-foe, the maniacal Mr. Jip, and his foot soldiers Night and Day.”

“Strange Tales” led into a second “Cloak and Dagger” ongoing series, with Austin doubling-down on their mutant connections by titling this new series “The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger.”

It lasted almost two years, but Austin was finished on the book before it came to a close (the final issues tried to establish that CLoak and Dagger had received their powers from the demon D’Spayre,!).

RELATED: So, Are Cloak and Dagger Mutants or What?

In the last two decades, Cloak and Dagger have mostly fallen into the position of occasional guest appearances, although they have made a few notable ones over the years. Cloak was a big part of the “New Warriors” crossover that brought together the various characters with a connection to the “Darkforce” (like the Shroud and the newly created villain, the Darkling), with Dagger ending up joining the New Warriors for a time afterwards, which caused tension between the pair.

They were a big part of the “Maximum Carnage” storyline in the “Spider-Man” titles, as we learned that Shriek, the co-head of Carnage’s little family of killers, had been transformed due an encounter with Cloak in the past, early in his superhero career, and that had triggered her powers, so he felt somewhat responsible for the carnage that she caused. Dagger, meanwhile, became a key part in defeating the villains, due to her ability to heal people of infections with her light.

Cloak and Dagger split for a time, and Dagger became part of an informal team of heroes known as the “Marvel Knights” (Punisher, Black Widow, Daredevil and Moon Knight), as Cloak got more and more aggressive with his powers (which had been a recurring problem for him over the years).

During the period when Norman Osborn was in charge of SHIELD, Osborn tried to form his own team of X-Men to match the Dark Avengers that he had formed. He enlisted Cloak and Dagger, who naturally turned on him when it came time to fight the real X-Men. Cloak and Dagger ended up on the mutant island of Utopia. However, it was at this point that it was confirmed that they were not mutants, but rather just mutates, like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four.

Most recently, they were involved in a plot by the villainous Mister Negative, who reversed their powers and, in turn, made them evil.

Luckily, Spider-Man eventually cured them and they returned to normal, putting them into a great position for a new series to tie in with their upcoming TV show.

The post They’ve Got A TV Show, But Who Are Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger? appeared first on CBR.com.

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