Welcome to Tranquility - One Foot in the Grave #2, #3, #4 and #5 - WildStorm

When issue #1 ended, and Mayor Fury was taken from the custody of Sheriff Lindo and Deputy Presley, it looked as if they perished in the car when it blew up shortly afterwards. But, if we've learned nothing else from comics . . nothing is ever as it appears. We find out that luckily Thomasina recovered in time and pulled Presley out of the vehicle before it exploded. But that's not the real problem. The real problem is the person that came after Mayor Fury. It turns out that it's his son . . Derek. It seems that the Mayor and the Pink Bunny had a child . . somewhere along the line, but never let anyone know about him because . . well, they were scared to death of him. It seems that even from an early age he was more powerful than both of them combined. Add that to the typical teenage rebellion and . . they pretty much had a monster on their hands. As the story progress' we learn more about Derek, as well as seeing the frustration and fear from his parents. And we know that eventually they sent him away. At least that the gist of what I get out of it. They talk about how they had to make a decision between Derek and Thomasina . . whom we know the Fury's basically adopted after her father was killed, but we don't know yet what exactly that decision was. And if they're child truly was as powerful as they thought . . what could they do to get rid of him? Or how? There's a scene where he looks to be about 8 years old and the Mayor is mad at him because he's scared his mom . . once again. It had something to do with his horse, Paint. Anyways, the mayor asks him where he is, and Derek replies 'He made me mad, so I had to put him in the bucket.' The Mayor looks around and literally sees a bucket filled with blood behind the boy. 'It wouldn't eat the apple I brought. So I shoved him in the bucket. It was hard. It took forever. Bet he wishes he ate the apple now.' But then when he sees that his dad is outraged he tells him, 'What are you mad about? It's just a stupid horse. I can bring it back.' His dad didn't realize he had powers like that. He asks him, and asks him if it would be the same? 'No. Not like it used to be. No. Want me to do it? It's kind of funny in a sad way. For a while.' For me . . that was probably the most disturbing scene of the whole book. Anyways, after leaving his father broken and battered, Derek then goes after Minxy Millions. 'I was thinking what would happen if the most beloved citizen of this crappy town had something horrible happen to her? I mean, really, something to shake the rafters. Give the good folks some sleepless nights. And then I thought . . what if they blamed my dad? They couldn't blame me, now. Could they? I don't even exist.' In the process of this attack, he ends up hurting Venus, Thomasina's sister, when he shoves a fork in her neck. When the Sheriff learns that her sister has been hurt . . and she can't get ahold of any of the towns heavy-hitters, she calls in the Coyote Kid. To me . . he seems like a Ghost Rider type of character . . on a horse. But he also has a posse of other ghosts, or cowboys, or something. Anyways, when they see that Venus is close to death, they do what they can to stave it off . . for awhile, but before she's about to go they offer her a spot on their posse. They basically tell her she can be their spirit of vengeance. Sound familiar? And that may be an option for her, somewhere down the line, because they save her life at the hospital, but . . she's also paralyzed. So, while all of this is going on, we also have to deal with the return of Mr Articulate. The guy was murdered by Colonel Cragg . . there was a whole storyline about it and everything. And he also came back as in between this as a zombie, of sorts. So everyone is more that a little confused when he comes walking through the door of the diner . . once again. I'm not sure how this all connects to the Fury storyline . . or if it even does. But it seems like there's something there. Although I don't have any idea what it is. Anyways, at the end of issue #5, Tranquility is holding a little concert . . with their local band, the Liberty Snots. And the Sheriff is hoping that this gathering of people will draw Derek out once again. She's trying to gather up all of Tranquility's finest to stand against him. But she doesn't know if even that will be enough. I like this series. I liked it the first time. We don't get Neil Googe's art on the interiors this time, but . . he is doing the covers. The interiors are being done by Horacio Domingues. When I first started reading this series, Horacio's work seemed kind of like a cheap knock-off of Neil's. But, as the series goes along, Horacio's work has been growing on me. It's not perfect. And it's not as unique as Neil's, but . . his style does fit the book. And Gail Simone has done a great job of capturing the feeling and style of the book as it was presented to us the first time. I'm not sure how this all fits into the current state of the WildStorm Universe. Did it happen before Armageddon? Or is it all somehow separate? And yes I have a bad habit thinking about stuff like that. But after reading this series, I find . . I don't really care. The rest of the WildStorm Universe is so doomy and gloomy . . I think it's nice to see some of it's characters acting semi-normal. Well, at least . . normal for this town. I think it's a decent series. Unfortunately there's only 1 issue left. And if you haven't followed it . . I'm sure it'll be out in TPB before Christmas. If you get a chance, peruse it that way.

Welcome to Tranquility - One Foot in the Grave #1 - WildStorm

First off, I'd like to say that I miss Neil Googe's art on this series. I thought he did a great job, and really . . he was just hitting his stride when this series ended. The art in this series is by Horacio Domingues, and . . it's ok. I think he tries to keep it looking close to Neil's stuff. The look kind of has the same feel, but . . it's just not the same. Neil does however does do the cover, with Ethan Van Sciver doing the variant. Also, Gail Simone is back for this mini-series, so . . it really does have the same feel. I'm guessing though that this takes place before the apocalyptic events that rocked the WildStorm Universe. If not . . they don't mention anything about it this issue, but . . we'll see what happens as it progresses. Anyways, the main focus of this story is about Mayor Fury getting out of jail. Apparently he's been exonerated of his attempted murder charges of reporter Collette Pearson. One of the differences in this series seems to be the perspective of the story. A lot of the first series was told from Thomasina Lindo point of view . . and Tommy's. They're the law in Tranquility, but . . how much authority do you really have when you're policing over a bunch of ex-supers. I mean . . they can pretty much do whatever they want. All you can really do is try to keep the peace. Anyways, when they're driving him home from the courthouse, their truck is attacked and it looks like the Mayor is the only one to leave it before it explodes. The guy who attacks it helps him escape, but . . we don't know who that is, just yet. I may be wrong but it looks like Thomasina and Tommy have perished in the fire. Also at the end of the last series, Mr Articulate had been killed. Or so everyone was lead to believe. I can't remember if anybody actually ever saw the body. Anyways, the Pink Bunny, Fury's wife, is planning a surprise party for him. But before he can arrive . . because of the previous mentioned difficulties on the road . . Mr Articulate shows up at the door. I think this will be an interesting series. I enjoyed the first run of this book. And this one, so far, seems to have pretty much the same feel to it. I'm also interested to see how all of this fits in with the current state of affairs of the WildStorm Universe.

Welcome to Tranquility #12 - WildStorm

Say it isn't so! It looks like this is going to be the last issue of Tranquility. The next issue blurb reads . . . "The end - for now!" That really sucks! I really liked this book. It was a typical super-hero book, but it wasn't. It was a "supers" book . . with a twist. They were all like reluctant, or just retired, heroes. I like the way it was kind of a Eureka, but with supers as the backdrop, instead of Global Dynamics. And I really enjoyed Neil Googe's art. I've been a fan of his for a while now, but really, I don't even think he's hit his full potential yet. I think this kid is really going to set the medium on fire. Which he does this issue, with his demon character. Also the fantastic writing of Gail Simone, has really set this series apart from the rest. Maybe it has something to do with this whole WildStorm Armageddon thing. We're getting bits and pieces of it, as it goes from title to title in 1-shots. So hopefully, when that dust settles, they'll decide to do something with these characters. I know Gail will still be around. She is doing like 7 or 8 books a month. So there will be plenty of places to find her wry wit. I just hope they keep Neil on staff someplace with some book in the WildStorm or DC Universe. This kid really is an incredible talent. They need to keep him busy. And we need to see his incredible art. But most of all, I'll miss one of my favorite books while it's forced in to hiatus. I really hope it's not gone for long. And I really hope they decide to do something with these characters. But, I guess, in the end, it's really not up to me. All I can do is hope and dream.

Welcome to Tranquility - Armageddon #1 - WildStorm

This was our second installment into the mystery that is the WildStorm Armageddon. Maximum Man is the target this issue, that Void uses to transport to the future to try to find some answers. He actually does get more than the MidNighter did in the previous installment, but when returned to the present, he remembers nothing. It seems to me, in the future, that for some reason all super-powered beings, past or present, dead or alive, have come to roost on this planet at the same time. This means that old alliances, grudges or hostilities are renewed. Which apparently leads to them running rampant all over the globe. Therefore, with super-powered beings, the residual damage of their conflicts, pretty much wipe out the towns, cities or landscape in their paths. And also, most of the normals. But during this process, a lot of the normals were taken away. Nobody seems to know how or where, but that they just all started disappearing. Most of them, probably out of ignorance, see it as the rapture. But we still don't know what brought all of this in to being. Where did it start? And . . . why? We are really getting bite sized pieces with each of these installments. And how come Void seems to be the only one that sees that there's even a threat on the horizon? And why does she have to go through others to try to figure out what's going on? It's piqued my curiosity, but I really hope that we get some kind of answers soon.

Welcome to Tranquility #11 - WildStorm

I really like this book. But, this whole "Shaun of the Dead" thing, I think, is a little goofy. Basically, Beasel, a demon spawn, planted the spring that's the Fountain of Youth, in their town. Now, he's upset because, with everything that has happened, his access to said fountain has been denied. That and he's just not happy with all the townsfolk using it all these years. So anyways he come back to town to make the citizens pay for their under-appreciation. To do so, he's enlisted 2 heralds. One of which is Emoticon. And he's also raised all the dead in town to be his army. But one of Beasel's ole nemesis, I can't remember his name, has also come back to take him down. He's like this kinda' old west type of looking guy. You know . . . gunslinger and all. But he's got these special bullets that can take him down. The only problem is, Beasel isn't going to let him use them. But then Minxy crashes her new plane on him. Meanwhile, Tommy, the sheriff, is getting the lowdown on the story from Salabal. She's like the goddess of Earth or something. Mr. Articulate, even though he's dead, comes to the aid of the Pink Bunny, when she's about to be attacked by the zombies, because he's still in love with her. And Emoticon has come to an emotional crisis, when Beasel tells him to kill Captain Cobra and Mongoose Man. But all he sees are 2 frail old guys. So it looks like he's going to have to use the gunslingers bullets himself to take down Beasel. But somethings wrong because when he tells Beasel what he's going to do, he simply tells him " . . that was always the plan." So now . . . I don't know what to expect. I still love the book. I just find the current storyline . . . a little hard to swallow.

Welcome to Tranquility #10 - WildStorm

Ok, we've gone from Tranquility . . . to Zombie-ville. Seriously. You've just entered the equivalent of a super-hero Buffy comic. It all started when the Deputy tried to dynamite the town's fountain of youth. It seems that it was put there by a demon that reports to the devil himself. So when someone tried to mess with it, he offended the host, and raised his anger. "He's sent his zuvembies out to punish every living thing for touching his waters." Which is why Tranquility is . . . well . . . not so tranquil right now. There's zombies coming out of the woodwork. This devil has recruited Emoticon and his grandfather to be his 2 adepts . . . to act as his earthly agents. And since Emoticon has no lost love for this little burb, things could get messy. Currently the Deputy and Zeke, are trying to ward off the takeover of the town by the denizens of the graveyard. And Maximum Man has showed up to lend a hand. However, the demon reverses his magic word, and now he's just a frail little old man about to be eaten by zombies. Great story by Gail Simone. And, as I've said before, Neil Googe's art get better, and more creative, issue after issue. I really like this book.

Welcome to Tranquility #9 - WildStorm

I'm really liking Neil Googe's art. It gets better and better every issue. Plus, as I predicted a few issue ago, he's starting to add some extra stuff to some of the pages. On page 7, he's got like some mummified skulls and voodoo dolls in the margins on the bottom of the page. On the final page, Tommy goes to see Salabal, " . . . supposed to be the spirit of the jungle, the smartest and most powerful woman in the entire world. Witches all over the world come to study at her feet. Rumored to be three thousand years old. Said to have arrived at the crucifixion a week too late." Ok. But anyways, she drawn in the jungle, tropical type scene and she has these white Leopards around here. It's a really cool picture. This issue is a bit confusing, story wise, but I believe it's about the devil. I guess he's coming back to Tranquility because, as he says, "I'm taking back my property. This town. And all the squatters. I left something special here, a certain fountain. I want it back." And of course he goes to Zeke first, because he's got a special interest, and investment, in him. We're introduced to a new character this issue also. The Coyote Kid. He's like this old west, Clint Eastwood type cowboy character. Actually he's only in like 2 panels. So they do a backup story to introduce us to him. He's interesting. I'll wait to see what they do with him. Anyways, obviously this is just the first part of a new story arc, because we have all the set-up, but no delivery. Our Gen13 characters are still in town too. Roxy's trying to make it with some kid in the cemetery, and Zeke has to come to their rescue when they're almost attacked. I really like this book. I think Simone and Googe are just doing a fantastic job.

Welcome to Tranquility #8 - WildStorm

This particular issue is actually a series of shorts that fill us in on a couple of characters. Gail Simone is again at the helm. I really like what she's doing with this book, and these characters. She really seems to have an excellent handle on the whole thing. But this issue we have a whole montage of artists. Neil Googe, our regular artist, does the beginning and ending scenes. But each chapter is done by a different one. And they're all great. The first is done by Jason Pearson. I gotta say . . . I don't think this guy gets enough credit, or enough work. I love his style. I have ever since Body Bags. Speaking of which, if you don't have it, you should go out and look for it. It was a Dark Horse mini. This chapter is about the Lindo sisters, Tommy and Seresa. Of course Tommy is the Sheriff now. But this story was about 10 years ago when she was just an angree little girl, because her father had just died. The next chapter is done by ChrisCross. Another artist with a fantastic style. I gotta say though, until I saw what he did in this book, I didn't realize how much his and Dustin Nguyen's artwork resembled one another. Not all of it . . . but certain scenes. This one takes place about 50 years ago and is about Ezekial. He was on the road to becoming the next Elvis. Until his manager talked him in to signing a deal with the devil. Literally. Which is why he's still alive now. Even though his body is falling apart on him. Finally the last chapter is by Georges Jeanty. Probably best known for his work on Bishop for Marvel. Although now that I think of it, I think he was the artist on Majestic also, for WildStorm. Anyways, this one is about Emoticon. It also is about 10 years old. It explains how he got his mask. And the accident that led to it. Interesting stuff. Anyways, like I said, Gail really seems to be bringing us in to the lives of these characters. And maybe it's just me, but I still think it feels an awful lot like Eureka, the SciFi channel series. I might be stretching a bit there. But . . to me . . it does.

Welcome to Tranquility #7 - Wildstorm

First I want to say that Gail Simone is turning in some fantastic stories here. We're really getting to know these characters. Also Neil Googe's art is phenomenal. Isn't WildStorm a creator owned company? Why doesn't he just bring Bazooka Jules here? I guess that's up to him. Anyways, he really seems to be expanding his talent on this book. Or maybe he's just trying out new stuff. Either way, it's impressive. Like I've already said, I really expect him to be the next Todd McFarlane. Artistic wise that is. I'm not saying his work is similar to Todd's. I mean that as far as originality and style, he's going to be in Todd's league. Last issue we finally wrapped up who killed Mr. Articulate. But in the process, Gail opened a whole bunch of other story-lines. This issue we get the jump on a couple of them. She starts expanding on the Sheriff's story. We deal with Mr. Hate a little bit. Heck, we even see our Gen13'ers that have come to this town to look for a little sanctuary. And in the back we get a little back-up story about Thunder Bunny, or whatever her name is. It's funny, it's prequeled by "Spank Magazine presents: Comics men like!" And then we see Suze in the shower. This is really what I like about Gail's writing, the humor that she infuses it with. It's not jokes and yucks and stuff, it sarcastic, ironic, biting humor. Great stuff. I'm really diggin' this book.

Welcome to Tranquility #6 - Wildstorm

This issue wraps up the first storyline of the book. Who killed Mr. Articulate. And generally it served it's purpose. It's introduced us to most of the main characters in our little suburb. And it's shown us that once they've retired, and come to this town, that the relative assumptions of "good guys" or "bad guys" no longer apply. It would seem that everybody comes here on an equal footing, and then it's up to them on how they live out their twilight years. As an example, Henry Hate actually ends up helping Maximum Man. He was the only one that still knew what his secret word was. And the Mayor, who used to be a "hero", decided to cross the line and do something he never would've dreamed of, to keep their secret. And Leona, a young kid who wanted to be a hero, found herself in the position of having to make a choice, and she made the wrong one. For which she's been wallowing in guilt for ever since. And the Sheriff, who only wanted to find a community to watch over, has come to love everything about this one. Good or bad. Like I said, this first storyline really helped to introduce us to this town and it's people. Now, I think, we can start to have fun with some of the characters. Fantastic job by Gail Simone and Neil Googe. I already thought Gail was brilliant. But now I'm starting to feel the same way about Neil. I like his work, but I don't think we've seen his best yet. Not because he isn't trying, but rather because I think this guy is just going to get better and better. Like I said in a previous post, I put him in the same league as Todd McFarlane. You know . . . he started out with a unique style, then he just got better, and pretty soon he was at the top of his game. I think we'll see the same out of Neil.

Welcome to Tranquility #5 - Wildstorm

We get closer this issue to finding out who actually killed Mr. Articulate. For a while this issue, we're led to believe that is was the Mayor. But I think he's just protecting somebody. But I think it's actually this Sgt. Cragg that we see in the beginning of this book, in a flashback to one of his war-comics from the WWII. He's also one of Dr. Hate's bitter enemies, and has stolen his hate-bomb from him. The Sheriff is also dealing with the teen-heroes, I guess they'd be vigilantes now, trying to get in to the hospital to see Ajita. The Deputy though puts up a heck of a fight. One other thing, the reporter that had her cameraman killed, has discovered the towns secret, there's something in the water that keeps all the inhabitants young looking. Also, when it looks like all is lost, Dr. Hate tells the old geezer the magic word that turns him into his young super-hero self. So now the sheriff has some power to stop the Mayor and this Sgt. Cragg. Like I've said before, this book really has a feel to it like that show "Eureka", over on the Sci-Fi channel. Except . . . you know . . . the super-hero thing. But I definitely want to give props to Gail Simone and Neil Googe, who are both doing a fantastic job with this series.

Welcome to Tranquility #4 - Wildstorm

Ok, it appears that the key to solving Mr. Articulate's murder, lies with the reporter's murder. Apparently the reporter was on to something, and took a book from Mr. A's library. Which is why the reporter was killed. So now the Sheriff has to find the other reporter, and the cameraman, because they may be the key to finding the killer. But, it looks like the killer may have gotten to the cameraman already. That's the big story in this issue. The other story is about Leona, or Ajita as her teammates call her. Last issue she tried to commit suicide, but luckily the Sheriff found her in time. Now they have her in the hospital under observation, trying to figure out why. They do know that she's pregnant. Her mom is trying to berate her way in to the room to see her. Mostly so she can yell at her. And her teammates, at the end of this issue, have blown a hole in the side of the hospital so that they can see her. I think one of the teen heroes puts it best when they say "I thought I hated this town's innocence, and now . . . I feel like the innocence is never going to come back." Oh, and the Sheriff finally does get it out of Emoticon that he was paid to be in the diner to create a distraction. Which makes him an accessory. So it's all starting to come together for her. This is a great series. I don't think I've ever really seen anything like this before. Fantastic stories by Gail Simone, and great art by Neil Googe. If you read last issues blog, I think I really explained why I like this guy so much. Anyways, I definitely recommend this series. It's Fantastic!

Welcome to Tranquility #3 - Wildstorm

As I'm getting more and more in to this book, I'm really starting to dig it's moody style. I still feel that it's a lot like Eureka, the show on the Sci-fi channel. But, it's got it's own unique thing going on too. Gail Simone really seems to be digging in to the story, and the characters. Each issue seems more detailed and involved than the previous. And Neil Googe, the artist, is going to end up being a major talent. And this is why I say that, remember when Todd McFarlane first came on the scene with Infinity Inc.? He tried to keep everything, artistically, normal and the way people viewed comics. But, the longer he was on that series, the more he started to open up and try new stuff. All of the sudden the capes started getting bigger, and the panels were arranged differently, and Todd, I feel, really started coming in to his own by the time he left that series. Well, that's how I feel with Neil now. It seems like the more issue he does, the more he adds new things to his style. I really think that when he gets comfortable with what he wants to do, and how he does it, and how it interacts with and will enhance this story, that he's going to be an incredible talent and people will really start taking notice of him. So yes, I'm saying it here, I think he's going to be the next Todd McFarlane. Artistically wise. Anyways, the stories great. We're meeting more and more people every issue. And new plot, and subplot, lines are being introduced every issue. This book is already good, but I think it's going to be great. So . . . get it while you can.

Welcome to Tranquility #2 - Wildstorm

I didn't mention it last time, but it's good to see Neil Googe out there in the comic scene again. I don't know how many of you got to see Bazooka Jules, but it was a pretty cool book. This one is nothing like that one, but it does show Neil in all his "quirky" indulgence. This issue we're still investigating the death of Mr. Articulate. At the end of last issue, we were convinced that it was Emoticon. But after he and the Sheriff talked this issue, we're not so sure. After all, Emoticon can't really control his expressions, so therefore can't really lie. Also there's the fact that Mr. A actually died of cancer. Colon cancer we think, according to the M.E.. But he had "numerous large lesions throughout the chest and abdominal cavities and viscera including the liver, spleen, lung and pancreas consistent with a metastatic cancer." So while he may have had cancer, it seems that he was killed by someone who could make that process proceed more rapidly than normal. This particular issue kind of put me in mind of Eureka. You know, that series on the Sci-fi channel about the town of Eureka, and all it's scientific advancements, but actually it's about the very normal Sheriff that watches over it. I kind of got the exact same feel out of this book. Maybe it's just the way Gail wrote this particular issue, but that's the way it felt to me. Anyways, still a good book. Love the writing. And the artistic style is awesome.

Welcome to Tranquility #1 - Wildstorm

The beginning of a new book, and a new concept really for comics. First off, we have Gail Simone writing this one. Have I mentioned how much I love her work? She brings to comics a fresh new feel. She's relatively new to the scene, but I have a feeling she's going to be around for a long time to come. Also Neil Googe is the artist. His style sets a great mood and feel for this book. Anyways, basically, we have a town called Tranquility. It's been set up as a safe haven for Maxi's. Both good and bad. I guess they decided that with so many of them going into their twilight years, that there had to be someplace that they could enjoy their final adventures in life relatively unscathed. And we have Mayor Fury, and Sheriff Lindo to thank for their tireless effort in keeping the peace. The biggest crimes in the city are things like, Captain Cobra and Mongoose Man, formerly arch enemies, fighting over which side of the fence the apples from the tree fall on. That is until the Emoticon, a grandson of one of the maxi's, come into town to stir up some trouble. Which is something he does regularly, but this time in the commotion Mr. Articulate ends up getting stabbed. Is it fatal? We'll have to wait until next issue to find out. Fantastic freshman effort by all the creators involved. I can't wait to see where we go from here.