Mystery in Space #8 - DC

I really liked the way they did this book. Actually, I liked the whole run, but more specifically, this issue. Basically, our two stories converged this issue. The Weird started out as like a back-up story. But, since both stories took place on Hardcore Station, and both stories were more interconnected than we were first led to believe, eventually they were going to have to come together and have a direct influence on each other's resolution. So in this issue, Ron Lim did the art for the Captain Comet portion on the story, and Jim Starlin did the art for the Weird part of the story. Right from the very first page, Comet is on his asteroid, kinda' his new "quiet spot", and the Weird is on Hardcore with Deacon Dark. Comet didn't know where this new adventure was going to take him, but the Weird knew that eventually he and Comet were going to have to come together, because Comet was in direct conflict with Dark. His unofficial employer. Comet has a plan which led the Psychic Monks, all clones made from his last body, right to his asteroid. Which is what he wanted, because then he destroys them all at once. As soon as he teleports back to Hardcore, the Deacon transports the Weird, literally, right on top of him. Which puts the 2 in direct conflict. What the Deacon didn't count on though is because the Weird is also a clone of Comet, there's a huge psychic connection. Comet gets tired of getting beat up, so he decides to take a different approach, and jumps right in to the Weird's mind. Once there he realizes what a cluttered mess it's become, and sets about organizing and straightening his thoughts. Which makes him immediately realize how wrong he's been. He then goes after the Deacon, but comes to find out, the Deacon is only an energy construct. No physical form whatsoever. Then Prime-7, who doesn't know what's happened to the Deacon, attacks Comet with all the androids. Comet, who is really pissed, uses all his frustration and power to send out a psychic backlash, which depletes his power, but also wipes out all the androids. Prime-7 is ready to take out the station, but when Comet was inside the church he left some carefully placed "surprises" behind. When Prime-7 refuses to back down, Comet sets them off, which takes out the Church and everyone in it. Meanwhile the Weird takes out the Deacon's energy. So then things get back to normal on the Station. Comet decides to stay. He and the Weird talk, but the Weird decides he wants to head towards earth and the adventures that await him in between. Hopefully we'll be seeing both characters in future storylines. They both have huge potential. Comet's been around forever, but not used prominently. The Weird's only been around for about 20 years, only?, but other than his first mini hasn't really been used at all. Maybe with a little luck, we'll see more or him and Jim Starlin. Without knowing future plans, we can only hope.

Mystery in Space #7 - DC

I love this book. I think this is one of the best books out there right now. But there's only one issue left. So I'll be interested to see where they go from here. First of all we got one of the best scribes of all time with Jim Starlin. Nobody writes these space opera's like he does. Then we have the incredibly talented pencils of Shane Davis. I have been raving about him throughout this whole series. His work is fantastic. Ron Lim has been helping him out a bit to, so we have to give him his credit. And finally, we have a fantastic cast of characters here. The "good guy", "bad guys", and everything in between, are just phenomenal. This issue Captain Comet . . . or . . sorry, just Comet now, has decided "I'm going to start playing dirty. I really got no choice." "There's two objectives I've got to shoot for. I must get control of the Hardcore Station . . . probably through even more folks dying I'm afraid. I have to eliminate the ELC's psychic monks. Every last one of them has got to go." "I'm probably trashing my soul in the process. I'll have to figure out how to live with it afterwards." So he starts playing a grand game of chess with Deacon Dark. Who doesn't know that he's being played with yet, but I kinda' think he's always in that strategic mode. Also it appears that through some psychic manipulation, that the Deacon has brought the Weird over to his side. He's getting ready to sic him on Comet. Which, it appears, is how our next issue is going to end up being played out. And actually that our final issue of this fabulous story-arc. I really hope that there's something else done with these characters after this, because this is a fantastic story.

Mystery in Space #6 - DC

Ron Lim fills in for Shane Davis on pencils this issue. Actually he does a really spectacular job. I've been a fan of Ron's for a while, but I kinda' got burnt out on him for a while there also. Over saturation I guess. Anyways, I thought he did a great job with this issue. But, as I've said before, I truly think that an inker can make or break an artist. I think that Rob Hunter, the inker on this issue, really accentuated Ron's work with his inking prowess. So, props to both of 'em. Comet's got a lot of mysteries going on here. He's got the mystery of the Church. The mystery of the Corporation, and it's relationship to the Church. The mystery of his reincarnations. The mystery of his new enhanced powers, and this teleporting thing. The mystery of his clones, that are being used as psychic assassins for the Church. Who sent the insect assassins after him. And how's he going to get out of this whole mess. Well we aren't going to get those answers this issues, but I can tell you that he is directly tied to the Weird, who is also a clone of Comet's . And the Weird is coming closer and closer to coming face to face with him. Jim Starlin is truly a master of his craft. And he proves it with every issue of this series. I really hope this all goes someplace after this series is wrapped up. I'd hate to see Comet's character get shelved again. And, I was kinda' hoping we'd see some more of Jim's work.

Mystery in Space #5 - DC

Captain Comet has finally got the gist of what's going on. The church recovered his corpse, so that the, for lack of a better word, the parasite or leech that they found out in space, could attach itself to pieces of it and create duplicates. So, all of these psychic assassins that the church employs, are actually copies of Captain Comet. And the Weird, is actually a copy of Comet also. But we'll get in to that later. Anyways, Comet finds his body and puts a thermal charge on it, which ends up being a distraction when he fighting a bunch of . . . . well . . . . himself, later on. So now they can't make any more copies. Then, when he's really close to being defeated, he 'ports out and ends up on the asteroid again. Somehow this thing is connected to the parasites. So, since he has a little time to kill. He's going to do some exploring, and find out exactly what that connection is. I love the job Shane Davis is doing on the art in this book. It's fantastic. And I love the characters, especially his talking bulldog, Tyrone. And of course I don't have to say anything about Jim Starlin. He's a genius. And that's understating it. And speaking of Jim, his other creation, the Weird, in the back-up, is still holding my attention. It's a cool concept, a cool character, and a fantastic story. He's starting to see the connection he has to Comet, finally breaks out of the church, but in doing so may have lost all his memories. The effort of getting out, leaves him unconscious afterwards, and when he comes to, he seems very disoriented. Almost like he died and came back to life again. But we'll have to wait to see more of that next issue. Only 3 issues to go. Please, don't let this book fade away in to oblivion.

Mystery in Space #4 - DC

What can I say? With Jim Starlin writing both of these stories, nothing short of exceptional should be expected. The first story with Captain Comet, truly gets better with every issue. Jim Starlin has a way of writing his stories like a roller coaster ride. They start out smooth and relatively calm. Then as the story gets going, you start to see a few twists and turns, and can feel the story starting to ramp up as you move farther along in to it. Then when you feel like you're ready for the exciting drop and all the action, you get all that and more. Even as you speed along, with stuff coming at you from various directions, and you feel like you're at your limit, as far as input and adrenalin, more stuff comes at you that you didn't see at first. We got introduced to Lady Styx over in the Green Lantern Corps. But her character is expanded even more here in this book. I think she's going to be one of the big cosmic protagonists in the future of our universe her. Also we have the Eternal Light Corporation. Which is where the Weird is. He's been indoctrinated, but his natural tendencies make it hard for them to hold on to him. So he's finding out more and more about what's really going on here. This is another of Jim's trademarks. Taking two stories with apparently nothing in common, and having them turn out to be the same story, but from different sides of the coin. Next issue, they may actually meet. Now on top of this, we have Shane Davis doing the art for the lead story. And, Jim himself doing the art for the backup. But knowing Jim, which one is the real lead story? Fantastic book all around. Arguably one of the best new books on the market today. Get it while you can, 'cause it's hot!!

Mystery in Space #3 - DC

Jim Starlin is back with a vengeance. This book is incredible. Both the stories, Captain Comet, actually just Comet now, and the Weird, are fantastic science fiction adventures. Shane Davis does the pencilling on the title story, which is breathtaking, and Jim Starlin does all the writing and art chores on the backup. The Comet story is a science fiction murder mystery, with a twist. And the Weird, in just something else entirely. In the first issue, Comet died. When he was resurrected, he was 40 years younger. But still had all his memories and knowledge. Isn't that every middle aged mans wet dream. He then saw his friend, Star Hawkins killed, with the only clue being "YOU" scrawled in blood. He also found out he has a new power, teleportation. The only downside is that, he has to power back up in between jumps. So depending on how far the jump is, fluctuates how long it will take him to recharge. The last jump he makes is to a comet outside of Hardcore Station, which he now appears to be stuck on, because he doesn't know how long it will take him to recharge. And he can't just fly off because he has no oxygen, and . . . . . he doesn't really know where he's at. In the Weird, Deacon Dark, is trying to bring the Weird over to his religion, brainwashing really, because he sees the potential in him. Intellectually, he wants to convert, but his body and his powers seem to be overriding his judgement, making it a little difficult for Deacon Dark. But, by the final panel, he succumbs, and shouts out "I BELIEVE!!". Both these stories really leave you hanging, and begging for more. But that's Jim's style. I recommend this book to everyone!

Mystery in Space #2 - DC

Cool book. Cool character. Fantastic creative team. This book reminds me so much of early Image. I think I mentioned that in the blog for issue #1. It reminds me of back when the art was good. The stories weren' t so hot. But the art was good. But this book, Jim Starlin really knows how to craft a tale. He hasn't done as much stuff of late, as he has in the past,so you kinda' forget about how good he really is. But then he puts something out, like this, and you are just blown away. Add to that Shane Davis on art, and I am just knocked out. Props to the boys!!!! Anyways, yes Captain Comet was dead at the end of last issue. And yes he's alive this issue. Apparently his body regenerated and came back to life. And in the process knocked off about 40 years. And by the way, I love his talking bull dog, Tyrone II. Very clever, a good character, and a great companion. So, in order to solve this mystery of his death and rebirth, he needs to get ahold of his old body, so maybe it can give him some clues. But of course, it's gone. So now the real mystery and chase begins. And if I know Jim Starlin, it'll be a doozy. Now as a backup feature we have one of Jim's other characters, whom he created, the Weird. And on these pages he writes and draws. Fantabulous!!! Now since the Weird came back at Hardcore Station, where Comet happens to live, he dropped the Captain part since he's younger now, I don't think it's a coincidence. I think that the Weird's story, and Comet's, are somehow intertwined, in a way that we just can't see yet. But the Weird's story is neat in that the last place he was incarnated was on earth. So not only does he have to acclamate himself to his new body and ressurection, but also to his surroundings and world. A lot of stuff to take in, for a dead guy. But anyways, in typical Starlin fashion, the story is filled with all kinds of weird aliens, robots and future tech. This one will also be a fun ride. It'll be neat to see how these two stories catch up to each other, and what they have to do with each other. My only critique is that this is only an 8 issue series. Say it isn't so!!!

Mystery in Space #1 - DC

Cool! A classic title brought back to life. With a cool character, Captain Comet. We start out with 2 awesome covers. One by Shane Davis, and the variant by Neal Adams. Both covers are incredible. Unfortunatly, I can only show you the Shane Davis one. This is written by Jim Starlin, so you just know it's going to be brilliant. Shane Davis also does the interior art, and this guy is really good. It puts you in mind of some early Image comics. You know, back when their artwork was good. Anyways, Captain Comet has taken up residence on Hardcore Station. Do you remember that mini series? This story is an after effect of the Rann/Thannagar war. The Cap was killed out there, but somehow his body made it back to the HCS. The backup story is about the Weird, how about that mini? Do you remember that one? Berni Wrightson drew it. Anyways at the end of the first mini, he was killed, or rather exploded. But of course his consciousness wasn't gone. We get a little explanation into where he came from and what he was up to. We didn't get a whole lot in the first mini. But we find out that his revival is directly linked to the Captain's resurrection. With both stories, you get to see both sides of that encounter. Jim Starlin handles everything in the back up story, and it is breathtaking. They've set a pretty high standard with this first issue. I hope they keep it up through the series. Unfortunately it's only going to be 8 issues. But I'm excited already. Can't wait for the next one.