Jordan's Picks of the Week!!

X-Men Prime #1

This book is the first of what I’ve just realized are all one shots this week. I promise this was a coincidence, this is just what looked good. X-Men Prime is the catalyst that will lead to several upcoming X-Men books for this year. We have the makings of Weapon X, X-Men Gold, and X-Men Blue. So, knowing that new X-Men books were coming soon, I wanted to get a place marker for where we are with the mutants.

So, having not read the X-Men vs. Inhumans, and let’s face it, the X-Men mythos can be a bit overwhelming at times, this was a pretty good jumping on point for new readers. While there is a bit of history, there are so many familiar faces and enough exposition to put us firmly back in the world of the X-Men. We’re watching these heroes pick up the pieces after their battle with the Inhumans, while also watching them splinter off into different groups. It could be an interesting process.

One intriguing thing about this book was the creative team. I didn’t realize this, but there are a bunch of people working on this issue. Marc Guggenheim, Greg Pak, and Cullen Bunn are the writers. I don’t know which titles they’re working on, but I assume they will be the writers for the X-Men team books and Weapon X. The art was done by Ken Lashley, Ibraim Roberson, and Leonard Kirk, with some help by Guillermo Ortego. I’m thinking they will also be doing the art for said books. While that’s a lot of creators on one book, wires never get crossed. It feels like a coherent genesis for the newest chapter in the expansive X-Men legacy.

I’ll certainly be looking forward to seeing more of what’s to come with X-Men and this book has persuaded me to at least try out the X-Men Gold book, as I like their team a little bit more. We’ll have to see where the stories lead us, but X-Men Prime certainly got everything together nicely before the big shake up.

Booster Gold/the Flintstones #1

OK, so, I really had to pick this book. It was just so incredibly odd. If, even a year ago, you had told me that DC was going to several cross overs between their heroes and Hanna Barbara cartoons, I would never have believed you. But, I’m glad I checked this book out. It’s just one of those things that’s so weird that you have to see what’s going on. Let me also add that I’m a huge fan of Booster Gold and Hanna Barbara. Plus, the cover art by Mike Allred really drew me. Once I saw Booster and Hanna Barbara, all depicted by Mike Allred, it was pretty much a done deal.

I’ll be honest, this story is pretty goofy. It involves Booster having to go back in time to stop an alien invasion, but actually that’s the reason it starts. The story, written by Mark Russell, features the young, somewhat brash Booster, and is really quite funny. The adventure is such an oddity, and adding Booster’s unique sense of humor made it even more enjoyable. The Flintstones didn’t play as big of a role as Booster Gold, but he always tends to steal the show in my opinion.

Rick Leonardi was on pencils, and Scott Hanna (relation to the Hanna from Hanna Barbara, I wonder? Probably not) did the inks. Their style wasn’t cartoonish, but kept the story light and fun to look at. They also did a good job at translating the Flintstones into more human looking characters, so they fit in with the world of Booster Gold better.

This was a fun adventure to read. There was no pressure of an ongoing story, just a one and done deal that should really just be read because it’s so strange. Whoever thought to put these two things together did alright by me.

Also, there is a back up Jetsons story to this issue, because where there’s Flintstones there’s Jetsons, right? It was written by Jimmy Palimotti and Amanda Conner, with Pier Brito on art. The characters get the same, more realistic redesign as the Flintstones, and this feature leaves off leading to a new Jetsons series. We’ll have to see about that one. But more content is always nice.

Wrestlemania 2017 Special

To pretty much anyone who knows me, it’s no secret that I’m a huge wrestling fan. I haven’t read any of the other WWE comics that BOOM! has been putting out, but with Wrestlemania coming up this Sunday, I knew I had to give this book a shot.

This issue is an anthology of short stories all about wrestling. They’re based on (mostly) real things that have happened in the long, long history of the WWE. There are five stories in this book, so I won’t take up a lot of space by listing off every creative team, but I will say that some of my favorites involved Box Brown retelling the legendary ladder match from Wresltemania X, and Rob Guillory (of Chew fame), following the crazy adventures of the New Day.

I will note that, if you don’t know anything about wrestling, the above paragraph doesn’t make much sense. But if you do indeed like wrestling, I think this book is for you. I mean, it combines comics and wrestling. What else could you really ask for? The stories range in tone (some funny, some serious), as does the art. As I mentioned before, Rob Guillory is in it, and his story (written by Ross Thibeodeaux) was probably my favorite (it’s tied with Box Brown’s).

The nice thing about this book is that it covers events from Wresltlemanias from every era. It’s good to see that sense of history celebrated in this book, for new and old fans alike to read. And even if you don’t know that history, read this issue, because wrestling is for everyone!

Review by Jordan Kirian