Comic Review: Justice Inc- The Avenger #1- You’re Awful, But I Like You

Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Ronilson Freire
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Released: 3rd June 2015


I shouldn’t like this comic book. It’s deliberately corny, very stupid and completely pointless, and the voice over narration that describes the unfolding action is straight out of that camp old Batman television show from the 1960’s.

Is it supposed to be a knowing, post-modern corny kitschy joke? Probably, but who is laughing?

Added to that corn factor is an ugly dollop of 2015 era social justice warrior political correctness. A woman who acts as a secretary isn’t a secretary at all. No, she’s a very rich and important woman because obviously having a young female secretary in the 1930’s (Is that when this book is set?) would be sexist, and we can’t have that, can we? I mean, women in the 1930’s never worked as secretaries did they? No, we can’t portray that in a comic book, because that is sexist, even though it is true.

Bugger reality, let’s all be politically correct and pretend that reality doesn’t exist.

<<<HUGE SIGH>>>

So what do we have here?

Yes, it’s just another comic book, desperate not to offend, very safe, and very depressing. The book should be chucked in the bin with all of the other inoffensive saying nothing junk that you’ll find in a comic book shop today, right?

Hang on, there’s a but.

There’s always a butt. Sorry, that’s a joke. Did it offend anybody? I hope so, anyway, the but is that something happens in this book that completely redeems it.

After an opening fight sequence that features the usual mix of cool quips and acrobatic women kicking men in the face, the narrative plods on and is uniformly awful, dull, laughable and pointless. But then, in one large panel, something is introduced, and yes it’s really, really stupid and meaningless as well, but (more butts) it somehow works.

I smiled, laughed even, and now I’m writing up this review not to say that the book is pointless and awful, but (I can’t escape the butts in this review) that it’s worthwhile after all.

I’m not even going to mention what this ‘thing’ is, because I don’t want to spoil it. I want it to be a nice surprise for everybody, so get the book, endure and wait for something that is genuinely cool, something that makes all of the awfulness worth enduring.

So, in summary, it’s an awful book, it says nothing, it doesn’t even try really, but you need to get yourself a copy of it immediately. Off you go, to the ebay, trust me, it’s not great, but it’s worth spending a couple of quid on.


Rating: 6.5/10 (Awful, but good)

Blitz review: Justice Inc #3- A good way to learn about 1930’s ‘Pulp’ history

Writer: Michael Uslan
Artist: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Released: October 22nd 2014


If you can get over the fact that all of the heroes in Justice Inc are establishment authority figures, thus legitimising the statist/corporate status quo, and if you can also put up with the narrative being largely based in Tibet, that safe comic book home of faux-western spirituality, then there’s some enjoyment to be had in this series.

The characters themselves, although corporate authority figures, are interesting because they are being developed as if they were brand new. The book has little contemporary relevance, but as an enjoyable diversion, and as a way to discover comic book heroes that were big time stars before the current age of Batman, Spiderman and the Avengers, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Issue #3 develops all three main characters, and we even see the birth of one of them, and an explanation of his new powers. The writing has some thought behind it as well. It’s book-ended with one paragraph of context explanation of the narrative so far, and ends with a few pages where writer Michael Uslan explains some of the references made within the story. That’s very reader friendly, and I give him huge credit for that.

You’ll be particularly interested in this book if you want to learn more about the comic book heroes of the 1930’s days of pulp, and Orson Welles on the radio. For that reason alone it’s more interesting than the majority of irrelevant comic books that are on the market today.

The art is fine, not great, but okay, the story has been well researched, and the characters are interesting as well. It’s nothing spectacular, nothing revolutionary, or even that thought provoking, but it’s enjoyable, and as a ten-minute comic book that doesn’t insult my intelligence too much I’m giving it a thumbs up as a good short dose of silly, learn about the history of comic books fun.

Rating: 7/10

Comic book review: Justice Inc #2- The Avenger is old and new, whilst Batman is just old, and old

Writer: Michael Uslan
Artist: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Released: 24th September 2014


I’m reading this book for The Shadow, and if the other two characters bring anything to the table then that’s just a bonus. Issue #2 gave me some interesting insights into the character, personality and special abilities of The Shadow, so that alone is reason enough for me to both enjoy and appreciate the book.

Okay, so the art isn’t that special. There’s a lack of atmosphere in the shading, and the colouring is far too pastel and bright for my liking. But again, going back to The Shadow, he’s drawn exactly like The Shadow should be drawn, so that’s enough for me.

The story in issue #2 of Justice Inc is brief, as it should be in an issue #2. Most of the action takes place in-flight, with the character that will become ‘The Avenger’ going through his Bruce Wayne moment of horror that will come to define his subsequent crime-fighting career. The dialogue, again as it was in the first issue, is very amusing, but amusing without being silly and ridiculous as you’ll find in the dialogue of far too many mainstream comic books today. Oh, and there was a hint of a femme-fatale in this book, and I’m perfectly happy with that as every old fashioned pulp book needs a sexy bad femme-fatale to spice things up a bit.

Far too many comic books and comic book writers of today are stuck in the 1990’s, and are either unwilling or unable to negotiate the post 9/11 world that we are all living in today. Plus, the mainstream obsession with political correctness and it’s diversionary issues to do with race, gender and sexuality is depressing beyond belief, and makes most of the books put out by DC and Marvel today unreadable for any educated and awakened mind.  Justice Inc is not stuck in the 1990’s, and so far I detect no hint of Rockefeller funded liberalism in the book. Whilst Marvel stays in the 1990’s, trying to get attention by playing out tired old race and gender issues, Justice Inc is bypassing 1970’s feminism altogether by going back to the pulp days of the late 1930’s and 1940’s. It’s using the old heroes and personalities of that period, putting them all in the proverbial blender and having a good old time with the results of that delicious mix.

However, you must bear in mind that if you decide to take a chance on Justice Inc you’re going to get a story that is in no way contemporaneous with current geo-political events. This is a book set in the safe past with characters like Einstein and Howard Hughes, very well known historical figures that are uncontroversial, safe and easy to play around with in a comic book. It’s not a brave book. It’s a comic book that has taken elements of the pulp history of the comic book genre and decided to play out the old stories once again, but for a new audience. These are pulp heroes of the 1940's and that’s where their playground is, not a post 9/11 world, the world that we are all living in today.

If the majority of comic books available today were stuck in the 1940’s it would drive me absolutely nuts. I’m sure they’d be preferable to the liberal nonsense that dominates DC and Marvel today, but I’d still hate it, and every week on this blog I’d be calling them out on their inability to reflect the world of 2014. I give Dynamite comics a pass on this book for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I’m a huge fan of the Shadow, and anything with The Shadow in it is fine by me. Sure I’d like him to be brought into this NSA spying/criminal banks/ puppet politician’s era, but there’s something about his character that appeals to me. It’s probably because he’s independent, morally upright and utterly ruthless with criminal lowlifes. Secondly, this delving back into the 1940’s is interesting because it’s only being done in these Shadow books. I know it’s safe and easy, but at the moment it’s a nice change from the norm, and anything that breaks from the norm at the moment has to be good.

Setting aside my Shadow fandom for a moment, Justice Inc #2 is worth investing your time and money in because you are seeing the re-birth of a super hero known as The Avenger. That’s interesting as The Avenger is a character that has not yet been done to death. He’s an old character, but somewhat of a lost one, somebody who from what I’ve researched appears to be very interesting, and I welcome his reintroduction into the comic book world of today. Contrast that to the character of Batman who gets his origin story redone every couple of years or so in DC comics. Heck, the story is even being redone on mainstream television at the moment in a show called ‘Gotham.’ The Avenger is old, but new. Batman is just old, and old. Get the book because of the re-birth of The Avenger, that alone is good enough a reason to read it, but if like myself you are a huge fan of the awesomeness that is The Shadow, you’ll want to pick this book up as well.

Rating: 7/10