Comic review- Doc Savage: The Spider’s Web #1- And the award for the stupidest comic book of 2015 goes to……..this one.

Writer: Chris Roberson
Artist: Cezar Razek
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Released: 2nd December 2015



Here’s the plot: 1935, America, and an evil inventor/industrialist has a portable weapon that melts people, and entire buildings. He attempts to sell it to the US Government, but (unbelievably) they are not interested.

So, rather than selling it to foreign governments, or to the numerous independently wealthy private individuals who would no doubt pay him billions for such a weapon, he comes up with a devious plan to change the US government’s mind and to get them interested in it.

Here’s his plan. Melt a couple of cops, evaporate a warehouse, frame the Germans, get the US government to perceive a German threat, and then they’ll come running back to you to buy your portable WMD. Will it work or will the heroic Doc Savage foil his evil plan to, err, sell a weapon to the US government, the very people that (in the real world) would be more than happy to buy it off of him?

If you want to find out what happens next, buy this book. If, however, you find this entire plot to be completely, unbelievably stupid, then don’t.

What on earth is going on here? Are we supposed to believe that the US government (In 1935) would NOT be interested in a powerful (portable) weapon that can dissolve people and entire buildings into a puddle of goo? And are we also supposed to believe that having found out about this technology that they would leave the inventor alone to do whatever he likes with it? Wouldn’t this be a serious national security issue? Didn’t the US invade Iraq because they THOUGHT that they had WMD’s? Okay, I know that was a lie, but the point stands.

There is no way in Hell that the US government of 1935 (or any other time in world history) would find out about a devastating weapon of mass destruction, and then do absolutely nothing about it other than politely say no when given first refusal.

How the Donald Duck am I supposed to take any of this seriously. The whole thing is completely preposterous. There’s suspension of disbelief, but suspension of the intellect as well?

Chris Roberson, you’re asking too much of your readers. Your story is nonsense, and I have to call you out on it. When the fundamental core of your narrative makes ZERO LOGICAL SENSE how the heck am I supposed to engage with it?

I’ll answer that. I can’t. It’s absolutely impossible to engage with something sooooooo mindnumbingly stoooopid. Aggggghhhhh, my head hurts now. Somebody give me some brain juice please, my intellect is literally pouring out of my ear holes.



Rating: 0/10 (I can’t even remember the last time that I read something as stupid as this comic book)

Comic review: The Shadow #2- Starring Poor Old Mr Crowley

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Released: 2nd September 2015


I do like me a bit of Shadow in the morning, a bit of occult daftness, a bit of red scarfed visual stimulation, and a bit of double printed text, just to keep me on my toes.

Double printed text?

Yeah, they messed up in ‘The Shadow #2’ duplicating the same text on two pages, but with slightly different art panels. I haven’t had my coffee yet, but I noticed it, oops.

The other thing I noticed about the book was Aleister Crowley, the beastly blokey who is lurking in the back of that famous Beatles album cover (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), and a name that often crops up when people talk about the occult. He was a bit of a pathetic creature in this book, ageing out, depressed and afraid. I hope that Mr. Bunn is duping us all and that he has a bit more for him to do, as so far, it just seemed like a bit of a waste of a fascinating real life personality that you could do so much more with.

The plot of the book involves a cabal of villainous magicians that want to get their hands on ‘the last illusion,’ a secret that Harry Houdini took with him to the grave. It’s up to our shadowy hero to stop them, because if they get it, well, they’ll get up to all kinds of mischief, I guess. That’s simple, that’s easy, and that’s exactly what I want in my Shadow books. This particular issue was a bit talky, but it had to be to set up what is coming next, and it had a good cliff hanger, so that’s enough for me to return next month.

The Shadow #2 then is a simple, old-fashioned pulp comic book. I like that. Keep it simple, keep the mainstream statist/collectivist programming to a minimum, don’t lecture me with Marxist identity politics and tell a good, clear story. I can read the book, enjoy it, and forget it. There was nothing here to irritate me, and hey man that’s good enough for me.

Okay then, so that’s the first review of the new week done. Time to get me some coffee and to see if 2000AD is out in W.H Smith's yet. The Shadow #2 has that textual duplication error, but I enjoyed the book, mainly for the appearance of the Great Beast, but as I said in the first line of this review, I do like me a bit of Shadow in the morning, always have done, for some reason.


Rating: 6.5/10 (A narrative set up issue, with a beastly guest star)

Ozzy's ode to Mr Crowley