Comic Quickies or Comics with Guns on the Cover

Undying Love #1:  I gonna sound like a broken record here, by Undying Love is another great looking new comic from Image.  Is it just me, or is Image the only company cranking out new stuff?

Undying Love is set in China, and tells the story of John and Mei, a couple who appear to be on the run.  When the comic begins, they are hiding out in a small secluded temple, and are attacked by the sword and spear wielding minions of a talking fox and a Geisha.  From the ensuing battle two important details are learned: John appears to have some special forces training, and Mei is a vampire.

John and Mei are in love, and they want to share a life together, but the whole vampire thing causes a lot of complications. John wants to free Mei from the vampire curse, but to do that he must destroy the vampire that made her.  The hang up is that Mei was made into a vampire by Shang-Ji, the oldest and most powerful vampire in China.  If John can take down Shang-Ji, he can cure Mei.  Simple as that.

From the way things are set up, there should be some bad-ass vampire slaying going down in this comic, and that sounds like a recipe for awesomeness.   I'm looking forward to what this one has in store.

The Mission #2: Our hero, Paul, knows he fucked up.  He was supposed to kill Neal Corman at the behest of God, but didn't, then innocent people got killed and Corman kidnapped his own six year old daughter.  You can't really blame Paul, it is hard to kill someone based on the word of some sketchy aggro old dude claiming to represent the word of God.  However, from the looks of things, Gabe, God's messenger, seems to be right, and Paul, fearing the repercussions of not completing his mission, decides to do the deed.

I'll be straight up, I'm not a fan of the art in this comic.  Compared to other titles I read, it doesn't measure up.  Since The Mission doesn't look as sexy as some other titles, I feel like I instantly down-grade it to second rate...but that would be doing this title a great disservice because I love the writing.  It took me about 10 minutes to read through this issue.  I was totally sucked in from the first page and enjoyed it to the very last.  The character of Paul is such a regular dude, stuck in such an irregular situation that it makes for some compelling reading.  The sharp, gripping writing is top notch, and a great reason to check this comic out.

The Intrepids #2: When we last left the Intrepids team they were about to get the drop on Darius Dread.  Too bad for the Intrepids,  but this issues starts out with Dread's battle baboon whoopin' some Intrepid ass.  It turns out Dread is a much more gracious host then the baboons initially let on, and he hooks the team up with some valuable intel.  Dread's info puts the team on the tail of a mysterious man named Jonah.  Like Dante, the mysterious benefactor for the Intrepids, Jonah appears to have some sort of background in mad science.  The team can only hope that Jonah will lead them to Dr. Koi.

As I was promised by both Kurtis J. Wiebe and Scott Kowalchuk, this second issue definitely kicked some serious ass.  Not only that, but it provided some great moments of humor, especially when the team was getting their asses handed to them by the baboons.  Aside from providing some great entertainment, this story also delivered some solid character development and dropped some valuable info on the various scientific power-ups each Intrepid member possesses.  So far most of the character development has focused on team leader Crystal, but the other team members have distinct personalities, and seem to be strong characters in their own right.  Hopefully more development will be given to Doyle, Rose and Chester in the coming issues.

The awesomeness of the second issue proves that The Intrepids is no one-hit wonder.  I could gush more about this comic, but I'll spare you, and just say that The Intrepids is a comic that deserves to be read.

Who is Jake Ellis #3:  In the last issue of Who is Jake Ellis? Jake Ellis, the man inside our hero Jon's head, got Jon exposed.  Now Jon is on the run and he needs to get the hell out of France, preferably on the sly. Aside from the switch of locales, Jon is also looking to score some information regarding the whereabouts of the secret facility that performed the procedure that linked him to Jake Ellis. 

Jon and Jake make a pretty slick and efficient spy team, but what is the most compelling to me is how easily Jake can convince Jon to do things a certain way, and how Jon is so willing to listen to Jake Ellis.  As a reader, I am definitely beginning to question not only Jake Ellis' motivations, but also his methods.  Jon is a pretty likable character, and I definitely wonder how everything is going to turn out for the guy.

Not only does Who is Jake Ellis? continue to feature great writing, but the art is great too.  I really enjoyed the "club" color palette  that added vibrancy to the opening scene of this issue. 

Who is Jake Ellis continues to be one of the most entertaining comics on the shelves.  With each issue I get even further sucked into the story, and further invested in the characters.  The story is unfolding at a nice clip, and each issue leaves me yearning for more.  Who is Jake Ellis has solidified itself as one of my favorite monthly comics.