DANGER GIRL: RENEGADE

Written by Andy Hartnell | Art by Stephen Molnar
Colors by John Rauch | Letters by Neil Uyetake | Edits by Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl created by J. Scott Campbell and Andy Hartnell

You know that feeling when you pick up an issue of a comic and realize you somehow missed the previous month's installment? That's the feeling one gets when reading DANGER GIRL: RENEGADE. It starts off straightforwardly enough, with a flashback to twelve years ago as we find a 13 year-old Abbey Chase in Cairo, under attack by a group of mercenaries. She and her guardian, David -- a friend of Abbey's missing father -- escape and move to Norway, but more mercs catch up with them there and David is shot, forcing Abbey to run and leave him for dead.

Issues 2 and 3 begin with similar flashbacks to Abbey's youth, one featuring her at age 16 in Tokyo with another of her father's contacts, while the third features 19 year-old Abbey searching for a treasure in Guatemala with a professor friend as well as her eventual rival (from the pages of DANGER GIRL: REVOLVER), Darren Cross. (And, in a nice touch, we learn here how Cross lost his fingertips as seen in his prior appearance.)

All this is well and good, fleshing out Abbey's past and revealing that she's spent years searching, off and on, for her missing dad. The confusion arises in the modern day storyline, which covers the remainder of the series' pages. We learn that the Danger Girl team disbanded under mysterious circumstances and that Deuce is missing. Abbey hasn't seen any of her former colleagues in over a year, and has gone back to her treasure hunting ways alongside international ne'er-do-well Dallas (featured previously in the prior two DANGER GIRL mini-series, TRINITY and MAYDAY).

SPRINGTIME GRAB BAG II

Before I get into this year's summer project (which, as noted previously, will be a bit shorter than the DANGER GIRL and STREET FIGHTER series I posted over the past couple years), we've got a few more "grab bag" items to close out the spring. The next couple Fridays will see a look at DANGER GIRL: RENEGADE, the latest installment in that franchise's ongoing world, and then IDW's TRANSFORMERS: DEVIATIONS one-shot, a "What If?" story set in the world of 1986's TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE. Then it'll be three weeks covering three relatively recent Marvel projects from Alan Davis in the writer/artist capacity.

Afterward it's on with that summer project, beginning mid-June, and that'll take things up into August, when this year's fall TRANSFORMERS series will begin. I've got the rest of the year planned out at this point, so I expect smooth sailing all the way through December.

THE UNBOXING - APRIL 2016

Four trade paperbacks this month, though one was delayed from March, as noted last time. From Marvel, we have a pair of Epic Collections: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: RETURN OF THE SINISTER SIX and IRON MAN: DUEL OF IRON. The former fits snugly between the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION: COSMIC ADVENTURES and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION: ROUND ROBIN books (I'm really happy with the amount of love David Michelinie's long Spider-run is receiving, as it's the Spider-Man I grew up with), while the latter follows directly from the very first Epic Collection, 2013's IRON MAN: THE ENEMY WITHIN (and for the record, it will only take one more IRON MAN Epic to bridge the gap between this volume and the previously released STARK WARS).

DC brings BATMAN ADVENTURES volume 4, closing out the original 36-issue run based on BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. Hopefully these four books have sold well enough to warrant a couple follow-ups for the 25-issue BATMAN AND ROBIN ADVENTURES and perhaps even the subsequent 60-issue BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES -- though as of now I don't believe there's any word on whether that might happen.

And lastly, from IDW, it's the latest installment in the DANGER GIRL saga, DANGER GIRL: RENEGADE. I looked at every DG series to date a couple summers ago, and I plan to follow up with this volume in the near future.

THE UNBOXING - DECEMBER 2014

Merry Christmas to all! It's been a busy couple months for me, but there's always time to unbox a new shipment of books. First up this month is something we actually already covered a couple weeks back, DANGER GIRL: MAYDAY -- so I won't waste any time talking about it here. A full review of this story, as well as all the other Danger Girl installments to date, is available on the DANGER GIRL reviews page.

Marvel, meanwhile, brings me two books this month: One is INVADERS: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION volume 2, the second and final volume in the series. Now, along with Volume 1, all of the original INVADERS series from the seventies is collected. These World War II adventures of Captain America and his cohorts are stories I've wanted to read for quite a while, so I may crack these two open sooner rather than later.

Lastly is the X-MEN: INFERNO PROLOGUE volume. As I've noted in the comments to my X-Men Collected Editions chart, this welcome book fills in a notable gap in the Chris Claremont X-Men canon, as well as covering several issues each of X-FACTOR and NEW MUTANTS. And it's an oversize hardcover to boot, something which has become rarer and rarer for the X-Men these past couple years!

And that's a wrap on a year's worth of Unboxings. What will 2015 bring? I know of a few items, which I've already pre-ordered, but for the most part I'm eager to find out which classic collections will come my way next.

DANGER GIRL: MAYDAY

Over the summer I posted a series of reviews on all DANGER GIRL mini-series to date. But as those reviews were underway, the latest DG series was being released monthly. The trade paperback just came out a couple weeks back, so I figure I should put a bow on 2014's "Summer of Danger Girl" with one more, slightly delayed post:

Written by Andy Hartnell | Pencils by John Royle
Inks by Jose Marzan, Jr. & Eeshwar | Letters by Neil Uyetake
Colors by Romulo Fajardo & Ronda Pattinson | Edits by Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

MAYDAY is another stylistically different Danger Girl series, and it's nice to see Andy Hartnell continue to try new approaches rather than stick to the same old formula. He's written these characters through nine limited series plus an assortment of one-shots over the past fifteen years, comprising more than forty issues now, so some variety at this point is appreciated. In this case, the entire series focuses on Natalia Kassle, with the Danger Girls only appearing in the final issue as minor background characters.

The story begins "years ago" as Hammer Island explodes, circa the conclusion of the original DANGER GIRL series. Not far from the island, a group of mercenaries led by one April Mayday are attempting to hijack a Hammer supply ship when a bunch of debris falls from the sky. Among the projectiles is Natalia, near death following her final confrontation with Abbey. Mayday resuscitates Natalia and takes her to a tropical island to recover.

We then skip to the present day, where Natalia's physical rehabilitation is complete -- but she has no memory of her past. Mayday, having spent the past few years researching Natalia, fills in what blanks she can and recruits Natalia into her mercenary troupe. She presents the team as a benevolent force working to recover experimental nerve gas before it can be used on Natalia's homeland, Russia (in actuality they're after the gas, presumably, to sell it for a profit). Natalia assists the mercs in tracking the gas down, first by hunting an ex-KGB agent in Moscow and then traveling to Africa, where the gas is being shipped. But Anastasia Kilbourne, villainess of THE CHASE, is after the gas too -- and so are Abbey and the Danger Girls (assisted by Dallas, Sonya's bounty from TRINITY).

DANGER GIRL: THE CHASE

Written by Andy Hartnell | Art by Harvey Tolibao
Colored by Romulo Fajardo | Cover Art by Dan Panosian
Lettered by Neil Uyetake | Edited by Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

Well, the title isn't misleading. THE CHASE is basically one big, four issue-long chase scene. Which doesn't sound like a great idea on paper, but is executed surprisingly well by Andy Hartnell and Harvey Tolibao. Tolibao's artwork did not impress me in the Sydney segments of TRINITY, but here he's much more palatable. I'm not sure how or why; the work is basically the same. Maybe it's simply because I'm not looking at his work alongside two far more appropriate artists this time. But whatever the reason, Tolibao does a very good job here. His Sydney still looks off due to the lack of blacks in her hair, and his Deuce looks like some bizarre manga character, but otherwise everyone else is on-model, the girls are quite sexy, and the action -- remember, this is an extended four-issue action sequence -- is beautifully choreographed and easy to follow.

The story takes place pretty much entirely in Shanghai, as the Danger Girls are in town to acquire a mysterious briefcase under orders from Deuce. But a one-eyed "Dragon Lady" assassin named Anastasia Kilbourne (a.k.a. "Asia", brilliantly designed by Tolibao, by the way) is after the case as well, and she has an army of heavily armed mercenaries with her. Asia gets to the case first, but Abbey manages to procure it. Following an issue-long fire truck chase through Shanghai, Abbey escapes onto a train. But Asia and her men pursue via helicopter, leading to a final showdown on the outskirts of Hong Kong.

DANGER GIRL: TRINITY

Written by Andy Hartnell | Art by John Royle, Harvey Tolibao and Stephen Molnar
Additional Inks by Philip Moy | Colored by Romulo Fajardo
Lettered by Neil Uyetake | Edited by Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

TRINITY is a bit of an experiment for the DANGER GIRL series, though I would argue that it's not experimental enough. The advertised premise is that we get to see each of the core cast members -- Abbey, Sydney, and Sonya -- in a solo adventure, but this claim is only half true. The three girls are engaged in their own storylines when we first meet up with them, but the stories almost immediately intersect as part of one larger plot.

We first cover Abbey, on "vacation" in search of a priceless relic and at the mercy of her rival, Spencer Cross, making a return appearance following his debut in REVOLVER. Abbey manages an escape from Cross, but is captured by servants of a sultan named A'zeel Amahz, who wants Abbey to locate an ancient crown for him.

Following Abbey's kidnapping, Deuce contacts Sydney in London and sets her off on a search for her wayward teammate. But when Sydney is attacked immediately, she realizes someone is onto the rescue attempt and asks Deuce to warn Sonya.

Thus we join up with Sydney's sister in the Congo, also on her "day off", bounty hunting. She winds up working together with her quarry, a man named Dallas, to escape another group of the same mercenaries that pursued Sydney.

DANGER GIRL/G.I. JOE (REVISED)

I originally stated that, since I covered this series once already last year, I wouldn't do so again. But since it's a quick, light read, I decided to give it another go. My reaction this time was much the same as before -- it's an entertaining story, but the interaction between the Joes and Danger Girls feels a little too "fan-fiction"-ish. And my opinion that Hartnell and Royle should work on a straight adaptation of the G.I. JOE cartoon series, with no DANGER GIRL crossover element involved, remains the same.

Now, a reprint my original review, mildly revised and slightly spruced up to better fit in with my previous DANGER GIRL posts:

Written by Andy Hartnell | Penciled by John Royle | Inked by Philip Moy
Layout Assist by Jeff Moy | Colored by Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Lettered by Neil Uyetake | Edited by John Barber & Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl created by J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

DANGER GIRL/G.I. JOE is very strongly based on the G.I. JOE cartoon series of the eighties, right down to taking place over five "episodes" as did those original Joe mini-series. The plot initially follows the G.I. Joe team, who have found some vintage World War II era German experimental missiles, which are promptly stolen by Cobra. Scarlett and Flint are captured as well, by Abbey, working undercover within the Cobra organization. Meanwhile, the president (here a woman rather than the man seen in BACK IN BLACK) orders the Joes off of operational duty due to their loss of the missiles. But Lady Jaye, Cover Girl, and Jinx disobey the letter of the order by recruiting the aid of the rest of the Danger Girl team, who Cover Girl has heard of thanks to a shared plane flight with Johnny Barracuda sometime back. The Danger Girls, Deuce, and Johnny arrive and unmask "Madame President" as Zarana, attempting to keep the Joes' heads in the sand with her falsified orders.

DANGER GIRL: REVOLVER

Story: Andy Hartnell | Art: Chris Madden
Colors: Jeremy Cox | Letters: Neil Uyetake | Edits: Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

DANGER GIRL took some time off following 2007's BODY SHOTS, eventually returning to the printed page in 2011's DANGER GIRL AND THE ARMY OF DARKNESS, published by Dynamite Entertainment. But as noted previously, that story will not be covered here. Instead we jump ahead one more year to 2012, and the first DANGER GIRL story published by their new home, IDW -- DANGER GIRL: REVOLVER.

I'm not certain why this series is called REVOLVER. No one in the story uses a revolver. To my recollection, the word "revolver" is not uttered so much as a single time. So, as with BODY SHOTS, we have another series whose name seems a complete nonsequiter. But on the plus side, that's pretty much the only thing wrong with the series. REVOLVER is fun and fast-paced, evoking memories of the original DANGER GIRL series in the best possible ways. The Indiana Jones influence is more evident than in years, and the story is also perhaps the most plot-packed series since those original seven issues, as well.

DANGER GIRL: BODY SHOTS

Story: Andy Hartnell
Pencils: Nick Bradshaw w/Jonboy Meyers & Billy Dallas Patton
Digital Inks & Colors: Jim Charalampiois | Letters: Comicraft
Assistant Edits: Kristy Quinn | Edits: Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

Well, I'm not sure why the series is called BODY SHOTS. No one suffered a blow to the stomach or chest, and nobody drank liquor off of another person. But, misleading name aside, this is another fun outing from the same creative team that brought us BACK IN BLACK. The story is perhaps a bit overly complex and twisty, but the characterizations are fine, the action is exciting, and the artwork is excellent.

The premise this time is that a terrorist named Arthur Franco has acquired a gizmo called the Master Key, which will allow him to detonate any nuclear device on Earth from anyplace he happens to be. He demonstrates this ability to the world by setting off two such explosions. Franco's deranged end goal is to destroy all the world's nuclear weapons, ultimately making it a safer place (the environmental fallout from a planetful of nukes exploding is never mentioned by any character in the story). Abbey and Sydney, with aid from Agent Zero and support from Deuce and Valerie, must track Franco down before he can do any further damage.

Following a teaser sequence set in Japan, the action follows the girls briefly to Australia, where Sydney is buying a house, and then to Madagascar, Italy, and a nondescript location "somewhere in Africa", with the adventure culminating in the United States. Franco's scheme is revealed as a scam, though it turns out he was unaware. He believes the Master Key works, but in reality it's a non-functioning dummy device, while suicide bombers have detonated the missiles for him at the precise moments he has used the Key, as part of a manipulative plot by a corrupt U.S. General. Like I said -- a bit overly complex.

DANGER GIRL: BACK IN BLACK

Story: Andy Hartnell | Pencils: Nick Bradshaw
Digital Inks & Colors: Jim Charalampiois | Letters: Comicraft
Assistant Edits: Kristy Quinn | Edits: Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

Following a seven-issue series, a one-shot, a two-issue series, and three more one-shots (including the BATMAN/DANGER GIRL installment which I'm not covering in this project), all published roughly annually between the late nineties and 2004, DANGER GIRL returns in 2006, settling into the format which will become the standard for its continuing adventures: the four-issue limited series. This is also the first DANGER GIRL story in my review series (again excluding BATMAN) written by Andy Hartnell alone, with no credited plot input from series co-creator J. Scott Campbell. And Hartnell accomplishes himself nicely without the aid of his co-plotter.

The story finds Abbey and Sydney dispatched by Deuce to track down the Roadkillers, a motorcycle gang in South Dakota, to recover a stolen Sioux indian artifact called the Black Seed -- a skull dating back to the battle of Wounded Knee, believed to hold the power to resurrect the dead. The girls go undercover as motorcycle enthusiasts, befriending a "biker chick" named Ruby and enlisting the aid of her own gang, the Black Widows, in their mission. The girls learn that the Roadkillers have been hired by a mysterious cabal led by an elderly fellow calling himself "the Gentleman", who is also assisted by former Hammer Empire agents Kid Dynamo and Mr. Giggles. The quest eventually concludes in Boston, where the Black Seed is destroyed, but the Gentleman escapes.

DANGER GIRL: VIVA LAS DANGER

Story: J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell | Script: Andy Hartnell
Art & Color: Phil Noto | Lettering & Design: Richard Starking's & Comicraft's John Roshell
Assistant Editor: Kristy Quinn | Editor: Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

The second Campbell/Hartnell/Noto collaboration is a much better read than the previous one, HAWAIIAN PUNCH. VIVA LAS DANGER begins with a teaser featuring Abbey undercover in South Africa, involved in a high stakes poker game in order to acquire a one-of-a-kind gem. She wins by cheating and escapes her angry fellow gamers with assistance from Johnny.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but one of my favorite things about the DANGER GIRL comics is that they mostly all begin with such quick teasers, sometimes related to the main story's action and sometimes not, evoking memories of the great Connery and Moore Bond films I grew up on. The teasers are then always followed by a double-page title/credits sequence, usually in the form of a montage featuring the girls in varying states of undress in the background. It's another nice, Bondian touch which helps to sell the stories as action movies in comic book form.

Though I have to say that, while Campbell usually provides variant covers for the DANGER GIRL mini-series, I wouldn't mind seeing him devote that energy to these pages instead. I suppose putting his artwork on the cover is a bigger draw for readers, but the montage Campbell drew for the original series was outstanding, and I think he could have a lot more fun with the various mini-series' character designs drawing them into such pages rather than cramming them onto covers which need room for logos, trade dress, UPC barcodes, and more.

DANGER GIRL: HAWAIIAN PUNCH

Story: J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell | Script: Andy Hartnell
Art: Phil Noto | Lettering: John 'JG' Roshell & Comicraft's Wes Abbott
Assistant Editor: Kristy Quinn | Big Kahuna: Scott Dunbier
Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

Following Tommy Yune's KAMIKAZE! is a Danger Girl one-shot plotted by series creators J. Scott Campbell and Andy Hartnell, with script once again by Hartnell. The story begins with a brief teaser set in snow-blanketed Italy, where Abbey, Sydney, and Johnny Barracuda recover a McGuffin from a group of nondescript terrorists. Following the borderline successful completion of their mission, Johnny suggests a well-deserved vacation in Hawaii. The story proper then picks up with our heroes enjoying their downtime in the islands, little aware that they're about to fall into a devious new plot.

It seems Don Ka Nui, a Hawaiian theme park magnate, is running out of money and believes that the only way to get people into his park and get his revenue back up is to destroy the world's other popular parks. To that end he uses several genetically crafted mind-control leis to turn Johnny and a group of U.S. naval submarine officers to his side. The subs depart Hawaii and launch missiles at two theme parks in California and one in Hawaii. But the Danger Girls become aware of the plan and foil it, with some timely aid from Valerie, along for the ride in Hawaii, and Deuce, who is vacationing in Florida.

The story is silly, but Ka Nui works in a "Roger Moore Bond Villain" sort of way. He has a right-hand hula girl named Lae'ula and several trained fighters at his command, and his penchant for chess results in Johnny tied to a giant white bishop, which is kind of a funny image. There is a story angle missed, however, considering that Ka Nui has a half-completed theme park on of the islands, which could have made a great spot for a final showdown, but which is barely acknowledged as existing after its introduction.

DANGER GIRL: KAMIKAZE!

Story & Art: Tommy Yune | Inks: Vince Russell
Colors: Guy Majors | Letters: Richard Starkinks & Comicraft
Assistant Editor: John Layman | Editor: Scott Dunbier
With Special Thanks to Wai Lin Liao for Chinese dialogue
Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

KAMIKAZE! is the rare (perhaps only?) Danger Girl story not plotted and/or scripted by the series creators, J. Scott Campbell and/or Andy Hartnell. Instead we have Tommy Yune serving as both writer and artist on this two-part mini-series, and doing an admirable job of it.

Yune's plot springs out of the original DANGER GIRL series, featuring a Japanese terrorist organization called the Kama (translated to English as "the Sickle"). The Kama's logo matches that of the Hammer Empire, and it is stated in the story that the Kama was going to team up with the Hammer to form a new "Axis of Terror" before the Hammer's unexpected end at the hands of the Danger Girl team. The Kama was founded by a rogue Japanese general in the aftermath of World War II, and is led in the present day by the mysterious Empress Doken and her right hand man, Shogunner -- a huge black-armored samurai reminiscent of the Hammer Empire's own hulking Major Maxim.

The story follows the Danger Girl team, consisting here of Abbey, Sydney, Valerie, and Deuce, along with Hong Kong police agent Mei Yaoh, as they pursue the Kama around Asia while the terrorist group searches for a long-lost anti-matter bomb developed by the Axis powers in the latter days of the War. The chase takes our heroines from Hong Kong to Cambodia to the South China Sea, where the final showdown occurs. The day is saved thanks to Valerie defusing the bomb, but Empress Doken and Shogunner -- revealed as the artificially preserved Kama founder, General Akuhido, escape.

DANGER GIRL SPECIAL

The DANGER GIRL SPECIAL was released during the run of the original series, presumably as a way to keep up reader interest during the long delays between the later issues. Functioning essentially as an "annual", the issue features two short stories spotlighting the Danger Girls.

"DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR"
Story: Andy Hartnell, J. Scott Campbell & Arthur Adams
Drawings: Arthur Adams | Digital Inks: Digital Chameleon
Colors: Justin Ponsor & Matt Milla w/Chris Garcia | Lettering: Comicraft's Rich'n'Wes
Assistant Editor: John Layman | Editor: Scott Dunbier

The first tale is illustrated by the talented Art Adams, and stars Valerie, daydreaming about life as a full-fledged Danger Girl while relegated by Deuce to cataloguing the group's recent acquisitions while Abbey and Sydney are away on a mission. Valerie fantasizes about a scenario where she plays the role of the capable and confident Sydney while Sydney herself functions as the bumbling sidekick on a mission to track down a Bigfoot-type of creature in the jungle. Then, after a very brief imagined scenario in which she is the Deuce-like leader of the "Danger Boys", Valerie moves on to her second longer daydream, casting herself as Abbey and rescuing Johnny Barracuda from a mad scientist in an exo-skeleton. The story ultimately ends with Sydney and Abbey returning from their mission and Abbey finding Valerie asleep, clutching Sydney's whip as she dreams of her Danger Girl adventures.

DANGER GIRL

"PRELUDE TO DANGER!" | "DANGEROUSLY YOURS" | "DANGEROUS LIAISONS"
"DANGEROUS CURVES" | "MAXIMUM DANGER" | "DANGEROUS WHEN WET"
"DANGEROUS DESTINIES" | "INTO THE DANGER ZONE"
Drawings & Story: J. Scott Campbell | Story & Script: Andy Hartnell
Inks: Alex Garner, Richard Friend, Sandra Hope, Scott Williams, Tom McWeeney, Tim Townsend, Art Thibert | Colors: Guy Major, Justin Ponsor, Ben Dimagmaliw, Joe Chiodo, Martin Jimenez, David Baron
Lettering: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Dave Lanphear and Wes Abbott
Editor: Scott Dunbier | Danger Girl Created By J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

The DANGER GIRL PREVIEW, an eight-page teaser for the regular series, was released with a cover date of December, 1997. It was my first year of college. The series' final issue, #7, was dated February, 2001. My senior year. I distinctly remember being flabbergasted whenever a new issue showed up in my pull box at the local comic book shop back then. DANGER GIRL was my first real foray into something outside the realms of Marvel and DC, as I had passed on the Image Exodus of the early nineties. And it's not an exaggeration to declare that DANGER GIRL soured me on venturing beyond that safe zone provided by the Big Two. I found the series entertaining and the artwork fantastic, but the delays made it impossible for me to remember what happened between issues. And I value entertainment produced on a timely schedule more than work delayed for any reason, be it laziness or the desire for perfection.

So my DANGER GIRL comics sat, stored away and unread, for years. I eventually dug them out one day and read them in one sitting, to find that the story is surprisingly coherent. Campbell and Hartnell must have had their arc worked out from the start, because when read in succession, without months-long delays between issues, everything holds together.

But the thing that really surprised me upon re-reading is that the story isn't just coherent -- it's also pretty good!

THE SUMMER OF DANGER GIRL

In my DANGER GIRL/G.I. JOE review last year, I said:

"Danger Girl has been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me since it first appeared, back when I was in college. It was the only series from the Cliffhanger imprint that I picked up, and I guess I made the right choice because I seem to recall it was the only Cliffhanger series to reach its conclusion (even if it did take something like two years to get those seven issues). The series is not high art, though it has never pretended to be. It's simply the comic book equivalent of a big, dumb summer popcorn blockbuster, which is something you just want to read once in a while."

Now I'm about to put this assessment to the test. I'm going to spend ten consecutive Fridays looking at ten DANGER GIRL mini-series and one-shots, to decide if they're actually big and dumb, or if perhaps there's more there. The series I'll be reviewing are:

• DANGER GIRL (1998)
• DANGER GIRL SPECIAL (2000)
• DANGER GIRL: KAMIKAZE! (2001)
• DANGER GIRL: HAWAIIAN PUNCH (2003)
• DANGER GIRL: VIVA LAS DANGER (2004)
• DANGER GIRL: BACK IN BLACK (2006)
• DANGER GIRL: BODY SHOTS (2007)
• DANGER GIRL: REVOLVER (2012)
• DANGER GIRL: TRINITY (2013)
• DANGER GIRL: THE CHASE (2013)

THE UNBOXING - APRIL 2014

If last month was one of my smaller months, with only two books total -- both from DC, no less -- this shipment more than makes up for it, with a mostly Marvel line-up. First and foremost is the long-awaited SPIDER-MAN BY ROGER STERN OMNIBUS. I wrote a post about this volume over seven months ago when it first popped up as a ghost listing on Amazon. Now the book is finally in my hands, and I'm thrilled beyond words. I will be reading this one immediately, and I have big plans for it as relates to the blog. More on that within the next month or so.

Also on hand from Marvel are three thick trade paperbacks. And it must be Roger Stern Month hereabouts, because in addition to the Spider-Man book, two of these trades collect Stern's work as well. AVENGERS: ABSOLUTE VISION, BOOK TWO brings us a large chunk of Stern's classic AVENGERS run from the eighties, while the CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION: DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT (delayed from last month) collects the full Stern/John Byrne run on Cap, which I already own in a separate trade, as well as the beginning of the long J.M. DeMatties/Mike Zeck run, which bridged the gap between Stern/Byrne and the great Mark Gruenwald.

DANGER GIRL/G.I. JOE

Since I just finished the first half of TRANSFORMERS: REGENERATION ONE, I figured I'd keep going with another Hasbro property, G.I. Joe -- here teamed with J. Scott Campbell's Danger Girl characters. This is a review of the DANGER GIRL/G.I. JOE collected edition, released in 2013 and collecting the 2012 limited series of the same name. This review assumes some familiarity with both Danger Girl and G.I. Joe.

"DANGER GIRL/G.I. JOE"

Written by Andy Hartnell | Penciled by John Royle | Inked by Philip Moy

Layout Assist by Jeff Moy | Colored by Romulo Fajardo, Jr.

Lettered by Neil Uyetake | Edited by John Barber & Scott Dunbier

Danger Girl created by J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell

Art by J. Scott Campbell

Danger Girl has been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me since it first appeared, back when I was in college. It was the only series from the Cliffhanger imprint that I picked up, and I guess I made the right choice because I seem to recall it was the only Cliffhanger series to reach its conclusion (even if it did take something like two years to get those seven issues). The series is not high art, though it has never pretended to be. It's simply the comic book equivalent of a big, dumb summer popcorn blockbuster, which is something you just want to read once in a while.

On the other hand, I've been a G.I. Joe fan since I was a kid, and I've followed their comic book adventures through the decades from Marvel to Devil's Due (for a while), and now to IDW (eventually dropping their relaunch in favor of Larry Hama's continuation series). But while the comics are my preferred G.I. Joe continuity, the 80s cartoon series features the characterizations I like best -- and this story seems to feature just those Joes. It's a little more "grown-up" than the cartoon (there is some blood and characters die as in the original comics), but it's clearly made with a cartoon sensibility, fitting perfectly with the Danger Girl universe.