CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA

Hooray! It’s time for a new Blog Extra! This weekend, a look at three high-profile launches from Dynamite Entertainment.

PAINKILLER JANE #0, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Lee Moder, brings the indestructible ass-kicker back for madness and mayhem. Amusingly, we met Jane with her ass hanging out; she’s gone undercover trying to smoke out some bad guys working out of a tattoo parlor, and the easiest way to prove she isn’t a cop is to get a tat on her rear end. Of course, this being Jimmy Palmiotti at the keyboard, it also provides plenty of moments for sick humor. In the course of getting her ink, trouble does manage to arrive, and Jane has to start doing what she does best, which is kill and blow shit up while displaying a snarky attitude. Executed brilliantly on the page by the always-terrific Lee Moder, JANE’s return is a complete hoot, and a twisted, zesty thrill. More please, and soon.

Leah Moore and John Reppion write, and Hugo Petrus draws, RAISE THE DEAD #1. A number of strangers are trapped within diner, the place surrounded by a mounting zombie epidemic. Everyone must figure out a way to work together, or they’re all going to die. Some zombies have made it in; can the group survive long enough to get out and get to a place that might offer safety? Unfortunately, there isn’t anything here that really jumps up and grabs you as an original take on the classic zombie story. It’s all executed with fine, competent precision, and there’s nothing to suggest that the story can’t veer wildly into new and exciting directions once the cast moves to their next destination. But issue one doesn’t give you much more than what you’ve seen before. A better start, maybe in media res further ahead in the plot, may have been the smarter play.

SAVAGE TALES #1 is an anthology title written and drawn by various creators. The lead story, a Red Sonja story written by Ron Marz (whose name is misspelled in the credits) is the best bit in the book, following Sonja as she meets a witch with a similar background story to hers but with a wildly different agenda. Moore and Reppion deliver a story here, too, and a stronger effort than RAISE THE DEAD. The only story that really fell completely flat for me was “Where Walks the Hunter,” a bit by Mike Oeming and Luke Lieberman that attempts to fill in the blanks behind the scenes of the main RED SONJA book, but instead confuses; not everyone picking up this book reads the main title, and without that knowledge, the plot made no sense. Overall, though, this is a solid effort, and Arthur Suydam’s cover is icing on the cake. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but the foundation is built well.

/Mason