Comic Review: Fear Agent Volume 1

    Buck Rogers meets Mack Bolan in Rick Remender’s Fear Agent.  Drawn by Walking Dead alum Tony Moore, Fear Agent has the look of classic 50s sci-fi paperback book covers, with the sass and goofiness of a bawdy Playboy comic.  It feels like Remender is trying to capture some of Bruce Campbell’s swagger in lead Heath Huston.  And what could easily become tiresome, he manages to make work.

    There’s no deep philosophical discussions, no soul searching, no moral allegory.  There’s a guy with a blaster, shooting tentacled aliens and robots, and flying a rocket ship.  It’s goofy and light, and often a bit naughty.  A nice cure to all the mopy, depressing comics I’ve been reading lately.

    The art is pretty good, with enough retro-flare to get the message across.  Robots and aliens are drawn with tongue firmly in cheek, but the environments are actually quite cool.  It’s obvious that while the story is ‘having a go’ at a certain type of sci-fi, it comes from a place of love.

    If you, like me, need a break from all the Debbie Downer comics on the market right now, check this out.  Or if you just like schlocky science fiction adventure stories.  No wheel reinvention going on.  No great leaps in the medium.  Just old-time action stories with ray-guns and rocket-ships.

Fear Agent: Re-Ignition
Author: Rick Remender
Artist: Tony Moore
Publisher: Dark Horse Books
ISBN: 978-1-59307-764-8

-Matt

A Fistful of Catsuits! (Brad's Picks)

The fourth Underworld film has arrived and the world scratches its head and asks, "Who wanted a fourth Underworld film?"  Nevertheless, you can't deny that Kate Beckinsale looks good in a catsuit and even though Brian Michael Bendis is probably right when he tweets that "poor Kate Beckinsale is going to be in that frakakta outfit until she's 57 years old" I say that's okie-dokie.  Cinema always could use a few more catsuits.  Here are my personal fave:

5.  Sybil Danning (The Howling II):  I think there is enough suit to call it a catsuit, but even if I'm cheating a little Sybil Danning's outfit from this not-so-seminal sequel was impossible to forget for this once upon a time 13 year old horror dork.  It's definitely easier to remember her outfit than Christopher Lee's super thin 80s sunglasses.  But, as far as the film's concerned, I just recommend watching the closing credits over and over and over again.

4.  Erin Grey (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century):  Here's another one that stuck in my child's mind.  And it's not really one, is it?  Erin Grey wore hundreds of different disco inspired catsuits as Wilma Deering and each one of them left an impact on my young self.

3.  Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns):  Man, oh, man--when you're picking the best catsuits it's even harder to pick the best Catwoman catsuit.  Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, and Lee Meriwether all look stunning in their respective suits, but I gotta go with Pfeiffer cuz she's the only one that kinda scares me as Catwoman.  Every time she engulfs The Penguin's bird I swear she's gonna swallow.  Yep, she's genuinely psychotic in the role and I think it's summed up by those visible stitches. This kitty is about to break.

2.  Yvonne Craig (Batman Season 3):  But if Michelle Pfeiffer has the 60s Catwomen beat, than Yvonne Craig's Batgirl reigns supreme.  Barbara Gordon's got the whole city fooled; behind her secret, rotating vanity hides the hottest ass kicker of Gotham City.  And many a nerd fetish were born watching her few episodes on Nick At Night.

1.  John Phillip Law (Danger: Diabolik):  No, I'm not being PC.  The sexiest, coolest, most badass catsuit belongs to John Phillip Law's super-thief Diabolik.  Doubts?  Just watch the movie.  "He Robs From The Rich To Give To The Girls."  It's MODtastic.

--Brad