Mighty Avengers #11

Writer – Al Ewing
Artist – Greg Land
Inker – Jay Leisten
Colours – Frank D-Armata

Luke heads home to see his father because he has just learned some family secrets, those of his father that were now made apparent due to a zap from the Watcher’s eye.  It seems that Papa Cage led a super-team himself back in the 1970s against the forces of evil with Kaalu, Adam Brashear, Blade and a mystery woman.  The Deathwalkers who have captured Blade today are quite possibly the same Deathwalkers of yesteryear and Cage needs to know what went down.  This was another fantastic entry into the lives of our Mighty Avengers and Ewing and Land do a great job of bringing it to us.  We have seen Blade in the 70s before and while it is cool and all, it was much more awesome to see the Blue Marvel and what he was doing then, thereby giving us some more history on the man and hero.  Also good to see was how Ewing tied the big event, Original Sin, into his story so seamlessly and not let it interrupt what he was previously trying to establish in the book.  A lot of writers fumble with the incorporation of a company crossover and it is quite admirable that Ewing was able to do so.  The mystery woman adds a little extra to the book, and while she sort of looks like Clea, it most likely is not.  Another nice bit to see was Luke interacting with his father.  It adds more depth to his character and shows us readers where he came from and what shaped him growing up.  Great job from our team overall and some really nice art from Land keeps making this book a must buy.  All of this and a beautiful cover by Francesco Francavilla to boot.  To be Mightytinued!

4.5 out of 5

Edgar Allan Poe’s Morella and The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Writer – Richard Corben
Artist – Richard Corben
Colours – Beth Corben Reed, Richard Corben

This one-shot continues Richard Corben’s adaptations of classic Poe works, this time with Morella and The Murders in the Rue Morgue getting the comic treatment.  The first tale details a story of a man named Osborn who is tired of his wife’s practice of magic.  Fearing she will lose him, she fakes her death and tells him of his daughter in law, Orella.  The two meet later on and become intimate, but when asked to introduce her to visitors he says Morella and she dies.  The second outing, The Murders in the Rue Morgue details a murder in a room that no one could have entered as it was locked from the inside.  As everyone knows, or does not, it was committed by an escaped orangutan.  While the first story was contemporized and changed a little bit, the second was essentially as it had happened in the story by Poe.  Corben does a great job of it with his art being in top form to match that of his writing.  While it was a simple one-shot, it was a nice taste of what he has been doing at Dark Horse with his recent work and with a collection coming soon, it makes a good sampler.

4 out of 5