Masks 2 #1

Writer – Cullen Bunn
Artist – Eman Casallos
Colours – Adrano Augusto

Masks 2, much like the first series, brings together many of the greatest heroes from the Golden Age and this go round it is Cullen Bunn and Eman Casallos who bring the fun in doing so.  This series sees the Shadow, the Green Hornet, Kato, the Black Terror, Lady Satan, the Green Lama and the Spider who are an eclectic bunch to be sure, but all fantastic in their own ways.  The book starts out with what might seem a clichéd scene, but is played for laughs more than anything as everyone starts spouting their taglines.  Starting the book out like that is nice as it gives you a little laugh before things start getting serious and our heroes find themselves in the middle of a big mission.  Bunn and company then jump right into the action as our heroes face down a bunch of jokers in skull masks with the Black Terror probably having one of the best entrances seen in a comic in quite some time.  This first issue does what first issues should do and introduces us to our cast, maybe not as in-depth as some would like, but Bunn makes sure that you know who they are and really, if you are reading this series you are already probably a fan of at least one of these characters.  We also find out the reason why they come together, which is the mystery of the Red Death and what he, she or even they want besides causing turmoil in the city.  There is an interesting scene that sees the Green Lama show them a vision of the future, one that eagle-eyed readers will notice has the Kevin Smith version of the Green Hornet and Kato among many other heroes.  It actually gives the Shadow pause to see it as his whole goal in life is to rid the city of crime and here, many years later, it still persists and worse than ever before.  Because of this, you know that there is going to be a time-jump at some point and it should be pretty exciting.  The book ends not on a cliff-hanger, but on a reveal and though it is not the most explosive of finales, and not that the rest of the book did not already do so, but it will intrigue you enough to come back for more.

4 out of 5

Ant-Man #4

Writer – Nick Spencer
Artist – Ramon Rosanas
Colours – Jordan Boyd

Where most comics from Marvel are usually fairly dramatic, they do tend to weave in some humour to break it up.  Ant-man on the other hand is a comedy that brings a bit of the serious to give your smile a rest.  Last issue saw the kidnapping of Cassie Lang take place and as such, Scott is more than a little worried for her safety and even so, there is still some funny to be had.  It seems as if one of his old foes has returned or to be more exact, the son of one of his old enemies who just so happens to want to bring his dear old dad back from the dead.  To make that happen, he needs a heart and a special one at that, one that has been exposed to Pym Particles.  Nick Spencer has done a spectacular job of turning Scott Lang from a loser without a title to a loser with a title and surprisingly, or with at least a little bit of shock, it has been better than you ever thought it could be.  The taking of a child to get back at your enemy is unusually cruel and cowardly to boot, yet it does scream villain and declares the big bad’s intentions as serious.  It is interesting to see Scott at a loss as to what to do, though to be fair he usually makes all of his decisions on the fly, which makes it even more enjoyable to see Grizzly step up to help his boss out.  So even while the book takes on a more austere nature, there is still a lot of fun to be had as well as a chuckle here and there as the two recruit Machinesmith from Villains Anonymous to help them out.  Over the last couple of years, Marvel and their writers have been doing a great job of taking their Z-list villains and turning them into characters you actually care about and want to see more of.  Grizzly has now just been added to those ranks.  Also not hurting the book is Ramon Rosanas on art so it not only reads well but looks great too.  All around, Ant-Man is a fantastic book and it just keeps getting better and better.

4.5 out of 5