1872 #1

Writer – Gerry Duggan
Artist – Nik Virella
Colours – Lee Loughridge

1872 is the Secret Wars title that is famously set in the west and features many of the heroes we know and love, merely a little different from what we know. Steve Rogers is the sheriff of Timely and despite the hold that Roxxon and Mayor Wilson Fisk have over the territory, he holds a measure of respect that is undeniable. There is a problem in Timely though and it all started when Roxxon came to town. There has been lawlessness and lynchings and if Steve has anything to do with it, he will put a stop to them no matter the consequences. Galloping out of the gate is 1872 courtesy of Gerry Duggan and Nik Virella and it brings the character Red Wolf back to the public consciousness after sitting the action out for a long, long time. While it is good to see Red Wolf back in print, he does little this issue except sit in prison for trying to blow up the dam which has been diverted by Roxxon. The book also sees Tony Stark as the town drunk, though he also still has that inventive streak within him and Ben Urich who is a reporter that has not done any serious reporting in a long time. The book gives you that Unforgiven vibe and whether that was intentional or not is a good thing as it really adds to the western-type atmosphere. There is a bit of an edge to the story and Duggan has done a great job introducing us to this new land and the heroes and villains that inhabit it. Nik Virella is the perfect choice to illustrate it as he has a very clean style that suits the material well and there are no wasted lines giving the story a nice, uncluttered look. It should be a lot of fun seeing where our creators take this story as you can tell that they are just exploring the tip of the iceberg here and with that stunning final page, you know that it will at least be a little thrilling.

4.5 out of 5

Descender #5

Writer – Jeff Lemire
Artist – Dustin Nguyen

Having been captured by pirates, Telsa, Dr. Quon, Tim and the rest of the company find themselves delivered to King S’nok III of Gnish. King S’nok is not the most reasonable of men and he wanted the crew so that he might find out what they know about the Harvesters, specifically Dr. Quon and not as one would have surmised, Tim. With this issue a little bit of politicking is introduced as Gnish wants nothing to do with the UGC and as such, threats stating that the UGC will come down on Gnish that are uttered by our heroes go largely unnoticed. Chapter five of this story finds our heroes in all sorts of danger such as Dr. Quon about to be tortured for what he knows while Driller and Telsa’s number two find themselves down in the fighting pits hoping to survive. The action is thick for part of the book and Dustin Nguyen does an inestimable job illustrating it all. Driller looks incredibly imposing thanks to Nguyen and yet it is hard to believe that underneath all that metal and circuitry, there resides a heart that cares for others. There is a big shocker come the end of the issue courtesy of Jeff Lemire and it literally makes you wonder what will come next as the story has been built up in a certain way and to learn that these certain things may not be as they seem is quite possibly going to turn everything on its head. There is also the possibility that it might not as well and one of the great things about Descender is that you never know what direction it might head next. What is for sure is that with our heroes in trouble, the book has reached a bit of a boiling point and it will be exciting to see where it leads.

4 out of 5