Foolkiller (2007) # 1-5, Foolkiller: White Angels (2008) # 1-5

(I originally read these comics in mid July 2016)

I read both these series in one day. This iteration of the Foolkiller has no relation to the previous Marvel characters of the same name and belongs to the separate, supposedly more 'realistic' MAX Comics continuity.

  

 

In the first series, an enforcer for a gambling website rips off his bosses to the tune of twenty grand to fund his daughter's hospital bills. They're obviously patient, understanding gents because in retaliation he's beaten and has his hand stuffed down a garbage disposal unit. (On the bright side, it stopped him biting his nails.) Meanwhile, his wife is gang-raped and murdered (actually it's implied it's the other way around) and his youngest daughter has her neck broken. I think it's fair to say he won't be doing that again.

I did assume all this was leading to the dumb schlub taking up the mantle of the Foolkiller, but no. Instead, the titular vigilante comes to said schlub's aid. He hacks the gang members to pieces with his sword one by one and leaves them posed as 'art' for the cops to find, before they can act upon their threat to kill the one hospitalised but still living daughter if the debt isn't repaid. There's more to the story, but not much.

  

 

The second series, subtitled 'White Angels', is more of the same, with the Foolkiller up against a KKK-like group who are lynching Mexicans and blacks, etc. The Punisher turns up halfway through but writer Gregg Hurwitz's characterisation of him is off. Not even the MAX version of Frank would blow a shotgun load through an innocent security guard just to gain entry to a garage.

Both stories are enjoyable enough, if not for PC pansies. (These must be among the most violent comics ever published by Marvel.) Problem is that, bereft of any fantasy trappings, they feel like standard, super-violent vigilante thrillers created just to maintain trademark on the Foolkiller name, with the character's M.O. an afterthought that isn't satisfactorily defined. (What constitutes a 'fool' to all iterations of this character has often been somewhat vague, subjective and left to the whim of the writer.)

Foolkiller (2007) # 1-5 are collected in:

Softcover:

Foolkiller: Fool's Paradise (US)

Foolkiller: Fool's Paradise (UK)

Foolkiller: White Angels (2008) # 1-5 are collected in:

Softcover:

Foolkiller: White Angels (US)

Foolkiller: White Angels (UK)

Dick Tracy (1990) # 1-3, Plastic Man 80-Page Giant (2004), Shazam! and the Shazam Family! Annual # 1 (2002), The Punisher Movie Special (1990)

(I originally read these comics in early March 2016)

Finally acquired a copy of Dick Tracy # 3 last week, after years looking for it. The first two issues are a prequel to the Warren Beatty movie about the tough, gun-toting police detective by John Francis Moore, the third an adaptation by Len Wein. It's good stuff and all the famous baddies - Flattop, Pruneface, etc, show up. The art's the big draw here, though. Kyle Baker does a typically great job and colours his work with what looks like ink, crayons and chalk. It's very loose and cartoony and might not be to all tastes, but I loved it.

  

Next up, two treats from DC in the shape of an 80-Page Giant and an 80-Page Giant by any other name, done in retro style. The Plastic Man one has the origin tales of "Plas" and sidekick Woozy Winks by creator Jack Cole, but is too weighted towards later, inferior material from the '60s onwards. I question the wisdom of including a crappy 'Dial H for Hero' strip in which the protagonist Robby Reed uses his "magic dial" to turn into Plastic Man for only the final four pages out of a sixteen-page story. 

 

The Shazam one is better, with material dating from between 1942-'45 only. However, reading eighty pages of Golden Age fare in one stretch is a bit wearing as no matter how charming the material is, it's still very much kids' stuff. Still, it's head and shoulders above much GA stuff I've read and it's no wonder Captain Marvel was the wartime best seller, even over Superman. 

Finally, the adaptation of the underrated 1989 Punisher flick I watched a few months back. It's lacklustre and looks like Brent Anderson knocked the art out in a week. Given that there's no effort made to match the actors' likenesses (least of all Dolph Lundgren's), I have to wonder if he'd even seen the film. Still, it does rectify one of the movie's missteps and has Frank Castle don the famous skull shirt before the end.

Dick Tracy (1990) # 1-3 are collected in:

Softcover:

Dick Tracy: The Complete True Hearts and Tommy Guns Trilogy (US)

Dick Tracy: The Complete True Hearts and Tommy Guns Trilogy (UK)