Secret Wars: Howard the Human #1 Review

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Jim Mahfood

Overview:

Howard, a private investigator, is the only human being in New Quack City. The city is full of random species such as cows, cats, dogs, and even lizards. Howard takes a special case that might be too much for him to handle. How will things fair for him as a human? Writer, Skottie Young, and artists, Jim Mahfood, gives readers their spin on Howard in this Secret Wars tie-in.

Synopsis:

The story starts off in New Quack City. Howard is at Curt Connor's pub and is having a few drinks. Suddenly, he is confronted by the Vulture and his gang. Vulture demands Howard the money that he owes him as he gets ready to shoot Howard.

The story switches to a flash back earlier that day. Howard is investigating a crime scene down an alleyway where he finds a dead possum. Then the Vulture cuts Howard off from his flash back, so Howard fast forwards his story where it gets more interesting.

The story switches to Howard meeting up with the Black Cat (literally) at her penthouse. She asks Howard if he has located the informant that has been spying on her. Howard breaks the news to her that the informant is dead, which displeases her. As her henchman is about to drop Howard from the balcony, Black Cat assigns Howard to find out who murdered the informant before she gets the blame for it.

Later that day, Howard heads to Hen's Kitchen to meet up with Mouse Murdock at his office. They stroll down the streets and discuss about the mystery of the dead possum. As they figured out who put the hit on the possum, Wilson Fisk (who's a giant ape) bumps into them and unleashes the Hand (ninja monkeys) onto them. Howard gets knocked out, but Murdock manages to take out most of the Hand. Murdock gives Howard a note; then, Howard makes his way to Connor's pub where the story started.

The Vulture and his gang are in the state of confusion and tries to figure out the point to Howard’s story. Black Cat and her henchmen enter the bar and seeks to capture Howard. This leads to a confrontation between Vulture's and Black Cat's gang. The cops also get into the mix as they enter the bar. As Howard realizes things are about to escalate, he calls out his buddy in the bathroom if he's done.

PLOT TWIST: Howard's buddy turns out to be the dead possum/informant who was playing....possum all along.

Howard got the gang all together in order to have them all arrested with the help of his informant, Pete.

Review:

While Secret Wars has been dragging on, it does produce some solid stories such as this one. It's nice to see and read a story that puts a twist to the Howard the Duck character by making him human along with Connor's lizard, Hardy's Black Cat, and Toome's Vulture. It would have been nice and more intriguing to see Howard in an all duck world instead, and how he has to deal with it. The dialogue and character interactions was not that quip nor humorous, but the artwork and the story in general made this book a little interesting. I enjoyed Mahfood design on Howard by making him look like he was from the 70's with the hair and mustache. The art design throughout this book had an edgy and graffiti style. However, there were parts in this book that looked weird and out of place. I understand the vision and goal was to make the book look cartoony, but the art could have a bit cleaner and smoother, especially the characters.

Overall, the book was a good, fun read. If you don't mind the weird, edgy artwork and would like to read a fun Secret Wars tie-in, especially a one-shot story, I would recommend picking up this book.

We Stand On Guard #2 Review

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Artist: Steve Skroce 

Overview:

Brian K. Vaughan, known for his run on the Runaways and Saga, and artists Steve Skroce have teamed up to create a series that is set in the far future, where the United States has invaded Canada. In the previous issue, Amber, the main protagonist, tries her best to survive and wonders around parts of Canada to search for her lost/captured brother. She later meets with one of Canada's last few militia groups called the Two-Four. How will things play out for Amber as a member of the Two-Four? Will she be able to gain their trust?

Synopsis:

The story starts off in the past around the year 2113. U.S. troops are invading each home in search for hidden weapons or freedom fighters. A young Amber and her brother hides in a dog house outside and witness as an elderly couple are taken away.

Flash forward to the present day in 2124, the Two-Four call in their tank to haul the mech they destroyed in the previous issue, while Chief and LePage stay behind to cover the tank's tracks. Dunn blindfolds Amber as the rest of the group begins their way back to their base.

The story switches to a U.S. military base at Baker Lake where an interrogation takes place. A prisoner, named Mr. Pittiulak, is questioned by a U.S. government official. She is then asked to meet with Colonel Storz for an urgent meeting. She teleports herself to the Ops room where Storz explains to her about one of their decommissioned mechs that was taken out by the Two-Four. She decides to send some infantry soldiers to investigate the issue.

The Two-Four arrives to their underground base of operations, and Amber goes to the locker room to wash up. While showering, she catches Dunn and his dog peeping on her showering, which in his defense, he was checking for scars for implanted tracking devices (good excuse in my book). They both have a discussion and we get a back story about Dunn. After that, they are told that Chief and Lepage are still out and haven't reported back yet. So, they decide to go on a search mission for them.

The story then switches to Lepage and Chief McFadden. McFadden and Lepage are still out patrolling and covering the previous tracks; suddenly, McFadden is spotted and tells Lepage to head out quickly. She is shot down by enemy soldiers, but she is still alive.

Review:

We Stand On Guard #2 overall did not have that spark like it did with it's previous issue, but it was a good read nonetheless. This issue gives readers an idea and visualization of what it's like for the Canadian freedom fighters especially for the Two-Four, which is a huge plus for me because it focuses on the world of this series instead of the characters heavily. However, there were parts in this issue where character interactions occur, back stories are revealed, and new characters are introduced. The story gives a glimpse of how the U.S. operates, their point of view on the war between Canada and U.S., and it gives the readers the impression that the freedom fighters are at a huge disadvantage. Skroce did a stellar job with the first issue. In this issue, he does a good job on portraying the character's body language and expressions especially with character interactions. He also does a great job on portraying the environmental and technological differences between the U.S. and Canada.

We Stand On Guard #2 is a great follow up from the first issue. It has an interesting plot; the story starts slow at first, but I feel it will pick up later. Brian K. Vaughan continues to create a fascinating futuristic, military science fiction with Skroce on artwork. I recommend this issue if you liked the first one.