All reviews this time by Brian Domingos (BD) Christopher Butcher (CB) and Matt Singer (MS).

CABLE #97
Writer: David Tischman
Artist: Igor Kordev
Marvel Comics
$2.25

CABLE’s got a new creative team, as well as a new direction, and, for once, it’s fitting. Gone is the superhero spandex stuff. Cable’s back to the getting-his-hands-dirty up-to-his-elbows-in-terrorists soldiers he once was. His powers are still active but this time he’s using them against more realistic threats. Tischman, sometime writing partner of Howard Chaykin, has streamlined Cable as a character. You won’t find Cable vs. Venom anywhere in this book. Cable’s in the bush fighting guerrilla soldiers on their own turf for the good of the world as a whole. Kordev was an interesting artist choice, but, he too, is fitting. His work is gritty and moody and you get a real “this shit is real” feeling from it. The heavy inking and line work is a bit different from his normal painted work, but still contains clear storytelling and portrays accurate expressions. This may just be the next Marvel book to watch. (BD)

SUICIDE SQUAD #1
Writer: Keith Giffen
Artist: Paco Medina
Inker: Joe Sanchez
DC Comics
$2.50

I hesitate to say that any creator is automatically "right" or "wrong" for any project. So while Keith Giffen's sly humor didn't seem "right" for a new version of SUICIDE SQUAD, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Alas, this book is all "wrong."

A team of five super-villains are charged with a nearly-suicidal mission on behalf of the US government. If they survive, they get a parole. That premise is essentially what fueled the first series for 60-plus issues. Given the product presented here, I'd be surprised if this new series lasts half that long. Problem number one would be the seeming lack of a central idea of just what this book is. Is it humorous? Tragic? Giffen doesn't seem like he's made up his mind. Medina's art is more suited to the former. His handling of the serious aspects leaves much to be desired. But I do love the spiffy new logo. Otherwise, for your darkly humorous book about expendable super-types - check out Marvel's X-FORCE. (MS)

GI JOE #1
Writer/Layout Artist: Josh Blaylock
Penciler: Steve Kurth
Inker: John Larter
Image Comics
$2.95

Clearly, writer and layout artist Josh Blaylock is a big fan of old school GI JOE. Issue #1 is dedicated to master JOE comic writer Larry Hama, and this first issue draws heavily on the old characters; they look and act as they used to in the "good old days." Whether or not his devotion pays off for this comic remains to be seen. Longtime fans will enjoy their old favorites back in a comic book, with art that portrays them pretty faithfully. And even those who only watched the tv show casually as a kid, will get a thrill of seeing Duke and Snake Eyes again. But on one level I found the whole thing rather banal. Maybe I'm asking too much, but it would have been nice to see something truly radical happen here, instead of the same old thing down to the last detail. (MS)

This was a great, great book. I was shocked at how good this was. Considering the license, and the popularity of all things "retro" at the moment, it would have been really easy to slap a J. Scott Campbell cover on it, turn out sub-standard work and collect the cheque. But these guys didn't. They took an obvious affection for the series and characters and turned it into a high-quality book that not only does justice to the license, but to the high quality of work from Larry Hama that came before it. It's also a nearly-perfect introductory issue to the series, and something that every other book I've reviewed this week could learn a lot from. This issue introduces the major characters, new plot threads, mixes humour and drama with action, and even ends on a plot twist. It's one of the strongest first issues I've read in a while. And even if you don't have a particular fondness for G.I. JOE you'll be able to enjoy this book. If you are a fan? Let's just say, you can go home again. (CB)

ANGEL #1
Written by Brett Matthews & Joss Whedon
Art by Mel Rubi and Chris Dreier
Dark Horse Comics
$2.99

This is the fourth comic book that Joss Whedon has written, and the first time he's worked on one of the characters that made him famous. I was really looking forward to seeing how he would handle working on these characters in a different medium. I have to say, I was as pleasantly surprised by ANGEL as I was by FRAY. The book moves along at a good pace, the story hits all of the right beats, and the dialogue is very crisp and true to the series. Rubi's art is even fairly strong, looking a great deal more slick and animated than the last series did (although that might be down to Chris Dreier's inks). The book isn't perfect though, and it's for the same reason that folks are having problems with FRAY. Basically, the story is just too slight for it's price tag. By all accounts, Whedon has studied a great deal of comic scripts (including Alan Moore's), and it's surprising that his storytelling is so de-compressed compared to traditional comic stories. The whole thing just read far too quickly. It is very attractive, very cinematic, even going so far as to use long, theatre-screen sized panels. The problem is that this issue just isn't enough on it's own merits, and perhaps the collection might be. (CB)

CORRECTOR YUI #1
Created by Kia Asamiya
Written & Illustrated by Keiko Okamoto
TokyoPop Manga
$2.95

This is a really, really strange book for MIXX to put out, because it's really not very good. That's not a specific slam, there are a lot of not-very-good books out there, and this one is at least adequate. But in terms of manga reproduction, usually it's only the best and the brightest, or at least the personal favorites of manga editors, that get picked up over here. CORRECTOR YUI is created by Kia Asamiya, who has a very sizable fan base in North America, but written and drawn by a different creator entirely. A different creator who draws in a very, very sparse "girls" manga style, with little screen-toning, detailing, or backgrounds. In large, quickly-read doses, this isn't necessarily a problem. But even at 41 pages the whole thing just feels a little shoddy and sub-par, particularly compared to the strong work being put out by MIXX like CARDCAPTOR SAKURA and PEACH GIRL, or the very similar style of work by Tomoko (AQUARIUM, CALL ME PRINCESS). Pass on this, until the trade paperback at least. (CB)

FURY #1
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson and Jimmy Palmiotti
Marvel/Max Comics
$2.99

At first I was simply unimpressed with FURY #1. I mean, I read an interview recently where Quesada said that dropping the comics code wouldn't mean that the characters would start swearing and there would be excessive bloodshed or anything. The first word in ALIAS #1 was "Fuck," and now FURY #1 has swearing, heads exploding, "mercy" killings and asian whores. I'm bored. More that that, I'm just really unimpressed. It's just so much wasted potential. Like I said, at first I was just unimpressed. But I just got a chance to read a fellow named Adisakdi Tantimedh's comments on the issue, and I can't help but find myself concurring with everything he's said. The issue is really misogynist, it's ignorant, it's lazy. Really lazy on Ennis' part. I'll be looking forward to WAR STORY: JOHANN'S TIGER next week, maybe. (CB)

ISLAND #1
Written by In-Wan Youn
Art by Kyung-Il Yang
TokyoPop Manga
$2.95

I hated this book the first time I read it. A lot. I just couldn't read it. I gave it another go before writing this review and I think I've changed my tune. ISLAND #1 actually has a really good story, with some very strong art work. That said, it's nearly unreadable thanks to possibly the worst translation I've ever seen. I've never really had a story so strongly affected by poor translation before. I mean, I almost threw down the comic in disgust at one point. And it's not funny, old Hong Kong poor-subtitle bad English, it's just bad. I've heard through the grapevine that the localization is going to be done by a different translator starting with the second issue. I'd like to put forward that the translation on this issue is so bad that they'd be doing an immense disservice to their readers by not re-translating the first issue for trade paperback release. It's a good story, great artwork, but just terribly hideous dialogue that needs to be replaced. I think this is going to be a great series, and it'll be worth it to get in on the ground floor. (CB)