CREDIT: Marvel
Rating: 4/5 – Action, Adventure and Airplanes!
by ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
Secret Wars has destroyed the Marvel and Ultimate Marvel Universe and in it’s wake has left Battleworld, a mixture of different worlds and timelines. Without the limitations of continuity, Secret Wars has allowed a wide variety of different titles to be tried out. We’ve just gotten a series titled Planet Hulk, M.O.D.O.K. Assassin and now we get a series using the less popular Phantom Eagle character Karl Kaufman that was introduced in a 1968 issue of Marvel Super Heroes. Kaufman’s isn’t a superhero. He has no powers. He’s a normal man, an amazing pilot, and just a bit of a jerk.
We see the not so good side of Kaufman when the book opens as he is walking out on a woman that’s carrying his child. Although it’s a bit sad, at the same time writer Garth Ennis infuses his dark sense of humor into this scene and many others throughout the book. Where Monsters Dwell is heavy on the action, but also heavy on the humor. Artist Russ Braun, who worked with Ennis on The Boys embraces that humor and uses facial expressions to increase the laughs and some wonderfully laid out panels to amp up the adventure. Braun has a heavier line, but that should come in handy with the settings and locales Kaufman and his new female companion will be visiting in future issues.
I love that Marvel is using the old Where Monsters Dwell title, and although we’re limited to the amount of monsters we see in this first issue, I expect to see a lot more with future issues. Ennis is combining some of Marvel’s more obscure history with this title as well as the Phantom Eagle, but so far it’s working. Secret Wars continues to push creativity without the weight of continuity and Where Monsters Dwell is a perfect example of this. If you’re looking for an adventure book that combines the action with humor, you’ll definitely find it here.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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