ULTIMATE ORIGINS #4 (of 5)
Writer: Brian Bendis,  Artist: Butch Guice
Review By: Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Publisher: Marvel Comics, Shipped On: 091008
MSRP: $2.99 (15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)

MARVEL'S SYNOPSIS:
Continuing the shocking exploration of the dark side of the Ultimate Unverse! For the first time we learn: How did Nick Fury become Nick Fury? How did the Hulk become the Hulk? And, finally, how did a baby Peter Parker connect to it all? Plus: the Ultimate Watcher has appeared and he is here to witness the Ultimatum!

BO'S REVIEW:
The penultimate (no pun intended but the word works here) issue of Ultimate Origins deals with the green guy on the cover and harks back to the issue of Ultimate Marvel Team Up where Bruce Banner told Spider-Man that everything was connected. In this issue we find out who that connection is and see where his path connected with everything else that happens in the Ultimate Universe. We also meet Thunderbolt Ross here and his addition allows us to fill in some of the blanks in Fury’s life. Bendis takes his time with the past before reminding us that the FF is still trying to figure out what the artifact is at the Project Pegasus complex before showing us the first appearance of the Hulk and someone else we know quite well. As we are digesting the events behind the birth of the jade giant Bendis finally reveals what the artifact is and why it (and others) have suddenly decided to reactivate themselves. The issue is filled with cool dialogue and the sequence that leads to the creation of the Hulk is well designed by Guice. Everything ties completely together next issue and that will lead to the Ultimatum event that will redesign the Ultimate corner of the Marvel Universe.

CHALLENGER DEEP #1 (of 4)
Writer: Andrew Cosby,   Artist: Marcelo Mueller
Review By: Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Publisher: Boom Comics, Shipped On: 090408
MSRP: $3.99 (15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)

BOOM'S SYNOPSIS:
When an experimental nuclear submarine is marooned in a deposit of methane ice deep in the Marianas Trench, an elite salvage team mounts a daring rescue to prevent an explosive chain reaction that could lead to global disaster! From the creator of the hit Sci-Fi Channel series, Eureka!

BO'S REVIEW:
Shipping in the same month (and day I believe) as Sub-Mariner: The Depths is BOOM’s submarine adventure Challenger Deep. The limited series (and possible film) involves a nuclear submarine on a mission that finds itself in a very precarious predicament. We see here in this first issue how the sub finds itself stuck at a depth that suggests that the crew doesn’t make any long term plans. As they are waiting for the sea to reclaim its own on the surface the military is trying to figure out a way to save them because the alternative isn’t good for anyone above or below. Following the formula for the story a rescue team has to be formed but due to the depth that the sub finds itself in the team would have to be lead by a very special person. And if you follow that same formula you know what comes next, don’t you? (I’m not going to tell you, btw) At the surface this seems like a rote story that could be written by any college student taking a screenwriting class but somehow the story becomes compelling. It may have a lot to do with the moody, dark and occasionally murky art by Chee but it also has to do with the smart, snappy dialogue from Schmidt, the former Marvel editor. I still have a problem with the price of books from BOOM but sometimes they come up with a project that makes me forget my objection to it.

DEAD OF NIGHT #1 (of 4)
Writer: Brian Keene,  Artist: Chris Samnee
Review By: Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Publisher: Marvel/Max Comics, Shipped On: 090408
MSRP: $3.99 (15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)

MARVEL'S SYNOPSIS:
Abandoned by his fiancée, his family, his church, and his government, Sergeant Dan Sylva returns to Iraq for a third tour of duty -- and a descent into Hell itself. If the demon Belathauzer and the mysterious mercenary group known as Bloodstone have their way, Iraq, the place where civilization began, may also be where civilization ends. The reinvented Devil-Slayer takes Marvel's DEAD OF NIGHT to terrifying new heights, from award-winning horror novelist Brian Keene (The Rising, Dark Hollow) and artist Chris Samnee (DAREDEVIL: BLOOD OF THE TARANTULA)!

BO'S REVIEW:
One of the characters that were part of Marvel’s horror boom way back when was the Devil Slayer. He had a semi-interesting costume and wasn’t all there in the head. I can’t remember his headlining a book (my interest in the horror line was limited to Tomb of Dracula and Ghost Rider) but can see why some fans would have seen the character and fallen in love with him. One of those fans was horror novelist Brian Keene and here he takes that character and changes all that he can because you can do that sort of stuff with obscure characters. In this incarnation the new Slayer (he isn’t there yet) is Sgt. Danny Sylva and when we meet him he is on his way back to Iraq. We see his return here and get hints of why he has come back to his old division. Keene portrays him as broken and we see in quick glimpses that he is back because he really has nowhere else to go. He also introduces some mystery involving one of his former barrack mates and a mercenary unit called Bloodstone. Samnee’s art keeps pace with the dark story and if there was ever a book that needed the mature readers label it’s this one. I look forward to the next issue and the marching towards a new life for Danny.

EL DIABLO #1 (of 6)
Writer: Jai Nitz,  Artist: Phil Hester
Review By: Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Publisher: DC Comics, Shipped On: 090408
MSRP: $2.99 (15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)

DC'S SYNOPSIS:
The haunted horseman returns to the DCU in a six-issue miniseries! Who is Chato Santana? A ruthless ganglord or a modern-day Robin Hood? Caught between the law and a power struggle in his gang, Chato meets Lazarus Lane, an impossibly old man with a possessed past. Witness this tale of rebirth, revenge, betrayal, justice, Hell, comeuppance, curses, and consequences. Written by Jai Nitz (BLUE BEETLE, THE BATMAN STRIKES!) with art by Phil Hester and Ande Parks (GREEN ARROW, NIGHTWING).

BO'S REVIEW:
In another attempt to keep the copyright going DC has taken the El Diablo character and reinvented it once again. The last incarnation of the character wasn’t bad but didn’t exactly burn up the sales charts and even though I like this issue this version isn’t going to make a major impact either. The team of Nitz and Hester give it the old college try by making the character more horror based. Our hero (and I use that term very loosely) is a smart gang member who’s main focus is selling guns and making money. We see in the open that he is able to work on his feet when things take a turn and also meet his nemesis. The open is fast and tight and leads to the character ending up in a bad way and having him have to make a choice on which way he needs to go. The pacing of the story is just right and leads us where we need to be but the nature of the character is likely a negative for some readers. As I said I do like this issue. It has action; interesting characters and I have always been a fan of Hester’s art but this version isn’t going to be a major deal at DC either irregardless of its pedigree.

SECRET SIX #1
Writer: Gail Simone,  Artist: Nicola Scott
Review By: Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Publisher: DC Comics, Shipped On: 090408
MSRP: $2.99 (15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)

DC'S SYNOPSIS:
Because you demanded it! The Secret Six are back in an all-new ongoing series that promises to deliver some of the darkest, most twisted action-adventure the DC Universe has seen since...well, the last time the Secret Six got together! Writer extraordinaire Gail Simone (BIRDS OF PREY) is reunited with BIRDS penciller Nicola Scott to chronicle the adventures of the Six, and you will not believe what they have in store. Join Catman, Scandal, Deadshot, Ragdoll, and ?? as they prepare for an adventure that will take them through a gauntlet across the seediest parts of the DC Universe, and will ultimately pit them against a foe more monstrous and murderous than any they've had to face! Don't miss the beginning of the most ferocious and scandalous Six story yet!

BO'S REVIEW:
The limited series worked so well for DC that they decided to green light a regular Secret Six series from Simone and she brought Scott along for the ride. The issue opens with an introduction to one of the strangest villains I have even seen in Mr. Junior. He lives in a box and in the tense opening a man named Shelton is brought to a dive bar where he is to be asked a question. The sequence is jarring and leads us to a trip to the store with Deadshot and Catman. Since we last saw Catman something has happened to him and the excursion to the store gives us hints to what is going on inside him while also showing the dynamic between the Batman villains. Simone conveys a mood that suggests that the duo have developed a deep relationship that is similar to the dynamic between the Robert Parker characters Spenser and Hawk. You wouldn’t have imagined the two in the same book or car year’s back but Simone has filled out their lives to the point where we feel comfortable with them despite their status as villains. The trip to the store leads us back to the House of Mystery, the team lair of the Six (who at this point are down on member) where we learn of their next job. Unfortunately that job will put them directly in the broken path of Mr. Junior and that is something that a certain character in Gotham City wants to avoid. The story is a bit dialogue heavy but does the job it has to. The art by Scott isn’t traditional by any means but she has a distinctive enough style to separate herself from her fellow artists. There has always been an adage that books with villains as protagonists are doomed to fail since it is though that villains are defined by the battles with their opposites. The Thunderbolts have been able to avoid that tag and if DC gives this book enough support then it should be around for quite a while.

SUB-MARINER: THE DEPTHS #1 (of 5)
Writer: Peter Milligan,   Artist: Esad Ribic
Review By: Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Publisher: Marvel/Marvel Knights Comics, Shipped On: 090408
MSRP: $3.99 (15% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)

MARVEL'S SYNOPSIS:
The latest offering from the red-hot Marvel Knights line offers a searing vision of Namor, the Sub-Mariner as you've never seen, brought to you by Peter Milligan (X-FORCE) and Esad Ribic (SILVER SURFER: REQUIEM)! Atlantis. Throughout the ages, a few men have wondered if this fabulous place actually exists. Fewer have imagined that the city is protected by a wild and vengeful being, the very embodiment of the untameable depths themselves -- the Sub-Mariner. When a deep sea expedition mysteriously vanishes without a trace near the Marianes trench, legendary adventurer, Randolph Stein embarks on a journey that will rock him -- and his crew -- to their very core. Travelling deep into the dark belly of the sea, the men of the good ship, Voyager, are about to see things that defy description, that supersede their wildest imagination -- things that men aren't meant to see. Staring into the abyss, Stein will soon discover that the abyss can indeed stare right back at him.

BO'S REVIEW:
Ribic has been given projects involving Thor and the Silver Surfer to have fun with and this time around he and X-Statix’s Peter Milligan have teamed up to tell a tale of the Sub-Mariner. This Marvel Knights take on the character has defined Namor as an urban legend. The main character is Dr. Stein, a professional debunker. We are introduced to him as he proves to an attentive audience that a creature of legend doesn’t exist and from there he is approached by two men who have an equally as interesting assignment for him if he is interested. They are in search of a man named Marlowe who has been looking for the lost city of Atlantis for years. He may have actually found it this time but he seems to have disappeared after seeing something pretty wonderful. Milligan does a masterful job setting the tone for this story and the subtle painted work by Ribic matches his tale stride by stride. As readers we know that Namor and Atlantis do exist so the anticipation for the moment when the unbeliever learns that jus because you haven’t seen something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. This is a different take on Namor and could be one that doesn’t appeal to someone who wants to see the character kick ass and take names but this isn’t something that fans of quality comics should miss.