PROPHET #21

Image Comics is doing something so weird that I wonder who's idea it was: they're bringing back Extreme Studios. The weird thing is that not only are they only re-doing Rob Liefeld books...but they're, more or less, completely changing them. If you forget, Extreme Studios & Awesome Entertainment were the Rob Liefeld Image books. There were literally a ton; Youngblood, Team Youngblood, Bloodstrike, Prophet, Glory, Supreme, and a bunch of others. The most famous books out of this were written by Alan Moore...but for the most part they were big, dumb, superhero books in the classic Liefeld style. Prophet did get some buzz when superstar artist Stephen Platt quit Marvel and drew a few issues before quitting and going to Hollywood to draw storyboards (he never came back to comics). Prophet is back with a new team and it's super fucking bizarre. It features a guy that travels through time. In this issue he interacts with aliens. The art, by Simon Roy, is rugged and the colors, by Richard Ballerman, are beautiful. It's just weird, though; writer Brandon Graham shows us a jell city, weird, mutated beasts, and a sexual encounter with an alien. But it is fascinating and oh-so far away from the Liefeld/Platt stuff. ***

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1

"Hey, Conan, where's yer sword?" If you've ever watched Conan O'Brien then you've probably heard this story; as a kid growing up the Conan movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger ruined his life. All of a sudden he was mocked...but really, who wouldn't want to be linked to a muscle-bound, womanizing warrior stud? The first film came out in 1982 but the books came out in the 30's. This particular issue, #1, is really #88 in Dark Horse Comics' re-telling of the old tales. The reason they made this a #1 is to get new readers and more money but they do have a new writer, Brian Wood, the writer of DMZ, Northlanders, and the current, excellent mini-series with the longest title in comic book history; Wolverine & the X-Men: Alpha and Omega. This book is part one of "Queen of the Black Coast," a tale about a super-hot, deadly woman pirate that Conan falls in love with. The story is typical old-world warrior stuff but it's not that silly. The pirate lore is a bit creepy/cool and Conan comes off as more of an arrogant prick than some perfect Adonis. & they got a chick to draw it! Becky Cloonan does a good job; it's spare, easy to soak up, but pretty to look at. All in all a pretty good entry in the mythos. **1/2 (out of ****)

WINTER SOLDIER #1

In January, the top 10 best-selling comic books were all DC books. I guess it's good news for Marvel that this week brings the first "big" new series of 2012: Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier #1. I'll admit that Brubaker has revolutionized Captain America. I'll also admit that he's been treading water with these books lately. The new book has Bucky Barnes back as the Winter Soldier, teamed up with the Black Widow, and tracking down some evil dudes that are re-animating frozen soldiers from the Cold War. Bucky was once a frozen, "in stasis" super soldier programmed by the Russians to be a hit man but now he's a good guy and trying to stop them from doing it again. It's more or less a classic, spy/action book. Writer Ed Brubaker has added some kitsch; a machine-gun wielding ape, a cyborg woman villain, etc., but the book is fairly standard. The art, by Butch Guice, is also fairly standard. That's the big problem; this book is too pedestrain. ** (out of ****)