Cyberspace Comics

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: October 2010
Cover Price: $3.99
Writer: Chuck Kim
Artist: Chris Bachalo

Once Xarus (Dracula’s son) became the new lord of the vampires, he declared war on San Francisco (the new home of the X-Men). The vampires are armed with new technology that allows them to walk in daylight so the X-Men will need their own secret weapon to take Xarus down … Dracula, himself. The X-Men dispatch Gambit and Storm to “Vampire Island” to figure out how to shut down its protective shield so they can return with Dracula’s body.

After the two former thieves have snuck onto the island, they meet with Janus, the firstborn son of Dracula. He wants to see his father reinstated as the lord of the vampires, and joins forces with Storm and Gambit, who share similar goals. As Janus and Gambit battle through Xarus’ vampiric forces, Storm manages to shut down the island’s protective field – allowing the other X-Men (Emma Fost, Colossus, Northstar, Angel, Psylocke, Wolverine and more!) to teleport in. They make short work of the vampires and transport Dracula’s headless body back home with them.

Chris Bachalo’s art style is very neat to explore but, at times it does get a bit sloppy (most noticeably in the page after the X-Men ‘port in). Kim’s script plays heavily on Storm’s past with Dracula, which is a nice treat for long-time fans like me, who remember those old issues. Even though Gambit is the guest-lead in this story and shares a lot of the action, the main characterization follows Storm as she is made to take an innocent life in order to shut down the vampires’ field of protection. It’s not something she does lightly and Gambit notes that the important part was her hesitation. Overall, it was a neat mutants vs vampire story that advanced the Curse of the Mutants storyline ever so slightly as the X-Men gained posession of Dracula’s body … but not his head …. not yet.

On Ebay: Curse of the Mutants | Chris Bachalo
On AtomicAvenue: X-Men | Gambit | Storm

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: November 2004
Cover Price: $2.99
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Cliff Rathburn

This is one of several one-shots that envisions what the Marvel Knights relaunches would have been like if they were published in 2099. In this future version of the Marvel Universe, the government re-enacted the Mutant Registration Act. The super-heroes joined together to defy the government but were eventually overpowered and went underground.

On the day of the Great Emergence, the lord of the Inhumans has deemed one of his young citizens worthy of receiving the transformative Terrigen Mists. The Mists unleash the process of Terrigenesis within the body of the receiver – developing the child’s inner potential super powers or mutation. And, as the moment of Terrigenesis approaches, the honored child’s parents grow concerned that they may unleash a dangerous or deformative mutation.

But, before the Terrigenesis ritual can progress, the Great Emergence must first occur. And, after fifty years, the lord of the Inhumans bears witness to the emergence of Black Bolt from his stasis pad. Years prior, when the Mutant Registration Act was enacted, the Inhumans took to the stars in an enormous vessel. Black Bolt and the rest of the ruling class entered cryogenic stasis but, Maximus broke out early and became the lord of the Inhumans. Maximus the Mad killed the others (Medusa, Gorgon, Crystal, Triton, Karnak) while they slept in their cryogenic pods. And, all this he has just revealed to the newly-risen former leader of the Inhumans, Black Bolt. With but one word, Black Bolt has his revenge on his mad brother … and ultimately dooms his entire race by destroying their spacecraft and leaving them unprotected from the ravages of deep space.

There’s a lot of set up here for Inhuman characters that ultimately have no bearing or importance on the larger story of the brothers, Black Bolt and Maximus. I feel that there were far too many pages devoted to these minor characters instead of developing the plot line of Black Bolt’s return. Additionally, the art wasn’t al that great, either. I’d skip this one if I were you.

On Ebay: Inhumans | Robert Kirkman | Cliff Rathburn
On AtomicAvenue: Inhumans