Written By: Mark Henely
The concept behind this book is simple yet strange. Take the Howling Commandos (the team of humans that fought alongside Captain America in World War II) and replace them with monsters. That’s it. It’s a simple idea and it is perfect. It makes for a fun comic book that comes alive right away.
From the very first page, this book comes out swinging. We are immediately dropped into the middle of a fight between the Commandos and zombies. An LMD (Life Model Decoy) of Dum Dum Duggan leads a team of monsters into battle and it is awesome. Hit Monkey (if you are wondering, yes, he is a monkey hit-man) shoots guns with his feet, Teen Abomination smashes things, and the fearful burn at the touch of the Man-Thing. The action doesn’t stop for more than a few panels at a time. This is an action comic that puts the violence front and center and doesn’t let up.
The really smart thing about this book is that it showcases characters that ordinarily couldn’t maintain their own books by themselves. Hit Monkey is great, but you wouldn’t want to read 22 issues of him killing people. Man-Thing is great for a mini-series, but it is tough to do an on-going series about a character who cannot speak. Teen Abomination was a strong supporting character in Superior Iron Man, but he has a long way to go before he can star in his own comic. But, together, they each contribute to the book and make something really special.
This is a fun book. If you looked at this cover and thought, “That looks like fun!” than you will be satisfied. If you aren’t into a book about a bunch of monsters fighting zombies and other creatures (I don’t know why you wouldn’t be), then this wouldn’t be the book for you. It is what the cover suggests it would be, an insane book about monsters with guns. Nothing more nothing less.
8.5 out of 10 Stars
***Mark Henely is a stand up comedian, podcaster, and comic book fan. He went to Rutgers University where he officially studied English Literature and unofficially studied Marvel and DC Comics. Now he has a podcast where he reviews the first appearances of Comic Book characters. It is called “Introducing… The First Appearance Podcast” and you can check it out on iTunes and Stitcher. ***
