New Talent Showcase #4 (Ekko)
"Ekko, Part One"
Writer - Rich Margopoulos
Pencils - Steve Lightle
Inks - Gary Martin
Letters - Duncan Andrews
Colors - Jeanine Casey
Edits - Karen Berger
Holy smokes... could it be? A new installment of New Talent Showdays?! On this site?! What's the world come to???
Well, we're gonna try beboppin' back and forth between New Talent Showcase and Marvel Comics Presents for awhile. NTS was never a big draw when I last ran it... but, whattayagonnado? It's not like the MCP coverage is lighting the charts on fire either (outside of the Master of Kung Fu feature, for... whatever reason). Anyhoo, variety is the spice of life... and at the very least, this might help stave off burn-out!
We start with... Ekko. Every time I see his name, I'm immediately reminded of that big dude from LOST, and I say "Meesta Aiko" to myself... sometimes out loud. That's... about all I got. So, let's finally meet the guy!
--
Our story opens with a fella being hunted down in an alley by a Grenadier and an archer known as Quarrel. His name is Trevor Hawks, and it looks like he's gotten himself in too deep researching the so-called "Crimeking". Quarrel puts a bolt through his heart, and they leave him for dead. A weirdo named Screwball arrives in a... well, giant hamster ball... to transport the baddies back to base.
We shift scenes to New York's Hope General Hospital, where inside we meet a doctor who finds himself with the hotpants for the pretty new doc on the block. He asks to join her for lunch in the cafeteria, and she seems cool with it. While he chats her up, he puffs on his pipe... that's no euphemism folks... frankly, I'm not sure he's that flexible. Anyhoo, he's interrupted by an intern with a bad mohawk named Klepto... who pops by to try and steal his gold Zippo lighter. We're world-building here, folks!
The Docs then learn that they got a "bleeder" who just showed up. It is, of course, Trevor Hawks. Get this... that pipe-puffin' Doc is Simon Hawks, Trevor's little brother! The hot-doc is named Gretchen, by the way. Together, they look at the victim, and realize that: they can rebuild him... they have the technology. Now, when I was reading this, I assumed that these two turned Trevor into Ekko...
... but, that's not the case at all! Gretchen and Simon do manage to save Trevor's life... but, get this... it's Simon who turns out to be Ekko! Our new hero suits up, and can sense the arrival of... Grenadier and Quarrel, who are here to finish the job they'd started in the alley.
We get a couple of pages of Ekko showing his stuff... which is basically that the suit gives him heightened senses... maybe super-strength. I'm sure we'll learn more as we go through. We wrap up, however, on the dire scene of Ekko being blasted out of a hospital window... some eight stories high! Will he survive? Well, we'll have to wait until next time to find out...
--
You remember back in the early 90's when they stopped making G.I. Joes look like... well, G.I. Joes? Instead of looking like actual "army men", we'd get these neon-colored, crazy-helmeted, huge-booted, gaudy-ass goofballs? That's... well, that's kind of what I think about when I see our new friend, Ekko.
I really assumed that this was going to wind up being a Six-Million Dollar Man riff, with poor clinging-to-life Trevor being suited up into the gimmick. For all I know, it still might go that direction... if Simon actually doesn't survive the fall. Eh, anything can happen, right?
I appreciated the little bit of "world-building" we get here. Establishing a civilian cast and setting to surround our hero is something I always dig... even if some of our characters are a bit one-note. I mean, a dude named Klepto... who has a proclivity to pocketing shiny things? Oh well... can't win 'em all.
The baddies? Well, more early-90's G.I. Joe fare. I mean, these weirdos could easily be slotted into Cobra or the Dreadnoks, no? Oh well. I'll withhold judgment on 'em for now... and let 'em grow into their roles.
Since this is New Talent Showcase... let's meet us some new talent, shall we? Our writer, Rich Margopoulos... well, we've already met him. He was the man behind our earlier Forever Amber feature... remember? The DC Brass of 1984 must've been pretty high on the guy, considering he's given the lead-off feature both times out so far!
Across the table, we've got Steve Lightle... who, I'm actually kind of surprised we've never discussed here at the site! He would go on from here to have a pretty prolific career. When I think of him, my mind immediately goes to the Kupperberg Doom Patrol, even though his run there was very short... like 5-6 issues, if I'm not mistaken. I think a lot of folks will know him as the guy who penciled over Keith Giffen's layouts on the early Baxter-era Legion of Superheroes. It's really neat seeing some of his early work here.
Overall... Ekko is a pretty neat, if low-stakes, little strip. It feels a lot like the DC-Impact line. Kind of boilerplate stuff... but, inoffensive enough to enjoy.
Tomorrow: Meet Bobcat!
New Talent Showcase #3 (Forever Amber)
"Confrontation!"
Writer - Rich Margopoulos
Pencils - Stan Woch
Inks - Steve Montano
Letters - Duncan Andrews
Colors - Jeanine Casey
Edits - Roger Slifer
Today we say goodbye to the feature I was certain was going to be New Talent Showcase's flagship strip... Forever Amber! Not sure why, but I really thought this was going to be our one "constant" throughout most of the run. Probably because it was the cover feature in NTS #1... and the first story in the book.
Whatever the case... today it ends! Not sure if Amber is Forever-Gone, or if she'll be back down the line... though, well... if I were a betting man, I'd figure it best to say our goodbyes to the fair Servant of Kali today.
--
Our final chapter picks up right where we left off last week, with Amber being held up at some warehouse by a group of police officers... one of whom promises to splatter her "pretty brains" all over the wall should she get out of line. He continues running her down, and even tosses a few racial epithets for good measure. It looks as though all hope is lost for our Amber, when suddenly... gunshots! Remember how last time, that one rapist guy was trying to sell all that opium... but Amber turned it all to, well, amber? Well, this is the fall-out from that. The rapist has very likely just been shot to death. All the cops, but one, rush off to the "tub" to find out what all the hub-bub's about. Lucky for Amber, the officer left guarding her is sympathetic to her situation. He too is of mixed race, and knows how difficult that can be... he assures her that America is still a land of opportunity and sends her away.
We follow Amber all the way to... her father's house! Wow, I wasn't expecting to meet him quite this quickly. She knocks on his door, as the Sun Stone glows. When he answers... get this, he's overjoyed to see his daughter! He rushes for an embrace, which Amber returns... and they both start crying. The End.
...
...
...
Okay, it's not really the end. Inside, Amber and Mr. Jones catch up. All seems to be going well, if not a bit reserved. Amber finally asks her big question: Why did he abandon them all those years ago? Well... I hope you're ready for some exposition, cuz I'm about to deliver dollops.
Ya see, Roderick Jones was a Combat Engineer in the Vietnam War. While on R&R, he met Su Wan, fell in love, and dey make'a da baby. Su Wan was already with the Circus, and Roddy was called to the field... so their relationship seemed doomed from the start to be a short one. Fast-forward later in the war, Roddy is exposed to Agent Orange... and his quality of life plummets. He's discharged, and broke... but still sends whatever he can to Su Wan and Amber. He never called for them to join him in America, because, as he puts it... he's a "rotting corpse gradually rotting away."
This sends Amber and a weird "This is America" style rant... she just can't believe that the government would turn its back on its people this way. Dad explains that, back then, everyone had "blind faith" in Washington, D.C. and didn't ask any questions. During Vietnam, really man? Ya tellin' me there weren't any... I dunno, "movements" during that era? Hmm. Anyhoo, the discussion is interrupted by a ringing phone. It's Jones' buddy Scully... and, from the sounds of it... somethin' big is about to go down.
Ya see, there's this Army General Brillhart speaking out against the Vietnam Vets who have been pressuring Congress for more medical aid... and, well... the Vets are pretty ticked. So ticked, in fact, that they've kidnapped the General! What's more, they're planning on executing him... tonight! Dad decides he's gotta intervene and stop his pals before they do anything they'll regret. Amber insists she come along as well... and so, she does. Before we know it (18 minutes later), Amber bursts through the door of the place where the General is being held. She does her "Kali this, vessel that" spiel while wiping out a gaggle of Vets. When finally stood before the General... well, let's just say, this dude's a real piece of work. He breaks out a Fred Blassie line, mocking Papa Rod for being a "Pencil-Necked Geek".
Brillhart assures the Vets that he has no fears about dying... which, might just be his way of trying to call their bluff. Welp, Scully don't play that... and instead of backing down... he raises his rifle to around the General's eye-level. Jones, however, steps in before he can pull the trigger. Then, it's Amber's turn to talk. She reflects on a time where she and Su Wan tried getting into the American Embassy... and were given the boot by some Colonel. She draws a single rose from a nearby vase. Wow, nothing sets the stage for an execution like a vase full of roses! These Vets sure know a thing or two about the romance aspect of an assassination. Anyhoo, she picks up the rose... and turns it Forever Amber!
She then threatens to do the same to the General... annnnnd, knowing this broad ain't screwing around, he finally gives up. He begrudgingly tells the Vets that, while he can't actually help them fight for their benefits... he can stop running their names through the mud. The Vets are cool with that. We wrap up with Amber and Daddy Rod walking up to the United States Senate for a hearing on Agent Orange. The End... probably?
--
Betcha weren't expecting this to be a story about the fallout of the Vietnam War... because, I sure wasn't!
This wasn't bad or anything, it just went a whole 'nother direction from where I assumed it was heading. Really not sure why we even needed Amber to have her Sun Stone powers for a story such as this, ya know? She only really used it a couple of times... and, it was more as an "added" thing than anything outright intrinsic. She could very well have beaten up any number of goons using her actual fighting prowess... and, heck, there had to be another way she could'a FUBARed the Opium deal. She could've "Secretly replaced their regular drugs with Folgers Crystals" or something.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, with all the set-up... it feels like Amber was being built for more than just this type of story. I feel like she should be sparring with Super Villains, not threatening some General with a rose she turned to glass. I mean, what's next: Amber stands up during the Senate Hearings on Agent Orange and starts ominously and threateningly waving her Sun-Stoned hand around?
Let's talk pacing, because... boy howdy, did we get quite an exposition dump today! Feels like multiple chapters worth of information was plopped in our laps... so much so, that we're barely given the opportunity to digest it all before the story ends. I wonder if this was always planned as a three-part arc, or if Margopoulos and Company assumed this would run a few more issues before wrapping? It feels to me like the first two-parts were (relatively speaking) lollygagging compared to this. This was some breakneck "go-go-go" stuff.
Again, it's not bad or anything... I just wish it had more time to "breathe".
Speaking of "breathing"... I don't actually own New Talent Showcase #4 (and try as I may, I haven't been able to find it anywhere over the past several weeks)... so, this feature might be going on a bit of a "breather". No worries though, I've got plenty more in the works, including a whole new (very-much DIY) "Showcase" I'll be introducing this weekend. Should be fun, especially for readers who want to see some more stuff from the actual DC Universe here. I'm really looking forward to it. We've also got Superman's Birthday on 2/29... so, expect something kinda weird that day too! Hopefully, before long, we can pick up with NTS where we left off! Heck, maybe I'll find it in the next couple days to render this entire paragraph completely meaningless!
New Talent Showcase #2 (Forever Amber)
"Transition!"
Writer - Rich Margopoulos
Pencils - Stan Woch
Inks - Rick Magyar
Letters - Andy Kubert
Colors - Jeanine Casey
Edits - Roger Slifer
Man, it feels like it's been Forever... since we last read Amber... or something. In fact, it's actually been fifteen days! If you need a refresher on exactly what's going on, feel free to pop over to Part One!
--
We open with Amber approaching a sketchy-looking bar located at a Thailand port. Inside she bee-lines it over to two fellas who she hopes might be able to provide her with safe-passage into San Francisco. The one dude tells her to buzz off... to which, she plops a sack full of jewels in his lap. The other dude still thinks taking her along isn't worth the risk, and pulls his gun... to which, she tells him to go ahead and shoot her! Ya see, their tub is set to meet up with an opium dealer somewhere offshore... and her death might just cause the authorities to begin sniffing around.
And so, they decide to let Amber tag along on their trip to the States. We catch up with them a few nights later, when one of the fellas in charge enters Ambers room... and proceeds to force himself on her.
Amber tries fighting him off... even starts shining up the Sun-Stone in her palm to take care of the scumbag "for good"... but, decides against it. Her only purpose right now is revenge against her father... and so, she just lets it happen.
Until... they are interrupted by shots being fired by the Cambodian Pirates they're supposed to be doing the Opium deal with! Ya see, the Pirates seem to have changed their minds. They'll take the payment... but, now they've decided they're going to keep the merchandise too! Oh, and they're going to kill everybody on board too. So, yeah... bummer day.
Amber ain't gonna take none'a this laying down, and so she gets all up in the Pirate's face... to, well, offer sexual favors if he lets her live. The Pirate doesn't even have to think about it... he refers to her as a tramp and goes to push her away. When he does, however, he notices the Sun-Stone embedded in her hand... and decides he wants it for his own.
At this point, Amber's got no qualms about firin' that bad boy up and making it do the hoo-doo it does. With but a smack, the Head Pirate in Charge is turned to... forever amber. The Pirates and the Smugglers then start rumblin'!
It isn't long before the Smugglers come out on top... and, at this point, Amber's taken control of the entire operation. She orders the dead pirates tossed off into the sea... and the Smugglers (including the fella who, just minutes before forced himself on her) all oblige because... I mean, she's one scary broad!
Six weeks later, the tub arrives in San Francisco... and our Smugglers learn the hard way not to screw with our gal, Amber. When they go to seal-the-deal on the Opium sale... turns out, Amber got there first, and used her weird alchemical powers to turn the booty into glass.
We wrap up with Amber attempting to get into some sort of warehouse... only to be discovered by the Po-lice.
--
This was pretty great! I feel like so far (I mean, we're only two issues in...) New Talent Showcase is ending with its strongest story. Last week, Class of 2064 blew me away, and now Forever Amber really killed it! This chapter was just awesome.
When I first opened up to this one, I assumed it would start with "Three Months Later... in the United States" or something. I didn't think we'd actually see her travels... or really, have any reason to. I feel like, in showing it, we get to see just how "down and dirty" the underworld can be. Amber, really not having any other options... and at this point, nothing left to lose, is forced to just let things happen... so long as it leads to her ultimate goal. This was an uncomfortable read... but, worth it.
I also dig that we learned that Amber's powers can work on actual "things" rather than only on people. Her turning the opium into just shards of amber was pretty cool... and, we gotta assume that her sex-pest very likely paid the ultimate price for that.
Really good stuff here. Not sure how many more chapters we have for this feature. I'm hoping (though doubting) we have many more to come.
Tomorrow: The compilation of 2
Then: Ho-Ho-Ho... or, izzit Oh-Oh-Oh?
New Talent Showcase #1 (Forever Amber)
"Forever Amber!"
Writer - Rich Margopoulos
Pencils - Stan Woch
Inks - Rick Magyar
Letters - Duncan Andrews
Colors - Jeanine Casey
Edits - Roger Slifer
Being a daily blog, I kind of miss out on those opportunities to kinda just sit back and, for lack of a better term "bask". I'm writing this piece on January 31... so, the anniversary day for this site. A day I probably should just be taking a deep breath and relaxing... pleased with the fact that I made it through yet another year.
But no... instead, I'm reading New Talent friggin' Showcase. Wish I knew what was wrong with me! Oh well.
So yeah, New Talent Showcase... I know I've threatened it a time or two during the latter half of Action Comics Daily... and the response I would get each time was... mixed. A few people were interested in exactly what sort of stories we'd get from NTS... others, I suppose already knew what sort of stories we'd get. In all honesty, I've tried reading this... a few times, and it never held my interest all that long. I can say with confidence I never even finished this first issue!
Well, starting today: we're gonna try. Now, please wait a moment before clicking the back-arrow on your browser, or swiping left or whatever the hell we do on mobile devices. New Talent Showcase is just one of the things we'll be covering for the next little while! Having learned a pretty powerful lesson in "reader retention" during our near-year of Action Comics Weekly, I'm going to try and keep things from becoming too stagnant here by rotating three different features going forward.
The agenda is thus: we're going to do the first issue of New Talent Showcase... then, something else... then, something else... then, New Talent Showcase #2, and so on. Ya dig? As long as I'm able to keep things straight... this should be kind of fun. Either that, or I will literally be just left talking to myself. I guess we'll find out, eh?
Ya know, it's funny... four years ago I was toiling away on a Forensic Psychology project regarding Amber Hagerman... which actually led me to the creation of this very blog. Here we are kicking off our fifth year... with Forever Amber!
--
We open with a woman just having infiltrated a treasure trove of sorts. Before her, if we can sift passed the overly-flowery narration captions, we can see an idol surrounded by jewels and what-not. She swipes as much of the loot as she possibly can, when she notices that the very idol itself has some very valuable-looking jewels set insides its eye-sockets. She spies a hunk of Gold Quartz in the right-eye, and decides to go for it. When she does, the bugger starts to sizzle... and actually fuses into the palm of her hand-meat!
The resulting, ya know, searing pain prompts her to recall just how she got herself into this predicament. We jump into flashback land, where we learn that she hails from Vietnam and is of mixed race... her mother Taiwanese, and her father (presumably) an American G.I. (who our protagonist has never met). Our gal, Amber, spent her childhood being shunned by the rest of the Orie... er, Asian children, for being different. She grew up (to the ripe old age of sixteen or so) performing in sort of a traveling circus.
Amber's mama, Su Wan, holds out hope that daddy will eventually come back and save them from this life. In fact, she regularly prays before his framed photo. We learn that, while he hasn't come to "save them", he does send them money (and love?) with regularity. Amber's pretty much over it... she tells her mother to, more or less, "grow up", and slaps down daddy's shrine.
She stomps out of their tent... and passes by a Hindu Priest named Nuri. He gives her a bit of a spiel that conflates Buddhism and Hinduism... and, as I'm no religious scholar, for all I know this might make sense. He invites her into his tent to pitch a sort of baptism... in the name of Kali... wherein our gal would become a "living instrument" of the Dark Goddess. Fair enough.
Time passes, and the Vietnam War ends. The South falls to the North... and the United States suffers a humiliating loss. This sends many a South Vietnamese into hiding and/or fleeing into nearby Cambodia. Amber and Su Wan travel to a refugee camp in Thailand... and it's not a great life. Worth noting, this Vietnam War news comes to us courtesy of... The Daily Planet! So... does that mean Forever Amber is officially part of the DC Universe?! Maybe we'll find out... though, probably not.
Amber continues performing... though, not in an official "circus" capacity. She does her acrobatics to wow the crowd, all the while her partner, Ho Diem picks their pockets. We learn that she's resorted to this unsavory method in order to pay for her mother's medication... Su Wan has fallen quite ill. Oh, and ol' Ho Diem has quite the hot-pants for our Amber.
Time passes... and Su Wan dies. After Amber discovers the body, she spies the photo of her hated G.I. father on the nightstand. She blames him for Su Wan's death... and vows revenge. He too will die... but, by her hand!
Amber bids Ho Diem farewell... forever... and heads off to Cambodia. She had learned that a Dacoit Temple there housed many riches... riches, with which, she can "buy her revenge". This brings us back to the present, where Amber... now with added gem-palm... finds herself surrounded by a gaggle of Dacoit Faithful. They presume to test her, to see if she is worthy of keeping the "Sun-Stone". With Amber shattering their sword with but a swipe, I'd have to say... so far, so good.
The Dacoits continue their assault, prompting Amber (the woman) to respond to one with a palm-strike to the chest. This palm strike turns the fella from flesh and bone to... well, amber (the crystalish resin). The poor goofball shatters into a million pieces.
The attackers keep attacking... however, Amber is more than capable of holding her own. A blast of light emits from the Sun-Stone, which manages to blind a few of her would-be assailants.
She then breaks out of a full-nelson when she sorta overhead-throws this one eyepatched Dacoit. He goes flying right into the blade of yet another Dacoit. Worth noting, the dialogue around this point is... really quite bad. We all know that comics ought to be more "show" than "tell". This little bit gives us a whole lotta both. I mean, the goof with the sword actually proclaims: "My drawn dagger-! No!! He landed upon it... exactly as the blonde vixen planned!". Ay yai yai.
At this point, exhausted Amber decides to try and bluff her way out of this. Even though she can barely stand, she remains strong... and, more or less, dares these Dacoit to come at her. Rather than doing so, the attackers all bow to her. She has proven herself worthy, not only of the Sun-Stone, but to as much of the loot as she can carry. The bid her leave in peace.
We wrap up with Amber preparing to board a ship bound for America.
--
So... a little dry. Well, maybe more than a little dry.
I feel like, if you're going to launch an "experimental" title like New Talent Showcase... you might wanna do it "with a bang", so to speak. While I can't necessarily hold its placement against Forever Amber... I do question why this got the lead-off spot here. Just seems a bit too, I dunno story-heavy, to really grab a new reader. Though, perhaps I'm just projecting.
So, what do we got here? Well, we got a lot of story. They really crammed a whole lot of graham into this one... which, while a bit dry, did a really good job of setting the table and getting as much of the exposition out of the way. In light of that, hopefully subsequent chapters will be able to swing a bit freer... and move at a brisker pace.
Now, I can't pretend to completely comprehend the Gestalt of this piece. I'm no religious scholar either, so I don't know how fast-and-loose the creative team is being with the various faiths and whatnot. That didn't pull me out of the story, so I suppose it's kind of a moot point (for me). I dig the idea of Amber trying to seek out her father for revenge... and am actually kind of looking forward to following up with her search.
The fantastical elements added here with the Golden Quartz embedding itself into Amber's hand was pretty cool. Gotta wonder how that will wind up playing out over time. Overall... this wasn't bad. I was honestly kind of dreading it... but, had a decent enough time. Hopefully the rest of the stories here can keep up!
Now, since some of the New Talent Showcase stories are one-and-dones, I figure we should "meet" our creative teams with their first appearances in the run.
Rich Margopoulos... didn't do much at DC Comics. In fact, Forever Amber looks like it might be it. He did do some work for Harvey, Archie, and Marvel from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s however. Worth noting, he is the owner of a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy and Religion from Stockton State College (now Stockton University) in Galloway, New Jersey... so, he probably had a pretty good idea what he was talking about with the religious content of this story!
Across the table sits Stan Woch. A graduate (?) of the Kubert School, and a fella we've actually covered here. He does good work, and was moderately prolific at DC Comics throughout the late 1980s. Looks like he only kept active in the industry until around the turn of the century. Still, not a bad body of work!
Tomorrow: Meet the Sky Dogs!
