ALPHA

Though there have been craft beers named after comic books, Brian Azzarello, Nick Floyd and Simon Bisley’s “Alpha King” #1 just might be the first comic to be based on a microbrew. The 3 Floyds Brewing Company website describes the Alpha King brew as “bold” and “aggressive,” and the American Pale Ale’s comic book counterpart could certainly be described the same way. Floyd — one of the brewery’s founders — co-writes the first of this five-issue series with Azzarello, who brings a drunken swagger to the script, while Bisley works some attitude into the art with his warrior punk characters. It’s a comic book staple for a normal joe to fall into a vat of chemicals, only to emerge strangely altered and far more powerful. In this story, the never-before asked question “What if a brewmaster fell into his own brew?” is given a very loud, otherworldly and over-the-top answer that’s just preposterous enough to not only entertain, but be downright and darkly hilarious. This comic truly is insp

The super-sized “Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha” #1 has to overcome a few barriers in readability (not the least of which is its cumbersome name), but Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz very nearly overcome all the limitations. Spencer’s strong character voices and smart takes on political maneuvering keep this exposition-heavy issue from dragging too much, and Saiz gives the large cast plenty of feeling. If this creative team can make so much recap feel so readable, I can’t wait to see what they cook up for the rest of the event. It soon becomes clear why Marvel chose to make this a super-sized issue. Spencer and Saiz have a ton of exposition to cover for new readers, especially after the big reveal in the conclusion of “Avengers Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill” #1. From Steve Rogers narrating, “Bucky and I go back a long way, back to the war” to Sam Wilson recapping, “When Maria Hill tried to bring [the Whisperer] in for leaking S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets, I stopped her,”

As the title indicates, Robin returns to the DC Universe in “Robin Rises: Alpha” #1, written by Peter J. Tomasi and drawn by Andy Kubert. Sporting ink work from Jonathan Glapion throughout most of the issue, the final two pages — a double-page spread — are inked by Kubert. The entire issue is colored by Brad Anderson and lettered by Dezi Sienty, as everyone returns from Apokolips, several of them the worse for wear. A year-and-a-half in the making, “Robin Rises: Alpha” #1 would be certain to bring smiles to the faces of Damian Wayne if it hadn’t been DC Comics’ worst-kept secret of 2014. House ads in recent comic books depicted Damian punching Darkseid’s progeny, Kalibak, in the face. This is a feat that most characters in the DC Universe would be hard-pressed to accomplish, regardless of power set, if they were as mortally-challenged as Damian. Instead, the story just plods along, hitting story beats as though checking off a list (like giving Bat-Cow a chance to make a difference i

“Revolutionary War: Alpha” #1 attempts to bring readers familiar with the stateside Marvel Universe greater exposure to the collection of characters created under the Marvel UK imprint in a story written by Andy Lanning and Alan Cowsill. With art by Rich Elson, colors from Antonio Fabela and letters from Clayton Cowles, the story includes appearances from Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom, both of whom non-initiated readers are most likely familiar with from those characters’ connections throughout the Avengers and X-Men corners of the Marvel U. Unfortunately, Elson’s art is a bit wooden and stiff, with murky action and painfully awkward posing, such as the final page where Captain Britain’s adversary has the good Captain in his clutches. In this panel, Elson has somehow manipulated Brian Braddock’s alter ego into a painfully twisted pose where readers are given a full view of Captain Britain’s back and his face. Elson provides a nice level of setting a surrounding detail and even cr

After five years, this is it: “Locke and Key: Alpha #2” is the final issue of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s acclaimed horror saga. Since “Locke and Key: Omega” was the grand finale, “Locke and Key: Alpha” functions more as a coda or epilogue. Despite the tragedies in the previous arc and all the tears shed, it’s a happy ending to this epic horror story. Although “Locke and Key: Alpha” has two funeral scenes, it isn’t a downer. If anything, Hill errs on the side of sentimentality. The funerals themselves are tearjerkers. Rodriguez’s facial expressions are excellent, with enough intensity to match the words being said, but without slipping into maudlin melodrama. Every major character has moments, but in “Locke in Key: Alpha” #2, Tyler Locke holds the spotlight, and all the action follows his footsteps. Although all the Lockes except for Bode are dynamic characters, Ty’s arc was one of the most dramatic, and while Hill devoted almost equal time to Kinsey’s life in previous storylin

“Locke and Key: Alpha” #1 by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez is the battle and climax that the entire series has been building towards. This is the big one, an inevitable convergence of all major characters on the same stage of the Drowning Cave. It’s the final act of the overarching story arc between the Locke family and Dodge that has been playing out over a generation. There is one more issue of “Locke and Key: Alpha” to follow, but it will be more of a clean-up and tidying after the war. The battle scenes in the Cave feel like a claustrophobic pile-on. While the panels feel crowded sometimes, Rodriguez keeps the action clear. Less comfortably, the underground battle panels are also crowded with dialogue. This part of Hill’s storytelling feels unusually rushed and even anticlimactic. The suspense flags when Dodge delivers a “this is my evil plan” monologue worthy of a cartoon villain. All along, the Lockes and the audience have assumed that Dodge would bring through an army of his

“Alpha: Big Time” #2 by Joshua Hale Fiakov and Nuno Plati continues to explore what happens when Alpha, an irresponsible, de-powered teen hero gets a second chance through the new “Superior” Spider-Man’s scientific curiosity. After a pithy recap from our narrator Alpha, Fiakov immediately segues into addressing the aftermath and consequences of the violent cliffhanger at the end of “Alpha: Big Time” #1. It’s satisfying how Fiakov doesn’t immediately let the incident fade, but instead has it loom over the entire issue. From a cosmic perspective, “Alpha: Big Time” is an interesting mix of light-hearted and deadly serious. The mood is light, but Fiakov doesn’t go easy on the main character. Although Andy Maguire is trying, he isn’t markedly that much more mature or worthy than when he took his first turn as Alpha. Fiakov doesn’t hesitate to show him in an unpleasant light at times, especially in how Alpha is much more concerned with how his mistake will affect his life than in the eth

“Alpha: Big Time” #1 by Josh Hale Fialkov and Nuno Plati brings back Spider-Man’s teen sidekick from last year, depowered and ostracized by his peers, but he won’t be for long. Alpha’s introductory storyline in “Amazing Spider-Man” left the character open for a return, so it’s no surprise to see him back in his own series. What is a surprise is to see the return motivated by the “Superior” Spider-Man who (as expected) is a lot less concerned about the personal and social ramifications of Alpha’s powers and much more interested in the data he can glean from reactivating them. Intended to be a skewed reflection of the original Spider-Man — a teen hero with powers but a much weaker moral compass — Alpha is a fairly strong concept. The book itself clearly shoots for an early Spider-Man feel, establishing a school-based supporting cast and support network (though a thoroughly modern one, composed of outcasts) and it succeeds well. Happily, Fialkov manages to tone down Alpha’s the angst an

Since Brandon Graham’s “Multiple Warheads” one-shot five years ago (and a short story before that), his career has exploded a bit; first with the successful “King City” from TokyoPop and then Image, followed by relaunching “Prophet” into the best science-fiction comic currently being published. Now Graham brings the title back with “Multiple Warheads: Alphabet to Infinity,” the first of a series of mini-series. And if anything it’s even more inventive than I remembered. If this is your first experience with “Multiple Warheads” you don’t need to worry; not only is there only a little material already out there, but Graham brings you up to speed on the few things you do need to know about Sexica, Nikolai, and Nura. The reason why it’s just a few things is that in part half of the fun of “Multiple Warheads: Alphabet to Infinity” #1 is just soaking up the strange world that Graham’s created as his characters make their way through it. The book opens and closes with Nik and Sex traveling

“Minimum Carnage: Alpha” #1 by Cullen Bunn and Chris Yost is the first part of a crossover between “Venom” and “Scarlet Spider.” The antagonist is Carnage, a worthy foe for each of both antiheroes. In this issue, every character in this triangle is given plenty of time to shine and do what they do best. If this installment is any indication, the crossover is going to be plenty of fun with loads of beats as the story progresses. The series kicks off in the same tone as the ’90s spectacular “Maximum Carnage” crossover. If you’re up for an update to that classic, yet recently maligned, comic then Marvel has exactly what you need. Bunn and Yost split the writing duties depending on which character is on the page. This plan, and the fact Venom is a very different man from Kaine, means the tone of the book wildly varies from a soldier action piece to a lighter superheroic romp. Bunn’s Venom pages feel like they spend more time progressing the facts of the matter whereas Yost infuses some f