OMAC #8

Well, that’s over, huh? I hate to admit it, but I was never reading OMAC to find out more about Kevin Kho or Max Lord. I know they are central characters, but I was much more intrigued seeing what crazy concepts OMAC would smash every month.

This month delivers a couple new concepts, and the really abbreviated wrap-up of the Brother Eye plotline. It seems Max Lord was smarter than everyone figured, and he does succeed in taking out Brother Eye. As one last gesture of defiance, Brother Eye sets up Kevin/OMAC with a new status quo. He can no longer switch back and forth between Hulk and human form, now he’s OMAC all the time, but he retains his normal personality.

That’s not exactly an improvement. I liked Kho as the new “Buddy Blank” host, a sort of generic guy who got taken out. In fact, the internal monologue got to be too much for me even in this one issue. I stopped reading Kevin’s thought boxes about halfway through the book and just focused on action. Dan DiDio channeled some good Kirby vibes in this series, but dialogue was never the strong point.

Keith Giffen delivers more entertaining visuals. OMAC has a great look, and I think he’s going to look really good standing up there with the JLI (along with Batwing? Did he just join?)

In any case, this is the last issue of OMAC, and I’m replacing it on my sublist with AvX.

Fair

OMAC #7

How many times can you copy something before the colors start to fade?

Listen, I love Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen's take on OMAC, he's much closer to the original concept, Kevin Kho is an amusing "blank" guy, very much in line with Jack Kirby's original concept. Watching the finned Hulk smash things is always entertaining, that's why I'm bummed this comic is going away.

That said, I can't take any more Kamandi homages. I know there were some in Countdown. Karl Kesel did it best years ago in Superboy. I loved the concept then, and when I actually read the original stuff, I was blown away. How many times are we going to see these imitations trying re-create the feeling that we already had? I mean, the DCU already HAD the best Kamandi and OMAC and Fourth World stories, and they got wiped out? Why update people's costumes and tell the same story again, marginally changing things (not for the better)?

Taken on its own, I may have enjoyed this more. I love that there is a place called the Evil Factory run by an evil monkey man named Simyan. Talking animals walking around after dark, with politics and corruption totally hidden from the waking world is hilarious. I was also tickled that Kevin just joins up with them no questions asked. Why would he? His life is smashed anyway. But when I read it, I compare it to the older, better originals, and that makes this comic less satisfying.

Keith Giffen's art continues to be bombastic and fun. I'm going to miss his work on this character. The good news is, it seems OMAC is joining the JLI, so the character won't be gone.

Fair

OMAC #6

Well, that’s annoying. My entire experience reading this issue is fouled up after that inside joke on the closing pages. For those who haven’t read it, after Brother Eye sends a fairly incompetent assassin to try and kill Max Lord, we see that the assassin is wearing Kord Industries labeling on his uniform. Max Lord orders the dude to kill himself, and he does, bleeding out from a head wound on a checkerboard floor. I’m annoyed enough that Ted Kord has been written out of the new 52, now Dan Didio is putting inside jokes about it in his comics? It just seems unnecessary and a bit gleeful.

The issue itself is fine, with OMAC facing off against the “ever-so-deadly” Sweet Leilani. I love the use of cover blurbs this month, this is a busy cover, but a fun one. My problem is that I have absolutely no interest in seeing ANOTHER re-imagined Fourth World. Leilani makes reference to Granny Goodness and to the dark-haired leader of the Female Furies. I’m sure this will be Big Barda, but again, the concepts were so well-executed the first time, I’m not interested in a 90’s style re-imagining.

This comic had been blessedly free from re-imagined characters and concepts, with Mokkari, Max Lord, and the other “old” elements playing pretty close to the originals. I can only hope the last few issues don’t buck that trend.

Scott Kolins does a nice job altering his style to match Keith Giffen’s take on Jack Kirby. It’s odd, because Kolins isn’t doing a Kirby homage, he’s doing an homage of Giffen’s take on Kirby. OMAC still looks impressive with that foil-mohawk, and Leilani is visually fun.

Fair

Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #5

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it says right on page one to check out the last issue of OMAC "for the other side of this battle!" And that's exactly what this issue is. For some reason, I thought the Frankie/OMAC fight CONTINUED into this issue, but no, this is really the same fight we saw last week, just with more pontificating from Frankenstein.

I'll admit, Frank can smack-talk with the best of them, he has some great lines in this issue as he takes on the more simple-minded OMAC. But I have to say, the fight was a heck of a lot more dynamic and impressive from Keith Giffen's pencils. Alberto Ponticelli does an OK job, but that sense of destruction is more jumbled here. The more artistic approach to the panels makes the fight a bit harder to follow, and the choreography of the fight takes a back-seat to the dialogue.

I loved Frankenstein when Grant Morrison wrote him, and Jeff Lemire does a good job keeping up with the philosopher warrior in a very strange world. I'm just not sure this sample was enough to bring me back again too soon.

Average

OMAC #5

Big dumb fun. And I’m not going to apologize for basically enjoying DC’s version of the Hulk. Sure, Brother Eye adds a pretty major complication, but OMAC is a monosyllabic moron who speaks in short sentences and seems destined to travel the DCU busting heads. That’s a concept I can get behind.

Dan DiDio makes a minor effort to justify the appearance of Frankenstein (and the rest of SHADE), but it isn’t too complicated. Most of the issue is left for enormous punches and explosions. I especially love the splash lacking sound effects (where the editor tells us to supply our own). This feels like a 70’s Marvel book!

I’m a sucker for tie-ins, so I’ll be grabbing the upcoming issue of Frankenstein to see if the big green guy gets his arm back from a shocked Kevin Kho. I think OMAC won that fight by running!

Keith Giffen’s work on this book is positively inspired. The pulsing action and immense explosions rock every page, making this a quick read, but a fun one.

Good

OMAC #4

Once again, I find myself ashamed and delighted at the new issue of OMAC. As other reviewers have stated, Kevin Kho, the ostensible lead of this comic really has no personality and hasn’t done anything. Maybe Bruce Banner was like this at first, but man, this re-telling of the Hulk is just weird. I don’t read many comics where the lead is a complete cipher, but this book certainly qualifies. There is no doubt that Brother Eye has the most recurring personality in this book.

But that’s not a bad thing. Kho’s lack of characteristic actually makes him more identifiable. He’s just a normal guy trying to live his life, only he’s got a sentient satellite holding him hostage while simultaneously facing down techno-alligators in the subway. Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen have done a wonderful job delivering mad ideas; the hologram-headed alligators grown from tablets certainly qualify.

It’s so much fun to see Keith Giffen enjoying himself. Well, maybe I’m wrong and he doesn’t like this, but man, it certainly seems like this Kirby-inspired madness is absolutely perfect for him. Any excuse for more Build-A-Friend’s is good with me!

Once again, a book I never planned to pick up is one of the few I’m still buying in the DCnU.

Good

OMAC #3

There has got to be something wrong with me. When so many of the DCnU's titles have been totally boring me, I still love OMAC. I love the cheesy titles, I love the lack of characterization in the main character. He's basically a techno-Hulk, and it is so much fun watching this bull wreck the china shop of DC's spy organizations.

We see more of Checkmate this month, and of course Max Lord is still maneuvering around the edges of the plot. I enjoyed Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen's attempt to create more mad ideas in the Kirby vein. The little strike team that tries to take out OMAC is a tad generic, but they certainly are fun.

The Psi-Fi Man would be revolting if he was drawn realitically, but in Giffen's Kirby-style, he just looks hilarious. That gigantic brain is pretty great, even if I generally don't care for mental-powered bad guys.

Good

OMAC #2

Another, fun, light issue of OMAC.

It is interesting how Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen are developing the central character in this comic. Kevin Kho actually shows up this month, but really, he doesn't do a whole lot. He's so thoroughly controlled by Brother Eye that he makes no choices for himself. Every reaction he has in this comic is set up by Brother Eye's manipulation. With Kho taking such a backseat in moving the plot, it's a good thing that this issue features Sarge Steel, Amazing Man, and Maxwell Lord. Amazing Man has the most lines, but he's also the guy with the least input on the overall plot. He's pretty likable, so I'm happy there is potential that he'll show up again.

The art is still amazing, with Keith Giffen channeling Jack Kirby in some great ways. Maxwell Lord never really rocked that whole Prussian formal-wear look that Kirby liked, but he does now! Sarge Steel and Checkmate are looking decidedly retro too.

Good

O.M.A.C. #1

I've got to say, I'm darn impressed with the quality of the DC relaunch. I'm not sure why the books couldn't be this solid before a continuity re-start, but no matter how you look at it, most of the DC stable is bringing their A-game now. This might be the most shocking book for me; I never expected I'd like something Dan DiDio is writing! But here I am, picking this up based on reviews and adding it to my sublist.

O.M.A.C. is an interesting comic. We learn the lead is Kevin Kho only at the very close of the book, and before that, while OMAC's presence is on every page, he really doesn't have much personality. He's more an engine of destruction that blasts his way around. The only dialogue he spouts is announcing his identity and repeating Brother Eye's instructions. Brother Eye is interesting enough to carry the book, though. He's got a spoiled child tone to his dialogue that makes him quite fun.

For me, the selling point for this book is seeing Jack Kirby's creations. Dubbilex, Mokkari, and a Build-a-Friend all appear. Keith Giffen does a fantastic job copying the bombastic action from Kirby's original series. Even the designs are an homage (check out the crazy Cadmus security guards).

Unlike a lot of the relaunch that initially tickles my fancy, but quickly leaves me uninterested, I'm going to definitely return for OMAC 2 next month.

Good