Issue 75
Review by Jim Johnston
Title - Rad
Story - Bill Black
Pencils - Brad Gorby
Inks - Mark Heike, Bill Black
Colour - Rebekah Black
Lettering - Walter Paisley
Cover - Brad Gorby from Mark Heike (painted)
Synopsis
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Led by Rad, the Fear Force attack and destroy Femforce Headquarters taking
Synn, She-Cat, Stardust, and General Strock prisoner in the process. Arriving
at the ruins, Nightveil is ambushed, defeated, and thrown into the starfield
of her cloak by the Fear Force. Rad meets with the Traveller who gives her
final instructions for his arrival. Reviewing surveillance tapes, Tara and
Videxx mistakenly conclude that Joan Wayne has reverted to her Rad persona
and is now a villain. At the Colorado Complex, Joan Wayne as Ms. Victory
is goaded into giving the Justice Squad a workout. She soundly defeats them
all. Tara, Paragon, and Commando D arrive. They assume Joan is once again
the evil Rad and rush in to attack her.
Story
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The action begins with She-Cat and Dusty undergoing a combat training exercise
as Synn and General Strock look on. Jess and Dusty complain that it is all
too easy. Synn pleads to be allowed to participate. Much to her dismay, General
Strock instructs her to watch and learn. Suddenly, all heck breaks loose!
Rad bursts in, literally blasting upward through the floor. The flying debris
knocks down Dusty. She-Cat is delighted - thinking Rad's appearance is some
kind of advanced training routine. Attacking strategically, Rad knocks down
She-Cat then smashes into the control room, taking out Synn with a single
punch. Using only her service 45, the General bravely tries to stop Rad but
the villainess easily overpowers her with just the snap of her finger. Rad
then punches out an overconfident She-Cat as Dusty - dazed and confused -
attempts to retreat and figure out what is happening. However, Dusty is stunned
and captured by Proxima and the rest of the Fear Force. The villainesses
load the unconscious Femforcers aboard their futuristic transport. They make
their escape as Rad gleefully destroys the Femforce Headquarters.
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Meanwhile, on Dark Dhagor, Nightveil senses that something is wrong. She
tells Azagoth, her mystic mentor, that she must return to earth to investigate.
He forbids her to go, reminding her that her power is needed to help defend
Dhagor from an imminent attack. Nightveil leaves anyway, promising to return
immediately. Arriving on Earth, she finds Femforce Headquarters in ruins.
She is surprised by Dan Barton, the Black Commando (her former lover), who
is supposedly investigating the destruction. He explains his unexpected presence
by telling her that his lifelong space flight to another star system was
cut short after a few earth orbits. Overwhelmed by his unexpected presence,
Laura succumbs to his embrace. As he removes her cloak, she realizes that
something is wrong. She is confronted by the Fear Force. A devastating blow
from Valkyra, followed by an energy blast from Proxima, renders her unconscious.
Gorgana takes Nightveil's cloak as a trophy and DarkFire reveals herself
to be the faux Dan Barton.
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The villainesses discuss the need to eliminate Nightveil, the most powerful
of the Femforcers. Rad comes up with an awful solution. She hurls the helpless
Nightveil into the nameless dimension of horror that exists within the star
field in the cloak. This cold blooded act even startles the Fear Force. Rad
departs, telling them to deal with the remaining Femforcers. Rad travels
to the mansion where the Fear Force first gathered. She meets with the Traveller
who welcomes her into the Fear Force. As the one-time leader of the Femforce,
she knew the teams' weakness and so was able to defeat them. The Traveller
tells Rad that he has already freed himself from his dimension prison thanks
to the mystic objects secured by the Fear Force in Femforce Issue 74. He
instructs Rad to secure a suitable arrival zone so he can pass over into
this dimension. He has selected the Colorado Complex because it is the power
nexus of the Earth's paranormals. He tells Rad to go there disguised as Ms.
Victory and make "certain preparations."
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Later, Videxx and Tara approach the ruins of the Femforce Headquarters. Tara
is horrified and worried about her teammates. Videxx assures her that there
are no bodies in the wreckage. Tara and Videxx review the security camera
footage for clues as to what happened. They identify the Fear Force members.
Tara is shocked and saddened to see that Rad has led the attack. Thinking
that her friend has "succumbed to the dark side of her persona," Tara mistakenly
concludes that Joan Wayne is again Rad. Even though she is the last Femforcer,
Tara vows to carry on the fight. Monitoring his world-wide surveillance system,
Videxx spots Joan Wayne. Tara is puzzled - it appears that Joan is Ms. Victory
again.
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Ms. Victory is at the Colorado Complex to visit the Scarlet Scorpion who
remains in a coma. While there, she is confronted by Atoman and the Justice
Squad. They seek to goad her into giving them a workout practice combat session.
At first, she refuses. So, they continue to verbally and psychologically
harass her. Finally, she has had enough of their juvenile and sexist foolishness
and she gives them the workout they asked for, a combat tour de force. Using
her physical strength, combat skills, and ability to fight both strategically
and tactically, she gives each and every one of them a sound thrashing.
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However, just as she is enjoying her triumph, she is confronted by Tara,
Paragon, and Commando D. They assume that Joan Wayne has been totally taken
over by her Rad persona even though she still appears to be Ms. Victory.
Thinking she has wantonly attacked and disabled the Justice Squad, they accuse
her of destroying Femforce Headquarters. Joan protests her innocence, even
removing her mask to prove her identity, but Rad is lurking in the shadows
and thanks to her machinations Joan appears to morph into "Rad." The heroes
rush to attack a confused Joan while Rad, still in the shadows, laughs!
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I really liked -
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The multiple storylines all had cliffhanger-type endings.
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General Strock was shown as a brave soldier, taking on Rad with only her
side arm. I appreciate that Bill takes the time to tell us more about the
secondary characters.
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The extended fight scene where Ms. Victory is goaded into a fight with the
Justice Squad. We see that even a "good soldier" like Ms. V has her limits.
I really like that she was portrayed as a highly skilled all-around combatant
not just a one-trick pony who relies on a single power or skill. We see that
she can take on the "muscle boys," using physical strength and combat skill
to defeat Atoman and Nightman. We also see her fight "smart" to defeat Magic
Lantern and then swiping his hologram projector to take advantage of Speedball's
weakness.
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Tara vowing to fight on against the Fear Force even though she is the last
Femforcer standing. Although she is saddened and upset at the turn of events,
she puts her personal feelings aside and gets on with the task at hand. She
decides to recruit new allies and carry on the fight. Thus, we see Tara
demonstrate one aspect of the true nature of the Femforce heroines - they
know their duty and always do their best to carry it out without regard to
personal problems or considerations of how difficult the task might be to
accomplish. I'm glad that Bill re-enforced this point. It's one of the things
that separates the Femforce from most of the other comic book heroes.
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I didn't like -
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I couldn't find anything not to like.
Art
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Generally - As in Femforce Issue 74, this issue features prime Gorby/Heike
artwork. Everything I said in the previous review is valid here. If anything,
the art and layout are even better in this issue.
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Cover - An impressive, wrap-around, almost photo-realistic cover. The front
cover features a close-up head and shoulders picture of the right side of
Rad's face. She looks mean and snarly. The back cover features the left side
of a similar pose for Ms. Victory. She looks worried and concerned. Note:
The inside front cover features a "story so far" update and a small black
and white picture of the Fear Force (page 10 from Femforce Issue 74).
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Splash Page - A dynamic looking She-Cat and Stardust go through their paces
in a training routine while General Strock and Synn look on.
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Splash Page II (page 7) - Rad looks back and laughs maniacally as the Femforce
Headquarters is consumed by a giant explosion.
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Splash Page III - an enraged Paragon, Giant-sized Tara, and multiples of
Commando D attack a bewildered Joan Wayne - who appears as Rad - while the
real Rad - who appears to be Ms. Victory - lurks in the shadows.
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I really liked -
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The layout of page 22. The use of layout in this story arc is generally
impressive but I particularly liked the layout on this page. Especially the
small vertical panel on the lower right side of the page which depicts a
very tight close-up of Ms. Victory's face. This panel displays the dismay
and confusion the character must feel upon suddenly being confronted by her
friends and allies and being accused of reverting to her Rad persona and
destroying the Femforce Headquarters. This small panel contrasts very nicely
with the tall and triumphant figure on the left side of the page. This transition
is effectively bridged by the two horizontal narrative panels in which her
allies make their accusations. The issues in this arc are full of similar
examples of the excellent use of layout to tell the story and showcase the
art. I just wanted to briefly mention one of my favorites.
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This story had the characters expressing a wide variety of emotions - e.g.
fear, anger, sorrow, pain, love, lust, longing, shock, surprise, joy, triumph,
confusion, and dismay - to name a few. Brad did an especially excellent job
portraying the characters expressing these complex and subtle emotions. For
example, on page 10, in the top two panels, where Nightveil is confronted
by what appears to be her ex-lover Dan Barton, we see the surprise and confusion
mirrored on her face. This is matched by the manly leer on "Dan Barton's"
face. Next, the bottom two images, we see the love and longing in her expression
as Dan caresses her. She wants so much for this all to be real, in spite
of herself. It's also worth noting that Nightveil can often come across as
being cold and distant. Seeing her like this is a significant change.
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I didn't like -
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The Traveller's features have become more defined in this issue. Although
he does look fearsome, I prefer the earlier version. In the previous issue
his face was just eyes and teeth on a black substance.
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Many of the female figures have thick and overly muscled hips and thighs.
I think this makes them look grotesque - like steroid enhanced bodybuilders.
I prefer a more athletic-type body shape - physically strong but not overly
defined or "buff." As an aside, I am not alone in this opinion. She-Cat herself
agrees with me. In Femforce Issue 87, page 3, top panel background, right-hand
side, She-Cat takes the artist to task, urging him to "lay off the heavy
thighs and wide hips."
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