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

• 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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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."
• 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.
• 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.
• 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!
• I really liked -
  1. The multiple storylines all had cliffhanger-type endings.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
• I didn't like -
  1. I couldn't find anything not to like.

Art

• 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.
• 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).
• Splash Page - A dynamic looking She-Cat and Stardust go through their paces in a training routine while General Strock and Synn look on.
• Splash Page II (page 7) - Rad looks back and laughs maniacally as the Femforce Headquarters is consumed by a giant explosion.
• 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.
• I really liked -
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
• I didn't like -
  1. 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.
  2. 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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