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M.A.S.K. #2
M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, Vol. 2: Rise of V.E.N.O.M.
THE ORIGIN OF V.E.N.O.M.! As the M.A.S.K. team constructs a new headquarters in Miami, Matt Trakker goes on a solo mission to identify new recruits. Along the way, Trakker crosses paths with Dr. Mindbender who instructs him on the art of leadership and manipulation. But Trakker quickly uncovers Mindbender's twisted goals and learns the true history of his former teammates who became members of V.E.N.O.M. Collects issues #6?10 and the 2017 Annual.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
164 pages, Paperback
First published December 13, 2017
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Brandon Easton
148 books39 followersBrandon Easton is a writer for the new Warner Bros. Animation series THUNDERCATS and a writer for the TRANSFORMERS: RESCUE BOTS for The Hub Network.
In January 2012, Brandon's first graphic novel SHADOWLAW was released to a nationwide sell-out and widespread acclaim with positive reviews from USA Today, Forbes, Wired, Ain't It Cool News and other major publications. Brandon continues to produce his "Writing for Rookies" advice podcast for aspiring comic book and sci-fi writers.
Brandon recently signed a 6-book deal with LION FORGE ENTERTAINMENT, a new transmedia company based out of St. Louis, MO. He splits his time between Los Angeles, New York City and Baltimore, Md.
In January 2012, Brandon's first graphic novel SHADOWLAW was released to a nationwide sell-out and widespread acclaim with positive reviews from USA Today, Forbes, Wired, Ain't It Cool News and other major publications. Brandon continues to produce his "Writing for Rookies" advice podcast for aspiring comic book and sci-fi writers.
Brandon recently signed a 6-book deal with LION FORGE ENTERTAINMENT, a new transmedia company based out of St. Louis, MO. He splits his time between Los Angeles, New York City and Baltimore, Md.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 16, 2021
Good lord, that got bad quickly. Bringing in the Dire Wraiths from ROM was a mistake. And then to end with the team falling apart and a team member missing. Oof. You could tell as it went along that IDW had given up on the title.. The art got more and more sketchy with no backgrounds. An intern in the copy room may have finished drawing this book.
July 20, 2021
An extremely disappointing volume. I have not been been dissatisfied with the end of a comic series for a very long time.
The series started out well enough I think with the annual but the story went down hill from there. I hated Matt Tracker character, it is almost like he has a split personality, being a goofy teenager one second then the serious leader then next. It can be summed when in the first volume he gives a character grief for having criminal connections, then goes to a criminal to get information himself.
A character was captured in the last volume, and seem to have been left with the enemy from the ending here. Even the bad guys got their teammate out. Also in the history of V.E.N.O.M. I actually think the accident was Matt's fault.
The only reason I would hive thus more that 1 star is the artwork, especially on the covers. Would I come back if there was a third volume. Probobly as I think it has to get better from here.
The series started out well enough I think with the annual but the story went down hill from there. I hated Matt Tracker character, it is almost like he has a split personality, being a goofy teenager one second then the serious leader then next. It can be summed when in the first volume he gives a character grief for having criminal connections, then goes to a criminal to get information himself.
A character was captured in the last volume, and seem to have been left with the enemy from the ending here. Even the bad guys got their teammate out. Also in the history of V.E.N.O.M. I actually think the accident was Matt's fault.
The only reason I would hive thus more that 1 star is the artwork, especially on the covers. Would I come back if there was a third volume. Probobly as I think it has to get better from here.
May 5, 2018
3.5 Stars
This volume had a few different storylines. One was the origin of VENOM, which told the backstories of the VENOM agents and was very interesting. Then we had a weird storyline where MASK fought giant monsters, and there was a Dire Wraith involved as well. Finally we have a GI Joe team up involving the Transformers marginally. This was pretty good as it was neat to see the Joes and MASK interacting.
Overall this was good, but I still think the whole shared universe idea seems forced. We see Zartan from the Joe series as well as a Dire Wraith from ROM, but in both cases it seemed as though they were shoe horned in just to make the point the universes are now shared.
This series wasn't bad and showed that the MASK mythology has a lot of potential, but I think they need to stop trying so hard to establish the shared Hasbro universe and let it happen a little more organically.
This volume had a few different storylines. One was the origin of VENOM, which told the backstories of the VENOM agents and was very interesting. Then we had a weird storyline where MASK fought giant monsters, and there was a Dire Wraith involved as well. Finally we have a GI Joe team up involving the Transformers marginally. This was pretty good as it was neat to see the Joes and MASK interacting.
Overall this was good, but I still think the whole shared universe idea seems forced. We see Zartan from the Joe series as well as a Dire Wraith from ROM, but in both cases it seemed as though they were shoe horned in just to make the point the universes are now shared.
This series wasn't bad and showed that the MASK mythology has a lot of potential, but I think they need to stop trying so hard to establish the shared Hasbro universe and let it happen a little more organically.
August 13, 2020
It's no secret that I'll generally pick up anything written by my friend Brandon Easton; I've known him for close to twenty years at this point, and I've almost literally watched him develop into a most skilled writer of comic books and other nerdy media over that time. As such, I rather enjoyed M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, Vol. 2: Rise of V.E.N.O.M.; no, it's not perfect, but the main flaws in this graphic novel are entirely not due to Brandon's input into it.
Like myself, Brandon very much grew up on 1980s properties like Transformers and the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE); Rise of V.E.N.O.M. is very much a love letter to all the Hasbro properties of that era, including G.I. Joe, Transformers, and ROM: Spaceknight. As I said about M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, Vol. 1: Mobilize, Brandon infuses the main cast of M.A.S.K. in general and Matt Trakker in particular with significantly more personality than the 1980s cartoons ever displayed, and the Glyph Awards Brandon received for his work on M.A.S.K. prove that point. In addition, while I recognize that IDW canceled M.A.S.K. with issue #10, Brandon most deftly leaves the door wide open for almost any continuation of the series, should one arise. Brandon has a real ear for dialogue in general (there are remarkably few infodump text boxes in Rise of V.E.N.O.M., now that I think about it), and for sci-fi dialogue in particular, and especially sci-fi dialogue that fits into a shared universe. (I felt similarly about Brandon's contribution to the Marvel crossover tie-in Civil War II: Choosing Sides, featuring Night Thrasher, to the point where I would pay almost anything to see Brandon write an ongoing New Warriors series outright.) And Brandon's writing of Dr. Mindbender is especially deft, insofar as it both perfectly encapsulates his character and elaborates on it far more than the G.I. Joe universe ever has heretofore—all without the reader's even needing to know exactly who Dr. Mindbender is.
Where Rise of V.E.N.O.M. falls down is in the art, as well as (albeit very, very slightly) David A. Rodriguez's writing for the Annual, included in this volume. I could quibble about Rodriguez's contribution to the story, crossover-in-a-shared-universe that it is, but that's more-or-less a quibble, since that's honestly a fact of life in shared comics universes. Also, Andrew Griffith's artwork (in the Annual) and Juan Samu's (in the first story arc proper) are overall standout, although Samu periodically (but sporadically, mind you), draws some . . . odd facial expressions. (That said, Samu's art is very, very clean, and pretty to look at, so this is also a minor quibble at best.) Drew Moss' art, on the other hand, seems more than a bit messy and rushed, particularly towards the end of his arc, and it jars, particularly in comparison to Griffith's and Samu's.
All that being said, exactly zero of these complaints are Brandon's fault, and all in all Brandon has contributed yet another excellent and successful effort for his comics and media résumé; as always, it makes me want to continue to patronize his work.
Like myself, Brandon very much grew up on 1980s properties like Transformers and the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE); Rise of V.E.N.O.M. is very much a love letter to all the Hasbro properties of that era, including G.I. Joe, Transformers, and ROM: Spaceknight. As I said about M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, Vol. 1: Mobilize, Brandon infuses the main cast of M.A.S.K. in general and Matt Trakker in particular with significantly more personality than the 1980s cartoons ever displayed, and the Glyph Awards Brandon received for his work on M.A.S.K. prove that point. In addition, while I recognize that IDW canceled M.A.S.K. with issue #10, Brandon most deftly leaves the door wide open for almost any continuation of the series, should one arise. Brandon has a real ear for dialogue in general (there are remarkably few infodump text boxes in Rise of V.E.N.O.M., now that I think about it), and for sci-fi dialogue in particular, and especially sci-fi dialogue that fits into a shared universe. (I felt similarly about Brandon's contribution to the Marvel crossover tie-in Civil War II: Choosing Sides, featuring Night Thrasher, to the point where I would pay almost anything to see Brandon write an ongoing New Warriors series outright.) And Brandon's writing of Dr. Mindbender is especially deft, insofar as it both perfectly encapsulates his character and elaborates on it far more than the G.I. Joe universe ever has heretofore—all without the reader's even needing to know exactly who Dr. Mindbender is.
Where Rise of V.E.N.O.M. falls down is in the art, as well as (albeit very, very slightly) David A. Rodriguez's writing for the Annual, included in this volume. I could quibble about Rodriguez's contribution to the story, crossover-in-a-shared-universe that it is, but that's more-or-less a quibble, since that's honestly a fact of life in shared comics universes. Also, Andrew Griffith's artwork (in the Annual) and Juan Samu's (in the first story arc proper) are overall standout, although Samu periodically (but sporadically, mind you), draws some . . . odd facial expressions. (That said, Samu's art is very, very clean, and pretty to look at, so this is also a minor quibble at best.) Drew Moss' art, on the other hand, seems more than a bit messy and rushed, particularly towards the end of his arc, and it jars, particularly in comparison to Griffith's and Samu's.
All that being said, exactly zero of these complaints are Brandon's fault, and all in all Brandon has contributed yet another excellent and successful effort for his comics and media résumé; as always, it makes me want to continue to patronize his work.
January 31, 2025
Standout Issue: #10
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews