This summer, as with every summer for the last seven years, I have found myself eyeballs deep in the latest comic book event. This year it is Marvel’s Original Sin, which to my surprise has been pretty enjoyable. What is even more surprising is how much I’m liking the tie-in, especially this week’s Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #2.
Filed under Comic Reviews, Saturday Reviews
I have been a devoted fan of Saga since issue #1. I still remember reading that first issue in my car and being blown away and wanting more, but knowing I’d have to wait a full month before I could have some. Since then, whenever a new Saga issue comes out, it is the first book I read. While I am still loving the book, I have to admit that I am even more lost than ever.
Filed under Comic Reviews, Saturday Reviews
Imagine there were a disease that would kill its host in six months, guaranteed, but before it did the sick man could get any number of possible superpowers and those powers would continue to increase in intensity until shortly before the end. If you had that kind of power available to you, what would you do? That’s the question that Death Sentence, a new graphic novel by Monty Nero from Titan Comics,asks reads.
Death Sentence follows three very different characters, Monty, a narcissistic comedian, Weasel, a burned out, drug addicted, former rock star, and Verity, a young woman stuck in an art job she can’t stand. The only thing the group has in common, aside from the G+ virus, is that they are highly creative people. While Monty plunges into the depths of his narcissism, Weasel and Verity struggle to make use of their gifts, even as the virus heightens their creativity. While much of the plot is a bit farfetched, there are themes within the book that make it a worthwhile read. The frustration of Weasel and Verity is palpable. For someone with a creative gift, the most aggravating thing in the universe can be when he can’t make things come together the way he knows they should, which is a theme repeatedly shown in Death Sentence. Throughout the entire book, Weasel is trying to write a new hit song, but he isn’t able to record anything with any value.
Monty’s story is an interesting exploration into what people are willing to do if they feel there are no consequences. Monty does whatever he wants because he feels he is entitled to do so and no one can stop him. The fact that he only has six months to live only drives his pursuits into darker places at near breakneck speeds. I was disappointed that Nero didn’t choose to follow up on some plot threads that were dropped towards the end of the book. I feel like they could have been interesting additions, though maybe they are part of some future project. If that’s the case, I’ll be patient.
An introduction to Verity.
The art by Mike Dowling is solid. His style is animated, and seamlessly transitions from more abstract shots to very detailed up close panels. At no point did I have an issue following what was going on, and things flowed well from panel to panel. Dowling also makes effective use of color palates, changing them to suit the mood of the scene, but not so much that it was jarring or disruptive to the story. Dowling does a good job of portraying all the ridiculous things that go on in this book without being overly obscene. Obviously there is quite a bit of adult content, but it never felt as though I were looking at animated porn. In fact it was clear that great care was taken to only show what needed to be shown and that the rest was implied. I also really enjoyed the portrayal of the drug aided creative surges that both Weasel and Verity experience. They were almost like acid trips, but far more productive and lacking the negative side effects.
Death Sentence isn’t a bad read, though in the end I was much more enthralled by the art than the story. The end of the book contains a commentary by Nero and Dowling that makes for an interesting read and provides a depth of insight that is hard to find elsewhere. Death Sentence goes on sale this Tuesday, July 22. 3/5 Death Stars
Filed under Comic Reviews, Comics, Saturday Reviews
I’ve been behind on Batgirl for a while, but with this week’s announcement of a brand new creative team starting in October, I decided I should make an effort to finish out Gail Simone’s run. With that in mind I picked up Batgirl #33 and felt like I was right back home. Sure I’d missed several issues, but I had no problem jumping right back into the story. The ease with which I was able to slip into Batgirl’s world is one of the hallmarks of a great writer. Simone really knows the characters she is writing and it’s nice to see that even this deep into her time on the title, she’s still taking time to develop the character further. I also really enjoyed the fact that she is still making good use of Barbara’s inner dialogue. My only major complaint is that in a couple places the exposition was a little heavy. It felt a little like reading 70’s X-Men where everyone called everyone by name every time they spoke to one another.
I’m fairly certain we know who is talking to whom.
While I was once again in love with Simone’s writing, the same cannot be said for the art. I’m not going to say it was bad, but I did have a few complaints. One of the best parts of the New 52 was the push for more realistic looking costumes. Whether or not it DC actually managed to pull it off or not can be debated, but Batgirl’s great look cannot. However this book appears to be progressively moving back toward the days of spandex, or worse, pleather (the horror, the horror!).
A nice twist on a cliche.
I’m inclined to believe the fault for this one falls mostly with the colorist. The pencils and inks seem solid but it’s the shiny looking colors that I dislike. This was also the first time I’d seen the new look of Black Canary and I’m not a fan. The art wasn’t all bad though, with one of my favorite panels catching the female villain, Knightfall, in bed with two “boy toys”. I thought it was an amusing twist on the stereotypical male villain with floozies.
Shiny costume and the Black Canary re-design.
While I am excited about the new look and direction for Batgirl, I will certainly miss the current run and I’m going to make sure I savor every issue that Simone has left. 3.5/5 Death Stars.
The second book on today’s review is Zaya #1 from Magnetic Press. Zaya is not something in my normal pull; however, as I was browsing Comixology, I came across it in the new releases and figured I’d give it a try. I certainly wasn’t disappointed, though I’m still not quite fully on board with this book. Even granting that this is the first issue, the story is somewhat ambiguous. The first half of the story introduces an attractive young woman, who I assume is the main character since she bears a striking resemblance to the woman on the cover. While at an art opening, the woman stops a drunk patron from abusing a waiter, in the process demonstrating that there is more to her than meets the eye, though beyond her martial arts skills it’s unclear what that might be. The second half of the book is a chase sequence with a man on the run from a “creature” that is intent on murdering him. It’s not clear how the two halves of the story will connect, but I’m certain JD Morvan will make this clear in the issues to come.
Beautiful art by Huang-Jai Wei.
The art has a very Heavy Metal look to it, which for large parts of the book was quite enjoyable. I was most impressed with Huang-Jai Wei’s ability to mirror a person’s inner qualities in their appearance. The abusive drunk is shown as a handsome man until it becomes clear from his actions that he is a scumbag, at which point the art changes, subtly, to show the man’s inner ugliness externally. I also really liked that when he chose to show extreme violence, he draws it in a more artistic manner, instead of making it exceptionally gory. Gore is easy to do; it takes far more skill to show the same scene tastefully while still conveying the same emotions to the reader.
The one place where the art has issues is with the mysterious “creature” in the second half of the book. I use quotes because I’m honestly not sure what to call this thing. It’s large, black, and ill defined. At times, I’m fairly certain I was supposed to be looking at a face, but with the exception of one panel, I couldn’t see it. If Wei can clean this one portion up a little, I think this book will really be something special.
Honest to god, I don’t know what to make of this thing.
There is currently a very nice looking hardcover available for preorder, and for $30 I’m very tempted to get it, though I’ll wait an issue or two more before I do. I’m definitely on board for at least one more issue and I’ll see how it goes from there. 3/5 Death Stars.
Filed under Comic Reviews, Comics
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