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Quick Critiques – April 10, 2007

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Dynamo 5 #2 (Image Comics)
by Jay Faerber & Mahmud A. Asrar

Creators Jay Faerber and Mahmud Asrar prove that the strength of the first issue of this novel super-hero title was no fluke with another solid story that combines old-school action with a premise that opens the door to interesting possibilities for characterization. Faerber’s script is thoroughly accessible, and I like how different dynamics, personalities and attitudes are emerging among the protagonists. Slingshot is developing into a natural leader, and Scrap’s tough exterior is balanced by her insecurities about making her dream of a career as a filmmaker come true. Faerber also maintains a strong balance in his portrayal of Maggie Warner; she’s determined and ruthless, but there’s a maternal quality that’s beginning to shine through here. My one qualm with the story is that Whiptail’s motives for rampaging through the city aren’t apparent at all. Mahmud Asrar’s art continues to impress. His work is dynamic and full of energy, and his style is still reminiscent of such strong super-hero artists as Kevin Nowlan and Mike McKone. There’s a darker tone to be found in Ron Riley’s colors. That’s fitting, given that most scenes are set at night, but the approach also brings a slightly more mature tone to the story. I’m pleased that the first printing of the first issue of this series sold out. It seems as though it’s finding an audience. It looks as though Dynamo 5 will be the project that finally serves as Faerber’s big breakthrough. 7/10

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #1 (Marvel Comics)
by Jeph Loeb & Leinil Yu

I approached this book with some trepidation, as it seemed as though it might just be a money grab, designed to capitalize on the much-publicized gimmick of Captain America’s death. And it is a money grab; after all, Marvel is a business. To my relief, there’s also a story to be found within, a decent one at that. The best thing about writer Jeph Loeb’s story is that it acknowledges the basic flaw in a story about the death of any established super-hero character: that nobody would believe the character is “really” dead. In this plot, Wolverine operates on the assumption that Cap is, in fact, still alive, and that enables Loeb to overcome that liability. Like he did on Superman/Batman, Loeb makes the most of the shared continuity of the Marvel Universe, bringing together basically unconnected characters for a story so certain plot elements can be fulfilled. The problem with that is this story comes into conflict with other Marvel Universe tales, such as the current plotline in New Avengers. That story, which also involves Wolverine, doesn’t jibe with this one. Leinil Yu’s art is appropriately gritty and dark, given the premise and tone of the plot, but it also strikes me as being much looser than efforts we’ve seen from him in the past. At times, the linework here looks rushed, and I found my eye just wasn’t as engaged as it’s been when taking in Yu’s art in the past. 6/10

Green Lantern #18 (DC Comics)
by Geoff Johns & Daniel Acuna/Johns & Dave Gibbons

This issue has come under fire for the overly sexualized portrayal of Star Sapphire, not only as presented on Ivan Reis’s cover image but in the main story illustrated by Daniel Acuna. The criticism is justified; there’s no need of so much skin to convey the character’s sexuality, especially given the skin-tight nature of her costume (and any other super-hero/villain costume). Still, Acuna’s art is lovely, just as it was on Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters. He uses color to great effect here, and if ever there was a super-hero property that makes great use of and relies on color, it’s Green Lantern. I like Johns’s characterization of Star Sapphire as something of a cosmic parasite, employing sexuality with raw power in order to overwhelm her prey. The combination of the art and that take on the character (not to mention a more assertive and action-oriented Carol Ferris) was enough to get me to return for the next issue. Of course, the real star of this issue is the backup feature, the first in a series of “Tales of the Sinestro Corps.” Johns’s script harkens backs to the GL Corps stories of the 1980s, and to Alan Moore’s short GL stories in particular. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that artist Dave Gibbons contributes to this short segment. Ultimately, I love these kinds of stories, which explore the notion of sentient life taking forms that are incredibly unlike what we expect. 7/10

Runaways #25 (Marvel Comics)
by Joss Whedon, Michael Ryan & Rick Ketcham

I was disappointed when I heard the original creative team that launched this title was leaving the book but encouraged by the news that Buffy creator and popular writer Joss Whedon would inevitably bring a larger audience to this underrated book. Unfortunately, he also brought a change of direction that doesn’t really make sense, given the context of these established characters. The shift in setting from Los Angeles to New York comes from out of nowhere, and there doesn’t really seem to be a good reason for the character to choose it. There’s not enough buildup here to get the reader to accept the title characters’ odd and new tactics. Whedon’s script doesn’t seem to be in line with current continuity either, but then again, this title has only been tangentially linked to the Marvel Universe in the past. One cannot deny it’s fun seeing these newbie, would-be heroes screwing up a heist job, though. the characters’ bumbling offsets the newfound confidence they display in their confrontation/negotiation with the Kingpin earlier in the issue. I think Whedon’s got a solid handle on the unusual love triangle among Karolina, Nico and Xavin as well. Michael Ryan does a decent job of conveying the characters’ youth throughout the book, but his standard super-hero style rather pales in comparison to the much more unique look that original artist Adrian Alphona brought to the book. This issue was diverting and entertaining at times, but I think people were expecting something big from Whedon here, something he doesn’t deliver. 6/10

Witchblade: Shades of Gray #1 (Dynamite Entertainment/Top Cow Productions)
by Lean Moore, John Reppion & Stephen Segovia

I’m confused as to why this latest Witchblade mini-series is being published by Dynamite Entertainment rather than being released as it usually is under the Image Comics banner, but I thought perhaps that might serve as a sign that the storytelling might improve. Another such cue was the fact that this is co-written by Leah Moore, daughter of comics legend Alan Moore. Unfortunately, what lies inside is what I’ve come to expect from this Top Cow property. The creators offer up a nonsensical plot and a heaping helping of gratuitous T&A. Ass shots, cleavage and completely unnecessary nudity make for some ridiculous visuals throughout the issue, but even more frustrating is the complete lack of logic in the plotting. It’s never explained why two NYPD detectives are partnered for a particular murder case, and there’s no explanation as to the direction of the investigation and the Witchblade’s psychic reactions to a mysterious figure. This script is almost unintelligible at times, and the writers don’t even offer up a quick explanation as to what the Witchblade is and how Sara uses it to fight evil. This stands out as one of the weakest books I’ve read in some time, and outside of the core, diehard Witchblade fanbase, I can’t imagine that it would appeal to anyone. Do yourself a favor and ignore this comic’s existence. 1/10

April 10, 2007 Don MacPherson

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17 thoughts on “Quick Critiques – April 10, 2007”

  1. Sven says:
    April 10, 2007 at 10:56 am

    In all fairness, the regular Witchblade title has actually been very readable since Ron Marz took over and toned down the more Top-Cow-ish aspects of the book and made it more of a superhero NYPD book (Ron certainly seems to get NYC better than most comic writers tasked with writing stories taking place there. Of course, they’ve apparently been bleeding readers as a result, which is unfortunate… and probably led to the new series.

  2. Palladin says:
    April 10, 2007 at 12:51 pm

    I second Sven’s comment. Marz has added actual story to the art, that has improved from what it used to be. It probably is a bane to the old fans that just want art over story.

  3. The Mighty Rob! says:
    April 10, 2007 at 1:01 pm

    I thought Daniel Acuna’s artwork in GL#18 was excellent! Other than Uncle Sam is there any other work he’s done for DC/Marvel, etc?

  4. Don MacPherson says:
    April 10, 2007 at 1:25 pm

    Rob wrote:
    I thought Daniel Acuna’s artwork in GL#18 was excellent! Other than Uncle Sam is there any other work he’s done for DC/Marvel, etc?

    He’s done a number of covers for DC, notable the covers for the “World Without a League” story arc in JLA.

  5. Hellhound says:
    April 10, 2007 at 7:08 pm

    The location change for Runaways was pretty contrived. It appears that Whedon just decided what story he wanted to tell and he didn’t particularly care how the previous run ended up. I still can’t believe last issue’s cliffhanger was resolved in such a perfunctory manner. I’ll stick around for Whedon’s run, but I’m afraid my days of collecting this book may be numbered which is a real shame.

  6. Don MacPherson says:
    April 10, 2007 at 7:33 pm

    Hellhound wrote:
    I’ll stick around for Whedon’s run, but I’m afraid my days of collecting this book may be numbered which is a real shame.

    Are there any plans for Runaways beyond Whedon’s limited run? I get the feeling that perhaps the book might just fade away after this storyline.

  7. Hellhound says:
    April 10, 2007 at 9:34 pm

    I don’t think they’ve announced the next writer, but I haven’t heard anything regarding the book ending either. My fear is that they’ll just pawn the book off on Zeb Wells or someone like that.

    I’d rather Marvel did just end the book after Whedon’s run rather than let it die a slow death from mismanagement.

  8. Don MacPherson says:
    April 10, 2007 at 10:39 pm

    Hellhound wrote re: Runaways:
    I’d rather Marvel did just end the book after Whedon’s run rather than let it die a slow death from mismanagement.

    There are plenty of good writers out there who could handle a teen super-hero book. If the book were going to end, I’d rather see the story of the Pride’s children brought to a satisfying conclusion. Whedon’s plot is shaping up to be more of a sidetrip than a buildup to a fitting ending to the larger story.

  9. Evan says:
    April 10, 2007 at 11:11 pm

    The reason Dynamite is publishing the Witchblade mini is because its actually an intercompany crossover between Witchblade and Dynamite’s version of the literary character Dorian Gray.

    LOL and any bad T&A pandering can be excused by the fact that the series is set between issues 5 and 6 of the run in the beginning when the book was nothing but T&A for the most part.

  10. Don MacPherson says:
    April 10, 2007 at 11:18 pm

    Evan wrote:
    The reason Dynamite is publishing the Witchblade mini is because its actually an intercompany crossover between Witchblade and Dynamite’s version of the literary character Dorian Gray.

    Thanks for the clarification, Evan. To be honest, I hadn’t heard of this Dorian Gray property from Dynamite before.

    LOL and any bad T&A pandering can be excused by the fact that the series is set between issues 5 and 6 of the run in the beginning when the book was nothing but T&A for the most part.

    Still no excuse, as far as I’m concerned.

  11. keef thornswaggle says:
    April 11, 2007 at 2:39 am

    who doesn’t love T&A?
    (plus buying it is not as embarrasing as buying a real porn mag)

  12. Evan says:
    April 11, 2007 at 8:39 pm

    LOL I don’t know bout that Keef.

    In my family they’d rather see the real porn instead of comics. But this is coming from a family where my grandfather still calls them “joke books”.

  13. Keef Thornswaggle says:
    April 12, 2007 at 4:03 am

    good point,
    but at least I don’t have to wear a wig when buying “joke books”.

  14. Floyd The Barber says:
    April 12, 2007 at 4:27 pm

    What? C’mon guys. One of my favorite things to do is mix and match such purchases. I like to support the few “newsstands” that are left, so there’s been many a time I’ve plopped down a comic with the new Penthouse letters in Borders, or slid one in with a newspaper and a playboy at Sheets. I say hey “Do it proud!” Porn and Comics : two of the best reasons left to love America!

  15. MCD says:
    April 12, 2007 at 11:53 pm

    Isn’t Dorian Gray a Oscar Wilde creation?

    Damn that is bizzare it is a comic book.

  16. Dan Coyle says:
    April 15, 2007 at 2:31 pm

    Re Runaways– Joe Q has said that the new writer is already confirmed after Whedon, but he’s keeping it under is hat as to who it is. My guess is they’ll tap the YA novelist crowd and get someone like Tamora Pierce.

  17. Don MacPherson says:
    April 15, 2007 at 9:48 pm

    MCD wrote:
    Isn’t Dorian Gray a Oscar Wilde creation?

    Yes, but he’s a public-domain character now.

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