Eye on Comics

Drafted #2 (Devil’s Due Publishing)
by Mark Powers & Chris Lie

I gave a lukewarm review to the first issue of this unusual sci-fi series but noted that it showed a lot of promise. With this second issue, writer Mark Powers carries on with his socio-political examination of what might happen if aliens visited the earth. Crises of faith, violent opposition and quiet acceptance all categorize the various reactions to such a world-changing event. The main focus in this issue is to show the aliens’ recruitment drive, as they hand-pick a select group of human beings to join them in a coming war. The stronger and more character-driven focus I felt was lacking in the first issue is found in the second episode, and the storytelling is more compelling as a result. Still, it feels as though the plot is moving ahead at a snail’s pace. The issue is padded out with some cliched alien-arrival moments, but there’s definitely the feeling of forward movement here. Artist Chris Lie manages to provide a truly impressive visual with a splash page featuring the dismantling of a piece of military technology. He captures an awesome level of detail while also conveying the invisible energy and movement of an impossible moment. The art in the rest of the book is a mixed bag. Sometimes, the characters look sharp and realistic. At others, the heads are too squat. The characters in the scenes set in Hong Kong don’t look at all Asian, and there’s no cue in the script that indicates they’re supposed to be Caucasian. Sometimes, it’s just the minor details that seem off while the dominant visual elements are well done, but even those minor bits can distract. 6/10

Green Arrow/Black Canary #1 (DC Comics)
by Judd Winick & Cliff Chiang

The ending of the Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special left a bad taste in my mouth, and judging from reaction online, I wasn’t alone. In fact, it seems as though reader opinion of one hero’s self-defence killing of another was a unanimous raspberry. That ending didn’t leave me feeling warmly about this new title, following up on the plotline begun in the special (also penned by Winick). However, a chance to enjoy Cliff Chiang’s artistry is something I find next to impossible to pass up. While he has a simpler, basic style, the one-time DC editor has definitely been bringing more and more detail to bear as he develops as an artist. There’s a softer side to his work that drives home the more grounded, emotional elements in this story. As for the story, I found I was rather torn. Winick’s plot makes a lot of sense; Canary’s refusal to accept her new husband’s death makes a lot of sense in the impossible context of the DC Universe. After all, Oliver Queen has been dead before. But the strongest scene in the book is the Batman’s logical approach to the situation; despite the incredible circumstances, there’s a sense and plausibility to his reasoning. While I was pleased to see Winick redeem himself after the gratuitous ending of the preceding one-shot, I found I was completely uninterested when the villains were revealed. Not only are they connected to Amazons Attack and a rather unengaging plotline in Countdown, but they aren’t at all in keeping with the more urban and down-to-earth qualities of the title characters. Like the wedding special, this debut issue was a mixed bag, but I must admit that the strengths outweighed the liabilities just enough to sustain my interest. 6/10

Jack of Fables #15 (DC Comics/Vertigo imprint)
by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Tony Akins, Andrew Pepoy & Bill Reinhold

One really has to hand it to Fables creator and writer Bill Willingham and his co-writer, Matthew Sturges. This spinoff title, over the course of the past year, has really managed to distinguish itself from Fables. While Fables stands out as a fascinating drama with fantasy elements, Jack of Fables has become a different beast, in a number of ways. It’s something of a supernatural sitcom. It’s a surreal farce. And it’s a metatextual examination of the art of storytelling. I wasn’t entirely taken with this Wicked John story arc, but the writers finally distinguish between the twin characters with this episode. The script’s been hammering away about how Jack and John are carbon copies of one another, so it was a relief to reach a point where that was no longer the case. Akins’s artwork serves the story well, allowing it to unfold in a clear, concise manner. He meets the challenge of balancing a slightly realistic look for the talking-heads script while including subtle distortions in the human (or seemingly human) characters to signal the weirder side of the players and premise. Daniel Vozzo does an excellent job of differentiating between the scenes set in the here and now and the flashbacks detailing Jack’s and John’s origins. Vozzo makes those flashback elements look as though they’re presented in black and white, but there’s actually plenty of color to be found in those sequences. Though it wasn’t apparent at first, the strongest and most entertaining moments in this recent story arc arose from those one-page sequences featuring Paul Bunyan’s blue ox and its Snoopy-esque, internal monologues of fantasy, intrigue and adventure. 7/10

Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus #1 (Dark Horse Comics)
by Mike Mignola & Jason Armstrong

The Hellboy franchise continues to prove itself as a proverbial gold mine, rich of storytelling veins. This Lobster Johnson story, set in the years just before the Second World War, boasts the same kind of supernatural fun and personality we’ve seen from Mike Mignola and company in the past, but this property boasts a strong Shadow riff that’s really entertaining. His oddball array of agents, always popping up when they’re needed the most, could be seen as derivative by some, but it just struck me as colorful. The pulp-adventure riff is balanced nicely by the blue-collar, everyman attitude of the Jim Sacks character. Mignola’s plot, players and premise are all rather familiar, but this sort of fare isn’t all that common today so it benefits from the illusion of freshness. Armstrong’s art is a surprisingly good fit for Mignola’s dark worlds of adventure. He definitely incorporates Mignola’s unique style in his work here, and I was reminded a bit of Guy Davis’s work from B.P.R.D. as well. But there’s a lighter tone at play here that helps to distinguish from its sister titles. Armstrong’s work here boasts a resemblance to the cartoony, action-oriented styles of such artists as Michael Avon (Avengers Classic) Oeming and super-hero animation guru Bruce Timm. The colors maintain a pulpy, noir look throughout the comic. A quick check of the credits reveals that Dave Stewart is responsible, and I’m not the least bit surprised. He brings to life the impossible energy that erupts at times in this story, but he does so with muted tones that don’t interfere with the darker, eerie tone of the story and line art. 7/10

Super-Villain Team-Up/MODOK’s 11 #4 (Marvel Comics)
by Fred van Lente, Francis Portela & Terry Pallot/by Chris Giarrusso

This heist story never fails to entertain, but with a title like MODOK’s 11, it was a safe bet. The actual theft/planning elements don’t offer a lot in the way of suspense; after all, we’re dealing with criminals with powers to achieve the impossible. The story’s strength stems from the comedy and repeated bait-and-switch moments that keep popping up over the course of this five-part series. Van Lente is making great use of the diverse array of colorful characters without requiring the reader to be up on their histories. For example, the story touches upon a key moment in Rocket Racer’s 1970s exploits in The Amazing Spider-Man, but one needn’t have read the story of his and Spidey’s encounter with the Big Wheel to appreciate the oddity and imagination on display in this comic book. Portela’s detailed, realistic approach to the artwork tells the story effectively, though it might not be the best fit for the comic elements of the book. The similarities to Steve (Civil War) McNiven’s style are so undeniable that I can only assume it’s not a coincidence; newer artists aping the style of one of the genre’s most popular illustrators is hardly a new phenomenon. There’s really not much of MODOK himself in this issue, which is a bit distracting, but I suspect that in a collected edition, his absence for one episode won’t be as obvious. This issue also includes a two-page backup story featuring Chris Giarrusso’s Mini-Marvels, namely the Fantastic Four. It’s a cute though predictable piece. While it’s comedic in tone and purpose, it seems out of place when help up against the main feature. 7/10