Quick Critiques – May 4, 2008

Action Comics #864 (DC Comics)
by Geoff Johns, Joe Prado & Jon Sibal

I was so impressed with the strength of the previous story arc, “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes,” I decided to add Action Comics to my regular pull list again. This issue is something of an epilogue, but not just to the previous Legion arc. This ties up loose ends (or purports to do so) from Countdown and “The Lightning Saga” from Justice League of America and Justice Society of America. Needless to say, the storytelling here is rather impenetrable, and the most inaccessible aspect is the villain of the piece. Unless you’re up on your Legion of Super-Heroes lore from the 1960s to ’80s, the significance of the embittered narrator will be elusive. But perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the book is that, well, nothing really happens. There’s no real conflict, just personality clashes and continuity maintenance. While this is an epilogue, it also serves as a prologue to the upcoming Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds. I’m looking forward to that book, as both a Legion and George Perez fan, but this comic book isn’t necessary reading for those of us who will delve into it. Also disappointing is the artwork. While before, readers were met with the crisp artwork of Gary Frank, Joe Prado’s work for this fill-in issue pales in comparison. The figures are inconsistently rendered. Frank’s vision of a cool, grittier Lightning Lad looks silly here. And Prado fails to convey the cavernous, immense quality of the Fortress of Solitude. His work on this issue seemed merely ordinary at its best, and it’s rarely at its best. It’s a shame that the creators and editors of this title have so quickly squandered the momentum they had going after the Legion story. 4/10

Aqua Leung original graphic novel (Image Comics)
by Mark Smith & Paul Maybury

I’d heard good things about this graphic novel; several review blogs I read gave it high marks. So when I finally got my hands on a copy, I looked forward to reading it. While I agree that this is an ambitious story of sword and sorcery under the ocean, I found I just wasn’t all that interested in Aqua’s story. A life of pain and war isn’t something to which I can relate. The scenes in which Aqua is in our world are fleeting, and his acceptance of the Herculean tasks set out for him and the explanations about his heritage comes far too easily for my taste. The cutesy names for some characters — such as a wise warrior/mentor named Sonny as well as several Beatles references — take one out of the harsh circumstances of the story. Paul Maybury’s art certainly stands out and catches the eye. His style strikes me as something of a cross between the looks of Paul (100%) Pope and Bryan Lee (Scott Pilgrim) O’Malley. There’s an odd mix of highly rendered elements and simpler designs that helps to reinforce the unusual tone of the story. The hyper-detail of some elements and the darkness of the colors make it difficult to discern what one is meant to see on some pages. I was also struck by how much some of the cuter characters reminded me of the general style of the Spongebob Sqaurepants cartoon. Given the common undersea backdrop, I can’t imagine it’s a coincidence. These conflicting tones in the visuals allow Aqua Leung to stand out as unique, but at the same time, I don’t know if I’m meant to see it as a legitimate epic or a satire. 5/10

Iron Man (Marvel Studios/Universal Picture)
directed by Jon Favreau/starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard & Jeff Bridges

“The best super-hero movie ever.” That’s what people are saying about Iron Man. There’s no doubt that it’s entertaining, but I wouldn’t go as far as that. People have also hailed Robert Downey’s Jr.’s Tony Stark as his best performance. Again, I wouldn’t go that far, but there’s no doubt that it’s his charisma and delivery that serves as the movie’s greatest strength. Unlike many other super-hero flicks, the lead doesn’t spend all that much time in costume, and it’s Tony’s story of redemption, not the cool effects, that maintains the audience’s attention. Gwyneth Paltrow is lost in the movie; her personality just doesn’t suit such bombastic material (as evident in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow). The script goes too far in establishing how much of a self-centred jerk Tony is early on in the film (C’mon… a stripper pole for his personal flight attendants? Ever hear of sexual-harassment lawsuits?), but his epiphany about the damage he’s caused rings true. The armor effects look great, but honestly, I enjoyed the computer displays that pop up throughout the movie, and not just those for the armor interface. The humor is thoroughly effective, and I rather enjoyed how the process of invention and inspiration is shown to be one of failures, about learning from one’s mistakes (especially the painful ones). As a comic-book fan, I have to admit my favorite scene is the one after the end credits. I won’t spoil it, but it does stand out as a truly unique one in this genre of film. It’s a step towards the sort of myth-building in film that’s been such a draw of Marvel’s and DC’s super-hero comics for decades. 7/10

The Order #10 (Marvel Comics)
by Matt Fraction, Barry Kitson, Javier Saltares, Scott Hanna, Victor Olazaba & Nelson

Thus ends a promising super-hero title that never really got a chance to find its audience. Without any recognizable super-hero icons among the title team lineup, The Order was handicapped coming out of the Marvel gate from the start, but it stood out as one of the publisher’s strongest titles. Fraction’s critical look at celebrity culture and corruption of authority is pretty much lost in this final issue, but that makes sense. It is nice that the writer was able to wrap up this title and storyline, albeit I’m highly doubtful that what we’re presented with here is what he had in mind all along. The plot takes on a much more conventional tone for the genre, and what was interesting about The Order was its unconventional, smart qualities. I did enjoy Fraction’s new over-the-top Iron Man villain and I hope (and expect) to see more of him in the writer’s new Invincible Iron Man title. While the plotting here was a bit disappointing, it’s easy to see it as a necessary evil to provide a rushed ending. More disappointing is the artwork. Barry Kitson provides breakdowns for this issue, but Javier’s Saltares’s pencils pale in comparison to the crisp, mature look that Kitson established in the series early on. Saltares’ renders the characters a bit inconsistently here; for example, Anthem doesn’t always look like he’s got a few years on his teammates. The darker moments don’t always look as dark and gloomy as they ought to either. Now while this finale is disappointing, the series as a whole was a successful creative experiment. It’s a shame more readers didn’t recognize that. 5/10