I don't think I like Matt Kindt's take on this character. He's contemplative, verbose, and self-deprecating, none of which was true when Lemire was at the helm. It's a fine enough direction to take Frankenstein in, and I trust Kindt has his reasons for doing so, but I just don't think it's for me. I'm not against the concept of Frank having flashes of memories from the lives of the people he's made out of, but I am against it turning him into a whiny punk. Also, after setting up the mystery last issue with strange panels showing horrible scenes, and then doing the same for the bulk of this issue, Kindt just has Frankenstein explain what's going on, out loud, with practically no provocation. I'm not sure how else Kindt could've have told us we were seeing bits of Frank's piecemeal past, but this definitely felt like the easiest, laziest method.
Same thing happens for the explanation of Leviathan. There's more of a reason for the character to spill the information (i.e. Frankenstein will kill him otherwise) but it was an overly-simple way to fill in those blanks. Isn't this meant to be, in part, an espionage series? Why not have our heroes do a bit of actual spy work to figure out where they are, rather than just being told, in no uncertain terms, from the first guy they ask? All of that was just weak storytelling, and did nothing to help with my dislike of Frank's budding new personality.
Alberto Ponticelli is a talented artist, handling the balance of current and "flashback" panels well without sacrificing any clarity. And the full-page splash of Leviathan in all it's horrendous glory was breathtaking. But that's the closest Ponticelli gets in this issue to being able to cut loose, to do the large-scale monster madness that is his greatest gift to this series. Other than a few panels of Frankenstein yelling, the rest of the plot is so subdued that the art is forced to match it. And a subdued Ponticelli is never as strong as one who gets to do big, bombastic action. It's true of the artist and of the main character, both, actually. Without at least one opportunity to pull out the stops and have some hard-hitting, gore-filled monster action, Ponticelli and Frankenstein are each far less interesting than they otherwise would be. I hope Kindt can realize that sooner than later and get this title back into the rhythms that made it such a strong offering within the original New 52.
For now, we have a much quieter, more thoughtful, more reigned in installment, and as far as I'm concerned, it falls flat. And the ending was 100% impossible to understand. Who is the guy screaming his head off on that last page? Am I supposed to know? Did we meet him last time and I totally forgot? Even if that's the case, his appearance on the final two pages here is jarring and forced. A real whiff of a conclusion to an already dulled issue.
3.5/10
Showing posts with label Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E.. Show all posts
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Pull List Review: Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #10
I was confused by this issue. Right from the first scene, with the weird woman who was clearly in love with Frankenstein but didn't matter and never appeared again. And many such details were glossed over after that. Velcoro apparently defeats an elevator full of bad guys off-screen. The team's "sci-bug" (whatever that is) locates their target, but we don't know how. Frankenstein suddenly quotes poetry instead of just going, "Hrrn..." It felt like maybe Matt Kindt was overly eager to pack this first issue with new information, a new attitude for Frank, and a bunch of big monster fights, so rather than doing any of those particularly well he delivers something a tad more jumbled.
The actual story of this treacherous group within S.H.A.D.E. seems to only be getting started, as evidenced by the still-unexplained panels of a woman being strangled, an angry dog, and a straight jacket. I'm curious to see what those are all about, and what happens to Frankenstein once he hits the extra-dimensional water, but for now all of that remains mysterious, and the set-up surrounding it is, unfortunately, disjointed.
Alberto Ponticelli's art is similarly uneven this month. The page of the Creature Commandos on jetpacks looked great, as did the following two-page spread of Untropolis, and I thought the Scare-Eb Agents were very lifelike and creepy. But the roundtable scene at S.H.A.D.E. HQ was full of awkward faces, and Griffith's whole fight sequence seemed a little rushed. Still, by-and-large Ponitcelli remains a good fit for this title, even with the authorial change, because he brings the right balance of lighthearted fun and larger-than-life action. Just a sight less consistent here than usual.
The last page, though, with Frank falling into the water and transforming or dimension-jumping or something on random sections of his body, is visually excellent. So it ends on a strong artistic note as well as a strong narrative one, even though getting there was quite a bumpy ride.
4.0/10
The actual story of this treacherous group within S.H.A.D.E. seems to only be getting started, as evidenced by the still-unexplained panels of a woman being strangled, an angry dog, and a straight jacket. I'm curious to see what those are all about, and what happens to Frankenstein once he hits the extra-dimensional water, but for now all of that remains mysterious, and the set-up surrounding it is, unfortunately, disjointed.
Alberto Ponticelli's art is similarly uneven this month. The page of the Creature Commandos on jetpacks looked great, as did the following two-page spread of Untropolis, and I thought the Scare-Eb Agents were very lifelike and creepy. But the roundtable scene at S.H.A.D.E. HQ was full of awkward faces, and Griffith's whole fight sequence seemed a little rushed. Still, by-and-large Ponitcelli remains a good fit for this title, even with the authorial change, because he brings the right balance of lighthearted fun and larger-than-life action. Just a sight less consistent here than usual.
The last page, though, with Frank falling into the water and transforming or dimension-jumping or something on random sections of his body, is visually excellent. So it ends on a strong artistic note as well as a strong narrative one, even though getting there was quite a bumpy ride.
4.0/10
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Pull List Reviews 05/10/2012
Batman #9: Well, the giant bat-armor from last month was sort of a bust, huh? I was really hoping Bruce had some kind of awesome contingency plan in place that involved the awkward metal suit, but, alas, it was just an awkward metal suit to fight in. Still, it was nice to see Batman's rage unleashed, and to finally give him some useful knowledge about the Court of Owls. Now maybe he can kick some ass and lay this story to rest for a while. Greg Capullo's art was actually somewhat more contained/restrained this month, which was interesting since Scott Snyder's script was mostly about Batman cutting loose and tearing mercilessly into the Talons. I'm not complaining about the art, because there's still a lot of great imagery, like the bat swarm or the dinosaur foot stomp, but if there was ever a time for Capullo to let his line work go a bit crazy, it seems like it would have been this issue. The backup feature I enjoyed a bit more than the main story, perhaps just because I love Alfred so much that any insight into his personal or familial history is welcome. And that final image of the Talon in the rain is stunning. Rafael Albuquerque continues t be an ideal Batman artist, highlighting the shadow and fear inherent in that world.
6.5/10
Fairest #3: I find Fairest #3 to be particularly challenging to review as a whole. As has been the norm with this title for all three installments, we have here an example of some truly excellent artwork that is telling just a dreadfully boring story. We have no reason to care about any of the characters, and in the case of the guy who does the most talking (a bottle imp named, I believe, Panghammer), we don't even have a convincing reason to like him. Even he knows he's a pain in the ass, and the story he's narrating to the rest of the cast would only be interesting if it wasn't being pointlessly drawn out. A series full of misfires from Bill Willingham so far, and if I didn't already know he'd be leaving the title fairly soon (along with his dumb, dumb crop of characters) I might well be dropping Fairest from my pull list. However, the saving grace continues to be Phil Jimenez's pencils, as well as the ink and coloring work by Andy Lanning, Mark Farmer, and Andrew Dalhouse. Whether it's a sentient flying boat, a royal hall filled with a bright and blustering party, or just The Snow Queen and Panghammer surrounded by whites and blues in her palace, every single page has art worth a second (or third or fourth) look. It's sort of astonishing how far from each other the story and the art are in terms of quality. How, exactly, did a script so bland inspire such lovely visuals? Anyway, that seems to be par for the course on this title.
4.5/10
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #9: I have complained a couple of times about the change that took place when this title started using Walden Wong to ink Alberto Ponticelli. This month, we have a new inker, Wayne Faucher, and I think with him we've found a happy medium that (hopefully) we can all agree on. Not quite as wild as when Ponticelli inks himself, but without muting the energy which his pencils always bring to the table.
Now that that's out of the way, I'll say that this was an exceptionally fine issue of Frankenstein all over. The title has always been a string of monster battles for Frank to fight, with each new enemy causing him to question/examine himself in some new light. This issue is no exception, and tells a tidy little tale of Frank and Dr. Mazursky battling against the forces of The Rot (from Animal Man and Swamp Thing). Unable to simply kill his foes in the usual fashion, Frank goes to an extreme measure, calling in a "blackbomb" which only targets living things and therefore does not hurt him. However, this causes him further frustration/sadness, because he is forced to admit that he is not really "alive" in, at least, the scientific sense. It's a quick but effective tale, and it serves to advance Frank's relationship with himself, S.H.A.D.E., and Mazursky all. And the Ponticell-Faucher-Villarruba art team comes through as well, like I mentioned. Particularly the splash where Frank and Nina find the corpse of the cop they're looking for. I want that as a wall-sized poster.
7.5/10
Higher Earth #1: If the concept behind Higher Earth interests you---a whole bunch of Earths in different universes that each have their place in a hierarchy of Earths---then you'll no doubt enjoy this first issue, since most of what it does is to introduce that concept. Luckily, it does interest me, and Sam Humphries makes the intelligent decision to have one of his main characters, Heidi, know as little about the details of the book's reality as the reader. She stands in for us, and like he is for Heidi, the nameless man who comes to save her from her Earth is an intriguing enigma, yet somehow easy to trust with his mater-of-fact attitude and battle-readiness. Francesco Biagini's artwork is similarly direct, always expressive and effective, but never especially impressive. He does some cool stuff with the edges of his panels and other kinds of layout moves, but otherwise it's fairly middle-of-the-line work. I'm excited to see this series develop, assuming it lasts long enough to do so, but Higher Earth #1 is no more than a simple, clean, clear introduction to the key players and ideas that will move the story forward.
6.0/10
Morning Glories #18: My aggravation over the snail's pace at which this series drags on is well-documented, and Morning Glories #18 is no exception. Virtually ignoring the previous issues of this arc (and, by the way, wasn't "P.E." supposed to conclude this issue, not the next one, originally? Am I making that up?), Nick Spencer decides to instead switch focus back over to Jun. I have long thought of Jun as the most interesting of the Glories, and I really liked his interactions and the development of his romance with Guillaume, but at the end of the day it was mostly more cryptic nonsense, spouting of meaningless mottos, and characters with unclear motives. Plus I get especially annoyed by Spencer when he actually has a character talk about the lack of answers in Morning Glories, which he's done several times, and does with Abraham here. Stop making excuses for yourself, jerk, and just tell your damn story already! Joe Eisma is Joe Eisma, reliably turning in consistent work on this title since the beginning. It never gets any worse or any better, it's just what Morning Glories looks like. At this point if another artist came in or if Eisma changed his style too much, I feel like it would be jarring, because the look of this book is so firmly established now. As is the narrative style, and it happens to be one which drives me kind of crazy.
4.5/10
Ultimate Comics Ultimates #10: Sam Humphries joins Jonathan Hickman on writing duties with this issue, but it's not an obvious shift in tone. I suppose there's slightly less action this issue than in many of the preceding nine, but that has more to do with where we are in the story, I suspect, than because of the addition to the writing team. Either way, a thoroughly entertaining issue. It took time at the beginning to bring home the full effect of the attack on D.C., and still managed to advance each of its characters and plots point forward, however slightly. And it's fun to watch the Ultimates battle against S.H.I.E.L.D. on top of everything else, especially now that they are so fractured. The City continues to be a unique threat, provoking bold reactions from our heroes that make for great superhero fare. Luke Ross, on the other hand, was somewhat uneven on art, mostly struggling with figures who were in motion. It wasn't a huge detriment here, and it's not like he messed it up every time, but there were several awkward or impossible poses, and in an issue with heavier action I'm nervous about how Ross will perform. Hopefully Ultimates #10 will be the exception, rather than the rule. Beyond those specific things, though, totally serviceable artwork and a fun, logical chapter in this grand tale.
6.0/10
Ultimate Comics X-Men #11: Here, we have a similar waste of story space from Spencer as in Morning Glories above, but with a slightly stronger showing from Paco Medina on art. Not a lot of new information here, or any real character insights or developments. Primarily just a series of checking in scenes for each bundle of characters, watching them each react in turn to the horrendous Sentinel attacks. It's an alright story, just lacking in meat or even much flavor. Nothing unexpected happens, we hear about the Southwest United States getting jacked up way more times than we need to, and then we get an ending that seems pretty mundane considering the work the Sentinels do in the rest of the issue. Medina, however, draws the crap out of those Sentinels, from their two-page spread at Camp Angel to those creepy pages where we see shots of several cities burning, to the reveal on the final page. He doesn't do a remarkable job with the rest of the issue, nor does he do a bad one, but for some reason I really enjoyed his Sentinel-based pages. Otherwise a bland offering.
5.0/10
Uncanny X-Force #25: A fascinating and well-written examination of the motives of each member of X-Force. Even Deadpool, in his own warped way. For a title that is clearly ramping up for something big---notice Genesis and Angel returned in this issue, and whoever's behind this White Sky/Omega Clan situation is bound to have other things in play, plus Rick Remender has been saying so in interviews---it's a smart move to take a minute and remind the readers why these characters are on this team. Or in some cases, why they're not on the team anymore (for now). Remender, as he has from the beginning, knows exactly how to handle his cast, and gives each of them a moment to shine. Fantomex gets the least of it, but his few lines and final action speak volumes. Wolverine, the leader and only remaining founder of the team, as well as the most direct connection to the new Omega Clan, gets the most time in the spotlight, and it is time well used. He deeply but quickly examines the many complicated reasons he has for keeping X-Force alive, and they all make sense and ring true in his voice. It's compelling stuff, aided in no small way by Mike McKone's drawings and Dean White's colors. Their best moment as an artistic team has got to be the two-page spread of the White Sky Showroom, but they also knock it out of the park on the introduction of the Omega Clan and Nightcrawler's flashback panels. There is one terrible drawing of Beast, but otherwise a strong performance across the board. And then, if McKone doesn't do it for you, there are some twenty extra pages of Jerome Opeña art as well, his and Remender's first Wolverine and Deadpool stories. Opeña's art is less stylized here than it has been on Uncanny X-Force, though that may have something to do with the coloring. But it's still quite good, and the stories are fun if simple, as any comicbook shorts are bound to be. Overall, a fitting anniversary issue, and one that excites me for the future of this title in a way I haven't felt for a while.
7.5/10
Wolverine and the X-Men #10: Two unexpected things happened for me while reading this: I loved Chris Bachalo art, and I agreed with Cyclops. The Bachalo thing was a pleasant surprise, as more often than not I find his style confusing and/or off-putting. But Krakoa rising up, that super-complicated two-page spread with like a dozen tiny panels and a couple huge ones, and especially the very opening page were all great. As for agreeing with Cyclops, I still mostly just feel like, "Why can't they all just work together? Why wouldn't they want to?" But Scott's arguments to Logan sounded far more reasonable and well-thought-out than anything he's said in a while. Not all of it, mind you, but enough of it that by the time Wolverine was losing staff members to the other side, I was totally rooting for them over him. Here's a question, though: when does this issue take place? After the fight on Utopia, but before Wolverine is thrown from a plane? Hardly seems like he had time to do all of this in between those two events. And also that would make Rachel Grey's role in AvX #3 confusing as hell. But if this after he gets back from the plane...why isn't he more pissed off at the Avengers for throwing him from a plane? Right? I also don't understand when, exactly, Cyclops had the time to make this visit, but I'm hoping AvX #4 can shed some light. I don't know if I expect it, but I'm hoping. Aside from that bit of confusion, though, I was impressed by Jason Aaron's script for it's take on the mutant side of things, and impressed by Bachalo's art for not bothering me for once. So...impressive issue.
7.0/10
6.5/10
Fairest #3: I find Fairest #3 to be particularly challenging to review as a whole. As has been the norm with this title for all three installments, we have here an example of some truly excellent artwork that is telling just a dreadfully boring story. We have no reason to care about any of the characters, and in the case of the guy who does the most talking (a bottle imp named, I believe, Panghammer), we don't even have a convincing reason to like him. Even he knows he's a pain in the ass, and the story he's narrating to the rest of the cast would only be interesting if it wasn't being pointlessly drawn out. A series full of misfires from Bill Willingham so far, and if I didn't already know he'd be leaving the title fairly soon (along with his dumb, dumb crop of characters) I might well be dropping Fairest from my pull list. However, the saving grace continues to be Phil Jimenez's pencils, as well as the ink and coloring work by Andy Lanning, Mark Farmer, and Andrew Dalhouse. Whether it's a sentient flying boat, a royal hall filled with a bright and blustering party, or just The Snow Queen and Panghammer surrounded by whites and blues in her palace, every single page has art worth a second (or third or fourth) look. It's sort of astonishing how far from each other the story and the art are in terms of quality. How, exactly, did a script so bland inspire such lovely visuals? Anyway, that seems to be par for the course on this title.
4.5/10
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #9: I have complained a couple of times about the change that took place when this title started using Walden Wong to ink Alberto Ponticelli. This month, we have a new inker, Wayne Faucher, and I think with him we've found a happy medium that (hopefully) we can all agree on. Not quite as wild as when Ponticelli inks himself, but without muting the energy which his pencils always bring to the table.
Now that that's out of the way, I'll say that this was an exceptionally fine issue of Frankenstein all over. The title has always been a string of monster battles for Frank to fight, with each new enemy causing him to question/examine himself in some new light. This issue is no exception, and tells a tidy little tale of Frank and Dr. Mazursky battling against the forces of The Rot (from Animal Man and Swamp Thing). Unable to simply kill his foes in the usual fashion, Frank goes to an extreme measure, calling in a "blackbomb" which only targets living things and therefore does not hurt him. However, this causes him further frustration/sadness, because he is forced to admit that he is not really "alive" in, at least, the scientific sense. It's a quick but effective tale, and it serves to advance Frank's relationship with himself, S.H.A.D.E., and Mazursky all. And the Ponticell-Faucher-Villarruba art team comes through as well, like I mentioned. Particularly the splash where Frank and Nina find the corpse of the cop they're looking for. I want that as a wall-sized poster.
7.5/10
Higher Earth #1: If the concept behind Higher Earth interests you---a whole bunch of Earths in different universes that each have their place in a hierarchy of Earths---then you'll no doubt enjoy this first issue, since most of what it does is to introduce that concept. Luckily, it does interest me, and Sam Humphries makes the intelligent decision to have one of his main characters, Heidi, know as little about the details of the book's reality as the reader. She stands in for us, and like he is for Heidi, the nameless man who comes to save her from her Earth is an intriguing enigma, yet somehow easy to trust with his mater-of-fact attitude and battle-readiness. Francesco Biagini's artwork is similarly direct, always expressive and effective, but never especially impressive. He does some cool stuff with the edges of his panels and other kinds of layout moves, but otherwise it's fairly middle-of-the-line work. I'm excited to see this series develop, assuming it lasts long enough to do so, but Higher Earth #1 is no more than a simple, clean, clear introduction to the key players and ideas that will move the story forward.
6.0/10
Morning Glories #18: My aggravation over the snail's pace at which this series drags on is well-documented, and Morning Glories #18 is no exception. Virtually ignoring the previous issues of this arc (and, by the way, wasn't "P.E." supposed to conclude this issue, not the next one, originally? Am I making that up?), Nick Spencer decides to instead switch focus back over to Jun. I have long thought of Jun as the most interesting of the Glories, and I really liked his interactions and the development of his romance with Guillaume, but at the end of the day it was mostly more cryptic nonsense, spouting of meaningless mottos, and characters with unclear motives. Plus I get especially annoyed by Spencer when he actually has a character talk about the lack of answers in Morning Glories, which he's done several times, and does with Abraham here. Stop making excuses for yourself, jerk, and just tell your damn story already! Joe Eisma is Joe Eisma, reliably turning in consistent work on this title since the beginning. It never gets any worse or any better, it's just what Morning Glories looks like. At this point if another artist came in or if Eisma changed his style too much, I feel like it would be jarring, because the look of this book is so firmly established now. As is the narrative style, and it happens to be one which drives me kind of crazy.
4.5/10
Ultimate Comics Ultimates #10: Sam Humphries joins Jonathan Hickman on writing duties with this issue, but it's not an obvious shift in tone. I suppose there's slightly less action this issue than in many of the preceding nine, but that has more to do with where we are in the story, I suspect, than because of the addition to the writing team. Either way, a thoroughly entertaining issue. It took time at the beginning to bring home the full effect of the attack on D.C., and still managed to advance each of its characters and plots point forward, however slightly. And it's fun to watch the Ultimates battle against S.H.I.E.L.D. on top of everything else, especially now that they are so fractured. The City continues to be a unique threat, provoking bold reactions from our heroes that make for great superhero fare. Luke Ross, on the other hand, was somewhat uneven on art, mostly struggling with figures who were in motion. It wasn't a huge detriment here, and it's not like he messed it up every time, but there were several awkward or impossible poses, and in an issue with heavier action I'm nervous about how Ross will perform. Hopefully Ultimates #10 will be the exception, rather than the rule. Beyond those specific things, though, totally serviceable artwork and a fun, logical chapter in this grand tale.
6.0/10
Ultimate Comics X-Men #11: Here, we have a similar waste of story space from Spencer as in Morning Glories above, but with a slightly stronger showing from Paco Medina on art. Not a lot of new information here, or any real character insights or developments. Primarily just a series of checking in scenes for each bundle of characters, watching them each react in turn to the horrendous Sentinel attacks. It's an alright story, just lacking in meat or even much flavor. Nothing unexpected happens, we hear about the Southwest United States getting jacked up way more times than we need to, and then we get an ending that seems pretty mundane considering the work the Sentinels do in the rest of the issue. Medina, however, draws the crap out of those Sentinels, from their two-page spread at Camp Angel to those creepy pages where we see shots of several cities burning, to the reveal on the final page. He doesn't do a remarkable job with the rest of the issue, nor does he do a bad one, but for some reason I really enjoyed his Sentinel-based pages. Otherwise a bland offering.
5.0/10
Uncanny X-Force #25: A fascinating and well-written examination of the motives of each member of X-Force. Even Deadpool, in his own warped way. For a title that is clearly ramping up for something big---notice Genesis and Angel returned in this issue, and whoever's behind this White Sky/Omega Clan situation is bound to have other things in play, plus Rick Remender has been saying so in interviews---it's a smart move to take a minute and remind the readers why these characters are on this team. Or in some cases, why they're not on the team anymore (for now). Remender, as he has from the beginning, knows exactly how to handle his cast, and gives each of them a moment to shine. Fantomex gets the least of it, but his few lines and final action speak volumes. Wolverine, the leader and only remaining founder of the team, as well as the most direct connection to the new Omega Clan, gets the most time in the spotlight, and it is time well used. He deeply but quickly examines the many complicated reasons he has for keeping X-Force alive, and they all make sense and ring true in his voice. It's compelling stuff, aided in no small way by Mike McKone's drawings and Dean White's colors. Their best moment as an artistic team has got to be the two-page spread of the White Sky Showroom, but they also knock it out of the park on the introduction of the Omega Clan and Nightcrawler's flashback panels. There is one terrible drawing of Beast, but otherwise a strong performance across the board. And then, if McKone doesn't do it for you, there are some twenty extra pages of Jerome Opeña art as well, his and Remender's first Wolverine and Deadpool stories. Opeña's art is less stylized here than it has been on Uncanny X-Force, though that may have something to do with the coloring. But it's still quite good, and the stories are fun if simple, as any comicbook shorts are bound to be. Overall, a fitting anniversary issue, and one that excites me for the future of this title in a way I haven't felt for a while.
7.5/10
Wolverine and the X-Men #10: Two unexpected things happened for me while reading this: I loved Chris Bachalo art, and I agreed with Cyclops. The Bachalo thing was a pleasant surprise, as more often than not I find his style confusing and/or off-putting. But Krakoa rising up, that super-complicated two-page spread with like a dozen tiny panels and a couple huge ones, and especially the very opening page were all great. As for agreeing with Cyclops, I still mostly just feel like, "Why can't they all just work together? Why wouldn't they want to?" But Scott's arguments to Logan sounded far more reasonable and well-thought-out than anything he's said in a while. Not all of it, mind you, but enough of it that by the time Wolverine was losing staff members to the other side, I was totally rooting for them over him. Here's a question, though: when does this issue take place? After the fight on Utopia, but before Wolverine is thrown from a plane? Hardly seems like he had time to do all of this in between those two events. And also that would make Rachel Grey's role in AvX #3 confusing as hell. But if this after he gets back from the plane...why isn't he more pissed off at the Avengers for throwing him from a plane? Right? I also don't understand when, exactly, Cyclops had the time to make this visit, but I'm hoping AvX #4 can shed some light. I don't know if I expect it, but I'm hoping. Aside from that bit of confusion, though, I was impressed by Jason Aaron's script for it's take on the mutant side of things, and impressed by Bachalo's art for not bothering me for once. So...impressive issue.
7.0/10
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Pull List Reviews 04/12/2012
Sort of a light week, but lots of god villains! I love a good villain...
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #8: I know it was said a lot last month with #7, but I still can't believe the difference having Walden Wong on inking duties makes to Alberto Ponticelli's art. It's not worse, exactly, it's just much more normalized. Closer to a traditional modern comicbook art, rather than Ponticelli's usual frenetic and kinetic style. Wong calms everything, taking away some of the usual energy. I don't mind it, but I do miss the old Ponticelli.
Luckily, this month's Frankenstein tells a calmer story than usual, so Wong's inks feel a bit more appropriate. As Frankenstein and Lady Frankenstein search for and eventually find their escaped son, we get to learn the details of their family's tragic history, and it helps to flesh out not only Frankenstein but also (and especially) his wife. Other than being completely badass and sassy, Lady Frankenstein hasn't had a lot to do in the series so far, but in this issue we see her undergo several major decisions and changes. Jeff Lemire keeps us on our toes and continues to grow the world of S.H.A.D.E., from Father Time's secrets to Ray Palmers character turn to, of course, Lady Frankenstein abandoning the cause. A solid standalone story in a title than continues to be reliable entertainment.
7.0/10
Saga #2: I was admittedly not sold on Saga after its debut issue, but I am a full-fledged fan as of this one. Brian K. Vaughn follows up on all the ideas and character introduced last time, and still uses a bulk of his pages to show us an impressive new villain, The Stalk. And he continues to make Marko and Alana's relationship more complex, compelling, and genuine with each panel they're in together. They show humor and affection in the face of great hardship, and it helps their love ring true.
The real star of this title, however, is Fiona Staples. Somehow she makes everything and everyone we see part of a clearly shared universe even when they are simultaneously so visually different. The prince with the TV head, The Will's freaky giant skinless cat-thing, The Stalk's spider-body, and the Horrors on the final page would most likely seem like they each belong in their own books if you saw the just character sketches. But Staples pulls it off, and makes it an absolute treat for the eyes while doing so. You could press the mute button and still have a whole lot to enjoy in Saga #2. Definitely a triumph all over.
9.0/10
Secret Avengers #25: At last, the Rick Remender I've been waiting for! I only know Remender from his amazing work on Uncanny X-Force, but after seeing Flash Thompson bring some much-needed humor to what has been a grisly title for the last few issues, I'm tempted to catch myself on Venom as well. He stole every scene he was in, and brought some of the best action to the issue, too. Though there was plenty of that to go around. Jim Hammond also had some great lines and moments of daring heroism all his own, and he's another character I'm excited to see more from (assuming he recovers fairly soon). But the best part of Secret Avengers #25, for me anyway, was when the little boy these superheroes have all been struggling to rescue manages to not only save himself, but to defeat one of the seemingly unbeatable opponents. I hope we see more of that kid in future arcs, though I'm sure that's just wishful thinking.
The other big thing I enjoyed about this issue was that we got some actual teamwork and team-building from our heroes rather than a lot of bickering and failure. And Gabriel Hardman was firing on all cylinders as well. The panel where The Swine smacks Venom, the two-page spread of the master mold sentry, and the previously mentioned kid-saves-himself scene were all stand out moments in a marvelously-drawn book. I'm bummed that AvX is interrupting Secret Avengers next issue, because with #25 it finally started to feel like the new creative team was hitting some kind of stride. And don't forget that reveal on the final page! I can't wait to see Father's agenda unfold...
8.0/10
Smoke and Mirrors #2: A big step down from its debut, Smoke and Mirrors #2 really has very little to recommend it. The main character, Ethan, and his new teacher/friend (Mr. Ward? Is that his real name?) are both sort of duds. Ethan's more annoying than he is interesting as a lead, and Ward just keeps saying the same things over and over. Actually, I guess they both kind of do. I really love the interactive elements being incorporated into the series, because people don't do cool shit like that in their comicbooks very often and it's always nice to see the medium expand. But with consistent yet never-impressive art and main characters I couldn't care less about, I'm starting to wonder if I'll even finish reading the rest of this title. I'll give it at least one more issue, but either the plot or at least on member of the cast needs to do something pretty interesting ASAP.
2.5/10
Ultimate Comics X-men #10: An enjoyable if predictable story. The revolution sparked by Storm last issue goes through all the necessary beats: rise up, take the day, lose some people, uncover some secrets, take the power from the bad guys, and then the revolutionaries start to vie for power and argue amongst themselves. Nothing new or particularly unexpected her from Nick Spencer's script, but in a series that can pull the rug out at any moment, it was actually refreshing to have such a classic, straightforward chapter. And Colussus' decision at the end, while not necessarily surprising, was certainly interesting and effective, in no small part due to a few choice panels from Paco Medina and Juan Vlasco, whose artistic storytelling matches the clarity and directness of the narrative. And it was good to see this whole Camp Angel story tie more directly, even if just for a page, to the events we've seen in the earlier issues of this series. Maybe now we can take steady steps forward rather than so often jumping around. Fingers crossed. But this time out, at any rate, a tidy and fun little comic.
5.5/10
Uncanny X-Men #10: Just like Venom made me want to read his title, Unit makes me want to read S.W.O.R.D. Sure he's obnoxious and way overpowered and looks sort of dumb, but...I love him. His whole calm-and-polite-but-still-horrible-and-heartless personality has completely won me over, and I love watching my heroes get handily defeated by a new foe. It can make their ultimate, inevitable victory over that foe all the more delicious if and when it pays off. Sometimes the ball gets dropped and difficult enemies are defeated in improbable or fully unbelievable ways, but Kieron Gillen has been delivering such good stories so far in Uncanny X-Men that I trust him to wrap this one up satisfactorily. And Unit is his character, so chances are there's a plan in place.
It's too bad this issue came out after AvX officially started, because the brief exchange between Cyclops and Captain America about Scott's priorities is a clear set-up for that conflict, and also sums up so perfectly my problems with AvX so far. Scott has put Hope's safety above all else, and while I understand his motives and I appreciate that he is consistent on this, it's pretty damned infuriating, and makes it hard to side with the X-Men. Be a superhero, dude, not a zealot.
While the artwork by Carlos Pacheco, Paco Diaz, and Cam Smith was quite good, I found myself more taken with the coloring of this issue than the drawings themselves for some reason. The amount of white, perhaps, I'm not really sure. No mater the reason, a quick shout out to Guru eFX for that.
8.5/10
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #8: I know it was said a lot last month with #7, but I still can't believe the difference having Walden Wong on inking duties makes to Alberto Ponticelli's art. It's not worse, exactly, it's just much more normalized. Closer to a traditional modern comicbook art, rather than Ponticelli's usual frenetic and kinetic style. Wong calms everything, taking away some of the usual energy. I don't mind it, but I do miss the old Ponticelli.
Luckily, this month's Frankenstein tells a calmer story than usual, so Wong's inks feel a bit more appropriate. As Frankenstein and Lady Frankenstein search for and eventually find their escaped son, we get to learn the details of their family's tragic history, and it helps to flesh out not only Frankenstein but also (and especially) his wife. Other than being completely badass and sassy, Lady Frankenstein hasn't had a lot to do in the series so far, but in this issue we see her undergo several major decisions and changes. Jeff Lemire keeps us on our toes and continues to grow the world of S.H.A.D.E., from Father Time's secrets to Ray Palmers character turn to, of course, Lady Frankenstein abandoning the cause. A solid standalone story in a title than continues to be reliable entertainment.
7.0/10
Saga #2: I was admittedly not sold on Saga after its debut issue, but I am a full-fledged fan as of this one. Brian K. Vaughn follows up on all the ideas and character introduced last time, and still uses a bulk of his pages to show us an impressive new villain, The Stalk. And he continues to make Marko and Alana's relationship more complex, compelling, and genuine with each panel they're in together. They show humor and affection in the face of great hardship, and it helps their love ring true.
The real star of this title, however, is Fiona Staples. Somehow she makes everything and everyone we see part of a clearly shared universe even when they are simultaneously so visually different. The prince with the TV head, The Will's freaky giant skinless cat-thing, The Stalk's spider-body, and the Horrors on the final page would most likely seem like they each belong in their own books if you saw the just character sketches. But Staples pulls it off, and makes it an absolute treat for the eyes while doing so. You could press the mute button and still have a whole lot to enjoy in Saga #2. Definitely a triumph all over.
9.0/10
Secret Avengers #25: At last, the Rick Remender I've been waiting for! I only know Remender from his amazing work on Uncanny X-Force, but after seeing Flash Thompson bring some much-needed humor to what has been a grisly title for the last few issues, I'm tempted to catch myself on Venom as well. He stole every scene he was in, and brought some of the best action to the issue, too. Though there was plenty of that to go around. Jim Hammond also had some great lines and moments of daring heroism all his own, and he's another character I'm excited to see more from (assuming he recovers fairly soon). But the best part of Secret Avengers #25, for me anyway, was when the little boy these superheroes have all been struggling to rescue manages to not only save himself, but to defeat one of the seemingly unbeatable opponents. I hope we see more of that kid in future arcs, though I'm sure that's just wishful thinking.
The other big thing I enjoyed about this issue was that we got some actual teamwork and team-building from our heroes rather than a lot of bickering and failure. And Gabriel Hardman was firing on all cylinders as well. The panel where The Swine smacks Venom, the two-page spread of the master mold sentry, and the previously mentioned kid-saves-himself scene were all stand out moments in a marvelously-drawn book. I'm bummed that AvX is interrupting Secret Avengers next issue, because with #25 it finally started to feel like the new creative team was hitting some kind of stride. And don't forget that reveal on the final page! I can't wait to see Father's agenda unfold...
8.0/10
Smoke and Mirrors #2: A big step down from its debut, Smoke and Mirrors #2 really has very little to recommend it. The main character, Ethan, and his new teacher/friend (Mr. Ward? Is that his real name?) are both sort of duds. Ethan's more annoying than he is interesting as a lead, and Ward just keeps saying the same things over and over. Actually, I guess they both kind of do. I really love the interactive elements being incorporated into the series, because people don't do cool shit like that in their comicbooks very often and it's always nice to see the medium expand. But with consistent yet never-impressive art and main characters I couldn't care less about, I'm starting to wonder if I'll even finish reading the rest of this title. I'll give it at least one more issue, but either the plot or at least on member of the cast needs to do something pretty interesting ASAP.
2.5/10
Ultimate Comics X-men #10: An enjoyable if predictable story. The revolution sparked by Storm last issue goes through all the necessary beats: rise up, take the day, lose some people, uncover some secrets, take the power from the bad guys, and then the revolutionaries start to vie for power and argue amongst themselves. Nothing new or particularly unexpected her from Nick Spencer's script, but in a series that can pull the rug out at any moment, it was actually refreshing to have such a classic, straightforward chapter. And Colussus' decision at the end, while not necessarily surprising, was certainly interesting and effective, in no small part due to a few choice panels from Paco Medina and Juan Vlasco, whose artistic storytelling matches the clarity and directness of the narrative. And it was good to see this whole Camp Angel story tie more directly, even if just for a page, to the events we've seen in the earlier issues of this series. Maybe now we can take steady steps forward rather than so often jumping around. Fingers crossed. But this time out, at any rate, a tidy and fun little comic.
5.5/10
Uncanny X-Men #10: Just like Venom made me want to read his title, Unit makes me want to read S.W.O.R.D. Sure he's obnoxious and way overpowered and looks sort of dumb, but...I love him. His whole calm-and-polite-but-still-horrible-and-heartless personality has completely won me over, and I love watching my heroes get handily defeated by a new foe. It can make their ultimate, inevitable victory over that foe all the more delicious if and when it pays off. Sometimes the ball gets dropped and difficult enemies are defeated in improbable or fully unbelievable ways, but Kieron Gillen has been delivering such good stories so far in Uncanny X-Men that I trust him to wrap this one up satisfactorily. And Unit is his character, so chances are there's a plan in place.
It's too bad this issue came out after AvX officially started, because the brief exchange between Cyclops and Captain America about Scott's priorities is a clear set-up for that conflict, and also sums up so perfectly my problems with AvX so far. Scott has put Hope's safety above all else, and while I understand his motives and I appreciate that he is consistent on this, it's pretty damned infuriating, and makes it hard to side with the X-Men. Be a superhero, dude, not a zealot.
While the artwork by Carlos Pacheco, Paco Diaz, and Cam Smith was quite good, I found myself more taken with the coloring of this issue than the drawings themselves for some reason. The amount of white, perhaps, I'm not really sure. No mater the reason, a quick shout out to Guru eFX for that.
8.5/10
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