A weekly column in which Jake gives
short blurbs about the comics he’s
picked up that week. Reviewed in the order read, which varies but generally by
increasing anticipation. Disclaimer: he
knows very little about art, at least not enough to considerably honor such
tremendous undertakings, so…yeh,
there’s that.
Spider-Verse #2
Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Andre Araujo
Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Marvel Comics
The final member, Spider-Man Noir,
joins the party as Spider-Verse enters its second issue. The Great Depression-era Spider-Man provides
some welcome terseness and distrust to a team that was beginning to gel a bit
too nicely given their situation. Costa
uses this clash of personalities to achieve intriguing and humorous
results. Plot-wise, we’re still swimming in mystery at
this point, both as why are the Spider-People here and what this series is
about, which is a bit frustrating, although not all together
disheartening. What is disheartening,
however is the art. Araujo’s lifework just doesn’t sit right with me,
specifically again in unmasked faces.
Normally, I’d chalk
this one up to personal taste, but there are more points to my dislike, like
the lack of any intricate detail on Carnage, who just appears to be a red goopy
man with little of his usual sinister design.
At this point, its a real contest between the script and the art to
determine if I pick up the next issue.
Marvel Zombies #1
Writers: Simon Spurrier
Penciler: Kev Walker
Colorists: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Marvel Comics
The inhabited section of Battleworld is
only the northern portion of the planet.
To the south lies only death as the enemies of all life, the
Annihilation Wave, the Ultron Army, and the zombie hordes, seek to slaughter
the inhabitants of Doom’s
new world. The only line of defense between
the innocent and certain death is the Shield, a massive wall spanning the whole
of the world and manned by the doomed warriors.
This is where famed monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone resides. At least, until a defense mishap finds her
transporter two hundred miles south of the Shield, smack in the middle of biter
territory. Spurrier crafts a bleak
adventure, one rife with black humor as Elsa bitterly cracks wise about her
now-hopeless situation to her mysterious whiney human companion. Kev Walker steals the show with line work
that is ably suited to the monsters that roam south of the wall. Walker, a favorite since his run on Jeff
Parker’s Thunderbolts, is
no stranger to drawing the undead, having penned both Marvel Zombies 3 & 4
in years past. When he’s not busy drawing gore and
rot, Walker also handles character interaction amazingly, with the
conversations between Elsa and her father standing out. D’Armata
is also an asset of the book. The
Deadlands are often dull, grey, torpid affairs but, when the powers start
flying, D’Armata lets
loose an explosion of color. From the
starting gate, Marvel Zombies looks to be an excellent miniseries, despite its
foreboding and trauma-inducing subheading of Journey Into Misery.
Spider-Gwen #5
Writer: Jason Latour
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Color Artist: Rico Renzi
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Marvel Comics
So, this is the last issue of
Spider-Gwen because of Secret Wars.
Huh. Y’know, I don’t
feel all that bad. Certainly, it’s disappointing for the
character, but the story of this series never really went anywhere. Sure, it had a great art style, but style can
only get you so far. The last page hints
that Marvel isn’t done
with Spider-Gwen, even beyond Spider-Verse, but hopefully the next go-round has
a bit more substance. The character has
a great design and concept. Now it just
needs a pair of legs to run on.
Ghost Racers #1
Story: Felipe Smith
Art: Juan Gedeon
Color: Tamra Bonvillian
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Marvel Comics
The Secret Wars sequel to the beloved
All-New Ghost Rider series, Ghost Racers sees the various Ghost Riders in new
awesome forms as they race inside the Killiseum for the entertainment of Doom’s subjects. Smith’s
creation Robbie Reyes, the latest to hold the Ghost Rider moniker, is the main
character of the series, and while it isn’t necessary to know anything about his previous book, it
certainly adds to the experience.
However, the main drawing power of the title is the action and the
amazing character designs by Gedeon.
Which is a bit of a sour note because, as great as those two qualities
are, the actual art doesn’t
really hold up. Gedeon’s pencils appear unfocussed and
lacking in definition where some should exist.
If I knew anything about the process, I’d suggest an inker in work in concert. Gedeon excels at the action inside the races;
that part couldn’t be
better. However, when we step away from
the sport and the racers are de-ghosted, the faces are very underwhelming. Still, Ghost Racers has enough fuel to make
me pick up a second issue.
Captain America and the Mighty
Avengers #1
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Luke Ross
Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Marvel Comics
So unlike before, here’s a series I’m actually sad to see go. And boy does this issue make you feel
it. Despite a stumbling start, CAMA
became a really enjoyable series that seemed to be gaining momentum. Then, the end of the world came and that was
that. Ewing writes a tale of the team’s last days on Earth. Those who rage against the dying light, those
who spend time with those they love, and those who carry on because the end of
the world isn’t really an
excuse to stop doing good. Ross and
Rosenberg carry the emotional load, carving out anguish on She-Hulk and
Spectrum’s faces as they
prepare to do what they must to save the world or the sheer joy on the faces of
the Cage family as they spend their final moments in each others’ arms. The book goes semi-meta in its final moments,
but in a way that works and is really quite great. That’s
all I’ll say about it,
because it really is a fantastic piece of…well art, really. In
my every sense of the word.
Silk #5
Writer: Robbie Thompson
Artist: Stacey Lee
Color Artist: Ian Herring
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Marvel Comics
The villainous Black Cat forces Cindy’s hand in the latest issue of
Silk. As the cover would suggest, Cindy
calls in her “sidekick” Spidey for back-up, but the
book is still 100% Silk’s
show. Thompson moves the book along at a
brisk pace, but manages to sneak in a lot of tender moments, which feels
natural as the plot involves a kidnapped girl.
Stacey Lee, back on pencils after a short break, handles both action and
emotion with aplomb. There are some
interesting shot angles in the book, but they work really well with the actions
involved. Much like Spider-Woman from
last week, Silk has yet to suffer from the cataclysm of Secret Wars, allowing
the creators to create a very personal story without being cramped for time.
1602 Witch Hunter Angela #1
Writer: Marguerite Bennett w/ Kieron
Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans w/ Marguerite
Sauvage
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Marvel Comics
Angela and Serah are back! Except this time they’re in King James’
England. And they aren’t angels of Heven anymore but
rather hunters of the Witchbreed (mutants) and Faustians, those who make
compact with devils. This book is amazing
on every level. Gillen and Bennett have
switched roles from the earlier series, with Bennett now writing the main tale
with Gillen assisting on the now-humorous side-story. Bennett does a great job of both establishing
and entertaining, easily slipping us into the world of 1602 while Serah steals
the show with a dramatic performance.
Similarly previously restricted to back-ups, Hans is unleashed in the
story, every panel she provides a masterpiece.
Her depictions of the series’
villain are hauntingly beautiful.
While the main story is where the action is, the side story by Bennett,
Gillen and Sauvage is extremely funny once it gets going. Sauvage nails both the expressions and
physical comedy of the characters involved.
1602 Witch Hunter Angela is more than just another tie-in book; it’s a fantastic book on its own
and well worth cover price.
Book of the Week
Copperhead #8
Writer: Jay Faerber
Artist: Scott Godlewski
Colorist: Ron Riley
Letterer: Thomas Mauer
Marvel Comics
Deputy Boo’s been captured by Zolo’s gang which means this is the Boo the Badass issue of the
arc and badass he is. Boo uses both his
strength and his wits to cause trouble for the outlaws but it might not be
enough. Faerber flexes his dialogue
chops in this issue as we get a bunch of “yeh these guys are no good” examples. But there’s also some admiration going
on, specifically regarding the gang’s
leader. Meanwhile the art team executes
some pretty tricky action sequences with ease.
A few issues into its second arc, Copperhead manages to throw new
dynamics and obstacles towards its protagonists making for one hell of a
read.
So what did you pick up this week?
Agree or disagree with anything said here? Let us know in the comments.
Labels: 1602, Angela, Avengers, Battleworld, captain america, Copperhead, Ghost Racers, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Marvel Zombies, Silk, Spider-Gwen, Spider-verse
