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.
From Under Mountains #1
Story: Claire Gibson & Marian
Churchland
Art: Sloane Leong
Letters: Ariana Maher
Image
Let it never be said that good cover
art and an intriguing title won’t
sell a book, because those are the reasons From Under Mountains finds its way
onto the List this week, having no knowledge of the series beforehand. There’s
a thief trying to break into a mountain keep where a lord must deal with enemy
incursions while his children chafe under his strict governance. Also, there’s a fallen hero getting a second chance, and a tribal
priestess plotting murder. To say there
is a lot going on would be an understatement.
Gibson and Churchland lay numerous plot lines in their first outing, and
as a result, we don’t
really get a solid feel for the way this world works or how the characters
relate to one another. While there are a
few glimpses of the governing politics, it may be a case of trying to do too
much at one time. Still, it’s only the first issue so some
mystery is to be expected and Gibson and Churchland obviously have a definite
game plan. The characters, intwinement
and significance ambiguous as they may be, are all well-thought out, and it is
really this quality that makes story.
The art is one of the biggest highlights of the issue. Leong’s
costuming alone is incredible, with each character’s outfit both familiar and unique in equal measure. The perspective and choice of view for many
panels is particularly great. From Under
Mountains comes out of the gate with a lot of promise and hope for another
fresh story in the fantasy
Mercury Heat #4
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Nahuel Lopez
Color: Digikore Studios
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
Avatar Press
Luiza Bora races across the surface of
Mercury against the dawning inferno to track down what may be her last chance
to crack her first case. Gillen scripts
the series’ strongest
issue yet, ramping up the action as well as giving us an enlightening look at
Luiza before she became police and what her psych evaluation of 57B actually
means. The disparity between Luiza then
and Luiza now has been hinted at, but the revelation laid bare is both
sympathizing and disheartening. Nahuel
Lopez steps in on art this month and the result is generally good. Lopez communicates action well and many of
his expressions sell the script. Some,
however, come off looking distorted or unintentionally comical. Still, it’s a net positive and doesn’t take away from the story.
As Luiza closes in on her perps, Mercury Heat truly hits its
stride.
Godzilla in Hell #3
Writers: Ulises Farinas & Erick
Frietas
Art: Buster Moody
Colors: Ludwig Laguna Olimba
Letters: Chris Mowry
IDW
Things get a bit more…overt as Godzilla battles the
forces of both hell and apparently heaven in the halfway point of this
series. Things get weird with the
entrance of butteryfly-winged psuedo-angels and SpaceGodzilla. Farinas and Frietas appear to inject a bit
more plot into the series, which I’m
not sure it needed. There’s a throwback to Godzilla and
his space-foe’s throw down
in Rio De Janeiro which longtime fans might appreciate. Buster Moody is the artist for this issue and
depicts the eponymous hero as somewhat scrappier than past issue, which fits
with the script’s
positioning of him as caught between heaven and hell. The series has been a
slow downslope as Godzilla has ventured further and further into Hell, and one
has to hope that the series picks up in its penultimate issue.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Ghost Racers #4
Story: Felipe Smith
Art: Juan Gedeon
Colors: Tamra Bonvillain
Lettering: VC’s Cory Petit
Marvel
There’s a Ghost Rider T-Rex riding a fighter jet in this
issue. Honestly, I’m not sure any more needs to be
said. Felipe Smith wraps up Robbie Reyes’s trials and tribulations in
Battleworld in fantastic fashion as he races (heh) to save his young brother
Gabe from the fury of the other racers and Arcade’s dastardly machinations.
It’s a lovely
wrap-up to the series and it’s
great to see Smith and Gedeon go crazy with design and action while giving a
nice emotional conclusion to the story.
Ghost Racers has been a series for fans new and old, and one can only
hope to see more of the same after Secret Wars.
So what did you pick up this week?
Agree or disagree with anything said here? Let us know in the comments.
Labels: Avatar Press, From Under the Mountains, Ghost Racers, Godzilla In Hell, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Mercury Heat
