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.
Dragon Age: Magekiller #1
http://www.comicbookresources.com/imgsrv/preview/0/0/1/25959-3cccf.jpg
Script: Greg Rucka
Pencils: Carmen Carneno
Inks: Terry Pallot
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Lettering: Michael Heisler
Dark Horse
Hey! the first Dark Horse comic on the
PL. Of course it would be from one of my
favorite video game universes. Dragon
Age: Magekiller is the story of…err magekillers Tess Forsythia and Marius,
bounty hunters who specialize in the hunting of blood mages, apparently outside
of the Templars purview. Rucka
introduces us to his story through the eyes of Tessa, the girl Friday to the
deadly and brooding Marius. It’s an
excellent choice, as Tessa has a great voice that can drop exposition and charm
simultaneously. She narrates the opening
fight sequence and couples the showing art with her telling. Rucka seems to have a good grip on the
weighty lore that comes with Dragon Age and uses it to his advantage to create
a seemingly intriguing original story, one that exists in the world but isn’t
overly reliant on previous knowledge. On
art, Carneno and Pallot do an excellent job of portraying both action and
setting in each panel. The characters
look great and emote rather well.
Atiyeh’s colors are an amazing coupling, as each scene, even the
talkies, is a visual treat thanks to the choice of palette. Dragon Age: Magekiller is an excellent pickup
if for any reader, Dragon Age-familiar or otherwise.
Silk #2
Writer: Robbie
Thompson
Artist: Tana Ford
Color Artist: Ian
Herring
Letterer: VC’s
Travis Lanham
Marvel
Silk continues her mission to
ingratiate herself to the Black Cat’s gang and gets a mysterious tip about the
Goblin Nation, one that might have interesting repercussions dow the line. Thompson does a good job of showing how
Cindy’s double triple life is taking its toll on
her and makes some interesting character choices for other members of the
cast. Some of the dialogue and narration
is a bit too cutesy (both figuratively and literally) for personal taste, but
for the most part the issue read very well.
The same cannot be said, however, of the art. Tana Ford is back on lines and the same
critiques of issue 7 of the previous volume can be seen here: great at action,
not so much at facial expressions. In
fact, this outing comes off the worse of the two as there’s significantly less
of the former to round out the experience.
There are some fantastic splash pages in the issue but they are
unfortunately marred by the overabundance of lackluster faces. In Ford’s favor, Killer Shrike’s head plume
looks about as ridiculous and douchey as it should, so there’s some positives
to the art. While the plot is moving
steadily forward and the main character is as engaging as ever, the art is up
to the usual preference which hinders the experience.
Phonogram: The
Immaterial Girl #5
Writer: Kieron
Gillen
Artist: Jamie
McKelvie
Colorist: Matthew
Wilson
Letterer: Clayton
Cowles
Image
Once again, we return…to the adventures
of David Kohl and his charming sidekick Kid-With-Knife as they finally realize
what’s up with Emily (thanks to Indie Dave (another character)) and resolve to
try and fix it. What follows is a bit of
a sobering look at adulthood and growing up, and it’s pretty great. Gillen uses the events of Rue Britannia to
show just how David has been getting on and with it comes the lesson that you
fix your own problems or time moves on without you. It’s a wonderfully scripted issue with the
lack of the usual meta-snark aiding in the narrative. Also: easier to parse through than the
previous issue, which is a plus.
McKelvie continues to work some of the best expressions in comics and,
in an issue driven entirely by dialogue and feeling, that’s a definite
bonus. Kwk’s solemn bout of
self-realization is some of the best in the series thanks to McKelvie’s pencils
and it makes his uninhibited joy later in the issue all the more
incredible. Wilson’s color palette is
something more to admire as it paints a suitably somber issue but when it needs
to pop it does so with aplomb. With one
issue left, the Immaterial Girl starts to wind down towards the end with the same
quality of excellence it started with.
The Autumnlands #8
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Benjamin
Dewey
Color Art: Jordie
Bellaire
Lettering: John
Roshell & Jimmy Betancourt of Comicraft
Image
Dusty and Learoyd’s adventures continue
as they try to get out of bison territory and deal with strange happenings
along the way. Busiek continues to throw
interesting wrinkles into this fantasy tale, ones that leave both the
characters and the readers guessing. He
also throws in some character development which is a welcome growth to the main
duo. Dewey and Bellaire again prove that
their one of the most potent teams on the stands as the whole issue is a visual
feast. The change in environment
provides ample opportunity for the team to excel and the closing fight is one
of the best in the series. Everything
about The Autumnlands is fantastic and it’s definitely a comic you should be
reading.
The Wicked + The
Divine #17
Writer: Kieron
Gillen
Artist: Brandon
Graham (Jamie McKelvie)
Colorist: (Matthew
Wilson)
Letterer: (Clayton
Cowles)
Image
This issue of WicDiv gives us a glimpse
at the life of the whimsical and primal Sakhmet, whose background is more than
it belies and whose present is likely nothing more than what you see. Or is it?
It’s a fascinating issue, one that Gillen plays for humor and drama in
concert (heh). There’s a lot going on in
the issue, to say the least, and it’s all wonderfully depicted by guest artist,
Brandon Graham. Graham, who also handles
both colors and letters for the issue, is a tour de force, masterfully crafting
big scenes, like the concert and the post-orgy, as well as the smaller,
character focused ones. Graham’s style
is unique but suits the nature of the tale and Sakhmet beautifully. The closing scene by the regular team
portends interesting things for the next arc.
Commercial Suicide has been a wonderful experiment, one that has unequivocally
succeeded in terms of story and storytelling.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Superman: American
Alien #2
Writer: Max Landis
Illustrator: Tommy
Lee Edwards (Evan “Doc” Shaner)
Letterer: John
Workman
DC
Things get real in this issue of
American Alien as Clark, now a teenager, engages in his first bit of
superheroics. It…goes about as well as
you’d expect. Landis taps into the vein
of realistic, modern superheroism, but from the approach of Clark Kent, a boy
who, though extremely powerful, is simultaneously vulnerable because of just
how powerful he is compared to everyone else.
Landis also makes an excellent choice of foe for the issue and sets up
their motivations excellently in such a sort amount of time. Also, it works great in a meta-sense as
well. Like Dragotta before him, Tommy
Lee Edwards is an amazing pick for the issue.
He easily transitions from the soft, idyllic opening scenes to the
scratchy, dark conclusion. Edwards is
wonderfully detailed and allows background to convey emotion just as ably as
the characters do. The closing page,
depicted beautifully by Doc Shaner, is wonderfully simple in approach but
foreboding in consequence. Even though
it has Superman in the title, American Alien, at this stage in the game, is
firmly rooted in Clark Kent and the trials of growing up as him. And, frankly, it’s an amazing read.
So what did you pick up this week? Were
your choices as beautifully gloomy as mine? Agree or disagree with anything
said here? Let us know in the comments.
Labels: Comics, dark horse comics, DC Comics, Dragon Age: Magekiller, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Phonogram: the Immaterial Girl, Reviews, Silk, Superman: American Alien, the Autumnlands, the Wicked + the Divine
