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.
Mercury Heat #3
Story: Kieron Gillen
Artwork: Omar Francia
Color: Digikore Studios
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
Avatar Press
Welcome to the start of what is
apparently Gillen-Wilson-Bennett-week.
In the latest Mercury Heat, Luiza Bora chases down leads and gets in an
actual chase scene (one that involves a mech-suit!). Gillen hits the particular cop story beats
and throws in enough of his sci-fi to change things up a bit. Some of the jokes are a bit lame but, seeing
as they’re coming from a
particularly lame character, it fits.
Despite his gratuitous, spine-bending cover, Francia does good work on
the interiors, especially during the aforementioned chase sequence. The punch line of that scene leaves a bit to
be desired in terms of choreography and execution but its a solid effort
nonetheless. The book leaves Luiza in a
race for her life which should make for an exciting next installment.
A-Force #4
Writers: Marguerite Bennett & G.
Willow Wilson
Penciler: Jorge Molina
Inkers: Craig Yeung & Walden
Wong
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Marvel
Arcadia’s traitor is revealed and…to be honest it’s
a bit of a letdown in its obviousness.
However, Bennett and Wilson manage to punch up the dialogue and the
action enough to more than cover for it.
Molina covers these splendidly.
In a scene in which She-Hulk fights a rock monster, Molina utilizes some
wonderful and natural paneling to great effect, one that might be the highlight
of the series so far. There are a few
spots where I believe the inkers shifted, but it’s not so evident enough as to be distracting. Despite the predictable revelation, A-Force
looks poised for a dramatic and satisfying conclusion.
Siege #3
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Filipe Andrade, Julian
Totino Tedesco, Juan Jose Ryp & Andy Troy, Michael WM. Kaluta &
Rachelle Rosenberg
Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Marvel
Lovely.
Lovely, lovely end of the world.
Well, not quite “end” but that’s the feeling one gets when
reading Siege. Nick the Fury, Abigail
Brand’s former mentor,
rides the head of the Ultron wave that attempts to smash the Shield and its
doomed defenders. This third issue
allows every character to get their moment, something that’s been somewhat lacking from
previous issues. From Vitruvian Leonardo
Da Vinci leading his armada to the fore to America Chavez being America Chavez
(read: kicking ass), this is arguably the series’s strongest installment thus far. Similarly, the double page spreads are
equally fantastic, leading with Tedesco’s
beautifully painted scene of carnage with directly precedes Ryp and Troy’s gritty scene of carnage. The dichotomy between the two and their
immediate sequence are an excellent bit of storytelling through art. Kaluta and Rosenburg’s towards the end is also an excellent display of chaotic control. Andrade does an amazing amount of heavy
lifting during the main pages, dealing with posture and positioning and
view-choice that are frankly some of the best I’ve scene. He’s an amazing fit for the series
and executes much of the emotional beats better than I thought possible. In support, Rosenberg’s colors are incredible, with glorious set lighting and
emotional hues that compliment Andrade’s
pencils with aplomb. Siege #3 is a such
a jam-packed issue and Gillen wisely underplays the closing page’s revelation. Siege is every bit as good as the (my) hype
would have you believe.
Phongram: The Immaterial Girl #2
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Colorist: Matt Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Image
Emily Aster is on the run from the
bad-guy mechanics from the Take On Me music video inside said music
video while her evil half, Claire, plots to destroy everything Emily has ever
built for herself, including the Coven and all of her “friends.” Phonogram, ladies and gentleman. Gillen keeps the ball rolling, dealing little
with flashbacks and only a few callbacks to Rue Britannia. He and McKelvie keep Emily’s disastrous misadventure at an
almost frenetic tempo for the most part, which serves the narrative rather
well, while Claire’s
machinations are tortuous and dripping with viscous venom. McKelvie does a bit of horror here, which he’s not particularly known for
but its something he’s
always done rather well thinking on it.
It’s carried a lot
by character’s emotions
and a bit of subtle blood work and its rather great. Immaterial Girl gives us a strong second
issue and builds well for the next one.
Ms. Marvel #18
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Art: Adrian Alphona
Color Art: Ian Herring
Lettering: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Marvel
Ms. Marvel and her hero, Captain
Marvel, team-up to save her brother from her sociopathic ex-crush Kamran. Oh, also, the world is pretty much ending. Wilson steers us into some great emotional
conflict and her dialogue is as sharp as poignant as anything out there. Aamir’s
showdown with Kamran is an excellent example of character work coming
full-circle and being utilized to its fullest potential. Alphona deserves some kind of award for the
level of detail he puts into his panels will keeping them from being
over-cluttered. From body language to
facial expressions, his emotional work is fantastic, cartoony when it needs to
be and realistic when it doesn’t. Even with the end of the world looming, Ms.
Marvel remains Grade A quality entertainment.
The Wicked + The Divine #14
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Colorist: Matt Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Image
Boy, Team WicDiv sure aren’t making easy reading for us,
are they? What with the previous issue
about Tara and this one about Woden, and all of his background
scumbaggery. Gillen taps into that
aspect, so much and so hard that, to a newfound observer, it would seem like an
endorsement. It isn’t, we know it isn’t, but it doesn’t make this issue any easier to
swallow. The issue doesn’t make Woden sympathetic—too kind and too generous a
word. Understanding is a push too, as it’s positive connotation. Perhaps its best put simply: now we
know. Leave it there. On the art side, McKelvie rejoins the squad
of Commercial Suicide, only part of the way.
The issue utilizes a significant amount of past art, which is
appropriate for the spotlight on a DJ-like god.
The reworks are nice and fresh enough to not seem stale or
overused. Assisting in this effort are
the phenomenal colors by Matt Wilson. It’s bold and daring without being
overblown. And most importantly, it
works and works hard without seeming so.
There’s a consistency
to the chaos of color and might be Wilson’s strongest outing of his career, let alone the series. I didn’t even cover the revelations rife in this issue! Despite its vile protagonist and the remix of
art (something that could’ve
been bad, but wasn’t in
the least), WicDiv 15 is yet another stellar issue from this series.
BOOK OF THE WEEK (tough choice)
1602 Witch Hunter Angela #7
Writer: Marguerite Bennett w/ Kieron
Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans w/ Frazier
Irving
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Marvel
Pursuing the last of the Faustians and
wary of the Enchantress’s
curse, Angela and Sera arrive at a monastery to deal with a particularly
Rogue-ish individual. Bennett, coming
hot off the heels of the recent Guardian’s cameo, wisely dials the story back to focus on Angela,
Sera, and their latest prey. The plot
runs more emotional than action-oriented, which suits it remarkably. The dialogue is damned clever, easing past
the fourth-wall without shattering the narrative and dropping
period-appropriate references. These
references also tie-in to Bennett and Gillen’s side story, one whose twist and device I’ll admit to not have seen
coming. It’s a truly excellent little trick and one that had me
laughing when I finally caught up with it.
On the art side, Hans continues
to impress, ably using varying light and color to establish a mood. In contrast and compliment, Frazier Irving
steps-in on the side-story for a more darkened, hued tale. The two styles work wonderfully with each
other and might be the best pairing of the series yet. The closing pages are some of the most
well-executed on all sides and the final page left me with a big smile on my
face. This is good book, one that exists
beyond the bounds of normal superhero fare.
So what did you pick up this week? Agree
or disagree with anything said here? Let us know in the comments.
Labels: 1602 Witch Hunter Angela, A-Force, Avatar Press, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Mercury Heat, Ms. Marvel, Phonogram: the Immaterial Girl, Siege, the Wicked + the Divine
