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-Island #4
Writer: Christos Gage (Tom DeFalco
& Ron Frenz)
Artist: Paco Diaz (Ron Frenz w/Sal
Buscema)
Color Artist: Frank D’Armata (Andrew Crossley)
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Marvel
Flash Thompson and the Monster Avengers
launch their final, desperate strike on the Queen. Christos Gage plots the issue masterfully,
drawing on a wealth of Spider-lore while providing fun new twists on old
beats. Some might find the issue a bit
to talky, but the action feels all the more amped because of it. Diaz pencils this action well with all of his
characters feeling weighty and suitably striking. His depiction of Stegron’s distraction is one of the
highlights of the issue if not the series.
Meanwhile, in the back-up, May Parker has to contend with an entire team
of mind-controlled Avengers. It’s a fun, well-paced story and
one that fans of the character are sure to enjoy. Spider-Island has been a fun spin on the
original event, one that hasn’t
really gone where it was expected, which is a decided nice turn of events.
All-New Hawkeye #5
Writers: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Ramon Perez
Colors: Ian Herring
Lettering: VC’s Joe Sabino
Marvel
The weight of Clint Barton’s decisions comes to bear both
in the present and past in All-New Hawkeye’s final issue. Lemire
once again manages to sync up both strands exceedingly well, with the narration
showing this facet while young Clint deals with the decision to confront both
the Swordsman and his brother Barney. In
the present, he and Kate Bishop are at odds over what to do with the powerful
and uncanny children they rescued earlier in the run. Lemire’s dialogue makes the confrontation dynamic and emotional,
while Perez’s pencils sell
it wonderfully. Perez’s work continues to be
astonishing owing to the separate distinct styles he uses for each
timeframe. In the closing moments of the
issue, when it flashes forward to set up for the relaunch, the art appears to
be an amalgamation of the two previous styles which is a very neat effect. While its time was woefully limited, it is
good to see that the story will continue even after Secret Wars.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Rat Queens #12
Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe
Artist: Tess Fowler
Colors: Tamra Bonvillain
Letters: Ed Brisson
Image
Things get pretty dark as Betty deals
with a smidgen assassin and Hannah confronts the demons of her past. Wiebe manages to pour a lot of backstory into
the issue without making it seem too expository, thanks in large part to the
emotional dialogue, or lack there of in the case of Dee. Fowler has a lot to play with this week, from
extra-planar travel to demonic hellspawn, but it’s her expressions and comedic timing that are arguably the
best parts of the issue. Bonvillain and
Brisson do a fantastic job display the beauty of Dee’s home, as well as providing a claustrophobic feel to the
snowstorm later in the issue. While the
main plot of the arc has been set aside for this issue, the backstory and
emotional revelations are more than enough to sate the reader. Rat Queens continues to lead the foray in
ass-kicking and excellence.
So what did you pick up this week?
Agree or disagree with anything said here? Let us know in the comments.
Labels: Hawkeye, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Rat Queens, Spider Island
