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. (Gave up on
last week’s new
order, since we’re
dealing with Last Days as well, so, y’know, who cares). Disclaimer:
he knows very little about art, at least not enough to considerably honor such
tremendous undertakings, so…yeh,
there’s that.
Marvel Zombies #4
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Kev Walker
Color Artist: Guru-eFX
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Marvel
Elsa Bloodstone showdown with her
zombie dad comes to its final moments as Mystique and her zombified horde hunts
them both. Spurrier pens a conclusion
that’s both incredibly
climatic and rife with black humor. Most
of the latter comes from Mystique and the zombies’ struggle with their intelligence as their hunger
returns. While some of the emotional
beats are a bit trite, the action and other drama more than makes up for
it. On art, Kev Walker is at his best,
doling out fantastic choreography and explosions in equal measure. His choice of panel structure and viewpoint
enhance and transform every scene, aided by some great color choices by
Guru-eFX. Marvel Zombies has been a
stellar tale from start to finish and one that is definitely worth a trade
purchase.
A-Force #5
Writers: Marguerite Bennett & G.
Willow Wilson
Artist: Jorge Molina
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Marvel
As per usual with this series, the
cover tells you all you need to know: A-Force vs. zombies. And that’s pretty much it. It’s really just one big battle
and a little bit of clean-up (both literal and figurative) after. In its defense, it’s a very nice battle.
Bennett and Wilson’s
script provides some very nice moments for all of the main characters and some
nice cameos from others. Molina’s panels are so jam-packed with
action and its a joy just to go through each one to see all the characters
contained within. Some of the dialogue
is a bit much in terms of believability and character, but it definitely gives
off the feel of a fun time, rather than the end of a world, which I’m guessing is what the writers
were going for. A-Force has been a fun
diversion amongst all the Battleworld books.
Let’s hope the
ongoing series is even better.
New Avengers #1
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Gerardo Sandoval
Color Artist: Dono Sanchez Almara
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Marvel
This book is crazy. Like last arc of Ewing’s Captain America and the Mighty Avengers crazy. So Roberto Da Costa, aka Sunspot and a
multi-billionaire, bought the villainous organization A.I.M. (Advanced Idea
Mechanics) and converted it into Avengers Idea Mechanics. He’s
created a field team to respond to international threats. Headed by Songbird, of Thunderbolts fame, the
team consists of Hulkling and Wiccan (of Young Avengers fame), White Tiger and
Power Man (of Ewing’s
Might Avengers fame), and Squirrel Girl (of…Squirrel Girl fame).
Also, Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton, is on the team as the not-so secret
SHIELD implant to monitor Sunspot as he’s
basically employed a former terrorist group.
Also in this issue, the team fight a bunch of zombies with floating
crystals for heads. So yeah, crazy. Ewing, per usual, embraces the crazy and
makes it pretty fun, thanks in most part to the ever hilarious Squirrel Girl
and the deadpan of White Tiger. Sandoval’s art furthers this quality,
with somewhat exaggerated features that give the book a welcome cartoonish
feel. Almara’s colors skew to darker hues with makes for a more dramatic
presentation that nicely compliments the art.
With a stellar first issue, New Avengers looks to be a series you’ll be sad to miss.
Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #3
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Image
Trapped in the chaotic, killer world of
music videos, Emily finds a way out through her own pact, but in order to
escape, she’s going to
have to get past her past self, both of them.
Despite the multi-layered events contained within, Gillen keeps the book
tidy with explanations that don’t
detract from the narrative. Emily nee
Claire’s deal with the
King Behind the Screen has been a bit ambiguous for the past two issues, and
this time around we get to see a bit more of what that entailed beyond “half of yourself.”
Her pact, manifesting in the physical world as her grimoire,
serves as the focal point of her escape in a sequence fantastically rendered by
McKelvie, with shades of his work on Young Avengers coming to the fore. As much maligned as they are in the current
comics climate, I could read an entire issue of nothing but two people having a
conversation, so impeccable are his expressions. Phonogram has always been something special
even from its onset, but this series is starting to prove that its creators are
on top of their game.
The Wicked + The Divine #15
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artists: Stephanie Hans (Jamie
McKelvie)
Colorist: (Matthew Wilson)
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Image
This issue, we get a bit of a glimpse
of Amaterasu in the wake of Tara’s
death/murder. More importantly, we get a
full issue of Stephanie Hans on art.
Putting the cart back behind the horse, Gillen wisely doesn’t reveal much about Ammy’s past, instead giving us some
mostly silent snapshots that leave us with more of a feeling for the character
rather than a concrete evaluation.
Instead, the book is more concerned with her reactions and actions
surrounding the news about Tara and the pantheon’s reaction to it. The
confrontation between Urdr and Ammy feels deserved, both thematically and in
terms of the characters. And it’s wonderfully portrayed by
Hans. Every panel is a masterpiece and
looks amazing. There’s a splash page in the first
few pages that is tragically beautiful as is the last one. There isn’t really much else to say about Hans that hasn’t been said previously, suffice
to say that her inclusion on this issue was a treat and Commercial Suicide is
all the more stronger for it.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Ms. Marvel #19
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Art: Adrian Alphona
Color Art: Ian Herring
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Marvel
This is how the world ends. Not with a bang. But with a stellar set of emotional
conclusions. As the Marvel Universe comes to a close (yep
that’s still happening),
Kamala Khan spends her last moments with family and friends. There’s
a lovely bit of poignancy to this issue and it’s one of those stories that, though you’re sad it’s ending, it ends as sweetly as
possibly. All of the conversations and
interactions here are wonderful. In
particular, the conversation with Kamala and Bruno, her best friend/unrequited
love interest) is a beautiful piece of art that shows just what kind of a
person Ms. Marvel is and what that means.
While he doesn’t
have much zany action to work with here, Alphona’s pencils are impressive, displaying a range of emotions
more that superb for the script. Herring’s colors are another stand out
and the effects as reality is sundered in the sky are beautifully tragic. Ms. Marvel has been Grade A+ comics from the
onset so it’s only
suitable that season one should end just the same.
So what did you pick up this week?
Agree or disagree with anything said here? Let us know in the comments.
Labels: A-Force, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Marvel Zombies, Ms. Marvel, New Avengers, Phonogram: the Immaterial Girl, the Wicked + the Divine
