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 #5
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Nahuel Lopez
Color: Digikore Studios
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
Avatar Press
More action, more violence, and more
awesome. Luiza Bora has gotten to the
heart of the plot to destroy the endeavor on Mercury. Now, all that’s left is to catch the bad guys and save the world. Oh, and survive. Surviving would be nice. Gille doles out high action and funny moments
in equal measure. Gone are the usual
flashbacks that accompany each issue; appropriate as we’re at the climax of the story. Lopez puts on an even better showing than
last outing with some deft choreography and expressive posturing. While the hyper violence and themes aren’t for everyone, if you want
some gritty, action-oriented sci-fi, you can’t do much better than Mercury Heat.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1
Words: Ryan North
Art: Erica Henderson
Color Art: Rico Renzi
Lettering: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Marvel
So, it’s seeming like nothing too drastic has changed after Secret
Wars, which could mean several things depending on your point of view. However, it only means good things for
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (again), which pretty much picks up where the last
series left off. Sure, there’s the added quality of her
being a New Avenger now, but the riotous hilarity remain the same. North is back in classic fashion, utilizing
Doreen’s trading cards and
under-page narration to incredible effect as both gags land every time. Henderson and Renzi’s art is as vibrant and expressive as ever. With a second #1 issue in the same year,
Squirrel Girl is more of the excellent same with splashes of newness.
Angela: Queen of Hel #1
Writer: Marguerite Bennett
Artists: Kim Jacinto w/ Stephanie
Hans
Color Artist: Israel Silva
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Marvel
Angela’s back and with a new sobriquet and a new mission, one that’s apparently already been
completed. In the previous volume before
Secret Wars, Angela found out that her greatest friend and confidante, the
errant anchorite Sera, had been trapped in the depths of Hel, and Angela vowed
to storm the foul pit in order to rescue her.
Bennett, flying completely solo on the title now, does a bit of jumping
around plotwise, showing us the present with Angela as queen before flashing
back to Angela’s assault
on Hel. This is further interrupted by
an assailant’s mental
attack that forces Angela to reminisce about one of her earlier adventures with
Sera. While this second flashback is
arguably the strongest point of the issue—both from a scripting viewpoint and thanks to Hans on art—one has to wonder if it won’t slow down the overall
plot. This aside, Bennett shows off her command
of the characters gained from the Witch Hunter outing, with Sera’s narration and Angela’s terse dialogue a welcome
return. Jacinto and Silva’s art on the main story serves
the action and posing rather well.
However, there are a few instances of what seems like same-imaging which
is a bit worrying in terms of quality going forward. However, as stated previously, Hans is
working the substory flashback and working wonders there. Angela’s previous two solo outings were of incredible quality and
one has to hope that this trend continues into its third.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
New Avengers #2
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Gerardo Sandoval
Color Artist: Dono Sanchez Almara
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Marvel
Things move quickly in this week’s New Avengers as the field
team deals with the crystal-headed zombies of Life Minus, the first of the maniacal
machinations of the Maker (evil Reed Richards…who apparently also exists in this universe now). Remember last month when I said New Avengers
was crazy? Fact still remains and is
further manifested in the twisted monologue of the Maker as he horrifically
creates another member of WHISPER (his evil organization). Ewing manages do ease the reader into the
high concept sci-fi thanks to his command of dialogue and a welcome Star
Trek-esque explanation. He also excels
at the team dynamics of the book, giving each character their own shining
moment. While the issue can feel a bit
talky at times, this doesn’t
diminish the drama and the action sequences are stand-out, thanks to the
dynamic pencils of Sandoval. Sandoval
and Almara also show they can handle the darker, creepier moments, as evidenced
by the Maker’s meeting
with a particularly eldritch entity. New
Avengers is jam-packed and fast-paced, which is great for a opening salvo, but
it’ll be interesting to
see how the team (both creative and fictional) handles the quieter moments that
follow.
So what did you pick up this week?
Agree or disagree
with anything said here? Let us know in the comments.
Labels: Angela: Queen of Hel, Avatar Press, Marvel Comics, Mercury Heat, New Avengers, the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
