Tron #2

December 9, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good

Back in the computer world, Jet finds himself in the heat of battle!

Writers: Landry Walker & Eric Jones
Art: Louie DeMartinis
Letters: Eleanor Lawson
Editor: Dan Vado
Cover Art: Louie DeMartinis
Publisher: Slave Labor Graphics

Framed for the murder of his father, Jet Bradley dives back into the digital world to escape the police. When he gets there, though, his memories are scrambled, and he finds himself again part of the war between the increasingly-insidious Master Control Program and the free programs of cyberspace.

The gap between issues of this title has really been damaging to it, but I do recall enough of issue one to know that I liked issue two better. Part of that is the art style. I think Louie DeMartinis has managed to refine his product since issue one, making it a bit cleaner and better. It also doesn’t hurt that very, very little of this issue takes place in the “real” world (one of the big problems with issue one was that there wasn’t enough of a distinction between the real world and the digital world), and DeMartinis’ style is far better suited for the digital realm.

The story is progressing nicely as well. It’s been over 20 years since the events of the original Tron movie, and the computer landscape has transformed dramatically. Walker and Jones have done a great job of addressing those changes while still keeping the flavor and excitement of the original movie. The end of this issue throws us a great curveball – I’m really not sure where its going, but I’m excited to find out.

This title has improved quite a bit from issue one. If it keeps going in this direction, it should be a solid title and another check mark in the “win” column for the Slave Labor/Disney collaboration. The only real question is how long we’ll have to wait for issue three.

Rating: 8/10

Ion #1

April 24, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Torch Bearer Part One

It’s a new universe for Kyle Rayner… what’s his place in it?

Writer: Ron Marz
Art: Greg Tocchini
Ink Assist: Jay Leisten
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editors: Eddie Berganza & Ivan Cohen
Cover Art: Ivan Reis & Marc Campos
Publisher: DC Comics

A year after the Crisis, Kyle Rayner is still struggling to find his new place in the universe. He has accepted what he was intended to be all along, and knows he now has a new role with the Green Lantern Corps – but somewhere in all that, Kyle Rayner himself got lost.

Let’s face it, Kyle’s luck has sucked since early in Judd Winick’s run on the previous Green Lantern series. He goes into space, his girlfriend leaves him, he’s replaced in the Justice League, and even though he’s instrumental in the resurrection of the Green Lantern Corps, he soon watches his third girlfriend since getting the ring killed – and this time, he gets her power to add to his own. He’s been through the wringer, and even though it’s a year later, it’s not far-fetched to believe that Kyle still doesn’t know who he’s supposed to be anymore.

Marz was a fine choice to guide Kyle Rayner once again – he created this incarnation of Green Lantern, after all, and turned him from a green rookie (pun intended) into a proud, capable hero. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but since Marz left him the first time, he’s been put through hell. Hopefully the point of this series will be to bring him back.

Marz’s characterization and setup is fine, but I’m afraid I have to take off points for Greg Toccini’s artwork. He has a definite style, but I don’t think it works for this story. It’s too scattershot, too disjointed – kind of like a less-refined Bill Sienkiwicz – and the issue suffers as a result.

This issue isn’t a knockout, but it’s a solid setup. The real question is going to be, of course, where it goes from here.

Rating: 7/10

Herc #3

June 3, 2011

Title: Fear Itself

Writer: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Breakdowns: Neil Edwards
Finishes: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover: Chris Stevens & Leonardo Olea
Editor: Mark Paniccia       
Publisher: Marvel Comics

When the Raft is blown open, Hercules comes to blows with some of the escapees that start tearing through Brooklyn. When the villains are targeted by an even more powerful force, though, Herc is forced to step up and defend even his foes in the face of a greater power. I’m so glad that Pak and Van Lente have managed to continue their association with this character, and this book shows exactly why. Their Hercules is far more than the braggart who has gotten himself and his comrades into hot water time and again with his mouth – although that Herc is still a part of him, to be sure. This Herc, though, is utterly powerless, but doesn’t hesitate to charge into battle against the likes of Man-Bull. Then when Man-Bull is the one who needs defending, Herc doesn’t hesitate to do that either. The story works for two purposes, both demonstrating Herc’s overwhelmingly heroic nature, but also setting him up for some mistrust on the part of the people he’s there to defend. The book doesn’t really have a lot to do with the overall Fear Itself crossover, save for using the escaping villains as the crux of the story, but it looks like next issue will have a deeper tie. This is another really good issue for a great creative team.

Rating: 8/10