Archive
Recent Reviews: July 6 Releases
Last week was busy for me, so I didn’t turn out as many reviews as I often do. I still managed to crank out a few CXPulp reviews, though. Here’s what I reviewed that came out last Wednesday…
Sigil (2011 Series) #3
June 23, 2011
Writer: Mike Carey
Pencils: Leonard Kirk, Patrick Olliffe
Inks: Ed Tadeo, Pat Davidson
Colorist: Guru EFX
Letterer: Rob Steen
Cover: Jelena Djurdjevic
Editor: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics/CrossGen
Captain October, the evil Sigil-Bearer, has captured Samantha Rey and the crew of the pirate ship El Cazador. Sam’s efforts to master her own Sigil and her time-traveler’s knowledge of the future may be all that helps her crew escape and beat October to the mysterious treasure of Blackjack Tom.
This book has gotten better as it progresses. Sam is coming into her own as a character, and the things we learn about her world are intriguing. This is one of the things that always disappointed me about the demise of the original CrossGen comics – we never got to learn the grand scheme behind the sigils, how they worked, why they were given to different characters across the cosmos, and so forth. I don’t know how much, if any, of that original concept has survived in the new Marvel-CrossGen comics, but at the very least, it seems Mike Carey is going to avoid the danger of another dangling mystery by revealing at least some of it early. That’s highly appreciated.
Leonard Kirk and Patrick Olliffe, both of whom have done great work with young, female heroes in the past, trade off halves of this book. The transition is pretty seamless – you can’t tell where one artist ends and the next begins, although it may help that Pat Davidson’s inks begin a few pages before Olliffe takes over the pencils.
I’m looking forward to the conclusion. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this book at first, but it’s grown on me quite a bit.
Rating: 8/10
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (2007 Series) #4
January 22, 2008
Quick Rating: Fair
Sheena prepares to make her stand
Writers: Steven E. DeSouza & Robert Rodi
Line Art: Matt Merhoff
Colors: Bob Pedroza & Wes Dzioba
Letters: Brian J. Crowley & Crank!
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan & Stephen Cristy
Cover Art: Joe Linsner (Cover A); Frazer Irving (Cover B); Tim Seeley (Covers C & D)
Publisher: Devil’s Due Publishing
Laura Jeffries and the rest of Caldwell Industries continue their pursuit of Sheena and Bob Kellerman this issue. We get a little more backstory on Jeffries and the company, and Sheena prepares for a last stand.
While there isn’t really anything bad about this book, it doesn’t feel particularly original. Sheena and the environmentalist are good. The big, mean corporation is bad. Sheena asks nature for help. She communes with the Earth. Which the company is apparently out to destroy. Repeat. Yeah, this is an old character (she was co-created by Will Eisner, after all), but the way to give an old character new life is to make it somehow fresh and unique. This is essentially the same plot we’ve seen played out in a dozen movies, TV shows and comic books. It’s executed well, but it still feels like it’s going through the motions.
The artwork is considerably better. Merhoff, Pedroza and Dzioba do a very good job on Sheena herself and the myriad jungle scenes, plus a nice reveal inside the office building. Merhoff has a nice talent for emotion as well, shifting scenes from comedic to serious and vice versa based on the expressions on a character’s face. It’s a talent that not enough comic book artists have.
This is an okay book. It’s just not really a refreshing one.
Rating: 6/10
Irredeemable #7
October 11, 2009
Irredeemable #7 (Boom! Studios)
By Mark Waid, Peter Krause & Dan Panosian
The Plutonian has Charybdis in his clutches, and the hero doesn’t seem to have much hope — until he begins picking the madman’s brain, reminding him of a case they once shared together. The remaining heroes find even more shocks at Tony’s base, and we see one of the biggest events that helped shoved the Plutonian past the breaking point. I’m really quite impressed that, with a title that’s been so heavy on backstory since day one, Mark Waid is still managing to pack each issue with real surprises, real jolts to the system that shed light on things and surprise the reader at the same time. The reveal about Charybdis and his brother this issue is a nice little shocker, but it fits in perfectly with this title’s overall tone of deception. Peter Krause continues to prove himself here, with strong characters, highly expressive faces, and energetic layouts. He’s one of the most underrated artists working. As I’ve come to expect, this issue succeeds on just about every level.
Rating: 8/10
The Back Issue Bin 