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Recent Reviews: July 20 Releases
So today I’m back from a lovely wedding for some friends in Maine, followed by an excruciating 23-hour ordeal of trying to get the hell home despite US Airways’ best efforts to prevent that from happening. Unfortunately, I was a bit tired today and didn’t get to knock out the last few reviews for the July 20 releases. But here are the comics I reviewed over at CX Pulp before I left for Maine.
Richie Rich: Rich Rescue #2
July 17, 2011
Title: The Pursuit of Pesos and other stories
Writers: Buddy Scalera, Tom DeFalco, Matt Anderson, Patrick Rills
Art: Marcelo Ferreira, Armando Zanker, Amy Mebberson, James Silvani
Colorist: Dustin Evans, Jake Myler, Amy Mebberson
Letterer: David Hedgecock
Cover: Jack Lawrence
Editor: Matt Anderson
Publisher: Ape Entertainment/KiZoic
Rich Rescue’s latest gig sends them to the depths of the jungle, hired by a museum to find a legendary diamond. The gem turns out to be magic, the team gets hurled back in time, and soon Richie and company find themselves being chased by dinosaurs. The fun starts here, folks! It’s not a bad little story, but it’s a bit unfocused. There isn’t even anything there to tell us where it takes place – they unearth a pretty generic old temple and go back to face a bunch of generic old cavemen. The adventure sequences work well. It seems like Buddy Scalera and Marcelo Ferreira are doing their best to conjure up some classic adventure tales, the likes of which we got from Carl Barks back in the day, and that’s all to the good. They just need a little work.
The back-up features are of varying quality. The first one, where Reggie “wins” the use of Irona for 24 hours, is really very funny, and a nice way to give Richie’s arrogant cousin a little comeuppance. On the other hand, Cadbury steps up next for a terribly trite story where a bunch of terrorists invade a concert screaming gibberish about the band’s “pro-environment” agenda. The villains of the piece are soulless cutouts, almost lacking even in a second dimension, let alone a third, and while you don’t expect a story of this nature to be Shakespeare, there could be at least a little thought put into giving them a motivation that has at least some form of internal logic. The funniest part is when Cadbury throws out the line “I will take formal over cliché any day.” Congratulations, Cadbury, you’re both.
I like this title, and I’m glad that Richie Rich and company are back. But there’s definitely room for improvement.
Rating: 7/10
Daredevil (1998 Series) #98
May 26, 2007
Quick Rating: Good
Title: To the Devil, His Due Part Four
Rating: T+
With his wife held captive, Daredevil faces the Gladiator.
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Warren Simons
Cover Art: Marko Djurdjevic
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Daredevil is stuck in the back of a police car. His former friend, Gladiator, has reverted to his criminal ways and kidnapped Matt’s wife Milla. And a mysterious voice is taunting the Man Without Fear.
This is a very action-heavy issue, from Matt’s dramatic escape to a good fight scene with Gladiator. We also delve into the obvious question – why someone who had long renounced his criminal ways would suddenly revert to them and launch an attack on a friend. We don’t get an answer outright here, but it seems clear that Gladiator is another pawn in the game of whoever is manipulating Matt’s life this time. (It happens to him a lot, you know.)
Lark and Gaudiano’s art is okay, although this issue does make it clear that their styles don’t work quite as well on traditional superhero action as on a more crime-based, street-level comic. Not to say that the art is bad, but the fight with Gladiator isn’t quite as dynamic as one would have hoped. Djurdjevic’s cover, of course, is as dynamic as ever.
Not a bad issue, and I’m still enjoying this sort of return to a more “classic” Daredevil story, although we’ve still got a dash of conspiracy theory in here for those of you who were pulled in by that sort of thing.
Rating: 7/10
Firestorm (2004 Series) #1
May 4, 2004
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Eye Contact
Jason Rusch just wants to keep his job, save some money and go to college. Fate has other plans…
Writer: Dan Jolley
Pencils: Chriscross
Inks: John Dell
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Phil Balsman
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Chriscross & Chris Sotomayor
Publisher: DC Comics
It’s interesting, but with almost any superhero comic book that has premiered in the last several years, be it a new character or a revival of an old character, you can follow a strict pattern in the first issue: Introduce the main character, show snippets of his/her life, throw them in danger and, in the last sequence, either give him his powers or have them manifest for the first time. Pesky things like origin stories can wait until later.
Now don’t get me wrong, just because Dan Jolley follows this pattern to the letter doesn’t mean he doesn’t serve up an entertaining read. Jason Rusch, heir apparent to the Firestorm mantle, is a guy I think most comic readers can relate to – just trying to make ends meet and get to college, keep up with his friends who score autographs of celebrities while he’s stuck at home, and dealing with his father. His plans get derailed when some bruises on his face cause him to miss his job as a waiter, cutting into his savings. He turns to a less-than-desirable element for some help and gets in over his head.
Jolley even manages to work in some surprises in this issue. We meet one character and, within a few panels, are convinced he’s responsible for Jason’s fate, only to have the whole thing turn around on us. By the end of the book you don’t know how (exactly) or why Jason is suddenly sporting Ronnie Raymond’s powers and costume, but you do know you like this kid, you feel for this kid, and you want him to come out okay.
The former Captain Marvel art team of Chriscross and Sotomayor reunite, joined by inker John Dell, and they put out an great-looking comic book. Chriscross draws strong, dynamic characters and does a great high-speed sequence near the end, and Soto contributes with everything from flashy speed effects and bright fire effects to small but appreciated touches like varying the skin tones of the characters to help give them each their own identity.
A lot of people are upset that DC is going ahead with a Firestorm series without the same guy in the driver’s seat we’ve known all along. I can’t argue with them, I was a fan of Ronnie myself. But this new kid seems to have the same sort of feel and same heart that made me a fan of the character in the first place, and it is certainly worth sticking around on this book to see where it goes.
Rating: 8/10
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