Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #2

October 2, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Rating: A

Iron Man faces the Mandarin in their first battle!

Writer: Joe Casey
Pencils: Eric Canete
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Eric Canete
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Joe Casey’s career path seems to have lead him to a comfortable niche in the past, telling stories of the early years of various Marvel characters, and Enter: The Mandarin is proving to be a quite worthy addition to that line-up. This issue, Iron Man meets his arch-foe, the Mandarin, for the first time, and the battle doesn’t necessarily go the Golden Avenger’s way.

The story isn’t bad (although, like I mentioned last month, I still question the real need for a Mandarin miniseries), but for me, the artwork is the real selling point. I really like Canete’s work – beautiful, fluid and full of energy. He has a distinct retro feel, but whenever he brings in modern elements like Tony’s high-tech lab, or even the series of e-mails he trades with Pepper Potts, it doesn’t feel out of place.

While it’s unlikely that anyone but serious Iron Man fans (if there are any left) will pick up this miniseries, it’s a fun little book that’s worth looking at for anyone who enjoys a book with a nice Silver Age/early Bronze Age feel to it, and particularly satisfying for those of us unhappy with the way Tony’s being portrayed in the modern comics these days.

Rating: 7/10

Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #1

September 3, 2007

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Enter the Mandarin
Rating: A

Iron Man’s first battle with the Mandarin revisited!

Writer: Joe Casey
Art: Eric Canete
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Eric Canete
Publisher: Marvel Comics

After having carved a little niche for himself re-telling early tales of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, Joe Casey now turns to a recreation of Iron Man’s original confrontation with the Mandarin. The story begins with SHIELD contacting Iron Man to investigate the rumors of a Chinese Warlord with a series of magic rings. Iron Man accepts the assignment and winds up coming fact-to-face with the warlord, the man who will become one of his greatest enemies.

I’m of two minds about this series. On the one hand, it feels somewhat superfluous. There isn’t anyone out there clamoring for a re-telling of the Mandarin’s origin, and as the character himself isn’t really having much of an impact on the current Marvel Universe, I can’t quite fathom why this series got the green light to begin with. It feels, simply, unnecessary.

That said, it’s at least kinda fun. The modern interpretation of Iron Man has gotten so bogged down in politics and science fiction and poor characterization, it’s impossible to enjoy anymore. This, at least, is a good old-fashioned superhero romp. Much of the credit for that goes to Eric Canete’s artwork – he’s got a legitimately retro feel. His characters are much more loose and animated than a current Iron Man, and the battle has an energy that most modern comics lack. Even the cover, a Rocketeer homage if ever I’ve seen one, is very nice.

The story is a little lacking, but the art is good and the energy is there. This isn’t a book that’s going to have anyone bouncing off the walls in excitement, but I’ll definitely be looking for more work from Canete.

Rating: 7/10

Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories TPB

October 11, 2010

Writer: Zach Whedon
Art: Eric Canete, Farel Dalrymple, Jim Rugg, Joelle Jones & Scott Hepburn
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Cover: Kristian Donaldson
Editor: Sierra Hahn
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Spinning out of the online sensation, Dark Horse Comics presents this collection of short stories based on the world of Dr. Horrible, his friends and enemies. We start with a Captain Hammer story (beautifully illustrated by Eric Canete) that features a confrontation between the smug superhero and our favorite villain. Farel Dalrymple illustrates the origin story for Billy’s buddy, the Moist, and it’s a tale about as sad as you’d expect it to be. Jim Rugg, who you may remember for his depiction of actress Felicia Day in the comic based on her series The Guild, tackles her again in Penny’s “origin” story in this book. Scott Hepburn gives us an untold tale of the Evil League of Evil, and finally, Joelle Jones gives us the origin of Dr. Horrible himself.

As many of these stories are seeing print for the first time (having appeared before online), most of this material was brand-new to me, and it was all very entertaining. Having Whedon (one of the co-writers of the show) steering this book no doubt helped considerably when it comes to keeping the characters true to themselves and the stories engaging. The book works very well to flesh out the world that the movie established, and the differing artists were matched to the characters they depicted very well.

Fans of the film will dearly love these stories that help fill out that universe. And if you’ve never seen Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog… well, first of all, what’s up with that? And second, this book will still give you some interesting insight into a world where heroes and villains are never what they appear to be.

Rating: 8/10