The Incredibles: Family Matters #3

July 10, 2009

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Family Matters Part Three

Powerless, Mr. Incredible watches his family go into battle without him!

Writer: Mark Waid
Art: Marcio Takara
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters: Jose Macasocol, Jr.
Editor: Paul Morrissey
Cover Art: Marcio Takara
Publisher: Boom! Kids

A monster attack at the mall sends Helen, Violet, and Dash into action, while a powerless Bob sits and home with the baby. As he watches his family fight on television, Bob stumbles on a clue that just may unlock the problem of his power loss.

The hook here is really fantastic. Mark Waid has put together a story that really suits these characters, and the subplot collides with the main story perfectly here. Everything that’s been bubbling up, including the use of the new characters, comes together. It’s hard to say too much without spoiling it, but things work just as they should here.

Getting away from the plot, Waid also has to be commended for the emotional punch we get from this issue. A big part of the story consists of Bob sitting at home, tortured over how he’s lost his powers. Again, though, he throws us the curveball. Most superhero stories would feature the powerless hero worrying about his family, in battle without him. Bob doesn’t go down that route, though. Instead, he watches and roots for them, which isn’t something I can ever remember seeing in a comic before. Sure, he wishes he was there, and he tries to contact the family with advise, but you don’t get the feeling that he doesn’t trust them. He’s got faith in his family. He just wants to be with them. It’s such a great take on the character, and it really makes the series.

Marcio Takara’s art is, also, very good. Waid writes some good, emotional moments, but Takara is the one who has to sell them through the poses, the posture, the faces, the mood. He nails it on every panel. You can look at Mr. Incredible and tell exactly how he feels in any given panel. There aren’t nearly enough artists working right now who have that kind of skill.

One issue left, I’m loving this book.

Rating: 9/10

The Incredibles: Family Matters #2

July 10, 2009

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Family Matters Part 2

Mr. Incredible’s powers continue to fade.

Writer: Mark Waid
Art: Marcio Takara
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters: Jose Macasocol, Jr.
Editor: Paul Morrissey
Cover Art: Marcio Takara
Publisher: Boom! Kids

Last issue Mr. Incredible came to the harsh realization that his powers were fading. This issue, as he and Frozone try to get to the bottom of his power loss, he begins hiding his new secret from his family. Meanwhile, the whole Parr family is growing closer to their new next door neighbors – and nobody moreso than their daughter, Violet.

The wonderful sense of fun that Mark Waid created with the first issue continues this month. Although Bob’s efforts to hide his secret are a little evocative of the plot of the movie, there are enough new twists to make this story feel very fresh. Waid has added some new characters and toys to the Incredibles universe that all work well, fitting and expanding on the existing mythology very nicely.

The trick with these characters really is to find a new kind of story to tell with them that doesn’t come across as derivative of the movie or the thousands of superheroes that inspired the Incredibles in the first place. Sure, we’ve seen the superhero losing his powers before. Sure, we’ve seen the superhero keeping secrets from his family. But the chemistry here, the combining of those elements with these characters, makes it seem like something totally new. Plus, the subplot with the neighbors continues to tug at you, making you wonder just what’s up with them. Maybe it’s just paranoia from years of reading comics, but it’s almost impossible to believe there isn’t more to them than meets the eye.

Takara’s artwork is fantastic. He’s got a look that works perfectly with the animated model, and Andrew Dalhouse’s colors compliment the line art very well. It’s a wonderful package and adds to a very entertaining line of comics.

Rating: 8/10

Life With Archie: The Married Life #3

November 2, 2010

Title: Dear Dilton & Saturday

Writer: Paul Kupperberg
Pencils: Norm Breyfogle
Inks: Josef Rubinstein & Andrew Pepoy
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Jack Morelli & Janice Chiang
Cover: Norm Breyfogle
Editor: Victor Gorelick
Publisher: Archie Comics

Two more tales of Archie’s possible life are rolled out this issue, and once again, I’m finding myself really impressed with the direction of this series. First up is “Dear Dilton…” the Archie Loves Veronica tale, in which Archie composes a letter to his absent friend to try to help himself make sense of the lunacy that’s going on all around him. Midge and Jughead desperately search for ways to prevent Mr. Lodge from taking over Pop Tate’s, Moose gets help in his run for mayor from the most unexpected of sources, and rumors about Veronica and Reggie begin to sprinkle throughout Riverdale.

Although I am, at heart, a Team Betty man, I have to admit the Veronica storyline in this magazine has been the more compelling of the two, if only marginally. The dirty tricks Lodge is stooping to are making him much more villainous than he’s ever been in the regular Archie comics, and I’m frankly stunned that this magazine is even flirting with an infidelity storyline. Granted, nothing is happening between Reggie and Veronica, but the implication is being made by other characters. It reminds me of the scene in The Incredibles where Helen finds a hair on Bob’s old uniform. Even though the viewer (and in this case, reader) knows full well that she’s wrong in her assumption, we were still rather shocked that they’d even bring the subject up in a “kids’ movie.”

The Betty half of this book, “Saturday,” doesn’t have any moments as shocking as Veronica’s side, but it’s very well written in its own right. Archie and Ambrose have decided to work better to keep pursuing their dreams in New York while Mr. Lodge, once again, starts making plans to tear Betty and Archie’s marriage apart. Reggie, meanwhile, finds himself lamenting the dismal track of his own life, and Mr. Weatherbee and Miss Grundy continue to prepare for their own nuptials, while keeping the secret of Geraldine’s illness between the two of them.

Here’s the strangest comparison I’ll ever make to an Archie comic. Reading this magazine reminds me of Stephen King’s two novels: Desperation and The Regulators, the second of which was published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Those two novels featured parallel versions of the same core characters, some  of whom were very different, and when I read the books back-to-back I invariably compared them to one another. I find myself doing the same thing with these two stories. The good news is that this makes the reading experience more fun somehow. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes next.

Rating: 8/10

The Incredibles: Family Matters #1

March 28, 2009

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Family Matters Part One

The Incredibles return – but how can a superhero family have a normal life?

Writer: Mark Waid
Pencils: Marcio Takari
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters: Jose Macasocal, Jr.
Editor: Paul Morrisey
Cover Art: Michael Avon Oeming & Nick Filardi (Covers A-D); Mike Mignola (Cover E)
Publisher: Boom! Kids

When The Incredibles hit a few years ago, it immediately became one of my favorite movies, and I’ve long wondered why Pixar never pursued a comic book series with the characters. Now, it’s clearly been worth the wait.

Picking up not long after the movie ends, the Incredibles have moved again and are trying to fit in with their ordinary suburban neighborhood. As they try to make friends with the neighbors, they’re experimenting with a double life again for the first time in years, opening up with a great throwdown with the mighty Futurion in the Metroville Zoo. As Mr. Incredible follows up on the battle, he makes a pretty disturbing declaration to Frozone.

Mark Waid really is the perfect person to chronicle these superheroes. The dynamic is similar to his legendary run on Fantastic Four, but it’s still unique to this family. The Parrs are not the same as the Richards, and they don’t feel the same – but they do feel like they complement each other well.

Marcio Takari’s artwork is really good as well. The characters are all on-model with the movie, and the color job by Andrew Dalhouse maintains a bit of the computerized look without making the book look as if it was totally CGI (which, in my experience, never really works for comic books).

The book ends on a dandy cliffhanger that really gets me excited to read issue #2. Boom! has really struck gold with their Disney deal – the first two books (this and The Muppet Show) are both fantastic, and I’ve got high hopes for the future.

Rating: 8/10