There’s a lot to cover on Wednesdays. We should know, as collectively, we read an insane amount of comics. Even with a large review staff, it’s hard to get to everything. With that in mind, we’re back with Wrapping Wednesday, where we look at some of the books we missed in what was another great week of comics.
Let’s get this party started.
Fantastic Four: Life Story #1
Written by Mark Russell
Illustrated by Sean Izaakse
Colored by Nolan Woodard
Lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna
Reviewed by Alexander Jones
Marvel is back with a brand new Life Story mini-series featuring The Fantastic Four this time around! For anyone unfamiliar with the Life Story brand, the comics are alternate history storylines where characters age in real-time. Each chapter is set in a specific decade and recalls an overview of some of the changes to the continuity within the premise. Writer Mark Russell and artist Sean Izaakse are a great antidote to the “Spider-Man: Life Story” creative team of Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley. Russell and Izaakse capture a unique tone that almost references the prior series. Russell is slightly outside his usual wheelhouse with this story but the sobering nature of the writing still hits all the right notes here.
“Fantastic Four: Life Story” #1 is a period piece that is focused on Marvel’s First Family’s origin as well as the ‘60s time period. Russell is able to catch the authenticity by showing how flawed Marvel’s heroes are. The original “Fantastic Four” series from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby has elements of this origin tale but Russell and Izaakse are not afraid to dive deeper into the tragedy behind the origin. Ben Grimm’s story is still arguably the most emotionally charged plot point in this script. The historical elements and dialogue are also incredibly well-researched and fascinating. The mystical elements in the space sequences should also serve to keep readers coming back for more.
Izaakse’s style is gorgeous and fits this issue’s complicated aesthetic well. Izaakse’s art is not beholden to this decade and he blends a retro look with a more modern style. Izaakse’s best contribution to the issue is all the tension in his facial expressions. This issue is filled with talking heads darting intense stares at each other. Izaakse uses layouts and secondary actions to his benefit, allowing a wordy script to read more naturally. The way Izaakse and Russell tease future issues through cosmic, space-focused ruins should serve to excite readers. The early mini-series chapters are usually not filled with action and Izaakse’s attention to detail accommodates what could have been a weakness in the story.
Thanks to in-depth research and a powerful examination of an origin story gone wrong “Fantastic Four: Life Story” #1 is able to capture a stirring level of emotion. Izaakse’s depiction of historical figures is as solid as his representation of superheroes. Russell’s script is true to history and the emotional core of his heroes. “Fantastic Four: Life Story” #1 is a worthy successor to “Spider-Man: Life Story” and a great opening chapter to a fascinating new series.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – “Fantastic Four: Life Story” #1 naturally adds an additional layer of context to one the most popular superhero origins.
The Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters #1
Written by Al Ewing and Alex Paknadel
Illustrated by Juan Ferreyra
Colored by Kevin Nowland
Reviewed by Matthew Blair
I have never really been a fan of the Hulk. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like the Hulk or found him compelling as a hero, it’s just that most of the stories I’ve read about him tend to fall back on the same tropes and ideas.
That is not the case with “The Immortal Hulk Time of Monsters” #1. This is something new and something…dark.
The Hulk has always been a monster of the Atomic Age and science fiction, but “The Immortal Hulk Time of Monsters” #1 turns that idea on its head, rips it to shreds, and melts its skin off. Writer Al Ewing continues his quest to transform the Hulk from a tortured soul to a tortured and twisted body and combines his talents with co-writer Alex Paknadel to re-imagine the Hulk’s powers and abilities as someone from a pre scientific age would view him. It’s fascinating, creepy, legitimately terrifying, and awesome.
Continued belowTaking the Hulk into a more body horror direction requires a certain kind of artistic style and penciller Juan Ferreyra is more than up to the task in “Immortal Hulk Time of Monsters” #1. Ferreyra doesn’t shy away from the more terrifying aspects of the Hulk’s transformation and showing the twisting, warping, and melting required to turn a body into an inhuman monster is incredibly effective and almost nauseating. It’s great art for a great book.
“Immortal Hulk Time of Monsters” #1 is a gross, terrifying, and incredibly fascinating reimagining of the Hulk through a radically different lens that brings the character into a bold new era of horror.
Final Verdict: 9.9- This is not the Hulk you’re familiar with, this something darker, meaner, and much more violent and primal.
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr #2
Written by Ram V
Illustrated by Filipe Andrade
Colored by Inês Amaro and Filipe Andrade
Lettered by AndWorld Design
Reviewed by Quinn Tassin
If one thing is clear 2 issues into “The Many Deaths of Laila Starr,” it’s that Ram V is even better than the hype. This is an inventive comic to say the least, delivering a Gaiman-esque premise with a philosophical bent reminiscent of Fábio Moon and Gabriiel Bá’s “Daytripper.” Make no mistake, though; Ram V and Filipe Andrade take this story in a wholly original and visually stunning direction. While the first issue was more about the bonkers premise of this mini, issue 2 delves into some of the deeper moral questions that a god asks once they become mortal and the parallel intellectual experience that an 8 year old is going through. This situation is unique, though, because of the relatively significant fact that one day that 8 year old will do away with the concept of mortality.
The issue is simple in its structure and that simplicity goes a long way in the story landing as well as it does. The former goddess of death grapples with how different it is to consider mortality when you, yourself are mortal. An 8 year old boy deals with the death of someone he was close to for the first time. Their brief meeting features some profound talk of memory’s role in keeping someone alive. By just laying it all out there, Ram V sets this material up beautifully. A lesser writer may try to write more complex, heady statements but V knows that “It’s different” is enough. There’s a lot of poeticism to be found in grounded stories, especially ones that are as high concept as “The Many Deaths of Laila Starr.”
It’s Filipe Andrade’s art that brings “The Many Deaths of Laila Starr” #2 from great to sublime. He strikes a perfect balance between otherworldliness and familiarity, setting the tone of the book in a way that feels mature where others may go for something more quirky. Andrade has a way of communicating the smallness of people- in comparison to cities, landscapes, even to crowds- that really drives home an individual’s insignificance. It’s not daunting, though, it’s quite beautiful. There’s also a spirituality that he and coloring assistant Inês Amaro are able to evoke that’s difficult to articulate. The ceremony honoring Bardhan is almost overwhelmingly gorgeous. The way the flame illuminates the beach and the flowers float on the water is impossible not to get swept up in.
Final Verdict: 9.5- “The Many Deaths of Laila Starr” #2 is a triumphant, beautiful, simple, existential comic book that you won’t stop thinking about anytime soon.
Nightwing #80
Written by Tom Taylor
Illustrated by Bruno Redondo
Colored by Adriano Lucas
Lettered by Wes Abbot
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
Despite all the new in the Bat-books of ‘Infinite Frontier,’ the heart of “Nightwing,” and many of the other Gotham titles, are built upon the bedrock of the relationships between the Bat-family. “Nightwing” #80 continues to not just feature the Dick Grayson/Barbara Gordon pairing, but this week introduces Tim Drake into the mix, and does so seamlessly. Despite the plot of “Nightwing” getting more and more Blüdhaven focused, this issue continues to make connections between the characters that, despite their distance, in some ways have never seemed closer.
Continued belowBruno Redondo has proven over his first few issues that he is quite adept at drawing the fluidity and grace that Grayson brings to his superheroics, but this issue is the first time that Redondo has given an extended look at anyone other than Grayson in an action setting. Redondo’s Tim is not exactly stilted in his fighting style, but he is not as loose and limber as Dick is. When Dick and Tim fight together, this is on perfect display as Tim acts as a weapon himself, being swung around by Dick, and by his rigid stances when not actively fighting. Redondo does the small moments between the family really well, but it is the action that sets him apart this month.
This issue really sings from a plotting/dialogue perspective when Tom Taylor is leaning into the shared history of the Bat-family. From Tim delivering a gag gift to Bruce to the unspoken communication between Dick and Babs, Taylor not only knows these characters well, he knows how they know each other. Their interactions all come off as natural and, pardon the pun, familial. Everyone here is well aware of who the other is and what both makes them tick and drive them nuts. Reading this issue is like overhearing a group of old friends at dinner, with lots of good-natured ribbing, love, and concern.
Taylor also continues to show Dick, and the reader, that money solves almost nothing. Last issue’s generosity leads to this issue’s police questioning, and it is becoming more and more clear that all the money Alfred left to Dick is not a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card for anyone, but especially not Dick. The money is a tool that, unless wielded as well as Dick and Tim can both use Dick’s retractable baton, will ultimately not do anything other than create more issues and less stability in anyone’s life. It may be a little on the nose for Dick to be learning all of this, but the points are presented so sincerely that you almost don’t notice how clichéd the beats can feel.
Final Verdict: 7.7 – Another strong “Nightwing” issue, full of hope and dashed dreams.
Wonder Girl #1
Written By Joelle Jones
Illustrated By Joelle Jones
Colored By Jordie Bellaire
Lettered By Clayton Cowles
Reviewed By Henry Finn
Yara Flor is the first Wonder Woman created by a woman and while that may not seem like important information, it is. It shows in the way that she is not just fully formed as a character, but also fully understood as to the influence an Amazonian woman approaching her prime might influence the world around her. Situations such as causing a man to be tongue-tied while leaning over him or correcting a man for casually referred to as a “girl” when she is actually a “woman” is handled tastefully and with respect. With that, Jones is making a statement that while the title has been renamed “Wonder Girl” instead of “Wonder Woman,” there is no doubt that Flor is a woman, and one who demands respect.
The series reveals an immediate benefit from having her creator, Jones, handle both writing and illustration together. Her mastery of anatomy, gestures, composition, and lines allows her to develop a world that feels at home in the Wonder Woman universe. Every woman in the book has subtly different body-types as well as gestures and facial expressions. While it is a given Amazonians must be fit, Jones takes the time to vary thickness of arms, broadness of shoulders, and facial structure so every woman is visually unique.
On the story side, the issue is heavy on foreshadowing and very light on plot development. The issue opens with a few pages of tragic backstory, but we do not yet know how this backstory ties to the present day. The use of overlapping the standard airplane landing monologue given by every flight attendant while witnessing said tragic backstory illustrates how lost in thought Flor is, but does little to serve as a metaphor that enhances the emotion or meaning of the moment. What is done excellently is the ominous foreshadowing, as multiple worlds within the Wonder Woman mythos are pulled together in overlapping dialogue and action. With issue #1, Jones deftly creates the sense of a universe-spanning mystery in which Flor seems to be smack in the middle of.
Final Verdict 7.9 While “Wonder Girl” #1 feels more of a prelude to a story rather than the story itself, it also promises depth in the future of her character and as a franchise overall.
