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Extra Reviews: Days Missing #5 and Pilot Season: Murderer #1

By | December 11th, 2009
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This week I have a couple extra titles to review, as Archaia Comics and Top Cow were kind enough to share the final issue of their exceptional title Days Missing and the debut issue of Robert Kirkman’s first Pilot Season effort, titled Murderer.

Check the reviews out after the jump.

Days Missing #5

Written by Phil Hester, Illustrated by Frazer Irving

Given that this is a title that is about an immortal and powerful man protecting the world from disasters that may lead to the end of society as we know it, to say that this issue is the most intense yet is saying something. This issue wraps up the first volume of this series and steadily reveals that there may be an opposite number to The Steward and his benevolent nature. Something that is working against him possibly causing these events, as we find out that there may be days missing from even The Steward’s ever watchful eye.

Hester handles these revelations and the central plot of a sentient and highly advanced form of nanotechnology attempting to convert the world to it’s ways with an expert hand. His pacing is flawless, and his usage of The Steward is as savvy as anyone else’s in this series so far. Rarely have we seen The Steward work in such overt ways as he does within this issue, but desperate times (9 folds!) call for desperate measures. The meticulous and cold nature to The Steward gives him a more precise and incisive feel than we’ve gotten from him before, and these pages also contain more of a feel of psychological terror to them. This series in many ways has a sci-fi/horror feel to it, and this is by far the most harrowing issue yet.

Frazer Irving is a perfect fit for this issue, as his art style matches Hester’s slow burn intensity. His rendering of the tenuous emotional state of the science team that created the nanite creature (and The Steward himself at the end) really puts us in the place of these characters, and that allows the emotions to become far more palpable than they would have been in another artist’s hands.

A bravura close to the first volume, and one that excites me for what could possibly come in the future. To be honest, I know nothing as to when or if the next volume will come, but I can say this: it can’t come soon enough.

Verdict: 9.0 – Buy

Pilot Season: Murderer #1

Written by Robert Kirkman, Illustrated by Nelson Blake II

This was a hard issue to get a good feel for. In the first half of the issue, I honestly had no clue what was going on. There were thoughts all over the place but it was often uncertain as to who they were tied into. We had a main character named Jason who spoke in fragmented, staccato ways and seemed to rage at the most random things.

Once the realization that these thoughts were not his own and that he was a very powerful telepath with no control over those powers…well, it all came together. From that point on I was hooked, frantically turning pages to see how he would handle the thoughts he had heard in a young, beautiful woman who had come by who was scared for her life.

Murderer was assuredly an enjoyable read, and one that is pretty interesting conceptually. Considering it’s part of the co-developed Pilot Season projects by Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri, it should be. However, the concept doesn’t feel as if it has significant legs. Not only that, but the fact that it takes half an issue to understand and that there is no development to the primary character save the fact that he’s a benevolent telepathic murderer who kills to quiet his thoughts (creepy man with a heart of gold?) definitely hampers the overall story. With that said, I’d definitely pick up the next issue and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I greatly enjoyed it once I picked up what was going on.

Nelson Blake II is not an artist I am very familiar with, but he seems to fit the look that Top Cow is going for in their artists and does a good enough job here. There seems to be a disconnect between Kirkman and him from time to time, as the layouts occasionally fail at indicating who exactly the thoughts are coming from. One note though: Marc Silvestri rocked it on the cover. It’s simple, but it is some of the best work I’ve seen him do in a while. Bravo to you sir.

Verdict: 6.8 – Browse


David Harper

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