Reviewing the same books over and over can get tiring. Seriously. Even if it’s one of the best books on the market, finding new ways to say it’s great is a chore and a half (also known as the Walking Dead Corollary). This week, I tried to say nay to that trend by taking a slew of surprising books. Before we get into that, check our ratings system.
0: Uwe Boll will direct the adaptation of this comic
0.1 – 1: Burn upon touching
1- 1.9: Abysmal
2.0 – 2.9: Art. Writing. Editing. All bad.
3.0 – 3.9: You’d be a masochist to pick this up.
4.0 – 4.9: “I’ll give it another month…but that was not good.”
5.0 – 5.9: “Really? The Watcher? In the face? I guess it was fun.”
6.0 – 6.9: “Hmm. That was decent.”
7.0 – 7.9: Well made but a few problems
8.0 – 8.9: Nearly flawless
9.0 – 9.9: Outstanding
10: Perfection. Issue of the year contender
This week my mixed up reviews include Loki #1, Skullkickers #2, and Ragman: Suit of Souls. All three books are within their first three issues of release. All perhaps a bit less heralded than my average choices. What does that mean?
Find out after the jump.
Loki #1
Written by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Illustrated by: Sebastian Fiumara
This pick, just like the rest on this list, were flights of fancy guided by a whim more than anything. Had I planned on picking up this book? Not really. I wanted something new, so new it was in the form of Aguirre-Sacasa and Fiumara’s new Loki mini-series. Sure, it goes against my rule of buying completely unnecessary books, but from a storytelling and entertainment standpoint this book excels.
The most interesting thing about this book, to me, is Aguirre-Sacasa’s clever-because-it’s-so-obvious usage of Loki as the narrator – and an unreliable one at that. It’s a trick in literature to set up a character as the narrator even though they themselves cannot be trusted to tell the story right, and no character is less likely to tell the truth than Loki. While the story makes you really feel for the character (did he deserve Mjolnir? is he put upon? does he really have to hide in a cave and eat raw fish?), you still know deep down that he’s likely not telling the truth. Aguirre-Sacasa coats the story in this concept, and it makes the book a very enjoyable read because of the ambiguity and trepidation you have to read the book with. The fact he can do all of that and make you care about Loki fairly deeply just proves the level of writer Aguirre-Sacasa is.
Sebastian Fiumara is a remarkably talented artist whom I know mostly for his work on Marvel’s licensed comics of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game series (just like I know Aguirre-Sacasa mostly for his work on Stephen King’s The Stand adaptation), but he steps his art up to another level in this book. It’s a flat out pretty book, with the paneling and storytelling working exceptionally and his line work being crisp. The guy can draw one of the best Thor’s on the market, and it was a joy to look through this book afterwards without even reading it.
Most of the time, when you buy a book entirely on a whim it will disappoint. Or so my experiences have been previously. This time however it was a major hit, as Aguirre-Sacasa and Fiumara combine to tell a very, very good story about a character who doesn’t have a lot of stand-out solo stories in my mind. I will be buying the second issue, but this time with intent to from the very beginning.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy
Skullkickers #2
Written by: Jum Zubkavich
Illustrated by: Edwin Huang
The first issue of Skullkickers didn’t really floor me. It was an enjoyable read, with quick, action-packed storytelling from writer Jim Zubkavich and perhaps too clean but still quality art from Edwin Huang. It was a nice little issue, but there were a lot of things that bothered me, not the least of which was the lack of names to these characters.
Continued belowAnd then I read the “Call and Response” section in the back of this issue and my worries melted away. I know it’s odd to reference a text write-up from the writer before anything about the comic itself (it was a very good second issue), but any and every concern I had after reading the first two issues melted away when I read that. A tip of the cap to Zubkavich for including that.
The characters themselves, Baldy and Shorty if you will, are basically all chaotic momentum, launching themselves into dangerous situation after dangerous situation all for the hopes of collecting some sum of money. This leads to a ton of entertaining situations for us as readers, as we get a great blend of levity, action and new character introductions. The little universe Zubkavich is crafting may be in its infancy stages, but the dynamics caused by characters like the brother and sister at the end of the book will likely lead to be very interesting and fun.
In a lot of ways, this book reads like a sort of steampunk Lord of the Rings meets an 80’s action flick, and I can’t think of something more complimentary to say about a comic. It’s just entertaining.
The art I’m still not really sold on. While Huang does a good enough job making the storytelling completely evident, there’s just a lack of naturalistic art that I really feel like I’m missing out on. It feels too programmed through a computer, too inorganic. I have to admit, I enjoyed Chris Stevens cover to the book far more than I enjoyed Huang’s interior art. Its functional, it doesn’t really detract, but I just am having a tough time digging it completely.
Two issues in and I’m enjoying Skullkickers. Sure, it’s not revolutionary in its awesomeness, but it’s a damn good time and there is something to be said about that. Keep on keepin’ on Skullkickers and I’ll be right here with you.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Buy
Ragman: Suit of Souls
Written by: Christos Gage
Illustrated by: Stephen Segovia
Another extremely whimsy based purchase, as I randomly decided I wanted to review this book just because I was a big Shadowpact fan. And I miss me some Shadowpact. Ragman was always one of my favorites, but I have to say, even with the quality team of Gage and Segovia I feel like this issue really didn’t amount to much of anything. Really, when you get down to it, what was the purpose of this books existence? It isn’t going to lead into a Ragman book, it isn’t going to lead into a new Shadowpact book…it’s just a one-shot story about a C-list character with a very small following that also happens to be kind of a meh story.
I actually didn’t know this, but Ragman is actually a Jewish protector not unlike a golem. This issue walks us through that history, both of the suit and the current character Rory’s father. The story, if you’re heavily invested in Rory, would be something that could have a dramatic effect. It’s a nice tale sort of like JMS’ recent Brave and the Bold run in that it sort of teaches you a lesson and leaves a warm feeling in your heart after you’re done.
But it also feels like a waste of time. Gage doesn’t take us in a direction that really makes us care about the character or advance him at all. It just tells a sort of origin and is done with it.
Stephen Segovia’s poor man’s Leinil Yu art is on full display here, and while he fits some books pretty well, I just didn’t really feel like he did here. It’s decent work, don’t get me wrong, but for the style of the story it would have been nice to have an artist whose work achieves perhaps a greater level of emotional resonance with the reader.
Is this a bad comic? No. Ultimately, what brings it down mostly is the fact it is a pointless one that leads to nothing. It leaves you kind of empty, like one of the souls who live in Ragman’s suit, waiting for redemption to carry them some place different. Unlike those souls though, we’re just not destined to get that from this book.
Final Verdict: 5.2 – Browse
