An interesting blend of books this week to choose from for all of us Multiversity reviewers, and I think I came out with an eclectic blend of books. Before I get into that, how about a look at our scoring system? Remember, 0-2.9 is a Pass, 3 to 6.9 is a Browse, and 7 to 10 is a Buy.
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
Books for me included Superman #702, X-Men #2, Strange Science Fantasy #2, and The Unwritten #16. Definitely an interesting blend and not all of them delivered. Find out what I thought of all of them after the jump.
Superman #702
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Illustrated by: Eddy Barrows
In our 4 Color News & Brews video podcast, Brandon and I lambasted Superman #701. That issue kicked off J. Michael Straczynski’s “Grounded” arc, in which Superman attempts to reconnect with his adopted planet by walking across America. That issue was definitely not strong, but it had some redeeming factors at least for me (Brandon on the other hand assassinated the book entirely).
The second issue in that arc has now erased all of those redeeming factors for me, taking away anything that I genuinely enjoyed and replacing it with even more pure and unadultered preachiness.
Some have ripped on JMS recently for his work sinking even further and further into teaching readers lessons, and I’ve defended him to a degree. In his Thor work, his soapbox was hidden in some seriously awesome stories and still worked in the scope of the story. In his Brave and the Bold (where the preach really took a step to the next level), at least his advocacy worked in lockstep with the story. In this book? It is the story.
I mean, this issue features three real points of interest: Superman effectively performing a live action “The More You Know” commercial with some ballers in Detroit; admonishing some very illegal aliens for not sharing their gifts with the world (hello commentary and foreshadowing); and then the near death of a friendly old auto-worker that transitions us back to the previous story and into a bright and new future for Motor City. I was drowning while reading this book. Superman isn’t learning anything on this trip — he’s teaching all of the lessons JMS would if he had super powers.
Two additional points about the “effort” from JMS on this book…first off, when you’re walking across America, why the hell would you walk from Philly to Detroit? Second off, for the love of god, if Superman says something ridiculous like the “Okay if I dial in?” line he dropped to the ballers again, I will burn my copies of this run. I’ve done it before…I’ll do it again.
Eddy Barrows is surprisingly the highlight of the book for me. I didn’t have a lot of faith in him and loved JMS going in, but Barrows is performing admirably for the story. Granted, what he is being scripted to illustrate is inane and ridiculous, but he is doing a good enough job. It makes me kind of wish he was on a different book, because his art is disserviced by this trainwreck. So is John Cassaday’s exceptional cover.
“Grounded” has yet to take off for me, nor do I think it will. I don’t hate it as much for the preachiness as much as I do for the fact that the story simply doesn’t make any sense to me. It isn’t accomplishing the goals that JMS set out to do: it’s just sharing agendas. When these agendas start fitting the context of the story in a natural way, I may come back around. Until then, this book will earn its poor scores, but by definition this earns a higher grade than it deserves because I’ll be back for at least another month.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 4.2 – Browse
X-Men #2
Written by: Victor Gischler
Illustrated by: Paco Medina
When they announced that there would be a new X-Men book starting out with a number one and that it would be a) written by Victor Gischler, b) illustrated by Paco Medina, and c) start with an arc about mutants fighting vampires, I was about as not stoked as I possibly could be. In baseball, that would have been a strike out, although at least Marvel was making swings I suppose.
Then the first issue came out and it was forced upon me by my compatriot Brandon and sure enough, it was…decent.
With that in mind, I tried this issue out and it was actually pretty solid. It seems that Victor Gischler actually has a fairly solid grasp of the X-Men, allowing him to bring out character bits that ring true for me. One missed Fastball Special (I don’t think I’ve ever seen them miss), a number of shout outs to X-Men continuity, and an issue long appearance of Jubilee later and I am fully on board with this book. Sure, it isn’t phemonenal, but I feel like Gischler understands to condense the X-Men into a manageable team. When these books fail, it’s because the cast spirals out of control in size and the plots suffer from a lack of focus — Gischler focuses this book with an eye for continuity and character throughout.
He also manages to make the Vampire thing work without seeming too much like a money grab. Granted, I know it still is, but its working for me. It’s getting the job done as a plot point, and that’s enough for me.
Paco Medina’s art still isn’t my favorite, but he’s doing more with this book already than he has in the past. My major complaint with him in the past was his lazy background work — he never really seemed to create a real atmosphere for characters, preferring sparse backgrounds and decent manga influenced character models. Sure, it isn’t perfect yet, but his work is improving and he actually does a really nice job with the look of the X-Men.
I’m surprised to find myself enjoying this book. It’s pretty easy to pile on Matt Fraction’s issues on Uncanny, but this book reads truer to me as an X-Men book than Fraction’s disjointed and unfocused run to date. I never expected to say that, but Gischler and Medina have me onboard for the foreseeable future.
Final Verdict: 7.0 — Buy
Strange Science Fantasy #2
Written and Illustrated by: Scott Morse
Another book that Brandon and I looked at in 4 Color’s past, another one that was foisted upon me by the Burpman, and another one that was a surprising hit with me. This book from Scott Morse, Paul Pope and IDW is insanely original. It isn’t just the ideas presented within this story that seem almost disconnected from all other stories (comic or not) that I’ve ever read, but the way the narrative itself is delivered.
Scott Morse is not a name I’ve been familiar with in the past, but he tells a mean story. This issue tells the story of warring tribes of what I can only call Battle Fish (fish that have evolved to use weapons and to fight back against humanity) and their samurai overlords, as their respective champions Knucklehead and Shogunaut face off for control of the planet. The way Morse tells this story is with third page art panels with the white space in between them used to place the words of the book. The two issues in this series have been standalone so far and have been told in such a way that it seems like some sort of pulpy narrator from a dystopic future (or past) is the man behind them. It gives them a ton of personality and a real sense of unique identity — you won’t find anything else out there like this.
His art also stands out, reminding me of a dark, grittier version of Tim Sale’s work. The colors Morse splashes his pages with bolster the feeling that this story is being told in a massively different time and a place, and it gives his already special artistic talents even more traction. Throw in Paul Pope’s mostly art-based one-page backup, and this is a book that is quite unlike anything else you’ll look at out there.
Continued belowFor all of that stands out about this book, there are some parts that bring it down. My biggest issue with the story is beyond the cool and the unique, it doesn’t necessarily work as a cohesive and fully intelligible story. There are bits where I’m a bit off put by lack of story clarity, and it stops the book from being a complete hit with me.
I’ve got to say that this book has been one of the biggest surprises of 2010 for me. I never really expected anything like it, yet I’ve found it to be a mostly successful and very, very fun venture to date. With some additional plusses coming its way from the truly exceptional covers, I think this book is a must buy for the adventurous reader in you. It’s worth it if only to get on board with the sure to be fast rising talent of Scott Morse.
Final Verdict: 7.8 — Buy
The Unwritten #16
Written by: Mike Carey
Illustrated by: Peter Gross
Book of the Week pick!
As I said in our Comics Should Be Cheap! column this week, I had high hopes for this issue of The Unwritten. Granted, I have high hopes for every issue of this book because it is quite simply one of the best in the business, but this book seemed to be building to a crescendo with issue #16. Sure enough, it did as Mike Carey and Peter Gross give us a hugely entertaining issue filled with major moments, beautiful art, and more questions being asked and answers being given. It was a landmark issue that is sure to push this book to even higher heights going forward.
With our protagonist Tom Taylor’s wayward father Wilson finally reappearing with issue #15, we knew a lot would be revealed. What came from that reveal was remarkable, and the team of Carey and Gross did not disappoint in not wasting any moment of his first full issue. I won’t go into details about the twists and turns this issue took, but suffice it to say the lives of Tom Taylor and his makeshift sidekick brigade will never be the same.
I thought it was especially clever how Carey started to pull back the curtain of the much maligned Cabal that have been pulling the strings of the situation for a while now while also kicking the legs out of their plot with the machinations of Wilson here. What happens in this issue gives Tom traction finally and hopefully will start him on a path towards answering all of his questions and getting the revenge on the people who have turned his life into a identity-less shell.
This is where I’d like to give Carey props: the man is much loved for his gracious handling of characters, respecting their history while bolstering it at the same time, as well as a master of dialogue. This issue shows his gift as a plotter (in conjunction with Gross of course), as many plot points swing together to resolve themselves and develop new ones at the same moment. After I finished this issue, I immediately emailed the rest of the MC writers to share my acclaim of this book: this is one masterfully handled book.
Peter Gross is in the thick of things with the plotting as well, and deserves credit there. Everyone knows that he deserves a pat on the back for the work he’s been throwing out there on this book, as he’s asked to give us multiple styles in each issue and still perform at the highest caliber. It says a lot about him as an artist and a comic creator that he has no qualms about that, sashaying between art styles in rhythm with the plot. Not only that, but his art direction on the page of web reactions to the happenings of this issue (this is a regular plot device in The Unwritten) are pitch perfect. Granted, their forumers are perhaps a bit less troll-y than usual, but these pages are powerful and must reads for those who contemplate skipping them due to their more word heavy nature. Plus, A+ cover as well.
The Unwritten has been one of the best books around for the past year, and in my mind this book it to another level here. I for one cannot wait to see where Carey and Gross take us next, but I for one trust them completely as my navigators of the literary seas and the life and times of Tom Taylor, Boy Wizard.
Final Verdict: 9.5 – Buy
