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.
Hairball #1
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated by Tyler Jenkins
Colored by Hilary Jenkins
Lettered by Tyler Jenkins
Reviewed by Ryan Fitzmartin
“Hairball” #1 is a gripping first issue. Matt Kindt brings his trademark weirdness to a dark story of an adopted girl with unhappy parents. A social work session frames the comic, as a marriage dissolves and a young girl’s life goes from bad to worse. The writing is phenomenal, painting a scathing portrait of a fractured home life, and one very strange cat. Every page is forbidding, as Kindt expertly paints a lonely portrait of a young girl trapped in a bad situation. This isn’t a light comic but it’s a very engaging one.
Tyler Jenkins’ stylish art shapes the narrative in a marvelous way. He uses extreme shadows and harsh framing, confronting the viewer with his imagery. His backgrounds are often coated in darkness, silhouetting characters in an empty void to reflect their empty lives. The art does a superb job of guiding the narrative, coating the world in misery. The colors are mostly black and blue, with a dash of purple or a spill of light to create high contrast. Even the lettering adds stylization, with a yellow background to make the narration pop.
Overall, Hairball #1 is a striking and powerful first issue. It grabs and doesn’t let go, establishing a tone right away and leaving the reader wanting more. It’s everything that a first issue should be and more.
Final Verdict: 8.9 – A deeply intriguing and menacing first issue.
Planet of the Apes #1
Written by David F. Walker
Illustrated by Dave Wachter
Colored by Bryan Valenza
Lettered by Joe Caramagna
Reviewed by Gregory Ellner
Following off from the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, David F. Walker wastes no time, immediately setting the stage for the series going forward between that film and its sequels. Rather than dwell on individuals, he instead focuses on groups and the way that society changes with the virus and its expansion. Various scenes and perspectives are at the forefront of this debut, with each of them having roughly equal representation and explanation, with a variety of moral stances. From terrorist groups killing as many apes as possible, to news organizations debating over what to call the virus that led to all of this, to militaries that seek to protect apes so as to have DNA material for a potential cure or even just for reason of kindness, there is quite a lot of variety in humanity’s response to this existential threat. While having seen the film may give some background, it is not inherently necessary, with Walker doing a good job of presenting the progressively infected world.
Dave Wachter’s realistic artwork really pulls in the pathos of the piece, especially from the apes and other non-human simians. While the humans already are shown with realistic facial expressions, the intense detail on the apes especially helps to show their fear, anger, or sadness, further helping to emphasize how the humans could protect them against other humans instead of continue to battle against them.
Similarly, Bryan Valenza’s colors emphasize the dire straits of both sides. Dark colors merge with realistic shading to give a depressing situation spiraling downhill. Other coloration, such as a cooler filter of blue-green, works over television screens, distinguishing them from the rest and contrasting against the red “hot spots” of the viral outbreaks of ALZ-113.
Final Verdict: 7.0- An interquel between Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes comes together marvelously.
Spider-Man #7
Written by Dan Scott
Illustrated by Mark Bagley
Inked by John Dell and Andrew Hennessy
Continued below
Colored by Edgar Delgado
Lettered by Joe Caramagna
Reviewed by Quinn Tassin
“Spider-Man” #7 doesn’t feel like a single issue of a comic so much as it feels like the second half of a double-sized issue. The story, such as there is one, picks up right in the middle of the climax of a story. And we’re not talking picking up from a cliff-hanger; this is literally just partway through a big action sequence. Because of that, the issue is throwing a whole lot of stimuli at readers at once with dozens of Spider-People cluttering the panels by page 2. It’s all a bit jarring. That frenzied energy persists throughout this grand finale. Threads are wrapped up (or relegated to other series) constantly and new ones are teased just as fast. Even the relatively low-key epilogue portion of the issue moves at such a breakneck pace that it’s hard to imagine anyone finding emotional resonance in any of this. Slott does his hardest with that phone call to Aunt May but it’s just not enough to ground this thing.
All of that being said, there is a certain excitement to the whole affair. There’s undeniable fun to be had as you see all of these different Spiders swing through New York and fight a giant (if uninteresting) evil. Moreover, the sight of four “Giant Spider-Bots” should be enough to inspire a bit of childlike wonder in even the most jaded of readers. Better yet, the newly introduced Spider-Boy seems like a solid introduction. While some may tire of new Spider-people on Earth 616 (especially ones secretly built into its history when Cindy Moon is literally right there), the idea that there’s a character who knows Peter and Miles but can’t be remembered is intriguing and fun.
Mark Bagley is as reliable a Spider-Man artist as there is and he and the rest of the art team deliver in “Spider-Man” #7. No moments are particularly striking or beautiful but the mere capacity to illustrate so many characters and action with as much clarity as this team does is a feat in its own right. Every Spider-Man is distinguishable from each of the others, an accomplishment that can only be achieved with incredible attention to detail and while things may feel a bit full at times, the layouts and staging still help the issue read with real fluidity. Moments like the big attack on Shartha and the Spider-Mech’s joining the battle should definitely be more chill-inducing than they are but there’s something to be said for the simplicity of the artwork; the consistency in quality throughout such a jam-packed issue is remarkable.
The best part of the issue is its final page (is this a backhanded compliment?). Now that the Spider-Verse stuff is over, a return to classic Spider-Man adventures sounds incredibly appealing. One can only hope that that’s what we actually get.
Final Verdict: 6.7 Scattered pacing and some sloppy dialogue dull an otherwise interesting, genuinely scary debut.
