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.
Barbaric #2
Written by Michael Moreci
Illustrated by Nathan Gooden
Colored by Addison Duke
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo
“Barbaric” #2 is a fun read that feels both violent and funny. Michael Moreci uses a familiar tone for the characters that feels like a buddy-copy movie; the two main characters have banter that indicates they are still questioning one another, but are still willing to work together for a common goal. The young necromancer, Joren, has a few moments where she tries to correct Owen, but it’s evident he’s stuck in his ways from his old age. Their interaction feels similar to the Deadpool relationship between Wade and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Between their tragic upbringings, it makes for an intriguing storyline of flawed “heroes” trying to do the right thing for the city and people. This issue was a lot slower than the introductory issue, but for a good reason, as it didn’t try to world-build as much as it focused on the mission at hand: stopping the abbot from his evil plan that gets fully shared in the final pages.
The artwork by Nathan Gooden works well with the quick-witted dialogue from Moreci. This issue has a lot of conversation and some background on Soren, but throughout it, Gooden makes a point to focus heavily on the details of her expressions. The flashbacks are a perfect example, as her young self is tearing up in every panel while being put on trial but her mom and townspeople. Everyone is faceless but, paired with Addison Duke’s coloring of the lanterns, the atmosphere gives a tortured feel to it. Owen generally has the same angry, annoyed look on his face throughout the issue, so it’s an excellent balance to a more expressive Soren.
Duke and Gooden have another intense moment right before the big battle of the undead, where it darkens all around Soren and Owen, but the colors radiating from the ax and her magic give it a cinematic feel. Two pages worth of build-up happens before the bright purple of the undead takes the reader and characters by storm. The two also make this art stand out, particularly by giving it a watercolor look to the panels. The rich oranges and greens are great choices for each character. These decisions help the reader focus on the main characters and the peril they face.
Final Verdict: 8.9 – Great follow-up that gives the reader a solid balance of action and backstory.
Infinite Frontier #3
Written by Joshua Willamson
Penciled by Paul Pelletier, Jesus Merino, Tom Derenick, Xermanico
Inked by Norm Rapmund, Raul Fernandez, Tom Derenick, Xermanico
Colored by Romulo Fajardo Jr
Lettered by Tom Napolitano
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
“Infinite Frontier” is currently balancing a number of plots and, while it is successful in moving those stories along, the addition of more artists makes the work feel a little unbalanced. While all of the art is perfectly cromulent to quite good, the book feels a little less cohesive than it did for its first, Xermanico-solely illustrated issue. That said, this book feels vital and wild in ways that few Big 2 books feel nowadays.
The three main stories that weave throughout this issue are the search for Jade by Obsidian and Alan Scott, Roy Harper’s journey with his Black Lantern ring, and the trilogy of folks trying to save the Multiverse in their own way: Justice Incarnate, the DEO, and Psycho Pirate. The conflicts that spring from these various concepts of ‘saving’ seem to be where the series is headed, and it will be very interesting to see which motives align and which clash. The main difference, thus far, is that the DEO seems focused on saving ‘Earth,’ whereas the other groups seem interested in the multiverse at large.
Continued belowThe somewhat uneven art in the book isn’t as distracting as it may be in a less sprawling title, but it makes sense that Earth-22 and Earth-0 would look quite different, or that the story being fed to the Flash looks so different than his reality. Those Flash pages are among the nicest in the issue, and really feel like a Silver Age comic for a few minutes. In general, I’d like to see more variety like that, as opposed to artists all trying to feel cohesive. Much like “52” or “Countdown,” books that used one artist per week, the stories sometimes looked radically different issue by issue. But if, say, Paul Pelletier took ownership of one part of this story going forward, he could lean more into his signature style, and that would simply be ‘the look’ for that part of the story.
That aside, this freewheeling story has a lot of fun referencing everything from the sublime (“The Multiversity”) to the wretched (the aforementioned “Countdown”) and acts as a good, succinct look at what the overall DC Universe resembles right now.
Final Verdict: 7.1 – A strong issue of a really exciting series, only slightly hamstrung by its art.
The Last Book You’ll Ever Read #1
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Leila Leiz
Colored by Giana Marchisio
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Reviewed by Elias Rosner
Don’t say it’s a zombie book. It’s a satanic panic book. It’s every moral panic about X corrupting the youth or Y destroying society only, for the first time ever, they’re right and things have devolved very, VERY quickly…and that’s about all we get. Yes, “The Last Book You’ll Ever Read” #1 is, unfortunately, a superfluous take on a well-established genre without anything acting as a buy-in for those burnt out on the type of story Bunn & co are looking to tell. In fact, issue #1 reads more like an opening scene than an opening issue, without so much as getting to the inciting incident.
There’s nothing revealed by the end of the issue that isn’t painfully aware by the first two-page spread and we learn relatively little about our main protagonist, the book from hell, and the state of the world before AND after the release of it. We’re in the exact wrong place for a story of this kind, neither starting early enough to gain a context for a collapse nor far enough to explore the new status quo as it is. There is also talk, but little of it is meaningful. Instead, we spend 22 pages reading narration about how people are truly Hobsian and vile, matched up with images of them being nasty and brutish and eating human flesh. There is no hook for why this story is different and why I should keep reading.
To be fair, Leiz & Marchisio do a fantastic job of making the comic look positively gruesome and tense. Thick outlines help characters pop off the backgrounds and the way they make the blood & vomit ooze and drip like Nickelodeon slime conveys the kind of story we’re in for and heightens the grotesque and unnatural nature of what’s happening. Leiz’s crosshatching, while good for the atmosphere, can be a bit haphazard, making faces look dirty rather than textured and the thick outlines can obscure important facial features at distances and when close up. However, this combination of scratching thinner inks and bold thicker outlines works particularly well when leaning into the horror, like when Olivia is gazing at her hollow eyed reflections.
However, this imagery can only take the book so far, especially when we have yet to see any inclination as to why a Satyr is the symbol of murder and violence. Perhaps it is a reference to the comic’s assertion that these are our “base desires?” If so, the issue does not sell me on this take as of yet, hampered as well by the middle-road approach to the material. We don’t lean nearly hard enough into the mystery of it all or the brutality. We don’t sink back into the character nor do we look deeper at the commentary Bunn is seeding. Instead, we have a lot of half ideas, all potentially interesting in their own right, vying to take the spotlight.
Continued belowPerhaps, however, that is the true nature of humans.
Final Verdict: 5.0 – “The Last Book You’ll Ever Read” #1 is a slight first issue that would be better suited as the start of an OGN. The art is well-suited for the book in all respects but the ideas have yet to show why they are unique and deserving of attention. Fans of the genre may have fun but for those burnt out by “what if moral panic X held weight” type books, I would skip this one.
Sweet Paprika #1
Written by Mirka Andolfo
Illustrated by Mirka Andolfo
Colored by Simon Tessuto
Lettered by Fabio Amelia
Reviewed by Henry Finn
“Sweet Paprika” #1 is writer & illustrator Mirka Andolfo’s joyously cartoonish romance about ‘a young woman and a devil in a world of demons and warriors angels, all locked in an eternal dick-measuring contest.’ This doesn’t summon up the depth of her character that is revealed as the book unfolds, but it does ground her situation in the identifiable struggles a young professional woman might encounter in their own lives.
Andolfo gives us a peek into the mind of a woman who is tortured and unhappy despite appearing to have everything on the surface; this is what draws the reader in. In the beginning of the book, we learn the source of her misery -her father. As a youngster, she was punished by him for her natural sexual curiosity, which becomes the seed of repression that affects her to the point where visions of her father admonishing her invades her sexual fantasies. This anchors us into the context of her perspective on life and also creates sympathy for her character, who on the surface is a self-proclaimed ‘superbitch.’ This is displayed sharply within one single panel where we see her urging an unknown person on the phone to skip their own grandmother’s funeral. But, because we were set up with a peek into her backstory, it’s hard not to be sympathetic to her. In the end, her tough demeanor is the shield she carries as she goes through life, and also separates her from the world around her.
As an illustrator, Andolfo also shines by showing attention to little details that reveal her character in so many ways. For instance, in the same panel referenced above, she is sitting at her desk on the phone, reaching for a stack of paper, and typing on her keyboard with the tip of her tail. This shows that she is always working to the maximum, a classic workaholic archetype who is a creature seemingly possessed by her ambition. Andolfo creates a fun energy by allowing her art to reflect the inner emotions of the characters. For instance, there is a sexual fantasy sequence where she is being mounted by her delivery guy and his legs bend backwards like rubber bands, curling in pleasure as they have sex in a ring of fire. Remember, this is all in her head. Colorist Simon Tessuto follows suit, providing splashes of color that are bright and clean, bouncing around from yellow to purple to red to blue backgrounds and more. All in all the illustrations and color work together to create an alt-sex erotica cartoon that makes you laugh and lust at the same time.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Andolfo successfully brings several genres together in a setup that combines erotica, manga, and comedy together to make a delicious twist on the world of angels and demons.
“The United States of Captain America” #2
Written by Christopher Cantwell and Mohale Mashigo
Illustrated by Dale Eaglesham and Natacha Bustos
Colored by Matt Milla
Lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna
Reviewed by Alexander Jones
“The United States of Captain America” #1 was an incredibly thoughtful and honest debut issue. Captain America’s inner thoughts are so insightful that Steve Rogers drew the ire of Fox News. I’m happy to report that the second issue of the title still offers up an examination of Rogers’ most poignant thoughts. Author Christoper Cantwell sets the scene with an embarrassing Rogers moment that effortlessly sets the tone of this chapter. Cantwell’s grounded approach to the series carries through to the final page. Cantwell is definitely able to get a strong dynamic between Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson that echoes shades of The Marvel Cinematic Universe while planting a foot firmly in the current Marvel comic book continuity.
Continued belowArtist Dale Eaglesham is the perfect draw to this main story. Eaglesham’s flashback sequence has a wonderful sense of irony captured through the facial expression of a young Steve Rogers. Eaglesham is able to capture so much emotion through the depiction of his characters. Eaglesham loves the odd situations Rogers and Wilson find themselves in. When the duo fight the mysterious new villain of the series, Eaglesham ratchets up the tension through the artwork. There’s a moment of violence featuring a turret and crowded room that makes for a thrilling set-piece. Eaglesham evokes the tension by spewing bullets through the air while keeping a tense look on Captain America and his supporting cast. Eaglesham and Cantwell make for a great team and I hope to see them continue to work together.
Nichelle Wright’s story in the second half of the book keeps that grounded tone from the first chapter. Author Mohale Mashigo tells a cute story without omitting the violent details. People are armed around a younger hero in this story. Mashigo is balancing a thin line between a cute story grounded in the harsh nature of reality. Natacha Bustos makes for such an interesting contrast to Dale Eaglesham. Bustos lends a more surreal approach to the work. Bustos is much different from the incredibly detailed work from Eaglesham but the art helps separate the stories. By nature of the art alone, this second story has a lighter tone. I hope Mashigo is able to return to Wright in the future to flesh her character out better. Readers don’t quite get a deep dive on Nichelle Wright that they may have been hoping for here. “The United States of Captain America” #2 is easy to recommend considering that each member of the creative team gives a different perspective to the issue.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – “The United States of Captain America” #2 isn’t afraid to carve a unique perspective alongside a bombastic superhero narrative.
