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.
City Boy #3
Written by Greg Pak
Illustrated by Minkyu Jung
Colored by Sunny Gho
Lettered by Wes Abbott
Reviewed by Alexander Jones
DC’s ‘We Are Legends’ comic books feature fascinating characters. The “City Boy” series continues to become more firmly implemented within the DC Universe between each and every issue. When protagonist Cameron Kim found himself in a deadly battle last issue, Superman stepped in to help Kim. To make matters worse, Kim recently saw an apocalyptic vision of the future and it’s up to Superman to help him stop Cameron’s vision.
Greg Pak’s script in “City Boy” #3 is the most climatic readers have seen in the series yet. Kim teams up with Superman to try and take down Dr. Mokkarison’s experiments. Superman’s appearance in the issue restores Kim’s humanity. Cameron is afraid of the tension he caused with the city avatars taking shape across the series. Watching a veteran hero give Cameron guidance is incredibly refreshing. Pak broke up the flow of the series nicely with Clark’s calm demeanor. Watching Pak bring out the echoes of Cameron’s past in a different context here is a rest way to tug on the themes of “City Boy.” Cameron makes the choice to change cities late in the issue. Pak’s script could have implemented the idea of a change in setting more cohesively earlier in the issue. Also, the supporting cast that was barely established throughout “City Boy” may not show up in future issues which would be a shame. Hopefully the change in locations for future chapters will not derail the narrative momentum “City Boy” has established.
Minkyu Jung’s art captures so much emotion from Cameron. Cameron is haunted by his past throughout the issue and Jung’s faces capture the mental torment from Cameron beautifully. The detail that Jung lent to the Avatar for Metropolis was stunning. The amount of metal making up the object was thrilling to behold. Jung’s faces and expressions for Clark captured his calm and stoic nature beautifully. In one sequence late in the issue, readers see an echo of Cameron’s past, Cameron’s reaction and various members of the supporting cast on one page alone. DC Creators Jung and Pak pace “City Boy” #3 carefully.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – A strong creative team continues to implement a unique vision to DC’s “City Boy” #3.
Sacrificers #1
Written by Rick Remender
Illustrated by Max Fiumara
Colored by Dave McCaig
Lettered by Rus Wooton
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo
Rick Remender comes out swinging for this opening issue to his new fantasy series, Sacrificers. A kingdom living in peace so long as one family member is willingly sacrificed seems like a small price for the bigger picture, but is it worth it? Remender starts to dig into that by giving glimpses into two characters on opposites of the social and economic ladder. A young farm boy groomed for sacrifice for some time and the daughter of the kingdom’s ruler, ready to cause chaos if she doesn’t get her way. Remender is building a strange and beautiful world that is Game of Thrones meets Star Trek with a mixture of elements and new species of people. A vital story component comes from the emotional level that brings everything together and puts the hooks into the reader to return to the next issue. For example, the young boy’s family is all over the place, in a good way. The father has to act cold-blooded the night before the sacrifice. He tries to maintain normalcy for the rest of his family but ends up exploding with anger when the son is simply trying to have one last look at his siblings and parents during supper. Then, in the end, the father attempts to make an excuse to keep him rather than be sacrificed but knows that no matter what happens, a family member will have to be taken, so his son steps to accept his fate. This moment shows that the father still loves his son but knows that he has to be the strength for his family in a different manner.
Max Fiumara matches the substantial script work from Remender with a masterclass of world-building imagery. This entire world has so many different parts that if the script didn’t hook the reader, all of the imagery certainly will. The two main characters could easily stand on their own with different series. The young man is a blue bird-like species that, despite the beady, realistic eyes and beak, the emotions just come out clearly from each of the family members, such as the mentioned anger from the father, fear from the son during the fight, and even the love from the young sibling as she checks on him in the middle of the night. Then the ruler’s daughter has an orange flame or smoke-like hair that feels like an HBO version of Pixar’s Elemental. The father feels similar to Zeus in size and character design but again filled with flames that encapsulate his entire body. The colors of Dave McCaig are vital in this story because while Fiumara and Remender are building this new world, it’s essential to have a warm and inviting vibe. Despite a dark undertone of sacrifice, this new adventure brings a glimmer of hope for the main characters.
Final Verdict: 8.9 – Hard to argue that this opening issue shouldn’t be in a fantasy reader’s hands when they check out. While the main plot is still a mystery, there’s something significant coming.
