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Wrapping Wednesday: Micro Reviews for the Week of 10/5/22

By | October 10th, 2022
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

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.

Gotham City: Year One #1
Written by Tom King
Penciled by Phil Hester
Inked by Eric Gaspur
Colored by Jordie Bellaire
Lettered by Clayton Cowles
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore

There’s a lot of ways that “Gotham City: Year One” could’ve gone wrong. However, Tom King and Phil Hester thread the needle pretty effortlessly and produce an effective noir story that acts as a good introduction to Slam Bradley for modern readers and, unfortunately, yet another Batman prequel.

The reason that is unfortunate is that this doesn’t need to be Wayne-related to be a good story, but it appears that editorial at DC doesn’t agree. The stuff with Slam works whether or not the reader is familiar with classic noir archetypes, but obviously works so much better when there is a bit of knowledge there ahead of time. So much of that is because of Phil Hester’s incredibly evocative and stylized linework, which gets enhanced by Eric Gaspur’s heavy inking line. The combination of their work instantly puts the reader into a world that feels unmistakably hardboiled without relying on typical Gotham tropes.

King really pushes down his, at times, overbearing style to tell a story that feels focused and tailored to its purpose. The Batman tag at the end pushes that a little bit more towards what King’s wheelhouse, but this book still feels refreshingly free of pretension or the desire to be a morality play. Many Slam Bradley stories relied on racist tropes, and the only time this story rings a little false is when Slam speaks in a way that sounds far more aware of discriminatory nuance than a hard-boiled detective in the 30s would probably be. I get why King wants Bradley to be better, but the purpose of this story should’t be rehabilitating a problematic character through simply changing who he is. It would be far more effective if King took the time to tackle those issues head on and, perhaps, use his desire for bold moments to make a real point. Instead, it just comes off as lazy and pandering to the modern audience.

Final Verdict: 6.8 – A strong debut that fumbles in a few key places.

Junkyard Joe #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Gary Frank
Colored by Brad Anderson
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo

“Junkyard Joe” is a story with elements of friendship and understanding different backgrounds and mindsets while in a Vietnam war setting. Geoff Johns introduced a silent soldier at the beginning that is revealed later to be a robot, and despite its unknown origin or exact mission, it forms a strong bond with the unit. The relationship between the soldiers and the Robot is created when the Robot goes after the VCs that had taken out some of the guys, and the remaining soldiers realize it would be wiser to have it on their side than against them. While Johns does write these sweet scenes of the soldiers talking about their lives back home to the Robot, an inability to speak almost feels like a relationship between a pet and owner as one side does all the talking and the other is a silent listening partner. There is this I, Robot towards the end of it when the Robot goes AWOL with revenge for the fallen soldiers that feels a little unsettling, in a good way, that leaves it open to new adventures in the future.

The artwork by Gary Frank helps brings this story to life with his balance of brutal carnage from the war to the emotions of the soldiers who, at this point in the war, are just trying to make it back home. Frank helps bring to life just how brutal war can be with a gunshot through one of the soldiers’ cheeks while trying to figure out their route. Another critical element that Frank does well is human emotion, the driving point for this story; the reader can see and feel not only the fear of their enemies but also the intentions of their robot comrade. A gradual change from fear to acceptance during a game of cards and walking to their next checkpoint brings it all together. Brad Anderson’s colors are also a vital point in the story by showing the transitions from day to night as the soldiers travel that pair during the bonding scenes with the soldiers to explain the strong bond. The fight scenes with explosions and gunfire surrounded by the fire’s orange flame started to help build this realistic image of the brutal interactions; both sides were all too comfortable inside.

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Final Verdict: 8.9 – A solid balancing act of friendship and the brutal elements of war for a debut issue that has a taste of science fiction.

Spider-Man #1
Written by Dan Slott
Penciled by Mark Bagley
Inked by John Dell
Colored by Edgar Delgado
Lettered by Joe Caramagna
Reviewed by Quinn Tassin

Here’s the thing: “Spider-Man” #1 is a competent issue. Dan Slott has written more Spider-Man issues than anyone and his comfort is immediately clear. What’s more, Mark Bagley is one of the more prolific Spider-Man artists of all time. Spidey action is second-nature to Bagley and it makes for a well-flowing, visually entertaining comic. The thing is, with comforts like that, there’s a certain excitement missing from a first issue. This feels less like a fresh Spider-Man story than it does a throwback story. It’s nice and fun; Peter’s voice is well-captured, as is his relationship with New York. It’s well-paced both in terms of plot and in its layouts. Competency just doesn’t go as far as a fresh perspective sometimes.

To be fair to Slott and company, it’s not like they’re not trying. The issue brings in now classic Spider-Man villain Morlun but they add a new twist. After another ineffective all-out assault on the interdimensional spider-hunter, we learn that Morlun is there to help all of the Spider-themed heroes of Earth 616. There’s a greater threat to them now and it’s come in the form of an evil Spider-Man noir and other popular multiversal Spider heroes. On paper, it’s a great twist on one of the more oddly repetitive big Spider-Man stories of the 21st century. But an on paper twist kicking off the ostensible end of the Spider-Verse feels less exciting than it might. Even with the solid writing and artwork, the issue feels like it’s going through the motions. It’s not that it’s lifeless by any means. It’s just missing an underlying energy.

To give a little more grace to the art team, their work in “Spider-Man” #1 is generally very strong. There’s a constant kineticism to the action scenes that you always need in a Spider-Man series. The opening car chase sequence is gorgeous and an absolute blast to read. The Morlun fight is beautifully executed as well, capturing Peter’s fear and the urgency of his attack. The coloring is solid, even if it isn’t notably evocative. Ultimately, though, when the big moments with Spider-Man Noir do lack a certain oomph that it should. In that moment, the team undercuts Slott’s writing.

Final Verdict: 6.2 – A competent issue by veteran Spider-Man creators fails to provide real excitement


//TAGS | Wrapping Wednesday

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