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.
Midlife (How To Hero At Fifty) #2
Written by Brian Buccellato
Illustratred & Colored Stefano Simeone
Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo
Midlife #2 is a great follow-up issue after a strong set-up issue that provides everything missing. Brian Buccellato shows some strong moments for Ruben to step up into this new superhero role after discovering he is not only flame-resistant but can manipulate the fire itself. Ruben’s decision to jump into this new role also doesn’t feel rushed because Buccellato has already provided that he wasn’t happy with where he was in his career and the guilt of being a first responder afraid of fire. It also allows him to reunite with old friends as they devise plans for his costume and how he can protect people while maintaining this new alternate persona. Buccellato also reminds the reader about his everyday life with phone calls with his girlfriend and picking up his child from school, which creates this extra layer of information to root for his success. The final pages also introduce two government agents on the hunt for a fire-wielding being that now believe Ruben may be, and now it’s up in the air whether they’ll be on his side or trying to capture him.
Stefano Simeone’s artwork has this dynamic and fluid motion for both the movement of the characters and the design. Every character design has this sharpness around their arms and head shape that leans a little out of the realistic vibe that the story is based on, but not to the point that it takes the reader out. Ruben, for example, other than the missing burns due to his powers, has a big build for his first-responder profession, but in a closer look at his face, you can see the wrinkles and circles around his eyes to remind the reader of his age. Simeone also does a great job with his work on the fire because it’s not only an essential factor in Ruben’s powers but also has its presence like a stand-alone character. When Ruben is using parting the fire to save the young woman, the reader can feel how suffocating and all-encompassing it is to help emphasize how close this woman could have been to death. The colors by Simeone are interesting because he uses lots of reds and oranges for not only the fire scenes but also when Ruben is outside, always giving it this sunset feeling; he does shift into more purples and blues when he’s talking to his wife and child that is used as almost a shift to his everyday day-to-day life.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Buccellato and Simeone are delivering on the heart of this story and ironing out the details of how a person can jump into being a superpowered hero.
Thanos #1
Written by Christopher Cantwell
Illustrated by Luca Pizzari
Colored by Ruth Redmond
Lettered by VC’s Cory Petit
Reviewed by Alexander Jones
Marvel’s latest “Thanos” comic book is here! In The Mad Titan’s new series, Thanos is set to encounter new characters and the deadly Illuminati. Plus, this new “Thanos” comic is written by the accomplished Christopher Cantwell who recently impressed readers with a tense “Iron Man” comic book featuring artists like Angel Unzueta. Artist Luca Pizzari recently contributed strong work towards “X-Men: Before the Fall – Heralds of Apocalypse” with writer Al Ewing. With so few people in The Marvel Universe keeping an eye on Thanos what fresh plans does the villain have for our heroes?
“Thanos” #1 opens with the character of Roberta Marshall seemingly adjusting to her life in Fresno. Roberta finds herself in the middle of a strange mystery surrounding Thanos. The Mad Titan traps all of Fresno in an energy beam in order to find someone who may actually be Roberta. Cantwell’s narrative is surprisingly sparse here and barely fleshes out the plans for Thanos. Thankfully, Cantwell is able to craft so much solid characterization for Marshall with captions featured earlier in the narrative. When readers are introduced to other guest stars in The Marvel Universe the pacing speeds up. Unfortunately, these mysterious characters don’t show up until the final pages of the issue.
Luca Pizzari utilizes a bold, rounded line that captures strong expressions for the figures on the page. There’s a page exaggerating a character expression late in the issue that manages to evoke strong personality for the figure. Pizzari lends great page designs and depicts Marshall’s hair in an exaggerated manner with bold lines that bring out her personality on the comic book page. Pizzari is even able to render elements of outer space with strong precision as well. The design of the beam causing Thanos to raise Fresno is another fascinating story element in “Thanos.” The ominous shading of character faces from colorist Ruth Redmond and Pizzari evokes a surprisingly dark element within Cantwell’s script throughout the issue.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – ”Thanos” #1 is an endearing comic book series with a shockingly small scope.
