There is 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.
Britannia #4
Written by Peter Milligan
Illustrated by Juan Jose Ryp
Review by Ken Godberson III
What a book. What a book indeed. Peter Milligan, Juan Jose Ryp and Jordie Bellaire conclude this tale in the Antonius Axia’s life with a big bang. Throughout this story, Milligan has blended historical fiction, mystery thriller, political intrigue, and dark fantasy together in such a seamless way. Seeing the pieces fall together made for quite a climax as Axia confronts the multiple culprits, both mortal and immortal. I have said before, Milligan’s previous works at Valiant (Shadowman and Eternal Warrior) were not to my liking but this is easily his strongest work at the publisher.
A lot of that strength is also on Ryp and Bellaire as well. As the more spooky and supernatural side of things really comes out of its shell in this and it is viciously glorious. It’s Axia versus something straight out of his nightmares and the artwork of the monster is so rich in its eldritch beauty. Likewise, the art is just as strong in depicting the moments of triumph and the moments of peace after the long job done, bright and sunny times in Roman, even with that ever subtle touch of malice just waiting underneath.
To put it simply, this is the most Un-Valiant book that Valiant has put out. Like even outliers like Shadowman, Doctor Mirage and Divinity, yeah they’re outliers from some of the more core aspects of the Valiant U, but there’s enough familiarity to that core. “Britannia”, as a whole, feels way away from that core and it really benefits. I do not know how it will connect to the present day universe, but I am looking forward to the sequel in 2017.
Final Verdict: 8.9- Valiant’s best mini-series of 2016.
Hawkeye #1
Written by Kelly Thompson
Illustrated by Leonardo Romero
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
Sometimes, the worst thing in the world is following up a success, even a few years/iterations removed. No matter what anyone else does in the next few years, the Matt Fraction/David Aja “Hawkeye” series has redefined that corner of the MCU so thoroughly, that everything else either feels like you’re fighting against the tide by doing something different, or you’re just trying to emulate that run.
This definitely feels like the latter. Sure, Kate has moved across the country, but everything about the issue just screams “hey, it’s like the Fraction run!” That’s not necessarily a bad thing – I think we all agree that his run gave Hawkeye a spotlight and personality that was sorely missing for years – but it does make the issue sing a little less than it would have had it tried something really new.
What we have on the page, however, is a lot of fun. Thompson gets Kate’s voice quite nicely, and the series wisely splits her up from Clint (for the moment), giving her the opportunity to do things her way. The book retains the humor and carefree tone that the Fraction run had at its finest, and sets up a number of new relationships in the first issue that will be integral in the future.
Romero’s artwork, again, harkens back to what Aja did with his time on the book. His simple, clean line instantly recalls Aja’s, even if he’s not quite as adventurous in his layouts as Aja was. But there’s nothing misplaced or poorly drawn here; his storytelling is solid, and the setting allows the outdoor sequences to be much more of their own thing than some of the interior sequences.
Again, it is hard to talk about the book in the negative sense, as I enjoyed the issue quite a bit, but is also hard to praise it too much, as it is clearly a successor to a prior run. (Full disclosure: I didn’t read a single panel of Jeff Lemire/Ramon Perez’s run)
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 6.7 – A fun issue, but needs its own identity, badly.
Jessica Jones #3
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by Michael Gaydos and Matt Hollingsworth
Reviewed by Jess Camacho
Here’s the thing about “Jessica Jones”, it isn’t doing anything new and that’s a problem. “Alias” was a very good series and it was so good that it basically was the first season of Jessica Jones on Netflix instead of a brand new, original story. In the time since, Jessica Jones has changed as a character. Her life and world are no longer what they were in “Alias” and she’s grown as a person. Bendis strips her of her daughter and husband and while I totally understand the desire to avoid making her only a wife and mother, these two things helped mature her. Jones never lost her edge but she evolved and learned new things even in her limited appearances. “Jessica Jones” doesn’t read like this. In this issue, her back is against the wall and we get a very dialogue heavy issue that doesn’t really tell us anything. We learn almost nothing about the situation Jessica is in and in these first three issues, it feels like not much has actually been accomplished. Granted, it is still very early on in this new series but I’m finding it hard to hang around much longer.
Gaydos’ art is still very good. He’s gotten better as the years have passed and it is nice to see him settle in here again. His characters are, for the most part, very well done. I do think Allison’s expressions are a little over done and she looks a little too much like Carla Gugino. This grungy vision of the Marvel Universe is really brought to life by colorist Matt Hollingsworth. He stays with Gaydos and his inking in a very nice way and makes this feel like the old “Alias” book. That’s something I like being held over as nothing in the Marvel Universe looks like this.
Final Verdict: 5.8 – The art really clicks for me but the story doesn’t show much than an attempt to recapture old magic.
Optimus Prime #1
Written by John Barber
Illustrated by Kei Zama
Reviewed by Alice W. Castle
Despite being a long time fan of Transformers, I’m a relative newcomer to IDW’s line of comics. This is due in large part to only finding out that IDW was producing some of the best Transformers stories well into its run and never having the chance to catch up. Now, with “Revolution” done and dusted, IDW is beginning a ‘Reconstruction’ and is putting a spotlight on the centre of the Transformers universe: Optimus Prime.
While this first issue is fairly dense and likely inscrutable to complete newcomers, dealing both with the political fallout from “Revolution” in the present and the political climate of Cybertron when Optimus was a beat cop, as a fan of the universe I was enthralled. I pretty much got by thanks to my knowledge of G1 Transformers allowing me to intuit the references Barber was throwing about, but a complete newcomer will likely be fairly lost. Still, Barber’s writing is incredibly sharp throughout, juggling the necessary first issue businesses of recapping and introducing and reintroducing concepts with ease thanks to the space he has to work with. Neither story feels cramped and allowing them both to breathe allows for pretty neat juxtaposition between the two as Optimus grows and learns and becomes a more experienced leader only to realise that the world around him hasn’t changed as much. It’s a crisp first issue that introduces a lot of history and characters and depth in not a whole lot of space, but handles it deftly.
The real MVP is the art team of Kei Zama and colourist Josh Burcham. Holy shit, this issue is simply gorgeous. The painstaking detail that has gone into making this issue feel like a new episode of the G1 cartoon is astonishing. From Zama’s gorgeous renditions of the characters and thick, heavy inks that bring a lot of drama and action to the page to Burcham’s flat, bold colours that pick out the clean details in even the busiest panels, this issue is a work of goddamn art. Even the slight yellowing of the pages with white panel borders to the use of Ben-Day dots in the colouring of the backgrounds show that these artists know what made the aesthetic of Transformers so palpable and iconic in the 80s and how to recreate that now while still feeling fresh and unique. It’s honestly a godsend at the end of 2016 to read an issue of a comic that just looks you in the eye and says “That cartoon you watched as a kid was really good though, right?”
Continued belowFinal Verdict – 8.0 – An issue that’s clearly aiming for an audience of established Transformers fans and nailing it completely.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #15
Written by Ryan North
Illustrated by Erica Henderson and Zac Gorman
Reviewed by Zach Wilkerson
One of my favorite issues in recent years is “Hawkeye” #11, aka the Pizza Dog issue. “Unbeatable Squirrel Girl” #15 is basically that, only with Mew the cat. 10/10, amirite?
Seriously though, this is a very fun issue that plays with the format in some interesting ways, even if plot plays second fiddle to the concept. Framed around a continuously escalating altercation between Squirrel Girl and Taskmaster, we follow Mew through a pretty typical cat day. Which is to say, a lot of napping and being pissed at the world while also looking adorable. The cat humor is pretty much on point with what you’d expect from a Buzzfeed animal list, but the series’ trademark irreverence is also on display.
One of the issue’s best segments involves a non-sequitor into “cat dreams,” illustrated by Zac Gorman. These one page vignettes tell a series of increasingly absurd cat and mouse tales are hilarious and a great inclusion. The “stream of consciousness” nature of the section inherently disrupts the flow of the main narrative but in a story told from a cat’s perspective, narrative flow isn’t necessarily the point. Regular artist Erica Henderson turns in great work as well, making use of cropped panels to highlight Mew’s disinterest in her surroundings. The “camera” stays tight on Mew, cutting out even portions of word balloons. It’s a small touch, but a smart one that adds depth to the overall package.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Humorous and smartly crafted, this standalone issue will leave any pet owner in stitches.
Young Terrorists #2
Written by Matt Pizzolo
Illustrated by Amancay Nahuelpan
Reviewed by Alice W. Castle
It’s hard not to think of “The Invisibles” when reading “Young Terrorists” and I say that as the biggest compliment I can levy at this book. With “The Invisibles”, Grant Morrison and his team of writers blended weird, psychedelic science fiction with anti-authoritarianist themes and heavy dose of superhero imagery all wrapped up in the 20th century bible for anarchists. “Young Terrorists” is carrying that torch proud in the weirder, more fucked up times of 2016 and is reflective of that by being a weird, fucked up book. It’s been a while since the first issue dropped (over a year, actually), but these extra-sized issues mean that I don’t know if I could take this level of grim soul searching and political commentary any more often.
While the first issue of “Young Terrorists” is super sized in a way that laid bare the origins of its main characters and their mission statement, this issue puts that mission statement into action. Combining enough action for what could have been another three or four issues, this issue plunges Cesar head first into this organisation’s methods of striking back against authority: namely through murder, arson, bioterrorism and a list of other felonies that would warrant a spoiler warning. Remember, this book is not for the faint of heart or stomach and with the time that has passed since the first issue and now and the way the world has developed, the anger that drove Pizzolo and Nahuelpan’s creative energies in the first issue is in overdrive here. It’s brutal, in the most unflinching ways. It’s an uncomfortable look at some of the darkest parts of our societies and the people unafraid to dirty themselves in similar ways in order to fight for a better tomorrow.
What’s most impressive about this second issue, though, is actively watching Amancay Nahuelpan improve as an artist page by page. He begins to find a new, more stylistic feel for the series after about 20 pages that develops through the rest of the pages as the story becomes more and more action packed. The grittiness is still there and the unflinching violence is certainly still there, but the linework is cleaner and sharper and the emotions of the characters become more well rounded as the drama deepens near the climax of the issue. It was jaw dropping, really, to see the gradual build before being hit with just how much Nahuelpan has grown as an artist over these two issues.
Final Verdict – 8.6 – Raw and unflinching, I can only hope we’ll see smaller, more frequent doses of this much needed comic in 2017.
