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.
Grendel Vs. The Shadow #1
Written and Illustrated by Matt Wagner
Reviewed by Vince Ostrowski
Writer/artist Matt Wagner has plenty of experience with both “The Shadow” and, of course, his creator-owned property “Grendel” – so weaving the two of them together sounded like a natural idea from the word go. Thankfully, Wagner doesn’t spend too much time on the ultimately inconsequential time difference between the two characters, and solves that problem with little more than some quick and unimportant exposition before he gets to the good stuff. This is another one of those crossovers where the characters don’t actually end up meeting until very late in the 1st issue, acting more like a teaser of what is to come than a crossover in earnest at this point, but there’s one very key difference that makes “Grendel vs. The Shadow” successful: the buildup. Wagner does a magnificent job of methodically moving his two play pieces closer to one another over the course of a double-sized issue.
But rather than make it seem like the story is just treading water until the two parties meet, Wagner gives The Shadow and Grendel a robust and exciting story each. He highlights the differences and the similarities between the characters: Grendel, the charismatic and brutal pragmatist and The Shadow, calculating and enigmatic. Wagner also smartly shows just how well Grendel plays in the same sort of noir feel that The Shadow lives in – that’s always been a trait of Grendel comics, even though it was never straight noir. A lot of this is thanks to his art, which places the characters in a very distinct and ornate time period. The fashion and architecture of the time period are on display here, and again, Grendel fits right in. Wagner has a somewhat Chaykin-esque vision of the 1930s, with the flair that you’ve come to expect from him if you’ve read Grendel comics in the past. What it results in is a very long comic that never loses steam, doesn’t deteriorate over its 50 pages, and violently and stylishly entertains for pretty much the entire duration.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Don’t miss out on this crossover match made in heaven.
Moon Knight #7
Written by Brian Wood
Illustrated by Greg Smallwood
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
Following up a critically acclaimed run on a book is never easy – especially when that run was by Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey. The team of Brian Wood and Greg Smallwood address this problem head on by doing a story that feels unlike the first six issues, and tries to do something unique to their talents.
And, for the most part, they succeed.
The big blight on this issue is the insane amount of exposition that Wood uses to give motivation to the assassin who is the focal point of the story. The first two pages could have been silent and still accomplished the exact same thing – the radio giving information about the target is almost entirely useless. As the book goes on, this gets a little better, but the dialogue later is made less important because of the radio broadcast.
Luckily, Greg Smallwood brings his A+ game, crafting a book that looks beautiful, but more importantly, tells the story incredible effectively and efficiently. This really could almost be a silent comic – that is how effective Smallwood is, and does so without having the benefit of giving Moon Knight true facial expressions. He is aided by the ever present and super talented Jordie Bellaire, whose careful, simple, and inspired use of color bridges the two runs together.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – This could be the start of another great arc, but needs Wood to let Smallwood do more of the heavy lifting to achieve a better read.
Continued below
Nailbiter #5
Written by Joshua Williamson
Illustrated by Mike Henderson
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
I love a comic that feels like it exists not just one the page, but that has a world around it that can be mined and explored long beyond the story we are currently reading. Williamson and Henderson continue to imbue this world with details and characters that extend its reach into the miasma outside of the comic. Henderson’s work grows more confident with each issue, and his character work, in particular, shines here.
There is a big reveal towards the end of the issue that changes just about everything in the story and, unlike so many other books that would make it the big cliffhanger to end on, Williamson and Henderson don’t – they instead use the last few pages to build the mystery even further, and let the reveal just hang there in the open for us to deal with as we wish. It is bold, confident storytelling, and it is making the book more and more of a joy to read each month.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – A supremely interesting story that zigs when you expect a zag, but never feels like it is doing it for any reason other than to further the plot.
