Two of Marvel's more promising titles hit the shelves this week. These titles, combined with an old favorite, made the weekend's comic reading outlook appear awfully bright. Unfortunately my optimism was met with mediocre reading material:
Punisher: Barracuda
I've been wanting to complete my Punisher library for some time now. I recently came across Punisher: Kingpin written by Scalped's Jason Aaron and the legendary Steve Dillon. With the knowledge that this team was now the creative force on the rebooted Punisher MAX I'm on a mission to catch up to the current exploits of Frank Castle.
I've been wanting to complete my Punisher library for some time now. I recently came across Punisher: Kingpin written by Scalped's Jason Aaron and the legendary Steve Dillon. With the knowledge that this team was now the creative force on the rebooted Punisher MAX I'm on a mission to catch up to the current exploits of Frank Castle.
Barracuda felt like a book in the middle of a rut. At this point Garth Ennis had been writing the series for some time and it just came for stale. Goran Parlov's art was decent. It reminds me of early John Romita, Jr. illustrations, but much gorier.
My main problem was the antagonist, Barracuda. He was written as a cheap stereotype of a Miami gang banger with no depth and zero backstory. I never felt like I knew why he was doing the things he was doing. Overall an unoriginal and boring read, I expect better from my favorite writer.
FF #4
Last month was an entire issue of setup and planning on how the FF will deal with the hordes of Reed Richards. So what did I find when I cracked open this month's offering? Another half issue of deliberation. There are a few snicker worthy panels as the heros and villains toss ideas and insults around, but by this time it's all old news.
Last month was an entire issue of setup and planning on how the FF will deal with the hordes of Reed Richards. So what did I find when I cracked open this month's offering? Another half issue of deliberation. There are a few snicker worthy panels as the heros and villains toss ideas and insults around, but by this time it's all old news.
Artist Barry Kitson fills in this issue with little consistency. Some pages look beautiful while others are clearly rushed. FF is still a quality read but I sincerely hope the pace is picked up next month.
Uncanny X-Men #537
This was a pretty brief offering. I felt like I had purchased an X-Men flip book. The story begins with Kruun separating Kitty Pryde from her spacesuit and in turn she loses her ability to communicate with her fellow X-Men. This also means pages and pages of Shadowcat running around with empty word ballons. It drove home the tone of isolation and helplessness, but made for about a two minute read.
This was a pretty brief offering. I felt like I had purchased an X-Men flip book. The story begins with Kruun separating Kitty Pryde from her spacesuit and in turn she loses her ability to communicate with her fellow X-Men. This also means pages and pages of Shadowcat running around with empty word ballons. It drove home the tone of isolation and helplessness, but made for about a two minute read.
The Dodson's provide stellar art once again. Terry's pencils and Rachel's ink work had found a home here within the pages on Uncanny. I hope they stay for an extended run.
Although not quite worth the $3.99 cover price, the grim outlook for Kitty in the final frame has spiked my anticipation from next month's installment through the ceiling.
-$
-$
Panel of the Week: A simple frame of Ms. Pryde phasing through the floor. So cute!
No comments:
Post a Comment