Before we get to the books, know that all four books this week were top notch. To the reviews!
Fourth Place:
Descender #9
There are times when I find this book so strange and different that I don't know if its for me. But riding along side those concepts are Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's subtle plot twists and character designs that make this book completely worthwhile.
On one hand this book offers Star Wars-like aliens and spaceships and adventure... and on the other hand it offers Star Trek-like questions about how much control we should have over technology. It really defines action-adventure-sci-fi better than each of the previous franchises have done alone.
All that praise said, I would love to see this team of Lemire and Nguyen take their storytelling chemistry to Marvel or DC to see them stretch their legs on characters that I'm more invested in. As much as I enjoy Telsa and Andy, and even Driller, these guys could crush a Superman or Green Lantern book.
Third Place:
Darth Vader #15
And here Vader Down concludes. Its pretty satisfying considering all the pieces that were at play with lots of places for the story to take a tumble. Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen have done a great job together dovetailing their two books into one pretty tight story.
The decision to have one artist (in particular Mike Deodato) draw the entire crossover really pulled the whole story together, and makes for one of the better arcs of Marvel's whole Star Wars run. Overall I'd have liked to have seen Luke get a little more face time, but the rest of the main cast each had their time to shine.
Marvel may really be on to something with this license. Its been met with quite a bit of speculation from some corners, but it continues to be greatly entertaining. Marvel's priority of putting some of their best talent on these books seems to really be making a difference.
Second Place:
Secret Wars #9
Secret Wars wraps up with a big satisfying throwdown and a pretty satisfying resolution. I'll even go ahead and say very satisfying resolution since I'm not 100% invested in the Marvel U. Even though this book's release schedule has dragged a little, the story Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic constructed was pretty stellar.
It seems the biggest victims of Secret Wars are the Fantastic Four. From what I can tell, for the time being anyway, Reed & Sue Richards (and Valeria and Franklin, who don't really count anyway) are being eliminated from the Marvel U. Reed plays the big hero in this book and sets everything right after Dr. Doom messes it all up. Its actually one of the best Fantastic Four stories I've ever read. Shame it all ends here.
Regardless of the late releases, I'm really glad Marvel stuck to its guns and left Ribic on art no matter the delays. It makes for a greater story overall, and will be one hell of a hardback. Kudos to Marvel for doing a Universe-changing event the right way.
First Place:
Captain Canuck #6
Kalman Andrasofszky and Leonard Kirk (along with the rest of the creative team) wrap a hell of a first arc on Canada's favorite son. They give just the right amount through six issues to invest into Canuck and his team and set up the bad guys to set up an even more threatening second arc.
The overall story of Captain Canuck doesn't look like much on the surface. Its your basic super hero story: Canuck's the big masculine hero going after an evil villain bent on world domination. But its the subtlety of each character that really takes the book past standard comic fare.
Issue #7 starts in a month and I'll certainly be along for the ride. The only thing working against the Chapter House team is their own success on the first arc. They set a high bar for themselves. Best of luck!
Panel of the Week:
Kurt Russell as Han Solo, brought to you by Mike Deodato.
-Gint
No comments:
Post a Comment