October Reviews
Tom Strong #5
America's Best Comics
Writer: Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse
Artist: Chris Sprouse and Jerry Ordway
Inker: Al Gordon
Colorist: Tad Ehrlich
Tom Strong is a strange character. He is a combination of Mr. Fantastic's brains with Captain America's physique. Or for those of you from the DC side of town, imagine Batman's skill with Superman's farmboy humility. Mix in a fair dose of pulp elements and you've got an idea of where this series is coming from.
In this issue, Tom has been sent back in time to Pangaea, the primal supercontinent that covered the Earth hundreds of millions of years ago. We learn the Tom has visited this prehistoric world before in the form of an 'Untold Tale of Tom Strong' story inserted into this issue. This is one of the reasons I like this series...although only five issues in, we are given no doubt to the amount of history Tom and his family have acquired through a lifetime of adventures. In fact, Tom himself is approaching his 100th birthday. All of these adventures have a somewhat campy feel, but this just adds to the fun.
My one complaint about the series is that Tom is simply too much of a perfect hero for me to really care very much. He brings to mind visions of Dudley Dooright or some such two-dimensional character. He is in such complete control of himself and the situation, that the possibility of failure doesn't even cross the reader's mind. I know, I know, Superman never looses either. But as a reader, I need to feel that there is some possibility of the hero loosing, otherwise, it's not very heroic.
The art in this issue is wonderful as always. Chris Sprouse's work has very clean lines and some wonderfully subtle effects (look at the swamp mists on page 3). I'm not crazy about Jerry Ordway's artwork for the 'Untold' portion of the story, but it does set it apart as a piece of history. Also, the coloring really struck me in this issue. It's not something that normally jumps out at me, unless it's awful, but I loved how the colors in the Pangaean swamp are very muted and dull compared to life in the future. This adds to the eerie feel of Pangaea and helps set the stage for the action.
Overall, this is an interesting series, and worth taking a look at. While I don't feel any attachment to Tom himself, the pulp elements of the book are interesting enough to keep me coming back. If you are picking this book up for the first time, I would recommend starting with at least issue #4, if not going right back to #1, as it would give new readers a bit more information about Tom's backstory and how he ended up back in time.
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The Invincible Iron Man #23 (vol. 3)
Marvel Comics
Writer: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern
Artist: Sean Chen
Inker: Dan Panosian
Before the recent reboot of this series, the only time I saw Iron Man was when he crossed over into one of my regular series. As a newcomer to this Avengers mainstay, I'm fairly impressed, but with some reservations.
This issue opens with Tony explaining his concerns about his cousin using the giant robot Ultimo as the powerplant for his Stark-Fujikawa research vessel. It appears as though his concern is misplaced however, as Ultimo does not awaken during his battle with Golden-Blade and Sapper. This struck me as an interesting story for a comic series. Rarely do we see a hero be wrong about what they feel is a potentially dangerous situation and it's refreshing to see a high caliber hero like Iron Man have to admit that he may have been wrong (...or was he? dum dum dum...).
On the other hand, this opening scene also struck me as being rather awkward. When Tony launches into his speech about the dangers of Ultimo...complete with visual aids...he comes across as a bit of a twit. "You're wrong to do this, and if you'll look at these graphs, I'll show you why...". It just seems a little smarmy for an Avenger.
Also, I'm growing a little tired of the Carol Danvers alcoholism storyline. I admire Marvel for their willingness to tackle a story like this, but it seems a little forced. I certainly don't think that Carol should just wake up one morning and not feel the need to drink, but a few issues ago, it seemed like she was making some real progress. As a reader, I find it frustrating when a story yo-yos like this for too long, regardless of how much it may be true to real life.
Since I first picked up this series, I've become quite fond of old shell-head. He is a fairly simple character in the field, with hard hitting action and some neato technological tricky. I also like Tony Stark's character, as financier of the Avengers and engineering genius, although I could do without all of the romantic ties he seems to have left scattered across the globe.
The art is probably very good by some standards, but hasn't really caught my fancy yet. I think it's largely because it reminds me of the old Mary Worth comic strip. Actually, I'm a little concerned that Iron Man may be taking more of a soap opera-esque turn in the near future...maybe the Mary Worth connection goes a little deeper. Hmmm..
I'm a little late getting into the Iron Man game, but I'm glad that I did. As long as Marvel sticks to high flying, technologically driven action stories, and stays away from too much introspection and romance, I'll be a happy reader.
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Birds of Prey #12
DC Comics
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Artist: Dick Giordano
Inker: Jordi Ensign
I'd like to think that this series could do well. Two strong female characters working global espionage cases, one acting as the agent in the field, the other operating behind the scenes, relaying information from her vast network of resources. I mean, c'mon, that sounds like a pretty good series, right? And so far, DC has managed to avoid this comic becoming another cheesecake book.
Unfortunately, this issue falls far short of what Birds of Prey could be. First of all, I find that recent issues start by dropping the reader in to the action with little introduction as to why they are involved at all. Now, I don't need to be lead along the garden path with a completely linear storyline, but some kind of reasoning for attacking a high security prisoner transport train would be nice...at least something a little stronger than the anonymous informant.
My biggest problem with this issue is that the plot simply doesn't make sense. For instance, after taking Black Canary captive, would the US Marshal really take her on a guided tour of the other prisoners that they are transporting? Of course not. And why would Oracle take a moment to answer her email while her partner is in the process of being arrested? Does Captain America stop off to return videos when Batroc is tearing up Times Square? Of course not. This is simply bad writing.
The weak storyline isn't helped much by the dialogue, which is strained at best. Black Canary's reasoning for the Marshals to trust her, despite the fact that she just clocked several of their agents? "Because there's no time for your paranoid bull!" Sigh...and is this what passes for snappy banter these days? Spiderman must be rolling over in his...well...whatever. Let's just say that he'd turn in his webs.
The art in this issue is a disappointment too, with weak layouts and awkward poses. The dark figure with hat and trenchcoat is more laughable than ominous. When Catwoman mentions that they should get out of the rain, I had to look back at the previous panels...guess what. No rain. In fact, the sky is drawn as a perfectly clear, moonlit night. This is just sloppy; if it's not important enough to draw it in, then why is it important enough to include it in the dialogue?
I think that Birds of Prey has great potential. It could become an interesting espionage series, highlighting two strong female heroes, not working in the spotlight of the DC universe, but off in the shadows. Here's hoping that the creative team can get together and figure out how to make this happen before it gets cancelled.
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Rising Stars #1-2
Top Cow Productions - Image
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Keu Cha
Inker: Jason Gorder
Michael Straczynski, the creator and writer of Rising Stars, has started something pretty damn cool. And he knows how its all going to end.
Following the technique that he used on his very successful series, 'Babylon 5', Straczynski is planning an entire story arc from the get go. This isn't very common in the world of comics, where writers can be changed at the drop of a hat due to editorial decisions, new opportunities or contract disputes. With each new writer, what had previously been regarded as milestones in the series can easily be reinterpreted, revamped or just plain ignored. While I am not a fan of Straczynski's 'B5', after reading the first two issues of his new series, I may very well check it out.
The first issue describes a catastrophic event that eventually produces a small population of 'gifted' individuals, who come to be known as 'the specials'. As children, these people are identified and monitored by the government. Over time, they grow up to follow their own lives, either as regular citizens, heroes or criminals. The series is taken from the journal of John, the last of the specials, written at some point in the future.
The second issue focuses in on one of the specials, Peter Dawson, and how he was killed. This is the first step in what I assume is going to be the major story line, possibly running through the series right to the end.
From first glance, this series looks like it could go the distance. With over 100 new 'masks' to introduce, there is plenty of story material to present here. Already, the idea of the different paths people follow is taking root. Also, the series seems to deal with the down side of superhuman abilities. Peter Dawson's invunerablility has shown to be more of a curse than a gift. In this respect, it reminds me of Dark Horse's 'Next Men' series by John Byrne, which also dealt with the problems of superpowers, but on a much smaller scale.
Add to a substantial cast of new faces the idea of a killer lurking among them, targeting the specials, and you have a humdinger of a series.
The art is good, but doesn't knock my socks off. It seems very "Image-y", which I've never been fond of. Still, it's not bad, and it is starting to grow on me. My only complaint so far is the fact that the final four pages were nothing but text with a few snapshots attached. It feels like they ran out of time and had to finish it off quickly. Still, overall, an extremely good start to a series...do yourself a favor and check it out.
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