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Flash #29 Review

When I first picked up Flash this week I was disappointed not to see Carmine Di Giandomenico’s name on the cover. The problem with double shipping books is no one artist can keep up with that schedule, so a lot of the time we get one really great artist some of the time and lots of fill in artist in between. In the case of Flash we have Giandomenico and when he’s drawing an issue it really elevates the whole book. 

So as I picked up this issue I saw that not only do we not have Giandomenico but we have two artists in his place, usually a bad sign. I’m happy to say however that I really enjoyed the art in this issue. Pop Mhan and Christian Duce are both artists who are new to me so I don’t know how the pages are split up but as a team they really work well together. There’s a great bit of cartooning going on here especially during the action sequences. The whole style of the line work has kind of an old school feel that reminds me of Flash comics from another era. Through it all Hi Fi’s vibrant colouring keeps everything feeling consistent.

Plot wise this picks up from the last issue with Barry struggling to control his negative speedforce powers. As he can’t control them he finds himself having to go without powers. In the opening scene we find Barry recovering from his fight with Shrapnel. Whereas normally he would use his powers to heal quickly, now he really has to suffer the consequences of a supervillan fight.

Superheroes loosing their powers my be an overused story in comics but  Joshua Williamson uses it to good effect. As The Flash has slowed down so has the plot. Instead of rushing off to the next fight we get a day in the life of Barry Allen as he begins to investigate a crime. We’ve had a lot of big action packed issues in The Flash recently and its great just to slow down a bit, dig into some characterisation and get a bit of a different flavour with this crime story.

[spacetimecomics]

Venus Review

Venus is a four issue mini series from Boom! Studios, written by Rick Loverd and illustrated by Huang Danlan. When a manned mission to Venus is sabotaged the survivors must find a way to survive with limited supplies in harsh conditions. The set up initially feels a lot like The Martian. One of the characters even remarks “I mean, what do I know. I’m just the botanist”. The plot very quickly takes a turn in a different direction though. In fact every issue has genuinely surprising plot twists.

Often it can take a couple of issues to get to grips with sci-fi comics as the writer sets up the world and introduces the characters. Here though Rick Loverd tells us everything we need to know and gets the ball rolling within a couple of pages. It’s quite an impressive bit of writing that allows us to get stuck right into the action without ever feeling lost or confused.

Huang Danlan’s art has it’s strengths and weaknesses. There are initially a lot of panels with no backgrounds, although this does improve in later issues. There were also a couple of wide shots that I thought didn’t have the level of detail that was really required. Much better though is his character work. Each character has distinctive facial features full of life, no stiff looking figures. This is something even seasoned artists can struggle with so it’s nice to see Danlan handle it well.

Loverd and Danlan are both really solid storytellers who tell a really enjoyable tale. It’s a shame that it ends so abruptly as it feels like there is still a lot of story left. I don’t know if there are any plans to continue Venus but i’d love to revisit this world, there is a lot of potential here.

[spacetimecomics]

Aquaman #27 Review

It's amazing how a few changes can reinvigorate a comic. Dan Abnett has had a good run on Aquaman but towards the end of his first year things were slowing down a bit and I was getting to the point where I might drop the book. Then #25 hit. Same writer with a new plot direction and a new artist, Stjepan Sejic. Suddenly it feels like a whole new book.

Arthur has been deposed and is thought to be dead by the fanatic King Rath who has sealed off Atlantis from the outside world. He’s still alive however and is acting as a Batman like figure in the Ninth Tride, home to the lower classes of Atlantis and overrun by crime. Taking away his throne and giving Arthur a simple mission statement, help the poor of the Ninth Tride, has made him more interesting than he’s been in years. People often see Aquaman as boring. Too much of the regal figure always turning the other cheek. All that's gone now though, Arthur's lost everything and he’s angry.

On top of all this we have political intrigue in the royal court and Mera on the surface trying to find a way to get back home. Abnett has built up such a great world here. There are a lot of moving parts to the story and after 27 issues this all feels completely fleshed out. We’ve had the set up now this feels like it's all paying off. I think it would be perfectly possible to jump on with issue #25, the first part of this story arc but if you've been following all along this is very satisfying.

Stjepan Sejic is an artist who is new to me. He’s done a lot of work for Image on titles like Witchblade but i’ve never come across him before. His art is a perfect fit for Aquaman and this story in particular. He has a digital painting style that kind of reminds me of Fiona Staples with more sketchy lines. Added to this are great expressive faces and figure drawings that never look stiff. My absolute favourite thing though is that Sejic draws people like they are actually underwater. The way hair floats around the characters faces and the way they move really sells the feeling of being underwater. It’s a small thing but makes all the difference. Interesting how many artists don’t do it. This is the best artwork that i’ve seen in Aquaman for a long time and really elevates the whole book.

DC seem to recognise this as they have quietly moved this back to a monthly schedule. The problem with double shipping books is that the art does suffer. In Sejic and Abnett we have a team who are clearly onto something, so it’s great that they’ve been given the room to tell their story in the best possible way.

[spacetimecomics]

Mage the Hero Denied #1 Review

I’m a big fan of Matt Wagner (Trinity is one of my favourite DC graphic novels) but i’ve actually never read Mage before. Just one of these really well regarded series i’ve never gotten around to I guess. This is the third volume of the series, the previous titles being The Hero Discovered and The Hero Defined. I’m a big believer in just jumping into series that interest me. When I first started reading comics I got too hung up on reading everything from the beginning, sometimes trawling through loads of stories I wasn’t that interested in just to get to the new story I wanted to read. It’s a mistake I see a lot of new readers making now so I always advise people to just jump in. Trust me it’s way more fun!

So I’ve learned my lesson and I went in to Mage: The Hero Denied #1 cold. I had no problem at all starting here as the story is simple enough that it works on its own. Kevin Matchstick is a wizard living a quiet life. Walking with his son in the park he notices a magical creature. Once his son is out of the way he reluctantly fights the creature and wins easily. His use of magic alerts others to his presence, he has been discovered. There are references to a back story and a larger plot which i’m sure will be fleshed out in further issues. If you’re willing to just go along with things you’ll be fine.

Matt Wagner is a great artist who uses clean lines and expressive cartooning. His character design for Mage is great. Jeans and a black t-shirt with a large white lightning bolt on the front. It’s a simple design which makes for some great iconic images. He’s a great storyteller too. There’s a scene at the end of the book where he’s trying to talk to his wife. She’s distracted dealing with their daughter and household chores. Wagner draws her in silhouette the whole time to illustrate that she’s not really paying him any notice. Next on the page turn he says something that gets her attention which is followed by a full page, full colour image of her in the foreground. Just like his character designs it’s simple and effective.

This was a great first issue and a great place to start. At some point i’ll go back and read the back issues but for now i’m looking forward to #2.

[spacetimecomics]

Olympus Mons Vol 1: Anomaly One Review

The first volume in this sci-fi story from Christophe Bec and Stefano Raffaele goes for a slow burn. We are introduced to several groups of characters (scientists, explorers and a medium) all linked to the discovery of a possibly alien artifact. We are introduced to the characters and the mystery and that’s about it in this opening chapter.

The artwork is a bit hit and miss so let’s start with the good first. Stefano Raffaeles strengths clearly lie in rendering convincing landscapes as well as detailed buildings and vehicles. There are a few really nice double page spreads with a widescreen quality to them. Also the use of shadow in a few sequences creates an eerie feeling that the story requires.

On the downside the faces of the characters can be a little stiff looking which isn’t helped by the colouring. The skin tones are quite poor and look a little too digital leaving the characters looking unconvincing. Also unconvincing is some of the dialogue. Here’s an example: “ This time we’re much better prepared. With our killer team and all this high-tech equipment we’re bound to solve the mystery!” That’s probably the worst example and it’s not all that bad but it did pull me out of things every time i noticed it.

Olympus Mons isn’t off to a great start but this is the kind of sci-fi mystery that i really like so i’ll probably still check out the next volume once it’s translated into english.