#and despite the cartoony style there are some really nice and creepy moments

[crimsontentacles]

"Death is of little consequence. Rise once more, vessel of mine..."

[inhumansforever]

Ms. Marvel #18 Review

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Guest artist, Francesco Gastón, joins writer, G. Willow Wilson, and colorist, Ian Herring, for this special stand-alone issue focusing on Bruno’s time as an exchange student in Wakanda.  Full recap and review following the jump.

Bruno and Kamala had been the best of friends throughout most of their childhoods.  As time went on, Bruno’s feelings for Kamala changed from friendship to romantic love.  Kamala wasn’t able to return this kind of love but the two remained close friends.  Then the second Super Hero Civil War occurred and events took place that would change Bruno’s life forever.  

Captain Marvel’s special team of junior Carol Corps Cadets were tasked with utilizing the precognitions of the Inhuman known as Ulysses in order to prevent crimes before they occurred; and in her role as Ms. Marvel, Kamala was assigned to lead them.   The Cadets proved overly enthusiastic and the power granted them to detain would-be criminals without due process quickly went to their heads.  Kamala and Bruno’s classmate, Josh, was apprehended for a fire that Ulysses predicted he would set following a breakup with his girlfriend.  Although Josh had once been a bully who teased Bruno mercilessly, Bruno could not sit idly by while Josh was detained without legal council.  He decided to take matters into his own hands and built an explosive device that he intended to use to break Josh out.  Unfortunately the device malfunctioned and detonated in Bruno’s hands, leaving him with severe injuries and paralysis to the right side of his body.  

Bruno blamed Kamala for all that had happened.  He saw her as responsible for the Carol Cadets abuse of power and although Kamala had quit the Carol Corps and even resigned her post as an Avenger, Bruno was still not willing to forgive her.  He was offered a scholarship to study in the technically advanced nation of Wakanda and accepted it as a means of getting away from New Jersey and starting what was left of his life anew.  

Whereas Bruno was a gifted student and well ahead of his class in Jersey City things are much different in Wakanda.  Here in the Golden City of Birnin Zana, capital of Wakanda, he was quite behind in his studies compared to his peers and often feels alienated as a foreigner in a distant land.  To make matters worse, his physical condition is continuing to deteriorate and it may not be long before he looses further functioning of his body.     On top of it all, Bruno isn’t quite over his crush on Kamala.  He may not be willing to forgive her, but that doesn’t seem to prevent him from still pining for her.  Although interestingly, Bruno daydreams about her now seem to be more focused on Kamala in her Ms. Marvel guise rather than the girl she was when the two grew up together.   

Bruno feels like a constant source of hardship and embarrassment to his roommate, Kwezi, and hence puts up with Kwezi’s frequent insults and demands that Bruno do his laundry.  When Kwezi coerces Bruno’s aide in a complicated effort to impress a girl, Bruno feels obligated to go along.  

Despite the antagonistic banter between Bruno and Kwezi, it appears clear that the two have become friends.  For all of his eye-rolls and use of insulting nicknames, Kwezi is the one person who does’t look at Bruno with pity and treat him as a wounded charity case.  And for this Bruno opts to accompany Kwezi on what turns out to more than just a stunt, but instead a rather risky venture wherein Kwezi has set out to pilfer a chunk of Wakanda’s invaluable vibranium ore.  

Playing the role of hapless tourist, Bruno distracts the guards of the research center while Kwezi uses a special bracelet to gain entrance into the facility.  It is quite painful for Bruno to be looked at with pity, to be seen as useless and broken.    And yet he succeeds in distracting the guards.  Once inside the research facility, the two ultimately discover the prize Kwezi has been searching for, a huge chuck of vibranium.  

Kwezi only needs a small portion of the ore for his purposes and insists that he is only borrowing it so to attain proof of concept.  He has Bruno use a laser cutting to carve off a small chunk of the ore while he reroutes the security programs to hide their presence.  Bruno is right handed, yet his injury has forced him to have to learn to use his left hand.  It’s been an extremely difficult process, made all the more arduous when people try to encourage him to just will his way through it.  Yet he knows he must do so, he’ll never achieve the life he wishes for unless he is able to persevere through this hardship.  

Bruno is ultimately able to carve the chuck off, catching the dislodged piece of vibranium with his good foot as it falls.  Unfortunately, Kwezi is less successful with his own task and alarms sounds off.  The two try to flee the scene only to come face to face with a legion of guards.  Things become desperate; in the face of arrest and incarceration Kwezi and Bruno attempt to flee through a window.  Bruno’s crutch slips on a piece of glass and he falls.  Kwezi catches him by the good arm but can only hold on for so long.  Dangling there, facing certain death, Bruno looks at his life from anew perspective.  He knows that things are bound to get worse.  His condition is permanent and likely to worsen as muscle atrophy will lead to neurological degeneration and possibly full body paralysis.  Things will never be the same again yet despite it all he cannot give up; he wants to live.  

Fortunately, The Black Panther swings in at the last moment, catching Bruno and grabbing Kwezi, jumping down to the safety of an adjacent building. 

It turns out that Kwezi is actually The Black Panther’s nephew.  Furthermore, his reasons for stealing the vibranium was not about impressing a girl but rather for a specialized harness meant to stabilize Bruno’s muscle atrophy and enable him enhanced functionality.  Vibranium has special vibration-nullifying properties and Kwezi has designed a mechanism that would absorb kinetic friction and reenforce the neurological signals between Bruno’s brain and his paralyzed limbs.  It would not afford Bruno a complete recovery but could vastly slow deterioration and afford greater mobility.  

Bruno is all but dumbstruck that Kwezi has done this for him.  He thought Kwezi hated him, yet now it turns out that he has risked everything to try to help him.  Kwezi’s uncle, The Black Panther, is equally impressed by his nephew’s selflessness; so much so that he is willing to let this infraction slide.  Kwezi and Bruno are allowed to keep the chunk of vibranium so to see if the project may prove a success.  The tale ends with Bruno recalling a common Wakandan adage:  ‘The Universe Is So Big It Has No Center; We Are The Center.’  

A very nice and emotionally touching issue.  Wilson and company just never miss a beat and Ms. Marvel continues to be the best all around comic on the stands.  I certainly missed Kamala in the story, but it was cool seeing what Bruno has been up to and Kwezi proved to be a great character and a welcome new addition to the Ms. Marvel extended cast.  

Bruno has had a really tough life.  He was neglected throughout much of his childhood and had to work for everything, often relying on the kindness of Kamala’s family to help him out with basic needs.  Despite his misfortunes, Bruno excelled in school and was on his way toward an Ivy League education and a bright future.  Then it all fell apart and he seemingly lost everything.  

It’s not really fair for Bruno to blame Kamala for what has happened to him.  And the fact that he is still crushing on her puts his continued un-forgiveness toward her in something of a creepy light.  Still, Bruno has good reason to be angry and sometimes that anger just need to be focused somewhere, anywhere.  

He is facing a grim future.  Injuries like he has sustained rarely get better and often get worse.  He hates being looked at with pity and yet that pity has starting to set in as internalized and coming from himself.  Bruno’s adventure with Kwezi has shaken him from this self-pity, reinvigorated his will to persevere through the hardship.  And the kindness Kwezi has shown him highlights the fact that he doesn’t have to face this all on his own.  Hopefully Kwezi’s gesture will motivate Bruno to finally forgive Kamala and allow their friendship to blossom anew.  

Francesco Gastón does great work.  The simple, cartoony style matches the tenor of the story quite nicely.  There are some simply wonderful facial expressions that work like punchlines.  Illustrating the advanced cityscape of Wakanda cannot be easy, but Gastón’s confident line does it justice and makes the fantastic Golden City feel like a real world local.  

Once again, Ian Herring’s coloring is top notch.  His work has become a lynchpin that maintains the titles’ sense of visual continuity with various illustrators penciling the books.  Herring’s importance to the title cannot be overstated.  Colorists rarely received the acclaim they deserve and Herring has been just as crucial to continual quality of Ms. Marvel as anyone else working on the book.  

Another great issue despite the fact that Kamala herself wasn’t in it.  Definitely recommended, but those with a tighter comic-buying budget can skip it in that it is a stand alone with a brand new arc starting with the next installment. Four out of Five Lockjaws

[jaredthegreek]

Review- Star Wars Comics (September)

As it turns out between fire, family drama, and health issues I get distracted and forget to post my thoughts on comics based on an old movie franchise.  Honestly, if you think this review is late I finished Thrawn back in May and haven’t written word one on that book.  Not because it’s bad, but because life kept getting in the way.  Anyhow, enjoy my reviews and if you have the chance try to find me at LA Comic Con later this month.

THE REVIEWS:

Captain Phasma #1: The ‘journey to The Last Jedi’ has its comic book tie-in with a series following a character with no personality who only lasted five minutes in her premiere movie.  This comic would be an uphill battled for a seasoned vet in the comic world and in this case it might be a hill that is a little too steep for Kelly Thompson.  The story is told in flashback as Phasma recounts the events after she is dumped in the trash compactor.  The framing device is her making a log of events to hide her involvement with taking down the shield.  This results in her trying to track down Sol Rivas, a soldier who has learned that Phasma took down the shield.  This was a rather dry story, but it does set the stage for the rest of this mini-series so things may pick up once we can move forward with the plot.  The major saving grace of this comic is the art. While it is far from perfect it does have some great moments that are visually appealing.  However, there are some sections were the art is cluttered or disputed by the sound effects.  This isn’t a bad comic per se, it is just weak, but readable.  If you wanted to know more about Phasma then begin with the book, but after that give this comic a read.

Captain Phasma #2: This is a much better issue than the first.  This time we follow Phasma and her Pilot as they continue the search for the ‘traitor’ Rivas.  This leads them to a nearly barren planet where they battle monsters and meet the locals. One of the more interesting parts of this story is that Phasma and the Pilot change out of their armor to attempt to blend in with the locals.  While Phasma does not show her face, the Pilot (now called ‘Pilot’) was revealed to be quite the attractive woman.  The writing is well done with several visual pages to augment the stoic nature of the characters.  Add to that, the beautiful art and this is turning around to become one of the better mini-series.  The hunt for Rivas continues in the next issue and the fate of Pilot will have some fans on the edge of their seats.

Poe Dameron #19: Yet another mixed bag issue of this series, par for the course.  This time we wrap up the ‘War Stories’ arc with Poe breaking out of prison and the other half of the team breaking out of their capture.  It has a big fight scene at the end and the preview for the next issue implies that we will be making it back to the main plot (and conclusion) of this series.  The writing is stale at best and insulting at worst.  Some character decisions are mind boggling and feel really out of character. Especially a minor face-turn for Terex which is completely out of character considering the events of the earlier issues in the series.  On the good side the art has improved with faces showing proper emotions and the action looking exciting.  This wasn’t the worst issue of this series by far, but it is more than obvious that ideas are running out and this series has gone on far longer than it should have.

Star Wars 36: Finally, we return to the loose plot thread about the fate of C-3PO.  This is paced out like one of the droid focused episodes of Clone Wars, but isn’t quite as fun.  R2 seems to be a little overpowered as he takes down several Stormtroopers and breaks C-3PO out of a star destroyer. prison  It isn’t bad, but it just doesn’t feel ‘right’.  There isn’t much dialogue to speak of as the protagonist can’t speak, but there is a monologue that likely comes from the user’s manual for R2-D2 and the fumbling of various Imperial soldiers.  The art contrasts the story by being excellent with good facial designs and energy in the action scenes.  The comic ends with a tease for another Scar Squadron mission that will hopefully lead into a new story arc rather than these stand alone (and very boring) stories.  

Star Wars Annual #3: While the annuals in this series have been mixed this was a refreshing and fun filler adventure.  This time Han and Leia are trapped on a barren world as they battle monsters and bounty hunters.  There is a nice ending that fills in a little bit more on Han reasons for sticking with the rebellion as well.  The dialogue is well done with some good one-liners and the characters behaving in a manner that represents their attitudes in the movies.  The art is well done and the coloring has a throwback, newsprint, style.  It might not appeal to everyone, but it is a nice change from the more common hyper realistic or cartoony style that is featured in most comic in this franchise. This isn’t an imperative comic to read, but it is an enjoyable adventure and somehow much more fun than the previous filler stories from the main series.  

Mace Windu #2: This bad arc of the Clone Wars TV series continues.  This time Windu’s team stumbles across bad guys and fights them. The writing is terrible with no characters having any personality, the battle dialogue is bland, and the Separatist’s plan makes little sense.  Add to that the murky art, bad facial expressions, and lethargic fight scenes. There is little chance of this mini-series improving so skip this unless you need to read everything Star Wars or you are reviewing it for the internet.

Darth Vader #5: The arc comes to an end with Vader taking the final steps toward forging his lightsaber. This is a rather simple comic that is mostly told with visual storytelling rather than clunky dialogue or endless internal monologue.  The visuals paint a strong narrative that makes this a very intense ride.  Vaderr’s body language works well to show his struggle and the contrast of colors makes key moments stand out.  The little dialogue in this book is fine and works well with the often silent Vader.  This book is starting to live up to the previous volume, but if this comic sticks to the visual style it might actually be able to achieve that goal.  The preview for the next issue is intriguing and now we know how Vader got his new lightsaber.  Overall, this was a good first arc despite the weak beginning. The best issues are those with little dialogue that use the art to tell the story.  If you are a fan of the character or have an interest in the early days of the Empire this would be a great series to pick up.

Rogue One #6: The final chapter of the story concludes the battle on Scarif and ends the story of Rogue One.  This is one of the few issues of this comic that is out shined by the movie.  The action works so much better with moving pictures rather than still images, no matter how well drawn.  The major positive about this issue is that there is a little extra dialogue among the team before they die and the final page adds a nice capstone to the story.  The art is still really good with the characters showing more emotion than they do in the movie and the action looks really good.  This is a fast read and it was an enjoyable retelling of the movie. It doesn’t add enough to be a ‘must have’, but it is worth a read if you want to see some of the little things that were omitted from the movie.  If you love the movie then you will enjoy this comic.  If you didn’t like the movie this comic might give you a different opinion on the story.  Overall, I really enjoyed this comic and I hope that all future adaptations are up to this standard of quality.  More importantly, I’d like all Star Wars comics to be up to the standards of this adaption because that would make many of the comics in the EU much more enjoyable.

Doctor Aphra 12: This is easily the best current ongoing Star Wars comic, if not the best of all Star Wars comics thus far.  This issue combines horror, action, comedy, and suspense in a way that should make it a primer to those who want to know how to write and draw a comic book.  The story follows the madness that happens when the Empire arrives at the criminal auction as Aphra tries to find a way to escape. There are some nice twits that come up in this issue that should not be spoiled, but they are building this series into my favorite of the current timeline.  The art is also great with the action looking intense, backgrounds looking creepy, and even the droids somehow have emotion in this unmoving faces.  If you have not jumped into this series, do so, it cannot be stated enough that this is a great book that keeps getting better.