Day: October 22, 2013

The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones 17 (May 1984)

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One could just sit and admire Michelinie’s storytelling economy. Not even the great character work he does on Indy, but just the economy of how he structures the catch-up.

He opens in a dangerous present, resolving a cliffhanger he never did, then (somewhat obviously but still competently) goes back to fill in the blanks. The awesome part is how he gives equal weight to flashbacks from the comic and the stuff he’s just filling in. It makes readers feel familiar with the new material, even though they’ve never seen it before.

Neat trick.

The finish involves an evil Frenchman and an evil Scot–I’m guessing, I wasn’t paying attention–teaming up with the Nazis to raid a lost city. They’re weak villains, but the rest of the comic makes up for them.

If only it the art were better. Trimpe and Colleta mess up action and quiet panels alike.

CREDITS

The Search for Abner, Chapter One: The Grecian Earn; writer, David Michelinie; penciller, Herb Trimpe; inker, Vince Colletta; colorist, Robbie Carosella; letterer, Joe Rosen; editor, Eliot Brown; publisher, Marvel Comics.

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Resident Alien 3 (July 2012)

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I didn’t really like this one. The issue, I mean. The series is still fine. To some degree, getting the series set for a sequel didn’t help Hogan. But also not having a good conclusion to his mystery. He has Harry finishing up the investigation and then the investigation sort of blowing up in his face. There’s nothing interesting about the plot structure and the case gets boring.

And then the supporting cast falls off again too. Not even Asta has anything to do during the issue, just for her big scene at the end. It’s hard to say if the structure is where Hogan lost control of the issue; the entire issue just feels a little too slight. Like maybe they found out they were getting another series and replotted this one.

Still, it’s very likable. It just doesn’t do as well as it should. Maybe the next will.

CREDITS

Writer, Peter Hogan; artist, colorist and letterer, Steve Parkhouse; editor, Philip R. Simon; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

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The Boys 58 (September 2011)

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Most of the “events” this issue are old items hinted at in some bug logs Hughie is reading. There’s a scene where he and Butcher continue investigating the crime, but it actually just confirms the suspicions they’ve had for two issues. It doesn’t develop anything, just confirms. Ennis is really treading water here….

Especially given the scene with the Legend and Butcher. The whole “Is Butcher a bad guy” foreshadowing runs through the scene and I realized Ennis tries as hard as he can to bring it back every issue. To force it into one conversation or another; at this point, there’s no way for him to do it naturally.

And nothing about The Boys feels natural anymore. Ennis has hit a point where way too little is happening in his story arcs. He’s not taking his time to enjoy; here it’s just bad jokes.

He’s tired, so’s the comic.

CREDITS

The Big Ride, Part Three; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Russ Braun; colorist, Tony Aviña; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

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