Day: September 17, 2014

100% 3 (October 2002)

100% #3

This issue has three things going on. First is the boxer who's Strel's ex-boyfriend. He gets a couple chapters–Pope splits 100% into chapters and there are a lot of them in this issue. Anyway, the boxer gets a couple chapters. They're mostly for mood and exposition.

But then John and Daisy get to go on their date (after some flirtation earlier on) and John has managed to swipe Daisy's panties from work. Quite innocently, of course. Between this problem and Kimberly's date with Strel's cousin to get sushi, the comic feels like Love and Rockets. Not in the art, but in how Pope presents the little adventures of the cast.

It's sort of meandering. There's a lot of personality and mood, but Pope's muted. And then, out of nowhere, he executes the exceptional sex scene and all of a sudden the issue's the best in the series.

Just crazy good.

A 

CREDITS

Writer and artist, Paul Pope; colorist, Lee Loughridge; letterer, John Workman; editors, Mariah Huehner and Shelly Bond; publisher, Vertigo.

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Sirens 1 (September 2014)

Sirens #1

Sirens is a whole lot of work. George Pérez clearly had this series in mind for a while, considering it’s a sequel to some other long-running series in his imagination. He’s not introducing the cast of beautiful and empowered caricatures he calls Sirens, he’s reintroducing them.

So there are a lot of characters, all of them in different times through history–not sure any of the time periods are particularly realistic. The Wild West one, where the schoolmarm is teaching the kids secular reads on religion themes? Not realistic.

The art’s okay. Everything’s really busy and detailed and it’s a bunch of new characters so who cares.

Pérez spends more time on the supporting casts–in terms of writing–in these various time periods, than he does on the lead characters. They’re supposed to be a surprise, sure, but they need some kind of depth. Even if it’s shallow.

C 

CREDITS

From Time to Time; writer and artist, George Pérez; colorist, Leonardo Paciarotti; letterer, Ed Dukeshire; editors, Chris Rosa and Dafna Pleban; publisher, Boom! Studios.

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Blue Devil 23 (April 1986)

Blue Devil #3

The issue's all action, which makes up for Alan Kupperberg and Bill Collins's artwork. The proportions are weird, even if Kupperberg's fight choreography and panel composition are generally okay. It's a forced crossover issue, with Blue Devil passing through Pittsburgh so of course he's going to get into the middle of a fight between Firestorm and his foes.

Writers Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin do a fairly good job for the visiting Firestorm readers. There are maybe three pages of regular Blue Devil stuff going on, all of them compelling and inviting enough to try to get those visitors back for the next issue. There's a big reveal for Blue Devil too and the writers are able to make it palatable to new readers.

It's a fairly neat issue, all told; Firestorm gets almost as much to do as Blue Devil and their protracted conflict makes narrative sense.

It's fine.

B 

CREDITS

Caught in the Firestorm; writers, Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin; penciller, Alan Kupperberg; inker, Bill Collins; colorist, Michele Wolfman; letterer, Albert DeGuzman; editor, Alan Gold; publisher, DC Comics.

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Sons of Anarchy 13 (September 2014)

Sons of Anarchy #13

So much talking. And Couceiro does a great job with all that talking, but the issue consists of four or five conversations and one suggestive last page. I can't remember but it might be the first time Brisson's done a bridging issue on Sons of Anarchy. Maybe not, but certainly never so deliberate as this one.

Worse, the principal conversation is recapping events the reader already knows about. Jax and the regular cast members have been guest starring in this arc, but here Brisson brings them up to a lead status… only there had to be a better way than the recap. The conversation just goes on and on.

But, like I said, Couceiro's art is fantastic throughout and he does keep those conversations moving. And Brisson's dialogue is good, it's just too much build-up. The arc, which is definitely different, is now lagging.

Brisson should wrap it fine though.

CREDITS

Writer, Ed Brisson; artist, Damian Couceiro; colorist, Michael Spicer; letterer, Ed Dukeshire; editor, Dafna Pleban; publisher, Boom! Studios.

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