Comic Reviews
Jun. 11th, 2014 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23Sort of behind, but will get caught up.
Doctor Spektor-Master of the Occult (Dynamite/Gold Key)- Written by Mark Waid. Although it didn't strike any memories, this is one of Dynamite's relaunch of Gold Key comics.
Don't know Gold Key? Yeah, you do.
There's a lot of promise here. Waid has really been at a high level both with his recent Marvel works and with his own created work. There's a striking cover by Christian Ward. This is also part of Dynamite's 2014 push to promote work by some of the world's best talent- Kevin Smith, Jim Butcher, Garth Ennis,Robert Jordan, J Micheal Straczynski, Howard Chaykin, Matt Wagner and others. Even the concept is that one of a loveable rogue who is a vampire hunter and media personality.
It could be great- a bit John Constantine, a bit Bug Jack Barron, a bit Buffy, and a bit Tony Stark.
Unfortunately, it's a ll a letdown. Though the character's premise reads like something that Warren Ellis could have a field day with, Waid only falls flat.
I'm not sure why. Artist Neil Edwards seems like the right choice. I think Ellis (or someone similar) would have made it all about Spektor's charisma. Waid does take this down an interesting path, but it's hard to get involved in what is going on. This is one title that I don't think I will keep up with.
Dream Police (Image/Joe's Comics)- written by J Micheal Straczynski- JMS has been busy with his Joe's Comics titles, and the good news is that the quality has been very consistent.
JMS might not always have the most original of ideas, but he can sure craft a story. Police is another example of this. The premise is of a police group that governs the nightmares and things that go bump in the night.
Yes, that's all been done before. I can't help but thinking of RIPD, but surely you can think of dozens of similar examples of shows that took this plotline.
There's a certain noir-ish element in this fantasy comic, which makes it work well. JMS has done a lot of Twilight Zone work, and those touches show here, and why he's a master storyteller (like the jukebox that only features songs that have "Dream" in the title).
Sid Kotian and Bill Farmer's lines and color give this the right vibe to get it to pop off the page.
JMS fans should love this, and if you like this kind of Twilight Zone-ish fantasy, this is worth seeing where it goes.
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MPH (Image) - written by Mark Millar - Millar is another prolific artist with a new title out.
He teams up once again with a stellar artist- in this case it's Hellboy's Duncan Fegredo.
Like some of other Millar's works, MPH has probably been done before. Books like Powers, Daredevil and others have tackled the concept of taking a drug to make yourself a super hero and all the possibilities that come with that.
MPH falls into the kind of thing that Millar does best. It talks of a mostly honest drug dealer who winds up in prison and eventually ends up taking a pill that makes him somewhat of The Flash.
This gives some flexibility to be crass like Kick Ass, but Millar obviously has more to it by bringing in some of those classic superhero mythos.
it works well. It doesn't feel like the most original story, but Millar delivers it well- building suspense and creating appropriate tension.
I know people have strong opinions on Millar but if you like him, you won't be disappointed.
Doctor Spektor-Master of the Occult (Dynamite/Gold Key)- Written by Mark Waid. Although it didn't strike any memories, this is one of Dynamite's relaunch of Gold Key comics.
Don't know Gold Key? Yeah, you do.
There's a lot of promise here. Waid has really been at a high level both with his recent Marvel works and with his own created work. There's a striking cover by Christian Ward. This is also part of Dynamite's 2014 push to promote work by some of the world's best talent- Kevin Smith, Jim Butcher, Garth Ennis,Robert Jordan, J Micheal Straczynski, Howard Chaykin, Matt Wagner and others. Even the concept is that one of a loveable rogue who is a vampire hunter and media personality.
It could be great- a bit John Constantine, a bit Bug Jack Barron, a bit Buffy, and a bit Tony Stark.
Unfortunately, it's a ll a letdown. Though the character's premise reads like something that Warren Ellis could have a field day with, Waid only falls flat.
I'm not sure why. Artist Neil Edwards seems like the right choice. I think Ellis (or someone similar) would have made it all about Spektor's charisma. Waid does take this down an interesting path, but it's hard to get involved in what is going on. This is one title that I don't think I will keep up with.
Dream Police (Image/Joe's Comics)- written by J Micheal Straczynski- JMS has been busy with his Joe's Comics titles, and the good news is that the quality has been very consistent.
JMS might not always have the most original of ideas, but he can sure craft a story. Police is another example of this. The premise is of a police group that governs the nightmares and things that go bump in the night.
Yes, that's all been done before. I can't help but thinking of RIPD, but surely you can think of dozens of similar examples of shows that took this plotline.
There's a certain noir-ish element in this fantasy comic, which makes it work well. JMS has done a lot of Twilight Zone work, and those touches show here, and why he's a master storyteller (like the jukebox that only features songs that have "Dream" in the title).
Sid Kotian and Bill Farmer's lines and color give this the right vibe to get it to pop off the page.
JMS fans should love this, and if you like this kind of Twilight Zone-ish fantasy, this is worth seeing where it goes.
MPH (Image) - written by Mark Millar - Millar is another prolific artist with a new title out.
He teams up once again with a stellar artist- in this case it's Hellboy's Duncan Fegredo.
Like some of other Millar's works, MPH has probably been done before. Books like Powers, Daredevil and others have tackled the concept of taking a drug to make yourself a super hero and all the possibilities that come with that.
MPH falls into the kind of thing that Millar does best. It talks of a mostly honest drug dealer who winds up in prison and eventually ends up taking a pill that makes him somewhat of The Flash.
This gives some flexibility to be crass like Kick Ass, but Millar obviously has more to it by bringing in some of those classic superhero mythos.
it works well. It doesn't feel like the most original story, but Millar delivers it well- building suspense and creating appropriate tension.
I know people have strong opinions on Millar but if you like him, you won't be disappointed.
