Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Comic Book Reviews - February 21, 2018



This week in comics, we finish things up in Redlands, Florida while beginning a new journey in Yharnam, all during the return of a new Power Rangers villain to go see the Ice Cream Man. Strange how it all connects sometimes.

Bloodborne #1

Writer: Ales Kot / Artist: Piotr Kowalski / Colors: Brad Simpson / Letters: Aditya Bidikar

I was excited to read the Bloodborne comic the second it was announced, but got a little turned off by the fact that it was Titan Comics publishing it. They don't have a great track record with Dark Souls games and I've always felt their Assassin's Creed comics to be pretty mediocre. If this issue is a sign of things to come, though, then I think they've got everything figured out pretty well. 

If you're a fan of Bloodborne, you'll really get into this comic. It is a bit jarring to see the Hunter actually have dialogue and a personality, since in the game you make the Hunter its own, but it had to be this way for the story, and the story is quite intriguing. The comic, in a fascinating way, expands upon the lore of the game, something I thought entirely impossible. The big reveal of the comic got the biggest reaction out of me out of any book I read this week, and I'm still thinking about the implications of it. 

Beyond that, though, this is a fast-paced comic, much like the game has a quick feeling to it. The action scenes are visceral and there are several creatures that appear here that are straight out of the game. This is a very faithful comic to the video games, paying respect to two prominent members of the lore in ways that I did not see coming. 

The art here is pretty darn solid. The colors help breath life into this dreary, burning hellscape of a town and make things feel a lot more claustrophobic than if things were to be drawn normally. I do wish the book had a few more shadows to it, since this does make it feel like a standard indie-action comic, but the design work on the part of the actual art makes up for that lack. 

This comic had me smiling the entire time reading it, and each time characters would appear I got happier and happier, because I could read their dialogue with the voices from the game and it fit perfect. This is a wonderful adaptation, and I really can't wait for more. 


Ice Cream Man #2

Writer: W. Maxwell Prince / Artist: Martin Morazzo / Colors: Chris O' Hallaran / Letters: Good Old Neon

While I'm glad that this comic is seemingly moving in the direction of an anthology series, this issue has even less to do with the Ice Cream Man in question than the last. It seems our titular character has gotten out of the spotlight of the cops by going to a new town, but he's not really in much of the comic, which is sort of a shame. This comic is just a weird, oddly (in a purposeful way) written tale about two junkies and how one wants to save the other, and then something happens with ice cream. It's odd. 

But it's not unsettling, which is where I think this issue lacks. The art and coloring work of the last issue really served to add this strange counter-balance between the spooky story and the bright world that was the small town the Ice Cream Man was passing through. With this everything seemed to sync up, but it was not for the better, unfortunately. 

I did enjoy the voice that this story took. It was strange at the beginning but it eventually catches a neat rhythm that you can into by the end of the comic. Overall I'd say we're 1/2 on strange stories for this anthology. I think I'm going to treat this like how someone would treat a seasonal anime series: gonna give it three issues total to gauge if I want to read more. Next month has to do something special or I'm out. 


Infinity Countdown: Prime #1

Writer: Gerry Duggan / Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.  / Colors: Frank Martin / Letters: VC's Cory Petit

Didn't expect to pick this up, but a combination of the art and what happens at the end had me thinking twice, and now I'm not just excited I picked this up, but I'm actually genuinely looking forward to the Infinity Countdown event, which will span most of the Marvel universe and may further some of the mysteries introduced and seemingly left behind in Ultimates 2

The main standout for me, the thing that really hooked me, was the art. There's a particularly gorgeous sequence where mysterious narrator discusses how Captain Marvel came in possession of one of the Infinity Stones and it just looks absolutely stunning. The linework is amazing, the inking does well to give the characters depth with shadows, and the coloring is just the cherry on top. It's matched later with the final sequence with a surprise couple of villains showing up. I don't want to give spoilers, but I'm so excited that my favorite Marvel villain of the last 3 years or so is probably going to have a big part to play in this story. 

Another really neat thing about this issue, that I feel most event comics don't do enough of, is that it gives history to what's at stake. In this case, since this story deals with the rising return of the Infinity Stones in this iteration of the Marvel universe, we see the history of the stones and the various stories they were in, such as how Thanos came to find them and then the events of Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War, even touching upon the instance where the Infinity Gauntlet was used (poorly) in the recent Secret Wars comic. It's a solid prelude to what looks to be just a classic Marvel event. 


Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #24

Writer: Kyle Higgins / Artist: Jonas Scharf / Colors: Joana Lafuente / Letters: Ed Dukeshire

If it weren't obvious that this book is about to make a transition into a major story arc before, this issue all but cements it. The Finster arc comes to a pretty abrupt ending here as we make the swift, drastic transition toward the super-exciting "Shattered Grid" storyline that promises to touch on all elements of Power Rangers history, all just in time for the series' 25th anniversary. 

This isn't a bad issue, as we get to see the Rangers in more action than we have of late, but it is quite oddly paced, particularly the scenes with Finster and Rita talking about what to do with Finster's monster out in the world. And I felt that Jason's characterization still was a bit off to me. I feel like he's grown up just a bit too fast over the course of this arc. He's still only a teenager, and he doesn't really act like one, even the strange versions of teenagers that Power Rangers has. 

Still, the stuff with Lord Drakkon, who we saw at the end of last issue, is great. He's easily the best addition to Power Rangers lore in many years, including the stuff from the TV series. Not like Ninja Steel has done anything cool and Dino Charge's ending botched all that stuff to holy hell. 

The artwork is pretty decent for what it is. Nothing looks terrible, the Rangers look awesome in their suits, and Drakkon remains this incredibly ominous presence. The art does well to show him as the biggest threat the Rangers have faced, and may ever face (outside of the Psycho Rangers, because we all know that they're the best Power Rangers villains). 

Ninjak vs. The Valiant Universe #2

Writer: Eliot Rahal / Pencils: Joe Bennett / Inks: Belardino Brabo / Colors: Ulises Arreola / Letters: Dave Sharpe

A bit of a step down from last issue, unfortunately. Maybe it's best I actually have expectations for this series to be good. This issue does follow up on the promise in the title of the series for Ninjak to be taking on various Valiant heroes and it's cool while it happens, to be fair. And since this is an alternate universe, I'm okay with excusing some of the harsher characterizations, such as the stuff with Gilad being a big hard-ass. I feel that he's a bit more diplomatic in the comics, but it is a good foil for Livewire, who is more sympathetic to Ninjak given their relationship. 

The art in this comic is very much reminiscent of some of the work that Valiant put out at the start of their relaunch in 2012, so it has a nice, classic vibe to it. The coloring is great, too, and the ink work allows for heavier shadows and more defined face-work. There are quite a few talking heads in this issue, but it's leveled out with exciting action scenes. This comic properly highlights that Ninjak is arguably the best fighter in the Valiant Universe, but he's not perfect. He can't beat everyone at once. 

The major downside to this is that Roku is painted as just a standard villain, like you could put her in a dress and a spinning chair with a bald cat and it'd fit. She's a far more nuanced character than what we're seeing and she portrayed far more menace in the first issue than what we see here. I'm still looking forward to what this comic has to offer, since, if nothing else, it's just fun and, again, it's a nice break to the heavy drama pretty latent within Valiant comics of late. 


Redlands #6

Writer: Jordie Bellaire / Artist: Vanessa Del Rey / Colors: Jordie Bellaire / Letters: Clayton Cowles

Redlands is over! For now! It's an Image book so it's just going on a hiatus before the second arc gets going, which is good, because hopefully that means we can just get the return to Injection in the meantime and not have the two book give the other delays like last year. This issue, as a finale, does good character work and wrap up while still leaving some threads from the arc open for us to return to later in the year. 

It's also a pretty hard-core issue by the end of it, touching, like most of the book has, on heavier themes, but this one finally shows us some solid backstory for one our main witches. It's probably my favorite issue of the series so far, maybe rivaling the first issue, since it was a clear, cohesive story that was easily to follow. Redlands hasn't been the easiest story to follow, though I think that has more to do with weird scheduling than actual storytelling. Bellaire tells a gripping tale here, it's a real page-turner from beginning to end. 

The art by Vanessa del Rey continues to be a shining light in the series, as it draws on the strange atmosphere of the world and really plays it up. She can do almost any sort of scene well, be it just some talking heads, characters walking around, or a brutal fight sequence. 

This is a comic I'm looking forward to re-reading in full. Most Image books work better when reading them in a single go like that anyway. I never disliked this comic, but I would often forget what the heck was going on. Getting the story from beginning to end should help my experience with it a little more, and give me better appreciation for the solid story I can see just on the surface, without really digging into it like I can with a re-read. 

Superman #41

Writer: James Robinson / Artist: Ed Benes / Colors: Dinei Ribiero / Letters: Rob Leigh

It's late and I don't want to write about this boring comic, so I'll just sum up my thoughts with this glorious Kevin Sorbo gif and call it a night: 




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