Ash77
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Frank Espinosa is a freaking national treasure.
His art...man. This guy is amazing. There's a little bit of Darwyn Cooke via Will Eisner, to start, but it doesn't nearly end there. Not that he's light years beyond those greats; he just goes in a completely different direction. His line work is just the beginning, because it's with his colors that Espinosa makes his pages explode, all splashes of lights and darks and reds and yellows that suggest speed, fantasy, endless action. His character design, meanwhile, is descended straight from Chester Gould and Dick Tracy--Hammerhead and Prune Face would be right at home in Espinosa's visual world.
It's a good thing Espinosa is so talented, because in the hands of a more conventional artist, this script by Glen Brunswick would be pure trash. It aims for the blunt hyper-reality of classic pulps, but instead comes off like it's trying way too hard to sound "edgy" and "fierce." There's also the cheap male fantasy of the nineteen-year-old knockout who's been beaten into submission by the mob and now is an expert killer--sounds like low-end fan fiction to me.
In Espinosa's hands, however, the pulp elements are drawn out, and the exploitation is downplayed. If guest cover artist Frank Cho had drawn the book, his penchant for pin-up girls and ass shots would have absolutely torpedoed the script's best intentions. As it stands, it's Espinosa who makes this title sing in any way whatsoever--it's one comic where the creator and writer just seems along for the ride.
2 pts.
1 pts.
0 pts.
Frank Espinosa is a freaking national treasure.
His art...man. This guy is amazing. There's a little bit of Darwyn Cooke via Will Eisner, to start, but it doesn't nearly end there. Not that he's light years beyond those greats; he just goes in a completely different direction. His line work is just the beginning, because it's with his colors that Espinosa makes his pages explode, all splashes of lights and darks and reds and yellows that suggest speed, fantasy, endless action. His character design, meanwhile, is descended straight from Chester Gould and Dick Tracy--Hammerhead and Prune Face would be right at home in Espinosa's visual world.
It's a good thing Espinosa is so talented, because in the hands of a more conventional artist, this script by Glen Brunswick would be pure trash. It aims for the blunt hyper-reality of classic pulps, but instead comes off like it's trying way too hard to sound "edgy" and "fierce." There's also the cheap male fantasy of the nineteen-year-old knockout who's been beaten into submission by the mob and now is an expert killer--sounds like low-end fan fiction to me.
In Espinosa's hands, however, the pulp elements are drawn out, and the exploitation is downplayed. If guest cover artist Frank Cho had drawn the book, his penchant for pin-up girls and ass shots would have absolutely torpedoed the script's best intentions. As it stands, it's Espinosa who makes this title sing in any way whatsoever--it's one comic where the creator and writer just seems along for the ride.
2 pts.
Black Summer is pretty typical Warren Ellis, if there is such a thing, and I think that there is.
Even the characters who aren't smartasses are smartasses; plenty of swearing, violence, and clever one-liners; the world as we know it is corrupted and awful, except for those crazy and/or noble enough to rise above it all and fight the system.
You can draw a line from Transmetropolitan all the way to Black Summer, and that line will hold up. Depending on your point of view, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing. Also depending on how much you enjoy Warren Ellis' worldview and writing style.
Issue 3 of Black Summer continues to up the ante for the Seven Guns, a group of superhumans being hunted down by the US military after one of their number, John Horus, killed the President in the ultimate act of protest against a government gone wrong. Though it's never explicitly stated, it's pretty well assumed that this dead President is a version of George W. Bush transplanted into the Black Summer universe.
That makes this book a dirty bit of political protest, even as it's an edgy tale of superheroics; Ellis is trying to show us a single fantastic worst-case scenario of how things could go horribly wrong for our government were there anyone strong and certain enough to stand up to the current "regime." So you get a little current events parable along with your grim 'n' gritty superheroics.
Even the characters who aren't smartasses are smartasses; plenty of swearing, violence, and clever one-liners; the world as we know it is corrupted and awful, except for those crazy and/or noble enough to rise above it all and fight the system.
You can draw a line from Transmetropolitan all the way to Black Summer, and that line will hold up. Depending on your point of view, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing. Also depending on how much you enjoy Warren Ellis' worldview and writing style.
Issue 3 of Black Summer continues to up the ante for the Seven Guns, a group of superhumans being hunted down by the US military after one of their number, John Horus, killed the President in the ultimate act of protest against a government gone wrong. Though it's never explicitly stated, it's pretty well assumed that this dead President is a version of George W. Bush transplanted into the Black Summer universe.
That makes this book a dirty bit of political protest, even as it's an edgy tale of superheroics; Ellis is trying to show us a single fantastic worst-case scenario of how things could go horribly wrong for our government were there anyone strong and certain enough to stand up to the current "regime." So you get a little current events parable along with your grim 'n' gritty superheroics.
1 pts.
Captain America has become one of those characters who can be incredibly hard to handle. On the surface, you have a pretty basic concept--super-soldier, frozen since WWII, fights crime and loves his country. There seems to be a lot to chew on, but there's no big fat character or personality hook that defines the character, as there is for Spider-Man, the Hulk, or the Fantastic Four.
Cap has been written well over the years, off and on, but Ed Brubaker's run as writer might be up there with the all-time greats. He has concocted an intricate superhero espionage story that taps into many of the elements from past Cap stories that have defined the title and the character, but he pushes them all in some pretty astonishing new directions.
To delve too deeply into the specifics of Brubaker's run would spoil the surprise, but it's hard to imagine any comic book fan worth his or her Spidey Underoos hasn't realized that Bucky Barnes is back as the Winter Soldier. Bucky's return is the perfect example of what makes this title great--it's unexpected, it's edgy, and it's played in a completely plausible manner (well, plausible by comic book standards) that transforms Cap's world and raises the stakes for all the characters involved.
With the much-publicized death of the titular character, Captain America has become an even better title, if that's even possible. The reactions to Cap's death are pushing these characters toward some inevitable showdowns that will continue to electrify this book. It's easily one of the best titles Marvel's putting on stands today.
Cap has been written well over the years, off and on, but Ed Brubaker's run as writer might be up there with the all-time greats. He has concocted an intricate superhero espionage story that taps into many of the elements from past Cap stories that have defined the title and the character, but he pushes them all in some pretty astonishing new directions.
To delve too deeply into the specifics of Brubaker's run would spoil the surprise, but it's hard to imagine any comic book fan worth his or her Spidey Underoos hasn't realized that Bucky Barnes is back as the Winter Soldier. Bucky's return is the perfect example of what makes this title great--it's unexpected, it's edgy, and it's played in a completely plausible manner (well, plausible by comic book standards) that transforms Cap's world and raises the stakes for all the characters involved.
With the much-publicized death of the titular character, Captain America has become an even better title, if that's even possible. The reactions to Cap's death are pushing these characters toward some inevitable showdowns that will continue to electrify this book. It's easily one of the best titles Marvel's putting on stands today.
0 pts.