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BLACK PANTHER #50 CAPTAIN AMERICA #5 GREEN LANTERN #155 KILLRAVEN #1 (of 6) MEKANIX #1 (of 6) STORMWATCH #4
BLACK PANTHER #50 Storytellers: Priest & Dan Fraga Inker: Lary Stucker Marvel Comics, 32 color pages, $2.50
The first issue of this title's relaunch is billed 'Black and White: A Crime Novel'. A light-skinned black cop has found the Black Panther's suit and is using it to attempt to improve his standing on a corrupt police force. Beyond the costume, the only other holdovers from the previous run of issues are appearances by Hunter the White Wolf and Sergeant Tork. There are flashes of the Priest humor that made his work so appealing to his fanbase, but the story overall is a dark, street-level crime drama with no real heroes. I felt like I finally understood the story on the third time through, but that's not unusual for the author's dense writing style that refuses to connect all the dots or handhold readers.
It's an intriguing concept for a big two comic, and given news stories over the past few years, a timely, gritty topic. I fear it may be too complicated for monthly comic chapters, though, especially given the occasional art gaps. It's also a drastic change for the title. I understand why Marvel would want to hang onto all the existing readers they could, but whether that's successful depends on how many previous buyers were there just for Priest's writing, the only thing that carries over. As for new readers, the true audience for this kind of story may not want to jump aboard something called Black Panther at this point.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #5 Writer: John Ney Reiber Artist: John Cassaday Marvel Comics, 32 color pages, $2.99
I don't recall exactly what the cliffhanger was last issue (and the story so far text doesn't cover it), so the wrapup of it in the first third of the book was rather shrug-inducing for me. The second third is more philosophical maundering about what defines war and terror and soldiers.
The only reason I'm talking about this book is the last scene, in which Captain America is talking with an airplane seatmate about 9/11 and the war on terror. She points out that the definition of war keeps changing, and he responds that he doesn't want to see more civilians killed, as he believes will happen in the next world war. Then there's a condemnation of the WWII firebombing of Dresden in which the Allies are compared to terrorists. Kind of an odd thing to include in this comic, but it does fit in with the general schizophrenic nature of the writing so far. The art, especially the shots of Cap in battle, is stunning, of course, but the rest of it ... I wish I could make more sense of it.
GREEN LANTERN #155 Script: Judd Winick Pencils: Dale Eaglesham Inks: Rodney Ramos DC Comics, 40 color pages, $2.25
It always surprises me when I realize that Kyle Rayner, Green Lantern, is the superhero I most relate to in comics. At first glance, we have little in common, since he's a young single guy dealing with juggling work and amazing powers, but it's the emotional realism I react to. When his friend is beaten near death, he feels powerless, and after lashing out, he contemplates giving up. These are very human responses.
I could have done without the guest appearances by the JLA and the Spectre, but you have to deal with those kind of 'why not go back in time' alternatives in a superhero universe. Many readers will also be happy to see the question of whether a hero behaves the way Kyle did last issue dealt with, although I suspect several of them won't appreciate the subtlety of the answer given.
The revelation of Terry's status made me cry. It's clear that this isn't just a storyline stunt; the events of this and last issue will have lasting character repercussions. The ending is a creative way to take a different path with the book for a while, although I'll miss the departing character.
KILLRAVEN #1 (of 6) Story/Art: Alan Davis Inks: Mark Farmer Marvel Comics, 32 color pages, $2.99
It's Alan Davis art telling the story of a barbarian slave who escapes from Martian overlords on a future Earth. Even though the character originally appeared in the 70s, everything you need to know is revealed to you in the course of the issue. Still, it's a bunch of fighters wandering around in skimpy outfits (on both boys and girls, equitably) and muttering about how there aren't game shows or supermarkets or old people anymore.
Given the emphasis on battle, if someone had to bring Killraven back, it might have made a better video game. It's pretty, but at this point, we've seen the by-the-numbers team (the leader, the rebel, the girl, the black guy, and the old guy) and the fighting-the-overlords plot many times before. For Alan Davis and/or nostalgia fans only.
MEKANIX #1 (of 6) by Chris Claremont and Juan Bobillo & Marcelo Sosa Marvel Comics, 32 color pages, $2.99
Halfway through the issue, I realized a couple of things. Chris Claremont is using a lot of words to tell me very little I didn't already know about Kitty Pryde (and I don't follow the X-books very much). Even though he didn't create her, Greg Rucka did a much better job with the character in the recent X-MEN UNLIMITED. And seeing Kitty as a COYOTE UGLY-type waitress in a skimpy halter top just seems wrong.
I was hoping this would be an enjoyable read, but I don't have the patience to wait more issues to find out who all the characters are and why I should care.
STORMWATCH #4 Writer: Micah Ian Wright Pencils: Whilce Portacio Inks: Sal Regla DC/WildStorm, 32 color pages, $2.95
Much as I enjoy the writing in this book, I can no longer recommend it. The art just gets sloppier and sloppier, and it makes for too hard a read. Exhibit A this issue is a new character's injured ear. A big deal is made of it in the text, but in about half the book, the artist didn't bother to draw the damage or the bandage. The colorist attempts to make up for it, but that just results in the guy looking like he's bleeding from his ear canel through an undamaged ear.
The worst example is a two-page spread with five panels being successive close-ups of the character's head. In the panel on the left, the bandage is clearly visible and bulky. The right panels show no bandage, just a different colored spot where someone tried to fix the art later. On a subsequent page, the bandage vanishes and reappears from panel to panel. This is Liefeld-level lack of consistency and quality. I wish Mr. Wright luck in his future endeavors.
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