Swordsmith Assassin #1 – Advanced Review

By Andrew Cosby (story), Michael Alan Nelson (Script), Ayhan Hayrula (artist), Andres Lozano (colorist)

The Story: This is a new 4-issue limited series by BOOM! Studios. We start in a Prussian army camp in 1870, where Toshiro Ono has traveled from Japan to retrieve a sword he made. As payment, he tells his story to the Prussian general who owns it. Ono’s story begins in his youth as an apprentice to his father, a Swordsmith. Ono learns his father’s craft, but neglects one small part of the honor of the elder Swordsmith. That flaw has terrible consequences for him as it sets him on a quest to re-balance his life and retrieve all the swords he made for less honorable men.

What’s Good: This is a fine piece of historical fiction. Historical fiction is not done well often, but I really like the setting choices of Prussia and Japan. They’re underused settings, so even though they are historical, to the reader they seem alien and real. Moreover, they’ve found an effective character in Ono, one who is justifiably motivated to atone for his mistakes. He is compelling and we understand his quest for the balance that he refused to learn from his father.

Also, the colors throughout the book are forceful. The Prussian army camp is grounded in browns and grays and muddy tones. The youthful views of Japan are warmed by orange, except for the blue and sterile gray tones around the telling of the core of his hubris. The scene of his confrontation with the villain are set in red. These coloring choices are not realistic, but stylistic, and they are effective at communicating each moment’s mood.

What’s Not So Good: Unfortunately, this very compelling story and script didn’t get the art to really meet the book’s potential. This was for three reasons. Firstly, I felt that Hayrula’s art had some proportion problems. Sometimes the body parts didn’t seem to be properly sized, like the Prussian general’s legs as he emerged from his tent. I felt the same thing looking at the grave of his father, which seemed tilted. Secondly, there is a stiffness to the poses, such as when the general passes Ono a glass of water. The general has already been established as a warm, confident character, but his body language here erases the good will, warmth and humor he’d been showing until now. Thirdly, the shadowing is also a bit heavy. Both the Prussian general and Toshiro Ono in different panels appear to have no left eyes at all, when in fact, both do and the apparent lighting we see in the rest of the panels don’t seem to be so poor that shadows should completely blot out one eye each.

Conclusion: Great idea for a story and well-written, although the art doesn’t meet the same standard. Worth a try. I’ll take a look at the next one.

Grade: C

-DS Arsenault

Caped #4 – Advanced Review

By Josh Lobis and Darin Moiselle (writer), Sebastian Piriz (artist), Digikore Studios (colorist)

The Story: Jimmy remains hot on the trail of the mystery of Marvin’s death and the supposed death of Flex. He goes for help to his boss, the Edge, but the Edge is retiring. He’s had enough and his mind is made up. No sooner does the Edge try to reassemble his personal life when a villain called Twitch springs on him. Without the Edge to be the hero, Jimmy has to make some decisions what he’s really there for and what his role should be.

What’s Good: The characters. Jimmy is a fun hero to follow; he’s motivated, smart, self-decrecating and irrepressible. The Edge is moody, brooding, pragmatic and lacks Jimmy’s vision. Lance Lubenstein is relatively original and interesting. Twitch was hilarious and original. And on the subject of Jimmy, this 4-issue series is about him and his arc is satisfying. He doesn’t lose sight of who he is and what will make him happy. Kudos to Lobis and Moiselle.

What’s Not So Good: Lobis and Moiselle are painting with a broad palette of characters. They’ve made up a whole pantheon and more than a couple have roles to play at the end of the story. I had a few moments of confusion as villains (former heroes) assembled and their plot rushed to reveal its final form. Betrayal is a hard thing to keep track of and a writer has to be careful to lay down enough markers so that the reader understands who everyone is, so that when they do change colors, we’re surprised and not confused. The appearance of the grim reaper at the end was a bit of a curve-ball. Also, because this was a plot-heavy issue that tied up loose ends, it didn’t have the space it needed to sustain the kind of irony that I loved so much in issues #1-3.

The art: The crudeness of the art became more pronounced in this issue. I think that Piriz does some great work with superhero poses and some energy effects, but in this issue he has some real trouble with proportions in bodies and faces. The conversation between Edge and Jimmy in the Edge’s lair exemplifies what I’m talking about. Jimmy in profile looks like half his body is missing and Edge looks stiff and artificial. And the facework, especially the noses and jaws, are rough as they never seem to hit the right note.

Conclusion: Caped #4 came down from it’s high in issue #3. The ending nicely works and ties up the irony of the story, but the art really gets in the way of full appreciation of the book.

Grade: C-

-DS Arsenault