Quick Hit Reviews: Week of February 9, 2011

 

Yeesh… What a lot of comics last week, huh?  Especially after the preceding week being so light that we didn’t even need to do a “quick hits” feature.  That’s randomness for you!  But, the upshot of this weekly feature is that all of the writing staff at WCBR have pretty extensive pull lists and despite our best efforts, some issues don’t get a full review.  Thus, we bring you “quick hit reviews”

Black Panther: Man without Fear #515 – Good and bad with this issue and story.  The good: Francesco Francavilla’s art is just incredibly good.  He’s a real master of dark, moody and atmospheric art.  A bonus is that he colors his own work, so there is a very clear sense of lighting.  I’m also enjoying the story by David Liss of a depowered Black Panther fighting eastern European gangsters.  My only quibbles are that the script is a little verbose and that I don’t understand why Marvel doesn’t just let Francavilla do the cover also.  Really?  A Simone Bianchi cover on a Francavilla book?  There is nothing similar about their styles.  Grade: B — Dean Stell

Osborn #3 – What a sneaky good book this is!!!  Ms. DeConnick writes a very creepy and chilling Norman Osborn: Composed and methodical one moment and a frenzied psycho the next.  This is basically the story of how Osborn busts out of federal custody where he has been since the days of Siege.  Emma Rios’ art is a show stealer.  She is really, really talented and gets to draw all sorts of cool detailed stuff in this issue (including a bad ass riot at the super-villain prison).  Grade: B — Dean Stell

Carnage #3 – Zeb Wells spins a really good symbiote story and Clayton Crain sells how creepy the Carnage symbiote is.  The whole story is just hopping along with the symbiote having taken a new host (that kinda made sense) and busted out of his holding cell before running across town to find a BIG SURPRISE!  This is a well-paced and enjoyable comic.  Even though I enjoyed it and am giving it a good grade, I’m going to throw a rock (or two).  Why does Carnage have to come back this way?  Why can’t a C-list character like him have a new chapter with the lady host?  That would have been more interesting (I think).  And I am really warming to Crain’s art, but wish that he wouldn’t darken the panel every time there is action.  I want to see what is going on!  Grade: B-   — Dean Stell

Tyrannosaurus Rex One-Shot – This was a fun romp.  Not much in the way of story: Caveman village getting repeatedly ruined by a T. Rex.  Village chieftain offers his comely daughter to any many brave enough to slay the beastie.  One randy young man decides to give it a try.  Lots of really good dinosaurs in this comic by Jeff Zornow (including adding the feathers that scientists are now pretty certain they possessed).  The only bummer is that it would have been nice to see a little more of the comely daughter.  Grade: C+ — Dean Stell

Deadpool Team-Up #893 – Review

By Rob Williams (writer), Matteo Scalera (art), Matt Wilson (colors), Jeff Eckleberry (letters)

The Story: Deadpool is contracted to retrieve equipment from a defunct lair of a super villain called the Slaymaster. He’s not the only one after this technology of course, and a rival descends on the hideout to claim the Slaymaster’s mantle just as Deadpool arrives. Fortunately for our Merc (or maybe not), Captain Britain charges onto the scene to help confront this new menace.

What’s Good: Well, Williams has listened to my ranting at least a little bit: ‘Pool and his guest star actually spend a pretty significant amount of time interacting with each other, which is a positive development for this series. (Of course, the majority of that time is spent with transposed personalities, but…baby steps I suppose.)

Scalera’s art fits this issue surprisingly well. The script is quite absurd, but the quick, frantic drawings match the high-intensity nature of both the plot and the quips. Despite this, Scalera almost never loses track of important visual details, and none of the characters or panels seem overly rushed or incomplete. That’s a very good thing, and a credit to the artist.