Quick Hits Reviews – Week of April 6, 2011

 

Is there ever going to be a “light week” of comics again?  Seriously, have these companies see the sales numbers?  Try as we might, sometimes we cannot get to everything for a full review, thus….the Quick Hits Reviews….

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #5 – This was my “pick of the week” and it really came out of the blue because you usually don’t expect a middle issue (i.e. 5 out of 9) to be anything too special.  But, this issue had great action as the Young Avengers (and a few “old” Avengers) tangle with Dr. Doom, some neat time-hopping courtesy of Iron Lad and the return of an iconic character to the Marvel Universe.  So, it get’s “full credit” for story.  And Jim Cheung’s art is just incredible.  Sure, this comic only ships every other month, but it looks like Cheung is doing twice as much work and I’ve had zero trouble keeping the story straight in my head during the wait between issues.  This is really worth jumping on, folks!  Just go get the back issues and ride along from here.  Grade: A

Who is Jake Ellis #3 – This is a good example of how to maintain momentum in a story as the creators hit issue 3 out of 5.  Because they sprinkled their mysteries with a lot of Jason Borne-action in issues #1 and #2, the reader isn’t bored by now with the titular mystery.  I’m still legitimately curious about who Jake is…..and who Jon is for that matter.  I also really like that there seem to be only two plausible explanations for Jake (that he is a figment of Jon’s imagination OR he is some other ghostly agent somehow grafted to Jon), but that both seem equally plausible.  This is just a really tight series and I love the art.  Nice job guys!  Also very happy to see that this has sold well enough that it’ll we’ll be getting more than just the five originally planned issues!  Grade: B+

Sweet Tooth #20 – Here’s a tip (and a minor SPOILER)….. if you are a character in a post-Apocalyptic story and you stumble across some kind of underground sanctuary that offers copious food and shelter AND it is only being occupied by a singular caretaker, you should probably run away, right?  Do you think you’re the first people that he has brought into his trap….ooopppps…..I mean “HOME”.  Again with this issue, Lemire is setting up another story that is probably going to have a kinda grim ending because….well…..it’s Sweet Tooth.  But, you just know it’ll be told with style and will tug at your emotions in a way that very few comics will.  I’m also loving seeing Sweet Tooth himself begin to asset himself a little more in his dealings with Jepperd.  He’s come a long way from his days in the woods.  Great art!  Grade: B+

Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 – Review

By: Malachai Nicolle (writer), Ethan Nicolle (art, letters), Dirk Erik Schulz (colors) & Shawna Gore (editor)

The Story: Very roughly… Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier have to stop a nefarious plot.

What’s Good: I wish we could have more comics like this.  If you aren’t familiar with the Axe Cop webcomic, (a) you should check it out asap and (b) you are in for a TREAT.  The hook with Axe Cop is that the writer, Malachai Nicolle, is 6 years old.  If you’ve ever heard a young child tell a story, you know that they can come up with some zany things.  Some of this is due to the fact that their story-telling is completely uninhibited and some is due to the fact that they lose track of the story as they unload on you with a stream of consciousness.

Of course, the other half of the magic is Malachai’s artist brother Ethan (30 years old).  Ethan is a terrific artist and brings his little brother’s words to the page with great gusto.  I think the reason it works is that Ethan is playing it 100% straight.  Even on the opening page when Axe Cop takes a drink of water and is accused by a talking hammer of drinking his friend’s (the cup’s) brain, the art never has even an ounce of silliness.  It is 100% hardcore serious stuff down to Axe Cop’s character design (pushbroom mustache + mirrored aviator sunglasses) to the anger lines emanating from the hammer as he yells at Axe Cop.  It is such a smart art choice by Ethan for a couple of reasons.  First, you can “sell” just about any outlandish idea as long as you treat it 100% seriously.  Second, I’m sure when Malachai is telling his brother the story, it is 100% serious to Malachai.  He doesn’t think it is amusing. To him it is a hardcore action story.