Viking #2 – Review

by Ivan Brandon (writer), Nic Klein (art, letters, design), and Kristyn Ferretti (letters & design)

The Story: Finn and Egil face the consequences of their actions.

What’s Good: From its basic design to the artwork itself, this book is one of the most gorgeous comics on store shelves today.  The fact that this book is $2.99 is unbelievable.

The art is a perfect blend of painting, modern indie comic, and cartoonish; stylized and beautiful, it’s a sight to behold.  I love Klein’s mastery of lighting in the book; it’s clear that he’s painting a world without electricity, as when it’s night, one gets a real sense of the firelight that is relied upon as everything takes on a dark orange hue.  I also reallyenjoyed Klein’s use of color to depict mood, with everything going a light red in moments of tension or violence. With creative panel layouts and large, impressive splashes, this book does the painted form proud.

There is however a story at work here, as Brandon continues to establish the voices of his characters.  This month, we really get a sense of the “crime fiction” element of the tale.  King Bram sounds like a mob boss and Brandon’s depiction of the Viking lifestyle sounds increasingly like that of the gangster lifestyle taken up by immigrants in the early twentieth century.  The wild and naive ambitions of the young, the difficulty of leaving the life behind, and the Grandfather’s wish that his grandsons do not enter the life of crime carved out by their father all make this comic sound a hell of a lot like a gangster movie.  Brandon is clearly making his generic standing clear this month, and the comic is all the more intriguing for it.  Meanwhile, for the second month in a row, Brandon ends his book with a final scene that packs an emotional wallop.

What’s Not-So-Good: This is a quick read.  Gorgeous painted artwork and single page splashes unfortunately mean several pages with little dialogue.  This also unfortunately means that at the end of issue 2, we still don’t have a real idea of what the plot of the series is.  I just didn’t quite feel that enough happened in the span of these 22 pages.  At times I even felt like the comic became more of an artbook than a comic, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.  It felt as though the comic needed a few more pages to get more done or to flesh more out.  I like what we got but I feel that we needed more of it.  This comic just doesn’t seem to have established a direction for itself yet.

This normally wouldn’t be so annoying really, but the fact that Viking is a bi-monthly title makes it somewhat crippling.  Having waited two months to get an issue that still doesn’t see a major thrust is somewhat frustrating. So little happened this issue and we still will have to wait until the end of August for #3.

Conclusion: A solid book that nonetheless feels a little light.

Grade: C+

-Alex Evans

Broken Trinity #3 – Review

By Ron Marz (Writer), Stjepan Sejic (Art), and Phil Hester (Art)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: In a market crowded by event books, I have found myself pleasantly surprised by Top Cow’s Broken Trinity crossover. It has proven that an epic, satisfying crossover event can be told in under six months and without dozens of tie-ins. That said, after reading Broken Trinity #2, I couldn’t help but feel that the story would have been better told in four parts as opposed to three. Everything about chapter two felt rushed, so I come into the “fatal conclusion” with my expectations a bit lower than they were, following the excellent Broken Trinity #1.

The Story: As it says on the cover, Broken Trinity #3 is all about bringing the Top Cow crossover to a “fatal conclusion.” The stakes have never been higher as the Witchblade bearer, the Darkness host, the Angelus, and the two new artifact bearers (Finn and Glori) battle it out in New York City. And for those of you wondering, the story actually makes good on the tagline’s promise, as a major player in the Top Cow universe is killed in this issue.

What’s Good: Broken Trinity #3 delivers in pretty much every way; especially with an action-packed conclusion to a crossover event. The artwork by Stjepan Sejic and Phil Hester is extremely impressive throughout the book and at times, simply stunning. It adds a weight and intensity to Ron Marz’s epic clash of powers. As for the story, it proves to be both a fitting conclusion and an interesting launching point for the future of the Top Cow universe.

What’s Not So Good: The nagging feeling that the event should have one more chapter never truly went away while reading it’s conclusion. There is a ton of information crammed in between all the fighting, and I can’t help but feel it could have been introduced in another way. Also, it is worth mentioning that it is clear which scenes gained the lion’s share of the artistic attention, an unfortunate trend in Stjepan Sejic’s work. That said, I can nearly forgive that complaint entirely, since even at its worst, the art is quite a bit more visually pleasing than almost anything else on the stands.

Conclusion: Consider this a must read if you have any interest at all in the future of the Top Cow universe. The battle is epic, the conclusion is indeed fatal, and the future is shown to be loaded with potential.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny