Invincible Iron Man #507 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Tony discovers unexpected problems while Pepper finds herself faced by both Sasha Hammer’s Hammer Corps and the Worthy-fied Grey Gargoyle.

What’s Good:  Pepper Potts to the rescue!  Really, were it not for her, this would’ve been a pretty drab issue.  But instead, we get lots of Pepper Potts in her Rescue suit playing the superhero, which is always fun.

While seeing her rumble with the Grey Gargoyle and the Hammer Corps would be fun either way, Sasha Hammer’s presence makes it all the juicier.  Matt Fraction does well in drawing upon the history these two have from way back in the very first arc of Invincible Iron Man, reminding us of the fact that Sasha is a big reason why Pepper has a repulsor in her chest to begin with.  Naturally, the two have bad blood with one another and seeing them clash like this is a lot of fun.  Better still is that Fraction looks like he’s going to force the two to team up out of necessity.  It’s an awesome dynamic and it’s always great to see writers make good use of previous material.

On Tony’s end, the strongest element is the lingering spectre of his alcoholism, as he quietly falls deeper down the well.  The last page is haunting stuff that promises dark things to come, as the booze begins to take effect on Tony’s intellect.  Suffice it to say, it appears that we’re moving past the humorous part of drunken Tony.

But really, Pepper is the star of the show here, and if you’re a fan of her (as I imagine everyone reading Fraction’s Invincible Iron Man is), you get some really good stuff here.  Her fight scenes are great and I love how Fraction is turning Sasha into her own personal nemesis.

Oh, and hey, Rescue fighting the Hammer Corps also means that Salvador Larroca gets to do a lot of what he’s best at: drawing robots/machines blowing shit up and beating the piss out of each other.

Witchblade #122 – Review

By Ron Marz (Writer) and Stjepan Stejic (Art)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: There is no question about it, Witchblade #122 is a bit overdue. It is understandable though, especially considering the work Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic did for the Broken Trinity event. The current Witchblade arc, if I recall correctly, got off to a promising start with a grisly murder, a nagging reporter named Gretch, and the appearance of a magic golem. I look forward to seeing what happens next now that the Witchblade ongoing series is back on track.

The Story: Sara Pezzini, with Gretch in tow, continues her investigation into the mysterious murder that took place within a Jewish community. As forensics turns up new surprising evidence that puts an unexpected twist on an already strange case. Sara begins to feel that the Witchblade might come in handy. Meanwhile, Dani Baptiste takes time to meet with a beautiful, troubled student looking for some help as she experiences a surprise of her own.

What’s Good: While a bit predictable, the latest issue of Witchblade does a great job of weaving a story for both Sara the cop and Sara the artifact bearer. On one hand, you have an intriguing police procedural tinged by the possibility of the paranormal (think X-Files meets C.S.I.). On the other, you have the story of a cop with the ability to go above and beyond the call of duty as only a hero can, dealing with some of the baggage that comes with the territory. Both work extremely well and continue to show how far the series has come under the direction of writer, Ron Marz.

Also good are the visuals but, chances are you already knew that. Stjepan Sejic’s work routinely make Witchblade one of the best looking books on the stands and this issue is no exception. There are a few full page images so exceptional I consider them to be worth the cover price alone.

What’s Not So Good: I find it surprising that the other Witchblade bearer, Dani, continues to play such a low key, second fiddle role to the overall plot. I understand this arc is more Sara-centric, but Dani’s segment almost feels like an afterthought. Sure, it is interesting enough to make me look forward to how she handles the situation, but I continue to feel like she should play a bigger role in the overall scheme of things. Also disappointing is the fact that the current arc is going to conclude in the next issue. I can’t help but worry about a rushed conclusion considering how the story has been told so far.

Conclusion: You really can’t go wrong with this one. It features fantastic artwork, a well-written paranormal police story, an interesting cliffhanger, and even a little bit of fan-service. Check it out.

Grade: A-

-Kyle Posluszny

Proof #14 – Review

By Alex Grecian (story), Riley Rossmo (art), Adam Guzowski (colors)

John “Proof” Prufrock and his partner, Ginger Brown, are agents for the Lodge, a secret government organization that is tasked with the cryptozoological investigations of the creatures of myth and legend that exist in the world today. By the way, Proof is a sasquatch.

In this issue, part five of what is obviously a graphic novel tailored story, Proof and Savage Dragon (whose presence in this issue felt contrived and unnecessary) are in Illinois investigating the existence of thunderbirds, while his partner Ginger is searching for a missing golem named Joe, who has ventured off with a mysterious yeti named Mi-Chen Po.

In Grecian’s hands, Proof and Ginger are likable characters; there’s a sense of a Mulder and Scully dynamic to their relationship that has probably been enjoyable to longtime readers. However, I was disappointed to see how little they actually appeared in this issue.  I was also irritated with Grecian’s “Cryptoids” caption boxes of irrelevant trivia that stick out like sore thumbs. Furthermore, Rossmo’s art is very out of place here. His characters appear scratchy and unfinished, as they have no sense of life and look like little more than mannequins positioned on the page; leaving it to Grecian to convey the emotional arc through the dialogue alone.  I could picture Rossmo’s style on a title like Warren Ellis’s Fell, but here it’s simply painful to look at.

Proof seems to fall somewhere between comparable titles like The Perhapanauts and B.P.R.D, yet the latter two are so much more fun to read.  If Image is going to charge me a whopping $3.50 an issue for this, I need a more satisfying reading experience, and they did not deliver that here.

Grade: C-

-Tony Rakittke