Morning Glories #27 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters)

The Story: Time traveling hijinks from the students of the Morning Glories Academy.

Review: “This is probably my last review of Morning Glories.”  That’s what I thought as I read through the issue.  Usually when that thought runs through my mind, it’s because I’m not enjoying the comic at all.  With MG, I’m walking away from reviewing it even though I still enjoy the comic quite a bit; the problem is that I don’t understand anything that is going on and cannot offer any useful insight on the plot twists.

Morning Glories #25 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters)

The Story: Season One of Morning Glories comes to an end.  Will secrets be revealed OR will the plot keep twisting?

Review: Morning Glories is a challenging series.  This issue represents the end of “Season One” and I can’t say that events are much clearer than when we started with issue #1 a few years ago.  We still don’t really know who these kids are and what the Morning Glories Academy represents.  If that lack of revelation is going to be a problem for you, well–you probably shouldn’t read MG because it’s not a revelatory type of series.  Or it isn’t that type of series YET.  This series really reminds me of 100 Bullets in terms of its pacing and that great series wasn’t even getting warmed up at issue #25.

In some ways, you have to admire the creators.  I know they’ve heard the hissing that “we need to know what is going on” and to “get on with it”, but they are just plugging away with their story at their pace.  This is the type of comic book that we could only get from a wholly creator-owned affair.  Imagine if Spencer and Eisma tried this pace of storytelling in a Marvel or DC book?  How long would the editors have allowed it to continue?  Five issues?  MG would have been rebooted several times since with multiple new #1s, crossed over with EVENTS and featured guest appearances by Deadpool.  So, let’s appreciate the creative commitment to telling a story the way the creators want it to be.  I wouldn’t want all of comics to be paced like MG, but there is certainly a place for a few books like this.

Morning Glories #24 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors) and Johnny Lowe (letters)

The Story: An issue focusing on Ike and his father.

Review (with minor SPOILERS): Morning Glories is such an odd series.  I enjoy it quite a lot and I appreciate it even more in this era of short runs on ongoing series.  There simply aren’t that many current series from any publisher that have reached the advanced age of issue #24….and even fewer have done so with a consistent creative team.  But, I always feel like I need to defend the series against it’s detractors who complain about the slow pacing and lack of answers.  That’s just how it is with a longer running series.  At this point in 100 Bullets, we were just meeting the core cast of characters.  At this point in The Walking Dead, Michonne had barely showed up.  I guess there is something to be said for just waiting and buying it in trade, but I think stories like this lose something when you aren’t exposed to them in small doses on a monthly basis.

Morning Glories #22 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters)

The Story: Hunter goes on a hike with the new kids.

Review: We’re now 22 issues and about two years into Morning Glories.  At this point, it’s safe to say that there are two basic types of MG issues.  In one type, questions are resolved.  They may not always be the questions you wanted resolved and the resolutions may raise even more questions, but in those issues the creators are shoveling some scraps of red meat to the fans who are demanding answers.  The other type of issue just stirs the waters and confuses/intrigues us even more.  These aren’t “bad” issues…..they’re just very different in flavor.

This issue #22 is more of the latter.  Nothing really big gets explained to us and there are a few scenes that beg a lot more questions.  In a way, it all makes sense given that the upcoming issue #25 is the end of “Season One”.

Morning Glories #21 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Rodin Esquejo (covers) and Johnny Lowe (letters)

The Story: We meet the big kids who killed _____ a few issues ago.

A few things (with some SPOILERS from a few issues ago): 

1). Zoe who? – It was a bummer a few issues ago when Zoe got killed.  She was the most interesting of the original students and one wondered who would sieze the vacant title of “Character who is fun to watch.”  Obviously we shouldn’t have worried because Spencer is now distracting us with a bright and shiny new character: Irina.  Of the new characters introduced in this issue, she is instantly the most captivating.  She’s semi-hostile, capable and has that awesome jet-black hair that Eisma draws so well.  Hopefully we’ll see a lot more of Irina in the future because she’s pretty interesting.

Morning Glories #20 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (artist), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) and Rodin Esquejo (cover)

The Story: Miss Daramount and Miss Hodge as kids.

 The Review: 

1. Really does remind me of Lost. – I remember when this series was first being teased several years ago and it was compared to the TV show Lost.  That was a market-savvy comparison to make since Lost was a wildly popular TV show.  Now that we’re 20 issues in, I can see that it is a very good comparison for better and for worse.  Like Lost, there are TONS of little things going on in the background that might be important – or they might not.  For example, was pretty neat to see a young Nurse Nine in this issue acting as a young nurse/executioner in one of the flashbacks.  So, Nurse Nice has always been a grim little bitch.  Cool.  But, you never know when some of these background elements are just background noise designed to make you look.  Some of them are surely like the shark in Lost that had the Dharma Initiative logo tattooed on it’s back.  God, remember that shark?  People were posting screen caps of the damn shark online, analyzing the hell out of why Dharma would tattoo a shark, blah, blah… And the shark was never important at all.

Some of your enjoyment of the series will come down to your attitude and mood.  If you want ALL the pieces to click into place someday, you should probably go somewhere else because I strongly doubt that will happen.  If it is going to piss you off that we never know precisely WHY the father flogged the hell out of a young Georgina Daramount before the opening scene of this issue, then you should go somewhere else.  But, if you kinda enjoy the hunt, looking for clues and trying to piece together which elements are important and which are just background noise… Well, then this series can be fun.

2. But, lacking Lost’s online community. – Now, I do have a little problem with Spencer choosing this Lost-like narrative structure.  Lost had a viewership of 10-17MM people.  The day after the show, everything got ripped apart and analyzed by a very active online community.  I remember USA Today had a wonderful blog where the community could piece together the breadcrumbs and decide what was BS and what was important.  Morning Glories sells about 9K issues per month.  I know this series does well in trade, but those trade readers aren’t real-time and can’t help us solve the mysteries; they are the people who didn’t watch Lost until the DVD set came out.  Part of the reason Lost’s mysteries were so cool was that you could chat about them at work and online the next day.  MG’s audience is just too small to have such a robust sense of community and that saps some of the fun from the narrative structure.

So, if you read this and think you have insights, post it in the comments.  I’m just a reader and reviewer, not an expert on the minute details of the series.  Just don’t be a troll.  🙂

3. Are there any good guys? – Kinda some brutal news about Miss Hodge, huh?  Ever since we first met her, she’s seems like the friendly version of the Daramount/Hodge sisters.  It seemed like she might actually be on the kids’ side (whatever that means).  Well, she pretty much dispelled that notion when she splattered that Vanessa girl all over the place.  Or, is it is case where she just has her own agenda?  Maybe she can be nice to the kids sometimes, or when it serves her needs…

Morning Glories #19 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (artist), Rodin Esquejo (cover), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters)

The Story: The climax of a story cycle as we return to where Zoe and Hunter are during the Woodrun game.

A few things (with SPOILERS): 1). Tense issue! – I’m of two-minds on the tension as Zoe chases Hunter through the forest with a knife.  On one hand, the whole thing came off as very believable.  A kinda pathetic kid like Hunter is usually “safe” in comics unless the writer is exploiting the death of said pathetic character for shock value, but Spencer and (especially) Eisma made me believe that Hunter was in mortal danger.  Well done!  On the other hand, why was Zoe trying to kill Hunter?  One problem I have with MG is the way the story bounces around issue to issue making it tough for a single issues reader.  This issue picks up directly from mid-January’s Morning Glories #15.  My recollection is that Zoe and Hunter were actually getting kinda chummy.  Maybe Zoe wasn’t going to actually hook up with Hunter, but she definitely liked that he was paying attention to her and when Hunter instead moved his attentions to the chubby girl, Zoe wasted no time in killing her; Zoe had to be the center of attention.  So….why is she suddenly trying to kill Hunter?  And why can’t Hunter just take the knife from Zoe?  Even a pathetic guy should be able to disarm a teenage girl with a knife in a heartbeat.

Morning Glories #17 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) and Jade Dodge (editor)

The Story: What were Jade and Ike doing while Casey and Ms. Hodge vanished from the cave?
A few things:

Long! – 34 pages for the same $2.99 price.  Isn’t that nice?  You know how when Marvel or DC does an “extra sized” issue, they charge $4.99 for it?  Well, none of that here.  Nice job fellas!  By making this issue longer, the creators are able do the roadwork they needed to with the main story and also weave in some tidbits on the side.  With a shorter issue, something would have dropped.

Lots of talking. – There are positives and negatives to this issue’s length, though.  The best thing it is that we get to learn more about Jade.  She is probably the least explored of the “main” characters in this title (along with Jun) and there’s no replacement for page-time for fleshing out a character.  Spencer is clearly devoted to developing all of his characters, and that’s going to take some time at 22 pages per issue.  So, he decided to quicken the process with a extra-sized issue.  I do kinda admire how Spencer is telling his own story at his own pace and isn’t being distracted by silly reviewers yelling to “Hurry up!”.  Isn’t that the point of creator-owned comics?  Now, the negative of this issue is that the A-story is mostly Jade and Ike talking to each other.  It isn’t very exciting. It’s kinda like eating your vegetables.  Even though we learned a lot more about Jade in this issue, I think I’d rather go see what Zoe is doing.
Interesting moments happen in the B-stories. – One other benefit of the extra length is that the B-stories got full treatment.  Compared to the main story, it was far more interesting to see Jade in the flashback sequences.  THERE you really connect with her as a person.  Then, there is a scene (I think) from around the time the Morning Glories Academy was built.  THAT scene was curious and is the kind of catnip that MG fans enjoy.  Finally, we have the return of a character we haven’t scene since the early, early issues of the series.  This dude was kinda like the polar bear on Lost.  It’s nice to see him back because it reinforces that Spencer does have a plan for this series.  Sometimes you worry with these slow developing stories that the writer might be making it up as they go along, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Morning Glories #16 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (artist), Alex Sollazzo (colorist) & Johnny Lowe (letterer)

The Story: After a few issues following Zoe & Hunter during the Woodrun games, we get back to Casey and Ms. Hodge who vanished from a cave to the desert a few issues ago.

A Few Things: 

1. Nice to get back to Casey & Ms. Hodge. – Morning Glories has a pretty big cast and that does present challenges for the creators.  Some comics (such as I Zombie) manage this task by giving each character 2-3 pages per issue and I usually criticize such issues as “too busy”.  Spencer and Eisma have gone in another direction.  When we last saw Casey & Ms. Hodge, they were vanishing from some “cave of magic” on the grounds of the Morning Glories Academy and reappearing in the desert where they were taken into custody by US military forces.  It was a great “Whoa!” moment, but we then spent a few issues focusing on Zoe and Hunter camping in the forest before going back to Casey’s story.  While each storytelling technique has it’s drawback, I think I prefer this MG approach because it allows us to have a deeper experience rather than skimming over the top of lots of issues.

2. Series is really settling into a nice pacing. – We’re at a point where every month the creators expose more insights about the MG universe. This is a long-haul of a series, but it’s nice to get something new to chew on every issue.  It may not always be the tidbit we wanted but it is always makes us think.

3. It really does remind me of Lost. –  Continuing the above point, this series is dipping into the weird.  Here is the SPOILER warning… In this issue, we learn that Casey and Ms. Hodge have gone back in time and are meeting Casey’s father at a time when Casey is only 3-months old.  Trippy, huh?  And, we learn that somehow, Casey and Ms. Hodge have the power of suggestion over people in the past (i.e. they can control their actions via speech).  That’s kinda interesting too.  And, now Casey is on some mission– of course, in true MG fashion (and calling back to Lost), they mission is clear as mud.  It’s more of a “You’ll know what to do when you get there.”  There are so many moving elements in this series that I really cannot wait to give it a re-read.  I’d also love to see the notes that Spencer and Eisma use to keep everything straight.

Morning Glories #15 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Jade Dodge (editor)

The Story: Zoe and Hunter have to team-up for the mysterious Woodrun game.

Four Things:

1. A focused issue. – There wasn’t a lot of background noise in this issue.  Morning Glories usually does focus on a character or two, but this issue felt much tighter (and better).  It’s really just Zoe and Hunter out in the woods and some Zoe flashbacks (more about that below).  Other than a few moments of Jun and some discussion of Casey, this was all Zoe/Hunter.  No teachers, no Ike, etc.  That really helped the readability of the issue because we were able to focus on the characters in front of us and not worry so much about the 50 other mysteries with the other characters.  Now, the challenge for the creators is that when we DO revisit those characters, we’ll have been away from those mysteries for months and they’re going to have to remind us a little bit!

2. We know a LOT more about Zoe. – So she’s a killer.  But, as is normal for the series, just as we learn something, they give us some more mysteries.  The folks she’s killed have been for different reasons.  One was nominally to help a friend, one was to save her own butt and the final one was a possible romantic rival. It also seems like each murder got a little easier for her going from impulsive to calculated.  Hmm…  And, just the fact that she talked so much in this issue makes me feel like I know her better.  I seriously wouldn’t mind if all the issues got a little “wordy” just to enhance our familiarity with the characters.

3. Weird romantic vibes. – Did anyone else get the feeling that Zoe might let Hunter take a pass at her?  It was very weird, especially given that she was telling Hunter how Casey was WAY out of his league (and she clearly thinks of herself as better than Casey).  Who’d think that Hunter would end up being the ladies man of the series??  I’m sure some of it is that Zoe likes the attention, but why put on airs when alone in the woods?  Anyway, I love me some romance that plays up the soap opera aspects of comics.

Morning Glories #14 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Jade Dodge (editor)

The Story: More mysteries, Zoe and Hunter have a few “moments” and we learn more about Woodrun.

Five Things: 

1. Lots of teases.  This issue had a lot of scenes where if you joined the scene a panel sooner OR if you were allowed to linger for a panel more OR if you were just permitted to change your visual perspective …..you would have learned something important.  That’s the tease of Morning Glories and it’s either your kind of thing or it isn’t.  I work professionally with legal contracts and reading Morning Glories sometimes reminds me of reading an except from a contract without any of the definitions of terms: Sometimes you think you might know what the characters are talking about, but you almost never know for sure.   This is obviously what Spencer and Eisma are going for and they do it very well.

2. Nice coloring.  My ability to comment technically on coloring is weak, but I really do like what Sollazzo does in MG month-after-month. Eisma’s art is very clean.  There aren’t many stray lines, spot blacks, crosshatching or anything else that would add a lot of depth to a page.  So, a lot of that work is on Sollazzo’s plate and he really does a nice job.  I usually say that I’m not a fan of such highlighted color art, but this works for me because he isn’t cutting corners.  Lots of color artists will do things like highlight a head like it is a sphere when we all know that heads are NOT spheres.  Sollazzo really seems to understand and care about contouring.  It kinda goes without saying at this point that Eisma’s characters are really “acting” well, but Sollazzo adds that extra touch without ever screwing up the line art.

3. Different point of view.  Some of the scenes in this issue were lifted straight out of last issue.  I wouldn’t want that every month, but it is a neat literary tick when it is used effectively.  It’s neat to see how a scene unfolds from multiple angles.  That month we followed one group of characters and here we get to see what happened to the people who got “left behind”.  Man….Zoe….what a B!$%#.

Morning Glories #13 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Solazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Jade Dodge (editor)

The Story: The new arrival, Miss. Hodge, is making things happen at the Morning Glories Academy?  Is she a good guy or what?

Five Things:

1.  Artist Joe Eisma is really good at making his character “act”.  If you doubt this, go take a look at his original art at The Interior Pages.  Here you can see his art without any lettering and in most panels, you can get a rough idea of what is going on or at least the emotions of the characters at the time.  This is a tricky thing to do.  For one thing, Eisma first has to be aware enough of human body language and facial expressions to know what cues he can give to express “surprise” or “anger”.  Then he has to actually be able to draw a face and body that convey that emotion.  It’s impressive stuff that adds a lot to Morning Glories.

2.  Miss Hodge is stirring the drink.  This is a great new character.  Since being introduced in issue #12, she has been a real force of constructive chaos for the reader.  Granted, there are still lots of unresolved questions about this series, but Hodge makes us feel like we’re headed in a positive direction.  With just the kids as protagonists, it was harder to be so optimistic because he kids were so at the mercy of the teachers and staff of MGA that it was hard to fathom they would figure this stuff out on their own.  Now we have Lodge who is able to get things done and seems to be slightly on the kids’ side.  This is really propelling the narrative forward.

3.  The pacing of the series has improved.  Or at least, the reader’s perception of the pacing has improved.  There was a time when this series seemed to be spinning its wheels and just flinging out mysteries but never giving us any answers (kinda like Lost, Season 3).  Part of it is the addition of Lodge and the pattern of having a cool reveal towards the end of the last two issues, but some of it might just be the readers getting acclimated to the pacing of the story.  This is a problem for all ongoing, self-contained series.  When we watch a movie, we know the running time and we can look at our watch.  If there is an hour left in the movie, the climax is NOT about to happen, but when there are only 20 minutes left, it’s time to hold onto your seat.  With an ongoing comic, we don’t have that and start to wonder if this is going to be a ~30 issue series (Promethea, Planetary) and ~60 issue series (Y the Last Man, Scalped, Transmetropolitan) or 100+ issues (100 Bullets, Fables, The Walking Dead).  It makes a difference because we can’t tell if these reveals are leading to a climax or not.  By now, it’s pretty clear that this is not a 30 issue series; it will be longer.  So, now is time to just kick back and enjoy the ride, knowing that the story will be in “cruise” mode for a couple years.

4. A Team Rundown on the inside front cover!  Maybe I’m getting old, but as time passes, I have a harder time remembering the names of characters in comics.  So, it is much appreciated that we get a team rundown to help us keep track of the action.  Now, it would help if they let Eisma draw the characters for the run down, but it still helps a lot to be able to easily say, “Who’s the redhead?  Oh yeah, that’s Jade!”  Plus, if comics include rundowns then writers don’t have to use the characters’ names in dialog all the time (“Hey Jade!  Do you want to get ice cream, Jade”  “Yes, Hunter, I would love to get some ice cream.”) since we know they hate doing that.

5.  It could be we’re getting some main characters.  It isn’t that MG has an impossibly large cast: 6 kids, plus a few teachers who matter.  The trouble was that the kids all seemed equally important and that made it hard for the reader to identify with any of them strongly.  The last few issues, it seems like we’re headed towards Casey and Hunter being the “main” characters with the other kids in more supporting roles.  That’s fine with me.  Ike and Zoe are fun to watch, but too unlikeable to really center a story around.  And Jun and Jade are just not quite as interesting so they can be supporting characters.  Keep it the Casey and Hunter show and I’ll be happy.

Conclusion: This series is really finding it’s footing after a small rough patch and the story is humming along nicely.  If you drifted away, it’s time to come back because this is a very well written and drawn series.

Grade: B+

-Dean Stell
[Note: Obviously, a bit of a new format on this review.  Like it?  Hate it?  Comments below, please…]

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Morning Glories #12 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (artist), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Jade Dodge (editor)

The Story: Another new face shows up at the Morning Glories Academy and it isn’t really clear whose side she is on.

What’s Good: I’ve been urging this enjoyable series for a few months to “get on with it” and reveal some mysteries.  This issue was a little odd.  Now that I’m finished, I can’t really put my fingers on any big mysteries that were solved, but for some reason, I walked away from the issue feeling as if I’d learned some good stuff.  I’m not really sure why that was and it could be as simple as I might have been in a better state of mind when I read the comic, but the fact remains that I felt fulfilled when I put this down instead of feeling teased.  Some if it was little stuff like the fact that Ms. Daramount’s first name is Georgina.

I still feel as if I reread this series from the beginning with a notepad, I might learn some stuff and I have a feeling that when the mysteries are revealed in the end, that the signs will have been there since the beginning if you knew were to look.  That’s a good feeling to have about a series like this.

One very positive thing in this issue is that it touches base with a LOT of the main characters.  For a while, we’ve been in a cycle where the action is heavily focused on a singular character.  We have learned some juicy tidbits about the characters this way, but losing contact with the rest of the characters has been tricky because I still don’t feel like I have instant recall of even what their names are yet.  But, in this issue we check in with just about everyone and it serves as a good reminder of who everyone is in this very complex story.

And what a cool new character we get in this issue.  Is Miss Hodge a teacher?  Is she in charge of the place?  An ally for the students?  Who knows, but she is intriguing.

Morning Glories #11 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Jade Dodge (editor)

The Story: A focus on Ike (the sociopath kid) both in the past and in the present at Morning Glories Academy.

What’s Good: This an enjoyable issue that drills into Ike, who is one of the more interesting characters in Morning Glories.  All the other kids in MG have kinda adopted an all-for-one attitude, but Ike was a punk from the start and later revealed himself to be a sociopath who is playing his own game.  As a character, he is up to something and that makes the concept of a focus issue tantalizing and this issue really emphasizes his scheming nature.  We’ve known since the beginning of the series that the adults at the MGA are up to something, but Ike’s plans could evolve into a very entertaining B-Story.  He’s a little like that contestant on the reality show who has figured out how to break the game.

In typical, MG fashion this Ike story is told in a very mysterious way.  The moments we see from the past have to do with Ike’s involvement with – and behavior after – his father’s death and they do a nice job of setting up what a sick little bastard Ike is.  This combines with a puzzling present day story where the adults of MGA want to use Ike’s murderous talents for their own ends leading to a very, “Huh???  Wha????” ending that tosses yet another mystery on the pile.  There’s also a neat little scene where Miss Daramount brings Ike into her office and explains (in the best adult movie fashion) how he can earn some “extra credit.”

Two really nice things jump out about the art in this issue.  One is that Eisma really draws ladies well.  His ladies are attractive and sexy even if they are quite idealized.  Hey! …I’ve got no complaints.  He also really grasps how to graphically tell a story and get his characters to act.  For example, when Miss Daramount invites Ike into her office, Eisma knows how to make her stand so that her body language says, “Come hither you young vigorous boy!” when the dialog just says, “Oh, Good Ike — Come on in, dear, have a seat.”  Due to this one panel, we instantly know that she’s coming on to Ike and if Eisma had flubbed that initial panel, the entire scene would have suffered.

28 Days Later #24 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: 28 Days Later comes to an end.  Selena and Clint were in a pretty dangerous position when we last saw them.  Will they survive?

What’s Good: First, let’s give the tip of the cap for an outstanding series from Boom! and writer Michael Alan Nelson.  I generally loathe licensed property comics and they’re usually not very good because they don’t have to be: People buy them just because of the brand on the cover page.  But, the 28 Days series told a wonderfully rich, post-apocalyptic tale set in the timeframe between the 28 Days and 28 Weeks movies.  As it became clear that the last 4-5 issues were actually set in London during the beginning of 28 Weeks (when the Rage virus has a nice rally & everyone dies again) we really start to be concerned for our protagonists: Selena and Clint.  Will they survive?  The beauty of this series is that it could have ended just fine with any sort of resolution, but since we care about these characters sooooo much after 24 issues, we really do want a happy ending.

It is really hard to discuss this comic without getting into SPOILERS.  So, go read the comic first and then come back and leave your comments below.
Nelson really packs a lot into this final issue.  First he drags our heroes through one more dreadful circumstance in infected London.  For me, one of the high points of apocalypse-fiction is the writers coming up with new things the characters have to do to survive and as readers, we have to debate in our minds, “Sheesh, would I be willing to do that or would I just lay down and die?  I think I’d just die because that is disgusting.”  But, since the easily grossed-out people didn’t survive the infected, Selena and Clint are able to do that and Nelson also gets the characters out of London pretty fast.  Yippie, they’re on a boat and sailing free straight to France.  Anyone who saw the 28 Weeks movie knows that the final scene of that film showed how the infected had gotten loose in France (and would therefore overrun Eurasia).  Oh no!  Selena and Clint may not be safe after all!  I won’t spoil the final ending, but Nelson continues to tease us right up until the final page.  Very well done!

Morning Glories #10 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Jade Dodge (editor)

The Story: In this Jade-centric story, the main character has a few funky dreams.  Or are they dreams?

What’s Good: This may seem a small thing, but it made a world of difference in my enjoyment of this issue: Spencer put a lot more character names into the word balloons.  A complaint I’ve had in the past with Morning Glories was that I simply forget what these kids’ names are.  But, because the characters were always introduced in this issue, I was able to free my entire brain to trying to comprehend the mysterious stuff that Spencer has going on.

When Morning Glories first launched, there were heavy comparisons to the TV show, Lost.  Those comparisons remain apt as Spencer keeps laying on the mysteries.  Sometimes you read a section and you aren’t really sure what the heck you’re reading, but in a good way.  The two weird events in this issue both revolve around Jade…..One is her having a strange lucid dream featuring her mother and the other seems to be a kinda out-of-body experience where she seems to be collaborating with her future self.  If you like mysteries in your comics and trying to figure out what the heck is going on, you’ll enjoy this series.

Eisma’s art is really starting to grow on me.  He still has panels where a character’s face kinda get’s away from him a little bit.  But, what he really nails are the body language moments that are so important to story telling.  The page where Casey and Hunter discuss their kinda relationship is a great example with the two characters doing lots of the gestures that help us understand their emotions: looking at their shoes, open armed gestures, etc.

28 Days Later #23 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters), Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: We enter the final issues that bridge the gap between the films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.

What’s Good: What a masterful job Michael Alan Nelson has done to position this story where it is.  All along during the comic series, I had wondered if this series had any relation to the 28 Weeks Later film.  During the last couple of issues, we saw that the events were taking place during the opening phases of 28 Weeks and that was really cool.  I’m generally not a huge fan of licensed property fiction, but I do love the novels or comics that explore a film from another point of view without changing anything.

And, that’s what we get in this issue.  While Selina is off settling her peace at her old house where she was force to kill her husband during the initial outbreak, Clint finds himself locked in a parking garage along with most of the other human residents of London.  If you saw 28 Weeks, you would immediately say, “OH NO!”  When we saw this scene in the film, we saw it from the perspective of the people who were immediately overtaken by the infected that broke into the parking garage.  The comic shows the scene from Clint’s perspective on the other side of the crowd: There’s a noise, the lights go out, there are sounds of struggling, people start pushing as panic sets in and Clint knows he needs to get out of there.

For this point, the issue follows Clint trying to survive as the military attempts to sterilize the city by killing everyone.  Of course, Selina comes back for him just at the right moment, but the cliffhanger leaves it very ambiguous whether they will live or not.  Clearly the final two (?) issues of this series will cover Clint and Selina’s attempt to escape and the fun thing is that we could have a good ending whether they survive or not.  While I’m sad that this series is ending, it is really nice to see a comic series that had an ending in mind.  I almost hope they do another series after the 28 Weeks film.  🙂

Aragon does a nice job with the art.  In some places he gets a little murkier and the lines get smudgier than I’d prefer (and that’s mostly from comparing to Declan Shalvey who was the original series artist), but you never have any doubt about the story and the characters all look alive.

28 Days Later #22 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: Selina sets off on a personal mission and leaves the US military safe zone as this series begins to wrap up.

What’s Good: One of the very good things about this issue for long-time readers is that it framed where this story fits in the whole saga of the films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.  After last issue, we had seen our heroes, Selina and Clint, reach a US military safe-zone in London.  I had questions about whether this was the safe-zone from the 28 Weeks film and how much the comic was going to acknowledge that second movie and how the comic would continue if it was acknowledging that second film.

Well, things are a lot clearer a month later.  For one thing, the final issue of this series has now been solicited, meaning that this series is wrapping up rapidly.  For another, this military safe-zone that Clint and Selina have found is the one from the 28 Weeks movie.  This is pretty neat: Michael Alan Nelson is telling a story that happens in the dead space between the two films and it will have a definite ending.  Neither Clint or Selina were in the second film, so they could die in the next couple issues… or they could be fine.  We really don’t know!  But, by tying this story to events we’re familiar with from the 28 Weeks film, we can build a sense of foreboding because we (the reader) know that the shit is about to hit the fan again…and our heroes are completely unprepared for it.  They think they’re safe.  It is a rare circumstance in fiction where the reader positively knows what will happen next and has to watch beloved characters wander into danger.

From an actual story standpoint, this issue is mostly quiet.  Clint is mostly poking around in the safe zone and asking questions that confirm this story’s existence in the 28 Weeks movie world whereas Selina goes off on a touching journey to find her old house and dead husband’s body (pre-infection).  One of the awful things about zombie-fiction is that since zombies strike you in your house (your place of safety), all of the survivors have seen horrid things happen to loved ones, yet rarely have time for a real goodbye.  Seeing Selina’s past really makes this hit home.

28 Days Later #21 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Pablo Peppino (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: We begin a truly new phase of 28 Days Later as Clint and Selina are now “safe” in a sanitized London.

What’s Good: If you’re looking for a jumping on point for this outstanding series, here it is.  Personally, I think people make way too big of an issue out of “jumping on points” but the fact is that some folks are intimidated by seeing the #18 on a comic because they feel like they’ve missed a lot of story.  This issue seems to completely wrap the first phase of this story that dealt with Clint and Selina (and multiple now deceased friends) trying to make their way to London so that Clint can do a story about post-infection England.

It seems as if this story is flowing right into the events of the movie 28 Weeks Later as this London is controlled by the US military and I’ll be very curious to see how close they stay to the 28 Weeks story because it was a much weaker film and it would represent the reader knowing roughly what will happen next.  I’m sure it won’t be that straight forward and it’ll be interesting to see what surprises Nelson has for us.

There are a couple of big attractions for this issue.  One is just seeing Clint and Selina in a “safe” environment: no infected, no survivors forming despotic enclaves and no murderous British Army officers.  So, they’re a little out of their element.  That’s kinda of a story we’ve all seen in fiction, but Nelson executes really well by showing these two characters being drawn closer by being in an alien environment.

The other enticing new element is the tease about Selina’s past.  We’ve gotten little bits of her past during this series and we get a lot more here.  Selina clearly has a purpose for being in London and I’m highly curious to learn what it is because it can’t be anything as mundane as visiting her old home or laying a wreath of flowers in honor of her husband.  Clearly it’ll end up being something exciting and probably something brings her back into partnership with Clint.

We get a new artist on this issue and Pablo Peppino continues the tradition of strong art on this series.  He keeps the look and feel consistent with what previous artists Declan Shalvey and Alejandro Aragon have given us and I really appreciate that.  Unless an artist is really going to bring something spectacular to the table, I’d almost prefer for titles to have a consistent look.  Peppino may be capable of the spectacular, but 28 Days is really a “story” comic and shouldn’t be an art showcase.  Regardless, his storytelling is impeccable.

Morning Glories #7 – Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Jade Dodge (editor)

The Story: An issue that focuses on Zoe’s past and present introduces even more mysteries.

What’s Good: This was a very entertaining issue.  I had some problems with it in the opening pages that really bugged me (that I’ll get into below), but by the time the issue was finished, I was very satisfied with the story.

Spencer focuses the story in this issue on Zoe.  Perhaps it was “revealed” before that she is Indian, but it hadn’t really clicked with me that she was anything more than vaguely Asian.  We also learn that she has some superpowers, or at least had them as a little girl because she seems to have forgotten about them now.  What we’re seeing with all of these kids’ stories is that there are these huge missing gaps of time, but they all have weird beginnings.  If Zoe could read minds as a young child, what happened to those powers?  We suspect that her powers are the reason that the Morning Glories Academy is interested in her, but is it to utilize her powers or to suppress them?  Mysteries abound!  And unlike other series that haven’t revealed much of the true story by issue #7, Morning Glories is still very fresh feeling.  All of these series eventually hit a point where the reader starts to ask, “What is the point of this whole story and how long will this go on?”  To Spencer’s credit, that thought hasn’t entered my brain yet.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be an issue of Morning Glories without a “WTF?!?!?” ending.  How/Why did Zoe do that at the end?  Seriously weird (in a good way).

Eisma’s art continues to be very strong.  The characters in Morning Glories have to “act” to sell all these teenage emotions that they’re feeling and that seems to be a real strong suit for Eisma.  He is also showing a great example of photo-reference being used the RIGHT way.  I’m pretty sure for some panels he probably has a picture he is referencing of what a cute teenage girl looks like when she is indignant, but he is merely using it as a reference and then drawing 100% with his own hand and exaggerating the parts of the face that sell the emotion: a crinkled nose, squinty eyes, etc.  This is a great comic from a character-acting standpoint.

28 Days Later #20 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: Selina is in big trouble, as she is captured by a British Army Officer that has bone to pick with her.

What’s Good: So far in this series, Selina has kinda been the baddest person in the story.  It’s really remarkable how well Nelson has pulled that off.  When I watch a TV show like Nikita, I just fundamentally have a hard time believing that a 120 pound woman regardless of her level of training is able to continually smash five 250 pound men who are also well trained.  It just doesn’t work that way in real life.  But, Nelson has never made me question for a second that Selina is the baddest MF in the story.

So, it’s kinda interesting to see her suddenly in a situation where she is no physical match AT ALL for the British Army officer who has taken her captive.  Sure, she gives it the old college try a few times, but Captain Stiles is soooo on another level physically that he is almost disdainful of her efforts.  Thus, it is fun to watch Selina have to come up with another plan to extricate herself.  I particularly loved the exchange about why Stiles has allowed her to keep “her” machete.

I honestly thought the art was a mixed bag in this issue.  I wouldn’t ever call it “bad art”, but it was not as crisp as this series has been and there were a few scenes where Selina looked really funny.

28 Days Later #19 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: A pretty good jumping on point as the danger shifts from the Infected to a British Army Colonel with an axe to grind.

What’s Good: One of the nicest things that I can say about this comic series is that it has almost made me forget the film on which it is based.  All along, that outstanding film has been useful as background information, but it is hardly required because the comic exists completely on its own.  This issue dives right back into events that happened close to the end of that film and in so doing, creates a nice little “jumping on point” (although I hate that term) for newer readers.  That’s something that a title like this needs (even though I think anyone could pick this up anywhere and just enjoy it) because seeing issue #19 on the cover makes an issue uninviting to newcomers in today’s comic market.  Sigh….

And what a neat little jumping on point it is!  If you’re like me, you’re going to be on Wikipedia to recall some events from the end of the film to put the action here into context.  But, what is best about this story arc is that it shows how a series such as this is about much more than the Infected (this series’ answer to zombies).  All stories set in these post-apocalypse worlds are interesting because they have their monsters, but what is more scary is what the humans do to one another after the breakdown of society.  What if one of those survivors was a badass Army Special Forces officer who had an axe to grind against YOU? And, what if that officer was completely unbound by rules or regulations? That is the scenario that Nelson paints here and it’ll be enjoyable to watch where this takes us.

It also seems like Nelson has stories for this series that’ll go for as long as people keep buying it, and that is a very good thing because this is one of the best and most consistent series being sold right now.  It hasn’t had a bad or confusing issue yet.

Aragon’s art is again very strong.  He’s accomplished something that I didn’t know would be possible and made me not miss Declan Shalvey (who started on this series and is now doing issues of Thunderbolts for Marvel).  He effectively captures the mood of the characters and sells the drama very well.

28 Days Later #18 – Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Alejandro Aragon (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: As Selina and Clint get closer to London, the infected become less of a problem than the other humans.

What’s Good: 28 Days just delivers the good every single month and it has become one of my “most anticipated” books every time because I can’t wait to see what happens next.  This issue is a great example.  We’ve seen our protagonists chased by the infected, we’ve seen they deal with the US military and we’ve seen them deal with a few nasty bands of survivors.  What’s left?  Well, if you remember the story arc featuring the US military science lab around issue #12, you might remember an off-hand remark from the head scientist that a certain military officer was looking for Selina and had special plans for her.  That chicken comes home to roost in a big way in this issue as Selina and Clint face what could be their toughest obstacle yet.  This direction is also appealing because it seems that this dude has it in for Selina based on something she did in the past.  We really know very little about Selina even if you include the information from the movie.  I love stories that dole out the bits of back-matter in dribs and drabs and am looking forward to leaning more about Selina.

I’m also really enjoying the dynamic that Clint and Selina has developed over these past 3-4 issues since they because the only two remaining central characters.  It’s fun to watch them grow closer, get friendly and even start to get some romantic feelings for one another (although I hope we don’t go there for a long time).  I’m sure at some point, they’ll pick up another character or two, but I hope it isn’t too soon because I’m not sick of this two-person dynamic yet.

Aragon’s art is again quite good for this type of book.  There’s nothing too flashy in this art.  It’s just nice and effective sequential art that tells the story.

28 Days Later #17 – Advance Review

By: Michael Alan Nelson (writer), Ron Salas (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Ian Brill (editor)

The Story: After escaping from the gang of thugs who pass for civilization in London, Selina and Clint leave town and have a chance to unwind.

What’s Good: Stories like 28 Days need to take their foot off the gas every once in a while.  You can’t just keep moving the reader from one tense and horrifying set piece to another.  Well, I guess you can, but the reader builds up a callous pretty quickly and the writer’s “shocking moments” start to just bounce off the audience.

Nelson clearly gets this.  28 Days has been pretty tense for ~10 issues now, so it was time to let our gang rest.  This is an issue to depressurize and get to know the characters a little more and to be happy for them because for once they are not running for their lives.  What I found very interesting here is how different the characters are in their approach to relaxation.  They both take their chance, but Selina pops quickly back into “soldier mode”.  She has her system of rules that have allowed her to survive and she isn’t bending them for personal convenience.

But…you just know that the sanctity of this issue can’t last and by the end, Nelson is getting ready to toss us right back into the fire.  However, he very skillfully avoids showing us what the new danger is.  We’ve all seen enough post-apocalypse fiction to let our imaginations run wild, but we don’t know. It is a well-done cliffhanger and you’ll have to wait until next month to see what’s going on.

Morning Glories #4 – Advance Review

By: Nick Spencer (writer), Joe Eisma (art), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Johnny Lowe (letters) & Kristen Simon (editor)

The Story: The some of the Morning Glories kids band together in an attempt to bust one of their own out of the evil nurse’s office.

What’s Good: If you liked Lost, you would love Morning Glories.  This issue is relatively calm by MG standards.  That means there are only 3-4 weird little mysterious bits floating around.  So, on top of the oddities we’ve seen over the first 3 issues, we’re well into double digits for those counting the weird things.  It seems unfair to keep comparing this comic series to Lost, but someone really could have a website devoted to the mysteries of the MG academy.

Weirdness aside, this issue is much more contained and focuses on a single story: Rescuing one of the young ladies from the wicked nurse’s office where bad things are going down.  As the kids concoct their scheme, we get to see the most character development we’ve seen yet in MG.  Spencer writes teenage dialog really well, but the absolute star of this series so far is the boy who could probably be a real sociopath if events broke just right.  It is obvious that Spencer really enjoys writing him and the kid is just such a deliciously questionable character.

Oh, and there is a major plot-twist at the end of the issue that I didn’t see coming at all.  This plot twist holds great potential for furthering the story and increasing the dynamic tension among the MG students.

Eisma’s art continues to be a strong point for this series.  This is the kind of series that can be overlooked from an artistic standpoint because there are no double-splash pages of Red Hulk punching The Watcher in the face.  It is just page after page of nice character illustration, always with complete backgrounds.  A huge round of applause should also go to Sollazzo for his colors and lighting.  These characters are very contoured and Sollazzo is nicely shading clothes and faces.  And, you always know where the light source is in the panel (a lost art with some inkers and colorists).