Atlas #2 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (artist), Elizabeth Breitweiser (colorist), Ramon Rosanas (backup story artist and colorist), Nathan Cosby (associate editor), Mark Paniccia (senior editor)

The Story: The new 3-D Man (Delroy Garrett) is flipping out and his mysterious memories are challenging everyone. Whose memories are right? In the meantime, another Atlas evil empire rebellion is in full swing in Iceland.

What’s Good: Parker’s character work is always fun. Particularly well done are Lao (chewing on a bull hindquarter like I’d chew on a chicken leg) and Hale (who has no end of snappy one-liners and smart-ass remarks). And the tremendous world-building that has to go into every issue of Atlas (the underground culture, the hidden conspiracy-filled past, the weirdness of the characters’ origins, the weirdness of their foes) generates that sense of wonder that I look for in comic books, fantasy and science fiction. It’s the brain-stretching “I-wish-I’d-thought-of-that” feeling. Nice work, Mr. Parker.

Artwise, Hardman, Rosanas and Breitwesier carry a strong issue with dynamic action, expressive faces and gritty scenery. The underground stonework looks textured and stony. Lao looks wrinkled and tactile, as do the zombies with power generators on their back. The art teams make the story look real, which is one of the highest compliments I have for art.

X-Men Vs. Agents of Atlas #1 – Review

By Jeff Parker (Writer – Both Stories)

“The X-Heist” Art Team – Carlo Pagulayan (Pencils), Jason Paz (Inks) and Wil Quintana (Colors)

“Atomic Age Heroes” Art Team – Chris Samnee (Art) and Veronica Gandini (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The X-Men/Agents of Atlas crossover seems a bit unnecessary. That said, I can’t help but support it if it helps to grab more readers for the next volume of the Agents of Atlas ongoing.

The Story: In “The X-Heist” the Agents of Atlas attempt to steal Cerebro from Utopia in order to use it in their search for the missing Venus. “Atomic Age Heroes” is decidedly old school in tone and style as the X-Men and the Agents of Atlas fight it out because of mutant wildlife.

What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: X-Men Vs. Agents of Atlas #1 (lead by the “X-Heist” story) is, somewhat surprisingly, a fine start to what looks to be an entertaining bridge between the Atlas ongoing and the eventual monthly Incredible Hercules bonus feature. The X-Men and the Agents have a confrontation for a logical reason and that goes a long way towards making the limited series feel more meaningful than your typical cash/reader grab-fueled crossover right from the start. The “Atomic Age Heroes” story, meanwhile, is a fun slice of retro comic goodness that proves to be a nice little addition to the book.

While the storytelling and character work by Jeff Parker is as strong as expected (it’s what has made Atlas a favorite of mine) for both stories, Parker’s use of Matt Fraction’s now signature character information boxes in “The X-Heist” is, in a word, annoying. I get that the limited series is designed to get Uncanny readers interested in the Agents, but by using Fraction’s style it seems as though Parker (it might be Marvel’s fault) is setting up a bait and switch move. Agents of Atlas has never read like an “X” book, so maybe it would have been a better move to let the limited series read more like an Atlas book. At the very least it would have given new readers a better taste of what the Atlas series is really like. At least “Atomic Age Heroes” makes up for it somewhat by reading like long like comic from Marvel’s past.

Carlo Pagulayan’s work for “The X-Heist” is very impressive and does both teams justice. The X-Men look iconic, the Agents look appropriately pulpy, and the action makes good use of all the characters battling it out. Everything looks slick, modern, and polished during most of the “X-Heist,” though I’m not quite sure that’s exactly the best style for the comic. It makes the Agents look really out of place and, I hate to say it, but a bit silly. Two scenes employ a more familiar Atlas style however, and it makes me wonder why the look couldn’t have been used for the entire book.

Chris Samnee’s work for “Atomic Age Heroes” is a perfect fit for the way the short bonus tale plays out. It’s retro and old school without ever giving off the sense that someone was trying to hard. In short, Samnee’s art hits pretty much all the right notes and helps “Atomic Age Heroes” to be a lot of fun.

Conclusion: More Atlas is always a good thing, but I can’t help but be disappointed by the fact that someone felt that the Agents needed to conform to the X-Men style.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

Agents of Atlas #8 – Review

By Jeff Parker (writer), Carlo Pagulayan (artist), Jason Paz with Noah Salonga (inkers)

The Story: Jimmy Woo makes Norman Osborn’s black list by returning the gold reserves that were stolen from the government two months ago. But no sooner he get back, he sets off on a private mission to get more information on Suwan and leaves his new ex-SHIELD administrator in charge. Unfortunately, there’s a problem at the Atlas Las Vegas Biolab. It’s gone feral with neglect and managed to annoy the Hulk. Then, it’s Atlas against the Incredible Hulk.

What’s Good: The strength of this issue owes itself in equal parts to art and story.

The art is detailed and expressive. For example, the expression on Bruce Banner’s face when he’s being drugged by the Atlas Biolab, the subtle touch of green in his eyes… simply beautiful. The Hulk’s transformation is fantastic as well. I haven’t seen a lot of artists take on the half-transformed Hulk and do a good job. Jimmy’s hovercar is a nice little retro touch, as is M-11 as always. And without a doubt, Mr. Lao the dragon is a never-miss always feast for the eyes.

The foreground story of the Agents battling the Hulk, was satisfactory, but unoriginal. The luminary part of the book was all the backstory development. Woo’s flashback in the dragon cave was just a conversation between him and Mr. Lao, but the content was so interesting and tense that Parker had me begging for more. The introduction of the Jade Claw was also a tantalizing dvelopment that will have me impatient for issue #9. Lastly, all I can say about Ken Hale the sniper is… cool.

What’s Not So Good: I couldn’t find much to complain about in this issue, but let’s pretend M-11 is forcing me. Then I’d have to say I’m indifferent to Venus. She’s one of the team’s powerhouses, but in terms of personality she’s really just an extra who also happens to be a plot device. That may change and I know there’s some interesting stuff to her (her non-human origin for example), but right now, almost everyone else is way more interesting than she is.

Conclusion: Pagulayan’s art, combined with Parker’s strong, well-paced un-ravelling of ancient and recent mysteries make this a very solid issue.

Grade: B+

-DS Arsenault