Quick Hit Reviews – Week of March 23, 2011

Amazing what a sneaky heavy week of comics last week was, eh?  But, we here at WCBR endeavor to bring you the broadest coverage possible, even when we can’t get a full review up for every comic on the stands….

Daredevil Reborn #3 – Ugh.  This is really not good!  I hate to be flip at the expense of something that a comic creator put his effort into, but if Diggle’s run on DD were a boxing match, the referee would be stopping the fight and sparing us the final issue of this miniseries.  Let’s just skip ahead to the Mark Waid series coming in a few months and be done with it.  Here we continue seeing Matt Murdock (and his well groomed neck beard….Where does Matt shave btw?) locked into his battle against small-town cops from hell.  The story just isn’t that compelling.  Matt/Daredevil isn’t a creature of the desert…….he’s a man of the shadows and that’s the only place I want to see him.  Did you know he can drive a truck?  Well, he can provided that he kicks out the windshield first so his echolocation works…..  Did you know while driving said truck, he can also tell when he has cars catching up behind the truck?  Don’t know how that one works…..  Grade: D-

Kick Drum Comix #1 – Now this was some electric stuff!  Holy cow did I love this issue that was actually the very LAST off the pile due to his non-standard format (kinda Golden Age height, but not Golden Age width).  Brought to us by Jim Mahfood, Kick Drum Comix offers two stories of urban action that will be loved by anyone with an affinity for 80’s/90’s R&B/Urban/Punk music.  The first story follows the saga of the Popmaster from his roots in early hip-hop music to becoming a take NO prisoners, hard-core music mogul and his eventual struggle with his estranged daughter.  The second story is revolves around two urban youths with a love for Johnny Coltrane.  Mahfood illustrates the whole issue in a crazy style that is really hard to explain.  His panels are SO content-filled that you can just stare at them and continue to notice great new elements.  Just be sure to buy this.  You’ll love it! Grade: A

Echoes #4 – The psychological creepfest keeps chugging into a strong 4th issue.  As if the basic premise of the series wasn’t disturbing enough (whether a 30-ish man has “inherited” from his father a predilection for killing small girls and making tiny dollies out of their skin, bones & hair), now we are teased with a couple of double-reverses to the story that makes me wonder if it is all in the main character’s head.  Joshua Hale Fialkov is really bringing the plot twists in this one!  And Rahsan Ekedal is contributing great B&W art by being the one thing that this series really needs: creepy!  Grade: B+

Marineman #4 – So what if it is a little derivative of Aquaman?  We all wish Aquaman could be this interesting of a character!  Steve Ocean (a.k.a. Marineman) is a really fun character that seems to have all of Aquaman’s abilities, but he isn’t a dick!  In fact, he’s so incredibly likable that you spend most of the issue cheering for him to succeed.  Ian Churchill is doing career-best artwork on this series too.  Everything about his Marineman just screams “larger than life” and I’ve rarely seen more compelling underwater scenes due to the outstanding coloring.  Grade: B+

Marineman #3 – Review

By: Ian Churchill (writer/art/colors), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Richard Starkings, Jimmy Betancourt & JG Roshell (lettering & design)

The Story: Marineman’s origin and the Big-Bad are both revealed.

What’s Good: Beautiful comic.  The coloring, art and design of this issue are top-notch and are like nothing else on my pretty long pull list.  If you’re into art and the visual aspect of comic books, you’re going to want to check this series out.  The first thing that lunges out at you about this issue is how well the colors and lighting capture being underwater.  Light is very different underwater because you do still have direct light from the sun, but there is also this incredible diffraction of light and the art team just nails that look.  A few of the underwater panels are just GORGEOUS!  Even the panels on dry land maintain a marine feel by coloring the panel borders appropriately (e.g. yellow on a beach to remind us of sand).

As for the story itself, there are some positive things too.  In this issue we learn a little about the origin of Steve Ocean.  Not surprisingly, he is a bit of a man of mystery and I have a feeling that his origin and the Big-Bad guy will have some kind of connection.  Learning who Steve is and the loss of his mother are important aspects of this story.

Marineman #2 – Review

By: Ian Churchill (writer, art, colors), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Richard Starkings, Jimmy Betancourt & JG Roshell (lettering & design)

The Story: A big revelation about Steve Ocean (a.k.a. Marineman)!  Surprise…he isn’t just a dude who likes the water.

What’s Good:  Everything that was great about issue #1 is still present here.  The biggest thing that grabs you is that this is such a happy story.  It does get into some more serious topics in this issue, but it does not lose the fact that this comic is essentially a big SMILE.  It is very hard not to really like Steve Ocean.  He reminds me of those people you meet in your life who are successful, intelligent AND good looking who cause you to think, “Ugh…. I’ll bet this guy is gonna be a real prick.” and then you meet them and it turns out that they are a world-class nice guy on top of that: friendly, kind to friends, self-depreciating, etc.  Steve is a very admirable character who doesn’t have an obvious character flaw.

[SPOILER Warning] The big reveal in this issue is that Steve isn’t exactly a standard-issue human being.  We learn this during a scene where he saves his best friend’s life from certain drowning and shark attack.  The first issue was very technically sound on its diving terminology and lingo, so at first I was surprised that Churchill didn’t have Steve and his friend start to buddy breathe (Steve had no tank/regulator when he went in after his friend) or at least have the friend whip out a pony bottle.  I was actually kinda disappointed to see this lack of realism as we were reading.  Then as the duo are ascending to the surface, Steve is making his buddy go slow to avoid the bends and I was wondering, “Huh?  How long has the friend been down and how deep?  Why would he need to decompress?  And how long has Steve been in the water?  Is he holding his breath?”  As you can probably guess, Steve has a power having to do with surviving in the water and had to reveal his big secret to save his buddy.

The art is what sets the tone for this title.  Sometimes it is fun to imagine what a title would look like if it were drawn differently.  For example, if Jock drew this comic, it would be gritty and have a very different flavor, but the look of this book is what makes this comic book such a smile.  Steve just looks huge and heroic, the water is that brilliant blueish/green that you only see when you’re diving in some topical paradise on a gorgeous day when there is a calypso band playing back at the bar and the fruity drinks are chilling for you.  It is just beautiful.  I also need to learn more about what exactly the Comicraft guys are doing when they are credited for “design”.  They got a similar credit for Bulletproof Coffin and that was another book that was very visually unique.

Marineman #1 – Review

By: Ian Churchill (writer, art & colors), Nicolas Chapuis (colors), Richard Starkings, Jimmy Betancourt & JG Roshell (letters & design)

The Story: We are introduced to Steve Ocean a.k.a., Marineman.

What’s Good: What a bright shiny and upbeat comic book this was!  This story is virtually all introduction, but the main character (Steve Ocean) and his supporting cast are all such nice, light-hearted and enjoyable characters that the lack of a story or purpose for the issue is almost moot.  Comicdom is soooooo full of gritty, grimy tales that sometimes you need a refreshing palate cleanser and there just aren’t enough comics that can was that grim off and make you feel clean again.  Marineman looks like it could be that kind of comic.

The basic story is simple enough as we meet Steve Ocean.  If you’re in your 30’s or 40’s and were into science shows as a kid, you probably remember when Jacques Cousteau was a TV star.  Talk about a simpler time… Can you imagine a marine biologist/diver/explorer being a celebrity nowadays?  Steve Ocean is Cousteau in terms of star-power, but younger, buffer and American.  He also seems to be a relentlessly nice guy.