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.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batgirl #18 – Dustin Nguyen is soooo good.  I love the way he’s mashed up the style he was using on Batman: Street’s of Gotham with his kinda Tiny Titans-esque style to make something that fits the softer and more fun tone of Batgirl.  This series hasn’t had a bad issue and this fun one-shot might be the best issue yet.  Runner-up: Incognito: Bad Influences #3

Most Anticipated: 28 Days Later #20 – This is another heavy week for comics, but the story I’m most excited about is seeing how Selina deals with a British Army colonel out for vengeance.  You should all be reading this great series.

Other picks: Marineman #3, Memoir #2, Amazing Spider-Man #654.1, Hulk #30, Spider-Girl #4

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Hotwire: Deep Cut #3 – Another fantastic outing for Steve Pugh’s awesome series and an explosive, gripping conclusion.  Alice Hotwire has fast found her place among my favourite characters in comics.  I hope we see more of her sooner rather than later.

Most Anticipated: SHIELD #6 – Honestly, there’s not a whole lot that gets me truly excited this week.  Don’t get me wrong, there are good books and more than enough reasons to head to the comic shop, but I’m just not seeing that one book this week that really gets me super pumped.  So I guess I’ll go with SHIELD, if only because it’s book that consistently surprises insofar as I never know what to expect from a new issue.  Well, other than ridiculously awesome art, anyway.

Other Picks: Amazing Spider-Man #654.1, Wolverine #6, Fables #102, DMZ #62, Wonder Woman #607, Doom Patrol #19, Brightest Day #20, Green Lantern #62

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: I’m going to call a tie between Batman and Robin #20 and Warlord of Mars #4. It’s a real apples and oranges sort of tie because I liked them for different reasons. Dynamite’s Warlord of Mars is pure fantasy adventure escapism with heroes, monsters and princesses on a strange world. DC’s Batman and Robin is a family tale set in the psychologically unhinged city of Gotham. Both quality books. Both got an ‘A’ grade, something I rarely give.

Most Anticipated: Brightest Day #20 is topping my pull list as the last 6-8 weeks have been so consistently fun, with such high quality. We’re into the home stretch and I want to see what the heck is up with Deadman, Aquaman, the Hawks, and Firestorm.

Other Picks: Batman #707, Green Lantern #62, Green Lantern Corps #57, Legion of Super-Heroes #10, Marvel Girl #1, Loki #3, Thunderbolts #153.