Quick Hits Reviews – Week of April 6, 2011

 

Is there ever going to be a “light week” of comics again?  Seriously, have these companies see the sales numbers?  Try as we might, sometimes we cannot get to everything for a full review, thus….the Quick Hits Reviews….

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #5 – This was my “pick of the week” and it really came out of the blue because you usually don’t expect a middle issue (i.e. 5 out of 9) to be anything too special.  But, this issue had great action as the Young Avengers (and a few “old” Avengers) tangle with Dr. Doom, some neat time-hopping courtesy of Iron Lad and the return of an iconic character to the Marvel Universe.  So, it get’s “full credit” for story.  And Jim Cheung’s art is just incredible.  Sure, this comic only ships every other month, but it looks like Cheung is doing twice as much work and I’ve had zero trouble keeping the story straight in my head during the wait between issues.  This is really worth jumping on, folks!  Just go get the back issues and ride along from here.  Grade: A

Who is Jake Ellis #3 – This is a good example of how to maintain momentum in a story as the creators hit issue 3 out of 5.  Because they sprinkled their mysteries with a lot of Jason Borne-action in issues #1 and #2, the reader isn’t bored by now with the titular mystery.  I’m still legitimately curious about who Jake is…..and who Jon is for that matter.  I also really like that there seem to be only two plausible explanations for Jake (that he is a figment of Jon’s imagination OR he is some other ghostly agent somehow grafted to Jon), but that both seem equally plausible.  This is just a really tight series and I love the art.  Nice job guys!  Also very happy to see that this has sold well enough that it’ll we’ll be getting more than just the five originally planned issues!  Grade: B+

Sweet Tooth #20 – Here’s a tip (and a minor SPOILER)….. if you are a character in a post-Apocalyptic story and you stumble across some kind of underground sanctuary that offers copious food and shelter AND it is only being occupied by a singular caretaker, you should probably run away, right?  Do you think you’re the first people that he has brought into his trap….ooopppps…..I mean “HOME”.  Again with this issue, Lemire is setting up another story that is probably going to have a kinda grim ending because….well…..it’s Sweet Tooth.  But, you just know it’ll be told with style and will tug at your emotions in a way that very few comics will.  I’m also loving seeing Sweet Tooth himself begin to asset himself a little more in his dealings with Jepperd.  He’s come a long way from his days in the woods.  Great art!  Grade: B+

Memoir #2 – Review

By: Ben McCool (writer), Nikki Cook (illustrator) and Tom B. Long (letters)

The Story: A writer continues investigating why a small town had its memories erased.

What’s Good: Creepy and unsettling.  That’s the best way to describe Memoir.  Last issue established all the basics for this story: small town where everyone lost their memories due to some sinister but mysterious “event” + writer has gone to investigate hoping to break the big story.  With that out of the way, McCool and Cook can really crank up the creepiness.

Once again we get fragmented images from the day of the event.  It’s unclear whose perspective these memories are from or what is going on, but the continuing mystery is unsettling as we see townsfolk running away from dudes in hazmat suits.  Interestingly, this is not the only mystery as there are also shadowy figures lurking around town.  It’s unclear who they are or what they want, but they seem evil.

Most of the story development comes from a meeting between our writer and the one person in town who seems to have kept his memories.  Of course, he can’t come right out and say what happened (that would spoil the story, huh?), but instead gives a chilling and confusing account of what happened to him on that fateful day.  The creators were obviously trying to create a feeling of unease in the reader and they succeeded with me.

Throughout the story, McCool does a very good job of playing to Nikki Cook’s strengths.  She really knows how to establish an uncomfortable air in a panel by using things like low camera angles, tight shots of character’s faces and when to go with a black background.  The most effective scene of the issue involves a weird girl in a hospital gown who is straight out of a Japanese horror film.  And, all of this is done in B&W which is so much more effective for this type of story.

Memoir #1 – Review

By: Ben McCool (writer), Nikki Cook (illustrations), Tom B. Long (letters)

The Story: A reporter visits a creepy town where everyone has lost their memory.

What’s Good: Yeah!  Black and White comics kick ass!  One of the hopes I have for the success of The Walking Dead is that it’ll make B&W comics a little more viable as fewer fans turn their noses up instinctively.  B&W actually works better for certain types of stories (in my opinion).  Anyone who has done photography knows that you get a level of contrast and atmosphere when you shoot B&W and comics are no different.  Basically, without the colors to make things look pretty your brain can focus like a laser on what is actually happening in a panel.  Plus, there’s also the fact that B&W comics are cheaper to produce and that lesser expense makes the break-even point easier to achieve for a creator-owned project like Memoir.  I wish more comic creators would think of why their comic needs color, rather than just retaining a colorist.

And what a creepy story McCool is telling here.  The basic concept is that this little town had an incident where everyone in the town lost their memory.  Since the accident, the townsfolk have mostly stayed in their town and now, 10 years later, a news reporter is entering the town to do a little investigative journalism.  What he finds is a creepy town that clearly has some ghastly secrets.  McCool isn’t copying from countless stories of “creepy small towns”, but he does seem aware that the reader is familiar with those stories and that makes it easier for him to establish the creep-factor without dumbing down his own story.

I talked about it a little above, but this comic would be very different with different art.  Nikki Cook’s art builds the creepy atmosphere to a very high level.  As you get further and further into this issue, the art gives you a real sense of foreboding that I’m sure is intentional.  I always think it’s a huge achievement when and artist can trigger an emotion in today’s desensitized reader!  Her art almost has you hearing a creepy soundtrack in your head and that’s a pretty rare thing.

Bonus: A GOOD John Cassiday cover!  I was really worried that he had lost his fastball after seeing his covers for Shadowland recently, but THIS is the guy who drew Planetary and Astonishing X-Men.  I wish we could get some interior work of this caliber.