Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. #3 – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Script) and Alex Maleev (Art) w/ voice work by Nicolette Reed (Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew/Madame Hydra), Patrick Bosold (Philli Natu), Andrew Edlin (Detective Wang), David J. Murphy (Paladin), and Anthony MacKenzie (Detective Chong)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: While the motion-comic format definitely has a number of positives, I can’t help but feel that, at times, Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. is being held back a bit because of it.

The Story: Jessica Drew confronts Madame Hydra’s Skrull captive, Philli Nutu. Not long after, she soon finds herself back in a Madripoor prison with an opportunity to get back her gear…

The Script: There certainly isn’t anything wrong with Brian Michael Bendis’ script, but something about it just doesn’t really do it for me. The dialogue and storytelling is solid (and the ending is pretty cool), but I think the reason the script leaves me wanting more is because, three issues in, it still feels as though Bendis is working to establish both the main character and the Spider-Woman series as a whole. Now I’m assuming that Bendis’ approach will work perfectly fine once the story catches up in print, but it leaves the motion-comic feeling as though it’s moving forward at a fairly plodding pace With only six motion-comic episodes scheduled (from what I understand), the pacing is starting to dampen my enthusiasm for the format a bit. It seems as though it makes a slow arc feel like an even slower arc.

The Artwork: A few scenes look a bit too dark at times, but as a whole, Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. is another fantastic looking motion-comic. Alex Maleev’s artwork is a perfect fit and does an excellent job of capturing both the tone of the series and the mindset of Jessica Drew. Artistically, I really couldn’t ask for a whole lot more.

The Voice Acting: Nicolette Reed is really starting to sound comfortable as Jessica Drew. I think Reed is a nice fit for the character and her voice work in episode three is the best it’s been. Also, I really like the fact that Reed seems to have toned down her take on Madame Hydra a bit. Hydra no longer sounds like a cartoon villain and it makes it easier to take the character seriously.

The supporting cast gets the job done. Nothing more, nothing less. That said, if I had to single anyone out I would have to say that I wish Patrick Bosold’s Skrull voice was a bit more alien.

The Motion-Comic Effect: Thankfully, the motion effects are much better than they were in the second episode. In fact, I can safely say that nothing really sticks out in a negative way. The brutal fight scene is really effective, Drew’s vibrant pheromone powers help bring a more passive ability to life, and the more computer generated stuff fits with Maleev’s artwork in a much more natural way.

Conclusion: Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. is an entertaining chapter of a solid opening arc for a series, but I can’t help but feel that Marvel might have been better off launching with the Astonishing X-Men motion-comic instead.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

FanExpo 2009 Recap

Last weekend, I attended Fan Expo 2009 in Toronto, Canada, a convention featuring science fiction, comics, anime, horror, and games. I paid the most attention to the comics stream (obviously) and attended panels by five publishers and sat in on two sessions by Len Wein (creator of Wolverine, some of the New X-Men, Swamp Thing, etc). Here’s what I pulled out of it, straight to you, hot off the presses.

Aspen MLT Inc

Frank Mastromauro, Peter Steigerwald, Joe Benitez, Micah Gunnall, Mark Roslan, Alex Konat, Dave Wohl and Marcus To did the A to Z of Aspen comics. It’s hard to believe that Fathom is ten years old and finishing its third arc, and that it’s got a movie deal. Soulfire, Aspen’s other flagship book, is five years old. Aspen has lots of other great titles on the go, including Dellec, Shrugged and especially Executive Assistant Iris. Part of this year’s business strategy will be to do more trades so that fans can easily catch up on their books as new story arcs come out. Executive Assistant Iris also seems to be laying the groundwork for other executive assistant books and stories that would really round out that milieu.

Marvel Digital panel

Joe Quesada showed off the Spider-Woman and Astonishing X-Men motion comics. This was the first time I’d seen either one, and I was impressed, but not sold of the medium. I asked a question about the business model, and they’re using access to motion comics through iTunes sales as a platform to reach new audiences. Smart idea, I hope it works. My only question here is, since when did Jessica Drew get a British accent? Maybe I missed something in Secret Invasion.

DC Universe Editorial Presentation

Dan Didio and a big DC contingent talked shop for an hour and answered questions from all comers. One of the most interesting things I found about this was the focus that DC is doing on each of its eight cornerstone franchises. The franchises are obviously Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, the Flash and Wonder Woman, as well as the three team franchises: the JLA, the JSA and the Titans. One question that came up was “Where’s the love for Aquaman?” Didio diplomatically and rightly pointed out that Aquaman was never really that popular (same with Hawkman). Sure, they both have fans, but they don’t have the same draw as the flagship characters. Neither has the same sort of unambiguous, iconic image in the public’s eye that someone like Batman does. And, with a cast of characters as large as DC has, it makes sense to focus on a few flagship brands, make them really good, so that you can do more stuff with the people and characters and situations around them. I think it’s a great decision and I was pleased to hear that Wonder Woman was part of the lovin’ too.

Cup o’ Joe

Joe Quesada took us on a review of the Marvel universe, but mostly answered questions. One of the most important things for me, personally, was hearing the news about Marvel’s submission policy for people who want to write for Marvel. That was why I went to the con, and I was pleased that I was able to talk to C.B. Cebulski afterwards to get more details. In the session, I asked Joe a question about the Immortal Iron Fist, and how I thought it was a really quality book, but since it didn’t hold the readers in numbers to justify keeping it around, what could they have done differently creatively? There were also plans for Danny Rand after the current Immortal Weapons miniseries. They called it a cooling off period to build up anticipation. I hope it works. IIF was a brilliant series. Someone else asked a question about Dr. Strange, and I was glad to hear that Marvel had plans for him as well.

BOOM! Studios

BOOM! Studios really gave the impression of being dynamic and on the go. They’re hitting new markets, acquiring licenses left and right, looking at new distribution systems, and putting out quality books. Very impressive… They rightly pointed out the sales successes of Irredeemable and Unknown, and especially the artists that they were able to pull in who wanted a chance to work with Mark Waid. Everyone should be keeping an eye on BOOM!

Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. #1 (Motion-Comic) – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Script) and Alex Maleev (Art) w/ voice work by Nicolette Reed (Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew), Stephanie K. Thomas (Abigail Brand), and Geoff Boothby (Spider-Man)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Since the Spider-Woman motion-comic is quite a bit different than your average comic, I’ll be reviewing it by breaking down each of its different elements before tackling the motion-comic as a whole. Let me know what you think of the format in the comments section. If it’s requested, I’ll tinker with the formula before the next chapter hits Itunes.

The Story: Jessica Drew, still reeling emotionally from having her world turned upside down by the Skrulls, is offered a job to be an agent of S.W.O.R.D. by Abigail Brand.

The Script: The script by Brian Michael Bendis is a bit predictable and fairly standard as far as first issues go. It works well enough, but it feels like a whole lot of time is spent capturing Jessica Drew’s mindset and getting readers up to speed about how things got where they are. While the expository stuff is necessary and expected, it leaves the first episode of Spider-Woman: Agent of Sword feeling a bit dry. A little bit more action would have gone a long way, though I will say that the one action beat effectively captures the emotion that Bendis is clearly shooting for.

The Artwork: Alex Maleev’s gritty artwork is very impressive. It effortlessly captures the tone, mood, and emotion of Bendis’ script. The best thing about the art though, is the fact that it’s in no way overpowered by the motion-comic effects. The effects compliment the work far better than I had expected. From the glowing signs of Madripoor to the brutal action scene, a chance to see Maleev’s work in motion is almost worth the price of admission alone.

The Voice Acting: The voice acting is, in a word, uneven. Most of the time it’s good, but every once in a while there’s a snag that serves as a reminder that a comic script works a bit different than a cartoon or live action one. Nicolette Reed does a fine job as Jessica Drew, especially since Reed’s accent fits Drew so well. My only real complaint is that a few of the more emotional moments seem a bit forced. Stephanie K. Thomas effectively captures the no-nonsense style of Abigail Brand, but something about her delivery left me wishing for a bit more. Geoff Boothby is, quite simply, a great Spider-Man. Out of the three voice actors, Boothby is the only one that delivers lines flawlessly.

The Motion-Comic Effect: Since it isn’t overpowering or intrusive, I have no problem recommending the motion-comic format. On a personal note, I think that Marvel’s motion-comic works far better than the Watchmen motion-comic did back when it was first released. The voice acting is better and the effects blend with the artwork more effectively. I realize more was put into Spider-Woman, but it’s hard to avoid comparing the two.

Conclusion: Since it’s only $0.99, I recommend giving the first issue of Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. a try. It’s a bit slow, but there’s definitely a lot of potential. And while it takes a bit to get comfortable with the format, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny