The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly #7 – Review

By: Chuck Dixon (writer), Esteve Polls (pencils and inks), Marc Rueda (colorist)

Before the Review: I started keeping an eye on the Dynamite line since they launched their Project Superpowers. I’m lukewarm to their take on superheroes for the internal art, despite the quality of the stories. However, I often follow Zorro or the Lone Ranger where I think the grittier art style Dynamite excels at really fits. I’ve been tempted, but haven’t yet made the plunge on Athena and Buck Rogers. This is my first issue of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The Story: Temple Walker, the last survivor of a gang that stole ten thousand gold coins, has been inexplicably released from prison early. As soon as he makes his first stop, he’s attacked by three bandits ready to carve him into pieces. They want that gold. Enter our hero, who makes quick work of the attackers and who forces himself on Walker for a fifty percent stake in the gold. Will they survive?

What’s Good: Esteve Polls’ art dominated every other element of the book. It fit the setting, tone, characters and plot perfectly. Take a look at the first page, where dun-colored hills almost camouflage the Yuma Prison, while scrubby shrubs and cacti are deeply shadowed in the foreground. That’s just panel one. Panel two introduces us to Polls’ ability to draw a bitter, hardened, betrayed convict about to get out of jail. The other page of art that really slowed down my reading was the four-panel spread of our hero walking into a saloon. Check out the mood and shadowing of the environment and the expressions of the card-players. Coloring was controlled and disciplined. Brown had to be the dominant color in most of the book and yet we had to be able to see the figures, so Rueda walked that tightrope well.

Dixon’s writing is appropriately spare, with the story told almost exclusively through dialogue whose tone and authenticity are excellent. Dixon kept me in the moment of the old west throughout the entire book. On the plot, Dixon drove the story from panel one, with a mixture of pursuit and caper plots that drive so many suspense stories. This is smart, evocative writing.

Masquerade #4 – Review

By Phil Hester (writer), Carlos Paul, Manny Clark, Jean Dias (artist), Debora Carita (colorist)

The Story: The story opens with flashbacks of Masquerade’s past to bring us up to speed. We rewind first to Masquerade in the psychological fugue in the Urn, and watch as her force of will and personality keep her together for decades until she drops out into the real world. Her disorientation lands her in trouble in Tokyo, but also leads to the discovery of new abilities. But the new world is no more of a home for her than the past. A friend gives her some advice on how to bridge her present self with the past and she goes on a quest to find out how to do that.

What’s Good: This is a character study book. Diana Adams, the Masquerade, is someone who has always had trouble defining herself and her place in the world. Now that she has been lost for decades of captivity in the Urn, she has more of a need to do so than ever. This need propels the story and keeps the pages turning.

The writing chores by Hester are well done. A psychological journey is a different sort of story that needs different tools. A classic example of the psychological journey is almost the entire first Doctor Strange series. Hester pulls off something equally effective here, but for a different kind of character. The number of text boxes needed for this story might have dragged the momentum in other hand, but in fact, they work well here. Hester’s eloquence makes them a rich read.

The art does some heavy lifting too. The grittiness of the Tokyo scene is very effective, as are the lighting and shadow effects throughout. And some of the faces are very expressively done.

What’s Not So Good: Only two criticisms should be leveled at this book. Firstly, this is a complex story arc that has to close by the end of the issue, but this book felt a little disjointed. Parts of Masquerade’s story have to do with her childhood, others with her origin, yet others with the Urn and then those since her emergence in the present and her current search. It took some work on the reader’s part to keep those different time periods separate. Secondly, some of the art was inconsistent. Some of the faces and poses were well done, but sometimes the faces were a little rushed while the poses were stiff or awkward. In all, these were not major problems, but they weren’t minor either.

Conclusion: Masquerade #4 was a solid character study to top off this arc. There were some storytelling problems that made it more a bit of a tough go in some spots, but it was still worth it.

Grade: C+

-DS Arsenault

The Twelve #4 (of 12) – Review

By J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Chris Weston (pencils), Garry Leach (inks), Chris Chuckry (colors)

I’ll be keeping this review short, as my original draft was lost when my computer unexpectedly shut down. In a nutshell, The Twelve #4 is another fantastic issue by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston. I wasn’t blown away by this issue like the previous, but that’s only because the “new-ness” of the series has finally worn off. But don’t take that, by any means, as a slight towards the issue. The momentum started by Straczynski continues with the first ramifications (of many, I’m sure) hitting the team.

Laughing Mask gets his guns confiscated when the police show up looking for evidence of the robbery he brutally stopped. Black Widow’s “sacrifice” or murder (seen last issue), may also come back to bite her in the butt as well. We also get more character development as Rockman delves into his own backstory. It feels completely like golden age pulp, but at the same time it’s fascinating. The concept is so much fun that I’d pay to see a Rockman solo book someday, and how his history fits into the Marvel Universe.

Dyanamic Man also makes a return. I can’t decide which version of this character is more interesting. The racist, almost Nazi poster boy version portrayed by this series or the visionary and robotic utopian builder portrayed in Project Superpowers. I find it interesting that both Straczynski and Jim Krueger decided to make their versions unlikeable. But Straczynski probably gets the edge by giving his version of Dynamic Man more complexities.

If you’ve been following this series, then you’ll find yourself completely immersed in another mature and engrossing installment. This is the best team book Marvel’s got going right now. And Chris Weston’s art is stunning. (Grade: A)

Project Superpowers #1 – Review

By Alex Ross (plot, art direction), Jim Krueger (writer), Carlos Paul (art), Debora Carita (colors)

Project Superpowers #0 was one of those books that came out of left field and surprised me. It was full of old Golden Age characters, a fantastic plot, and excellent art. Plus, is was only $1.00. If you haven’t picked up issue #0, I highly suggest hitting up your local comic store immediately. It’s such a treat.

With the foundation for the series laid down, issue #1 wastes no time getting the reader involved in the Fighting Yank’s quest. With his age catching up to him, Yank searches out the Green Lama in hopes of getting assistance with the Urn of Pandora’s retrieval. When he finds him, he’s surprised to see that he’s not aged in the 50 years they’ve been apart. Green Lama gives a sound explanation for this youthfulness and the two head to New York.

In New York, Dynamic Man sits atop a high skyscraper, admiring his handiwork. Clearly deluded, he claims credit for the progressions of society. When Fighting Yank and Green Lama come to visit, they pompously ridicules them, secretly knowing why they’ve arrived. He gives them them exactly what they seek, plus a little more than they bargained for. The only thing that bothered me is how the Black Terror, freed from his prison, seems a little more cheesy than seriously upset.

Krueger is careful not to introduce too many characters at once this issue. Because of this, we really get a grasp on what drives Dynamic Man and Green Lama. We’re also given a small dossier at the end of the issue giving us a little character history. Carlos Paul, working off of Alex Ross’ breakdowns produces some excellent. While this issue’s story is no where near as “epic” as last issue, it’s entertaining, nonetheless. I’m not *dying* to read the next issue, but I am satisfied with what I got out of this one. (Grade: B-)

– J. Montes

Project Superpowers #0 – Review

By: Jim Krueger (Writer), Alex Ross (Art Direction, Cover), Stephen Sadowski (Art)

This week’s new releases have been nothing but great read after read. I thought something had to give. Usually when I pay $1.00 for a comic book (these days), I expect to get maybe five pages of story, some dossier files and some character sketches. Not this time!

Project Superpowers caught me completely off guard. I expected some Golden Age silliness and mayhem, but what I got was a well crafted story and a character in the form of the Fighting Yank who is probably more fleshed out than his original character of yesteryear. It’s an explosive tale that centers around World War II where it’s believed that Hitler and his obsession with the occult has uncovered Pandora’s Box. Now, I’m not going to go on about the rest of the story, but it’s a really good read and the ghost that haunts the modern Fighting Yank (now in his old age), makes you wonder if he was delusional or if he was doing the right thing.

Like Marvel’s new series, The Twelve, Project Superpowers shines a new light on old characters, giving them a more dark and interesting modern spin. Shame on me for underestimating Alex Ross and Jim Krueger. Don’t be fooled by the price tag on this book, you get a full 20+ pages of fantastic story and beautiful art. Easily the most bang you’ll get for your buck this week. (Grade: A)