First Impressions 9/9/10

FIRST IMPRESSIONS 9/9/10

Invaders Now #1

By Christos Gage, Alex Ross & Caio Reis
Price: $3.99

Brief Thoughts: The existence of this miniseries is at least warranted and organic, considering how many classic Invaders are now walking around the Marvel Universe, alive and well.  Gage and Ross do a decent job of explaining away why every former member of the team happens to be paired up with another at the same exact time, but overall this is a “get the gang back together” issue and the meat of the story is merely hinted at, leaving this introductory chapter feeling a little insubstantial.  Reis’ artwork is solid if not memorable, and overall the package is a decent outing from Marvel.  Too bad “decent” isn’t enough to equal a purchase these days.

Verdict: Save your dough.

Daken: Dark Wolverine #1

By Daniel Way, Marjorie Liu, and Giuseppe Camuncoli
Price: $3.99

Brief Thoughts: The Dark Wolverine series has been coasting since the ending of the Dark Reign, and it seems with this reboot things might be starting to get back on track.  Way and Camuncoli have given their Machiavellian lead a new purpose, and while it’s certainly not much different than his previous raison d’être, it at least makes this series seem to have forward momentum.  Camuncoli really has proven, mainly by his absence, that any and all Daken stories suffer if he’s not handling the artwork.  The artist is a master at bringing out the subtle darkness present in the tone of the tale and within the title character, and Marvel should really do their damnedest to keep him on this book if they want it to continue selling.

Verdict: Give it a (tentative) shot.

Lucid #1

By Michael McMillian & Anna Wieszczyk
Price: $3.95

Brief Thoughts: There are some interesting ideas to be found in this story about magical agents working for the U.S. government, attempting to protect the world from inter-dimensional invasion.  However, the mangaesque artwork makes the whole affair seem very regular and uninteresting, betraying what could have been a sleeper hit.  Perhaps a more suitable artist, who can really bring the dark and mystical mood to the forefront, could be brought on for the next arc?  Or is it too late?  Let’s hope not.

Verdict: Save your dough.

Weird War Tales #1

By Various
Price: $3.99

Brief Thoughts: There are three short tales to be found within, and while they each have their own merits, there’s not much to be said about any of them save Darwyn Cooke’s wickedly dark comedic piece about what all the former war heroes of history past and their brethren get up to after they die.  I found myself wishing for more when I found it was done, but that brevity may be part of its charm.  Either way, it’s well worth the price of admission alone.

Verdict: Give it a shot.

Shrek #1

By Various
Price: $3.95

Brief Thoughts: I watched the first Shrek film and it was enough to keep me away from the rest of them.  I suppose if you’re a Shrek fan this might be of interest to you, and while I personally found it to be boring, predictable, and not very funny, that is very likely due to my pre-existing bias against the franchise.  But, hey, I tried!

Verdict: Save your dough.

Transformers: Drift #1

By Shane McCarthy & Alex Milne
Price: $3.99

Brief Thoughts: Growing up on Transformers cartoons hasn’t necessarily led to a love of the current Transformers comics coming from IDW, but occasionally I’ll pick up an issue here and there.  Sometimes I’m happy I did so, and sometimes I’m not so pleased.  Drift #1 is not the best TF story I’ve read, but I was suitably entertained and I wouldn’t be against reading the next issue, although I probably won’t miss it if I don’t.  I do want to know why the heck are Transformers dressed as Jedis in this issue, though?  And who’s their tailor?

Verdict: Save your dough.

Punisher Max: Hot Rods of Death #1

By Charlie Huston & Shawn Martinborough
Price: $4.99

Brief Thoughts: Hot Rods of Death is a fun little Punisher piece where Frank Castle plays the part of the drifter being called in to save a town in deadly danger.  There’s not a lot new to be found here, but there is a solid level of enjoyment in watching everyone’s favorite vigilante kill bad men.  Huston handles the storytelling nicely, although there are the odd few pages that threatened to drown under their own wordiness.  Martinborough comes through on that end, though, and makes you forget those bumps on the road once you get to the glorious automobile carnage he has in store for you.  5 bucks for 32 pages is pushing it, sure, but heck, live a little.

Verdict: Give it a shot.

Domino Lady Noir #1

By Nancy Holder & Shawn Van Briesen
Price: $3.50

Brief Thoughts: When I sit down to read a comic book, my brain does certain things.  It silently readies itself to imbibe visual entertainment mixed with a healthy amount of text, but not too healthy an amount.  After all, nothing can kill the pacing of a comic like an overabundance of text.  So, it’s with great pain that I open a comic like Domino Lady Noir and find that it really isn’t a comic book in the traditional sense at all, but a short prose story accompanied by the odd illustration here and there.  If I wanted to read a prose story, I’d read a proper book, not this.  It’s practically tantamount to false advertising.  Am I being a bit harsh?  Probably.  Do I stand by this opinion?  Probably.

Verdict: Save your dough and buy a book.

Ratchet & Clank #1

By T.J. Fixman & Adam Archer
Price: $3.99

Brief Thoughts: I’ve never played any of Sony’s Ratchet and Clank videogames, so I came into this comic with no expectations or preconceived notions of what it was about.  Having read it, while I don’t know that this would be my thing on a regular basis, it was certainly a lot of fun.  Fixman’s script brings the reader up to speed about our titular duo quickly enough and with little exposition, making it very easy to just sit back and enjoy the ride.  Archer’s artwork was perfect for the type of story being told, giving it a nicely animated look and telling the story well visually.  And, hey, robot sidekick!  A pleasant surprise.

Verdict: Give it a shot.

-Joe Lopez