Gears of War #6 – Review

By Joshua Ortega (Writer), Liam Sharp (Artist), and Jonny Rench (Colorist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The creative team behind Gears of War has a lot of work to do in issue six if they want me to keep the series on my pull list. To say that last month’s issue disappointed me would be a pretty serious understatement. In fact, I’m fairly certain it earned one of the lowest grades I have ever given out.

The Story: The final chapter of “Hollow” is about Marcus and the gang battling their way out of the Montevado sinkhole. Things do not go smoothly. Especially in Jace’s case…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Liam Sharp and Jonny Rench do a great job of clearly capturing the action, chaos, grit, and violence necessary to make the Montevado sinkhole battle feel like something that carries dramatic weight. And they needed to, because Gears of War #6 is quite forgettable as far as storytelling is concerned. It’s not that the story is poorly executed or written, it’s just that, bottom line, there really isn’t a whole lot of story to tell. What little there is exists merely to stage action scenes and bring some sort of conclusion to the first arc of the series.

I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to say regarding Joshua Ortega’s writing. His plot vehicle, Jace, has a decent amount of depth and a flair for dramatic narration, but it’s that very depth that makes the character feel out of place. Too much time is spent on Jace when everyone knows that it’s really the Marcus Fenix show. While it’s admirable that Ortega opted to expand the cast of the series, it’s questionable whether it was ultimately the right decision when the action-packed comic series feels so shallow. It’s not that I expected something deep, but I did hope that it would expand and add to the videogame mythos a bit more successfully.

Conclusion: While Gears #6 isn’t quite strong enough to stop the series from dropping off my pull list due to the weak storytelling, it’s not really the creative team’s fault. The visuals do the source material justice, the writing is decent enough despite the limits placed on it (considering that the series takes place in between games one and two), and, as a whole, the book proves to be an entertaining piece of sci-fi action. I recommend it to fans of the game, but urge those checking it out to keep expectations realistic.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #4 – Review

By Hans Rodionoff (writer), Joel Gomez (pencils), Don Ho (inker), Gabe Eltaeb, Randy Mayor (colors)

The best inside joke in all of comics comes to its conclusion with this issue. Luckily, the story will continue in Lost Boys: The Tribe which I assume is an adaptation of the movie. Hans Rodionoff answers a lot of questions that has been lingering since issue #1 while doing an excellent job of setting up several more to keep you interested in the next arc. Still, I’m left to wonder: why is the Emerson family so damn important to the vampires of this town?

Rodionoff’s writing continues to shine and his respect of the source material is admirable. The coolest moments of the series have been Edgar’s stories. Whether it’s political vampires or receiving an award from The President, his account of what happens is great. To find out that most of it is embellished for this kid is a big letdown. I get that we need to see Edgar hasn’t changed. If he had, none of the coming events would seem like a challenge. Still, with such a cool setup it’s a bit of a letdown coming back to the truth.

My gripe with the art still hasn’t changed. Characters like Grandpa, David, and the Leatherface Vamp are easy to tell apart since they have very specific features. Gramps has his grey hair, Leatherface has his, well, leather face, and David has his mullet. Sadly, every human looks like Edgar Frog! Edgar and Alan are brothers, but I could only tell them apart when Alan was turning, since I knew Edgar was still alive. Even the kid Edgar’s talking to looks like him and as far as I know he doesn’t have any kids. Still, the images on the page do a great job of conveying the story. The best is when David’s half-brother (it’s complicated) kills some sharks in the water. It’s a few quick panels which show the frantic pace of the fight. Besides, how often do you see a shark get killed on its own turf?

Lost Boys has been one of the most enjoyable arcs I’ve read in a while. The respect to the source material is unmatched by any tie-in I’ve seen and that’s a relief. I’ve said it before: if you’re a fan of The Lost Boys mythos buy this book, you won’t be disappointed. (Grade: B-)

– Ben Berger

Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #2 (of 4) – Review

By: Hans Rodionoff, Joel Gomez (pencils), Don Ho (inks), Randy Mayor, and Gabe Eltaeb (colors)

Growing up, I was a huge fan of the original Lost Boys movie. In this comic series, the story turns and focuses on the Frog Brothers and their lives post-Lost Boys. Basically, these two have stayed in the fictitious city of Santa Carla and continue fighting the good fight. Along the way they find out that they didn’t actually kill the head vamp in the events of the movie, so they now need to act fast if their home town is to be saved.

The writing in this book is top notch. The dialogue remains in tune with the movie right down to the terminology. It’s funny, and at times scary, with good twists and turns – the biggest of which is the reveal of the true head-vamp. I won’t say who it is, but fans of the movie will be floored when they read it. Having seen the movie (many times) it didn’t make sense right away, but a little inconsistency is forgivable since every vampire story has its own take on the mythos.

The art here is a little confusing. There isn’t a lot of detail in the character’s faces so it’s hard to tell a lot of them apart. The vampire, David (played by Kiefer Sutherland in the movie), still has that ridiculous spikey-haired mullet, which is a great throw back to the 1980s. Unfortunately, the rest of the art isn’t as detailed or stylized as the cover, which depending on your taste, can be a bad thing. Throughout the book Joel Gomez uses the visual tool of a red silhouette over a black background to great effect – this I liked. It highlights both the action and gore as well.

Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs is a great read for anyone who liked the movie. It has the same cult, classic feel that made the movie so much fun. One thing I really enjoyed is the fact that the paper feels like old school newsprint – not the glossy pages we’re now accustomed to. It may have been a budget thing, or a style choice, but it’s fun either way. If you liked the movie, buy this comic! (Grade: B)

-Ben Berger