Ghost Rider #5 – Review

By: Rob Williams (writer), Lee Garbett (artist), Rob Schwager (colorist), Sebastian Girner (editor)

The Story: Now free of the control of Adam, Alejandra has to figure out what to do with herself and her curse. Her wordless conversation and grudgingly-given trust to the demon Zarathos begins to define what she is now that she is a free agent.

The Review: This book was a smooth, supernatural ride. I loved the overt plotline of Alejandra seeking herself through the new mentor Zarathos, with whom she cannot speak. She can only follow his lead and trust that where he brings her, their interests overlap. Beneath this relationship is the metaphorical undercurrent of how we make decisions and how we define ourselves, especially at the beginning of adulthood. We all carry angels and demons in us, and we rarely understand exactly what they say or why they do, and we can only trust that when following those urges, that we may be arriving at a good place. Layered over all of this is Alejandra’s more conscious perception of who she is as a person defined by her adoption, and as a spirit of vengeance defined by her the mandate of her curse. It’s too early yet in this series to tell whether Alejandra is a reliable narrator or not. Narrators may lie to us and they may also be wrong about the world and themselves, so Alejandra’s engaging monologue carries that uncertainly. In the end, this stand-alone issue was not about Alejandra defeating some over powerful foe, but about finding her footing under the informal mentorship of Zarathos.

Dark Avengers #12 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Mike Deodato & Greg Horn (art), Rain Beredo (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Victoria Hand tries to negotiate with Molecule Man.

What’s Good: Much of what made last month’s issue good is furthered this month.  Molecule Man in particular continues to be written well by Bendis.  He’s a bizarre concoction of social ineptitude that ends up sounding oddly child-like.  At times, he sounds innocent in his inability to converse, and at other times, he’s violently petulant.

Once again though, the real star is Victoria Hand. Bendis has made the most of what may appear to be a “filler arc” by using it to make a fully developed character out of her.  Bendis thrusts her into the middle of the action this month and we see her slowly settling into a leadership role and using her natural intelligence to get by.  Nonetheless, Bendis makes it clear that this is new territory for the character; she stutters during her negotiations with Reese, despite her tactics being sound.  The real moment this month for Hand, though, comes with her finally standing up to Osborn and asserting herself.  She makes demands of Osborn and becomes the first character to actually force Osborn to face up to his limitations and his history.  The fact that Bendis has given the up till now characterless Hand the personality to make this  believable in just a couple of issues is testament to his success with the character this month.