Post by shaxper on Aug 20, 2014 19:53:11 GMT -5
Electric Warrior #16
"The King in Metal"
writer: Doug Moench
co-creator/pencils: Jim Baikie
inks: Dennis Janke
letters: Todd Klein
colors: Nansi Hoolahan
grade: A+
In the letter column to this issue, Moench subtly inserts the fact that next issue will be the penultimate one. He knows the book is ending with #18 at this point, and I think that explains so much of what we see in this issue. Not only are things finally and truly coming together for our Electric Warrior, but Baikie and Hoolahan actually manage to impress me with their pencils and coloring this time around. Baikie takes a totally different approach to each face to the extent that I had to check the credits to make sure it was still him, and many of his shots feature dynamic poses and powerful energy, especially (but certainly not only) that image on page 18 of the EW holding all of the other Leks on puppet strings. Even if the visual was Moench's idea, the perspective Baikie lends to it is a powerful one. And Hoolahan's colors are less clean and primary for once, using more muted shades to express a reality that deserves more than the coloring scheme of four color Ben-Day dots. It seems like the whole team is truly committed to making these final three issues count.
And sure enough, it comes through loud and clear. Just as with last issue, I finally find myself caught up in a complex world that fascinates me and, now that we've finally found the characterization(s) for our main protagonist, the ideological conversations that pervade this issue feel more worthwhile, especially as they are interspersed with action on a planet-wide level.
Really, beyond saying that this issue rocked, it all comes down to minor details:
- More exploration of Derek coming to terms with using technology to simulate reality. We begin with him working with 9-03 (who, I still suspect, is just an aspect of his own subconscious) to accurately simulate the taste of apples when he converts matter to fuel and end up watching him manipulate holographic images of Amber and himself (back when he was still a Primmie) both to redirect his desire to paint (which he can no longer do) and to woo back Amber. Somehow, it captures the entirety of who he is at this point -- mechanical, ingenious, yearning, and doomed never to reach what he yearns for. Powerful stuff.
- More indications of some other suppressed memories in his or 9-03's subconscious that doesn't seem to pertain to either of their lives. I wonder if we'll get an answer to this one before the series concludes.
- Speaking of which, I wonder whether the cancellation is due more to low sales or to Moench being given the opportunity to reach a wider audience with his new Spectre series (also mentioned in this letter column). Perhaps sales trends were indicating that cancellation was imminent, and Moench chose #18 as a logical stopping point rather than being cancelled mid-story because he now had a new project for which to dedicate most of his energy and attention anyway.
- It does bother me a bit that Moench never bothers to name or even geographically pinpoint any of these foreign cities. For a series with as large a scope as this one, I still feel that Moench hasn't given much thought to any of the people or cities outside of his small circle of protagonists that we've been following since the first issue. At least we finally meet some new named characters in this issue (Syreeta Red-Fox and Anana Ten-Child), but will they amount to anything this late in the game?
- Zeedle and Janda return in this issue, but they're relegated to minor and appropriate roles, commenting upon the new Zig integration into Techno society.
- Great debate about forced integration on page 8. By the end of the issue, Moench leaves us wondering if maybe Derek's plan for forced integration actually has a chance of succeeding, even while realistically conceding that people furiously conspire against him and the plan in large numbers, though they fear actually doing anything about it.
- So other cities also have Electric Warriors. I like how the ones we see in this issue are drawn, and the idea of Derek expanding his power base further by "raping" their net (there was a shocking and purposefully used word to express just how frustrated and angry Derek has become) was pretty exciting.
- We're told that the other Leks think Derek is one of them since they cannot access the net and only receive orders from it. Yet, in early issues, we were told that all Leks experience what each individual Lek experiences. And besides, couldn't the Leks see that Derek didn't look like them? A more rational explanation would have been that Derek was on a different net, so they would have perceived him as nothing more than a normal Lek from another city.
- Not sure when the change occurred (I should have caught it much earlier) but Derek looks FAR better in blue.
- I wonder if Moench's explanation last issue that he changed his plans for the invaders "five weeks earlier" was because the final issue for the series had already been determined at that point.
I'm really impressed with how well this series is finally coming together at its close, especially since the title seemed stuck in neutral for most of its run. Great ideas are finally meeting a great plot and great characterization. It's finally and thoroughly Moench at his finest.
"The King in Metal"
writer: Doug Moench
co-creator/pencils: Jim Baikie
inks: Dennis Janke
letters: Todd Klein
colors: Nansi Hoolahan
grade: A+
In the letter column to this issue, Moench subtly inserts the fact that next issue will be the penultimate one. He knows the book is ending with #18 at this point, and I think that explains so much of what we see in this issue. Not only are things finally and truly coming together for our Electric Warrior, but Baikie and Hoolahan actually manage to impress me with their pencils and coloring this time around. Baikie takes a totally different approach to each face to the extent that I had to check the credits to make sure it was still him, and many of his shots feature dynamic poses and powerful energy, especially (but certainly not only) that image on page 18 of the EW holding all of the other Leks on puppet strings. Even if the visual was Moench's idea, the perspective Baikie lends to it is a powerful one. And Hoolahan's colors are less clean and primary for once, using more muted shades to express a reality that deserves more than the coloring scheme of four color Ben-Day dots. It seems like the whole team is truly committed to making these final three issues count.
And sure enough, it comes through loud and clear. Just as with last issue, I finally find myself caught up in a complex world that fascinates me and, now that we've finally found the characterization(s) for our main protagonist, the ideological conversations that pervade this issue feel more worthwhile, especially as they are interspersed with action on a planet-wide level.
Really, beyond saying that this issue rocked, it all comes down to minor details:
- More exploration of Derek coming to terms with using technology to simulate reality. We begin with him working with 9-03 (who, I still suspect, is just an aspect of his own subconscious) to accurately simulate the taste of apples when he converts matter to fuel and end up watching him manipulate holographic images of Amber and himself (back when he was still a Primmie) both to redirect his desire to paint (which he can no longer do) and to woo back Amber. Somehow, it captures the entirety of who he is at this point -- mechanical, ingenious, yearning, and doomed never to reach what he yearns for. Powerful stuff.
- More indications of some other suppressed memories in his or 9-03's subconscious that doesn't seem to pertain to either of their lives. I wonder if we'll get an answer to this one before the series concludes.
- Speaking of which, I wonder whether the cancellation is due more to low sales or to Moench being given the opportunity to reach a wider audience with his new Spectre series (also mentioned in this letter column). Perhaps sales trends were indicating that cancellation was imminent, and Moench chose #18 as a logical stopping point rather than being cancelled mid-story because he now had a new project for which to dedicate most of his energy and attention anyway.
- It does bother me a bit that Moench never bothers to name or even geographically pinpoint any of these foreign cities. For a series with as large a scope as this one, I still feel that Moench hasn't given much thought to any of the people or cities outside of his small circle of protagonists that we've been following since the first issue. At least we finally meet some new named characters in this issue (Syreeta Red-Fox and Anana Ten-Child), but will they amount to anything this late in the game?
- Zeedle and Janda return in this issue, but they're relegated to minor and appropriate roles, commenting upon the new Zig integration into Techno society.
- Great debate about forced integration on page 8. By the end of the issue, Moench leaves us wondering if maybe Derek's plan for forced integration actually has a chance of succeeding, even while realistically conceding that people furiously conspire against him and the plan in large numbers, though they fear actually doing anything about it.
- So other cities also have Electric Warriors. I like how the ones we see in this issue are drawn, and the idea of Derek expanding his power base further by "raping" their net (there was a shocking and purposefully used word to express just how frustrated and angry Derek has become) was pretty exciting.
- We're told that the other Leks think Derek is one of them since they cannot access the net and only receive orders from it. Yet, in early issues, we were told that all Leks experience what each individual Lek experiences. And besides, couldn't the Leks see that Derek didn't look like them? A more rational explanation would have been that Derek was on a different net, so they would have perceived him as nothing more than a normal Lek from another city.
- Not sure when the change occurred (I should have caught it much earlier) but Derek looks FAR better in blue.
- I wonder if Moench's explanation last issue that he changed his plans for the invaders "five weeks earlier" was because the final issue for the series had already been determined at that point.
I'm really impressed with how well this series is finally coming together at its close, especially since the title seemed stuck in neutral for most of its run. Great ideas are finally meeting a great plot and great characterization. It's finally and thoroughly Moench at his finest.
This was so damn arbitrary. Moench should have let her die that first time and allowed her loss to somehow transform Derek in hindsight. His sudden coldness to her just as she finally wants to return his affections felt straight out of a misogynistic male fantasy. Give Amber a break. She's been through hell and back, and I still can't figure out what the heck Derek (and, indeed, Moench) are punishing her for. 
