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Post by thwhtguardian on Jun 9, 2018 21:17:27 GMT -5
Sword Daughter #1Written by Brian Wood Art by Mack Chater Summary: In the time of the Vikings 12-year-old Elsbeth’s mother and brother are killed by a thuggish clan of warriors called the 40 Swords. In the aftermath of the raid her father Dag fell into a decade-long stupor surviving only due to Elsbeth's care but when Elsbeth reaches for the sword on her father’s belt Dag finally wakes up and their quest for revenge began.
Plot: Northlanders is probably one of my top five favorite books to come out in the last decade, and it's follow up from a few years back Black Road was just as good so when I heard that Wood was returning for more viking mayhem I was on board immediately. In this newest installment the influence of classic samurai stories like Lone Wolf and Cub is immediately apparent, with the father reluctantly towing his child behind on a quest revenge, and the resemblance to books like Hit-Girl with young female protagonists committing huge acts of violence is also on full display as well. What seperates Wood's latest tale from those two types of stories however is wilder feel from Lone Wolf, and its more grounded presentation. Most of those strong girl stories lean into the dissonance of seeing a 12-year-old girl commit acts of bodily harm in a super stylized and often almost sexualized presentation, but Wood steers well clear of that by giving us a fully believable act.
The plot isn't with out it's faults though, glossing over the time Elsbeth cares for her father completely kills any semblance of a bond which makes for uneven characterization but even more troubling is Elsbeth's speech. She's presented as being mostly feral, essentially living on her own since the age of two and to hammer that home her speech is presented in pictograms, which is an interesting way to convey her disconnect from civilization. However, two things throw a monkey wrench into it: while presented as wholly different than traditional speech no one seems to struggle to understand her what so ever and on top of that near the end we learn that the narration which is in perfect English belongs to her which is a big disconnect to the character we see on the page. Still, the story is engaging and I'm looking forward to see it unfold.
Art: While the world is familiar from past stories from Wood, it doesn't feel like a retread thanks to the unique texture and tone granted to it by to Chater’s art Jose Villarrubia’s colors. What really makes it stand out are the color choices by Villarrubia; he brings a muted, earth-tone palette to most of the issue that speaks to the hard, rigorous, life of the people on the island and uses a sharp almost heavy industrial pallet of black and crimson whenever the 40 Swords are on the page which really hammers home differnce between their barbarism and the queit lives of the villagers.
Grade:8/10
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2018 23:20:26 GMT -5
I'm so behind on Comic Book Reading -- looks like the Justice League #1 and Man of Steel #1 and #2 -- are worthing checking out. So, I'm going to check those out next Friday and go from there.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jun 10, 2018 8:18:28 GMT -5
Koshchei The Deatless #6Written by Mike Mignola Art by Ben Stenbeck Summary: Koshchei and Hellboy have a chat in Hell.
Plot: I'm going to sound like "The World's most interesting man" for a second here: I don't normally bag on Mike Mignola, but when I do I really shit on him. I haven't been enjoying this mini since the third issue, it started out fine as an exploration of one of Hellboy's more interesting villains but it quickly lost steam and although I was hoping it would come together in the end I'm saddened to report it came to a screeching halt instead of an actual conclusion. If you're a fan of anime then you'll know what I'm talking about: this issue was a total clip show. It had nearly no new content, being comprised mostly of previous scenes of Hellboy encountering the Baba Yaga and Koshchei and the reminiscing of the two didn't even add any new insight...they literally just summarized what happened before. There was only one worthwhile scene in this book, where Hellboy gives Koshchei the lay of the land in Hell before vanishing and then remarking to himself, "Don't keep chasing that goat..." it was a decent transition to Hell and a tease into Hellboy's fate over in BPRD that made for a decent ending but we could have and should have gotten to it three issues ago.
Art: I love Ben Stenbeck, but having to ape Mignola and Duncan Fegredo really wasted his talent.
Grade:2/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jun 10, 2018 9:20:28 GMT -5
The Man of Steel #2:
Script by Brian Michael Bendis. Art by Doc Shaner & Steve Rude.
The first few pages we get a little "Bendis speak" between two Guardians but then we dive into scenes at the Daily planet & Superman fighting the Toyman. Then we get a Hal Green Lantern scene as Superman brushes him off when he starts to ask about Lois & Jon. Then a two page flashback with Lois & Jon. Then outer space where the villain is looking for Superman. Then back to the Planet as a new reporter continues to dig into Lois & Jon's disappearance.
First off the art was beautiful. I like Shaner & Rude's similar styles. Bendis is getting to work with some stellar artists. After a bit of trepidation with the Guardian's conversation (as Bendis is known for) the rest of the issue was good. I also think the weekly format is helping. If this had been monthly it would have felt like the mystery about Lois & Jon is starting to drag on.
8/10. The art was fantastic, I really wish either Shaner or the Rude Dude would do Superman full time. And while I really liked all the individual bits in and of themselves I felt there was a lack of cohesion as a whole story. The parts just aren't fitting very well together for me, and the "mystery" with Lois and Jon(now seemingly involving Ambush Bug) seems off. We're not given enough to really care about why they're gone or what the consequences really are. We should have felt as awkward as Clark did at being asked about their where abouts but it just didn't have that emotional appeal. Still, the voices are right, and the action is fun but I just wish the plot were tighter. 7/10 |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 10, 2018 11:27:15 GMT -5
Sword Daughter #1Written by Brian Wood Art by Mack Chater Summary: In the time of the Vikings 12-year-old Elsbeth’s mother and brother are killed by a thuggish clan of warriors called the 40 Swords. In the aftermath of the raid her father Dag fell into a decade-long stupor surviving only due to Elsbeth's care but when Elsbeth reaches for the sword on her father’s belt Dag finally wakes up and their quest for revenge began.
Plot: Northlanders is probably one of my top five favorite books to come out in the last decade, and it's follow up from a few years back Black Road was just as good so when I heard that Wood was returning for more viking mayhem I was on board immediately. In this newest installment the influence of classic samurai stories like Lone Wolf and Cub is immediately apparent, with the father reluctantly towing his child behind on a quest revenge, and the resemblance to books like Hit-Girl with young female protagonists committing huge acts of violence is also on full display as well. What seperates Wood's latest tale from those two types of stories however is wilder feel from Lone Wolf, and its more grounded presentation. Most of those strong girl stories lean into the dissonance of seeing a 12-year-old girl commit acts of bodily harm in a super stylized and often almost sexualized presentation, but Wood steers well clear of that by giving us a fully believable act.
The plot isn't with out it's faults though, glossing over the time Elsbeth cares for her father completely kills any semblance of a bond which makes for uneven characterization but even more troubling is Elsbeth's speech. She's presented as being mostly feral, essentially living on her own since the age of two and to hammer that home her speech is presented in pictograms, which is an interesting way to convey her disconnect from civilization. However, two things throw a monkey wrench into it: while presented as wholly different than traditional speech no one seems to struggle to understand her what so ever and on top of that near the end we learn that the narration which is in perfect English belongs to her which is a big disconnect to the character we see on the page. Still, the story is engaging and I'm looking forward to see it unfold.
Art: While the world is familiar from past stories from Wood, it doesn't feel like a retread thanks to the unique texture and tone granted to it by to Chater’s art Jose Villarrubia’s colors. What really makes it stand out are the color choices by Villarrubia; he brings a muted, earth-tone palette to most of the issue that speaks to the hard, rigorous, life of the people on the island and uses a sharp almost heavy industrial pallet of black and crimson whenever the 40 Swords are on the page which really hammers home differnce between their barbarism and the queit lives of the villagers.
Grade:8/10
How did I miss this. I love Wood's historical work (I want more Black Road). Will have to check it out. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jun 10, 2018 11:57:30 GMT -5
Xerxes #3Written and illustrated by Frank Miller Summary: The history of the reign of Xerxes is laid bare.
Plot: A promising start to a story with an interesting concept has truly begun to flounder. I understand why Miller chose to create such a fragmented story in this issue, as it provides a unique way of depicting the fragmented and conflicting histories of Xerxes' reign but in the scheme of the over all narrative I'm left baffled by it. As I said, the disjointed conflicted narrative of the issue isn't poor writing by any means as it definitely serves a purpose in it's interesting depiction of the many contradictory stories around Xerxes...but it does nothing to forward the ongoing march of history that the title promised. How does exploring these conflicting views of Xerxes give us insight into the fall of Darius' house or the rise of Alexander? That story seemed a daunting task to begin with but now with three issues down and only three more to go I'm at a loss as to how it will all work out.
Art: While the last issue was similarly stuck in first gear it had the benefit of some truly stunning depiction of Athens and the battles around it, but here the visuals are jumbled and unclear. There are a few interesting scenes, like the fall of Xerxes into darkness, Miller depicts Xerxes as he is slowly swallowed by the darkness: firs in full detail as we're used to, but then he's slowly paired down first only showing the gold of his jewelry and his eyes and then only his eyes in the darkness. But though interesting it's not enough to really salvage the issue as the depictions in the last issue did.
Grade:4/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jun 10, 2018 11:58:36 GMT -5
Sword Daughter #1Written by Brian Wood Art by Mack Chater Summary: In the time of the Vikings 12-year-old Elsbeth’s mother and brother are killed by a thuggish clan of warriors called the 40 Swords. In the aftermath of the raid her father Dag fell into a decade-long stupor surviving only due to Elsbeth's care but when Elsbeth reaches for the sword on her father’s belt Dag finally wakes up and their quest for revenge began.
Plot: Northlanders is probably one of my top five favorite books to come out in the last decade, and it's follow up from a few years back Black Road was just as good so when I heard that Wood was returning for more viking mayhem I was on board immediately. In this newest installment the influence of classic samurai stories like Lone Wolf and Cub is immediately apparent, with the father reluctantly towing his child behind on a quest revenge, and the resemblance to books like Hit-Girl with young female protagonists committing huge acts of violence is also on full display as well. What seperates Wood's latest tale from those two types of stories however is wilder feel from Lone Wolf, and its more grounded presentation. Most of those strong girl stories lean into the dissonance of seeing a 12-year-old girl commit acts of bodily harm in a super stylized and often almost sexualized presentation, but Wood steers well clear of that by giving us a fully believable act.
The plot isn't with out it's faults though, glossing over the time Elsbeth cares for her father completely kills any semblance of a bond which makes for uneven characterization but even more troubling is Elsbeth's speech. She's presented as being mostly feral, essentially living on her own since the age of two and to hammer that home her speech is presented in pictograms, which is an interesting way to convey her disconnect from civilization. However, two things throw a monkey wrench into it: while presented as wholly different than traditional speech no one seems to struggle to understand her what so ever and on top of that near the end we learn that the narration which is in perfect English belongs to her which is a big disconnect to the character we see on the page. Still, the story is engaging and I'm looking forward to see it unfold.
Art: While the world is familiar from past stories from Wood, it doesn't feel like a retread thanks to the unique texture and tone granted to it by to Chater’s art Jose Villarrubia’s colors. What really makes it stand out are the color choices by Villarrubia; he brings a muted, earth-tone palette to most of the issue that speaks to the hard, rigorous, life of the people on the island and uses a sharp almost heavy industrial pallet of black and crimson whenever the 40 Swords are on the page which really hammers home differnce between their barbarism and the queit lives of the villagers.
Grade:8/10
How did I miss this. I love Wood's historical work (I want more Black Road). Will have to check it out. You definitely need to check it out; it was a little uneven for a start but my hopes are high. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jun 10, 2018 16:19:45 GMT -5
Doctor Strange #1Written by Mark Waid Art by Jesus Saiz Summary: With his magic completely tapped out Steven Strange turns to Tony Stark for help, and his answer? Look to the stars.
Plot: With his current run on Captain America being an unmitigated disaster and the ending of the last run feeling so cheap I wasn't sure I was going to give Waid a shot on Doctor Strange...and so far it was worth a try. I'm not blown away by anything Waid introduced just yet, but I really like that despite setting his run in space he didn't just throw out everything that came before him as his story spins out of the whole Last Days of Magic idea that Aaron first introduced and Donny Cates built on. It could crash and burn, after all Captain America started out well too but I'm interested to see where things go.
Art: Jesus Saiz is a sight to behold once again, I've loved his work ever since his run on Manhunter, he has a real knack for details without everything looking all wooden. While he didn't have a lot here to show us what he has in store for us visually, his design for the tentacle monster seen briefly in the opening scene and indeed his run on Swamp Thing from a few years ago proove he has the chops to handle a supernatural book so I'm hoping for a lot of fun from him.
Grade:7/10 |
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