Friday, August 5, 2011

Comics Reviews: Week of August 3rd, 2011

Flashpoint: Secret Seven #03
Written by
Peter Milligan
Art by Fernando Blanco (layouts), Scott Koblish (finishes), Brian Buccellato (colors), Rob Leigh (letters), George Perez and Tom Smith (cover)
Part Three: The Area of Madness
Released August 03, 2011
DC Comics
Rating: 1.8 out of 5

SPOILERS
As I said in a previous post, I am not reading every Flashpoint miniseries, just the ones that interest me. I had picked up the Flashpoint: Secret Seven series because it was about some of the magical characters in the Flashpoint DC Universe, and George Perez was doing some of the art (for issue 01). After reading all three issues of the series and seeing a character I adore come back solely to be immediately killed, I can say I wish I had never picked up a single issue of this series.

Shade the Changing Man and Enchantress are confronted by three of the remaining four members of the (Mindwarp, "Zatanna", and Raven). Abra Kadabra has outed them to the public. Shade killed Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, and now Zatanna seeks retribution. Shade and Enchantress battle Zatanna, Raven, and Mindwarp. In the end, almost everyone loses. Zatanna, Mindwarp, and Raven all die. Shade is more insane than usual. And Enchantress turns out to be working for the Amazons.

I always wonder what role event miniseries such as this one play in the grand scheme of things. Overall, I can say this had no bearing whatsoever on the main story line, and bordered on unnecessary. The writing was good for what it was. The art was very strong, and the battle scenes were great. But the feeling I got very early on that this book was complete filler was strong and unshakable. After reading the issue, it was very clear to me that this issue was meant to do nothing more than fill out DC's schedule for the month.

Also, who in their right mind thought that this was an appropriate look for Zatanna? This is one of the worst interpretations I have ever seen of any character. If this is the Flashpoint version of Zatanna, I am very glad that she is dead.

Flashpoint: World of Flashpoint #03
Written by
Rex Ogle
Art by Eduardo Francisco (art), Stefani Renee (colors), Travis Lanham (letters), Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and Andrew Dalhouse (cover)
This is the World We Hope For
Released August 03, 2011
DC Comics
Rating: 2 out of 5

Once again I am treated to a book about magic and once again it proves to be completely pointless. Traci-13 must stop her dad from annihilating 118 million people in an attempt to stop the Amazon/Atlantean War. How does she do this? By going into the midst of a large battle. Her gamble paid off. Her father stopped the satellite from firing in an attempt to save his daughter. She then uses the last of her magical powers to save him from the vacuum of space.

Writing: Check. There was definitely writing. Art: A little cartoony, but still good. Joy at reading the issue: None. Just like the Flashpoint: Secret Seven series, World of Flashpoint seemed to me to serve no purpose other than filling DC's schedule a bit. Everything that happened in the series was rendered unimportant by the close of the series. I liked the character of Traci-13, and I hope she appears elsewhere in the future (perhaps to make a difference somewhere, not to do essentially nothing). However, for the second time this week, I found myself wishing I had not wasted my time buying any of this series. It's a shame.

The Punisher #01
Written by
Greg Rucka
Art by Marco Checchetto (art), Matt Hollingworth (colors), VC's Joe Caramagna (letters), and Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, and Paul Mounts (cover)
Punisher: One
Released August 03, 2011
Marvel Comics
Rating: 3.3 out of 5

I've never been a fan of Punisher. Aside from an appearance in Runaways, he was never a character that even remotely drew any interest to me. I never listened when people described his tales to me (though I was familiar with his origin story). I have never flipped through an issue of his series just to see what was going on. The character held zero interest for me. The only reason I picked up this issue was because of Greg Rucka. I haven't read anything by Rucka that I haven't enjoyed, so I figured I'd give this one a shot.

This issue contains two stories. In the first, a military wedding is shot up and no one understands why. Cops discover who is behind it, and the Punisher takes care of it. In the second, we're privy to a police interview. Detective Walter Bolt tells the story of how his partner died, but we are shown a slightly different take on the events.

When summarized like this, it doesn't sound very compelling. Even after reading this, I still have very little interest in the character of the Punisher. However, Greg Rucka has managed, with very few words, to hold my interest. Marco Checchetto's wonderful and dark art certainly helped in this matter. I honestly don't have any strong feelings one way or the other about the series other than this: I will continue reading it, at least until I decide I really don't like it (which may be never). It's a pretty strong first issue. I'm sure Greg Rucka can keep it that strong.

1 comment:

Chris F said...

I don't think even Greg Rukka is enough to draw me to The Punisher. If it's that good, I will pick it up in trade, eventually.