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Quick Critiques for 2/2/2005
There's no way that Randy and I can cover all of the material we have for review in full reviews, so these capsule reviews will offer some brief comments on other recent releases.
DEADSHOT #3
by Christos K. Gage, Steven Cummings & Jimmy Palmiotti (DC Comics)
 Given the dark nature of the title character, this series has followed a surprisingly conventional and predictable path. Gage hasn't eased up on the violence that defines Deadshot's life, but the character comes off as far too much of a hero. His sins are easily forgotten, even by a super-hero whose friends have been hurt by Deadshot and even by a woman who despised him only a couple of days before. Maybe Gage is just setting the title character up for a tragic fall, but for now, he seems to be robbing the character of a good deal of his edge. The Green Arrow scenes are ultimately pointless, as they don't alter the flow of the plot at all, and there's really not a lot of tension in the fight anyway, as the reader knows both characters will walk away from it pretty much unscathed. After all, there are two more issues of Deadshot left, and Green Arrow has his own series and Justice League Elite appearances to stick around for. The art tells the story clearly, but it never really grabbed me either. This character calls for some darker, moodier visuals, and they're just not to be found in this issue. Furthermore, the villain who appears in this issue's final scene looks more silly than menacing. 5/10
DEMO: THE TWELVE ORIGINAL SCRIPTS trade paperback
by Brian Wood (AiT/Planet Lar)
 I've been reading comics for so long, I've become fascinated with the creative process, not just the reading experience itself. Projects such as this one aren't exactly commonplace, but they are popping up more often these days, and I'm the sort of reader who gobbles them up. Perhaps better than any other such scriptbook, this one demonstrates the importance of strong communication between the writer and artist. This doesn't read as though Wood is directing artist Becky Cloonan with his scripts, but rather continuing conversations they've had about the stories and characters. Wood's scripts demonstrate that he trusts in Cloonan's skills and in the notion that he and she are on the same wavelength when it comes to these stories. For those who read Demo< that trust paid off. The only aspect in which this book is lacking is when it comes to artwork. Cloonan has provided a few figures for the book, but they're few and far between, used just as chapter breaks, basically. I was surprised the covers were incorporated here, and I would have loved to see some of Cloonan's design sketch work or preliminary panel layouts. 9/10
Note: This book was not among this week's new releases.
MARVEL TEAM-UP #5
by Robert Kirkman & Scott Kolins (Marvel Comics)
 Overall, I like what Kirkman is doing with this series. He's telling larger stories that dart in and out of the lives of a variety of dynamic denizens of the Marvel Universe. As a collected trade paperback, I'm sure it will read quite well. But this issue -- and a couple before it -- doesn't stand up well on its. The two characters featured on the cover actually appear little in the issue itself. They're forced to share the spotlight with Sunfire, with an evil Iron Man and various X-Men. The plotting is all over the place. Kirkman doesn't deliver on what he promises (or at least what the cover promises), and that's a Spidey/X-23 story. It also seems as though Marvel is really overexposing X-23 as a character, spreading her too thin when they're still trying to tell her origin story in a separate limited series. Kirkman's take on the character, though, is consistent with what Chris Claremont is doing with her over in Uncanny X-Men. Kolins's art is, as always, a real pleasure. the characters exude power, even when they're doing not much of anything. 5/10
NEW AVENGERS #3
by Brian Michael Bendis, David Finch & Danny Miki
(Marvel Comics)
 I don't know what's going on with the cover here, since the Sentry barely makes an appearance in this issue at all, but the story inside is a solid one. Cap's assembling of a new team, inspired by their work on Ryker's Island, makes sense, and I like the mission this team is undertaking: hunting down the various super-villain escapees. It gives the team direction and offers a strong reason why this unusual lineup would choose to work together. Bendis makes the most of the blank slate that is Jessica Drew, AKA Spider-Woman, as the final scene attests. Finch's art brings a darkness and maturity to the super-hero action, but he makes room for brighter moments. Bendis's script captures the inherent optimism and goodness of Captain America quite well and offers some lighter moments to balance things out as well. Though I didn't care for the stories that dissolved the previous Avengers team, this new series has yet to disappoint. Whether or not the creative team will be able to maintain that record when Wolverine is incorporated into the title remains to be seen. 8/10
SUPERMAN: STRENGTH #2
by Scott McCloud, Aluir Amancio & Terry Austin
(DC Comics)
 McCloud's story about Superman's ideals and about and unusual new super-villain continues, and it gets a bit stronger with this second chapter. I really enjoyed the villain's abilities here; it struck me as a rather new way to portraying and applying warp powers. Ultimately, the script is more than a little preachy as McCloud demonstrates how Superman came to be the morally centered man he is today. If you ask me, he makes Superman too ethical, as we see the Man of Steel keep promises that need not be kept. Amancio's art is all about eliciting a sense of Jack Kirby's dynamic style. The Kirby influence here is undeniable. Unfortunately, Amancio's exaggerated, cartoony approach here isn't really in keeping with the more grounded elements in the plot. While there's plenty of wondrous action and imaginative super-hero genre concepts to be found here, this is really a story about the man in Superman, not the super, and a softer, more realistic approach might have served that story better. 6/10
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #72
by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley & Scott Hanna
(Marvel Comics)
 The larger storyline of Peter Parker's life and how it intertwines with that of the Osborn family resumes, and it makes for some really strong dramatic tension. Bendis does a good job of filling readers in on the events of Ultimate Six and how they apply to this new story arc. More importantly, the writer conveys the unimaginable emotional turmoil in which the title character is steeped, and how he never seems to get a breather before his life takes another potentially disastrous turn. How does Bendis reconcile that inner conflict with the wallcrawler's quips during fights? It's clear the banter is his way of coping with the surreal and dangerous life the character now leads, but it's just as clear that the smart-alec routine isn't quite enough. The flashbacks to events that occurred around the same time as the title's first story arc are woven in nicely as well. Bagley's art remains a key component here. He handles the action early on quite well, and for the character-driven scenes, he's careful to depict the players as teens, not adults. It makes the characters seem even more vulnerable, and therefore, more human. 8/10
Email Don MacPherson with your comments about this review.
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