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Snapshots for 5/4/05
There's no way that Don 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.
DEADWORLD #1
by Gary Reed & Vince Locke (Image Comics/Desperado Publishing)
 Ever since The Walking Dead started, folks have been talking about Deadworld in the letter column, and despite having no familiarity with the book, when I heard it was coming back, this positive buzz (combined with my love of Walking Dead) had me pretty hyped to see what all the fuss was about. Maybe it was the raised expectations, maybe it's the level of zombie comic I expect thanks to the regular excellence of Walking Dead, but my first reaction to Deadworld was one of disappointment. Oh, there are some interesting elements, including the unusual talkative, sarcastic lead zombie on a motorbike or the supernatural mystery elements that hint that the zombie plague was caused by some kind of magic book (or can be stopped by those means), but the characters are all but indistinguishable, and that makes it hard to care whether they escape or wind up as zombie chow. Locke's art doesn't help in this regard, as it's good from a draftsman point of view, with a sketchy style that I would liken to the early work of Guy Davis, but his characters aren't really distinctive and his sparse backgrounds don't really ground the book effectively, making it feel like it all exists in this sort of nothing realm with no connection to our own. I've heard too much good about Deadworld to give up on it at this early date, but the first issue doesn't grab me by the throat the way a good zombie story (whether it's Walking Dead, Dawn of the Dead or Shaun of the Dead) should. 5/10
FELT: TRUE TALES OF UNDERGROUND HIP HOP
by Jim Mahfood (Image Comics)
 I don't think I've ever felt more older or unhip than when I started reading Felt and realized that it was like Mahfood was composing comics in a completely foreign language. Mahfood's street cred indy vibe has always been off the beaten path for me, but this book, an unusual interpretation of an album by hip hop group Felt, is damn near impenetrable. Mahfood maintains the sort of short skit pacing that has often been found in his 40 oz. books, but the stories are often more free-flowing interpretations of the music, consisting of conversations between people I don't know but feel like I should to be in on the joke or on crazy visuals that again feel like they would have more resonance if I listened to the album. I'm a huge fan of Mahfood's art style, and Felt looks great, but it actually got the point about halfway through that I was just flipping through for the art, unable to make heads or tales of the story or the point of the book. I will freely admit that Felt may well be an interesting multimedia piece, a companion to the Felt album that together makes for a musical and reading experience that comes together, but as a comic alone, it's a bit of a flop. 4/10
MATADOR #1
by Devin Grayson & Brian Stelfreeze (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
 I'm not a huge fan of Grayson's writing in general these days, but I have to admit, the first issue of Matador hooked me pretty good. There are certainly cliched elements to the story, including the lone detective buying into a conspiracy theory that nobody else does and of course the sexy female cop who mysteriously can't get a date, but Izzy Cordova is a likable character who offers up brains as well as beauty, and there's some nice moment-to-moment writing in the dinner scene between Izzy and the D.A. she's crushing on, not to mention some stellar artwork from Stelfreeze. The art in general is gorgeous, whether it's the sexy as hell look at Izzy lounging around in her bedroom (sure, it's a little cheesecake, but it's her bedroom, I buy her dressing that way there) or the slick and sun-streaked Miami police station. But where the book really shines is in the action sequences that open and close the book, as Grayson and Stelfreeze diverge from the more down-to-earth story of a cop chasing a lead to a humming killer who floats and moves like he's doing wire fu in a John Woo movie, an impressive feat when done in movies and even moreso when captured so effectively in panel-to-panel storytelling. 7/10
SEA OF RED #2
by Rick Remender, Salgood Sam & Kieron Dwyer (Image Comics)
 The first issue of Sea of Red blew me away, and this issue isn't as good as all that, but it's still a good read. After the period piece origin of our spanish vampire sailor in the first issue, the story picks up in the 21st century with a thinly-disguised James Cameron picking up the vampire while scouting his latest Titanic-based documentary and immediately sees the film possibilities of a real vampire. Remender's take on the Hollywood types is cynical to the point of being unreal, with Cameron a first-class idiot scumbag, most of his production folks either lapdogs or pissed-off jerks, but the over-the-top style fits in with the over-the-top violence and extreme personalities found in the first issue, even if they're a bit more grating in a modern setting than they were in the more unusual period setting. One thing hasn't changed, and that's the effectiveness of the black, red and sepia-tone art style used by Sam and Dwyer, which captures everything from the bloody aftermath of the vampire attack on the confines of the sub to the horrific vision of Blackthroat tormenting Marco's family and friends in perfect detail and with great atmosphere. The introduction of Hollywood parody elements is a somewhat bizarre twist for the book, given its foundation, and I hope a temporary addition as there's limited mileage to be gotten out of such things in this context, but it's working well enough so far, and clever moment-to-moment writing and spectacular art help carry the rest of the day. 8/10
SEVEN SOLDIERS: SHINING KNIGHT #2
by Grant Morrison & Simone Bianchi (DC Comics)
 The first issue of Shining Knight was weird, but pretty easy to follow. The second issue of Shining Knight is an assault of images and ideas upon the readers' senses, nowhere near as coherent in execution as issue one, and yet somehow almost equally compelling. Morrison's strange notions of time travel, guilt monsters, undying mafioso and broken, lost knights alone in a strange place aren't the most easy thing to grasp when you can't see the whole story, but there are enough intriguing moments, and certainly stunning enough artwork, that I'm still very hopeful that the final story will come together into something amazing. Certainly Justin's escape from police custody conveys the confusion of his situation along with his impressive physical skills, and the splash page that Bianchi serves up when Justin regains his faith in his knighthood is a stirring moment. I don't always know what's going on in Shining Knight, but I always want to know what's going to happen next. 8/10
STAR WARS: GENERAL GRIEVOUS #2
by Chuck Dixon, Rick Leonardi & Mark Pennington (Dark Horse Comics)
 With a notable improvement in the art, a fairly dark plot for a Star Wars comic and some nice references to races and technology from the Star Wars films, General Grievous #2 won me over. Leonardi and Pennington's art isn't completely different from what they served up in the first issue, but there is a slightly tighter approach to some of the detail, and the opening sequence showing Grievous's attack on the Ugnaughts' planet has some really effective shadow and mood thanks to the more sketchy approach than I'm used to seeing from Leonardi's art. I'm also pleased by the hints of the nature of General Grievous, as he's still more or less a cipher based around a look and a stupid name at this point, and I like learning more of who he is personality-wise, someone with a cruel bent for human experimentation and a penchant for horrifying demonstrations of evil, such as the one that we see at the end of this issue. He's still a bit of a piker compared to Darth Vader (or even Darth Maul), but this series is starting to make me take him more seriously as a villain. 7/10
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