I'm always somewhat excited when coming to a new series, because there's so much untapped potential there, and it's even better when I don't know much about the series, because I get to watch the story unfold. The downside of that is the disappointment when the story unfolds too slowly, or features dialogue and plot elements that are cliche and uninteresting, which is how I mostly felt with Guardian Angel. Aron Wiesenfeld does some beautiful action sequences and some imaginative character designs, but Peterson serves up a script that is filled with some fairly uninspired dialogue, and he spends well over half the book on a basically inconsequential action sequence rather than spelling out the premise of the book with any clarity.
Guardian Angel is a book about a Hollywood actor who does his own stunts, but beyond that, I'm kind of mystified. The character of the actor is explored in broad strokes, showing him to be a bit of a womanizer with an ego who is an action star in the Arnold Schwarzenegger mold, but why we're meant to care isn't established quite so well. The opening sequence, totalling some 14 pages, is certainly action-packed and exciting, but it's pretty much irrelevant to the overall plot, and thus winds up being a waste of space.
It doesn't help that the revelation about the opening sequence being a movie doesn't really go anywhere either. Peterson makes a point of having the lead character complain about his cheesy movie dialogue (something I was complaining about as well), but the dialogue once he gets into the "real world" is no better or less cheesy, which makes the joke fall flat. There's an attempt to do the same normal dialogue in an abnormal world that folks like Bendis and Straczynski use, but Peterson's script isn't quite up to it, and the dialogue feels forced instead.
On the art side of things, Guardian Angel is more impressive, with Wiesenfeld serving up artwork reminiscent of some of Jim Lee's best, with a bit of late Travis Charest mixed in. The backgrounds in the beginning are deliberately sparse, highlighting the action, and my complaints with the unnecessary action are muted by how gorgeous it all looks. Wiesenfeld could use a little more distinction in the faces of his characters, particularly his women, but he does use the cheats of wardrobe to keep them distinctive.
This is a pretty book, but after reading the first issue, I'm left with mostly questions, and not enough answers to really intrigue me. In fact, I'm left with much the same feeling I had before I read the first issue, thinking that there's a lot of untapped potential. Perhaps in later issues the script will rise to the level of the artwork.
