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CABLE #99
"The Seven Percent Solution"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: David Tischman
Artist: Igor Kordey
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Comicraft
Editors: Matt Hicks & Mark Powers
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
Honestly? I'm
a little lost. This remains the most interesting take on Cable that I've read,
but Tischman seems to be overcomplicating things by a wide margin. Too many
characters, most of whom are not well-defined, match up with a plot that has a
number of twists and turns and combine with a somewhat unnecessary subplot to
make for a fairly crowded issue. I commend Tischman and Kordey for doing
something different, but I think they are on the verge of going too far out on a
limb and losing any hope of a casual audience.
Priest nearly lost me with all the economic manipulations in Black Panther, and
Tischman is covering the same ground. While economic warfare is certainly a
change in pace from the slugfests we usually get in comics, I didn't feel that
what was going on was very well explained in this issue. In broad strokes, I
understand the Shining Path's plan, and it's a clever bit of manipulation, but a
little more explanation for the cheap seats would have helped. Then again, the
book is already feeling a bit crowded, with numerous members of the Shining Path
getting little development beyond their powers and a child whose bonding with
Cable seems to have come on awfully suddenly. The addition of a subplot
regarding Cable's techno-virus also seems to be adding pages to a book that
could already use a little more room to breathe.
However, while I'm not
entirely caught up with what's going on all the time, I have to admire what
Tischman is doing here. Cable feels more at home in this gritty, paramilitary
sort of operation than he does in the world of super-heroes, and I'm glad to see
him back among the guns and politics where I always felt he belonged.
A fair amount of credit for the realism belongs with Igor Kordey, whose work continues to impress. His settings feel real and somewhat dirty, and I'm reminded of "indie cred" action films like Desperado or Reservoir Dogs more than the widescreen style that has
overtaken comics. It's a new look, and what's more, it's a new look that
absolutely fits the style of the character. The mutant powers aren't splashy and
colorful, they're just variant versions of the guns and explosives that the
heroes and villains are using.
While I have my quibbles with
the pacing of the story and some of the character interaction (The Cable/Inza
relationship is downright odd), this title has an energy and originality that it
has long lacked. With a little paring down and clarification, it could become
something truly impressive.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
