Guardians of the Galaxy #11.Now
Writer – Brian Michael Bendis // Artist – Sara Pichelli
Many people have been quite harsh towards the new Guardians of the Galaxy book; I guess I can be happy in my ignorance since I have never read any of the earlier volumes. I will admit that one of the main reasons I keep buying this book is due to Sara Pichelli and Steve McNiven’s art as they are both extremely proficient artists. They cram their books with insane amounts of detail, intricate shadowing, superbly crafted anatomy from panel to panel. In this issue Justin Ponsor’s colouring is proficient while complementing the work that Pichelli has achieved and allowing her shadowing to catch the eye. My only complaint visually would be the horrible use of a stock image for Earth towards the end of the book.
Bendis on the story side has unfortunately allowed this book to stagnate; it started off quite intriguing, especially in issue 0.1 where we learn about Peter Quill’s childhood. Bendis needs to provide more character building; this was perfect for it as it involved the characters sitting at tables talking. Sadly it was a wasted opportunity due to Tony Stark taking up precious panels and a Skrull taking up even more panels.
I am more than content proceeding with this book due to the art but Bendis needs to step up his game, and hopefully the next 4 chapters of The Trial of Jean Grey pick up the pace.
Writer – Zack Whedon // //Artist – Georges Jeanty
I am a long time Firefly fan, first time Serenity comic book reader. I generally avoid comics that involve TV or film relations so I was unsure what I’d find within; I was surprised. This story brought forth the humour, character moments and character intricacies of the show I loved. Mal was quite literally Mal on paper and so too were all the other characters I love.
If you have not seen the Serenity film or haven’t seen it in a while I suggest you do, this book is not newcomer friendly. Set some time after the film, through the media we learn that the ‘verse has mixed feelings about what occurred on the planet known as Miranda. Some people believe what was shown to be true; affording hope and further support to the Rebels. Others believe it to be a hoax, an attempt to topple the all-powerful Alliance. The heroes of the book aren’t introduced until at least a third of the way through, they are alone, hiding and running low on supplies. The Alliance is searching for them and wanting to quickly silence and undo what they discovered.
Georges Jeanty provides some stellar artwork with many detailed sets. There are moments when the characters from the TV show and movie don’t look quite right and I’m hoping Jeanty does improve in this aspect. But in saying that, colourist Laura Martin offers up a vast colour palette which shifts with the tone of the story.
Writer – Rick Remender // Artist – Matteo Scalera
Last week I discussed Rick Remender’s independent book Deadly Class, so this week I thought I should shine a light on one of his other projects entitled Black Science. It is a science fiction story set not too far in the future, revolving around a group of “Dimensionauts” trying to find their way home. There is Grant McKay, his two children, his co-worker Becca, his assistant Shawn, the security chief Ward, their boss Kadir and Chandra…the arse kisser.
The group is trapped within what appears to be a multitude of potential dimensions and in this issue we learn how they ended up in this very predicament. Grant Mackay unleashed the powers of black science through a device called The Pillar, a device that was tampered with, and unexpectedly activated. A timer on The Pillar counts down to zero at random and once it does, it whisks the protagonists to another dimension. Currently stuck between two warring factions, one being technologically advanced “Native Americans” and the other being World War II era Nazi’s (based on their guns). One of our heroes is mortally wounded and three others are on a kidnapping rescue mission. Everything that could potentially go wrong for these characters in this issue does go wrong. The only nit-pick I have with this title thus far is that there are so many characters but very little character development.
While Remender provides the narrative and heart of this story, Matteo Scalera and Dean White provide the eye candy, and my God, what candy is provided indeed! The issue starts with a full-page spread of a beautiful landscape on the edge of the ocean. Skilfully painted by White, it’s a metropolis made in heaven that anyone would want to live in. The visuals in this book are undoubtedly perfect and I wish it were possible to have an enlarged format to hang on my wall. The action scenes tend to be inspired by anime and manga with the use of thin lines to emphasize particular impacts. Looking into Scalera and his other works this does not seem to be the case though; it may just be something I’m identifying with.
This is honestly a book that no one should miss and I’d be happy to buy it for anyone to read.
And here is a complete list of everything from my pull list from this week!
Marvel
Guardians of Galaxy #11.now
Inhumanity #2
Miracleman #2
Superior Spider-Man #26
Thor God of Thunder #18
Uncanny Avengers #16
DC
Flash #27
Forever Evil Argus #4
Image
Black Science #3
East of West #9
Revival #17
Saga #18
Dark Horse
Serenity Leaves on the Wind #1