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by Sam Hurcom
Last week, I caught up on some much needed comic reading, and had a fairly productive couple of days (by productive of course, I mean I sat around in my underwear, reading comics back to back and drinking my weight in sugary fizzy drinks till the caffeine started making me shake – productive!). There were some definite highs and lows; a few comics that literally made me smile and one in particular that sort of made me frown…
Descender #1
I do love me some sci-fi, and on reading up on Image’s latest release, Descender, I got more excited than a Doctor Who fan finding Peter Capaldi buying a screwdriver in my local IKEA. Everything on paper seemed right on the money – a space opera (check) set in a universe where all robots have been mercilessly outlawed (robots: check) and hunted down by deadly bounty hunters (Boba Fett knock offs: check) and space pirates (space pirates: check), a lone android boy (android boy: check) and his robotic pet (Furbies: check), must scour the cosmos in search of his lost mother and brother (emotional attachment and sense of deep concern: double check).
Last week, I caught up on some much needed comic reading, and had a fairly productive couple of days (by productive of course, I mean I sat around in my underwear, reading comics back to back and drinking my weight in sugary fizzy drinks till the caffeine started making me shake – productive!). There were some definite highs and lows; a few comics that literally made me smile and one in particular that sort of made me frown…
Descender #1
I do love me some sci-fi, and on reading up on Image’s latest release, Descender, I got more excited than a Doctor Who fan finding Peter Capaldi buying a screwdriver in my local IKEA. Everything on paper seemed right on the money – a space opera (check) set in a universe where all robots have been mercilessly outlawed (robots: check) and hunted down by deadly bounty hunters (Boba Fett knock offs: check) and space pirates (space pirates: check), a lone android boy (android boy: check) and his robotic pet (Furbies: check), must scour the cosmos in search of his lost mother and brother (emotional attachment and sense of deep concern: double check).
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It wasn’t just me who got excited at this synopsis; a lot of geeky folk in the world did too. So much so in fact, that the first printing of Descender #1 sold out completely in a very short space of time. A second printing is scheduled for early April, with #2 following shortly after.
Here then was a comic I simply had to own – a great sounding story that was already a collector’s item. What could possibly go wrong?
On the day my copy of Descender fell through the letter box, I eagerly grabbed it from its plastic bag and had a read.
I didn’t like it.
Well, that’s not really fair. It’s not so much a case of not liking it but more a complete under enthusiasm for it, a rather predictable example of expectations set way too high and not being met at all. I think it’s fairly counter-productive to be negative of anything after just one issue, but the things I didn’t like about the comic are unlikely to change as the series progresses.
Take the art work for example; it’s not bad at all and I’m sure many will be smitten by Dustin Nguyen’s work. But it just reminded me of a cheap children’s cartoon or those awful late nineties maths textbooks that had lots of random drawings of kids buying ice creams and getting confused about decimals. And okay, that’s clearly an instance of personal preference – an opinion that many will disagree with. But there were other things that bugged me that nobody could disagree with, like spelling mistakes and typing errors on the back few pages, the ones that list the nine planets in the Descender universe. That’s just careless and shows a big lack of attention to detail.
I don’t know, I hate being negative and my opinion seems to differ with everyone else’s on this one. But seriously, I don’t get what all the fuss is about?!
My rating - 3/5
Guardians 3000 #6
Hooray, it finally happened! Let’s be honest, a Guardians of the Galaxy comic focusing on the original team, in a universe where the fabric of time is falling apart, was going to inevitably involve time travel to the 21st century. That means, Vane Astro in the same time space as Captain America, Peter Quill meeting his far off descendent… Peter Quill, Charlie-27 squaring up to Drax… the list of awesome things goes on.
And why isn’t Galactus around more often? His brief cameo as the temporal super power ‘The Great Hunger’ was freaking epic! I mean I knew he was powerful, but I didn’t know he just had a sleep whenever the universe decided to end. What a badass!
Look, if you haven’t had a chance to get your hands on any of Guardians 3000 jump onto eBay and pick up the back catalogue. Dan Abnett’s writing is superb, the artwork is gorgeous and the story is really really starting to get interesting. Go… do it now!!
My rating - 5/5
Guardians Team Up #1 & #2
Okay, so it’s another Guardians comic, but I’m only really mentioning it for one key reason. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought Hawkeye’s role in the Avengers was a little out of place. I mean, yes, he shoots arrows really really well. But he can’t fly, or fire missiles and lighting hammers… arrows are good, but just a bit out of date.
Like hell they are!! As issue one of Guardians Team Up shows, arrows are pretty freaking epic! Just look at Chitauri battle cruisers – they don’t stand a chance against three arrows! That’s more damage caused than by all of Iron Man’s armoury!
Issue one sort of convinced me that Hawkeye is a rather good leader of the Avengers. Not sure if he’s better than Cap, but that’s an argument for another day…
My rating - 4/5
Here then was a comic I simply had to own – a great sounding story that was already a collector’s item. What could possibly go wrong?
On the day my copy of Descender fell through the letter box, I eagerly grabbed it from its plastic bag and had a read.
I didn’t like it.
Well, that’s not really fair. It’s not so much a case of not liking it but more a complete under enthusiasm for it, a rather predictable example of expectations set way too high and not being met at all. I think it’s fairly counter-productive to be negative of anything after just one issue, but the things I didn’t like about the comic are unlikely to change as the series progresses.
Take the art work for example; it’s not bad at all and I’m sure many will be smitten by Dustin Nguyen’s work. But it just reminded me of a cheap children’s cartoon or those awful late nineties maths textbooks that had lots of random drawings of kids buying ice creams and getting confused about decimals. And okay, that’s clearly an instance of personal preference – an opinion that many will disagree with. But there were other things that bugged me that nobody could disagree with, like spelling mistakes and typing errors on the back few pages, the ones that list the nine planets in the Descender universe. That’s just careless and shows a big lack of attention to detail.
I don’t know, I hate being negative and my opinion seems to differ with everyone else’s on this one. But seriously, I don’t get what all the fuss is about?!
My rating - 3/5
Guardians 3000 #6
Hooray, it finally happened! Let’s be honest, a Guardians of the Galaxy comic focusing on the original team, in a universe where the fabric of time is falling apart, was going to inevitably involve time travel to the 21st century. That means, Vane Astro in the same time space as Captain America, Peter Quill meeting his far off descendent… Peter Quill, Charlie-27 squaring up to Drax… the list of awesome things goes on.
And why isn’t Galactus around more often? His brief cameo as the temporal super power ‘The Great Hunger’ was freaking epic! I mean I knew he was powerful, but I didn’t know he just had a sleep whenever the universe decided to end. What a badass!
Look, if you haven’t had a chance to get your hands on any of Guardians 3000 jump onto eBay and pick up the back catalogue. Dan Abnett’s writing is superb, the artwork is gorgeous and the story is really really starting to get interesting. Go… do it now!!
My rating - 5/5
Guardians Team Up #1 & #2
Okay, so it’s another Guardians comic, but I’m only really mentioning it for one key reason. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought Hawkeye’s role in the Avengers was a little out of place. I mean, yes, he shoots arrows really really well. But he can’t fly, or fire missiles and lighting hammers… arrows are good, but just a bit out of date.
Like hell they are!! As issue one of Guardians Team Up shows, arrows are pretty freaking epic! Just look at Chitauri battle cruisers – they don’t stand a chance against three arrows! That’s more damage caused than by all of Iron Man’s armoury!
Issue one sort of convinced me that Hawkeye is a rather good leader of the Avengers. Not sure if he’s better than Cap, but that’s an argument for another day…
My rating - 4/5
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Quick mentions:
Red One #1 – lots of sex and still waiting on the substance: 3/5
Chrononauts #1 – Yes we all know it’s going to be an awesome series, but Millar is spending way too much time at the movies… Every comic he writes at the minute seems to be just as odd as it needs to be to gain a big movie producer’s attention. Just look at Starlight; it was good, but could have been way way better. Let’s hope Chrononauts lives up to the hype: 4/5
Abigail and the Snowman #4 – A lovely mini-series rounded off superbly well: 4/5
What were your top comics in March?? Let us know in the comments below.
Red One #1 – lots of sex and still waiting on the substance: 3/5
Chrononauts #1 – Yes we all know it’s going to be an awesome series, but Millar is spending way too much time at the movies… Every comic he writes at the minute seems to be just as odd as it needs to be to gain a big movie producer’s attention. Just look at Starlight; it was good, but could have been way way better. Let’s hope Chrononauts lives up to the hype: 4/5
Abigail and the Snowman #4 – A lovely mini-series rounded off superbly well: 4/5
What were your top comics in March?? Let us know in the comments below.
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