Boom! Wham! Pow! The ComiQuad is a column dedicated to the spandex-laden world of comics and superheroes. It goes up each Wednesday and will alternate between comic book reviews and other comic book news. Reviews shall try to be spoiler-free. And it’s back! Zam!
Star Wars #2
Last month, the Internet was all aflutter and atwitter about the first issue of the brand spankin’ new Star Wars comic book series. Allegedly, it pacified and engaged a particularly picky fandom, veered clear of the much-contested Jar-Jar Binks area of continuity, and featured a particularly awesome Princess Leia.
Despite my relatively tenuous relationship with the Star Wars experience (there goes my geek card), I figured I’d try the second issue on for size. And it turned out to be quite the delightful experience.
The first thing to notice about any quality comic is the art. If you don’t notice the art, mission failed. Fortunately, Carlos D’Anda’s superb technical skill renders space oddities like Chewbacca into impressive form. Equal parts expressive, emotive, and accurate to the original actors, D’Anda’s art shouldn’t disappoint a soul. Brian Wood’s writing is also a successful portion of the Star Wars product.
My biggest concern wandering into the second issue of one of the most universally recognized franchises was that the writing would assume I knew more than I did. Fortunately, it didn’t. The comics’ quick recap of the previous issue plus reasonably well-sized descriptions of each character made my transition from ignorance to entertainment quite smooth.
Overall, Star Wars #2 navigates its path with enough humor and emotional beats to make for a solid story. That, accompanied by superb artwork, makes for an excellent read.
Review 8.5/10
Planet of the Apes Special #1
The whole concept of “Planet of the Apes” is freaking weird. Given, most popular stories nowadays have a weird streak or two in them, but Planet of the Apes is an entire dye-job of weird.
What’s even more weird? I read a Planet of the Apes comic and it was one of the most politically complex and engaging stories I’ve read in a while.
What.
Once upon, there was a utopian city where both humans and apes got along pretty swimmingly. A major assassination deftly puts down the “utopian” part of that story, and the city erupts along multiple political and racial lines. There’s war, political prisoners, primates, intrigue, and violence all around.
Across the span of the story, the reader is introduced to a large cast of characters, all with distinct voices (one gruff, one compassionate, one snarky, several stuffy, all bizarre) and specific motivations. Lines of morality are very blurry and I still don’t know which side I’m supposed to be rooting for (this is a good thing, I think). Daryl Gregory did an impressive job.
Diego Barreto’s art manages to act as a very capable platform for the story. Each major human and ape is visually quite distinct from the next. The slight anthropomorphism of each “ape” is handled in a way that almost makes it look believable. Seriously, I found myself looking at the ape empress and not realizing until later how an ape empress didn’t cause me to double take.
I went into this experience expecting to be weirded out. And boy, was I. I never thought a war between factions of apes and humans could be this entertaining.
On top of that, this comic had one of the highest percentages of well-written lady characters (both human and ape) that I have seen in a long time. In Planet of the Apes.
Review 9/10
The New Ghostbusters #1
As with nearly all the major pop culture franchise-related comics I review, I open this segment explaining that I have never seen the source material. Unlike other franchises, however, I don’t imagine Ghostbusters requires me to know much more than what the title tells me: these people bust ghosts.
At least, that’s what the old Ghostbusters did. These new Ghostbusters aren’t quite there yet, but that doesn’t mean their story isn’t very entertaining.
The first compliment goes to Erik Burnham’s character writing. Each character speaks firmly (or snarkily) with his or her own distinct voice. Ghostbuster alum Peter Venkman’s quick wit and jokey humor ranks as my favorite, although several of the new Ghostbusters hit high on the list as well.
The story moves along at a pretty brisk pace until it hits a scene in city hall. The overwhelming amount of dialogue and boring techno-jargon shoots the story’s momentum in knees and unfortunately grinds it to a halt. Once the story moves past city hall, however, the comic resumes its entertaining direction.
The artwork by Dan Schoening is effectively expressive and aligns well with both the story premise and the quirky characters. Special shout-out goes to Luis Antonio Delgado’s expert coloring job.
Overall, New Ghostbusters #1 is a superb new entry to the Ghostbusters’ mythos. I would love to see a sequel movie with these fun and distinct characters someday in the future.
Review 7.5/10
