(writers) Dan Slott and Christos Gage
(penciler) Giuseppe Camuncoli
(inkers) John Dell, Terry Fallot
(colorist) Antonio Fabela
Again...SPOILERS. You've been warned.
This issue, the penultimate issue of the Superior Spider-Man series, features the full restoration of Peter Parker as the master of his own body, ending Otto Octavius's thirty issue tenure as Spider-Man. Peter's consciousness reemerged, after having been apparently deleted by Otto back in issue #9, back in issue #25 to defeat the Venom symbiote, but he kept a low profile, biding his time and waiting for the right opportunity. In this issue, with the Green Goblin and his crew having turned New York City upside down and with Spider-Ock basically helpless to stop them, Peter finally makes his presence known once more to Spider-Ock, who makes an unexpectedly noble decision.
The next issue wraps up the series and the "Goblin War" saga, but to my mind THIS is the issue that really counts, THIS is the issue that fans will be talking about years after its publication, because it is here that Peter makes his grand return, and in such a striking fashion. He doesn't wrest his life back from Otto Octavius; Otto willingly and with all humility cedes it to him. This isn't even a case of Otto abandoning his duties as Spider-Man when the odds prove too great; he doesn't abdicate the responsibilities he has assumed as Spider-Man in the face of the ongoing threat and leave Peter to clean up the mess.
No, the scene in which Otto returns Peter's body to him is some of the most powerful writing I have seen in the pages of a Spider-Man comic book. For me, it's right up there with Peter's conversation with Aunt May back in 2002 in which she, finally having uncovered his secret identity, took him to task for lying to her for years. Otto takes his leave of Spider-Man's body because he realizes, and admits that Peter Parker is and always will be the better hero, and that it is Peter Parker that New York needs right now. This is the moment of redemption for Otto Octavius that Dan Slott promised for the character when this series was launched. Otto finally has the courage to do the right thing and embrace the death that was waiting for him when he was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury years ago.
Granted, comics being comics, Otto will probably be back eventually, and things being the way they are I'm sure some writer will come up with an excuse to have him act like a villain again, but after this series in general and this issue in particular I cannot imagine any writer or editor wanting to restore the Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus dynamic to the way it used to be. The way I see it, whenever Doc Ock should pop up again down the line, things between him and Spidey will never be the same again.
I have never been the biggest fan of artist Giuseppe Camuncoli, whom the people at Marvel fondly call "Cammo," but to my mind he's done himself proud here, even though his dodgy anatomy issues, as well as the other quirks that keep me from really getting into his art, pop up time and again. The important thing is that in this issue, he gets his art right in the scenes where it really counts.
Given that the first three issues of the relaunched Amazing Spider-Man series have already been solicited, it is officially a given that Peter will take down the Goblin Army somehow, and it was always something of a given anyway, so this is the issue that really and truly matters.
If I may be so bold as to make a prediction, however, it is this: given that Spider-Ock has effectively turned Spider-Man into public enemy #1, even among his fellow superheroes, he is going to have a hell of a time convincing people he's on the side of the angels, and therefore anyone who might help convince people of that will be dispatched. I will hazard a guess that the one other character aside from Peter who knows about the mind swap, namely Carlie Cooper, will die.
I guess we'll find out in two weeks' time...
4/5
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Multiple Spideys and Dan Slott
Well, Peter Parker isn't even back in control of his own skin yet, but it seems Marvel have already got a heck of a lot lined up for him upon his much-hyped return. Later this year, every single Spider-Man who ever saw publication will team up with Peter in five-issue adventure pitting him (and them, I assume) against Morlun, the deadly, seemingly unstoppable quasi-vampire created by former Spidey writer J. Michael Straczynski back in 2001, who nearly killed Spidey in the very first story in which he was introduced, and who ACTUALLY killed him four years later in another mammoth storyline, "The Other." Spider-Man got better, of course, only to be "killed" by Doctor Octopus some years later, but apparently Morlun wants to take another crack at putting Peter Parker in the ground for good.
With French artist Olivier Coipel (of Thor and The Siege fame) on art duties, I feel assured that this book will look better than it has in years; with due respect to the current rotating crop of artists like Humberto Ramos and Giuseppe Camuncoli, their work is, at its best competent, and at its worst (especially in Ramos' case) quite difficult to look at, while Coipel is certified A-list.
The real question for me, though, is how writer Dan Slott will pull such an ambitious story off; his audacious Ock-as-Spidey series was basically just one extended storyline, and even though it definitely had its pitfalls here and then I really have to hand it to the guy for having the balls to attempt and actually succeed at something that, years ago, might have seemed bats**t crazy to the folks at Marvel editorial.
Slott's not my favorite writer at the moment, that distinction goes to Mark Waid, currently writing Daredevil and who has also written an upcoming Spider-Man graphic novel with James Robinson and Gabrielle Del'Otto, but I do enjoy his work quite a bit, and, love him or hate him, I don't think anyone can deny that where Spidey is concerned, the guy thinks big. Slott's predecessor, J. Michael Straczynski had a storied, often debated six-year run on The Amazing Spider-Man, of which I have the first thirty-three issues (with John Romita Jr.) a few in between, and the controversial final four (which contained the status-quo shattering "One More Day" storyline with art by then Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada). In none of the issues that I have, nor any of those that I have read or heard about, have I seen a sense of scope to rival that which Slott puts on display in his run. It's not that Slott's necessarily a better writer; he's just more ambitious in terms of scope.
Straczynski was content to write his own Spidey stories and introduce new, ultimately forgettable characters like the Shade, a Doc Ock usurper named Carlyle, the gamma-powered monster made up of dead mobsters called Digger, and Shathra, a mysterious, murderous woman who, I think, was meant to be a spider-wasp. And then, of course, there was the debacle of having Norman Osborn retroactively sire twins by the late, lamented Gwen Stacy, twins which were actually supposed to have been Peter's. Fortunately, I didn't stick around for that story. Morlun, however, stood out, and though he may be derivative in some respects, being a vampire of sorts whose name sounds a little too much like Morbius, an existing Marvel vampire, for comfort, those first six issues of his appearance were really electrifying to read. I am therefore genuinely curious to see what Slott has planned for the character, who has quite literally been in limbo, or Marvel Comics' version of it, since another writer used him in a Black Panther story.
Sure the hype machine is starting up early for this story, but considering that Marvel actually delivered on the last Spider-event it hyped, namely Superior Spider-Man, I'm definitely along for the ride this time.
With French artist Olivier Coipel (of Thor and The Siege fame) on art duties, I feel assured that this book will look better than it has in years; with due respect to the current rotating crop of artists like Humberto Ramos and Giuseppe Camuncoli, their work is, at its best competent, and at its worst (especially in Ramos' case) quite difficult to look at, while Coipel is certified A-list.
The real question for me, though, is how writer Dan Slott will pull such an ambitious story off; his audacious Ock-as-Spidey series was basically just one extended storyline, and even though it definitely had its pitfalls here and then I really have to hand it to the guy for having the balls to attempt and actually succeed at something that, years ago, might have seemed bats**t crazy to the folks at Marvel editorial.
Slott's not my favorite writer at the moment, that distinction goes to Mark Waid, currently writing Daredevil and who has also written an upcoming Spider-Man graphic novel with James Robinson and Gabrielle Del'Otto, but I do enjoy his work quite a bit, and, love him or hate him, I don't think anyone can deny that where Spidey is concerned, the guy thinks big. Slott's predecessor, J. Michael Straczynski had a storied, often debated six-year run on The Amazing Spider-Man, of which I have the first thirty-three issues (with John Romita Jr.) a few in between, and the controversial final four (which contained the status-quo shattering "One More Day" storyline with art by then Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada). In none of the issues that I have, nor any of those that I have read or heard about, have I seen a sense of scope to rival that which Slott puts on display in his run. It's not that Slott's necessarily a better writer; he's just more ambitious in terms of scope.
Straczynski was content to write his own Spidey stories and introduce new, ultimately forgettable characters like the Shade, a Doc Ock usurper named Carlyle, the gamma-powered monster made up of dead mobsters called Digger, and Shathra, a mysterious, murderous woman who, I think, was meant to be a spider-wasp. And then, of course, there was the debacle of having Norman Osborn retroactively sire twins by the late, lamented Gwen Stacy, twins which were actually supposed to have been Peter's. Fortunately, I didn't stick around for that story. Morlun, however, stood out, and though he may be derivative in some respects, being a vampire of sorts whose name sounds a little too much like Morbius, an existing Marvel vampire, for comfort, those first six issues of his appearance were really electrifying to read. I am therefore genuinely curious to see what Slott has planned for the character, who has quite literally been in limbo, or Marvel Comics' version of it, since another writer used him in a Black Panther story.
Sure the hype machine is starting up early for this story, but considering that Marvel actually delivered on the last Spider-event it hyped, namely Superior Spider-Man, I'm definitely along for the ride this time.
Monday, March 24, 2014
New Numbering, Same Awesomeness: A Review of Daredevil #1
Mark Waid (writer)
Chris Samnee (artist)
Javier Rodriguez (colorist)
When Mark Waid rebooted Daredevil some three years ago, with artist Paolo Rivera, he completely ripped up the form book on the character, throwing out a Frank Milleresque/noir-inspired status quo that had been in place for decades. Much more importantly, he wrote some of the best stories that had been seen on the book in years, and people took notice. As it turns out, however, he was just getting started and when he was joined by artist Chris Samnee more or less a year into this new direction for the character, their collaboration became one for the ages. Month after month, the book maintained a steady, if not quite large fanbase, and critics gushed on a regular basis.
A little over a year into the Waid/Samnee team-up, Marvel decided that it was worth raising the profile of this partnership a little bit, and therefore "rewarded" the duo with a spanking new #1 and a redesigned logo. Waid and Samnee built up to this relaunch with two meaty story arcs that expertly set the stage for a radically different status quo for the title character as well as his supporting cast and opened a lot of new possibilities.
This new relaunch opens with lawyer Matt Murdock, who moonlights as costumed vigilante Daredevil, having left his native New York and moved to the West Coast, specifically San Francisco, in view of the events of the last few issues of the previous series (which I will not spoil). He faces a new threat; a mysterious group of men kidnap the daughter of the deputy mayor, apparently as part of a planned terrorist attack. Of course, none of them factored Daredevil into their plans.
This issue had a lot to live up to; it had to justify the re-numbering, carry on the standard of quality that Waid and Samnee had established, and, as with all #1s entice new readers. I have no idea how successful Marvel were at the third goal, but to my mind they'd accomplished the first and the second spectacularly. They basically started this new series sprinting right out the gate, or firing on all cylinders, depending on one's choice of high-performance metaphors.
In particular, they achieved, with this issue, the rare feat of giving readers a "done-in-one" or an issue that tells a complete, standalone story, and at the same time rather brilliantly setting up what I'm sure is a larger narrative thread. This is something I rarely see; writers like Grant Morrison and Mark Millar made rather self-serving claims to have written such issues of the comic books they were writing in the past (both of which I have read), but neither of them quite captured that perfect blend of both "standalone" and "part of something bigger" that this issue did.
More than simple chop-sockey, fast-paced action, though, what really set this issue, and the book in general, apart was how it placed emphasis on Murdock's greatest weapon in his fight against crime: his brain. Daredevil is far from some omniscient, uber-genius who can cobble together a suit of armor from scrap metal or build a wide array of gadgets, vehicles and weapons with which to fight crime, but his greatest asset, (one which Waid arguably uses better than almost anyone else who has written this character) is his ability to think on his feet, or to be more literal about it, in mid-air. Samnee captures it all perfectly, giving easily the most kinetically-charged issue I've seen from this team so far, and it's only been one issue!
Waid leaves plenty of breadcrumbs to entice readers to come back for future issues, such as the fate of Matt's law partner Foggy Nelson, still battling cancer as he was at the end of the last series, but with an apparently new twist. To my mind, however, these little teases are not at all necessary; I'm already on board for the long haul.
What's the justification for the additional dollar on the cover price (and its equivalent in our Philippine peso)? Well quite frankly, if it means paying Waid and Samnee more than they used to receive, I can't think of two gentlemen in the comics industry who deserve it more.
5/5
Chris Samnee (artist)
Javier Rodriguez (colorist)
When Mark Waid rebooted Daredevil some three years ago, with artist Paolo Rivera, he completely ripped up the form book on the character, throwing out a Frank Milleresque/noir-inspired status quo that had been in place for decades. Much more importantly, he wrote some of the best stories that had been seen on the book in years, and people took notice. As it turns out, however, he was just getting started and when he was joined by artist Chris Samnee more or less a year into this new direction for the character, their collaboration became one for the ages. Month after month, the book maintained a steady, if not quite large fanbase, and critics gushed on a regular basis.
A little over a year into the Waid/Samnee team-up, Marvel decided that it was worth raising the profile of this partnership a little bit, and therefore "rewarded" the duo with a spanking new #1 and a redesigned logo. Waid and Samnee built up to this relaunch with two meaty story arcs that expertly set the stage for a radically different status quo for the title character as well as his supporting cast and opened a lot of new possibilities.
This new relaunch opens with lawyer Matt Murdock, who moonlights as costumed vigilante Daredevil, having left his native New York and moved to the West Coast, specifically San Francisco, in view of the events of the last few issues of the previous series (which I will not spoil). He faces a new threat; a mysterious group of men kidnap the daughter of the deputy mayor, apparently as part of a planned terrorist attack. Of course, none of them factored Daredevil into their plans.
This issue had a lot to live up to; it had to justify the re-numbering, carry on the standard of quality that Waid and Samnee had established, and, as with all #1s entice new readers. I have no idea how successful Marvel were at the third goal, but to my mind they'd accomplished the first and the second spectacularly. They basically started this new series sprinting right out the gate, or firing on all cylinders, depending on one's choice of high-performance metaphors.
In particular, they achieved, with this issue, the rare feat of giving readers a "done-in-one" or an issue that tells a complete, standalone story, and at the same time rather brilliantly setting up what I'm sure is a larger narrative thread. This is something I rarely see; writers like Grant Morrison and Mark Millar made rather self-serving claims to have written such issues of the comic books they were writing in the past (both of which I have read), but neither of them quite captured that perfect blend of both "standalone" and "part of something bigger" that this issue did.
More than simple chop-sockey, fast-paced action, though, what really set this issue, and the book in general, apart was how it placed emphasis on Murdock's greatest weapon in his fight against crime: his brain. Daredevil is far from some omniscient, uber-genius who can cobble together a suit of armor from scrap metal or build a wide array of gadgets, vehicles and weapons with which to fight crime, but his greatest asset, (one which Waid arguably uses better than almost anyone else who has written this character) is his ability to think on his feet, or to be more literal about it, in mid-air. Samnee captures it all perfectly, giving easily the most kinetically-charged issue I've seen from this team so far, and it's only been one issue!
Waid leaves plenty of breadcrumbs to entice readers to come back for future issues, such as the fate of Matt's law partner Foggy Nelson, still battling cancer as he was at the end of the last series, but with an apparently new twist. To my mind, however, these little teases are not at all necessary; I'm already on board for the long haul.
What's the justification for the additional dollar on the cover price (and its equivalent in our Philippine peso)? Well quite frankly, if it means paying Waid and Samnee more than they used to receive, I can't think of two gentlemen in the comics industry who deserve it more.
5/5
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The Twilight of Otto: A Review of Superior Spider Man #29
(writers) Dan Slott and Christos Gage
(artist) Giuseppe Camuncoli
"Goblin Wars" part 3 (part 4 if you count the prologue in issue #26)
I should have been reviewing this particular storyline from the very beginning but I got caught up in other things.
In a nutshell, the Green Goblin (who apparently may or may not be Norman Osborn) has invited Otto Octavius, aka Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, to join his criminal empire, which he has been building right under Otto's nose throughout nearly the entire series since issue #5. Thanks to information co-opted from Peter Parker's ex-girlfriend Carlie Cooper the Goblin knows that Otto is Spider-Man but through some narrative sleight-of-hand which I'm not entirely sure I buy he still doesn't know that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Otto declines, so the Goblin and his minions have started the painful process of pulling Otto's empire down around his ears. Meanwhile, the consciousness of Peter Parker, who was thought to have been buried in issue #9 when Otto erased almost all of his memories, has resurfaced, and to guard against another attempt to erase him he has taken refuge in Otto's memories, an experience which, apparently, is affecting him considerably. Miguel O'Hara, also known as Spider Man 2099, who has been trapped in this time as of issue #19, also shows up.
I have to credit Marvel; we already know Peter Parker is going to be back in control of his body in about a month's time, but they're doing a remarkable job at maintaining suspense as to how exactly it's going to happen. There's a certain gratification to see Otto's world collapse, considering how irritatingly smug he's gotten over the series. Although this series has really allowed us to see a different side of the man once known as (and who may one day again be) Doctor Octopus, Otto remains very much an arrogant prick, and Dan Slott builds the story of Otto's fall on his central weakness, his pride. As absurd as this may sound, I actually found myself rooting for the Green Goblin this time around; at least he's honest about who he is and what he wants, unlike the former villain who wants to play hero but has no compunctions about employing his old methods in the process.
Equally interesting is the degree to which Peter Parker is actually finding himself immersed in Otto's memories; by the time he's back in charge, there is no doubt he will be a changed man. Still, Otto had full access to all of Peter's memories before erasing him and he was none the saintlier for them.
The weak link for me was Giuseppe Camuncoli's art. His renditions of Spider-Man here are better than usual (his take is normally a little too chunky for my liking) but his rendering of everything else feels a tad off. Still, if nothing else, he turns in a solid storytelling effort.
Two more issues to go until P-Day!
3.5/5
(artist) Giuseppe Camuncoli
"Goblin Wars" part 3 (part 4 if you count the prologue in issue #26)
I should have been reviewing this particular storyline from the very beginning but I got caught up in other things.
In a nutshell, the Green Goblin (who apparently may or may not be Norman Osborn) has invited Otto Octavius, aka Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, to join his criminal empire, which he has been building right under Otto's nose throughout nearly the entire series since issue #5. Thanks to information co-opted from Peter Parker's ex-girlfriend Carlie Cooper the Goblin knows that Otto is Spider-Man but through some narrative sleight-of-hand which I'm not entirely sure I buy he still doesn't know that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Otto declines, so the Goblin and his minions have started the painful process of pulling Otto's empire down around his ears. Meanwhile, the consciousness of Peter Parker, who was thought to have been buried in issue #9 when Otto erased almost all of his memories, has resurfaced, and to guard against another attempt to erase him he has taken refuge in Otto's memories, an experience which, apparently, is affecting him considerably. Miguel O'Hara, also known as Spider Man 2099, who has been trapped in this time as of issue #19, also shows up.
I have to credit Marvel; we already know Peter Parker is going to be back in control of his body in about a month's time, but they're doing a remarkable job at maintaining suspense as to how exactly it's going to happen. There's a certain gratification to see Otto's world collapse, considering how irritatingly smug he's gotten over the series. Although this series has really allowed us to see a different side of the man once known as (and who may one day again be) Doctor Octopus, Otto remains very much an arrogant prick, and Dan Slott builds the story of Otto's fall on his central weakness, his pride. As absurd as this may sound, I actually found myself rooting for the Green Goblin this time around; at least he's honest about who he is and what he wants, unlike the former villain who wants to play hero but has no compunctions about employing his old methods in the process.
Equally interesting is the degree to which Peter Parker is actually finding himself immersed in Otto's memories; by the time he's back in charge, there is no doubt he will be a changed man. Still, Otto had full access to all of Peter's memories before erasing him and he was none the saintlier for them.
The weak link for me was Giuseppe Camuncoli's art. His renditions of Spider-Man here are better than usual (his take is normally a little too chunky for my liking) but his rendering of everything else feels a tad off. Still, if nothing else, he turns in a solid storytelling effort.
Two more issues to go until P-Day!
3.5/5
Monday, March 17, 2014
The Walking Dead Season 4, Ep. 13
"The Grove"
directed by Michael Satrazemis
written by Scott M. Gimple
This is the first actual episode of the popular television series The Walking Dead, that I've reviewed in a while. A few weeks back I wrote a bit of a diatribe regarding the behavior of certain longtime characters after the mid-season break, but I enjoyed this episode so much (although perhaps "enjoyed" isn't the right word) that I felt it deserved a proper review.
Since the attack of the governor (David Morrisey) that resulted in the invasion of the prison by walkers, Rick Grimes's (Andrew Lincoln) community of survivors has scattered, with each of the episodes focusing on a different group of the scattered survivors. This time around the focus is on Carol (Melissa McBride), Tyreese (Chad Coleman) and the Samuels sisters, Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino) and Mika (Kyla Kennedy), who have with them Rick's baby daughter Judith. This group were the first to find the signs along the railroad tracks leading to the as-yet unrevealed "Terminus," which is consistently described as a place of sanctuary and where nearly all of the other groups are now headed. The road to Terminus seems long, however, and several stops must be made along the way. The group stops at an abandoned house to take rest, but they have a lot of demons to grapple with; unbeknownst to Tyreese, Carol killed his girlfriend Karen (Melissa Ponzio) earlier in season 4, when a disease outbreak and the resulting walker rampage threatened to kill the entire population of the prison. Meanwhile, Lizzie still believes, as she did when her character was introduced, that walkers still have some humanity in them and can be befriended. Both these plotlines come to a head in this episode, in one case with deadly consequences.
In my humble opinion, this episode was one of the best written of the last few years. Season 1 was, for me, still the best of them all, but season 4, while it has had its ups and downs, is perhaps the "purest" the show has been in a long time. Having Rick and his friends holed up in a prison for over a season took a lot of the edge off of the show, even with the threat posed by the governor and not just one group of his lackeys but two. The Rick vs. Governor storyline dragged out, in my opinion, a bit longer than it should have, but now that the show's creators have torn the whole prison community apart they've brought back the fear and tension that every episode of a television show about the zombie apocalypse should have. This episode, while it has a fair share of zombies, is more about character than outright scares; anyone looking for something more traditional like the zombie siege that occurred in the episode where Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Beth (Emily Kinney) holed up in a funeral home will be somewhat disappointed.
On the other hand, people wondering what direction the show's writers would take with both Carol's and Lizzie's storylines will find definitive answers here. I'm sure this episode will be debated in view of the actions of the characters, but that's what really makes this show so utterly addictive: the characters, from the adults to the children, defy the usual archetypes, and the things they can do sometimes can absolutely blow the mind. The truth is that no one can really say how people would behave while living in a world populated by hordes of mindless, carnivorous, living dead, and this show explores some truly chilling possibilities. What the actions of the characters here portend for future episodes is something that will surely be fascinating to watch.
It's hard to discuss too much about the story without risking spoilers so I'll leave it at that, but suffice it to say that I was quite satisfied with the way this episode came together; the director and all four actors really did a sterling job realizing this story and delivering a powerful, and truly disturbing twist.
4.5/5
directed by Michael Satrazemis
written by Scott M. Gimple
This is the first actual episode of the popular television series The Walking Dead, that I've reviewed in a while. A few weeks back I wrote a bit of a diatribe regarding the behavior of certain longtime characters after the mid-season break, but I enjoyed this episode so much (although perhaps "enjoyed" isn't the right word) that I felt it deserved a proper review.
Since the attack of the governor (David Morrisey) that resulted in the invasion of the prison by walkers, Rick Grimes's (Andrew Lincoln) community of survivors has scattered, with each of the episodes focusing on a different group of the scattered survivors. This time around the focus is on Carol (Melissa McBride), Tyreese (Chad Coleman) and the Samuels sisters, Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino) and Mika (Kyla Kennedy), who have with them Rick's baby daughter Judith. This group were the first to find the signs along the railroad tracks leading to the as-yet unrevealed "Terminus," which is consistently described as a place of sanctuary and where nearly all of the other groups are now headed. The road to Terminus seems long, however, and several stops must be made along the way. The group stops at an abandoned house to take rest, but they have a lot of demons to grapple with; unbeknownst to Tyreese, Carol killed his girlfriend Karen (Melissa Ponzio) earlier in season 4, when a disease outbreak and the resulting walker rampage threatened to kill the entire population of the prison. Meanwhile, Lizzie still believes, as she did when her character was introduced, that walkers still have some humanity in them and can be befriended. Both these plotlines come to a head in this episode, in one case with deadly consequences.
In my humble opinion, this episode was one of the best written of the last few years. Season 1 was, for me, still the best of them all, but season 4, while it has had its ups and downs, is perhaps the "purest" the show has been in a long time. Having Rick and his friends holed up in a prison for over a season took a lot of the edge off of the show, even with the threat posed by the governor and not just one group of his lackeys but two. The Rick vs. Governor storyline dragged out, in my opinion, a bit longer than it should have, but now that the show's creators have torn the whole prison community apart they've brought back the fear and tension that every episode of a television show about the zombie apocalypse should have. This episode, while it has a fair share of zombies, is more about character than outright scares; anyone looking for something more traditional like the zombie siege that occurred in the episode where Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Beth (Emily Kinney) holed up in a funeral home will be somewhat disappointed.
On the other hand, people wondering what direction the show's writers would take with both Carol's and Lizzie's storylines will find definitive answers here. I'm sure this episode will be debated in view of the actions of the characters, but that's what really makes this show so utterly addictive: the characters, from the adults to the children, defy the usual archetypes, and the things they can do sometimes can absolutely blow the mind. The truth is that no one can really say how people would behave while living in a world populated by hordes of mindless, carnivorous, living dead, and this show explores some truly chilling possibilities. What the actions of the characters here portend for future episodes is something that will surely be fascinating to watch.
It's hard to discuss too much about the story without risking spoilers so I'll leave it at that, but suffice it to say that I was quite satisfied with the way this episode came together; the director and all four actors really did a sterling job realizing this story and delivering a powerful, and truly disturbing twist.
4.5/5
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Moving Up in the World: Daredevil #36
Mark Waid (writer)
Chris Samnee (artist)
Javier Rodriguez (colorist)
Well, all good things have to end. About a year ago I rediscovered one of my favorite comic book heroes, blind lawyer Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, and have, since then truly savored a sterling creative run by renowned writer Mark Waid and one of my favorite artists today, Chris Samnee. The book has apparently been received so well that Marvel has decided to "promote" it from its current three-dollar cover price to a four-dollar one, complete with "Marvel NOW!" branding and a new #1. Gone, therefore, are my days of more affordable enjoyment of one of the best comic books out on the market today.
The good news, though, is that Waid and Samnee are closing this "volume" of the book on a high, giving Daredevil a major status quo shift along with a very satisfactory conclusion to a storyline that began back in issue #28.
The issue begins with Matt Murdock on the witness stand in a criminal case, having dropped a bombshell of of a revelation at the end of the last issue, one which I will not spoil. Suffice it to say, Daredevil throws down with the members of the Sons of the Serpent, a white supremacist group whose leader tries to blackmail him, and wins the day, but at considerable cost.
The story sounds a bit more grim than it actually is; while the book ties up a long-running storyline and shakes things up for Matt Murdock in a major way, it is really more notable for setting the stage for a whole new chapter in Daredevil's life. It's really a credit to Waid's and Samnee's storytelling that even when this incarnation of Daredevil, which has more in common with the 1960s work of Stan Lee and Wally Wood than Frank Miller's grungy, 1980s neo-noir stuff, takes a turn for the dark with story twists like the return of Bullseye and Foggy Nelson's bout with cancer, they are still able to maintain the book's lighter-than-air tone.
I was a fan of Samnee's before he joined Waid on this book, but having followed their collaboration for roughly a dozen issues now I have to say I'm hard-pressed to think of a better team-up working in comics today. Their storytelling synergy is simply amazing to behold, with Samnee perfectly capturing the courtroom tension in the issue's first half and then launching into the rapid-fire action sequence of the second. For me, sequences like this are right up there with John Romita Jr.'s work on the Daredevil: Man Without Fear miniseries as some of the best visual depictions this character has ever had.
Also, I don't claim to have read every Daredevil issue ever published, but I think the Waid-Samnee era has been the most effective at depicting Murdock as both a superbly canny lawyer and a kick-ass superhero, albeit one with feet of clay.
Starting next month, it'll cost a little more, but given the quality of the work so far, I'm more than ready to shell out the extra money to enjoy the adventures of my favorite lawyer superhero.
4.5/5
Chris Samnee (artist)
Javier Rodriguez (colorist)
Well, all good things have to end. About a year ago I rediscovered one of my favorite comic book heroes, blind lawyer Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, and have, since then truly savored a sterling creative run by renowned writer Mark Waid and one of my favorite artists today, Chris Samnee. The book has apparently been received so well that Marvel has decided to "promote" it from its current three-dollar cover price to a four-dollar one, complete with "Marvel NOW!" branding and a new #1. Gone, therefore, are my days of more affordable enjoyment of one of the best comic books out on the market today.
The good news, though, is that Waid and Samnee are closing this "volume" of the book on a high, giving Daredevil a major status quo shift along with a very satisfactory conclusion to a storyline that began back in issue #28.
The issue begins with Matt Murdock on the witness stand in a criminal case, having dropped a bombshell of of a revelation at the end of the last issue, one which I will not spoil. Suffice it to say, Daredevil throws down with the members of the Sons of the Serpent, a white supremacist group whose leader tries to blackmail him, and wins the day, but at considerable cost.
The story sounds a bit more grim than it actually is; while the book ties up a long-running storyline and shakes things up for Matt Murdock in a major way, it is really more notable for setting the stage for a whole new chapter in Daredevil's life. It's really a credit to Waid's and Samnee's storytelling that even when this incarnation of Daredevil, which has more in common with the 1960s work of Stan Lee and Wally Wood than Frank Miller's grungy, 1980s neo-noir stuff, takes a turn for the dark with story twists like the return of Bullseye and Foggy Nelson's bout with cancer, they are still able to maintain the book's lighter-than-air tone.
I was a fan of Samnee's before he joined Waid on this book, but having followed their collaboration for roughly a dozen issues now I have to say I'm hard-pressed to think of a better team-up working in comics today. Their storytelling synergy is simply amazing to behold, with Samnee perfectly capturing the courtroom tension in the issue's first half and then launching into the rapid-fire action sequence of the second. For me, sequences like this are right up there with John Romita Jr.'s work on the Daredevil: Man Without Fear miniseries as some of the best visual depictions this character has ever had.
Also, I don't claim to have read every Daredevil issue ever published, but I think the Waid-Samnee era has been the most effective at depicting Murdock as both a superbly canny lawyer and a kick-ass superhero, albeit one with feet of clay.
Starting next month, it'll cost a little more, but given the quality of the work so far, I'm more than ready to shell out the extra money to enjoy the adventures of my favorite lawyer superhero.
4.5/5
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