3.04.09 Reviews

Echo #10 (Abstract Studio): This issue bristles with energy and very well may be the best example of the series to date. With the flair of a great TV show, Ivy tosses some pictures on a desk and delivers lines like “That is what’s left of five men who encountered the beta suit” with such panache. Echo has become a savory and bubbly stew that’s part investigative mystery, part police procedural, part relationship dynamic, part Oppenheimer history lesson/cautionary tale, part scientific wonder (Plutonium 21!), and just a dash of superhero. With the use of great perspective shots, alarming facial expressions, and open expansive panels that harken back to Lawrence of Arabia, Moore is able to create sheer panic with simple prose like Dillon uttering “Uh… Julie… JULIEEE…!” It’s a shame that Marvel and DC can’t produce books with the same heady blend of heart, intellect, craftsmanship, and social relevance. It’d behoove them to recognize that another paradigm does exist and can succeed; there’s a new way they could be telling stories with ostensible superhero trappings infused with so much more class and spirit underneath it all. Echo is first rate and has become one of those DO NOT MISS books. Grade A+.

I Am Legion #2 (DDP/Humanoids): My thoughts about this title are really all over the place, but overall it feels quite dense and I believe I’m getting my money’s worth even for $3.50. The production quality is breathtaking and it’s quickly become one of those books that I already want to read over again. Cassaday’s detail, panel variation, and pacing all feel very much like a European comic story that’d be right at home with the old Humanoids line. The scripting is quite subtle, sporting lines like “All those people are still playing golf, with the world at war?” which essentially invokes the notion of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” as throngs of people lackadaisically adhere to their nonsensical routines as Rome burns. Also notice how little exposition there is here, a great example is the panel of Marjorie showing Stanley a case file, but failing to utter the name that the reader really desperately wants to know – that’s smart. Fabien Nury provides a more interesting explanation of a faun than C.S. Lewis ever did via Narnia, right alongside thrilling academic arguments over the true Romanian meaning of the word “strigoi.” I love how elements of the story are seamlessly interwoven with real life WWII accounts, like Hitler’s known obsession with the occult and the chilling spin on the “final solution” devised by the Nazis. While the story picks up steam, Cassaday’s art is still quite a treat, perfectly capturing the mannerisms and lifestyle of the era. This plays like an old fashioned mystery, where the delight is as much in the small moments of the journey as it is in any fantastical destination. Grade A.

I also picked up;

Kabuki: Volume 7: The Alchemy (Marvel/ICON): David Mack’s latest masterpiece finally collected! Already the 13 Minutes GN Of The Month!

LCS Mishap;

Despite having picked up issue #1 there, issue #2 of Dead Irons by James Kuhoric and Jason Shawn Alexander is nowhere to be found at Casa De Sea Donkey this week. Whatever.