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Wayne Markley
by Wayne Markley
Every week there are new books from a range of publishers. In this blog I am going to look at two extremely different number one launches, one from marvel as well as one from DC. Both are revivals of old characters, however they are performed in extremely different methods as well as with extremely different results. I am likewise going to look at the very first volume of Marvel’s reprinting of material that was original printed in South Korea, The Avengers K, which I discovered to be rather the surprise.
Black Panther #2
Perhaps Marvel’s biggest introduce of one of their own characters since the 1990s as well as the debut of Jim Lee’s X-Men as well as Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man is the new Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates as well as Brian Stelfreeze. The book got all kind of national interest in the news, including CNN, ABC, as well as NPR. all of this press drove tons of people who never checked out comics into comic stores looking for this book. As in the past with the death of Superman, the death of Captain America, as well as to lower extents as well as for different reasons, Buffy as well as Dark Tower. In the situation of the two deaths, people were looking for the books hoping to make some money down the line or they wished to be part of that day’s “it factor” (whatever was the prominent water cooler talk of the day). With Buffy as well as Dark Tower it was fans of the properties intrigued that their interests were in a new format. In all four cases, the sales quickly declined as the people that were chasing these were not comic visitors nor were they persuaded to ended up being comic visitors because of these experiences. This leads me back to the Black Panther. because of all the press, the very first problem offered significant numbers as well as has had several printings. It got all of this press since the author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, won the MacArthur brilliant award this year as well as is a noted as well as celebrated write. composing a comic is so unusual it ended up being major news (this I cannot explain).
As for the book itself, it is well written as well as beautifully drawn. It is only two problems in so I cannot state a excellent offer about it as there is not a great deal going on. The book reminds me a great deal of what Christopher priest did on his run on Black Panther as it is extremely political as well as is obviously a extremely complex story. I suspect by the time this very first story arc wraps up it will be great, however it is far as well early to tell. This might ended up being just one more walk down the path that priest walked, however this is a much better looking book than those. I am hoping there is something extremely unique coming soon to take the book on a new way. I likewise have some concern on exactly how long Brian Stelfreeze will stay on the book. Stelfreeze is not understood for making a monthly deadline, so ideally this book will prove to be the exception as the art is extremely nice as well as I would dislike to see it change. (Editor’s note: Chris Sprouse is drawing problem #5 which begins a new storyline.)
Future Quest #1
Future Quest is the very first book out of the entrance of DCs newest attempt to do something with the Hanna-Barbera characters. It is taking all of the traditional superhero characters from the HB 1960s library as well as combing all of them into one book. So you have Birdman, Galaxy Trio, Frankenstein Jr., Herculoids, Mighty Mightor, area Ghost, as well as team Quest. Yes, my favorite; Jonny Quest as well as the gang. The very first problem just came out as well as it is written by Jeff Parker as well as art is by Evan “Doc” Shaner as well as the previously unannounced Steve Rude. It is a fun romp that feels a bit required as you are mixing characters that truly do not in shape that well together (as Jonny Quest is an action series firmly based on earth as well as most of the other characters are traditional superheroes or area characters). The art is lovely even though the shift from Shaner as well as rude is a bit sudden. Of program it ends with a cliffhanger as well as the story will likely go six problems so it can be collected into a trade. I would suggest this book if only for the nostalgia value of seeing all of these traditional characters again. I desire they might have done a directly Jonny Quest comic set in our world, however alas I will have to settle for the excellent Comico run. I do have one minor complaint about this very first problem though. In an attempt to boost sales, DC had seven different covers on this book. I am opposed to several covers on any type of book however seven is a bit silly. If you do not have belief the book will offer as well as discover an audience, then you should not have published the book. Do not even get me started on marvel as well as star Wars #1 where there over 50 different covers.
Avengers K book 1: Avengers vs. Ultron
A book I discovered to be a genuine surprise as well as I believed was excellent is Avengers K book 1: Avengers Vs. Ultron. This is a magazine sized perfect bound comic reprinting three Avengers stories that were very first printed in Korea, all featuring Ultron. I liked this book. It was well scripted by Jim Zub (originally written by Si Yeon Park as well as equated by Jieun Park), with nice art by Jae Sung Lee, min Ju Lee, Jae Woong Lee, Hee Ye Cho, Ji Hee Choi as well as In young Lee. even though there are so many artists you can never tell the differences as the art as well as story flow like a stream. It is one of the simplest to checked out books I have seen in a long time. The art is open as well as not excessively cluttered as well as appears like American comics with a tinge of manga. An general amazing presentation.
There are stories all featuring the Avengers as well as Ultron. It clearly borrows from the established marvel continuity, as in the very first story Ultron is produced by Hank Pym as well as is called Ultron 5. In the second story he is called Ultron 6, as well as in the third story he is just called Ultron as well as it introduces Jocasta. Each story jumps ahead in time just like the third story the Black Panther has been added total with cape from his early appearances, plus Scarlet Witch as well as question guy are now Avengers. There are likewise references to Hank Pym’s mental problem as well as breakdown however they do not re-do the Yellowjacket story. even though each of the three stories can, as well as do, stand alone, they do develop upon one one more as well as you should checked out them in the order they are printed. These stories are a mix of comics with a few of the movie’s elements thrown in however it works so well together that I did not mind the cross pollination.
Another thing that stood out to me when reading this was the coloring. The art is so open, for a lack of a much better word, so the colors truly radiate with adding a whole new dimension to the art, like I mentioned last time in Twilight Children. The stories are a quick read, however they felt like reading the Stan Lee Avenger stories from the mid-1960s. My only complaint is there is not an editorial page providing background on the stories, such as exactly how much Jim Zub had to re-write the stories. Were the original stories extremely different as well as were these written to retrofit marvel continuity. When were they original published? Why so many artists? Is that the norm in Korea? Etc. general though a fun experience filled romp full of drama as well as a touch of humor.
That wraps it up for this time. A couple of fresh starts as well as a seldom seen book from Asia that are all well worth inspecting out. One last thing is I would like to mention is the passing of Darwyn Cooke. There is nothing I might state to do his work as well as tradition justice. He is a true star in the field of comic books who will be sorely missed. If you are unfamiliar with his fantastic work you truly should inspect out graphic Ink: The DC Comics Art of Darwyn Cooke for an fantastic overview of his career, as well as a few of the very best stories in the contemporary era. whatever I have written right here is my viewpoint as well as in no method shows the thoughts or opinions of Westfield Comics or their employees. I can be contacted at MFBWAY@AOL.COM or at Facebook at Wayne Markley. As Always,
Thank you.