KFR Comics Roundup - 09.25.06
Author: Daniel Brooks
September 24th, 2006
Runaways #20
Writer: Brian K. Vaughn
Artist: Mike Norton
$2.99
Having never read an issue of Runaways before, I decided to finally see what all the hubbub was about. Turns out, this one lives up the hype: Runaways is a funny, exciting, and charming comic. For those who don’t know, the Runaways are a group of teenage superheroes who’ve vowed to atone for the evil ways of their supervillain parents. While this issue is mainly about the team trying to take down a giant purple monster wreaking havoc in Los Angeles, its simple plot recalls the elative adventure of classic Fantastic Four. Filled with memorable dialogue (”I already used my reduction incantation on Mole Man…” “Mole Man? He’s already, like, four feet tall!” “I thought it would be ironic, okay?”), this is one of the most refreshingly fun superhero comics available.
KFR Rating: A-
Wetworks #1
Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Whilce Portacio
$2.99
One of the higher profile titles of the original Image/Wildstorm universe, and now one of the first comics to open the Wildstorm relaunch, Wetworks‘ return is a significant event. But this first issue is a big misstep. The story is confusing (it has something to do with human-eating monsters and/or vampires), especially considering how long these characters have been gone, and it’s never entirely clear where everything is going. Most disappointing, however, is the art; among the greatest of the early ’90s comics artists — see Uncanny X-Men #281 for some truly masterful art — Whilce Portacio’s pencils seem either rushed or just plain bland, and mostly lacking the stunning detail of his best work. Sometimes you can’t go home again — even to the early ’90s.
KFR Rating: C
Blade #1
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: Howard Chaykin
$2.99
While Blade’s opening scene — the titular hero vs. a vampire Spider-Man — works in the sense that it’s unexpected, the fight turns out to be a throwaway moment that sets the tone for the entire issue. Most of what’s here is paint-by-numbers vampire storytelling, minus the thrilling action of the Blade films. While the origin flashbacks are kind of interesting, Marc Guggenheim does nothing to give Blade anything resembling a personality, and Howard Chaykin’s sloppy pencils are a distracting eyesore throughout. Disappointing.
KFR Rating: C-
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12 Responses to “KFR Comics Roundup - 09.25.06”
September 25th, 2006 at 6:23 am
Seriously, is this the Wetworks that was first solicited in 1991? Zing!
Rhetorical question: what happened to Chaykin. Looks like a pretty nice cover, though.
September 25th, 2006 at 6:29 am
The cover is great, that’s true. But even the Spidey/Blad fight is boring. Fighting a vampire Spider-Man should be crazy fun! And the strange thing is, I really like Marc Guggenheim’s other stuff. This didn’t even read like he wrote it — all the humor and inventive action that he’s doing in Wolverine right now are missing.
September 25th, 2006 at 8:14 am
“Sometimes you can’t go home again — even to the early ’90s.”
“Even”? I’d say “Especially”.
September 25th, 2006 at 9:48 am
The thing is though, (and I came to this realization when reading, of all things, that goofy “Mystery in Space” thing) those early 90s Image guys…I think at this point you just have to put them up there with the most influential superhero comic book creators.
Don’t get me wrong, besides Jim Lee, I don’t think they belong in the “best” pantheon necessarily. But all those guys — Lee, McFarlane, Portacio, Silvestri, Liefeld, Larsen, Charest, etc — their art is STILL being emulated 15 years later. It’s practically a weird standard at this point, which yeah, makes everything look the same, but is pretty amazing nonetheless. I certainly didn’t expect their style to be around for this long.
September 25th, 2006 at 10:09 am
I agree. Even with artists like Humberto Ramos and Joe Madureira, guys who ushered in more of a manga influence, you can still see traces of Jim Lee and McFarlane in there.
September 25th, 2006 at 10:16 am
I’ve been thinking baout getting a Runaways trade becuase ive heard such good things
September 25th, 2006 at 10:22 am
I think I might get one also. It went back and forth between being very funny to very suspenseful, just a great read. Pick up this ish and see what you think.
Though I did hear that Brian K. Vaughn is leaving the title (but is being replaced by Joss Whedon, and I can’t really complain about that).
September 25th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Influential, absolutely. But just because someone’s an influence, it doesn’t necessarily make the resulting product any better. Try reading some random comics from the early 90s and I think you’ll find a good 90% of them horrible crap. Try it frmo the 80s and while there’s still a ot of junk and things that don’t age well, there’s a much larger percentagee of good comics available.
September 25th, 2006 at 10:35 am
Well yeah, no one is saying that Image comics were high art. But those guys were giants in the industry for a reason.
September 25th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
SG — I didn’t say those Image guys were necessarily good…it’s just their art style is still to this day inescapabale, which I think says something. What it says exactly, I’m not sure, but it’s something about peoples’ taste and that’ll get me in trouble if I get into it any deeper.
September 25th, 2006 at 12:06 pm
As dark a time in comics as we may remember the early 90s to be, there’s no shame in admitting it was a golden age in terms of the art being produced. McFarlane, Jim Lee, Portacio, Erik Larsen, etc. They were and are pretty terrific.
September 25th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
The McFarlane and Lee combo — in particular when they were both at Marvel — are about as close to a Kirby/Ditko one-two punch as you’re going to get.
I have to be honest, though, it’s unfortunate they didn’t bring in some real writers or better editors on those Image books. I agree with Steve in that the majority of those books are unreadable.