Pearl, Skyward, Naomi, Ironheart

New comics for the week!  A bunch of good stuff this time around.

Pearl 9

More of the great Brian Michael Bendis talky talky stuff.  I do wonder though, the more that I think about it, if I’d be able to describe any of these characters’ personalities with anything more than “they talk like Bendis.”  Bendis-speak is very distinctive, and outside of the plot that it furthers, usually doesn’t do very much to differentiate the characters from one another. What can I really say about Pearl’s personality?  She’s strong willed, knows what she wants, and will go through great lengths to get it. But that’s not different from the yakuza she talks to here, or her boyfriend, or her cousin.

I don’t really care too much when the rhythm of the writing is this good, but it’s something that I notice every once in a while.

I like Michael Gaydos’ splash page where all the yakuza are silently staring at their phones.  It captures our society today so well.

Lovely colors, too.

Skyward 13

Willa and her mother find a way out of the biosphere, or whatever you want to call her father’s sealed community.  Lee Garbett’s art continues to impress me every month. I’d love to see him on a Marvel teen book like Wasp, Ironheart, or Runaways.  (Not that those titles don’t already have great artists.)

There something very Olivier Coipel about his faces.

(Coipel's Magic Order)

Naomi 5

Bendis and David Walker gives us the complete info dump on Naomi’s origin story here.  Long story short, she was sent to Earth from a parallel universe and has superpowers. Activation of said powers attracts the big bad from her home universe to this one.  It’s a fine story (that’s awfully similar to Superman’s origin) with great art by Jamal Campbell. This is the only comic from the Wonder Comics imprint to last this long in my collection, and it’s going to stick around for at least a couple more issues.  

Oh, this line?  “Your father was a gaming software engineer.  He knew strategy games and that made him an outstanding wartime tactician in the real world.”  Total bullshit.

Ironheart 6

Just a fun little team-up story with Miles Morales.  I like that Riri and Miles are really acquaintances more than friends, teammates who don’t always get along.  It’s a dynamic that doesn’t get used enough in comics. Still love Riri, thrilled that Eve Ewing has successfully picked up where Bendis left off.  (If only the same could be said for Saladin Ahmed on Miles Morales.  I gave the second issue a glance in the store and it didn’t impress me.)