It’s been a busy week IRL, deciding which job offer to take. I think this is the longest gap between writing for me, it doesn’t feel good. Back to it!
Forsaken 1-3
A shadowy organization gathers a team of people with very specific skills to do its unfathomable but most likely nefarious bidding. It’s set in a far future where the western quarter of the United States has been wiped off the globe. Carmen Treffiletti writes and Kristian Donaldson does the pencils. It looks like Donaldson hasn’t done very much since, and nothing since 2011. It’s a shame, because I really like what he brings to Forsaken.
 |
| The crew. Slick designs. |
Clean lines, dynamic angles, clear storytelling - It all combines for something that’s a lot of fun to look at.
The story is not particularly memorable (I’d certainly forgotten everything about it since I last read it in 2004), but it’s entertaining, and I wasn’t bored in the least.
What drives me crazy is the worst grammar I’ve ever seen in a published work. The sheer number of punctuation errors suggest the complete lack of an editor and a writer who writes like he talks.
 |
| So many missing commas before names. |
 |
| "Unfortunately, no, is not an option"??? So much hate. |
I really can’t even. I mean, I know I have my share of typos, but I'm not asking for anyone's money. And I don't think these are typos.
Forsaken abruptly ended with issue three, and the fourth never materialized. It’s a shame, I would have continued to buy back then and enjoy it now, fifteen years later.
Regret buying? No
Would buy again? No
Would read again? Yes
Rating: Nice
Fray 1-8
I was all prepared to cut this going into the reread. I really didn’t enjoy the Fray crossover in Buffy: Season Eight, to the point that I barely even mentioned it. Melaka Fray annoyed me in that story, and remembering almost nothing from this original series, I expected to be just as underwhelmed.
Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I read through the whole thing with no desire to take a break. Joss Whedon sprinkles in a couple of funny bits that had me laughing out loud.
 |
| Nice execution by Moline. |
 |
| Obvious but hilarious. |
On the other hand, flipping through the trade again now, there are a number of plot devices that come across as uninspired upon second thought: The mentor who does something heinous to motivate the student, the kid whose death drives the hero to greater heights, the dead family member who turns out to be the bad guy and not so dead anymore, the big CGI fight at the end that suddenly ends when the leader is defeated... For all its fancy trappings, Fray doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Points for execution, I suppose.
Regret buying? No
Would buy again? No
Would read again? Yes
Rating: Fine
Dark Ark 1
Great elevator pitch - During the biblical Great Flood, there was a dark mirror to Noah’s Ark, a vessel that held all of the magical, evil, vicious creatures of the world. The dark sorcerer Shrae, Noah’s counterpart, is directed to the task by Satan, and obeys for the sake of his innocent family. Their moral purity, the cruel nature of the monsters on board, and the human chattel caged for food form the various points of conflict in this initial issue. How will Shrae keep the lamia, manticores, and trolls in line? Are the unicorns going to last more than a few days on the ship? What’s keeping them from attacking Noah’s ark and eating everyone there?
I totally intended to keep buying this, but I missed the second issue when it came out and didn’t care enough to backtrack for it. Maybe if I see it on the shelf at Barnes and Noble.
Regret buying? No
Would buy again? No
Would read again? Yes
Rating: Nice
Fu Jitsu 1
I judged the book by its cover, and I was punished for it.
I was intrigued! Is he fighting a giant, or was he shrunk down in size? It looked like a fun martial arts comic drawn by someone who knows how to draw slick fight poses.
Eh, not so much. The art’s too sketchy for my tastes, and the story doesn’t capture my fancy. Easy cut.
Regret buying? Yes
Would buy again? No
Would read again? No
Rating: Didn’t suck (Cutting)
No comments:
Post a Comment