September 10, 2005
Cracking the Case
Fell #1
Creators: Warren Ellis, writer; Ben Templesmith, artist
Image Comics, 24 pages, color, $1.99
So? The story of Richard Fell, a loner cop assigned to a new post in the worst part of a nasty town, seems tailor-made for Ellis and Templesmith. But Fell, who makes new friends and solves his first crime in this debut issue, is a much more sympathetic and human protagonist than is the norm for Ellis, giving the story an extra touch of character and warmth. Templesmith’s paintings bring the lonely city and lonelier characters to life with surprising vividness. This is Ellis’ best character work since Transmet. Grade: A-
Ghost Rider #1
Creators: Garth Ennis, writer; Clayton Crain, artist
Marvel, 48 pages, color, $2.99
So? Ghost Rider is one of those comics characters who has lacked great stories to go with his stunning visual. The character’s long history (which goes way back to a 1950s Western title) has only proved especially popular during the boom of the early 1990s. But with a movie coming next year, Marvel’s brought in Garth Ennis of Preacher and Punisher fame and artist Clayton Crain to try to give some life to the character. And this first issue is on the right track. Full of Ennis trademarks including indifferent and manipulative angels, small-town goofballs and strange villains, there is an interesting framework here for Ghost Rider (who is something of a background character in this issue) to be more than just a cool-looking image. Throw in fantastic artwork from Clayton Crain, who gives the entire book the look of a top-notch CGI effect, and you’ve got a thick book worth a good look at a decent price. Grade: B+
Superman-Shazam!: First Thunder #1
Creators: Judd Winick, writer; Joshua Middleton, artist
DC Comics, 48 pages, color, $3.50
So? Art junkies love Josh Middleton’s art, and with good reason. The artist behind CrossGen’s Meridian and Marvel’s NYX has landed at DC pairing up the Man of the Steel and the World’s Mightiest Mortal. Middleton does the art and the colors, bringing a bright, animation style to these characters that’s just cool to look at and soak in. Winick’s story gives Middleton a good if basic cross-over foundation and there’s lots of cool stuff such as giant robots, big blue monsters and a few nifty-looking magical spells. Grade: B
The Bakers #1
Creator: Kyle Baker
Kyle Baker Publishing, 48 pages, black and white, $3
So? Kyle Baker may be too good and too funny for the good of comics. How else to explain the lack of real competition for Baker’s humor efforts than that Baker’s so good no one wants to compete with him in any way, shape or form? This book is full of short, mostly silent and very funny tales of Baker’s life as a father trying to get some rest, convince his kids there aren’t monsters under the bed, and most frightening of all, taking the brood to the mall to find a gift for his wife. Grade: A
Sep 10, 2005 at 11:20 AM by Tom McLean in Reviews | Permalink
Comments
Interesting article!
Where can I find more on this theme?
Posted by: MalkEvange at Aug 6, 2007 12:33:40 PM
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/4113/3161550
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Cracking the Case:
» Expert group to verify Terminal 2 costs from an expert group
has appointed an expert group to verify the costs of the new Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport. [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 23, 2006 8:50:35 AM
» Katrina victims hail sheriff who took ice from after Hurricane
have died from his diabetes after Hurricane Katrina had a sheriff not seized two FEMA trucks filled with ice and distributed [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 25, 2006 2:41:10 AM
» Orange Revolution Team Face Former Nemesis from Divided Orange
Orange Revolution Team Turns Attention to Coalition Talks With Former Nemesis [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 28, 2006 2:58:49 PM
» Go! Airlines Debuts, Sparking Airfare War from Airlines Debuts
Airlines Debuts With $39 One-Way Ticket Deal, Sparking Airfare War in Hawaii [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 28, 2006 5:20:16 PM
» Statehouses Take Up Immigration Legislation
(AP)
from that would cut
would cut services to undocumented workers are under consideration from the South to New England, but some of the most significant [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 30, 2006 6:41:46 PM
» MP3 File Search from The Mp3Database
Download mp3 audio music and song lyrics. Mp3 search engine to music links for free download ... Quick Database Search search in 250209 mp3 entries ...
[Read More]
Tracked on Apr 1, 2006 12:17:30 AM
» Full Albums Archive from MP3 Album Finder
Enter Artist or Song or Album name to search: ... Download VA - Ðóññêàÿ êîëëåêöèÿ 4 Çîëîòîé øëÿãåð 70 õ (1973 1979) mp3 ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 11, 2006 9:43:06 PM
» Will's World Wind from ord of the Pop
ord of the Pop Idols disses up international talent show. [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 28, 2006 11:25:45 PM
» Extreme Kayak Athlete Works to Cure Malaria in Africa from ew York Doctor
ew York Doctor Quit Medicine to Chase a Dream, Found New Mission [Read More]
Tracked on May 3, 2006 3:22:43 AM
» Hollywood Creative Directory from Directory Map
Contact information for the film, television and new media industries.
[Read More]
Tracked on May 29, 2006 12:08:20 AM
» Dictionary Search Page from Dictionary Search
An unabridged dictionary from aalii to zymurgy, including a pronunciation guide... [Read More]
Tracked on May 29, 2006 9:13:09 PM
» Hurricane Season Begins June 1st - Is Your Home Equity Safe? from
Trackback URI: http://www.prweb.com/zingpr.php/Q291cC1aZXRhLUxvdmUtUHJvZi1IYWxmLVplcm8=
[Read More]
Tracked on May 30, 2006 8:17:08 PM
» News Online from JapanHorse
Features weekly articles, archives to past issues, and timelines of scientific importance. [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 4, 2006 11:43:28 PM
» Ground Zero In The War On Bird Flu from spread, the U.S.
Organization tracks cases of bird flu and the way it has spread, the U.S. [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 5, 2006 12:37:59 PM
» Accused Bali Bomber Walks Free from 26 months for
that killed 202 people. The U.S. and Australia are disappointed at his short sentence. [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 17, 2006 5:30:42 PM
» States and Capitals from All USA States
State information resource links to state homepage, symbols, flags, maps, constitutions, ... All Rights Reserved. Press Ctrl - D to bookmark this page. ... [Read More]
Tracked on Jul 18, 2006 7:02:09 PM
» USA towns: Stanford from USA MAP
USA - cities, towns and villages of the United States. Extensive business listings, community info, coupons and classified ads for USA cities, ... [Read More]
Tracked on Jul 23, 2006 5:16:56 AM
» Medical Dictionary from Bestbarrel
Searchable dictionary created by Dr. ALFRED. [Read More]
Tracked on Jul 26, 2006 8:26:12 AM
» Maldini Fury at Materazzi Suspension from something. It's
it's only because Materazzi is Italian and because they wanted to justify the action of a great champion [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 2, 2006 12:06:55 AM
» Wiki: Search Results from MostDor
Search Results · WelcomeVisitors . . . . . . WhatIsWiki WhatIsWiki . . . . . . WhatIsWiki. 2 pages found out of 22 pages searched. ... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 5, 2006 9:34:29 PM
