Trusty Henchmen

Reading Pile: 1/27/12

Avengers Annual #1- There are so many reasons why this book bugs me, and all of them make me desperately wish Bendis would leave the Avengers. So let’s start with the package itself. Thirty-two pages of story for $4.99 is kind of a crap deal, especially considering this is a Bendis script. You just don’t get a solid enough story in the small amount of pages presented. Then you have Dell’Otto’s art, which is still ok despite not being in his usual painted style but I’m pretty sure most people who buy a book for his art are doing it for the painted style. Considering this book is so late and that the first issue was painted, you would have thought the holdup would have been for painted art. On top of that, he has some pretty lazy copy-and-paste panels showing up.

Featured Artist: Olivier Pichard

Pichard’s work feels like a little mix of Jill Thompson’s painterly art with Guy Davis’ figures and overall line style, plus toss in a little Herge and other European sensibilities in for good measure. I really like how clean and bright his work is and if you want to check out more you should check out the Spera HC. Also check out his DeviantArt page.

Reading Pile: 1/23/12

Wolverine #300- Yes, because the constant renumbering isn’t getting old. Besides that stupidity, this was a decent story because it’s still Jason Aaron. It’s a good balance of humor and violence and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Art was nice with Ron Garney and Adam Kubert. The package is weak for the price point though as there are only twenty-eight pages of relevant story. I’m not counting the Sabertooth Reborn preview because A) It’s Loeb and Bianchi which means it’s kinda crap already, B) I don’t really care about Sabertooth being reborn, and C) you should never have to pay extra for a preview. A good story wrapped in a crappy $4.99 package. If you’re a Wolverine fan or an Aaron fan you’re going to get this regardless, but it just pisses me off that they freely abuse consumer loyalty. It doesn’t surprise me, it just continually pisses me off. B

Featured Artist: Emily Carroll

Carroll's style is sort of a mix of Richard Sala and Kate Beaton in her figures, but with a more innovative sense of design and layout. The use of space and her ability to take advantage of the 'infinite canvas' is brilliant, for a good example check out her short 'The Death of Jose Arcadio'. Make sure to check out her comics on her website.

Reading Pile: 1/19/12

Prophet #21- You have to enjoy a project that takes all of the assorted Rob Liefeld Extreme properties and boots the Liefeld out of them entirely (well, except the variant covers). This was a pretty solid first issue, sparse yet dense at the same time. It doesn’t waste time but the art is so nice and rich with detail that you slow your reading down to enjoy it. This is definitely a break out project for Simon Roy and having Brandon Graham at the writing helm doesn’t hurt for visibility. Prophet feels like a healthy mix of Heavy metal meets American Indy with a taste of manga tossed in for good measure. You could do worse than twenty-four pages of story with no advertisements for $2.99, plus you get a nice little map by Graham in the back. A

Featured Artist: Afu Chan

Beautiful work and a mix of clean simple lines and highly detailed design. Afu Chan did the design work for the novel Spera and his style leaps back and forth from whimsical to dynamic and action packed. Check out more at his DeviantArt page.

Reading Pile: 1/14/12

Spera HC- This is a pretty awesome all ages fantasy romp, the only trick is that there are some fairly violent parts dealing with slaying monsters so parents probably want to check it out before hand. It’s a nice addition to the collection of any fan of Mouse Guard, Courageous Princess, Castle Waiting, and Bone. The main story revolves around two princesses who are on the run from one of their evil mothers. The daughter of the evil queen steals away with her friend from a rival kingdom who would be put to death upon capture, so with the aid of a fire spirit (a shape changer who flips between human and wolf form) she sets out to save her friend and create a life of adventure for both of them. What’s nice is that each chapter has a different artist and a different tone and all of the artists are pretty stellar. The four main chapters are drawn by Kyla Vanderklugt, Hwei, Emily Carroll, and Olivier Pichard. Each artist is so impressive that you regret finishing their chapter but then get enthralled by the next. Plus their styles complement each other, so the flow of the book is interesting because even though it changes it maintains the same sense of energy. After those four creators the book is split up into smaller chapters by another five artists, and while I like all of their styles they are a so different that it sort of breaks up the flow a little. Regardless of that, this is a great package as it is a nicely produced hard cover for only $19.95. Archaia is really kicking some ass this year with nice releases like this, so it’s worth keeping an eye on them. A

Featured Artist: Kyla Vanderklugt

I first noticed Vanderklugt's work in one of the Flight volumes but I more recently just caught her art in the new Spera hardcover from Archaia. She has a very rich style that utilizes simple lines that really highlight her control over emoting, action, and overall strong layouts. Check out more of her work at her LiveJournal.

Reading Pile: 1/12/12

Whispers #1- Seemed like it was taking forever for a new project from the Luna Bros, and the pleasant surprise is that the story and art are from Joshua Luna without his brother. It was interesting for a first issue, although it does leave me wondering where he can really go with the concept and just how long this series can last. The art is a nice evolution from the previous Luna projects, tacking on a little more detail and texture to an already unique style. The package is a nice dense twenty-four pages for $2.99, so it’s worth checking out. B+

Featured Artist: Ramon K. Perez

I had seen Perez's artwork previously for his project Butternut Squash and a few other titles, but his work for the Jim Henson Tale of Sand HC blew me away. Fantastic layouts, solid narration, great emotive facial features and body movement; Perez is a total package and hopefully we will see more top notch work from him this year. Check out his website.