blogging by Andrew Wickliffe
I’ve been hearing about Orc Stain for a while. But I had no idea what to expect. I knew Stokoe worked hard on the art for each issue, but knowing he inked and colored his pencils himself didn’t tell me anything about the content. I didn’t even know there were orcs in it, not really. […]
MoreOh, good grief. Well, Kirkman certainly lays on the melodrama here. I love how Rick’s wife’s little dalliance with Shane never comes up again; instead Shane seems like the obsessed psychopath. I’m curious why Kirkman didn’t develop her character, maybe because he realized he could get rid of Shane a lot easier with her being […]
MoreI figured out my lack of enthusiasm. Well, except for noticing the unoriginal parts. It’s because of Crossed. This issue they all sit down and talk about their lives before–Shane has a moment it’s clear he’s thinking about getting jiggy with Lori on the road while Rick was comatose (maybe Moore’s best quality is his […]
MoreAh ha, now we’re getting somewhere. Rick’s wife got busy with the evil friend–Shane–while Rick was laid out in a hospital bed in a coma. Unfortunately, Rick’s just going to forgive her without any drama, but hopefully Kirkman will give her the chance to do it again. Can you tell I don’t like Rick’s wife? […]
MoreI think it might be me. I think I might not be suited for Walking Dead. I mean, it’s all very competently done and it’s sort of interesting if wholly unoriginal (the best friend really after Rick’s wife was no surprise, Moore’s art gave the character that body language from his first panel)–I just don’t […]
MoreWow, talk about cutting back on the drama quotient. This issue is mostly spent on expository dialogue explaining the zombie plague to Rick. It shocks him a little but it’s all okay because he finds his family at the end. Unfortunately, as much as I love the celebratory emotional scene, Kirkman didn’t really make it […]
MoreI’ve been hearing about Walking Dead for a long time and have always meant to read it. Not sure what pressed me this time (possibly the impending television show). My initial reaction? I’ve seen most of all this before. The opening, either from Day of the Triffids or 28 Days Later, is something I’ve seen. […]
MoreI’m very curious as to what the original plan was for Aria. Clearly, they didn’t intend it to be over in four issues. I know there are subsequent limited series, but this issue ends a huge storyline. Of course, it’s a huge storyline Holguin creates, for the most part, in the third issue. Half of […]
MoreI suppose, given an art change–one as significant as losing Anacleto–some slack should be given. But Roy A. Martinez–who did some filler on the second issue–isn’t even in the same genre as Anacleto…. Worse, it’s pretty clear Holguin’s script was for Anacleto to illustrate, not a fill-in guy. Especially not a fill-in guy unable to […]
MoreLess narration and more story (even if more story does mean a lot more characters) mean a better issue. What a crazy concept. Holguin should have patented it. I also need to backtrack on the fairy tale thing. These are faeries, not fairy tale characters. At least I think. I know the protagonist (the Aria […]
MoreI’m not sure what Aria has going for it, post-Fables. The idea of making fairy tales real but only in the magic sense… it’s just surprising Holguin didn’t think maybe using real characters would work better. The selling point of Aria now, as it was back in 1999, is the art. Anacleto’s magical take on […]
MoreI wonder if Sandra Bullock will dye her hair for the movie. She and Keanu Reeves would be just perfect for it. Parker’s script lets the bad guy get away–I guess that turn makes it grim and gritty, though it’s otherwise a very colorful advertisement for the park ranger service–and doesn’t give the protagonists any […]
MoreSo glad I was just kidding about skipping this issue and going on to the conclusion, since it’s the best one so far. There’s just an endless amount of fantastic Lieber panels here. It’s mostly black and white in those parts, so the art comes through beautifully The coloring really hasn’t been helpful in Underground […]
MoreIt takes three minutes to read. Maybe four. There’s like a fifteen page fight scene. It’s effective and all–the villains are complete scumbags and Parker does get a lot of concern going for the protagonists–but three minutes? Fifteen pages? It’s even worse than I’d worried. I can’t even imagine waiting for these issues to come […]
MoreThe second issue’s an all-action issue, probably has a present action of twenty-five, thirty minutes. Stuff happens in it, but really nothing. The bad guys show up and there’s a stand-off. That description sums up the issue. Oh, and the park ranger guy lives. I am, I have to say, distressed. Lieber always ends up […]
MoreI really liked this comic, but I’m almost worried I’m too jaded to properly appreciate it. This first issue sets up the characters–the guy and the girl park rangers who wake up the morning after to what turns into a really bad day–and there’s also the situational setup, where Parker’s got something relatively unique in […]
MoreFull disclosure, Erik Larsen rejected my comic for Image. I feel a little better. He apparently just can’t read, since he published Battle Hymn. This comic book might be the worst thing I’ve read in a long time. I’m actually going to make a note of Battle Hymn being the worst-written nonsense I’ve read so […]
MoreAh, yes, ok… the U.S. government–FDR’s administration–is killing superheroes for being cads. Wow, it’s so inspirational. I’m shocked Moore didn’t break the internet in half demonizing the U.S. government. It’s sensational tripe, the kind no one would ever really notice because no one read Battle Hymn. I can’t figure if Moore hates FDR or if […]
MoreOh, wow, give B. Clay Moore a honorary history degree from Bob Jones University… he uses “homeland” in a 1940s scene. Maybe he should have just used Vaterland. I’m also not sure “blue movie” isn’t an anachronism as well. What’s also interesting is how Moore’s demonizing the U.S. government. I mean, FDR comes off as […]
MoreI wonder if Moore took this to Marvel and pitched it as a “Captain America is a tool” limited series. It’s too soon to really tell anything about the comic (always a good sign on a four issue limited, a wasteful first issue) but Jeremy Haun’s artwork is fantastic so it’s relatively painless. Moore concentrates […]
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