Dark Horse Comics 15 (November 1993)

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Well, when Naifeh’s art falls off, The Thing gets a lot less interesting. Martin falls into the same tropes the pervious series did (even though Martin ignores them)—repeating the plot points in the Thing movie, only in a new setting. But Naifeh’s the disappointment here. It doesn’t even look like his work.

Barr and Rader finish up The Mark. Barr seems to let Rader just take over and create this homage to a film noir, only in color. It reminds a lot of M. The installment ends on a soft cliffhanger, preparing for a limited series, and it’s unnecessarily confusing.

Dan Jolley, John Nadeau and Terry Pallot contribute an Aliens story. It’s perfectly fine (compared to The Thing). Jolley concentrates on his first person narration; he does a good job with it, combining a natural tone with his exposition. Nadeu and Pallot are competent, what I expect from Aliens.

CREDITS

The Thing From Another World, Questionable Research, Part Three; writer, Edward Martin III; penciller, Ted Naifeh; inker, Alex Nino; colorist, Ray Murtaugh. The Mark, Part Two: What Goes Around; writer, Mike W. Barr; artist, Brad Rader; colorist, John A. Wilcox. Aliens, Cargo , Part One; writer, Dan Jolley; penciller, John Nadeau; inker, Terry Pallot; colorist, James Sinclair. Letterer, Clem Robins; editors, Bob Schreck, Dan Thorsland, Randy Stradley and Martin; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

Dark Horse Comics 14 (October 1993)

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I realized, a few pages in to Mike W. Barr and Brad Rader’s Mark story, Rader’s a good artist. He’s at the beginning of his career, but he’s good. He does these Eisner-homage close-ups. Nice stuff. But The Mark looked bad at the start—because the character’s design is ludicrous.

It takes place in a pseudo-Nazi Germany or something. The writing’s generally okay, but the comics’s all about those close-ups.

Dorkin and Thompson finish their Predator story next and, wow, does Thompson get lazy. Dorkin’s script is dumb—his high humor is a dying guy making dumb jokes about being Ford-tough, but the art hammers in the nail.

Naifeh’s good on The Thing story, which really does seem to avoid any previous comic appearances. There’s some excellent writing… too bad it’s lines directly from the movie and not from Martin.

Besides Predator, it’s not bad.

CREDITS

The Mark, Part One: Taking Back the Streets; writer, Mike W. Barr; artist, Brad Rader; colorist, John A. Wilcox; letterer, Clem Robins. Predator, Bad Blood, Part Three; writer, Evan Dorkin; penciller, Derek Thompson; inker, Ande Parks; colorist, Robbie Busch; letterer, Pat Brosseau. The Thing From Another World, Questionable Research, Part Two; writer, Edward Martin III; penciller, Ted Naifeh; inker, Moose Baumann; colorist, Ray Murtaugh; letterer, Clem Robins. Editors, Bob Schreck, Chris Warner, Jerry Prosser, Randy Stradley and Martin; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.