The Stop Button
blogging by Andrew Wickliffe
Category: Sons of Anarchy
-
This issue of Sons of Anarchy doubles down on everything wrong about the comic. Not wrong about it overall, but wrong in terms of the creative direction of the book. For example, Bergara doesn’t take enough time with the panels, so what’s this issue’s solution? Over-stylize him. It feels like a spoof of “Miami Vice”…
-
For the first time since he took over writing the book, Ferrier delivers a good Sons of Anarchy script. He doesn’t waste too much time with his new character–the obnoxious club prospect who turns on them–and he gives everyone else enough to do. He actually works on Jax’s character, which is cool. Unfortunately, Bergara’s art…
-
It’s a better issue but still not a distinguished one. Ferrier treats the characters a little like cattle. He has them stand around, he has them go crazy, but he never gives the impression they’re anything but what he needs them to be for the story. The issue ends in about the same place as…
-
Ferrier’s second issue as writer is better than his first, but it’s still got a lot of problems. He gives the SAMCRO club a nemesis in this dopey little punk, who Bergara draws like an Archie character. It’s weird. The insider turned villain thing isn’t new, not even with the setup Ferrier’s using; it’s been…
-
Ferrier’s second issue as writer is better than his first, but it’s still got a lot of problems. He gives the SAMCRO club a nemesis in this dopey little punk, who Bergara draws like an Archie character. It’s weird. The insider turned villain thing isn’t new, not even with the setup Ferrier’s using; it’s been…
-
On his first issue, it’s clear new writer Ryan Ferrier doesn’t have handle on Sons of Anarchy. He’s got Bergara on the art, which doesn’t exactly help him. Bergara has a few more really good panels this issue than I was expecting, but he doesn’t bring anything to the book overall. And it’s not clear…
-
It’s an okay flashback issue from Brisson and Bergara. It might have more meaning if one is familiar with the “Sons of Anarchy” television program, not just the comic book. I don’t even remember the protagonist of this issue–Happy–having much to do in the comic overall. In this issue, set in the eighties, he goes…
-
Every third or fourth issue of Sons of Anarchy, I write something about how it’s amazing what Brisson is doing with this licensed title, especially one about bikers, which doesn’t seem the most natural fit for a comic. I need to change up that practice as of now. Sons of Anarchy is the best book…
-
It’s a really cute issue. Seriously, it’s cute. Brisson manages to tell a cute, life affirming story with Sons of Anarchy. If there’s the Sons equivalent of a teddy bear, he finds it this issue. The story has the owner of the pot shop in trouble with an ex; now, said pot shop owner is…
-
It’s once again amazing how much Brisson is able to do with Sons of Anarchy. Especially this issue, which seems to deal a lot with continuity from the television series. Instead of that continuity dragging the issue down, thanks to Brisson’s rather impressive use of expository dialogue, it makes it better. It provides foundation. The…
-
Brisson wraps up the arc wonderfully. Everything comes to a collision, there's lots and lots of action, lots and lots of violence. So much violence and action, in fact, it becomes very hard to follow the art. Couceiro just has too many bikers to draw and Michael Spicer's colors are so dark, it's difficult to…
-
So much talking. And Couceiro does a great job with all that talking, but the issue consists of four or five conversations and one suggestive last page. I can't remember but it might be the first time Brisson's done a bridging issue on Sons of Anarchy. Maybe not, but certainly never so deliberate as this…
-
Brisson sure does have a complicated situation setup. Not bad complicated, good complicated. The regular Sons members are still supporting cast and maybe even moreso with Brisson introducing the father of a guy who died in a meth lab. Either this new character is going to be a long-term player in the arc or short-term…
-
I thought this issue might just be okay–good, but not startling. Then Brisson does a big double ante finish with a surprise or two. He foreshadows them both, but discreetly enough they aren’t predictable. He’s got a loose focus on the cast this issue–the regular Anarchy club members are practically guest stars–and it lets him…
-
I'm trying to come up with a phrase to describe Sons of Anarchy–amoral entertainment, the amorality of entertainment. The problem with those two phrases are they're something difference, even if the vocabulary is similar. With this issue of Anarchy, Brisson does a couple big things. First, he turns in one of the best licensed comics…
-
Here’s the problem with Sons of Anarchy, at least how Brisson is pacing it. It’s a licensed comic with a not comic shop traditional audience so Brisson is pacing it for a collection. It makes this issue really frustrating because of the cliffhanger. Brisson does well building up his story for the unfamiliar reader, so…
-
There’s a lot of lovely art this issue. It’s a hard story–most of the leads are in jail, the women are being threatened on the outside, but Damian Couceiro–with the able help of colorist Michael Spicer–manages to embrace the hardness while still being stylishly appealing. About the only time the art doesn’t work is when…
-
Ed Brisson takes over Sons of Anarchy with a good pulpy story about a guy investigating the death of a friend's junkie son. I assume the guy and the friend are on the show, but since I haven't seen the show, it's just a guy and his friend. The issue's paced rather well, with a…
-
This issue isn’t just all action, it’s basically all action down a short stretch of highway. There are some flashbacks and interludes, but really, it’s just three action sequences. First, the club gets ambushed–that one might be a cliffhanger resolution–then the girl and her protector go on down the highway a bit and the other…
-
It’s an all action issue. I’m not sure there’s time for anything else in this series besides action. At best a page or two, here and there, with the characters preparing for their eventual participation in the action. It’s good and pulpy. One definite standout is the color from Stephen Downer; whoever decided to make…
-
This issue is heavy on the action. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be heavy on the action, but it definitely ends up that way. Couceiro does a great job toggling between action and talking heads. It’s the way he paces the sequences–somehow he uses the same pace for both talking and action. Works…
-
Golden goes an interesting route with this issue. He takes almost the entire issue to resolve last issue’s cliffhanger–he also explains why the guy who betrays SAMCRO does so in an almost too action-packed flashback. The cliffhanger resolution’s pretty simple…. The worst thing happens. Well, maybe not the worst. But Golden doesn’t give the cast…
-
Golden might have written himself into a corner with this issue’s soft cliffhanger. It might deal with too much continuity from the source television show for a fresh comic reader to pick it up. Otherwise, though, it’s a good issue. Golden sticks with his female character who’s looking for help from SAMCRO. There’s a big…
-
It’s a little too soon to tell how Sons of Anarchy, one of the more unlikely licensed comics one can imagine, will pan out, but the first issue suggests it will go well. Writer Christopher Golden is able to get a three act structure out of the issue; he straightforwardly introduces the regular cast, saving…
The Stop Button 