Tag: Darwyn Cooke

Before Watchmen: Minutemen 1 (August 2012)

869965I’m a little surprised, but I only have one problem with Minutemen (at least the Darwyn Cooke material). Who the hell is Hollis Mason talking to? He’s basically summarizing his book, right? It doesn’t make any sense.

The only surprises are Silk Spectre and the Comedian–she’s a model faking being an adventurer and he’s already a vicious psychopath. The revelation of a rough childhood reads like giving his behavior an excuse, even if Cooke doesn’t intend it. But it doesn’t really matter because it’s Darwyn Cooke doing period superhero art.

There’s not much better, except maybe Darwyn Cooke doing really violent period superhero art and he does that art here. The issue’s a feast for the eyes and Cooke’s got the time period down.

The pirate backup has good art from John Higgins, but two pages isn’t enough space for Len Wein to do anything in terms of writing.

CREDITS

The Minute of Truth, Chapter One: Eight Minutes; writer and artist, Darwyn Cooke; colorist, Phil Noto; letterer, Jared K. Fletcher. The Curse of the Crimson Corsair, The Devil in the Deep, Part One; writer, Len Wein; artist and colorist, John Higgins; letterer, Sal Cipriano. Editors, Wil Moss, Camilla Zhang and Mark Chiarello; publisher, DC Comics.

Rocketeer Adventures 2 (July 2011)

229474 20111215034257 largeThis issue’s loser comes courtesy Lowell Francis and Gene Ha. Well, not Ha. Ha does a fine job. Francis’s “script” consists of a boxing match radio broadcast juxtaposed with the Rocketeer fighting a flying bad guy. The gimmick quickly tires and the fight doesn’t really give Ha any interesting content.

When there finally is dialogue, Francis flubs it something terrible.

The best story is probably the first; Mark Waid writes, Chris Weston does the art. It’s Cliff at the World’s Fair having a misadventure. Waid tries a little hard setting it up, but once the action starts, it’s a fine time.

Darwyn Cooke’s effort is strangely nonplus. He puts Betty in the rocket pack–styling the story after a serial episode (which is probably the problem). Except he doesn’t write her as a hero so much as a joke. Considering the creator, it’s a surprising disappointment.

Still, decent enough issue.

CREDITS

“It Ain’t the Fall That Kills Ya…”; writer, Mark Waid; artist, Chris Weston; letterer, Chris Mowry. Betty Saves the Day!; writer, artist and letterer, Darwyn Cooke. TKO; writer, Lowell Francis; artist, Gene Ha; letterer, Mowry. Colorist, Dave Stewart; editor, Scott Dunbier; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Weird War Tales (2010) #1

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Weird War Tales features something I never wanted to see… weak Darwyn Cooke.

His story is idiotic—famous war figures have a party—and his artwork is barely there. It’s a bunch of skeletons and stuff, so maybe it’s the subject, but it’s all so incredibly lame I couldn’t believe it was really Cooke. It’s not even amusing. I can’t figure out why he bothered. Oh, money.

The next story—from Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein—has good art from Klein and terrible writing from Brandon. It’s a sub story. Brandon’s dialogue is weak and his plot is worse. But that art’s quiet good.

For a finale, it’s Jan Strnad and Gabriel Hardman. The story is kind of weak, but Strnad can write the dialogue so it all moves through all right. The Hardman artwork is absolutely fantastic. This one nearly makes the issue worth a look, but not quite.

The Hunter (2009)

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Hey, why is Darwyn Cooke doing the adaptation for that Mel Gibson movie Payback ten years late?

Oh, right, just the same source material. But who was really clamoring for an adaptation of the Hunter? Cooke excels with the art and creating an unglamorous feel for early sixties New York, but there’s something missing with the writing. As a protagonist, Parker is repugnant and there’s no way for Cooke to avoid it and stay true (the problem with the Mel Gibson adaptation). But Cooke does curb it.

We don’t get to see Parker smacking women around–though the “bad guy” does.

Cooke also includes long text passages–he does an entire flashback in text, which makes the read temporarily painful–and it’s clear he could have gone two ways with the Hunter, he could have done a comic adaptation or a collection of illustrations to accompany the original novel (like Wrightson’s Frankenstein).

Instead, he unsuccessfully tries to find a middle ground.

When he’s doing a straight adaptation, even with the very visual storytelling (the opening twenty or so pages is a montage–the Mel Gibson movie did it in about four minutes), it’s glorious. A lot of his pacing with the panels owes a lot to comic strips, the one, two, reward panel. It’s a mean-spirited, very dysfunctional grandchild of “Peanuts.”

Unfortunately even Cooke doing a straight adaptation can’t fix the ending. Cooke’s art confuses to the point of frustration. The big chase ending is too hard to follow.

I wish it’d been better.

The Hunter (2009)

hunter.jpgHey, why is Darwyn Cooke doing the adaptation for that Mel Gibson movie Payback ten years late?

Oh, right, just the same source material. But who was really clamoring for an adaptation of the Hunter? Cooke excels with the art and creating an unglamorous feel for early sixties New York, but there’s something missing with the writing. As a protagonist, Parker is repugnant and there’s no way for Cooke to avoid it and stay true (the problem with the Mel Gibson adaptation). But Cooke does curb it.

We don’t get to see Parker smacking women around–though the “bad guy” does.

Cooke also includes long text passages–he does an entire flashback in text, which makes the read temporarily painful–and it’s clear he could have gone two ways with the Hunter, he could have done a comic adaptation or a collection of illustrations to accompany the original novel (like Wrightson’s Frankenstein).

Instead, he unsuccessfully tries to find a middle ground.

When he’s doing a straight adaptation, even with the very visual storytelling (the opening twenty or so pages is a montage–the Mel Gibson movie did it in about four minutes), it’s glorious. A lot of his pacing with the panels owes a lot to comic strips, the one, two, reward panel. It’s a mean-spirited, very dysfunctional grandchild of “Peanuts.”

Unfortunately even Cooke doing a straight adaptation can’t fix the ending. Cooke’s art confuses to the point of frustration. The big chase ending is too hard to follow.

I wish it’d been better.

CREDITS

Writer, artist, colorist, and letterer, Darwyn Cooke; editor, Scott Dunbier; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Jonah Hex (2006) #50

Jh50

I hate Palmiotti and Gray’s writing. I mock them every time I look through Previews. So damned if I know what I’ll do now one of their comics has made me tear up, has ruined my day, effectively kicked me in the stomach to the point I want to crawl up in the fetal position.

Clearly, the reason this issue of Jonah Hex succeeds is Darwyn Cooke’s artwork. No way anyone else could have made this story so affecting.

I should want to read more of their issues, just in case I’m missing something, but I don’t think anything can really top this issue. In just one issue, they fit in about as much tragedy as occurs in Hamlet.

It’s not particularly thoughtful tragedy, or brilliantly plotted tragedy, but it’s real effective and all because of Cooke. It’s haunting, in fact.

Though the cover doesn’t do the interior content justice.