It’s an okay issue, which–for Cinema Purgatorio–usually means there’s something lacking.
First, Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s feature is the history of Felix the Cat “creator” Pat Sullivan, who was a scumbag both professionally and personally. O’Neill does a fine job on the art, but Moore’s script feels like he’s just hitting various details.
Garth Ennis has a similar problem with Code Pru. There’s a long setup involving ghosts for a full page visual gag payoff. Fine art from Raulo Caceres; there’s just no depth.
Gabriel Andrade takes over the art on More Perfect Union. He does all right, though he’s a little too fixated on human character design and not enough on giant ant action. Though the Max Brooks script doesn’t really offer any good giant ant action, just boring giant ant action.
And Modded is a lot less annoying than usual, maybe because Kieron Gillen’s script goes for brevity. Nahuel Lopez’s art is awesome.
Finally, The Vast. Boring, poorly paced, but with excellent art from Andrade. Very different from his Union art; he puts time into Vast. The other was a rush. The Christos Gage script is all right, I suppose, just disposable.
When Cinema Purgatorio doesn’t have a great Moore and O’Neill feature, the whole issue feels a little too rote.
CREDITS
Cinema Purgatorio, And the Blackness Moved; writer, Alan Moore; artist, Kevin O’Neill. Code Pru, Somethin’ Weird, an’ It Don’t Look Good; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Raulo Caceres. A More Perfect Union; writer, Max Brooks; artist, Gabriel Andrade. Modded; writer, Kieron Gillen; artist, Nahuel Lopez. The Vast; writer, Christos Gage; artist, Andrade. Letterer, Kurt Hathaway; publisher, Avatar Press.
It’s another completely solid issue. Arcudi does the police investigation well–there’s a lot left over from previous issues, but he’s able to get in a big surprise from material just introduced here. And Fejzula’s art looks a little different–a little rushed maybe–but it comes together pretty quickly. It’s downright sweet and sincere at times. I started this issue unimpressed with the professionalism of its production, ended it very happy to have it.
Motor Crush is starting to lose me a little. Fletcher and Stewart aren’t doing a lot with the characters, instead focusing on the melodrama. It’s early, so if they do rebound with some character development and not just cliffhanger mysteries, the book can easily recover. Tarr’s art is strong, with some ambitious composition layouts too.
I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I’ll be back for more of this comic. Even though the first arc is a mess–and this accelerated wrap-up issue, which plays more like a movie trailer than a comic book, isn’t really successful, Naifeh does do some serious damage control and potentially plugs a lot of leaks.
Being Super gets off to an excellent start. Mariko Tamaki’s script is slow to reveal the particulars of this version, instead focusing on the character experiencing high school and her sixteenth birthday. There’s also the great Joëlle Jones art and creates this wonderfully detailed Midvale high school world. It’s an awesome comic.
Hawkeye tries way too hard. Thompson’s characterization of Kate is busy but bland. Romero’s art is all right–the detail’s excellent even though everything moves way too fast with way too little actual content. Kate’s cocky and immature, which might fit the other Hawkeye’s comic, but not this one.
It’s another non-starter for Jones. No “case” either, which makes the promotional materials referring to each issue as a case more annoying. Lots of boring talking heads with occasional PG–13 curse words. Bendis’s big reveal is weak, the art is boring (not Gaydos’s fault though).