Revenge 1 (February 2014)

297103 20140226100444 large Ah, redemption. Jonathan Ross wimps out with Revenge, instead letting Ian Churchill’s gross-out art do the dirty work.

The concept is a seventies action star who gets his comeback thanks to an Expendables like hit when he’s seventy-two. His trophy wife convinces him to get an experimental facelift, but she really wants to torture him because when she was a kid he seduced her mother away from her father.

Sounds like our protagonist is a bad guy, but no… he donates money to his daughter’s zoo and she knows he’s turned the corner into goodness. And the wife isn’t just doing it to be evil, she really wants his money.

With the lifeless Churchill art and its lack of personality–the comic, besides the gore, looks like action figure packaging–Revenge was never going to soar, but it’s unfortunate Ross isn’t committed to the meanness. Exploitation it ain’t.

CREDITS

Writer, Jonathan Ross; artist, Ian Churchill; colorists, Arif Prianto and Churchill; letterers, Jimmy Betancourt and Richard Starkings; publisher, Image Comics.

Rocketeer Adventures 3 (July 2011)

838629 Rocketeer Adventures really needs some editorial guidance. Or at least the stories need to make sense in relation to one another.

The first story, from Ryan Sook, is pretty good. But Sook makes a big point of how Cliff gets the fame Betty so desperately wants, only he never indicates whether she’s jealous about it. His finish, while beautifully done, could go either way.

Then there’s the Joe R. Lansdale short story. Lansdale writes a pulpy text–nothing particularly special and he doesn’t describe the action very well. Bruce Timm’s occasional illustrations ignore the pulpy quality. Timm does G-rated art for an R-rated story. It’s a complete disconnect.

The final story, from Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards, is easily the best. Ross has a fun setup and, refreshingly, concentrates on the female characters. Edwards’s stylized art suits it well.

Even with the pluses, the issue feels unsubstantial.

CREDITS

A Rocketeer Story; writer, artist, colorist and letterer, Ryan Sook. Heaven’s Devils; writer, Joe R. Lansdale; plotter, artist and colorist, Bruce Timm. Junior Rocketeers; writer, Jonathan Ross; artist and colorist, Tommy Lee Edwards; letterer, John Workman. Editor, Scott Dunbier; publisher, IDW Publishing.