Harbinger 1 (June 2012)

So the character in the first scene is a guy? Someone needs to sit Khari Evans down and have a walk with him about showing gender through facial characteristics. The second time I went back to the beginning of the issue, I noticed without Joshua Dysart identifies character’s genders maybe two would be immediately clear.

Evans’s bad faces–it’s not just gender, but age–make Harbinger occasionally difficult and it shouldn’t be. I had no idea the protagonist is high school age based on the art. When there’s a scene between the lead and his unwilling love interest at her school, it’s weird. And it had my expectations of the characters’ dialogue out of whack. I thought Dysart had a weak moment in a conversation, but he didn’t… the characters are just kids. And Evans’s art didn’t get me there.

With Evans’s involvement, it’s too soon to tell about it.

CREDITS

Omega Rising, Part 1; writer, Joshua Dysart; artist, Khari Evans; colorist, Ian Hannin; letterer, Rob Steen; editor, Josh Johns, Jody LeHeup and Warren Simons; publisher, Valiant Entertainment.

Immortal Weapons (2009) #4

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There’s the Swierczynski I was expecting… turning in a completely useless issue.

Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter gets the feature. Swierczynski’s so wrapped up in his Amazon warrior women story he neglects to mention a) the name of the Heavenly City and b) how they could possibly have an Immortal Weapon. It’s nonsensical, but also bad.

Swierczynski tries real hard not to be sexist, but fails miserably. I also like how he borrows the reasoning for some Muslim women taking the veil (so their features aren’t their defining factor) as the warrior women putting on face guards. However, these warrior women are running around in bikinis so I’m not sure what difference the face guard makes.

Also… if Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter is supposed to be beautiful, did someone forget to tell Evans? The character’s funny looking.

The Iron Fist backup is, again, too short and too unbearably ugly (thanks to Diaz’s art).

Immortal Weapons 4 (January 2010)

There’s the Swierczynski I was expecting… turning in a completely useless issue.

Also… if Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter is supposed to be beautiful, did someone forget to tell Evans? The character’s funny looking.

The Iron Fist backup is, again, too short and too unbearably ugly (thanks to Diaz’s art).

CREDITS

Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter; writer, Duane Swierczynski; penciller, Khari Evans; inkers, Victor Olazaba and Allen Martinez. The Caretakers, Part Four; writer, Duane Swierczynski; artist, Hatuey Diaz. Colorist, June Chung; letterer, Nate Piekos; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

Immortal Weapons (2009) #1

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Could this story be more depressing?

Aaron does a decent job on Fat Cobra’s backstory—though he doesn’t go enough into defining Fat Cobra’s Heavenly City. He buys his way back into it at one point and buying one’s way back into a Heavenly City seems a little common.

Then there’s all the retconning of Fat Cobra into Marvel Comics history. He was almost an Invader, he was Ulysses Bloodstone’s sidekick and so on and so forth. Aaron’s trying to hard to be cute. When we get to the end of the story and find out the salient feature of Fat Cobra’s (forgotten) past… all the other stuff becomes silly.

That feature—Fat Cobra has no memory of his past—is similarly problematic. Aaron needed to explain it.

Good art from a variety of artists. It’s a fine package.

Swierczynski’s Iron Fist backup is the best Iron Fist he’s written.

Immortal Weapons 1 (September 2009)

Could this story be more depressing?

That feature—Fat Cobra has no memory of his past—is similarly problematic. Aaron needed to explain it.

Good art from a variety of artists. It’s a fine package.

Swierczynski’s Iron Fist backup is the best Iron Fist he’s written.

CREDITS

The Book of the Cobra; writer, Jason Aaron; pencillers, Mico Suayan, Stefano Gaudiano, Roberto De La Torre, Khari Evans, Michael Lark and Arturo Lozzi; inkers, Suayan, Gaudiano, De La Torre, Victor Olazaba, Lark and Lozzi; colorists, Edgar Delgado, Matt Hollingsworth, Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic and Jodi Wolff. The Caretakers, Part One; writer, Duane Swierczynski; penciller, Travel Foreman; inker, Gaudiano; colorist, June Chung. Letterer, Nate Piekos; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist (2007) #15

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Fraction does another of those untold tales of a previous Iron Fist stories this issue and it works pretty well. He’s got a lot to get in here–he has to establish the Iron Fist (this one uses the power to expand his tactical thinking), set the ground situation (he’s fighting the British in China in the 1700s or thereabouts) and then come up with a plot.

The plot’s unexpected–it’s a lot more DC than Marvel, with an impotent Iron Fist teaming with a similarly afflicted Indian hero as they quest for freedom and glory. Well, maybe not glory, they’re off to rescue someone.

Along the way, they run into a third similarly powered individual.

Fraction does a great job expanding the mythology here. He even manages to avoid any of those Star Wars references he so loves.

Evans’s artwork is good (if a little glossy).

A fine issue.

The Immortal Iron Fist 15 (July 2008)

Along the way, they run into a third similarly powered individual.

Fraction does a great job expanding the mythology here. He even manages to avoid any of those Star Wars references he so loves.

Evans’s artwork is good (if a little glossy).

A fine issue.

CREDITS

The Story of Iron Fist Bei Bang-Wen (1827-1860); writer, Matt Fraction; penciller, Khari Evans; inker, Victor Olazaba; colorists, Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic and Paul Mounts; letterer, Dave Lanphear; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist (2007) #7

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Fraction and Brubaker take a break here to focus on one of the previous Iron Fists.

They present the story like a fable and get really cute with it. I don’t think the cuteness necessarily has to do with the Iron Fist in question being female, but because she’s got a goofy, sweet but stupid boyfriend. He’s funny.

Actually, there’s a lot of humor in it. Even narrative humor, with a joke in a text box. Probably because dealing with the tale of pirates isn’t going to be fun unless you get in some jokes.

It works as an issue–I wish they’d done one for every Iron Fist, instead of just this one (shocking how good Marvel books never seem to last).

The art’s a bit problematic. Foreman doesn’t flow naturally into Fernandez who doesn’t flow naturally into Evans. It’s not bad, it just always seems a little off.

The Immortal Iron Fist 7 (August 2007)

Fraction and Brubaker take a break here to focus on one of the previous Iron Fists.

Actually, there’s a lot of humor in it. Even narrative humor, with a joke in a text box. Probably because dealing with the tale of pirates isn’t going to be fun unless you get in some jokes.

It works as an issue–I wish they’d done one for every Iron Fist, instead of just this one (shocking how good Marvel books never seem to last).

The art’s a bit problematic. Foreman doesn’t flow naturally into Fernandez who doesn’t flow naturally into Evans. It’s not bad, it just always seems a little off.

CREDITS

The Story of the Iron Fist Wu Ao-Shi, The Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay; writers, Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction; pencillers, Travel Foreman, Leandro Fernandez and Khari Evans; inkers, Derek Fridolfs, Francisco Paronzini, Leo Fernandez and Victor Olazaba; colorist, Dan Brown; letterer, Dave Lanphear; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.