The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom 3 (October 2012)

881034 It’s a good thing Samnee’s drawing this series–but especially this issue–because without him I’d forget I was supposed to be reading a Rocketeer comic.

The stuff at the hanger is all fine, but it’s the supporting cast jabbering to each other. Waid writes Peevy well, he even writes Betty well (though not enough to turn her into a real person) and Cliff’s new sidekicks continue to amuse.

But Cliff? Fighting dinosaurs and teaming up with some bad guys? It’s a disaster. Waid’s only got two good moments on the Cliff side and one’s not even his own. The bad guy asks Cliff to save his crew. It’s a neat moment.

The other is Cliff talking back to a supportive crowd. Very funny, but not really specific to the character. Feels more like a Spider-Man moment, actually.

And the way Cliff deals with the dinosaurs is just mean.

CREDITS

Writer, Mark Waid; artist, Chris Samnee; colorist, Jordie Bellaire; letterer, Shawn Lee; editor, Scott Dunbier; publisher, IDW Publishing.

The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom 2 (September 2012)

875614 While Cargo does give Cliff something he really needs–a stronger supporting cast–Waid’s approach is practically fanfic when it comes to the big reveal.

Cargo of Doom is a (sly) sequel to King Kong, where the bad guys are going to loose captured dinosaurs as a terrorist act. The chief villain–dressed like a pirate no less–describes the Kong events from the movie, but acts as though the world forgot them. Giant apes aren’t big news in Rocketeer land.

I’m a little shocked at Waid’s plot. It’s moronic. The Rocketeer versus a T. Rex? And IDW without a Kong license?

The other stuff, particularly Sally (Peevy’s niece) and Cliff bonding while Betty fumes, is good. The black federal agent is questionable given the time period, but official help for the Rocketeer isn’t bad.

It’s just the comic reads like a convention commission gone to series. Waid’s gone nuts.

CREDITS

Writer, Mark Waid; artist, Chris Samnee; colorist, Jordie Bellaire; letterer, Shawn Lee; editor, Scott Dunbier; publisher, IDW Publishing.

The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom 1 (August 2012)

874371 In Cargo of Doom, Mark Waid does the most unexpected thing ever in a Rocketeer comic. He takes the focus–at least as far as females go–off Betty. He does it so much, I don’t even remember if Chris Samnee’s version of Betty is in the Stevens vein or his own thing.

Because for once, Betty doesn’t get to be the most important thing.

The lead female character is Peevy’s niece, who’s a pilot herself and has a major Cliff crush. There’s a great little scene with her and Betty talking and the niece very confused why Betty can’t shut up about the Rocketeer when she has Cliff.

Waid paces the issue well. There’s some action, a few dialogue scenes (more than it seems) and the entire bad guy subplot too. Unsavory folks are smuggling a mysterious creature into L.A.

As for Chris Samnee? He does great work.

CREDITS

Writer, Mark Waid; artist, Chris Samnee; colorist, Jordie Bellaire; letterer, Shawn Lee; editor, Scott Dunbier; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Rocketeer Adventures 2 (July 2011)

229474 20111215034257 large This 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.

Daredevil 6 (January 2012)

I really like this issue, but seriously… is Waid going to soft relaunch the title every arc?

Once again, he changes the entire Daredevil landscape, adding Daredevil being hunted by all the Marvel Universe terrorist organizations to the already full plate. It’s like he’s shifting A plots to B plots and vice versa; he hasn’t given Daredevil a chance to breath and get comfortable. Who knows… it might be a good approach to make a modern mainstream comic accessible from issue to issue.

Waid also solves his big Daredevil problem here. This issue is all Daredevil (well, okay, Matt’s in his suit for the epilogue) and Waid handles it. The fight scene with Bruiser is fantastic, though the character’s motivation and, especially, his costume are weak.

Oh, and the cliffhanger resolution from last issue is pat.

But it’s an excellent issue, even with my complaining. Probably the best so far.

Daredevil 5 (December 2011)

Oh, come now, Mr. Waid… you don’t really think a reader is going to believe Daredevil drowns and dies at the end of this issue, do you?

The end of the issue–the only problematic part of an otherwise charming outing–feels more than a little rushed. It’s like Waid needed to get his superhero fight scene in and he fell back on expository dialogue to get it done.

There’s some great Martin artwork of Daredevil on the yacht and the yacht incident and it makes the scene passable. But it’s a heavy drop from the rest of the issue, where Waid not only has his supervillain machinations, surprises from Foggy and actual lawyerly stuff from Matt.

The issue’s full enough, especially for a modern mainstream book, it doesn’t actually need the titular character to appear in costume.

Still, the ending’s just weak, not bad. The issue’s still quite strong.

Daredevil 4 (November 2011)

Is Martin regular on Daredevil now? If so, it makes sense this issue feels like a soft relaunch, like Waid’s introducing the new artist. If not… well, it makes no sense.

But it’s a successful issue. Waid opens with some amusing action–Daredevil in a lion habitat at the Bronx Zoo–and then moves into this issue’s story. He just does it very slowly, very deliberately. There’s a lot of Daredevil in action, fighting the odd crime, there’s a lot with Matt bantering about not being Daredevil or bickering with Foggy.

There’s none of the flirting, which is okay, since Martin doesn’t draw Matt like a surfer dude.

It’s the kind of issue one would get excited about–it’s even more exciting that the series’s actual first issue–but I’m rather hesitant. Daredevil‘s been fine, but uneven.

The issue’s either another deviant or it’s a sign Waid’s firmly footed.

Daredevil 3 (November 2011)

I’ll bet if Matt didn’t have the surfer dude hair he wouldn’t do so well with the ladies. Waid’s emphasis on Matt’s Lothario ambitions is maybe my favorite thing about his Daredevil. It doesn’t fit Matt, but somehow it does. And Waid delights in giving Foggy indigestion over all Matt’s new ideas.

But those scenes come at the end of the issue, which is really strong. It’s the more comedic stuff, the montages of courtrooms… it’s where Waid makes Daredevil gleam.

Where he doesn’t, this issue anyway, is with the actual Daredevil stuff. Klaw is the name of the sound guy. He shows up in a broken suit with an interesting backstory. Except the broken suit is really dumb looking.

Waid hasn’t figured out how to play to Rivera’s strengths. In another awkward scene, Daredevil’s running around shedding electrical junk. Looks silly.

The strong finale makes up for the rest.

Daredevil 2 (October 2011)

Oh, hey, it’s that sound guy from Secret Wars. I can’t remember his name–with the funny hand and the red outfit.

Unfortunately, having the sound guy in the issue doesn’t save it. Waid’s pacing is disastrous. This story continues the same day from the previous issue and almost nothing happens. Daredevil fights with Captain America–Rivera doesn’t draw a good Cap, it actually makes the comic visually unpleasant–we find out Foggy’s got a girlfriend and Daredevil talks to a lawyer friend.

But nothing happens.

The implication some supervillain is behind Matt’s client having trouble is another weak point. Waid’s going to have to explain it rather well to sell the idea, especially since it rang of police corruption last issue.

I still like Daredevil, but Waid’s plodding is killing any excitement. I really think the issue only had four scenes. Four scenes isn’t enough by a long shot.

Daredevil 1 (September 2011)

With Paolo Rivera doing the feature and Marcos Martin doing the back-up, Mark Waid has great art on his Daredevil revamp. But great art can’t do all the lifting. Waid’s take on Matt is a little unexpected, but a lot of fun.

The approach reminds a lot of TV, specifically “Life” and “The Mentalist.” Matt’a had some rough times so he’s going to be upbeat and eat unprocessed sugar and meet girls. As Daredevil, he constantly smiles. It’s like Waid is declaring the approach to the reader.

And it basically succeeds. Waid’s Matt is a likable protagonist. It’s too early to talk about the supporting cast. Waid’s still just introducing them, though hints at more Foggy problems pop up.

Sadly, the back-up, about Matt and Foggy, is stronger than the feature. There’s a point to it, while the feature is too expository.

This comic is a pleasant surprise.