Prophet: Strikefile 2 (November 2014)

Prophet: Strikefile #2 Strikefile continues with more strangeness. This time, in the individual subjects, the strangeness has to do with Rob Liefeld. He contributes a page of art–a superhero team, of course, called Youngstar. Plus there are some further Liefeld references later. It’s strange; even though Prophet never shied away from the references to old Image books… in Strikefile, they stand out more.

The issue opens with the history of the universe–courtesy Simon Roy, Matt Sheehan and Malachi Ward. It’s strange, imaginative, engaging, makes you want to pay more attention to the details while still wanting to skim them to get to the artistic eccentricities. In other words, it’s definitely a Prophet comic.

Opening with it, however, makes the rest of the issue–all of the subject topics getting a page or two (a pinup and a paragraph)–a bit sluggish. Grim Wilkins’s final contribution is a neat one page strip.

B+

CREDITS

Writers, Simon Roy and Brandon Graham; artists, Matt Sheehan, Malachi Ward, Gael Bertrand, Rob Liefeld, Roy, Addison Duke, Lodroe, Grim Wilkins, Sandra Lanz, Xurxo G. Penalta, Graham and Tom Parkinson-Morgan; colorists, Sheenan, Ward and Joseph Bergin III; letterer, Ed Brisson; publisher, Image Comics.

Deadpool (2012, Tim Miller)

Deadpool is an effects test by Miller to prove a feature is possible. It’s unclear, in terms of a narrative, if the ninety second short answers that question in the positive but it doesn’t much matter. These ninety seconds of a strange masked comic book character directly addressing the viewer are phenomenal.

There’s a certain smugness to Ryan Reynolds’s performance–the titular, very skinny character is CG, but Reynolds did the motion capture and voice–but Miller makes it work. The comic timing of the test footage is what’s so spectacular.

A feature length version would probably be tiresome unless it was just one high quality action scene after another.

Miller gets everything right–the bad guys, the mood, the music–he’s proposing the idea of a superhero action movie, with lots of CG, but on a human action movie scale.

It’s a neat idea… but probably wouldn’t work out.

3/3 Highly Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Tim Miller; based on a character created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld.

Starring Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool).


RELATED

OTHER DEADPOOL FILMS
OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY TIM MILLER
OTHER 2012 RELEASES

Hawk & Dove 3 (January 2012)

Hank Hall didn’t vote for Obama, but he’s not going to let his evil counterpart (Condor–who knew Gates was a Michael Crawford fan) kill him. I think they were just trying to appeal to the conservative reader… but then immediately lost the Tea Party reader.

Anyway, it’s another crappy issue from Gates and Liefeld. It’s really more Deadman’s book than Hawk and Dove’s. I mean, Deadman saves the day. And, wow, even though he’s mostly possessing people, Liefeld still manages to draw him terribly. While Hawk (in particular) is a terrible Liefeld rendering, Deadman is beyond incompetent.

It’s an all-action issue, which means it’d be incomprehensible to new readers–there’s no recap of how Hawk and Dove end up at the White House much less their new villains.

I’m trying to think of something nice to say because Gates’s Supergirl‘s so good….

Maybe his editors wrote it.

CREDITS

When a White House Runs Red…; writer, Sterling Gates; penciller, Rob Liefeld; inkers, Adelso Corona, Jacob Bear and Liefeld; colorist, Matt Yackey; letterer, Dezi Sienty; editors, Rickey Purdin and Rachel Gluckstern; publisher, DC Comics.

Hawk & Dove 2 (December 2011)

I know the new DC Universe is racially diverse, but I allow know DC doesn’t like being topical with Presidents (so they can be timeless). But is the bad guy choking Obama at the end? It’s kind of ballsy.

Otherwise, Hawk & Dove is the opposite of ballsy. Gates’s plotting is so safe and traditional—unless you count someone getting tortured by a suicide girl—the comic would be terrible regardless of the artist. In two issues, Gates’s writing has made me wonder if I just imagined his Supergirl writing or if he just had a better editor.

This series follows Hawk, which is immediately boring, because Hawk is a big, dumb ox. His character’s nothing different, not even if he’s still living at home, like in the relaunch. It’s a terrible approach.

As for Liefeld, he’s even worse than last issue.

Hawk & Dove‘s clearly never going to improve.

CREDITS

Party Time; writer, Sterling Gates; artist, Rob Liefeld; colorist, Matt Yackey; letterer, Dezi Sienty; editors, Rickey Purdin and Rachel Gluckstern; publisher, DC Comics.

Hawk & Dove 1 (November 2011)

Are they bringing Don Hall back to life?

My brain actually hurts after looking at the Rob Liefeld art on this book. I was trying to understand his view of the human body and its proportions and I think my brain broke. His men seem to be without waists and ribcages and his women have the proportions of Barbie dolls.

And Liefeld’s Deadman is just plain goofy. He looks like a life-size balloon.

Given the incompetence of the visual storytelling, I can’t tell if Gates had a good script. I don’t think so. I think he breaks the rules of epical progression to be cute and the reader gets stuck with a couple lengthy exposition scenes.

Strangely, I’m sort of curious about the characters. They’re supposed to end up together. Will Gates address it, will he ignore it, will he give Liefeld more panels to butcher?

We shall see….

CREDITS

First Strikes; writer, Sterling Gates; artist, Rob Liefeld; colorist, Matt Yackey; letterer, Dezi Sienty; editors, Rickey Purdin and Rachel Gluckstern; publisher, DC Comics.