April 30 Reviews

Ex Machina #36
Wildstorm
Writing: Brian K. Vaughan
Pencils: Tony Harris
Inks: Jim Clark
Colors: JD Mettler
Cover: Tony Harris, JD Mettler
Editor: Ben Abernathy, Kristy Quinn
4.5/5

A wonderful return to form for a title that should get ten times the acclaim, attention and sales numbers as it does. Long operating in the shadow of the monumentally popular Y: The Last Man, the spectacle of intelligent entertainment that is Ex Machina has always been far more rewarding in execution than it's premise suggests it would be -- much like Y was. Vaughan's greatest skill is making his characters real and easy to relate to despite the slightly absurd circumstances they inhabit, and the cast of Machina is a perfect example of this. Mayor Hundred is one of the most believable characters in comics right now, approached only by members of Scalped, occassional moments in DMZ, and too-introspective-to-read very indie titles. Opening an issue of this title and seeing these characters for the first time in weeks is a physical relief. It's like coming home.

Recent arcs have, however, meandered a little and gotten (slightly) away from the heart of the book but here Vaughan brings the action back to New York, and the title back to it's basics -- watching this man suffer the realities of his life as well as ours, in ways both personal and political. If comic audiences could get past their preconceived notions about the series' foundations they'd realize just how much there is for them to find in these pages. Particularly fans of Y, as this issue finds Vaughan channeling some of that title's heartwarming humor he currently has no other outlet for.

Ex Machina is fantastic. Vaughan makes the outlandish seem topical and the American spirit more than a soundbite. If you've enjoyed anything the man has written (and who hasn't) then you'll undoubtedly find much of the same elation in aspects of what he's offering here. It will be very sad to see this one end.



The Immortal Iron Fist #14
Marvel
Writing: Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Tonci Zonjic, Clay Mann, Kano
Inks: Stefano Gaudiano
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Cover: Kaare Andrews
Editor: Warren Simons
5/5

Over the course of fourteen issues this story has grown into one of the most complex tales on the market. The recap page reads like a convoluted LSD-driven novella and the cast could pack a bus to the doors. So why the hell is it so easy to follow?

Because when Brubaker and Fraction come together they are a force not of this world. Very rarely has the history of superhero-type comic books put forth anything this absentmindedly intelligent, and yet these guys seem to produce as much on a near weekly basis with Immortal Iron Fist being the shiniest example. It boggles minds that something so rooted in overtly indulgent pulpiness could have the emotional depth and impact that this story and its characters do. No kung-fu book has any right being this good.

But it is. And in this conclusion to the aforementioned fourteen issue story arc, Fraction and Brubaker have crafted one of the most satisfying comic book conclusions I’ve ever read, particularly of those books involving spandex and self professing ninjas. The issue is perfectly paced and has a truly climactic feel, tying up dozens of plot threads and delivering evocatively on all of them. Even the complete absence of the tremendous regular artist David Aja doesn’t hurt the issue; his fill-ins more than step up to the plate. I can’t remember the last time a comic had this many double-wide splash pages and didn’t feel like it was desperately trying to fill up space and compensate for a lacking script. You can hear the events of these pages even without sound effect cues.

This revamping run of an otherwise disposable title will go down as one of the most impressive ever, and undoubtedly will be toted around and referenced by many for years to come. That we still get two more issues with these writers is a true blessing. Even the production in the covers is stomping out long boring hero-book status quos. What a gift this has been.

Ultimate Human #4
Marvel
Writing: Warren Ellis
Pencils, Inks: Cary Nord
Colors: Dave Stewart
Cover: Cary Nord, Richard Isanove
Editor: Bill Rosemann
3.5/5

There’s not much to say here. This concluding issue is entertaining, captures the characters personalities well enough, has some big explosions, takes about thirty seconds to read and will linger in memory for about as long.

It is though, the most I’ve enjoyed anything focusing on the Hulk in quite a while. Ellis gives him a very readable and funny voice, and I believe in the threat he poses much more than I do in other works. Nord was clearly selected for his fantastic Hulk drawings, which are the highlight of the book and fully deliver the character’s manic rage. Some of the other elements look a bit too bland with his washed out and muddy style, but they aren’t the point.

This was a fun little mini that probably reads better end-to-end than individually over time, and is well worth checking out if you can find the issues on the cheap somewhere. It certainly didn’t reinvent, improve upon, or dress up the wheel in any way but it definitely towed the line. Considering the state of the Ultimate U, this is satisfying. Considering the capabilities of the engineer behind the thing, it’s slightly less so.

Mice Templar #4
Image
Story: Bryan J.L. Glass & Michael Avon Oeming
Writing: Bryan J.L. Glass
Pencils, Inks, Cover: Michael Avon Oeming
Colors: Wil Quintana
Editor: Judy Glass, Will Swyer
4/5

With the lack of quality fantasy titles on the shelves right now it’s easy to really want to know what the hell is going on in this book, and with some diligence and extra invested focus on the reader’s part it’s possible. In general though it’s a bit difficult to just dive into this world every few months, despite helpful overviews, and not find oneself feeling an initial bit of bewilderment. It’s not that the plot is too dense, though it’s certainly jammed full of legends and lore, but that the writing itself is a bit muddled. Glass struggles to maintain a balance between keeping a comprehensible readability while still having the characters speak in fantasy appropriate tongues.

That said, this is a good story if you’re able to invest the patient, slow, and perhaps repeated reads necessary to decipher its many subtleties. It's chock full of wonderful ideas, depth and a wealth of richness. Once you’re past the learning curve required each issue it’s hard to not become sucked in and wanting more. The art adds immensely to this desire, as it’s fantastic to behold, and the coloring enhances the mood even further, this time stepping past some of last issue’s glaring missteps. It’s very, very, pretty to look at.

Mice Templar is easy to love despite being slightly frustrating. If you haven’t the time for ‘epic’ 30,000 page fantasy novels any longer but still yearn for them, this does a fine service to help fill the void. Please support this title so we can see more of its kind.

Black Summer #6
Avatar
Writing: Warren Ellis
Pencils, Inks, Cover: Juan Jose Ryp
Colors: Mark Sweeney, Greg Waller
Editor: William Christensen
4.5/5

If Ellis’ work on this week’s Ultimate Human felt fun, loose, and weightless – this is the exact opposite. What initially looked to be a big sledgehammer of over-the-top politicking has actually turned out to be a good deal more. As much as it does fill that role, it’s equally about the state of being people in this day in age. It’s about the depths of these characters’ humanity, what the hell that might mean, the range and effects of their perceptions and they actions they take as a result.

And by actions I don’t refer to the flashy shock-laden event that opened the series. This is one where there is more than initially meets the eye. The feeling that we’ve not yet seen the whole picture of who these people are, and what’s actually happening, has been forcefully pushing itself out of all this gorgeous carnage and thankfully it’s turning out to be more than just a hopeful inkling.

A lot of Ellis’ indie work feels like he’s just throwing ideas against the wall, ceiling, floor, door, counter, sink, and so forth without much concern for whether they stick or not. This time though, he’s found some things worth slinging and has managed to get me far more interested in his upcoming No Hero title than any of his other Avatar books have managed. Ellis is very hit-and-miss, but the impact here is resounding.

The Order #10
Marvel
Writing: Matt Fraction
Breakdowns, Pencils, Inks: Kitson, Saltares, Hanna, Olazaba, Nelson
Colors: J. Roberts, Wil Quintana
Cover: Barry Kitson
Editor: Alejandro Arbona
3.5/5

Los Angeles has been tearing itself apart for years. Fraction moves to exaggerate this reality in the final issue of the oft-praised but short-lived Order. The series ends on an expressive tone. Lives are lost. Characters are chocked up. People let their emotions get the best of them. It’s good, but it’s not the mind-blow most of us were expecting to receive.

Frankly it feels the title could have used one more issue to say goodbye. It doesn’t necessarily feel like Fraction had his knees chopped from under him, or that he jumped ship – it’s a satisfying conclusion – but it doesn’t pack the wallop it could have. Some of the issue’s (and by implication the title’s) biggest points are laxly tossed on the table and rooted thru only on a surface level. Things would have benefited greatly from some more of Fraction’s grossly entertaining saying-nothing-while-saying-everything streams of drawn out dialog that only show up fleetingly this time around. The issue feels void of personality and depth which with Fraction are usually the same thing. This isn’t to say it wasn’t good, it just wasn’t great – which was the bar The Order had set for itself.

It’s sad to see this book go, but with this slightly less than stellar issue it’s easier now to turn our eyes to the absurdly exciting prospect of having Fraction on Iron Man and Uncanny X-Men, two of Marvel’s biggest titles. Rarely, if ever, has there been a writer that’s been propelled to the top-tier properties this quickly, and it couldn’t be more exciting. The Order may be gone, but its spirit can’t die; because its spirit was Fraction and Fraction keeps rising.