Comic Reviews June 9th

For me, it was a light week. The Light #3 released, but since I'm still without issue two, I can't give it a review just yet. Instead, let's look at the latest issue in The Unwritten, as well as the issue one in the prequel mini-series to the upcoming film Predators.

The Unwritten #14--DC/Vertigo
Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Peter Gross

Oh, Mike Carey, you know just how to keep me coming back.

When The Unwritten started last year, I'd just gotten into comics, and was broke. Since the first issue was only a dollar, I jumped on it because the cover art looked nice. What I got in return for that dollar was my first ongoing series to follow, and recommend to every breathing soul that I spoke to in a comic shop.

The Start of Something Beautiful

So, here we are just a little over a year later, second issue of a fresh new story arc, and I'm having to hold back on a lot of story details. But here's a little synopsis of what to expect from The Unwritten.

Tom Taylor is a mediocre celebrity, living off the success of his fathers series of fantasy novels in which the name character was named from him. These books are similar to the Harry Potter novels in that two young boys and a girl fight an evil wizard. His identity is questioned at a convention, and his life falls apart. This is just the setup, mind you, and a lot has happened since the first issue. Let's get down to issue fourteen!

After all that has happened in the first thirteen issues, it's expected at this point that Carey will continue to end every issue with a story beat that will make any reader want the next issue sitting right next to him a second later. However, it's the middle book in this arc, and proving to be maddening as changes take place. But it's done with such careful attention to the pacing of the series, while being unrelenting. Carey's love for classic fiction is still shining in full force, especially in regard to Lizzie Hexam's story taking an unexpected twist in this issue. Perhaps if I read my Dickens, I'd have expected...

As for the art, #14 doesn't slack. Peter Gross switches between lush fantasy visuals and simpler tones and details for the real world while going between the different narratives that run parallel. The fantasy aspects are a little weaker this issue, but I think that was intentional to reflect the nature of the story being told in this arc. The cover by Yuko Shimizu isn't as lovely as the earlier expisodes, but is still a strong piece of art.

Ultimately, If this review sounds like the rant of a gushing fanboy, it might just be. I can't cease to recommend this fantastic series. Between the fact that the second trade paperback is going to release in the fall, and the fact that gaining a set of all fourteen issues wouldn't be too difficult, I think that there isn't much better you could put your comic book money into.

5/5

Predators #1--Dark Horse
Writer: Marc Andreyko, David Lapham
Artist: Guilherme Balbi, Jose Verissimo, Gabriel Guzman, Mariano Taibo

I've never been a fan of the Predator series. Not sure why, but it never really struck me. They aren't bad films or anything, just not really my cup of tea. However, this doesn't bother me to the point of having my critical focus blurred when reading the prequel stories in the first issue of this mini series from Dark Horse. The book is divided into two stories.

The first is Welcome to the Jungle, focusing on a soldier named Drake with his unit out in the woods. This story is the only one to feature one of the titular creatures, so guess where this story is going. It proves to be a bit flat, but I think that it was limited by the amount of space provided by the book itself. We get eleven pages, with very little dialogue and character development. The action was quick, and well executed, but not much else can be said about this half of the book. Perhaps Andreyko will have more in the second chapter.

On the other half of the book, A Predatory Life, we get the backstory of Royce, the main character of the upcoming film portrayed by Adrian Brody. It's introspective, and a provides an interesting look at his character, which is a far cry from the action-only approach of Welcome to the Jungle. David Lapham seems to have more interest in investing time in the character of the film people will be going to see rather than letting the monster get screen time.

However, the biggest flaw for the overall book is the artwork. It's a bit erratic, shifting from careful details to blocky nondescript ugliness. Facial structures are either really strong or a little murky depending on the angles. There is also a dependency on blacks in play that just seems a bit too much, despite the gritty brutality depicted in both stories.

I don't know if it's time to offer a recommendation for this book. If you are a fan of the Predator films and read comics, it's likely you have already read this book yourself. As for me, I'm going to continue to read as it plays out this month, and possibly even read the follow up story written by David Lapham called Preserve the Game. While Lapham has started his run on Predators off with a good setup, Andreyko has to pick up the pace in order to keep my interest in his half of the book.

3/5


Next week, I'll continue reviewing the Predators prequel mini series. It doesn't look like anything else I'm reading drops next week. In the meantime, I'm preparing a review of the Warren Ellis graphic novel Orbiter. Look for it over the weekend.

3rdstar