Comics Reviews (September 21, 2016)

Seven to Eternity #1

A decent start to this – certainly Remender lacks the numerous irritating lapses in storytelling that mar a lot of Image #1s. This unfolds its premise well and keeps the focus tight so that it’s easy to invest in. There’s not necessarily a lot of interesting ideas to it, and Remender’s “explain the themes” tendency in the backmatter doesn’t do it any favors. But it’s got a nice visual style and is solidly written, and is worth checking out if it’s your thing. (In this case, one part Princess Mononoke, one part Weird West.)

Patsy Walker, AKA Hellat #10

A perfectly solid but mostly unremarkable issue. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing that particularly sparks as clever or insightful either. Just sort of there.

Britannia #1

Peter Milligan and Juan Jose Ryp is a plausibly attractive combination, and this weird fiction/Roman mystery story about Pagan Britain and Vestal Virgins is a good match for them. It doesn’t hit any heights of outright genius, but it’s at least Milligan in his “actually deserves the hype” mode, and Rubria, the chief Vestal Virgin, is an entertaining blend of enigma and practicality. I at least vaguely intend to buy the second issue of this, though we’ll see if I remember on the week. 

Karnak #5

The clouds part and another issue of this wanders out. This one involves turning the focus onto Karnak a bit instead of capsule form summaries of specualtive realism, and so ends up far more interesting than the last few. It’s Ellis in fine form doing a tense and mutual interrogation scene with some spectacular visuals from Roland Boschi to boot. The momentum of this has stalled hopelessly and Marvel’s larger problems with the Inhumans aren’t doing it any favors, but Ellis is clearly having fun, and that’s what really matters in life, no?

The Wicked + The Divine: 1831

I’d have this at the top of my list for the decision as to what god Blake was and the gloriously WicDiv variation of one of his most famous quotes alone. But on top of that it’s a brilliant use of the interstitial special as a format, adding thematic depth and new mysteries to the mix by dint of its variations on the series’ usual metaphors. Children, creatures, and monsters are all interesting concepts to have resonating around the series, and aren’t necessarily ones the 2014 setting was going to serve up. Stephanie Hans takes to the art like she owns it, feeling as perfectly suited to Romanticism as McKelvie is to pop. Simply phenomenal.