My plans this didn't turn out quite as I had anticipated.
For weeks now, after listening to the Shortbox podcast's spotlight episode on them, I had been planning to read the Illuminati mini-series from Brian Bendis and Jim Cheung. Unfortunately, other reads kept catching my eye but I did finally think that this week was going to be the week.
And then the announcement that Dan Slott's run on Fantastic Four is officially coming to an end.
Hearing this threw me a little and not only did it make me consider re-reading the entire Slott run in some sort of retrospective, but it also gave me the itch to reading something First Family-esque.
So, with that, I opted to move away from the Illuminati this week and picked up Invisible Woman, the Sue Storm-centric mini-series by Mark Waid and Mattia De Lulis which delved into the idea that during her costumed crime-fighting career, Sue Storm/Richards moonlighted as a secret agent for SHIELD. However, when her partner from all of those spy missions goes missing, Sue takes it upon herself to find and rescue friend.
Ever since this series has been released, I've heard incredible things about it. As such, this good word of mouth, coupled with the fact that Mark Waid was writing it, was more than enough to sell to me that I would have to buy this series (although it's just a shame it took me until MCM to do so). Unfortunately, the first two issues of this series felt a little underwhelming, almost like the story was very monotonous and, as a result, struggled to hold me. That said, once the third issue began, I really thought the pace began to pick up steam and came across as much more captivating. I think that the key to this was the characterisation of Sue herself. Waid, a veteran of the character thanks to his tenure on the Fantastic Four, really seemed to portray the character as I always think of her. However, what really impressed me was how he evolved Sue's power set in such interesting ways.
Meanwhile, although the story struggled to grab me for the first two issues, Mattia De Lulis' art seemed to have no such qualms. I thought the artwork in this series was absolutely gorgeous from the word go, with a style that made me think of Adi Granov's work mixed with the colour scheme of the covers by Artgerm. Much like the story, De Lulis' depiction of Sue's powers are what really stuck out with me, from Sue making parts of a house invisible to using her powers to subtly change her appearance, the entire series was beautiful from start to finish.
This was another good Marvel read from Mark Waid after having read Ant-Man and the Wasp earlier in the year. While it too didn't feel like it blew me away like with Daredevil, Kingdom Come and a lot of his other work, I enjoyed seeing the Invisible Woman get some time in the spotlight and wouldn't say no if a follow up was made.
So, that was my big read of the week. However, in a bit of a surprise to the system, I managed to make the time to read it in just a few days. This left me both the time and opportunity to read some pull list comics which I had picked up this past Wednesday.
The first of those was Star Trek: The Mirror War - Sisko #1, which gave some focus on another player to appear in the main Mirror War story as we were re-introduced to Captain Benjamin Sisko, dark reflection of the once and future Emissary we know as well as a loyal soldier to Intendant Kira Nerys, as he completes a mission to remove one of her enemies.
Now, while the mini-series proper has been a bit of a slow burn in regards to getting on my good side, the one-shots that have accompanied it have been pretty good fun. Unfortunately, this one shot just wasn't my thing as the story seemed to lack captivating story, focusing more on the good Captain's views of his place in the galaxy (which did t really connect with me either. The art, was pretty cool and vibrant and something I did enjoy about the issue but it did confuse with scenes of Starfleet officers and Defiant class starship in places. The final page advertises a Troi one-shot and hopefully that can compare more to the prior two. Sadly, Sisko just didn't do that for me.
Next up was Fantastic Four #44, the (seemingly) penultimate issue of Dan Slott's Reckoning War event as the various Fantastic Four continue their respective missions as they begin to come together to face down the Reckoning in a final battle ... one which the Universe's deadliest weapon may be the only way to ensure victory.
Now, I thought this was a good read, although I did feel that, like many of the many issues so far, this story seemed rather truncated. What I mean by this is that, unlike other events or seemingly universe affecting stories, this one continues to almost lack a sense of 'savouring' (for want of a better word) what happens. Still, it does continue to be fun enough with a good moment or two for each member of the Four.
I continue to love the art for Fantastic Four. While, this isn't the same style from Izaakse, Medina or Silva that I adored and seemed to seamlessly flow from one to the next, the work from the three artists on this issue is still so colourful and crazy and totally in keeping with Marvel cosmic trotting First Family. By the end of this issue, the explosive cliffhanger certainly will bring me back. While I'm looking forward to David Pepose getting onto this series, I can't lie that I'm intrigued how Dan Slott will leave everything.
Finally I read, Do A Powerbomb #1, the first issue of a new series by Daniel Warren Johnson about a young, down on her luck would-be wrestler who is given the opportunity to bring back to life the mother she lost in the squared circle 10 years earlier.
Despite having read nothing by him, I've heard so much great praise about Daniel Warren Johnson's comics. Therefore, when I heard about this on a podcast (Blake's Buzz I think), it felt like something I should check out. Thankfully I wasn't disappointed because while this opener was essentially a set up issue, I really felt that it had so much heart and emotion to it that I couldn't help but be drawn into it.
The art is ... unusual, but that wasn't a bad thing in my mind. It was chaotic and dark but with some really trippy colours that really made it an enjoyable thing to look at, as well as really helping get across the emotional beats of the story. All in all, this was a good read but I think that may downplay the series as a whole because I'm confident it'll be an awesome read in its entirety. I'm now really eager for next month.
Alas, that's still a way away and I've got a few more weeks before then and plenty still to read. Next week I might actually (finally) get around to Illuminati, although knowing me something else will catch my eye first.
Good
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