It frustrates me that serious graphic novels seem so obsessed with text; it often feels that these writers are ignoring the extra Borrowed from Kate.
It frustrates me that serious graphic novels seem so obsessed with text; it often feels that these writers are ignoring the extra tools to which they have access, while paradoxically overusing the tools available to writers in a non-graphic format. Thompson doesn’t ignore his visual options, but he seems over-eager to tell, rather than show, with characters spilling their guts in rather excruciating detail. The strongest parts of the book are the things unsaid.
But the art is good, and his loopy, free-flowing style benefits from the rigid architectural and structural constraints within which he frequently places it. The story is good, although I wish he’d stuck with his non-linear time stream. I’ve only read two of his books, but I hope he’s a bit less eager to torture his protagonists in his other works. ...more
I like Thompson’s art, but found his story of young love and lost innocence more than a little cloying. To be fair, it probably didBorrowed from Kate.
I like Thompson’s art, but found his story of young love and lost innocence more than a little cloying. To be fair, it probably didn’t help that I put the book down for several months about halfway through.
I know it’s based on real life, but most of the characters feel like cardboard cut-outs. Of course, when you’re young, pretty much everybody else is, in fact, two-dimensional, so there is some truth there, but it would have been nice if the author’s more mature perspective could have introduced a little more nuance.
I also think I might have enjoyed this more in smaller snippets, giving Thompson the opportunity for his dreamy depictions, without necessitating the grandiose thinking that weighs down the novel....more
This volume nicely jumps back and forth between cynicism and optimism. The ending with everyone defeating the Internet Troll just by being nice is preThis volume nicely jumps back and forth between cynicism and optimism. The ending with everyone defeating the Internet Troll just by being nice is pretty cheesy, but I think it works because of how that hopefulness follows on the heels of a hopelessness that feels a bit more true.
The Internet did, at some point, transform into a supervillain. Wilson’s not the first person to notice this, but the realization just works so well in comic format. And so, maybe we need a little cheesiness to make reality a touch more palatable. ...more
**spoiler alert** I like the way this volume ties into the bigger picture, without becoming secondary to it. It’s a complete story, and completely sta**spoiler alert** I like the way this volume ties into the bigger picture, without becoming secondary to it. It’s a complete story, and completely stand-alone, but it still has big stakes � namely the severing of Kamala’s ties to Carol and Bruno. I also liked the use of flashbacks to keep her family in the picture, despite not being involved with the plot. ...more
The premise dances around the central flaw of all superhero narratives � how are we supposed to believe that someone can be a person and a superhero aThe premise dances around the central flaw of all superhero narratives � how are we supposed to believe that someone can be a person and a superhero at the same time. It’s been a while, but I don’t remember having crazy amounts of free time as a high schooler, and certainly not enough time to engage in superfights with supervillains. It’s funny because I feel that Kamala’s problem is the book’s problem: not enough time. Any one of her alternate lives could have filled up this entire volume, and by combining them, the whole book felt way too rushed for my taste. ...more
I missed whatever memo went around about Loki being a good guy, but I think this works even without that context. Frankly, I think it would work even I missed whatever memo went around about Loki being a good guy, but I think this works even without that context. Frankly, I think it would work even better without the somewhat ham-fisted "We've made up a reason for you to be in Jersey City" opener. I just like the idea of Loki overhearing some love struck kid in a convenience store and thinking "this requires hijinks!"
That criticism aside, I loved this volume, with its handling of young love, and how quickly it can sour. Kamran provides Ms. Marvel with her first truly great villain, and its got almost nothing to do with superpowers. ...more
I picked this up as an impulse buy at the comic store just as they were closing. I'd loved the Netflix show, and it really put me in a Daredevil mood.I picked this up as an impulse buy at the comic store just as they were closing. I'd loved the Netflix show, and it really put me in a Daredevil mood. I knew Miller's material was pretty formative for the character, and while I have my problems with his modern stuff, I figured it was worth taking a chance on his earlier stuff.
But the truth is that my problems with this volume have nothing to do with Miller. No matter what I've read, I really can't stomach any of the comics from this period. There's absolutely no expectation of sophistication on the part of the reader. Between the constant barrage of thought bubbles and on-the-nose dialogue and the insistence on reiterating the premise every issue, I just get bored (although I did laugh at the news anchor who introduced Matt as "blind attorney," just in case you'd forgotten the main character was blind).
Maybe that's not a fair criticism; these stories were written with an adolescent boy in mind as the primary reader, but I've grown comfortable with the notion that adults can now find something worth reading in the comics world. ...more
Really 4.5 stars, because instead of wrapping up the arc, the publishers chose to shoe-horn in two issues of a Spider-man teamup, which doesn't fit thReally 4.5 stars, because instead of wrapping up the arc, the publishers chose to shoe-horn in two issues of a Spider-man teamup, which doesn't fit the rest of the book in any way.
The part of the book that we do get, however, is fantastic, and would make a terrific coda to the series, if in fact, they'd bothered to include the ending! The meeting of the two Marvels works marvelously, by remaining focused and true to the character of Ms. Marvel. We can see how she's grown, but we can also see that she's still who she always was, if that makes any sense.
I've complained about other comic series that get taken over by whatever big universe-ending plot is engulfing the rest of comics-land. That threatens to happen here, but it never does, because while a planet is crashing into Manhattan (or whatever), Ms. Marvel stays in Jersey, fighting her own battles, rescuing kittens, and trying to find a place to stand in between her heritage and the future. ...more
A lot of fun. I think after a while that Kamala's giddy excitement about her newfound access to the world of superheroes might grow cloying, but for nA lot of fun. I think after a while that Kamala's giddy excitement about her newfound access to the world of superheroes might grow cloying, but for now, it's joyous. She's a wonderful stand-in for me as a reader as well as a reminder of the fact that newness, even new obligations and responsibilities, can be exhilarating. She glories in the changes that are happening to and around her; lately, I'm crippled by the changes in my own life.
I don't like the art, but at the same time, it's a style that works for this subject matter. It's not to my taste, but that's far from the crucial thing about it. ...more
I've heard about the differences between Ellison's script and the aired episode, but I have to say that I very much preferred the show to the script. I've heard about the differences between Ellison's script and the aired episode, but I have to say that I very much preferred the show to the script. The script does a better job with the love story, but all the surrounding material with space drugs and Yeoman Rand fighting space pirates is just kind of out-of-character for Star Trek....more
I'm not sure I get this book. It's a kid's book, that shouldn't be read by children. The art is good, certainly, and it's amusing to see the Endless tI'm not sure I get this book. It's a kid's book, that shouldn't be read by children. The art is good, certainly, and it's amusing to see the Endless treated with such levity, but still ... it's a head-scratcher. ...more
Kate finally tracking down her sister, or going up against Batman -- both of those should be fantastic stories, but here, it's done at too much of a rKate finally tracking down her sister, or going up against Batman -- both of those should be fantastic stories, but here, it's done at too much of a remove. Batwoman barely does anything, and it's not nearly as exciting to watch her cousin and father plan a break-out or to watch Bones and the DEO smoke out Batman. And then it just ends! That doesn't even count as a cliffhanger. It just stops. I kept turning pages, and I didn't understand where the next one was.
Visually there's not nearly as much going on, with the exception of the Killer Croc story. It kind of seems as though Williams was phoning this one in, but that's okay, as I'm sure he'll pull it together in the next volume. ...more
I like origin stories, and Kamala's is excellent. She's likable and relatable, and her reactions feel believable. My one criticism (and it seems like I like origin stories, and Kamala's is excellent. She's likable and relatable, and her reactions feel believable. My one criticism (and it seems like this will be addressed going forward) is that she hasn't really been given anything or anyone concrete to struggle against. The inventor and his goals are still a bit nebulous, but I'm confident that will change. ...more
Five stars for the Batwoman/Wonder Woman relationship alone. The way they're both impressed and insecure about one another is brilliant, and brilliantFive stars for the Batwoman/Wonder Woman relationship alone. The way they're both impressed and insecure about one another is brilliant, and brilliantly written. Honestly, my problem with Wonder Woman is that she always seems like little more than a symbol or a placeholder. A major figure just because DC needed a female character to balance out the Superman/Batman duo. But here she's fleshed out and real in a way I've never really seen (maybe I'm just not reading the right comics). Williams gives her insecurities, which are spawned, wonderfully, from her invulnerabilities.
The artwork is great, unsurprisingly. And the story is excellent, and a little more clear and straightforward than I'm used to from these books, in a welcome way. Looking forward to the rest of the series; surely DC will be smart enough to give these people free rein to take this story wherever they want, right?
Weird and surreal, like some lost episode of The Prisoner. I wish I'd seen Henson's movies that are referenced in the introduction first, but they migWeird and surreal, like some lost episode of The Prisoner. I wish I'd seen Henson's movies that are referenced in the introduction first, but they might be worth checking out as well. As far as what it means ... I assume Henson had a lot of ambivalence about his career. If we are to assume that the main character is a stand-in for Henson, then it seems like he's afraid of money, sex, and acclaim, but he's also driven by those things. His adversary is as much "him" as he is.
I'm not sure what's up with the football player and the sultan, though.
The art is good, and I love the way the script pages are interspersed in between the comic panels. It's a cool clue to the book's ending and a nice nod to Henson's writing in a book that is mostly silent. ...more
Still good, but I didn't like it as much as the previous volumes. The willingness to trust Sune seems to smack of naivete, and (in what might seem a sStill good, but I didn't like it as much as the previous volumes. The willingness to trust Sune seems to smack of naivete, and (in what might seem a stupid complaint for a book with so much magic) I find the DEOs gadgets to be a little too unbelievable. Additionally, Kate seems surprisingly unconcerned about the fate of her cousin, leaving her father stuck with the bedside-sitting duties, which was, frankly, kind of boring.
I did like the time-shifting, as well as the call back to the very first pages of Elegy, with the random thug she was beating for information turning out to be the guy who almost killed Bette. And I do think that, for whatever reason, all the magic that I find a little weird in other Batman books seems to fit in well to Batwoman's universe, even if it is the same one.
And given that the entire Batman series is sort of based on ideas about people believing and fearing urban legends, I think Maro is a very appropriate villain, transforming those legends into reality....more
Well, that was a thing. Surreal, and i felt as though it had something to say, but either I'm too dense to grasp it or its trapped itself in the web oWell, that was a thing. Surreal, and i felt as though it had something to say, but either I'm too dense to grasp it or its trapped itself in the web of its own erudition. Too tame to impress with shock value, and not interesting enough to make me want to puzzle it out. ...more
Oh, the art. Oh, my eyes. I can only assume that this sort of faux-photorealistic crap is fast and cheap to produce, because I can't believe that anyoOh, the art. Oh, my eyes. I can only assume that this sort of faux-photorealistic crap is fast and cheap to produce, because I can't believe that anyone actually enjoys the way it looks.
As for the book itself? Better than I expected actually. The Cybermen and the Borg are a natural fit, and it's a pleasant surprise that the writers decided not to include the overused Daleks. I thought the fake out of having the TARDIS land in the holodeck was pretty clever, and the inclusion of Guinan was unexpected, but brilliant; TNG was always pretty vague about what exactly her deal was, but of course she would have an affinity for a Time Lord.
The book also does a pretty good job of straddling the tenuous line between being ambitious and biting off more than it can chew. My own instinct for a project like this would be to throw in everything and the kitchen sink: multiple doctors and companions meeting up with the various crews of multiple Enterprises, culminating in a big space battle involving the NCC-1701, NCC-1701-A, NCC-1701-D, the Excelsior, and at least a few TARDISes. Needless to say, I'm sure that would be a complete mess. This is the smarter path, focusing on just one crew and one Doctor, with the exception of a brief flashback (and oh, why couldn't they have used that art style for the whole book?). Unfortunately, even with so limited a palette, certain characters are given short shrift. Oddly enough, in a story whose two villains are all about cybernetic enhancements, you'd expect Data and Geordi to play a larger role. Instead, it's mostly Worf carrying the load at the climax, and despite the action-based movies of the TNG franchise, it still seems odd for either a Star Trek or Doctor Who story to end with guns a-blazin'.
So, I guess I wanted a little more fan-service, but I appreciate that it's probably for the best that an effort be made instead to tell an actual story. The ending kind of devolves into a mush, but leading up to it, there's an honest-to-glod attempt at a real character-based story, involving the Doctor's attempt to address Picard's Borg-related trauma. The bit where the Doctor takes Picard on a temporal tour of the consequences of his decisions also seemed like a nice echo of the TNG series finale, where Q takes Picard on a similar journey, but into the past, instead of the future. ...more
I'm really glad that the forced "New 52" reboot seems to have completely passed over Batwoman, although the opening of this volume does feel a trifle I'm really glad that the forced "New 52" reboot seems to have completely passed over Batwoman, although the opening of this volume does feel a trifle redundant. I'm also a little disappointed that the rift between Kate and her father shows no signs of healing. I enjoyed their relationship and would like to see them working together again.
I was excited to see Cameron Chase again. I still wish she'd been given more of a chance to shine in her own book but at least she makes an interesting addition to Batwoman's list of secondary characters. Throwing her into the mix works so well because she's working both with and against Kate and Maggie, pursuing her own agenda (well, the DEO's agenda), but still on their side.
La Llorana wasn't as interesting a villain as Alice (and, to be honest, I wasn't always entirely clear on what, exactly, she was doing), but I think this story works more as a coda to Elegy and a bridge to the next volume then as a story in its own right, with Kate dealing with her guilt over Alice's apparent death (although, come on; we all know she's coming back) and learning about Medusa. That's more than okay, though. There's more than enough going on here to keep me satisfied. ...more
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