Bonnie Lass

Reading Some Comics

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Over the last several months I’ve been reading a pair of 4 issue mini-series comics: Mystic from Marvel, written by G. Willow Wilson with art by David Lopez, and Bonnie Lass from Red 5 comics, by Michael Mayne and Tyler Fluharty. The two of them share several superficial similarities, like being 4 issues long, having female leads and sharing a similar art style. I also really like the first issue of both series. Unfortunately, as they came to an end Bonnie Lass kept up the quality of the first issue and Mystic faltered badly. Perhaps by comparing the two I can show why one worked and the other didn’t.

Both of them had good first issues. Bonnie Lass sets up its cast and the plot efficiently and effectively. It isn’t an especially complex story, but it gives the reader a quick impression of Bonnie, Ben and Trick as well as their quest. The crew finds a treasure map and are pursued by mercenaries hired by a menacing, shadowy figure. It also sets up Bonnie’s oedipal complex-ish thing. (her father is married to the sea and she wants to take it from him and replace him as the world’s premiere buccaneer.) Mystic starts similarly strong. It introduces Genevieve and Giselle, two orphans who are close as sisters despite diametrically opposed viewpoints. They live in a downright Dickensian orphanage in their flawed steam punk world where the magic that gives the world its wonders are reserved only for the rich and powerful. By the end of the issue, one of the girls has realized the others dream of being chosen to learn the “Noble Arts,” setting up a conflict inequity of the world tears the former friends apart.

Mystic’s story is obviously much more complex than Bonnie Lass’s story. The problems arise with how they follow up on the first issue. After the first issue, Bonnie and her crew search out the treasure on the map and constantly fight with the mysterious shadowy man from the first issue. (I’m trying not to spoil too much because you should read it yourself) Everything from that first issue is followed up on in the next three. Though it is a simple rather simple story, it is executed very nicely. Mystic, on the other hand, gets increasingly muddled and confused after the first issue, squandering the fine set up of the first issue and ignoring the central conflict. Instead, it gives the reader some Mean Girls or Harry Potter-esque magic school hijinks.

Mystic focuses on Giselle, the girl chosen to learn magic and her struggles at the school while almost completely ignoring Genevieve, who is left on the street using her self taught skills to help a group of revolutionaries. The first issue showed that the world is corrupt, that it needs to be fixed, but the rest of the issues ignore that. In the end the story of two friends on opposite sides of a growing conflict is swept aside for a much less interesting story about saving the world from some generic apocalypse. There is no resolution between Genevieve and Giselle, any confrontation or reconciliation is put off.

That is the real problem with Mystic. It is written like the first 4 issues of a supposedly longer tale, setting up storylines and characters that will never have a chance to matter. Because there likely will never be anymore Mystic. Bonnie Lass tells a 4 issue story in its 4 issues. There are hooks for further stories and adventures, but it tells the story it has space for. Mystic has much greater ambitions, but doesn’t have the space to realize them, leaving it a anti-climatic disappointment.

If more of either of these series were to come along, I would probably by them. Bonnie Lass was good enough that I am eager for more. More Mystic might make good on the promise that the first issue showed. But I don’t see people pounding down the doors to get more of something as disappointing as Mystic turned out to be in the end.

Comic Reviews From Too Long Ago

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These reviews are from the shipment of comics I got 2 weeks ago, but didn’t have time to review because I was busy with other things.  But here they are now.

Captain Victory 1.
Sterling Gates and Wagner Reis.

Sterling Gates crafts a fine introduction to Captain Victory with this first issue. The bulk of this issue is spent showing the reader exactly who Victory is and what he is fighting for, without sacrificing the immediate action. While it is primarily focused on the title character, Gates still manages to instill personality in several of this crewmen.

The primary action of the book is an assault on a planet by the forces of the evil Blackmass, under the command of one Batteron, with Captain Victory fighting against them. Weaved in with that are scenes from Victory’s youth, being raised by his grandfather’s, Blackmass, men. His lessons are juxtaposed against the current situation to show exactly what he has learned.

If there is a weakness to the issue it lies in Reis’ art. Not that it is particularly bad, but there are some rough spots. The armor worn by many characters never looks right. It seems too small, or their heads too big. Other than that there are some moments that look stiff, using signature Kirby poses that do not gel with the other panels.

All in all a fine first issue. Nothing mind blowing, but a set-up for what promises to be some satisfying superhero tinged space opera.

Mystic 4 of 4
G. Willow Wilson and David Lopez.

What an utter disappointment. Not the art, Lopez does just a phenomenal job as he has done all along on this title. But the story, what a disappointing ending to what began as a wonderful mini-series.

Instead of the climax to the brewing conflict between former friends, it deals with a much more generic and much less interesting calamity involving a magical eclipse. It brings the two friends together, sets the conflict up, then just brushes it aside, seemingly postponing it for a later story that does not seem likely to ever be written. This issue renders much of the previous ones completely useless. All that time spent of Harry Potter-esque hijinks seems completely wasted, as that came to nothing. There is nothing to this story, no central theme or conflict built to a satisfactory resolution. Just many small conflicts quickly forgotten rather than resolved. Please, don’t waste your time on this.

Bonnie Lass 3 of 4
Michael Mayne and Tyler Fluharty

This excellent series is showing no signs of letting up until the last issue ends. I don’t want to give much of it away, but Bonnie and her crew have found their treasure, now they must fight for it. The majority of the issue is taken up by a fight between Bonnie’s crew and a group of mysterious adversaries. The art is wonderful, cartoony and expressive and it is a perfect fit for the story being told. And while some bits of dialogue clank, the villain’s big monologue fell flat for me, the story is well told.

I gushed about the first issue of this series, but I missed reviewing the 2nd. I’ll just say that taking a chance on this was one of the best comic buying decisions I’ve made. It isn’t deep, but it sure is fun. Pure exhilaration until the last page. I can’t recommend this enough. I’ll probably have a review of the whole thing after I get the last issue.

Deathstroke 2 & 3
Kyle Higgins and Joe Bennett

I thought the first issue of this series was decent, but it didn’t really get me interested in continuing to read the title. But I heard good things about the next issue, so I went ahead and picked up both issue 2 and 3.

Both issues are delightful, full of ridiculous, over-the-top ultra-violence. Slade is a crazy anti-hero Clint Eastwood, who kills and maims with wild abandon. He is out to prove that he is not over the hill, as many people seem to believe him. And his method for achieving this is to make his contracted kills as violent and public as possible.

Joe Bennett’s art is crisp and chunky, far enough away from realism that every time Deathstroke chops off someone’s had with his giant sword it comes off as less gruesome gore and more cartoony absurdity. It works well with the very comicy stories that Higgins is writing, like in issue 2, the fight with Road Rage, a hired killer on motorized roller-skates. There is also some underlying mystery with a briefcase that I don’t really care if it is ever revealed. It doesn’t matter what is in the briefcase, only that it pissed Slade off.

As long as it keeps up the level of crazed ludicrous violence, more humorous than gruesome, this is a title worth reading.

 

Comic Reviews (Non-DC)

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I thought about skipping this since I wrote 3000 words about the DC relaunch earlier this week, but I do read comics that aren’t from DC, and some that I’ve read recently are really, really good. So more comic reviews.

John Carter, A Princess of Mars 1 (of 5).
Written by Roger Langridge. Art by Filipe Andrade.
I have been on something of an E.R. Burroughs kick lately, so when I heard that Marvel was doing an adaptation, written by Roger Langridge of Thor: The Mighty Avenger, I knew I had to check it out. (I know about Dynamite’s series, but the covers are a little too porn-y for my tastes.) This first issue was anything but a disappointment.
Langridge is doing an adaptation, so the base of the story is already laid down for him. He does change the opening up to get to the action more quickly, and it works. Much of the explanation of Martian life in the novel is no longer necessary with the accompanying art. Right away John Carter is established as a good man, if he is more sarcastic than in the books.
Andrade’s art is where the book really shines. His Mars really looks alien, perfectly capturing the dying world look of this Barsoom (as Mars is called in the books.) His characters are sketchy and bendy and fluid. It is really just a joy to look at.
This series seems to be avoiding the Dynamite one’s problems of porny-ness but eliminating the conceit that no one on Mars wears clothes, something that almost has to be done for a visual take on the book to not seem lurid. This is just a very good comic. [****]

Bonnie Lass 1 (of 4).
Written by Michael Mayne and Tyler Fluharty. Art by Michael Mayne.
Nothing I’ve read recently touches Bonnie Lass for sheer energy. It is a pirate western mash-up that at its best feels like Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky. The art is cartoony and colorful and, like the rest of the book, full of energy. There is some definite and fitting manga/anime influence. It is exciting. The story sets the stage for what promises to be a grand adventure. The titular Bonnie and her crew, consisting of her brother and one other buddy, get their hands on a treasure map and when the people who had sought to buy don’t come through with the cash they decide to search out the treasure for themselves. But first, they must escape the town because they have recently become wanted men. Action packed doesn’t tell the half of it, but it is almost a weakness. At times, like the brawl on their deck and the ship chase at the end, the action is almost perfect, but there is little downtime between action scenes, giving the book a bit of a hectic feel at time. Still, the seeds are laid for a great adventure, even if the characters haven’t been fully fleshed out yet. I’d rather this err on the side of too much action than too little. The problems with this book are slight enough that I can whole-heartedly recommend it to everybody. [****½]

Below the break are some quick reviews:
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