Blax Kleric Comic Reviews

Such word-heavy, dialogue driven sequences dont mean that this publication is entirely devoid of pulse-pounding pace though, as Bemis and Coleman still somehow manage to crowbar in a fantastically ultra-violent flashback sequence into the mix. In fact, Doctor Disgustings bizarre experimentation upon his nemesis reproductive system, and the Nazi scientists subsequent horribly drawn-out demise in a laboratory fire, would undeniably have been the highlight of this tale if not for this books final page

Fortunately, all of these behind closed doors dealings are well-illustrated by Dev Pramanik (with Mariano Taibo). The Indian artist does a particularly good job in penciling the facial expressions of the newly crowned Atreides during his incarceration on Kaitain, as both the evidence seems to slowly stack up against his claim of complete innocence, and his shrewd intuition helps him make full use of some surprising support from the Bene Gesserit.

Elevating the immersive reading experience even further though, has to be Schoenings mouth-wateringly good pages, which genuinely look like stills taken from an animated motion picture. Dapper Dan clearly sees Zeddemore as a really lovable character and does a terrific job of imbuing Winston with all the fears and uncertainties one might expect from a novice Ghostbuster solely through the mans expressive eye movements.

However, cleverly intermixed with all these nods to its source material, is Burnhams take on just how Stanz and Spengler were introduced to one another, courtesy of the smart-mouthed Venkman. These particular verbal exchanges could easily have been viewed by some as something of a sedentary sacrilege, yet due to Eriks spot-on dialogue, such as Peters sassily going to grab a slice with the Ladies Fencing Team, as well as Schoening pencilling Egon with a Doctor Who length multi-coloured scarf, they arguably fit in with the surrounding canon reasonably neatly.

Ably assisting Burnham in his attempt to replicate all the nostalgic goings-on of the big screen franchise are Dan Schoening and colourist Luis Delgado, whose energetic artwork looks like something taken straight off of the reel of a well-produced animated cartoon. Spenglers attempt to trap a food-frenzied Slimer is particularly well-pencilled, as the phantom is shown pleasantly filling its fat face full of pizza in one panel before being shockingly caught within the confines of a proton packs stream in the next.

Adding to this books sedentary story-telling and palpable sense of lethargy are German Garcias debatably lack-lustre layouts. Whether you agree or not with Ewing that the freelancers work is absolutely gorgeous and produces an intensely, magnetically beautiful look to this comic which makes Par%ls world really feel alien, the Spanish artists significantly padded-out, double splash-page illustrations predominantly seem to have been pencilled just to help fill out this gargantuan doubled-sized issue, rather than simply help illustrate a comic the likes of which has never been read before.

Adding some extra pizzazz to this publications pulse-pounding proceedings are Jonathan Laus illustrations, which truly help depict the utter barbarity of some of this books participants. Whether it be Evil Ernie delightfully spying a dragons corpse amidst the grisly cadavers of so many dead Vikings, or Purgatoris gratuitous, limb-scattering skirmish with a group of rough-looking Northmen, the American artist is clearly at the top of his game throughout this comic.

Luckily however, issue one of Rom: Dire Wraiths is blessed with the layouts of Luca Pizzari, whose prodigious pencilling is highly reminiscent of that seen within the pages of the science fiction comic 2000 A.D. during the late Seventies. In fact, even though much of their screen time is spent arguing over whether Russian Colonel Anatoli Kiev is allowed to take a formidable-looking heavy weapon with her or not, the Italian artists engaging style automatically emboldens each member of Earth Corps with an air of military might, especially to those familiar with the exploits of The V.C.s (Vacuum Cleaners) as drawn by Cam Kennedy.

Delightfully, all of these pulse-pounding panels are gloriously pencilled by Luca and Andrea Pizzari, with colorist Jim Boswell providing some extra punch, thanks to some vibrantly vivid palette choices. In fact, even towards this publications end, when a lone Dire Wraith inexplicably decides to deliver a heavily-wordy piece of exposition to the surviving astronauts rather than just hew them asunder with his barbed tentacles, the creative teams artwork quite compellingly carries the audience along, thanks to a tremendously well-drawn splash page featuring the Spaceknight, Rom.

Similarly as unconvincing is the (re)introduction of Isis as the tales main adversary. Just how or why the shape-changing partner of Gary Seven would detonate the airborne pathogen responsible for such mass destruction isnt made very clear. However, that apparently doesnt stop Ensign Chekov from spotting the aliens almost imperceptible blue blip on the Enterprises incredibly colourful energy scan following the security officer in-training supposedly watching endless old footage of previous attacks upon the constitution-class starship as part of his schooling. Such a fortuitous observation smacks of lazy writing and is as believable as Spock needing to remind the Bridge Crew as to just who Zephram Cochrane is during a conference, despite some of the characters having already met the pivotal figure in Human history on an isolated asteroid during the 1967 televised episode Metamorphosis.