Live Through This ~ Part Two

I do realise that my blog has taken a strange turn to comic reviewing but until I get time to get back to working my own stuff the least I can do is appreciate the fine examples of comic art.

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Angel and Faith issue #2

Overall impression... it's a slow start. Where are the other people?! I do hope however that when the other characters roll in that their intros are damn good!

I'm gonna kick off with the covers. The benefit of Season 9 under one house is that the cover artist is the same for both A&F stream and the B stream (forgive the shorthand) or at least thus far. We have official covers by Steve Morris. I didn't talk about the cover Live Through This ~ Part One last time but, frankly, a part from the murky atmosphere I wasn't so intrigued. Part Two, however is a lot better. The composition, rendering and colour scheme work nicely. We have Angel, Demon and Faith one after the other on top of each other in a tussle. Faith is upside down in mid action of a back flip over the horned demon, one hand pushing down on its head and the other grasping a swinging... (I've drawn a medieval blank on weaponry, sorry, so for now it's a spiky-ball-on-chain). Her wild, brunette  locks are even flapping to one side. She looks concerned. While Angel is keeping his cool in his black trench coat, having an intense stare down with the boney faced demon right at his back. The demon has the hands, body and outfit of a Dementor and the skeletal head of a buffalo, save for pinky flesh coloured skin and creepy, yellow eyeballs. The faces of the characters are submerged in detailed clarity contrasted with the out of focused action about.     

The alternative cover, this time by Rebekah Isaacs has our heroes in the middle of another sticky situation. Angel and Faith back to back wielding all their weaponry of preferred choice as suggest from there character histories. Angel and his beloved broad sword. Faith with her trusty stake for her slayer identity in one hand and a crossbow in the other. It's a full moon on the paved streets of London, not a civilian in sight, of course, and our saviors are surrounded. The illustration is clean and well done for this cover which is not what I can say for Isaacs' illustrations that follow in the comic. The art in the comic is less neat than the cover and a lot more messy than the first issue. It's like the first issue is the "maker or breaker" so it must be perfect but after that dropping the ball is permitted. But surely, not to this standard. The quality of the drawing in this issue is somewhat, in my view, deteriorated from the first issue. Frankly a little more care would have been appreciated, we're not just here for the story, it's a package deal, the story is told through the quality of the illustrations.

Not saying there wasn't some good action scenes. The full page dramatic entrance of the heroes literally crashing a demon den through the glass ceiling was quite a sight; and would have been the most memorable page of the issue if it had been rendered carefully with a touch of realism like the full page introducing Nash and Pearl in the slaughtered bar of the last issue, which was the most memorable page of  Part One. Moreover to disappointment was how poorly drawn the villains Nash and Pearl were done in comparison to their opening appearance.

The art was not a charmer in this issue but the story has still got the reader interested to find out how things pan out for Giles' resurrection. From this issue the reader only gains a small bit to nibble on in Angel's grand scheme but nothing further. I reiterate, it's a slow start... hope it picks up in the next one.

Talk about weird

Ted: Oh, no. No, we’re, we’re not together. I mean we, we, dated for like a year but now we're just friends. It’s not weird.

Victoria: No. No, why would that be weird? I mean if you hung out every day that would be…

Ted: We… do.

Victoria: Still… not be weird. You know I don’t know anybody that hangs out with their ex every day.

Ted: Well, Barney does.

Victoria: Really?! Whose Barney’s ex-girlfriend?

Ted: Robin.

Victoria: Your Robin?

Ted: Mine and Barney’s. Yeah.

Victoria: You don’t… all-three-hang-out-together?

Ted: All the time!

Victoria: Andd we have weird.

The thing that's so charming about himym is that it's so carefully crafted to take us along on the story but brings us back around to the core meaning at the end, which was so casually disguised at the beginning of the episode combined with motifs scattered along the story path like bread crumbs. I've missed this show.  

Freefall ~ Part One

Unlike for Angel and Faith this is the review you are looking for. Enjoy! 

You know how sometimes when you first see, taste or experience something and your initial reaction is... not much of a reaction at all? You're speechless, not because you are in awe, but that you literally have no opinion. To you the question was a curve ball and came shooting at you out of nowhere. You'd never thought of it like that before. You are simply border lining between "I like-y" and "I no like-y" Yet you can't get your footing right, there is just that weird feeling 'cause you're out of place and caught off guard by the issue at hand.

Then, after some time, further encounter, it... grows on you. The clouds part and it all makes sense, and you wonder: How did I not see it before? You smile at the thought.

I assume the above situation can apply to many things in life, judging by how vague of a concept I seem to have described it all. Heh.

Cover art by Steve Morris

I'm staring at the cover of Buffy Season 9 issue one ~ Freefall ~ Part One illustrated by Steve Morris and, though I never disliked the cover it never really sat right with me the first time I saw it. It may have been the light turquoise wash of it all and the seagulls giving me a feeling of sea sickness. But after further viewing I took in more of the details. Our heroine is falling at rapid pace, hair and gown fluttering. Her world, the streets of San Fransisco seem to have been sitting far above in the heavens until now, as it crumbles away falling with her. Given the situation she seems calm with only a slight sign of concern of what is to come in her eyes. Splatter I suggest. The slight streaky vertical smudges and in-out focus of clarity plays with our eyes in an artistic way. Drinking it all in, I can sense the roller coaster that is to come shaking up the life of our beloved heroine and her friends. The jostled vertical display of the title Freefall is also a very nice touch.

Judging by the style of the alternative cover it could be by none other than Jo Chen. The energy, action and extreme vantage point was striking at first sight. Buffy crouched on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, right hand firmly grasping her stake, ready to strike. It's night with the city lights glowing below, illuminating her and half her face from the jaw up. The swirly texture of the brush marks add to the gust of winds blowing the locks of her hair. She stares out, her sights clearly locked on a target we are yet to know. She looks poised, ready to leap forth.

Cover art by Jo Chen

Our bonus cover is in celebration of Dark Horse's 25th Anniversary. Buffy sitting sweet and innocent in a red cardigan with pouting red lips and eyes wide staring straight up at us. Autumn leaves fall diagonally over the stone formation she sits on, among possibly tombs and gravestones in a graveyard on this windy day. It's Buffy in Georges Jeanty's pen work cute-looking and all.          

The intro page with all the formalities and blurb to the issue also has a nice bluey-green water colour of San Fransisco with a lonesome sketch of Buffy amidst it all.

We open with four rectangular panels all slightly bigger than the one above it as we see Buffy open her tired, red eyes waking from a night of party hard drinking. Hangover indeed and jeez is the room messy!

Cover art by Georges Jeanty

The issue reads much like watching a television show with flash backs here and there as we try to fill in the blanks from her party hard night. The plans for season nine was to get back to the domestic life of Buffy as she balances it with life as a slayer so I believe the writers have achieved this goal well. However, the flash backs here and there made it a tad annoying. I found it disrupting to the flow of the story which makes me think back to how smooth the story plots were told in season eight. As far fetched and remote the grandeur of the stories in season eight were, the stories were presented and laid out well to the reader. Here I found myself not liking what I was reading. An information overload. The issue did best when it honed in on specific moments with full shot, then face, then eyes. The emotions of our heroine were felt exactly, so we could dig deep and understand. The intricacies in each panel were brilliant but sometimes there was just too many panels on the one page. Qualities in Jeanty's drawing also came through more in the few pages where they weren't over run with action and speech bubbles. 

It took me time flicking through the pages again a second go to start appreciating the issue for what it is. But I must say season nine did not open as splendidly as season eight.

P.s The issue solves the mystery of where Magical Mystical Tour featuring the Beetles fits in the timeline which I was puzzling about earlier.

Angel and Faith #1

I have no intention to give you a review, recap or blah of Angel and Faith #1. If you want one it's not here. Okay, maybe that's not entirely true if you include review to mean discussion of stuff other than the plot. 

The first issue of Angel and Faith ~ Live Through This ~ Part One came out recently and it's made me start to think about the potential futures of these beloved characters, yes, go all critical on the issue's plot, yes, identify the marketing ploys, yes... but most importantly started my train of thought on the art of which comic illustrators that have moved me the most.

Of course, I have already praised the truly miracle artistic works of Jo Chen. But I have not yet really thought about the art of each issue, the many varying styles showing the strengths and weaknesses across the many series, miniseries from IDW to Dark Horse publications.

Like many followers, I have come to recognise Buffy in the pen work of Georges Jeanty from the very first image of our heroine in action launching out of an airborne helicopter with her fellow slayer crew. Our first sight of Buffy since the ending of 'Chosen', in paper and ink we get the "money shot" in full double page. A sight like none other. Willow and Faith by Jeanty's hand notably carry the true essence of the characters well too, particularly captured in each ones opening appearances.

In Angel and Faith, I find Rebekah Isaacs' depiction of Faith true to the likeness of Faith. However, I don't see it in Angel. Having read all the the IDW publications of Angel and of Spike I have not come across any artist that has been successful in depicting either characters. I do, however, prefer Isaacs' stylist interpretation of Giles over Jeanty's.

Another of my liked characters is Illyria; and I do particularly agree to a comment I once read that she was the only character the comic medium switch over was made for. Although, I have found that of all the depictions the most convincing have been by Elena Casagrande in Illyria: Haunted and Brian Denham for one of the arcs in season six of Angel.

Lastly, is the demons! The only absolutely remarkable illustrations is David Messina's drawings of the Old Ones and Illyria's former pet in Angel: Only Human. Although, there was a pretty good illustration of Illyria in her true form in Illyria: Haunted. Messina's depictions of lessor demons and human forms are unfortunately weaker.
 
There are so many more comic art that I could discuss about under the big umbrella of Btvs comics but it'd probably go on forever.

I shall round up on the last note of demons and say Pearl and Nash look creepy! in a good way.