Three mini-series from Marvel have recently ended, so I am going to quickly review each of them. So here we go.
Spiderman: Noir - 4 issues
This series
is part of the Noir universe of books currently being released by Marvel. They took current characters and put them in a 1930's Depression-era setting. The gritty setting tends to rub off on the characters, and in my opinion makes for some interesting reads. In
Spiderman, Peter Parker is a very angry young man, who gets swept up into New York's underworld. There are a lot of familiar names in this series, including Ben Urich. Overall, I thought this was a great series with an engaging twist on a familiar character.
Pros: Dynamic art, action and intrigue, and interesting plot twists. Peter's development as a character is handeled very well. Also, the method used to give Spiderman his powers is very cool in a pulp comic way.
Cons: Only four issues long. (
Secret Invasion is 8 issues of not much, this is 4 issues of not enough...) Not enough action, and it felt rushed, but I attribute this to it being limited to 4 issues. I demand a sequel!
Buy the trade? Yes.
X-men: Noir - 4 issues
This series was also well written, though as compared to
Spiderman, the story was deeper and more complex. Unfortunately it suffered the same problem of having to be squeezed into four issues; should have been 5. The art in this one was good, but a bit murky. It was used to good effect though I found I had to look closely at some pages to decipher what was happening. I admire the attempt of the art in this book to create a dark mood, and the neat thing was that it seemed that each issue got 'lighter' as more details of the mystery were revealed.
Pros: Good story, good use of characters from the X-men mythos, kudos for using the old Timely Comics Angel character. Iceman "don't call me Bobby!" Drake.
Cons: Art O.K. but a bit unclear at times. Should have been longer.
Buy the trade? Yep.
Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel - 5 issues
Oh, where to start. This series started with a lot of promise. Another retro character a la The Sentry with a cool back-story, drawn-up well, but executed poorly. I felt that this series fumbled at the goal line. The script was alternately brilliant and hopelessly hokey and cliche. The art was the same. Issue #5 looked like a collaboration of about 5 separate art students. This is a shame because the character is very cool and well conceived. I hope we see more of the character in a better series.
Pros: Good idea, cool character and costume design, sweet cover art.
Cons: Sketchy art, ham-fisted writing moments, poor execution.
Buy the trade? No,borrow it.
