I Kill Giants (Kelly/Nimura/Image) stole the show this week with its great wrap-around cover, and delivering a quick paced, action packed story with much to wonder about how things will wrap up in the final issue! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! Nimura’s Titan looks fantastic and the lettering makes sure every bit of sound is felt as it thunders across the panels. The loose spontaneity in his drawing really captured the frantic action and mood as Barbara’s emotion and imagination breaks through.
Green Arrow/Black Canary (Kreisberg/Norton/DC) brings on a new writer and a quick recap should be an invitation to new readers. Mia and Connor seem to be leaving the book, which makes me a bit sad, as I quite enjoy the Arrow Family; hopefully this dynamic is kept strong with the relationship of Ollie and Dinah as they get their hands dirty on the streets of Star City. I didn’t know what to expect from new writer, Kreisberg, but aside from it being a recap, and two characters I like exiting, the banter between the group held true to what I expect of Queen and Company. Despite Merlin on the cover, I’m hoping to enjoy the next issue.
Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes (Ellis/Coipel/Andrews/Marvel) was sorely disappointing. It really felt like Ellis phoned in these 2 stories to buy slow Bianchi more time on the main series. These two shorts felt so far removed from the story, and felt closer to a pair of rushed What If?s compared to the more closely related first issue of Ghost Boxes. I was having a bit of fun with the regular book, but due to delays and my lack of affection for Bianchi’s art, I think I’ll be passing on this book, and opting for the trade if I hear good things.
What If? Fallen Son (Sumerak/Cebulski/Goring/Marvel) was a vast improvement over the first issue. This story asks what would happen if Iron man died instead of Steve Rogers. It lacks that somewhat Twilight Zone feel I kind of expect from these stories, but was a nice, if short, exploration of the Marvel 616. The art reminded me of Tommy Lee Edwards on 1985. This story took up more pages, and the Runaways back up was cut to 4 pages. It’s hard to judge it on only 4 pages, but this bit moved the story into more “Runaways fans only” territory. I liked, as I’m a Runaways fan, but also felt cheated by its length…it IS a backup story though…