This Is Art, Kids!

Part 4

Savage Hawkman

by

Tony Daniels, Phillip Tan, Various Others

Carter Hall has used his skills to develop a career in archaeology. In this new field he stumbles upon an alien nemesis that threatens New York City. He must take to the skies as Hawkman to take on this upcoming threat!

Story:

It starts off as a quasi Indiana Jones thing, which is an interesting angle, but still falls kinda flat. After issue 8, Liefeld starts writing it and boy is it terrible. Was DC’s answer to failing sales Liefeld? It boggles the mind.

Art:

The art for the Daniels portion of the run is really incredible. Phillip Tan really knocks it out of the park here. The art afterwards is serviceable enough, but nothing really stands out.

Fury Of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man

by

Ethan Van Sciver, Gail Simone, Dan Jurgens, Yidiray Cinar, Various Artists

Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond are bonded together as Firestorm. They need to take on various threats. That’s it really

Story:

It’s been a bit since I’ve finished this, but I don’t recall this doing very much for me. Meh!

Art:

Pretty basic, sterile, early 2010’s art. The colors are pretty basic as well. Alot of orange, which is to be expected, and they don’t really pop. Meh!

Did It Deserve Better?

No. This was torture. There are moments that I wonder why I decided to do this…

The Ravagers

by

Howard Mackie, Ian Churchill,Tony Bedard,Various Others

Straight from the pages of “The Culling”, The Ravagers are an escaped team of mutant teens on the run from the NOWHERE organization. Will they escape? What does the future hold for them? Will I lose all sanity reading these books?

Story:

Escaped teens on the run, it’s… nothing exciting. It also comes off the heels of “The Culling” event which I didn’t read all of. It seems like the kind of book that would be at home in the 90’s and never get reprinted.

Art:

Big, stocky, 90’s muscle people fighting each other. If you like that 90’s Image style, go nuts, but this just doesn’t work for me.

Did It Deserve Better?

Nope. The character work is flat and I’ve never been big into 90’s style art.

Team 7

by

Justin Jordan, Jesus Marino

With the rise of superheroes, a new group must arise to provide checks and balances in this new world. Enter Team 7. Wait, isn’t this the same premise as Blackhawks?

Story:

I’ve read a few of Justin Jordan’s Image books and while they were nothing amazing, I though they were serviceable and easy enough to get through. The same is the case here. They spend the bulk of this short run fighting Eclipso, who I’ve always had a fondness for on a design level. It’s merely ok

Art:

The fights scenes are kinetic and well laid out. I really don’t like the costume designs though and Marino’s facial expressions leave a lot to be desired.

Did It Deserve Better?

No. The plot very much felt like it was a successor to Blackhawks and things of that ilk. Honestly, if I wanted to read about a shadow group fighting super powered beings, I’d go and read Nextwave or Planetary again.

Sword Of Sorcery

by

Christy Marx, Aaron Loprestri, Various Others

Amy Winston learns of a family legacy that extends beyond this galaxy. As Amythyst, she must deal with her murderous Aunt who seeks to usurp the throne of Gemworld.

Story:

The main story features Amythyst. It’s a really enjoyable fantasy tale that features an interesting mother-daughter relationship. The world building is sort of reminscent of Green Lantern with it’s various gems representing different power types. It’s a pretty quick read and it’s very enjoyable to get a a fantastical break from all of the superhero genre stuff.

Each issue features a back up story and while those are fine, they aren’t really the draw here.

Art:

Loprestri’s art is really fitting for a fantasy world. I really has the feel of an 80;s fantasy book. Charming stuff, really.

Did It Deserve Better?

Yeah, it was a nice diversion from the norm and a lot of fun. I would gladly read another year’s worth of the story and I’d be down to see DC explore more of the Gemworld lore.

I, Vampire

by

Joshua Hale Fialkov, Andrea Sorrentino,

A lover’s truce gone wrong. Vampire Andrew Stanton finds himself at war with his former lover. The prize…. Humanity!

Story:

It’s dark,it’s brooding. A lot of it feels like it was written by someone who works at Hot Topic. It’s fine, but it doesn’t do anything new for the vampire genre. The DC incorporation doesn’t really work here either. Batman just doesn’t seem like himself here and his presence takes me out of the story.

Art:

Andrea Sorrentino is an artist whose style I love, but I don’t love the writing of any of the books he has worked on. He always has some interesting layout choices, but I feel less things happen in an issue drawn by him because of it(Gideon Falls is especially guilty of this. Wonderfully drawn book, but the issues are over in no time and barely anything happens.). I’ll still usually pick up anything he draws though for art’s sake.

Did It Deserve Better:

Interesting idea to set a vampire story in the DC universe, but the hook wasn’t terribly novel and it really drags towards the end. I had a pleasure looking at the art, but I can’t say I would want any more of it.

Deathstroke

by

Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett, Various Others

Deathstroke, the world’s deadliest mercenary takes on any job, but is the job he just took on too much for even him?

Story:

Just a dumb action plot. The Higgins issues were easy to read if you are okay with that caveat. Rob Liefeld takes over after and does his thing followed by Williamson and Jordan. None of it is particularly interesting.

Art:

The Higgins issues have nice complimentary art by Joe Bennett. Following that Liefeld draws(Why, DC Why?) and then after that Salazar draws some innocuous art.

Did It Deserve Better?

Nope. The Higgins issues were easy reads, but I will not be returning to them. Everything after that was very tedious.

DC Universe Presents

by

Various Artists

Discover tales across DC’s vast universe! It’s an anthology book!

Story:

The Deadman story by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang that runs through the first five issues is worth a read. The others are pretty forgettable and I couldn’t recommend them(Especially terrible is the Silence Of The Lambs pastiche that is Savage.)

Art:

A mixed bag here. The Deadman story has good art, but everything after is pretty basic.

Did It Deserve Better?

Can this question even be asked of an anthology series? There is really no trajectory with the constantly changing stories and creators. They can always get better or worse depending on the characters chosen. I would like more anthology series in general though, it is nice to have the variety.

Phew.. that was a hard batch.