Episode 1632 Talkback - Off the Racks: A Cornucopia of Comics Conversation 2016
Adam_Murdough
Posts: 506
It's a week after Thanksgiving, and the Geeks are feasting on leftovers--leftover Off the Racks picks, that is! The six main ingredients in our comics conversation casserole are Batman Beyond #1 and Doom Patrol #1 (DC), Dr. Strange Annual #1 and Jessica Jones #1 (Marvel), M.A.S.K.: Revolution #1 (IDW), and Moonshine #1 (Image). Plus, CGS founder Bryan Deemer serves up some gaming talk as a tasty side-dish! Scoop yourself a plateful, and don't skimp on the gravy! (1:59:18)
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Comments
It was okay? I think? It’s really difficult to get much of a handle on things with this one issue. Those who want THINGS TO HAPPEN in every issue probably aren’t going to like this one.
The issue focuses on only one of the main characters, Casey Brinke—in fact, she narrates the issue, so she is clearly meant to be the entry point character, and as such she is very likeable and relateable (for those who need that sort of character), though there is clearly more to her than we are shown in this issue. Cliff is there as well, but only in a limited way, and there are glimpses of other Doom Patrolers past, but this part of the story is primarily the Casey show.
The art from Nick Derington is really nice. For those that don’t know him, his work makes me think of John Romita Jr. doing layouts if he was finished by someone like Tyler Crook or Colleen Coover—a softer, less angular JR, if you will. There’s an interesting sequence that takes place in... another universe sort of, and those scenes are left in the pencil stage, and the colorist, Tamra Bonvillain—who does a really nice job throughout the issue—does a pastel treatment with the coloring over the pencils. It’s beautiful and not something you see often in comics, and it really helps set the two universes apart.
The only problem I have with it, really, is that sometimes it feels like Way is trying too hard to be weird for the sake of being weird. Morrison’s Doom Patrol was every bit as weird, but he always seemed to make it seem like the natural order of things—everything seemed to makes sense in its own way. I'm just not getting that vibe from this first issue. It was like Way was trying to establish the tone of the book more than the story itself, but Morrison’s weirdness was always an extension of the story. I liked Way’s writing on Umbrella Academy though, so I’m hopeful that this will work itself out once the actual story gets going.
Overall, I'm going to give it a B- [Edit: In CGS terms, a Borrow], which these days isn’t quite good enough, but I'm going to stick with it through the first arc before I decide on whether to drop it or not.
PS—I liked the second issue much more than the first. I've picked up the third issue, but haven't read it yet.
But looking beyond that, it felt exactly like the Alias of old, a series I enjoyed quite a lot (until it switched to The Pulse, which was a marked dropoff). Issue #2 is a good issue as well, though you still get no clues as to why she was in jail, and the case she’s working—which felt more like a McGuffin in the first issue—doesn’t get addressed until the last couple of pages. Yes, Bendis is still going for the sloooow burn, and concentrating on the character moments. That hasn't changed a bit.
It was great hearing @brydeemer along with @ShaneKelly, @wildpigcomics, and @Adam_Murdough - another great OTR episode guys! Seems like you're caught up.