Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #4 – Robert Venditti, Writer; Riley Rossmo, Artist; Ivan Plascencia, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This pulpy noir comic maintains a pretty deliberate pace, almost feeling more like a detective thriller than a superhero comic. Riley Rossmo’s art is a consistent highlight, and that’s never more true than in the first few pages of this issue. As Wesley is subjected to his own fear gas, he experiences terrifying visuals of his past, present, and future. This includes an interesting look at his childhood, when he was a selfish rich boy, and also gives us a look at his future. When he wakes up, he has a better picture of who’s behind the theft of his journal—and it ties back to the conflict introduced in the first issue. Before he can confront the person who may be responsible, his friend is targeted by a vicious assassin, leading to the most brutal fight scene of the series so far. This is a character who has rarely gotten the spotlight in the last few decades, so it’s great to see a classic adventure for him.
Speed Force #3 – Jarrett Williams, Writer; Daniele Di Nicuolo, Francesco Mortarino, George Kambadais, Tom Derenick, Artists; Andrew Dalhouse, Pete Pantazis, Colorists
Ray – 8/10
Ray: This is easily the most chaotic series coming out of DC right now, but that makes sense for a book focusing on both speedsters and teenagers. The main characters were hyped as Wallace and Avery, but this issue feels like it’s really more of an extended Teen Titans montage than anything else. A double-paged spread involves just about every major and minor teen hero at the moment (and oddly, a bunch of twenty-somethings like Cyborg and Starfire) as they plan for an upcoming event, and Ace and Blue Beetle bond and talk strategy at a barber. The four artists make the issue feel a bit jumbled, but the narrative tends to jump between them when it focuses on different characters, creating a bit more continuity. The oddball coalition of villains including Music Meister and Mad Mod is fun, but the story is a little too overwhelmingly fast-paced for the scenes to always land as well as they should.
Fables #161 – Bill Willingham, Writer; Mark Buckingham, Penciller, Steve Leialoha, Inker; Lee Loughridge, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: It’s the penultimate issue of Fables – likely forever, given recent events—and there is a lot of story left to go. The main focus here is the battle between Bigby, Peter Pan, and the forest God, which has to be one of the bloodiest fights ever seen in this franchise. Gwen, better known as Jack of the Green, returns to the world of Fables and discovers something shocking, while Snow, Sam, and Cubs escape from a deadly trap. However, my favorite part of this issue was definitely the conversation between Cindy and Cole, as she rebounds from being forced out of the Fables response team and plans her next move. Despite all the chaos this issue, it doesn’t feel like we’re all that closer to the resolution, which makes me worry that the final issue will be rushed. Of course, given the artist pulling double duty with a huge book at the competition and the writer’s… actions, who knows when we’ll get the conclusion.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
