Comic Reviews 07.17.2021

Hey y’all. We have a bunch of big extra-sized comics this week. Not sure how that happened, but I had nothing to say about the new Way of X and Excalibur issues so here we are. I liked all three to varying degrees, but generally found them to be engrossing both for what they contain and what they imply about the future. Its not often I am excited for the big events at any publisher, but they’ve got me hooked right now.

Anyway, on to the reviews!

Spoilers for: The Flash 2021 Annual #1, Infinite Frontier #2, Sinister War #1

 

The Flash 2021 Annual #1

Writer: Jeremy Adams

Artist: Brandon Peterson and Fernando Pasarin

Color: Mike Atiyeh and Hi-Fi

Letters: Steve Wands

Cover: Peterson and Atiyeh

 

Since Jeremy Adams began writing The Flash, it has been bad. The story has been neither good enough nor substantive enough to justify its length of five issues, two of which were double-sized. At functionally seven issues, this arc has been grossly inefficient. Nowhere is that truer than this Annual, which introduces and dispatches the villain behind everything. In fact, it introduces the villain prior to even introducing the idea there could be villain behind the Speed Force being sick! It took over 200 pages to get to that point!

Now, one could argue it was always obvious a villain was working behind the scenes, but the Speed Force kind of just does what it wants and could easily have been explained as wanting to convince Wally he needed to retain his connection and continue his life as a hero. I would argue that would make the parts of this issue with Roy even better as it would force him into being proactive in fixing the final Speed Force surge instead of being entirely reactive.

Make no mistake, though. The part of this issue that focuses on Roy Harper’s relationships with Wally and Ollie make it easily the best installment of The Flash in 2021, including the Future State miniseries. It is genuinely emotional both in the (as always, overly verbose) dialogue and the beautiful art.

Both Peterson and Pasarin’s acting the highlight of this comic. Everyone’s body language is perfect, from Savitar’s confident strides to Wally’s desperation as his friend sacrifices himself. It is an impressive display by a very good pair of artists.

Also, Roy pops a time stasis bubble with an arrow which, while incredibly dumb, is brilliant.

 

Infinite Frontier #2

Writer: Joshua Williamson

Artist: Pal Pelletier, Jesus Merino, and Xermanico

Inks: Norm Rapmund, Merino, and Xermanico

Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Letters: Tom Napolitano

Cover: Mitch Gerads

Its probably a bad sign the second issue of this series has three artists, right? It seems bad. Pelletier and Merino both do a quality job here, but they simply are not Xermanico, and it is immediately clear when a page was drawn by them. Additionally, the inks and colors do a good job of keeping the switch between pages smooth. It is not jarring when the art switches despite being obvious.

There is not much forward momentum to the story being told. As of now, there are so many disparate threads that none are allowed enough breathing room to truly blossom. Having said that, they are all interesting. It may be a sign this series has bitten off more than it can chew.

Drawing on DC's long history? Wow.

It already seemed as if Darkseid is the antagonist of this series, but this issue makes that clear with the return of “Darkseid is” being said by multiple characters prior to being whisked away, presumably to Darkseid’s side. Notably, those characters are (maybe) mysteriously resurrected Roy Harper who is a Black Lantern and Captain Atom, here revealed to be from a different universe. These are, theoretically, two of the most powerful beings in existence. Combining their power with what has been implied to be Darkseid’s final form, who truly be a threat to that would take the combined powers of every hero to defeat.

 

Sinister War #1

Writer: Nick Spencer

Artist: Mark Bagley

Colors: Brian Reber

Inks: Andrew Hennessy, John Dell, and Andy Owens

Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Cover: Bryan Hitch and Paul Mounts

The last 80 or so issues of Amazing Spider-Man have been teeming with hints of the overarching story dredging up 'One More Day', some times more ambiguously than others. This issue finally tackles it directly, picking up a thread from semi-recent issues in which Doctor Strange had deduced Mephisto had done something to Peter at some point.

It is yet another tantalizing tease for wherever this story is headed, whether it is undoing ‘One More Day’, making the characters aware of it, or some other endgame. Presumably, the next seven issues, split between the Sinister War miniseries and ASM ongoing, will heavily feature this plot.

That, however, is not what this issue is focused upon. It is about the premiere of MJ and Mysterio's film…until it is crashed by the Savage Six, then the Sinister Six, then Kindred, and, finally, the remaining three “Sinister Six” teams from the end of the most recent Amazing Spider-Man #70. Despite this, it never feels like the issue is overstuffed. Every character or group is given just enough time to shine without bringing the pace to a halt or feel as if it is too fast.

A perfect page

Much of that pacing can be attributed to Spider-Man legend Mark Bagley. His page layouts are just about perfect. As always, his facial expressions are amazingly expressive, even through various characters’ masks. It was a smart move to get him to draw this story arc and I look forward to seeing what he can do next issue with the literal dozens of characters in the story.