I read Mystery in Space, feeling a little worried. I was afraid I may not like it, since the only other Jim Starlin work I've read was Cosmic Odyssey (a storyline that filled me with mixed feelings).
But what was I thinking? It has Captain Comet in it! It's in outer space!! Of course I was going to enjoy it.
Still, it would have been nice to get the four dollars.
Mild Spoilers
Anyway, Starlin is a better penciller than Shane Davis. Davis pencilled the first story, Starlin the second. Davis is not a bad storyteller, or bad with anatomy -- My main problem with the art in the first story actually had to do with the lines on Capt. Comet's face, which is Matt Banning's problem. I think his face would have been better looking with a different inker. It didn't make it difficult to read, though I liked the art overall on the second story much more.
The story's intriguing, it gives the promised cosmic mystery while giving us the basic history of Capt Comet (which is complex and definitely necessary) in a natural, and the history of the Weird in a natural way. Good for new readers who are unfamiliar with the characters (I'd never seen the Weird before), and for old readers who missed a few issues or have forgotten a lot. Both stories end with a cliffhanger, of course.
They do very well with the two main characters in each story, but neglect to tell us about the yellow-skinned woman. She looks like Stealth from L.E.G.I.O.N. but I don't have all of that series so I'm not sure what happened to Stealth, or why she would have an eyepatch right now. They don't give a name for her.
The setting reminds me of Deep Space Nine.
There is also a talking dog in the first story. He is impressively drawn.
Oh, and like with Rann-Thanagar War, I'm well-aware that I am one of maybe five people in all of fandom who like this one. So, stuff it, Sims!
I dug R-TW, and liked bits of the special, though heck if I can remember which bits now. I think that they may have been in outer space and involved flying around. It's been a while.
ReplyDeleteI ended up passing on MiS, though. Starlin is one of those guys who is hit-or-miss with me, so I tend to wait until a couple issues hit, read reviews, and then decide.
Now, DC's upcoming horror book, with The Spectre by David Lapham and various DC monsters by Brian Azzarello? DC put two of my favorite writers, two out of my top four (Azz, Mack, Lapham, Morrison) favorite writers, and put them on one book. I may have to buy multiple copies sight unseen.
post-script, because I hit "post" too quick: what'd you think of Adam Strange: Planet Heist? I liked that way more than R-TW, and that turned me into a complete Pascual Ferry fan.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this book. I agree that I was worried at first, but it's Starlin writing a cosmic book about Captain Comet (and the Weird). I loved the way that they basically gave his origin in a few pages and LOVE the dog. The Weird was interesting and, like you, had no real knowledge of the character (although I did know that there was a mini-series once). I'm looking forward to reading this story more.
ReplyDeleteDavid -- Planet Heist was Pure Joy for me. It was the highlight of each week I had it.
ReplyDeleteLoren -- *Nod* They had a few things in that origin I didn't know. I've really only seen Capt Comet in a few things, but I've been a fan of his since L.E.G.I.O.N. I'm just glad it wasn't a replacement guy. Maybe we can get that Ion guest appearance now.
Bah! You're all just a buncha... A buncha... sycophants!
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge Starlin fan, so let me fill you in.
ReplyDeleteThe yellow-skinned woman with the eye patch isn't Stealth. She's called Eye, and she made her debut in Starlin's HARDCORE STATION miniseries from a few years back, during the Morrison era of JLA.
Apparently her body was damaged at the beginning of the mini and she had to be reconstructed through surgery. She came back healthy except for the lost eye and the loss of the use of her vocal chords, resulting in her "speaking" through a computer voicebox. She has fighting skills that put Lady Shiva to shame, plus she's got some kind of "Iron Fist" - type power in her hands.
The reason I mention the Morrison-era JLA is because she and the mini's star, Chief Max, had to fight that JLA before teaming up with them to stop Synar, a Thanos-type bad guy.
(One weakness of Starlin is that many of his "big bads" tend to be Thanos clones. If you don't believe me, check out how pre-Crisis Mongul looked and acted BEFORE Moore and Gibbons immortalized him.)
Anyway, during that mini, she took out the Flash singlehandedly. Plus, she beat the living crap out of Chief Max early on. You'll like her, Ragnell.
Didn't like it, though I'm not much of a Starlin fan.
ReplyDeleteI liked it a lot, and Starlin's hit-or-miss with me.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd be happier if Jim were drawing the whole book, but, hey.
Glad you enjoyed it and I think it is a hellof a bargin to get 48 pages of story and art for only $3.99
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