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SURROGATES,
PART 2
After I had written the review for issue 1, I felt a bit bad.
The overall grade was 2/10 and I'd brought that book down
to the ground and stepped on its still-beating heart with the sole
of my shoe. But in my mind I was still right. The points
I'd brought up were valid and although I don't think the book deserved
to get 2/10, I am still sticking to my opinion.
WRITING
I found the last issue confusing beyond belief.
I didn't know what was happening, who was who, why this was happening,
etc, etc. This issue is different. All of the question
raised in issue 1 are resolved here in issue 2.
What
I didn't like in the last issue was the fact that Angel was tossed
down a well with no explanation. So shut my mouth and call
me Charlie, we actually learn how/why in this issue.
We
start this issue with a flashback to when Angel spoke with a perfect
Irish accent and lived in London in 1856. We see him in a
prison cell with the sun coming up and then we come back to the
present and rejoin Angel in the well. A nice bit of storytelling
there. Angel has a past and it's always nice to go back to
it, something that the Angel mini-series also did.
This lets us enter into Angel's mind and his past, what he is thinking
and what he has done in his 'past life'.
The
narrator here is Doyle, something which is also a bit of a change
from everyday comics. Normally we just have words in a box
and it's like the writer is speaking to us, not the characters.
Here, Golden displays his abliity to write the characters
how they would speak or act. Since Angel (the show)
started we have been told that Doyle is Angel's mentor, so it's
nice to see Doyle (who Angel looks upto) telling the story and guiding
Angel.
Also
what Golden does is to display Angel's more human side. Page
14 (with adverts) at the bottom has Angel being saved by Cordy and
Doyle, there he said, "Thanks but," and when they close
the boot of the car he says, "Thank you" - proving that
Angel is not just all brawn and is there to brood. He may
not be fully human, but here Golden helps bring out his more affectionate
side.
What
Golden is doing with Doyle and Cordy is surprising. They are
the secondary characters - the sidekicks - but thus far Golden has
made them into far more than just secondary characters. Throughout
this issue all three characters play an import role, they do not
outshine each other and it is not just Angel going around, beating
up demons while Doyle and Cordy sit back and cheer (as in a certain
media tie-in book about a vampire slayer).
Issues
1 and 2 should be read one after the one, then you won't be asking
yourself, "Did I somehow lose a couple of pages on the way
or something?"
Best
line: Doyle's "You enjoy risking my life don't you?"
ART
So let's recap. Issue 12 of the Buffy ongoing
was great artwise, issue 1 of the Angel ongoing was pretty
pants. And now? It's pretty darn good.
With
issue 1, Zanier had problems with the characters, especially Angel
- he couldn't keep the faces the same. While he did a great
job with Cordy, Angel and Doyle were a mess. Their features
changed with every couple of pages and it looked a mess. Here
he gets into a pattern and sticks with it. Angel looks the
same, as do Doyle and Cordy. There are some flaws, mainly
when Angel comes out from the well - he looks a bit odd - but with
the rest of the issue he does a great job.
I
glanced over Top Cow's Rising Star issue 3, which Zanier
is also pencilling and I was amazed (had to stand back and take
a breath before I continued reading. Sad? Me?
Never...) to see that the artwork was completely different.
While Rising Star had the usual Top Cow 'everyone has to
draw like Jim Lee' routine, Angel was just so different.
I don't know how one man can have a different style of artwork for
different companies, but somehow Zanier's achieved it.
It's
a bit hard to review this issue as I don't know what artwork was
Zanier's and what was the work of background assistant, Marvin Mariano.
Sometimes the buildings look spectacular and then other times they
look simple. It's a bit of a letdown to see that Zanier's
not giving it his best (it appeared that Rising Star has
his better work this month).
Something
that I want to take back from the last review is when I said that
Zanier drew Cordy too 'old'. Well, judging from the TV show,
Cordy has actually matured in the way she looks and the way she
acts. Zanier has certainly made her look a lot older, and
it's nice to see - she looks good. Bravo to Zanier on the
monsters right at the end of the book.
OTHER
NITPICKS
Wouldn't be one of my reviews without my nitpicks, now
would it? The colouring's great - no complaints there.
The cover's a bit crap, Matsuda has to go away now. Let some
other artists draw the covers.
OVERALL
Writing: The Golden we know and love is back - getting
the readers into the series, can't wait (actually I can
wait, it's only a comic) for the third issue. The boy's done
good again.
Art:
Back on track. Although the wheels are a bit slippery.
Next
Issue: The conclusion of the Surrogates storyline with the
added bonus of a really bad Jeff Matsuda cover, no change there
then.
Plug
time: If you enjoy reading this sort of crime/detective comic I
would strongly recommend Image's Sam & Twitch.
Although it's into part 5 of 8 at the moment, it's well worth picking
up. Check out either www.jinxworld.com
or www.spawn.com for more information.
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