I previewed Issue #2 at the San Diego Comic Con (with exclusive covers at $5),
and was motivated to borrow a friend's laptop and hammer this out while waiting
in line the following morning. After a few days and two or three rereadings, I removed some of the vitriol from the first review. I am still unhappy with the poor writing of this issue, however.
To the BotP comics staff at Top Cow: I have three words to summarize my opinion of
Issue #2: You blew it. Issue #2 was awful.
The art: The Ross cover is excellent--those green goons look formidable indeed. The quality of the interior art is a mixed bag. Some of the close-ups are positively luscious, but there were some problems, too. I could possibly
account it to Wilson Tortosa having a really bad day when he worked on page 5
(everyone does not need to have enormous lips). The facial expressions weren't as
effective in this one either. The characters used superhero fighting poses,
not the graceful martial arts moves typical of the series, and I thought Jason's
shooting with one hand and punching goons with the other while talking to Mark
over his shoulder stretched the boundaries of believability. On the other hand, I have to give credit where it is due: the final scene in the book was awesome.
The scripting: The scenes jumped around from the end of the
mission to the beginning and back with no sense of continuity or location.
I had no idea where the team members are fighting most of the time-the pages
were a series of confusing action splashes that didn't make much sense.
The characters: From what I've read in interviews, the staff wanted the
characters to be "updated" and "edgy." If "updated" and "edgy" means "trite"
and "foul-mouthed," the writer accomplished his goal perfectly. For a "big fan," Munier Sharrieff sure skimped on his research. Or maybe he couldn't be bothered to research because
he thought he could improve the universe. Some improvement-I've heard the folks at
Sandy Frank Syndication were not amused. The characters spoke like
twelve-year-olds who have just discovered the novelty of swearing, starting with Jason's mission summary of, "Should've let me blow
that bitch up when we had the chance, Commander," and culminating in Tiny's,
"My hairy ass." It's not so much the swearing I object to as the clumsy way it's done. These characters don't speak naturally. It sounds forced and lame.
The heroes have zero charisma: Jason's an idiot, Mark is condescending,
and Tiny's whining during battle isn't helping anything. It's as if the writer is trying to stuff a description of all these characters' traits into two issues when the various personalities should be allowed to develop over time. I know we're supposed to watch the
characters "coming of age," but I hope I don't have to wait too much longer, at
nearly three dollars an issue, for the characters to become more than merely
annoying.
Munier Sharrieff continues to hit on every
sci-fi/action/anime cliche in the book, starting with more nasty flak from General
Tomak (that the team smirkingly ignores anyway) and ultimately ending with Keyop
being driven into making his first bloody kill.
Was that lab scene truly necessary? Why do the Spectrans need an animal research lab in the
Space Terrapin, anyway? Must we see a gratuitously dissected cat and then have the
scientist (against all common sense) threaten Keyop just so we can see some blood?
There are other, better ways to show that Keyop loves animals (like back in Issue #1, Princess could have alluded to his hiding a pet critter instead of a porn stash), and far better ways to get the kid upset to the point where he starts breaking heads (what about the
scene where he was overwhelmed by guards? That would have worked). Will there be
repercussions for what the kid did, or will Mark and Princess congratulate him
on his knifing skills later? I know it's a common gimmick in comics and horror
movies to have people's innocent pets be the first to get slaughtered by the evil
monster/psycho, but we see enough of that horror in real life to give any
credence to it in entertainment. It was cheap, unnecessary and stomach-turning.
By the way, what happened to the little bird Keyop rescued in that throwaway scene in the first part of
the book? Did it later fry when the team went into Fiery Phoenix? See my previous
complaint about continuity.
This issue was just plain gratuitous and
trite, and it spoiled the spirit of both BotP and Gatchaman. Who is the target audience? Is the book aimed this at age 12-24 fanboys who might go for a nifty-kewl rewriting of this title, or is the book directed toward the fans who loved this show when they were kids and who would like to see it again? Where's that cool action story and rich
characterization we were promised? Where were David Wohl and Chris Carlisle during the production
of this issue? Where was Alex Ross, the big BotP fan? Did he condone this, or
has he lost editorial control? I've heard he doesn't have the time to dedicate
his efforts to this pet project of his. Maybe he should have waited until
he had the time. I would have been willing to wait.
You know what made me especially angry? This issue trashed my hopes. After an
auspicious first issue, it now appears the Gatchaman/BotP comic curse--that any Gatchaman or BotP book is doomed to mediocrity at best--continues,
and the only way we're going to see any comic that is of quality and faithful
to the show is if it's fan produced.
Pity.
The bottom line: Skip it.
.
