Tag: Ben Abernathy

Welcome to Tranquility: One Foot in the Grave #4

“Homecoming-Part 4: Home to Roost” (No Spoilers)

Simone’s normally quaint little town of Tranquility gets a little ‘Silence of the Lambs’ injected into it this issue. As the superhero citizens of the town learn the identity of the villain that’s been on the attack things get a little tense.

Simone has introduced a great new villain during this series. He has proven himself to be a true threat even to the more powerful residents of Tranquility. His motivations also take a darker tone this issue as Sheriff Lindo reveals a past connection she has with the villain.

X-files/30 Days of Night #3

(No Spoilers)

The nightmare for Agents Mulder and Scully continues as the threat increases substantially in this issue. Niles and Jones have gone from making this feel like an X-files episode to feeling more like an X-files movie.

The layouts and the pacing take on more of a widescreen feel in this issue. Mandrake’s art seems to be getting better and I like some of the huge establishing shots he illustrates. Plus, like I’ve mentioned before, we don’t have a particular vampire character we’re following so Mandrake takes the vampires we do see and seems to give us only teases of them. Whether it’s in shadows or close-up shots, he truly gives them a beast-like quality. This is a departure from the way Niles has presented them in the past which was a mixture of the human and animalistic traits. But again, I think it’s the lack of a main vampire character (so far) that drives this notion.

Dv8: Gods and Monsters #6

“Teenage Riot” (No Spoilers)

This was the issue I was waiting for! We’ve had some great setup with some action here and there but here we finally get a huge battle in this issue. Brian Wood’s storytelling and Rebekah Isaac’s art continue to be married perfectly into this incredible story.

Good storytelling is about balance. As we’ve progressed through the series I think for the most part this creative team has kept a good balance. Some issues read a little slower than I would’ve liked but they were usually followed up by something really cool. But after straddling the fence for so long we finally come to an action heavy issue. I finally get to see Bliss’ tribe in action (not a spoiler, it’s in the solicit). Although, I won’t say which deviant she decides to go after. It is beautifully done and had some amazing fight scenes throughout. I can safely say Isaacs has no problem drawing huge battle scenes. I can’t wait to see what else she’s got in the last two issues.

Welcome to Tranquility: One Foot in the Grave #3

“Homecoming-Part 3: An Armor of History” (No Spoilers)

Gail Simone is a true master of the story telling device “the plot thickens”. This is only the 3rd issue of this mini-series and she has packed so much story into this series so far. She is also doing a great job of balancing all the characters which is no easy task with an ensemble cast.

The story behind the villain of this story could have easily been written off as a cliché. But Simone takes us down some dark places as we see the true nature of this villain. We also find out pretty quick how he got this way. This new character she’s introduced is really powerful and it leads to some disturbing uses of his powers. This issue is really about him as the other characters can do little else but be reactive to the events unfolding before them.