yoshida@hpfcla.UUCP (12/30/85)
"And what is good, Phaedrus, And what is not good -- Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?" -- Robert M. Pirsig *************************************************************************** *A = A Classic. Definitely not to be missed. * *B = Noteworthy. Lots of good parts, but it just misses hitting the mark.* *C = Good effort, but on the whole average. Take it or leave it. * *D = Below Average. Not worth buying, but at least it's in four colors. * *F = Trash. Use this one to line your bird cage bottom. * *************************************************************************** As they say, "Bring in the Clones." Following in the tradition of Moriarty and Jayembee, here's another article chock full of comic reviews. My intention is to "Fill in the Gaps," so to speak. I've attempted to review titles which have not been talked about much just due to the fact that there are such a vast number of mags which are published nowadays. And so with that little introduction, let's get on with FILLIN' IN THE GAPS: Reviewed in this article: ECHO OF FUTUREPAST #6 SIX FROM SIRIUS 2 #1,2 BATMAN #393,394 SHATTER #2 SUNRUNNERS #6 ECHO OF FUTUREPAST #6 [ B ] Various writers and artists (Continuity) The series which makes this whole book worthwhile is "Bucky O'Hare." This creation of Larry Hama and Micheal Golden is a real gem. It reminds me a lot of the classic Bugs Bunny shows. Excellent art and a truly enjoyable story. Touching and funny, never scraping for laughs. I hope Continuity brings this series back, as this was the end of the series' run in "Echo." The other stories in this anthology are adequate. "AE-35" is your typical "high-tech" futuristic story with shades of alien invasion and international intrigue. "Torpedo" is also a modest success, as Alex Toth does a surprisingly good job at giving life to a gangster story. "Virus" I could do without, and "Tippy-Toe Jones" is down-right offensive. "TTJ" is too Avant-garde for me, folks. Maybe I just don't know how to appreciate it for what it is, whatever that may be... BATMAN #393,394 [ C++ ] Story: Doug Moench, Art: Paul Gulacy (DC) Having largely ignored this title for quite sometime, I was attracted to buy it on the basis of having Moench and Gulacy teamed up again. The main villian in the story, the Dark Rider, could have come from almost any of Robert Ludlum's spy/thriller books, or maybe even that psychotic killer from "Sharkey's Machine." In any case, Gulacy's art is good. Although I'm still partial to The Batman which Neal Adams drew, the Darknight Detective is given a mysterious look that's refreshing. Moench's story is solid, if not predictable. He intermixes a lot of current events: The Summit talks, nuclear blackmail, and international terrorists. The relationship between The Batman and the Soviet KGB agent, Katia, is somewhat contrived. You KNOW that she's going to end up respecting him in the end. Ahh, well, 'twas a nice story nonetheless. SUNRUNNERS #6 [ D+ ] Story: Roger McKenzie, Art: Glenn Johnson and Jim Sinclair (Eclipse) This one's a bad space opera, and the art (which used to be its saving grace when Pat Broderick had the chores) is even worse. In previous issues, it used to seem that the story was going somewhere. Recently, though, things have stalled. This could be due to the fact that Broderick, one of the co-creators, left the title for greener pastures. The transistion may not have been as smooth as was hoped for, as this issue was delayed several months. McKenzie needs to add new elements to the story, or resolve the ones already in progress. So far he's just baiting us by rehashing situations that the characters have been in for the past 3 issues. If this doesn't improve, I'm jumping boat as soon as the present storyline ends. SIX FROM SIRIUS 2 #1,2 [ B- ] Story: Doug Moench, Art: Paul Gulacy (Epic) Marvel knows a good thing when they see it. The success of the original "Six" story prompted this worthy sequel. The art is great! Gulacy uses pastel pencils, pen-and-ink, and who-knows-whatelse to give panels that could be paintings that you could hang on your wall. Maybe that's a bit of exaggeration, but I like it. And here's a space soap opera that's worth something. Roger McKenzie should take note. I get the feeling of the early Star Trek TV series as I read this book. Not bad, and it's got me anxiously awaiting for the next two issues. Nothing earthshaking here, but definitely good stuff. SHATTER #2 [ C- ] Art and Story: Mike Saenz (First) Someday... Someday "computer-generated" comics will be commonplace. Someday...However, this effort by Mike Saenz is a taste of what's to come. Enjoyable, but a bit crude. The book really needs high-resolution graphics. The Laserwriter from Apple has helped, but there's still LOTS of room for improvement. The story also seems to suffer from the emphasis on the "computer-generated" aspect. If Saenz could bring in more of the tension and emotions from "Bladerunner," which it obviously takes some of its inspiration from, it would do much better. However, I'm going to give this book a chance because I see improvement from the "Shatter Special #1," through its run as a back-up in "Jon Sable," to the present book-length feature. There's a lot of potential for making this a landmark series. One can only hope. Until next time, I'll see you on the Net! Stuart Yoshida "Many miles away there's a shadow on the door Of a cottage on the shore of a dark Scottish Lake." hp-sdd!-------\ hp-pcd!------\ csu-cs!-----\ ihnp4!----->--hpfcla!hpfclh!yoshida edison!-----/ hpbbn!-------/ hplabs!-------/