fuaak
09-24-2005, 02:27 PM
WRITING:
Well, what can I say that I haven't said before? The connection to Ra's al Ghul is a logical and fitting extension of Cass's backstory, and an idea I wholeheartedly welcome - but Andersen uses "traditional", sometimes even silver-age-silly superhero themes in telling his story, and I think it's selling the character short.
I mean, let's look at this issue's main development, the new League, who instead of attacking hold Cass as a model and kneel before her. This scene should be ominous. And it could be, if the League looked more like a group of finely trained killers and less like some kind of an ethnic clown parade. Really, what am I supposed to make of names like "Wam-Wam", "Los Gemelos" and "Krunk", or these costumes and haircuts? It turns the moment into comedy and sends its impact straight to la-la-land.
Nothing much else happened in the issue, except for more premonition and a token fight with Shiva, so that's about it. The big reveal itself (and it by definition is big - it's hard to retcon or ignore a character's parents) is still to come, and once again I find myself worrying whether it'll be one of Andy's good ideas and whether it'll be executed competently - I've found Andy's work uneven lately.
+ I'm pleased to see Alpha - always thought that he was one of the better ones from Cass's short, short list of supporting characters made just for her - but I wonder what part he's playing in all this, as the last time we saw him, Cass had reformed him.
- Nyssa needs a top hat, a cackling laugh and a moustache she can twirl, she's such a stereotypical villain here.
* Cassandra wondering about the sanity of her quest in the beginning was interesting - I don't think she has ever shown any amount of self-doubt before.
ART:
Well, this was a fun exercise, trying to match pages to the three different artists who drew them.
Garza's (and Delperdang-Garza combo's) Cassandra still has the loveliest face in the whole wide world, and I submit it should be the "official" one - any artist wishing to draw her unmasked should take a good look at BG #58 and see how it's done right. On the negative side, Garza's fight scenes still suck. The exchange between the top two martial artists of the whole DCU looks like a drunken bar brawl. Cass and Shiva exchange wide, heavy-handed swings like cowboys in old westerns, inexplicably keep turning their backs to each other, and the transition from Cass hitting the floor to Cass pinning Shiva made me wonder whether I had skipped a page.
Mhan drew the first page of the Shiva/Cassandra match, and the difference shows - his version has energy in it, and well illustrates the blinding speed I expect from these two ladies. It's highly stylized and doesn't always make sense, but is more fun to watch, and gives a clearer idea about what's going on. Mhan also seems to have done away with the odd 'shoulder spikes', and I approve. His Cassandra still looks sort of anorexic and rubbery, though - she doesn't seem to have any muscles on her bones - and there's a weird "ring" around both of her eyes.
* The final pages where Cass loses the mouth patch and the eye lenses, and her mask turns into an all-black version of Barbara's had me once again thinking that something should be done with the mask - only a couple artists have managed to draw it really well in its current state, none of them inside a comic (I'm thinking Harris & Royal in the cover of Shadow of the Bat #83, James Jean in the cover of Batgirl #57, maybe Jim Lee in the cover of that Supergirl issue he did, and whoever drew this original design: http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ambgcostume6jx.jpg ). It's time for some experiments, methinks. Something as simple as changing the color of the eye lenses into something visible could work wonders.
+ Both artists drew a cool Alpha.
* Finally, call me a prude, but I found it a little bit distracting that Nyssa's cleavage extended well below her navel.
Well, what can I say that I haven't said before? The connection to Ra's al Ghul is a logical and fitting extension of Cass's backstory, and an idea I wholeheartedly welcome - but Andersen uses "traditional", sometimes even silver-age-silly superhero themes in telling his story, and I think it's selling the character short.
I mean, let's look at this issue's main development, the new League, who instead of attacking hold Cass as a model and kneel before her. This scene should be ominous. And it could be, if the League looked more like a group of finely trained killers and less like some kind of an ethnic clown parade. Really, what am I supposed to make of names like "Wam-Wam", "Los Gemelos" and "Krunk", or these costumes and haircuts? It turns the moment into comedy and sends its impact straight to la-la-land.
Nothing much else happened in the issue, except for more premonition and a token fight with Shiva, so that's about it. The big reveal itself (and it by definition is big - it's hard to retcon or ignore a character's parents) is still to come, and once again I find myself worrying whether it'll be one of Andy's good ideas and whether it'll be executed competently - I've found Andy's work uneven lately.
+ I'm pleased to see Alpha - always thought that he was one of the better ones from Cass's short, short list of supporting characters made just for her - but I wonder what part he's playing in all this, as the last time we saw him, Cass had reformed him.
- Nyssa needs a top hat, a cackling laugh and a moustache she can twirl, she's such a stereotypical villain here.
* Cassandra wondering about the sanity of her quest in the beginning was interesting - I don't think she has ever shown any amount of self-doubt before.
ART:
Well, this was a fun exercise, trying to match pages to the three different artists who drew them.
Garza's (and Delperdang-Garza combo's) Cassandra still has the loveliest face in the whole wide world, and I submit it should be the "official" one - any artist wishing to draw her unmasked should take a good look at BG #58 and see how it's done right. On the negative side, Garza's fight scenes still suck. The exchange between the top two martial artists of the whole DCU looks like a drunken bar brawl. Cass and Shiva exchange wide, heavy-handed swings like cowboys in old westerns, inexplicably keep turning their backs to each other, and the transition from Cass hitting the floor to Cass pinning Shiva made me wonder whether I had skipped a page.
Mhan drew the first page of the Shiva/Cassandra match, and the difference shows - his version has energy in it, and well illustrates the blinding speed I expect from these two ladies. It's highly stylized and doesn't always make sense, but is more fun to watch, and gives a clearer idea about what's going on. Mhan also seems to have done away with the odd 'shoulder spikes', and I approve. His Cassandra still looks sort of anorexic and rubbery, though - she doesn't seem to have any muscles on her bones - and there's a weird "ring" around both of her eyes.
* The final pages where Cass loses the mouth patch and the eye lenses, and her mask turns into an all-black version of Barbara's had me once again thinking that something should be done with the mask - only a couple artists have managed to draw it really well in its current state, none of them inside a comic (I'm thinking Harris & Royal in the cover of Shadow of the Bat #83, James Jean in the cover of Batgirl #57, maybe Jim Lee in the cover of that Supergirl issue he did, and whoever drew this original design: http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ambgcostume6jx.jpg ). It's time for some experiments, methinks. Something as simple as changing the color of the eye lenses into something visible could work wonders.
+ Both artists drew a cool Alpha.
* Finally, call me a prude, but I found it a little bit distracting that Nyssa's cleavage extended well below her navel.