Andrea Speed
December 26th 2004, 03:55 AM
Reviewer: Andrea Speed andy@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Great
Title: Dead Man's Hand, Part 2
Bobby finds himself in big trouble with bad cops.
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/606/smallgods6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/606/smallgods6.jpg" align="left" border="0"> </a>Writer: Jason Rand
Artist/Greys: Juan E. Ferreyra
Greys: Eduardo Ferreyra
"Snapshots" Artist: Aadi Salman
Letters: Jim Keplinger
Editor: Kristen Simon
Technical Advisor: Joseph Squire
Logo Design: Jim Keplinger
Cover Art: Juan E. Ferreyra
Publisher: Image
Review: Please let me note, before it’s mentioned by someone else, that one of the bad cops in this issue is named Speed. I’ll take that as a compliment. It’s better than being shown as a waitress in a strip club. *cough*
This is an action packed issue, where Bobby discovers these dirty cops are hoping to use his powers to their benefit. He doesn’t want to help them, but he inadvertently does, leading to a bloodbath. He figures he’s in danger, and makes a decision that’s either desperate or completely idiotic, depending on how it all pans out. This issue is basically a fun but violent action movie, and while it leaves Bobby in a somewhat precarious position, at least we know he has a tough girlfriend. I mean, a really tough girlfriend.
Because of the extended action sequences, this issue reads very fast, and it’s a slick, brisk piece of writing. The back up story, “Snapshots”, actually connects to the main story, as it shows how Bobby met his girlfriend, Lucy, and how she got her nickname “The Nail”. The downside is we won’t see Small Gods #7 until possibly February, as the trade collecting the first arc is out in January.
I don’t know how he does it, but Ferreyra’s art gets better and better each issue, even though you think it should have hit the ceiling by now. He steals the show here with a spectacular two page spread of a gun battle, but he also experiments with using negatives, silhouetting figures and letting only small details, such as eyes, be completely visible in select panels. It’s an eerie trick, used sparingly and to great effect. At once it manages to cloak the violence while paradoxically emphasizing the basic horror of it. I don’t know why he hasn’t been stolen away by one of the big two companies yet, as his art is more than polished and striking enough. Salman’s art on Snapshots is dark and heavily inked, with less clarity in the backgrounds and no grays. It’s almost too stark for the general nature of the story, but it is impressive work.
I keep waiting to be disappointed by this series, but so far it’s not happening. While this issue isn’t as thoughtful as some others have been, a bracing action oriented issue has its place, and it’s establishing this arc as having a much different pacing than the first arc. One of the best surprise series from Image this year, it’s more than worth your time.
Rating:http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/half.jpg
Buy Small Gods online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1330&cat=SMALL+GODS)
Quick Rating: Great
Title: Dead Man's Hand, Part 2
Bobby finds himself in big trouble with bad cops.
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/606/smallgods6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/606/smallgods6.jpg" align="left" border="0"> </a>Writer: Jason Rand
Artist/Greys: Juan E. Ferreyra
Greys: Eduardo Ferreyra
"Snapshots" Artist: Aadi Salman
Letters: Jim Keplinger
Editor: Kristen Simon
Technical Advisor: Joseph Squire
Logo Design: Jim Keplinger
Cover Art: Juan E. Ferreyra
Publisher: Image
Review: Please let me note, before it’s mentioned by someone else, that one of the bad cops in this issue is named Speed. I’ll take that as a compliment. It’s better than being shown as a waitress in a strip club. *cough*
This is an action packed issue, where Bobby discovers these dirty cops are hoping to use his powers to their benefit. He doesn’t want to help them, but he inadvertently does, leading to a bloodbath. He figures he’s in danger, and makes a decision that’s either desperate or completely idiotic, depending on how it all pans out. This issue is basically a fun but violent action movie, and while it leaves Bobby in a somewhat precarious position, at least we know he has a tough girlfriend. I mean, a really tough girlfriend.
Because of the extended action sequences, this issue reads very fast, and it’s a slick, brisk piece of writing. The back up story, “Snapshots”, actually connects to the main story, as it shows how Bobby met his girlfriend, Lucy, and how she got her nickname “The Nail”. The downside is we won’t see Small Gods #7 until possibly February, as the trade collecting the first arc is out in January.
I don’t know how he does it, but Ferreyra’s art gets better and better each issue, even though you think it should have hit the ceiling by now. He steals the show here with a spectacular two page spread of a gun battle, but he also experiments with using negatives, silhouetting figures and letting only small details, such as eyes, be completely visible in select panels. It’s an eerie trick, used sparingly and to great effect. At once it manages to cloak the violence while paradoxically emphasizing the basic horror of it. I don’t know why he hasn’t been stolen away by one of the big two companies yet, as his art is more than polished and striking enough. Salman’s art on Snapshots is dark and heavily inked, with less clarity in the backgrounds and no grays. It’s almost too stark for the general nature of the story, but it is impressive work.
I keep waiting to be disappointed by this series, but so far it’s not happening. While this issue isn’t as thoughtful as some others have been, a bracing action oriented issue has its place, and it’s establishing this arc as having a much different pacing than the first arc. One of the best surprise series from Image this year, it’s more than worth your time.
Rating:http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/half.jpg
Buy Small Gods online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1330&cat=SMALL+GODS)