Andrea Speed
January 7th 2005, 05:32 AM
Reviewer: Andrea Speed andy@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Fantastic
Title: Pawns and Kings
Tao sends Carver on a mission against Lynch, but it isn’t at all what he was expecting.
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/159/sleeper7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/159/sleeper7.jpg" align="left" border="0"></a>Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Sean Phillips
Colors: Carrie Strachan
Letters: Jared Fletcher
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Cover Art: Sean Phillips
Publisher: DC/Wildstorm
Review: This is what I love best about this series, and about Ed Brubaker at his best: you get a hard boiled, complex, twist filled tale of espionage and mystery, where shocks are always waiting around every turn, and betrayal is second nature. Trust is actually a weapon to be used and exploited, another way to twist in the knife, and nothing is ever quite as it seems.
At the start of this issue, Holden Carver admits to being so accustomed to the dark world he dwells in that nothing phases him, but of course he’s wrong, as developments in this issue shake him to his core. Since unwittingly gaining the alien artifact from the Bleed that gives him his power, he hardly feels anything physically, and emotionally he has been numb since the start of this series, but he’s still capable of feeling betrayed and angry, as we have seen in past issues. In this one, he has more reason than ever to feel that way.
Story wise, this issue reads very fast, as the entire issue takes place in the course of this single mission, which groups Holden and Miss Misery with Peter Grimm and Triple X-Ray for a dangerous assault on an I.O. facility. The action comes thick and fast, as this tense group attacks and infiltrates it, in search of an amazing code breaker who’s been working for Lynch. That Holden doesn’t find what he expects isn’t nearly as shocking as what happens after the mission appears to be over, and Holden discovers he only knew about the first objective, not the second. On the last page, Tao lets Holden know exactly what he’s willing to do to keep “his people”, a none too subtle threat, making you wonder how much he suspects of Holden’s plans.
At the top of his game, Brubaker excels at hard boiled dialogue and plots that twist like pretzels, and he is on the top of his game here, giving us one of the strongest issues of this series. It makes me doubly sorry that it’s more than half over - what am I going to do without my Sleeper?
Phillips follows suit by giving the issue some great film noir style art, which seems a lot more crisp than last issue. The action sequences are both sleek and brutal, befitting the story perfectly, with good use of non-traditional panel layouts. The colors by Strachan skew dark, which certainly fits the overall story, but sometimes it seems almost too dark. Still, that’s really my only complaint.
This series is a noir fan’s dream, on top of being smart, and among the most well written and well plotted books on the shelves today. If you’re not reading this, you’re absolutely insane. What are you waiting for? Easily the best thing Wildstorm is putting out, by a long shot.
Ratings:
Story: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/full.jpg
Art: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
Overall: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 Sleeper Season Two online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1312&cat=SLEEPER+SEASON+TWO)
Quick Rating: Fantastic
Title: Pawns and Kings
Tao sends Carver on a mission against Lynch, but it isn’t at all what he was expecting.
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/159/sleeper7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/159/sleeper7.jpg" align="left" border="0"></a>Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Sean Phillips
Colors: Carrie Strachan
Letters: Jared Fletcher
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Cover Art: Sean Phillips
Publisher: DC/Wildstorm
Review: This is what I love best about this series, and about Ed Brubaker at his best: you get a hard boiled, complex, twist filled tale of espionage and mystery, where shocks are always waiting around every turn, and betrayal is second nature. Trust is actually a weapon to be used and exploited, another way to twist in the knife, and nothing is ever quite as it seems.
At the start of this issue, Holden Carver admits to being so accustomed to the dark world he dwells in that nothing phases him, but of course he’s wrong, as developments in this issue shake him to his core. Since unwittingly gaining the alien artifact from the Bleed that gives him his power, he hardly feels anything physically, and emotionally he has been numb since the start of this series, but he’s still capable of feeling betrayed and angry, as we have seen in past issues. In this one, he has more reason than ever to feel that way.
Story wise, this issue reads very fast, as the entire issue takes place in the course of this single mission, which groups Holden and Miss Misery with Peter Grimm and Triple X-Ray for a dangerous assault on an I.O. facility. The action comes thick and fast, as this tense group attacks and infiltrates it, in search of an amazing code breaker who’s been working for Lynch. That Holden doesn’t find what he expects isn’t nearly as shocking as what happens after the mission appears to be over, and Holden discovers he only knew about the first objective, not the second. On the last page, Tao lets Holden know exactly what he’s willing to do to keep “his people”, a none too subtle threat, making you wonder how much he suspects of Holden’s plans.
At the top of his game, Brubaker excels at hard boiled dialogue and plots that twist like pretzels, and he is on the top of his game here, giving us one of the strongest issues of this series. It makes me doubly sorry that it’s more than half over - what am I going to do without my Sleeper?
Phillips follows suit by giving the issue some great film noir style art, which seems a lot more crisp than last issue. The action sequences are both sleek and brutal, befitting the story perfectly, with good use of non-traditional panel layouts. The colors by Strachan skew dark, which certainly fits the overall story, but sometimes it seems almost too dark. Still, that’s really my only complaint.
This series is a noir fan’s dream, on top of being smart, and among the most well written and well plotted books on the shelves today. If you’re not reading this, you’re absolutely insane. What are you waiting for? Easily the best thing Wildstorm is putting out, by a long shot.
Ratings:
Story: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/full.jpg
Art: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
Overall: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 Sleeper Season Two online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1312&cat=SLEEPER+SEASON+TWO)