What I Bought 3/24/2015 - Part 3

So let's look at a couple of books that only have one issue each. One of them is wrapping up, and I might be dropping the other one. It could go either way.

Secret Six #2, by Gail Simone (writer), Ken Lashley (penciller, inker), Drew Geraci (inker), Jason Wright (Colorist), Carlos M. Mangual (letterer) - That's a really nice cover by Eaglesham and Wright. The design for the spears, the contrasting light and dark, and everything draws you to Catman, cornered and under fire.

So 18 months ago, someone captured Catman and locked him in a cell for a year. Someone with a very Joker-like smile, but it's hard to tell with the coloring what the guy's coloring is. He did let Catman out after a year, and Blake vowed to find and kill him. The guy said Blake owed a debt, and these people who locked our cast in a coffin at the bottom of the sea mentions a woman was killed 2 years ago, so is that the issue? Hard to say, but the old lady with the ventriloquist dummy is a telekinetic, so she raises the coffin to the surface, Porcelain weakens its walls, and Blake tears through, because he has cybernetic claw things, I think. Anyway, now the group seems to committed to finding the people who locked them up and killing them. We'll see how that goes, 'cause I have no clue who they should be looking for. Someone amoral with money, I guess.

The art on this shifts a lot depending on who inks it. With Geraci's inks, it's almost like he's doing a charcoal drawing. Much heavier on the black, deeper, thicker, wider shadows, and it seems to simplify the art considerably. It's an extremely notable transition for when Lashley inks his own stuff, is what I'm saying. Wright goes heavy on the blues in this issue, which does make the occasional red or green shaded panel more noticeable, but it's a murky feel most of the time. Appropriate considering both plot threads involve someone locked in a dank box.

At least we're starting to see the outlines of the character relationships. The big guy is going to be kind of paternal towards Alice, though I've got a hunch he won't last long. He seems a little out of his depth. The old lady is kind of Ragdoll, with a little of Jeanette in her, and I have a hunch Catman's going to form a friendship with this Strix person. Not sure why, I just have a hunch Blake will appreciate someone who doesn't talk, but prefers to just kill things. Still not sure whether I'll buy the next issue, but at least I have until June to decide. Maybe by then they can get the book back on schedule.

She-Hulk #12, by Charles Soule (writer), Javier Pulido (storyteller), Muntsa Vicente (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - I went with one of the variant covers, since there wasn't a difference in price. I just like this one more than the main cover. It says "final issue" to me more than the other did.

So, Nighteater - when did he become Nighteater? - hired Dr. Druid, Vibro, and Shocker to help him cast this spell, which sacrificed every in Divide County, except George Saywitz (the source of the Blue File), because Jen got him out in time. The purpose of the spell was to make everyone remember Nighteater as Nightwatch, a now-retired hero. Not a great one, just an OK hero who would be respected and remembered well. Trench has Jen under his control because of a spell he set when he appeared back in issue 5 and 6, and he seems to be about to tie up all the loose ends, but Angie called Shocker and told him what happened, and Hermann isn't happy. Why didn't he get to be a hero too? That disrupts Trench's concentration long enough for Angie to dispel his control of Jen, and she whups his butt. After, Angie appears ready to move on, bu Patsy convinces her to stay by pointing out things will fall into total disarray without Angie. Because Patsy sure as heck isn't doing any filing. And we end with Jen preparing to defend The Inhumans against a case being prosecuted by the firm Jen left at the start of the series.

There's a recurring theme in this run of people trying to blame others for their mistakes, or wanting to be redeemed/forgiven without actually repenting. I think it's something to explore further later, because I'm not quite sure how it relates to Jennifer yet. Is Soule saying something about lawyers, that by representing the law, or taking part in the judicial process, they're helping to ensure power is used responsibly? Or is it something about Jen being a Hulk, having all that power, even if the source of it has caused a lot of destruction? I'm not at all sure.

I'm also not sure about Trench. So did Soule just rewrite Trench's entire history? Is he saying the guy was never a hero, he just cast a spell to make people think that? So he didn't actually try to help Spider-Man during Maximum Carnage? He might have been on Carnage's side, or more likely, wasn't within a 1000 miles of the thing at all? That's. . . I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's the sort of giant, retroactive thing I tend to hate. Like trying to make the Sentry the most important guy ever in the Marvel Universe, except this is the character trying to do it for themselves. It's not that I have any fondness for Nightwatch, but there might be someone who does, and who knows how they feel about it.

That aside, it's a good last issue. Wraps up the Blue File thread, leaves a useable status quo for future writers. I don't know what Pulido's moving on to next - I have a vague feeling he's lined up to do something for DC? - but hopefully it's something good. Soule's already writing like 15 books, he doesn't need anything else extra.