What I Bought 2/21/2020 - Part 2

Another week in the books. Hooray! Hopefully I get more rest this weekend than I did last weekend. But first, two comics to review.

Deadpool #3, by Kelly Thompson (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Wayne Faucher, Livesay, Al Vey, Jaime Mendoza and Victor Olazaba (inkers), David Curiel (color artist), Joe Sabino (letterer) - Bachalo really likes to draw Wade with one pinky extended when he's holding swords. Is Wade trying to be classy? Because it just seems like a good way to lose a finger.

Elsa's bullet dumps Wade in another dimension for about three pages. Then he's back and angry at her, and Kraven's attacking again. Wade consults his trading cards to learn what his "knights" can actually do, then tricks them all into leaving so he can fight Kraven. They fight a bit, Wade is somehow slowed down more by a spear in the gut than Kraven is by a sword running through his torso. Not sure how that works. Then they keep fighting.

Which kind of makes the whole teleportation bullet pointless? We're right back where we were at the end of last issue, minus Wade's knights. I do appreciate they aren't protecting Wade because they particularly like him, since he spends a lot of time insulting them. They just know Kraven would become King if he kills Wade, and that would be bad for all the monsters. Sound reasoning.

There are still some panels where I scratch my head at Bachalo's choices on panel layout, although it definitely feels like he used more of the available page space than last issue. I did like the bit where Kraven is standing on a ledge looking down at Wade, and then later, it's reversed, with Wade looking down at Kraven. The fight between them was solid. The little lines on Kraven's cheek from the force of Wade's punch. Kraven telling Deadpool all that jumping around isn't effective, then immediately getting stabbed, then Wade complaining a page later that he had a joke he couldn't make because his throat was cut.

The overall concept behind the story isn't bad, but the pacing is not the best.

Sera and the Royal Stars #6, by Jon Tsuei (writer), Audrey Mok (artist), Raul Angulo (colorist), Jim Campbell (letterer) - Oh, look at these two, lording their twin-headed dragon over everyone. La-de-dah. It is pretty sweet though, I'm insanely jealous.

Sera returns home to rescue her surviving family, while the Stars go to ask the Pleiades for some guidance. The Seven Sisters have a few options to understand what's been done to the Stars, but it's pointed out that if they simply kill the two Dracos, their spell will be broken. They also know the Dracos are tracking Sera, so Antares goes to help her, while the other two continue on. The helping doesn't go well, as one of the Dracos attacks and does something to that gem that has replaced Sera's heart, causing a shockwave, that devastates her city and kills her father, while her sister is abducted. That's what you call losing on all counts.

I wonder if the Dracos are even behind the problem, or if they're just taking advantage of the situation. Or being taken advantage of by the real mastermind. If there is one. The Demon Star would seem a possible candidate, but I'm wondering if Mitra not up to something. Why place Regulus inside Sera, which limits his ability to act, rather than guiding her to him, so he could be fully awakened like the others? Seems to have backfired a bit if the goal was to give her power to rely on.

Kind of curious about the thought process behind the Pleiades' design. Other than the youngest looking of the seven, they're all basically naked ladies wearing masks with long pieces of fabric just kind of floating. I mean, fine, they aren't human - the conversation about eating between Alderbaran and Antares made that clear - so no reason they necessarily would wear clothes. But then, why the masks? You're not supposed to gaze upon an oracle's true face?