2020 Comics in Review - Part 4

With so few comics, there were fewer artist than usual that hit the unofficial 110 page cutoff I keep track of for the hell of it. Dave Chisholm made it 110 with Canopus, Audrey Mok got to 122 with Sera and the Royal Stars, and Denys Cowan ended up at 130 pages for Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage. Ultimately, first place was a tie between Amy Reeder (Amethyst) and Max Sarin (Wicked Things) at 132 pages each.

Other than that, the only person who made it within 20 pages was Elise McCall with Spy Island. Wendell Cavalcanti got to 88 with Atlantis Wasn't Built for Tourists, and that's pretty much it. There's usually at least one artist that pops up on more than one book, but that didn't really happen here. C.F. Villa drew issues on both volumes of the Black Cat, but the second volume is basically just a continuation of the first, so that probably shouldn't count.

Spy Island #1-4: It's a spy story, obviously. Set on an island, obviously. Where a lot of spies hang out. And there's stuff going on, and mermaids are involved, or being implicated, and that has to get sorted out. Chelsea Cain was the writer, and Elise McCall did most of the art with Rachelle Rosenberg handling color work, although Lia Miternique handled some of the other pages, like the drink menu and the undersea map.

High Point: The part where they use a sort of sign language underwater, and the translations that go with it in issue 4 was kind of funny. There's a few gags like that in there that are worth a chuckle. I liked the covers, especially the one that looks like my geometry textbook. Even though I hate geometry.

Low Point: I really don't get what the creative team was going for here. It doesn't feel quite like a parody, but sometimes it does. The parts that seem like they're supposed to have emotional heft, don't have the necessary groundwork to pull them off.

Steeple #5: Geez, it feels like this came out 100 years ago, not 1. The final issue of John Allison's mini-series (with Sarah Stern as colorist and Jim Campbell as letterer) about a curate coming to join a parish. In the final issue, Billie decides to embrace Satan instead, right as Maggie decides it's time to go back to being good. Look ladies, this ain't a hopscotch court, this is the ultimate war between good and evil. No hopping back-and-forth! I read somewhere last week that the story is still going online, so I probably need to check that out.

Sympathy for No Devils #1-3: The last human alive gets called in by his old partner to investigate the murder of a giant in the exact same place a different giant was murdered three years ago. And of course, there are people of influence who want the investigation dropped. Brandon Thomas writes, Lee Ferguson draws, Jose Villarrubia colors, and Simon Bowland letters.

High Point: Luck powers are always cool, and Ferguson has some fun showing how they help Winston out of a few jams. I'm curious about the actual murder mystery. What's the percentage in killing these giant dudes? There's clearly a lot of backstory we gets hints of that's intriguing.

Low Point: The actual murder mystery feels like it's continually being forgotten to focus on relationship drama, or how much Winston's secretary wants to kill him. It seems like the killer will just be revealed near the end of the last issue, and there won't have been any build-up or actual detective work. Wouldn't mind some of the main cast being a little less human looking, more bizarre body types. They're also in that "Star Trek alien" category, but it doesn't feel as though it fits in a world that's supposed to be so much stranger than Atlantis Wasn't Built for Tourists.

Taskmaster #1 and 2: Taskmaster is framed for Maria Hill's murder, and Nick Fury's gonna help him not get killed by the Black Widow, if Tasky helps him unlock some special box thing. I'm still convinced Hill's faking (first clue being the notion anyone would give a shit she got killed), and I don't love Alessandro Vitti's artwork, so at present, this is running a solid third place among Taskmaster mini-series (behind the Udon Studios one and the van Lente/Jefte Palo one). Oh well, Jed MacKay gave me Black Cat, he's still running ahead for the year.

The Union #1: Originally, it was supposed to be an Empyre tie-in mini-series. With all the delays, it turned into a King in Black tie-in mini-series. But hell, I'm buying it because I was curious to see Paul Grist write a Marvel comic. And while Andrea DiVito's artwork almost certainly better fits Marvel's Big Event aesthetic, I'd have been really amped if Grist drew the thing, too.

We Only Find Them When They're Dead #1: I tried this on a whim, but the first issue was too much set-up and not enough forward progress on anything actually interesting. Plus, I don't really like the neon color scheme they had going.

Wicked Things #1-6: The other John Allison written thing I bought this year, with the Giant Days' art team of Max Sarin and Whitney Cogar there as well. Charlotte Grote gets framed for murder at the Teen Detectives Annual awards show, and until the police can either clear or convict, they put her to work for them, while keeping her in some sort of parole house with an ankle bracelet. Charlotte doesn't find the real killers, or even get started on it, but she at least gets her name cleared.

High Point: Allison and Sarin make a really good team. Allison has a knack for these great one-liners or observations, and Sarin excels at drawing facial expressions and body language to go with them. Charlotte describing the duck-face selfie as 'getting ready to say prunes, but don't think about anything while you do it,' cracked me up.

Low Point: I would have liked more progress on the actual murder, but I assumed that's being saved for if Allison turns it into an ongoing series at some point. I didn't really like any of the cops in the supporting cast.