Sunday, December 31, 2017

Sunday Splash Page #3

"Irate Living Robot", in Agents of Atlas (vol. 1) #5, by Jeff Parker (writer), Leonard Kirk (penciler), Kris Justice and Terry Pallot (inkers), Michelle Madsen (colorist), Dave Lanphear (letterer)

The mini-series taking a group of heroes from Marvel's '50s comics, previously united in a single What If?, brought back and expanded on by Jeff Parker and Leonard Kirk. The mini-series turned into another couple of mini-series a couple years later, and then a couple of attempts at ongoings that died quickly.

Agents of Atlas is the first book I remember buying strictly on the basis of what people on the Internet were saying about it. No one at the store was talking about, but I'd had the blog for a few months, and by the time the hardcover collection came in, I'd seen several glowing reviews. So I bought it on a whim.

Parker and Kirk weave the character's histories together, and incorporate the scattered appearances they'd had in the last 30+ years. Parker knows how to build character moments, humor, and stuff that's just cool or fun. Kirk's artwork knows how to sell all those, giving characters otherworldly or terrifying looks when necessary, or showing them as people who've all been alone until they found this family again.

2 comments:

SallyP said...

I have vaguely heard of this, but never read it. But I do like Jeff Parker, so...I'll have to give it a try.

CalvinPitt said...

Definitely do. By this point there ought to be used copies for relatively cheap out there someplace.