Sunday, October 14, 2018

Sunday Splash Page #36

"You Know It's a War Crime When Super-Skrull's Impressed," in Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith #4, by Javier Grillo-Marxuach (writer), Kyle Hotz (artist), Gina Going (colorist), Cory Petit (letterer)

Wraith is a combination of a Western revenge story, and a bit of horror, the horror aspect being something Kyle Hotz' art is well-suited for. Deep shadows for looming threats to emerge from. Lots of characters with wide-eyed surprise or terror. People being killed or maimed in brutal fashions. The Phalanx plot here, rather than some sort of microscopic control bots, or finding and assimilating a "Savior", is to strike at the very souls of the Kree, and bring them under control that way.

Where Quasar and Star-Lord had most of their cast on the run but still free, the heroes (such as they are) spend a lot of time captured by the Phalanx. Ronan is already one of the Phalanx Select, working as an interrogator, justifying it as a way to save his people. Wraith, Super-Skrull, and Praxagora (who first appeared in the Super-Skrull mini-series Grillo-Marxuach wrote as part of Annihilation) spend an issue as prisoners.

Wraith was created for this mini-series, and has not shown up anywhere since Annihilation: Conquest ended, as far as I know. He's not concerned with the Phalanx invasion at all, strictly interested in finding the people who killed his father, and killing them. He allies with other characters, but only because he thinks they give him a better chance of achieving his goal. They're repeatedly stunned by how brutal he can be.

Of the three mini-series, it's probably my least favorite. Artistically, I prefer Lilly or Green's styles, and Wraith is a bit too much of a cipher. You can get away with that in movies if there's enough style, but what's here just doesn't connect enough with me.

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