Rapid Reviews - 9 March 2005 - Part II

Chickasaw Adventures #1: Being an avid comic book reader, I'm very aware of the conventions of comics, and I usually recognize ones that are done well. This one isn't. The story is great, the artwork is very nice, but it reads like a book by someone who hasn't written many comics. Still, the story is one I didn't know, and the history is evident throughout the book. This is going to be a good series, even if it could use some polish.

Samurai: Heaven & Earth #3: "Saints and Sinners": Shiro runs into the three musketeers, and holds his own against them for the most part. This book will read much better once it's collected, though, as individually the parts are just too short. If you're up for a strange samurai epic with great artwork, this is one to look at.

The Grimoire #1: A confusing start to a promising series. Nice artwork. The main character is clearly a good person, but her mother seems to be less so, and who knows who or what her father is. I like the fact that Amandine is willing to talk with the protector she summoned... and I like the guy she summoned as well. In any case, this one gets off to a fast start, and looks pretty good so far. We'll have to see if future issues live up to this one's promise.

Aquaman #28: "To Serve & Protect": I loved the last issue. This one, not so much. There were a lot of nice ideas, but they never came together into a solid narrative. The story kept jumping to other thoughts. And the ideas about Malrey and Genetech are, frankly, just annoying. I'm also not sure what to make of Vulko's apparent ignorance... whether it was a joke on his part or genuine confusion. Not the best issue of this book I've seen recently.