Well this weekend I excitedly went into Kings Comics in Sydney with my kids to pick up the new Wednesday Comics project by DC Comics, and had to walk around the shop before i saw it -- inexplicably they had it in amongst all the other usual monthly nonsense, and it really got lost. That's not a criticism about the WC cover (shown above)...more a failure of Kings to recognise this as an event comic, and have it out on its own. Anyway, I bought a couple copies for myself and a half dozen copies for my mates to see if I could get them interested.
Overall, it's great. The smell of the ink on the newsprint, the texture of the paper...all very nostalgic, and i look forward to picking up every issue over the next couple months. On the whole i would have liked have seen more stories starting in the middle (like you would if you picked up the Sunday papers after having not read them for ages) and some of the creator's didn't quite get the Sunday paper tribute concept, but other than that it was a really great (and fun!) read.
Here's a quick rundown on each episode, with a grade beside each:
Batman: B+
First, this page visually works a treat with the strong WC logo at the top -- props to whoever designed this front page. As for the actual story, it's a great start, with an intriguing set-up and the art (and especially the monochromatic colouring) is top notch. Choosing the browns was a master stroke because it immediately puts the strip in the right tone to match this retro quality to the project. Looking forward to next issue...
Kamandi: A-
This page captures, what i think, is the perfect blend of doing something retro, while not looking like it was drawn decades ago. The colouring has a great water colour feel to it, and the Kirby bar at the bottom was a very nice touch. The setup works well and ends on an intriguing cliff hanger -- whose gruff voice is it?
Superman: C
Way over rendered...missed the boat in terms of finding the balance like Kamandi did. In terms of the storytelling though, i liked the fact that it starts right in the middle of a fight and the last panel is a really good segue into the next episode. Just wish it wasn't over rendered as it's really hard to judge what the line work would have been like if the colours were handled more suitably.
Deadman: A-
Loved this one -- is just as successful as the Kamandi story in terms of the colours, artwork, page density, retro quality etc. All the elements are there, and the page design is great and flows nicely. Bullocks work is very inspiring and i can't wait to see how this develops! Top work guys:-)
Green Lantern: B-
I love the setting and style of the top panel, but some of the other panels are a little vector looking with the thick outline around the characters. The premise is great though, and I really like the tone (it fits perfectly like Kamandi and Deadman), so i look forward to seeing where they take this story.
Just as an aside: looking at both these stories together, one can really see the influence Darwyn Cooke's work has had on the industry and that's a good thing!
Metamorpho: B
I'm not a huge Allred fan, but this is by far the best of his recent work and so much of it works fantastically. Love the top logo, and then panel design....the roll call at the bottom is a really great nod to this old comic format. Colours look great on the newsprint, and for me it's only the way Allred draws the faces that stops this being up with the other A grades.
Teen Titans: D
I think Cheeks is a cracking illustrator, but his very tight, vector style just doesn't translate to the comic medium, imho. The colours and line holds he uses look fabulous on screen, but just feel very washed out when printed in this format. Also, the page design and the constant way he breaks the borders doesn't help the storytelling. I looked at this one for about 30 secs before turning the page, and I'm still not sure what it was all about and what was happening in that last panel. Sorry Cheeks:-(
Strange Adventures: B+
Great! I'm not much of a Pope fan but his work here is really great. This story got me really excited to see more...from the muted colours and wash over the speech bubbles (which really helps pull all the colours together), to the way he designed the panels (that last Foom! is a cracker!) -- it all works. What lets it down a little, and this is obviously just a very personal thing, is Pope's line work doesn't seem very confident and is abit bitsy in places, especially on our hero's faces.
Supergirl: C+
While it's a great story with a gag at the end, the artwork is a little lack lustre (the artist missed a huge opportunity by not integrating the logo into the first panel and it feels incomplete), and the lettering - with the very Image-comic like vignettes - don't work for this type of format. But at least it had a clear beginning and end, so look forward to the next episode.
Metal Men: A
The only reason this isn't an A+ is the colourist was too literal with the hues and let's it down a little bit (and maybe that was just my expectation after seeing the amazing pencilled version of this page). But other than that it's solid gold on all accounts by the writer (great beginning and ends on a hilarious gag) and of course, Jose's art is perfect for this project and he's one of the all-time greats so it's always a treat (and an education) to see his work. Can't wait to see how this develops!
Wonder Woman: D-
Ben seems like a great guy and i think everybody on The Drawing Board appreciates all the time he spends posting his roughs and sketches, but this just doesn't work for me. The logo looks amateurish and doesn't have any weight, the page is way to dense and the font he's chosen is very hard to read. As a cartoonist he does great poses, but it just doesn't gel as a cohesive comic page for me. Sorry Ben.:-(
Sgt. Rock: A
It's Joe drawing Sgt. Rock, so what else can be said? It captures the feeling of nostalgia perfectly...the story intrigues, and though it only takes a few minutes to read, has so much life because the bigger panels are able to breath with the appropriate white space around them. Great job Adam and Joe!
Flash Comics & Iris West: B
This one feels a little bit modern for my tastes, but the artwork is solid, great choice of villian in Gorilla Grodd, and I LOVE the nod to those great old romance comics in the Iris story. This one feels more like a teaser though, so I'll wait and see how it develops before saying anymore...
The Demon and Cat Woman: B+
Colouring is too dark and overly saturated on the newsprint (hope they adjust that for next issue), but overall it's great. Simonson's work has a suprsingly Mignola-esque feel to it, but it's an impressive effort all up with a good setup and premise. Can't wait to see The Demon in action (hopefully next issue:-)
Hawkman: B
I really like the loose brushwork Baker uses in this comic and the water-like colouring really works over it. With only 6 panels, it feels a little thin compared to the Rock strip (simply because in the Kubert strip he has the storytelling nous to place us immediately into jeopardy with our hero), but I'll give this one a little leeway and see how it develops.
Overall, Wednesday Comics is a winner and congrats go to Mark Chiarello for coming up with the idea, DC Comics for being smart enough to see the idea through and really generating some buzz about the project, and all the writers and artists who obviously worked their butts off (despite some of my criticisms above, i can clearly see that everyone put a hell of alof of effort into every single panel). Bravo!
