© C Harris Lynn, 2012
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
Showing posts with label power pack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power pack. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Advance Reviews
Well, Marvel did send me several pages from the new Power Pack mini-series we just sent out the press release for. Unfortunately, they are so small that the text is illegible! There's no way to see it at the regular size and it blurs when you zoom... so, I won't be able to say much about it other than that the artwork is nice. It's the same as in the other mini-series and has that playful, cartoon appearance that belies its complexity.
One other thing I want to draw your attention to with the art in these books is the backgrounds; backgrounds are very hard to draw well in sequential art - speaking from experience and my own inability to do so well - and so a lot of artists cheese past it. Again, I'm not knocking them - I do the same; you play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses and it's always better to have your characters "floating" in a blank panel than set them in front of a truly awful background that draws the viewer's attention away from the action. But the art in all of the Power Pack minis has had great backgrounds! I have been awed time and again by the depth, detail, and precision with which the backgrounds have been rendered in these series of minis and wanted to point that out.
With that out of the way, I am going to review Image's soon-to-be-released Gemini #1.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
One other thing I want to draw your attention to with the art in these books is the backgrounds; backgrounds are very hard to draw well in sequential art - speaking from experience and my own inability to do so well - and so a lot of artists cheese past it. Again, I'm not knocking them - I do the same; you play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses and it's always better to have your characters "floating" in a blank panel than set them in front of a truly awful background that draws the viewer's attention away from the action. But the art in all of the Power Pack minis has had great backgrounds! I have been awed time and again by the depth, detail, and precision with which the backgrounds have been rendered in these series of minis and wanted to point that out.
With that out of the way, I am going to review Image's soon-to-be-released Gemini #1.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
The Secrets of the Power Pack
I am a Power Pack fan - I am. I never subscribed to them and only got into the title when it was on its last leg, but something about those little guys just intrigues me and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's the innocence of the whole thing or maybe it's the novelty, but whatever it is, I truly enjoy Power Pack comics.I have talked about them here before - they're great for younger comics fans, but not so condescending that older cats, like myself, can't enjoy them. It's the perfect title for younger readers and I applaud Marvel's efforts in this regard, but Power Pack also makes a great "palette-cleansing" read after you've gotten through the slew of darker titles in your shipment.
And the goodly folk over to Marvel sent me enough advance pages that I can give you a decent Rundown on this upcoming title in a few! Since I have all the issues of the last 3-4 Power Pack mini-series, I can do a little contrast and comparison.
This is an official Marvel Comics press release:
Alex, Julie, Jack and Katie Power may just seem like regular kids, but they're better known by their super hero name—the Power Pack! But just how did they become Earth's youngest—and coolest—heroes? Enter Power Pack: Day One #1 (of 4), from rising star scribe Fred Van Lente (Incredible Hercules, Wolverine: First Class) and the art team of Gurihiru & Colleen Coover, revealing the origin of the super team! They've got twenty-four hours to escape alien abductions, rescue their family and save the universe! And did we mention they just got their super powers?
"This is THE best book of the month, people!" exclaimed editor Nate Cosby. "We've worked HARD to chuck this puppy FULL of things you love: Snarks, spaceships, laser guns, baseball, vacuum cleaners, cheese snacks, the Fantastic Four, and PONIES! I'm telling ya—you read this issue and you'll be HOOKED!"
Establishing a new continuity for the Pack, this is the perfect jumping on point for readers new and old, showing just why the Power Park are Marvel's premiere team of super kids! But with an intergalactic tyrant at their backs, how can the kids triumph? Find out in Power Pack: Day One #1!
POWER PACK: DAY ONE #1 (of 4) (JAN082173)
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Penciled by GURIHIRU & COLLEEN COOVER
Cover by GURIHIRU
Rated A …$2.99
FOC—3/6/08, On-Sale—3/26/08
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Monday, July 23, 2007
Fantastic Four & Power Pack #1 - A Review
I always loved Power Pack. I really didn’t know much about them until the seminal Mutant Massacre, but once I was introduced to them through the pages of The Uncanny X-Men, I sought out some back issues and really, really enjoyed them. Power Pack is a small foursome of young, pre-adolescent and teen siblings, who were given special powers by a horse-like alien named Whitey. Along their way, they met up with one Franklin Richards, son of Fantastic Four couple, Sue and Reed Richards.
That’s when the fun really began.
Unfortunately, Power Pack was canceled many, many years ago and have just now returned to active duty in Marvel's All Ages Fantastic Four & Power Pack 4-issue mini-series. I have only received the first issue and I can safely say it is perfect for all ages, from the very young to at least, oh, say... 32 - just to throw a number out there at random ( -kaff- ).
The artwork is very cartoonish and highly stylized, but not crude or childish and has a high and ageless appeal. The writing is a bit on the youngster side, but it definitely works. It’s been so long since I was young enough to appreciate classic comic book writing that I find it clunky, but it has that distinctive ring that reminds me of comic books when I was growing up, so I know that young comics fans get it better than I do.
I didn’t know that calling a comic book “fun” would kill it, so I won’t use that term, but Fantastic Four and Power Pack is definitely entertaining. And there’s no Whitey (damn the man!).
That’s when the fun really began.
Unfortunately, Power Pack was canceled many, many years ago and have just now returned to active duty in Marvel's All Ages Fantastic Four & Power Pack 4-issue mini-series. I have only received the first issue and I can safely say it is perfect for all ages, from the very young to at least, oh, say... 32 - just to throw a number out there at random ( -kaff- ).
The artwork is very cartoonish and highly stylized, but not crude or childish and has a high and ageless appeal. The writing is a bit on the youngster side, but it definitely works. It’s been so long since I was young enough to appreciate classic comic book writing that I find it clunky, but it has that distinctive ring that reminds me of comic books when I was growing up, so I know that young comics fans get it better than I do.
I didn’t know that calling a comic book “fun” would kill it, so I won’t use that term, but Fantastic Four and Power Pack is definitely entertaining. And there’s no Whitey (damn the man!).
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