Welcome to another Weekly Emanata, the MEGATONik review of comics. As these are a combination of readerly reaction and critical examination, expect spoilers. I’m going to write as if you, the reader, has some passing knowledge of comics, but feel free to post questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer.

We’re running a little late again, but that is entirely due to some site problems last night.

Air #7
written by G Willow Wilson
art by MK Perker

This is one of the freshest books coming out of a mainstream comic company and I look forward to every issue, but I’m going to try not to gush about it since I’ve done so in previous columns. I have had a few small problems with the series, which I think is normal for nearly everything I read, but I’m featuring this issue this week because it specifically deals with one of my biggest stumbling blocks in the book so far: the plot has moved along so fast that some of the characters have gotten short shrift.

Issue seven deals with this problem in a unique way that snaps right in to the weird mythology that Wilson and Perker have been developing. The protagonist, through means that I won’t go into detail here, ends up in the body of her mysterious lover… when he was ten years old. In living the key moments of his life, the whole “mysterious lover” cliche is dissolved in a way that also adds a unique aspect to the future of the characters’ relationship. What’s it going to mean if your girlfriend has seen all the important choices you’ve made from your own point of view?

The last important thing about this issue is purely financial: it’s only one dollar. If this review (or previous coverage) has at all sparked your interest, you can jump in here, get a feel for things, and pick up the previous six issues in trade paperback form for only ten bucks.

Astonishing X-Men #25 & 26
written by Warren Ellis
art by Simone Bianchi

I didn’t get these issues when they first came out since I’m not much of an X-fan and I can only spend so much money on comics. I’m a big Ellis fan, though, so when I had the chance to get them at a discount, I didn’t hesitate.

The books are filled with typical Ellisisms: lofty hard-science concepts, snarky cynics clashing with optimistic idealists, and tight dialogue. It’s a bit of a slow read, but there’s some good character interplay and an unexpected depth to everyone’s morals and beliefs that surpasses the sort of expositional arguments that most superhero books contain. I’m not calling it genre-transcendent or anything, but Ellis doesn’t seem to be coasting around on the same old X-Men touchpoints that’ve been sitting around rotting since Claremont wrote the book from the seventies to the nineties.

I’m not sure what I think of Bianchi’s art. He’s come up with some new aesthetic techniques that he’s trying out; a good example can be found in the cover image above. See that weird overlapping silhouetting thing going on with Beast’s arms? That kind of thing is all over these books. Characters’ flailing limbs become a part of panel borders or disappear into white space as they cross over someone’s face. It looks nice enough as a single image, but as a storytelling technique, I don’t think it adds anything to the way a page is read. I would almost say that it does the opposite, breaking up the rhythm of the story as things get jumbled together, calling attention to body parts and such that aren’t especially important to what’s going on. I don’t think they have any thematic link to the story, either. It’s not a deal-breaker as Bianchi’s got obvious talent; I’m hoping he’s just working through a phase and will be able to pull some useful tools out of all of the experimentation.

Fallen Angel Omnibus
written by Peter David
art by JK Woodward, Kristian Donaldson, Billy Tucci, & Dennis Calero

Here was my hefty reading for the week. This book contains the first 21 issues of Fallen Angel published by IDW, which is a lot of comic to read.

The series has a weird history, having been published by DC Comics as a maybe-continuation of David’s long-and-cancelled Supergirl run, which itself dealt with all sorts of weird continuity issues. I think there was a sense of the first Fallen Angel being some sort of consolation gift. “We’re sorry we don’t want to keep you on Supergirl, so here’s a book where you can run free and sort of continue your story.” It was pretty harsh, then, when the comic was cancelled after twenty issues.

On the other hand, once IDW started publishing the book, David got to really run free. He spun a new origin for his protagonist, dispensing with any ties she had to Supergirl, and then set off at a sprint. In a strange living city, a cynical failure of an angel waits for people to ask for help. Maybe she’ll acquiesce, or maybe she’ll keep drinking her beer. The supporting cast include a priest, Adolf Hitler, and the snake from Eden. It’s a strong plot that only occasionally gives in to David’s penchant for snappy dialogue and jokes, even when they’re not necessary. This is a creator that seems to be working with his passion.

In my opinion, the art holds it back. The initial five issues are done in a digitally painted style that, to me, makes the images static and limits the movement of the action sequences. Also, the digital aspects of the art sometimes jump off the page, and not necessarily in a good way. After those first five issues, Woodward’s style is more traditional pen-and-ink with digital coloring… and it looks even worse. I don’t mean to be overly critical since the work is perfectly readable; it’s just that the David Lopez art in the DC run of the series was so cool and the two issues of Kristian Donaldson in this book just blows the rest of the book away with its kineticism and passion.

This is a good book that I would’ve happily paid more for. The strengths of the story work to prop up average art.

Potter’s Field: Stone Cold
written by Mark Waid
art by Paul Azaceta

Potter’s Field is a real-life graveyard in New York where the unidentified dead are buried under blank tombstones. Potter’s Field is Mark Waid’s creator-owned series about a man who goes by the name of John Doe who’s decided to devote his life to putting names on the stones at Potter’s.

Isn’t that a cool concept? Waid, mostly known for his mainstream superhero work, is aided by Azaceta’s thick and moody inks. The two craft tight little stories perfect for a modern audience obsessed with personal freedom, identity, and being remembered after death.