Flightpath 07's review of AF Vol4 Issue # 1
Review: Alpha Flight, Volume IV, Issue # 0.1
(Flightpath 07 - that's me!)
(Flightpath 07 - that's me!)
First off, let me say that it feels good to be holding this issue in my hands. It has been a long wait.
Let’s start with the art, shall we? This is my first full issue of Dale Eaglesham’s artwork. Over all, I would say that the art is good; perhaps not great, but surely better than average.
My first complaint would be that, other than that huge splash page where Attuma/Nekkrod enters Vancouver, most of the panels tend to be small and cluttered. I hope that in the future, Dale tends to draw larger panels. Now, I do realize some of the smaller panels may be because there is a large story to tell, in only 8 (or 9) issues. But I prefer quality or quantity. I want to see faces and facial features and facial expressions up close, where I can FEEL the emotions going through the characters; this is a large part of what brings them to life.
My second complaint about the art, tends to fall upon the shoulders of the colourist; I count six separate panels, where the colourist makes the mistake of making the skin tone of the person or persons in the panel take on a purplish hue. Since Purple Woman is not in this issue, I have a little bit of a problem with that!
Shaman…I’m not sure that I like how muscular he is. He is a doctor, and a magic-based hero. Yet he looks like he can bench-press Benjamin Grimm!
Although I had already seen her in the preview pages, I really enjoyed how the news reporter looks – making her Asian was a great bonus, as it plays on the large Asian population in the Vancouver area.
Do I need to keep re-touching on how fantastic Vindicator’s butt looks?
Sasquatch looks good in this issue; but he could use a few more smiles. Happy, friendly Walter is the one I like best as Sasquatch; this should show in his facial features as well.
Marrina looks really good; I like the way Dale E. makes her new look work for her.
Aurora looks a little less chesty than I remember her. Or is her black costume just minimizing things?
As far as the plot goes…nice job! Although Vindicator has been bandied around on the AlphaFlight.net message boards as being a possible betrayer, I still didn’t see that coming! Again, this surely must be an issue of a mother doing whatever it takes to get her child back.
Excuse me, FVL and Pak, but I think there is a grievous mistake you have made in this issue. It involves when Mac grabs Nekkrod and they both end up in Newfoundland. Doesn’t the Earth rotate to the East? If Mac stops himself against the Earth’s rotation, wouldn’t the two then end up over Russia?
I think the characterizations in this issue are all done well. Everybody seems to stay true to who they are. Sas and Aurora banter back and forth playfully. Northstar shows concern for his sister, who then blows him off angrily. Mac and Heather work well together as a team (until the end of the issue!). All is good in Alpha-land.
I enjoyed this issue. For whatever reason, I actually enjoyed the 0.1 issue more, although I am not able to put my finger on why. This was a good issue, setting up more of what we can possibly expect in the coming issues.
Writers: Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente
Pencils: Dale Eaglesham
Inks: Andrew Hennessy
Colours: Sonia Oback
Letterer: Simon Bowland
My issue’s cover by: Phil Jimenez and Frank D’Armata
Editor: Mark Paniccia
My ratings for this issue:
Art: 8.5/10
Story: 10/10
Dialogue: 10/10
Intangibles (or, as some call it, Alpha-Flight-iness): 9.5/10
I’m giving this one 38 Maple Leafs out of 40!
Let’s start with the art, shall we? This is my first full issue of Dale Eaglesham’s artwork. Over all, I would say that the art is good; perhaps not great, but surely better than average.
My first complaint would be that, other than that huge splash page where Attuma/Nekkrod enters Vancouver, most of the panels tend to be small and cluttered. I hope that in the future, Dale tends to draw larger panels. Now, I do realize some of the smaller panels may be because there is a large story to tell, in only 8 (or 9) issues. But I prefer quality or quantity. I want to see faces and facial features and facial expressions up close, where I can FEEL the emotions going through the characters; this is a large part of what brings them to life.
My second complaint about the art, tends to fall upon the shoulders of the colourist; I count six separate panels, where the colourist makes the mistake of making the skin tone of the person or persons in the panel take on a purplish hue. Since Purple Woman is not in this issue, I have a little bit of a problem with that!
Shaman…I’m not sure that I like how muscular he is. He is a doctor, and a magic-based hero. Yet he looks like he can bench-press Benjamin Grimm!
Although I had already seen her in the preview pages, I really enjoyed how the news reporter looks – making her Asian was a great bonus, as it plays on the large Asian population in the Vancouver area.
Do I need to keep re-touching on how fantastic Vindicator’s butt looks?
Sasquatch looks good in this issue; but he could use a few more smiles. Happy, friendly Walter is the one I like best as Sasquatch; this should show in his facial features as well.
Marrina looks really good; I like the way Dale E. makes her new look work for her.
Aurora looks a little less chesty than I remember her. Or is her black costume just minimizing things?
As far as the plot goes…nice job! Although Vindicator has been bandied around on the AlphaFlight.net message boards as being a possible betrayer, I still didn’t see that coming! Again, this surely must be an issue of a mother doing whatever it takes to get her child back.
Excuse me, FVL and Pak, but I think there is a grievous mistake you have made in this issue. It involves when Mac grabs Nekkrod and they both end up in Newfoundland. Doesn’t the Earth rotate to the East? If Mac stops himself against the Earth’s rotation, wouldn’t the two then end up over Russia?
I think the characterizations in this issue are all done well. Everybody seems to stay true to who they are. Sas and Aurora banter back and forth playfully. Northstar shows concern for his sister, who then blows him off angrily. Mac and Heather work well together as a team (until the end of the issue!). All is good in Alpha-land.
I enjoyed this issue. For whatever reason, I actually enjoyed the 0.1 issue more, although I am not able to put my finger on why. This was a good issue, setting up more of what we can possibly expect in the coming issues.
Writers: Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente
Pencils: Dale Eaglesham
Inks: Andrew Hennessy
Colours: Sonia Oback
Letterer: Simon Bowland
My issue’s cover by: Phil Jimenez and Frank D’Armata
Editor: Mark Paniccia
My ratings for this issue:
Art: 8.5/10
Story: 10/10
Dialogue: 10/10
Intangibles (or, as some call it, Alpha-Flight-iness): 9.5/10
I’m giving this one 38 Maple Leafs out of 40!
posted by Dredd Sweet at 9:59 PM
4 Comments:
Hi, Flightpath! Just one comment re: "most of the panels tend to be small and cluttered. I hope that in the future, Dale tends to draw larger panels." I'm guessing from this that you don't realize the artist doesn't control the panel count and content? Artists love to draw big, beautiful shots, and close-ups too, but they have to follow the script given to them. If the script calls for lots of 6-panel pages with lots of details in every panel, there's not much room to draw pretty pictures and some of the impact will be lost, sadly. Just sayin'.
You are correct, sir or madam! I don't know much about an artist's control (or lack thereof) within the frameworks of the scripting process.
The art definitely wasn't bad on this issue; I just missed seeing close-ups of emotional faces, is all. Perhaps I should have written, "I hope that in the future, Dale is allowed to draw panels featuring more close views of Alpha Flight members' faces."
Thank you for informing me, it was most appreciated.
Maybe Mac flipped around the entire planet until they landed in Newfoundland?
Possible, I guess. But didn't his rotation-stopping thingy work by transporting him a certian amount of miles/kilometres? I know Byrne listed it in one issue; I just assumed that was how far it always worked. After all, you can really only go so far; if yuo go too far, what with the earth being round, wouldn't you have conflicting forces at play, what with gravity wanting to hold you to earth? Oh...my head hurts...too much thinking. Must suspend all disbelief; remember, it is a comic book...
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