Stephanie Kay
Oct 14, 2007, 11:09 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/4images/details.php?image_id=10514" target="_blank"><img src=" http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/marvel/smreign2t.jpg" align="left" hspace=10 alt="Spider-Man: Reign #2"></A> Reviewer: Corey Brotherson cbrotherson@googlemail.com
Story Title: Book Two
“The Sinner Six.”
Writer: Kaare Andrews
Artists: Kaare Andrews & Jose Villarrubia
Letterer: VC's Rus Wooton
Assistant Editor: Michael O’Conner
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com)
Love it or hate it, Kaare Andrews' venture down the dark rabbit hole of Spider-Man's mythos is certainly intriguing.
And not just because it takes Marvel's figurehead character to a place which has rarely been explored by recent webbed out writers. Yet just because a story is 'bleak and gritty', it doesn't automatically make it synonymous with 'essential'. The rather patchy batch of brooding comics created during the 90s is testament to that. However, what Andrews has done so far with Spider-Man: Reign is force a large dollop of moralistic storytelling down our throats that partners the depressingly stygian tone, making one firmly part of the other. Reign is a story that demands a fair degree of pessimism to function as a cautionary tale of authority and paranoia gone mad to the point of suffocating totalitarianism. Over 30 years outside of regular Marvel continuity, masks and heroes are all but gone and New York finds itself under the grip of a fierce regime of strict government signified by the march of its enforcement group, the titular Reign.
The politicians used in the book may exist in a literal visual grey, but there's no such mixed morality in their character. In case it wasn’t clear in the first issue, they're most certainly evil at heart and willing to do whatever they can to keep within power, forsaking any responsibility to their people. They’re not meant to be well rounded or relatable, nor are the Reign - given the colours of supervillain The Wrecker to make their intentions blindingly clear to us. Andrews really lays thick his unique shades of black and white in this issue and what it lacks in subtlety it makes up in potency. As a future vision it's disturbing, yet far from implausible. Sure, there's added drama in the sheer brutality and rather goose-stepping nature of the Reign, but we've seen examples of such overzealousness in our modern world where authority, trust and power have been abused and misappropriated.
With Spider-Man back in the public eye, his role is seemingly to bring back the soul of a society which no longer has its fighting spirit, yet Peter Parker is struggling against the frailties of an old body and events of the past that suggest a man close to his own personal breaking point. The result is immediate empathy with Parker as he battles with his show of rebellion from the last issue while a public sees a glimmer of what it once lost before it's confronted by the restoration of six deadly and familiar foes. The ensuing battle is harsh and spares little in the way of anguish, Andrews depicting it with an intentional chaos and brutality.
There are curious shades of Warren Ellis' Thunderbolts revamp via its use of the returning villains - nothing new in concept, of course, but it's a coincidental parallel that nicely fits within the framework of the story as well as current issues of our society. Are we hero worshiping the right people and villainising the wrong ones? Are our priorities and world view as stuck and false as the politicians and media presented here? It's a strong message delivered powerfully throughout, leaving a rather blunt but unforgettable motif that lingers long after it ends.
Another strength of Reign's second part is through Andrews' awareness of Spidey's often underused yet important supporting cast (which has been very much marginalised in main continuity), using them in thematic roles while pushing the plot forward. Mary Jane remains a tragic spectre of Parker's love and desire for stability and normalcy, constantly denied through an ever-present sense of duty. This is something accentuated even more given the vast divergence of personalities between Parker and Spider-Man, the latter an alter ego in every way, changing Parker into something that leaps and bounces beyond the establishment as much as he does over the NY skyline.
J. Jonah Jameson also shows an obvious dichotomy, becoming the harbinger of Spider-Man's return; a man who despises masks now campaigning for them. Andrews has particular fun playing off this grand irony, with a distinct essence of Transmetropolitan's Spider Jerusalem in Jameson's ranting and methods, making him likeable and vital to the story's drive. There's even the return of an old school Z-list super-character who offers some comic relief, suggesting Andrews is willing to provide changes in tone to keep things from getting too heavy and depressing – although it has to be said, these jumps from tragedy to comedy and back are only that: small asides as to not disrupt the main flavour and message of the tale at large. A wise choice, I feel, as there's a thin line between a dark tone and a parody, and for a story that wears its influences so heavily, the line is thinner than usual… although Andrews walks it confidently.
Stylistically there's variation and depth in Reign that brings a rich quality to the pages. Andrews switches from a strong movie style framing to rigid symmetrical panels, to openly flowing, frame-less pages where necessary, each one offering a change in visual and meaning, but never once losing the book's powerful and steady pacing. In fact, it lends a distinct and unpredictable nature to the whole thing, adding another layer to its compelling edge.
Like its first part, this issue of Reign isn’t perfect, despite its high quality. There are a couple minor accidental missives, like Jameson's facial bruise not being present for a large duration then suddenly appearing later on before disappearing again, and some inconsistencies with Spider-Man's mask during climatic moments which 'cheat' a little for dramatic effect. Also storywise there's certain liberties taken for the sake of keeping the plot moving, although for most of the part Andrews' signposts these foibles, fully acknowledging the audience's curiosity over certain story devices and asks us to be patient for explanations; none more relevant than for the final few pages of the issue.
In a chronological sense, Reign is already half way through and as such there's still a lacking sense of genuine weight to the main storyline. While I still applaud the clear desire to keep the series within manageable means without the need to stretch it out, a substantial amount of plot will have to come in the next issue to provide the sort of punch the series has the potential to have, come its final part. At the same time the relatively small size of the limited series should help stymie the constant comparisons to The Dark Knight Returns, which this part starts to distance itself from. Issue three should give a fair few more answers, but in the meantime, Spider-Man: Reign is spinning a very enjoyable and more than memorable web.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spihalf.jpg
'Buy this issue now at X-World and enter Spidey's web!' ( http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=2549&cat=SPIDER%2DMAN+%3A+REIGN)
Story Title: Book Two
“The Sinner Six.”
Writer: Kaare Andrews
Artists: Kaare Andrews & Jose Villarrubia
Letterer: VC's Rus Wooton
Assistant Editor: Michael O’Conner
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com)
Love it or hate it, Kaare Andrews' venture down the dark rabbit hole of Spider-Man's mythos is certainly intriguing.
And not just because it takes Marvel's figurehead character to a place which has rarely been explored by recent webbed out writers. Yet just because a story is 'bleak and gritty', it doesn't automatically make it synonymous with 'essential'. The rather patchy batch of brooding comics created during the 90s is testament to that. However, what Andrews has done so far with Spider-Man: Reign is force a large dollop of moralistic storytelling down our throats that partners the depressingly stygian tone, making one firmly part of the other. Reign is a story that demands a fair degree of pessimism to function as a cautionary tale of authority and paranoia gone mad to the point of suffocating totalitarianism. Over 30 years outside of regular Marvel continuity, masks and heroes are all but gone and New York finds itself under the grip of a fierce regime of strict government signified by the march of its enforcement group, the titular Reign.
The politicians used in the book may exist in a literal visual grey, but there's no such mixed morality in their character. In case it wasn’t clear in the first issue, they're most certainly evil at heart and willing to do whatever they can to keep within power, forsaking any responsibility to their people. They’re not meant to be well rounded or relatable, nor are the Reign - given the colours of supervillain The Wrecker to make their intentions blindingly clear to us. Andrews really lays thick his unique shades of black and white in this issue and what it lacks in subtlety it makes up in potency. As a future vision it's disturbing, yet far from implausible. Sure, there's added drama in the sheer brutality and rather goose-stepping nature of the Reign, but we've seen examples of such overzealousness in our modern world where authority, trust and power have been abused and misappropriated.
With Spider-Man back in the public eye, his role is seemingly to bring back the soul of a society which no longer has its fighting spirit, yet Peter Parker is struggling against the frailties of an old body and events of the past that suggest a man close to his own personal breaking point. The result is immediate empathy with Parker as he battles with his show of rebellion from the last issue while a public sees a glimmer of what it once lost before it's confronted by the restoration of six deadly and familiar foes. The ensuing battle is harsh and spares little in the way of anguish, Andrews depicting it with an intentional chaos and brutality.
There are curious shades of Warren Ellis' Thunderbolts revamp via its use of the returning villains - nothing new in concept, of course, but it's a coincidental parallel that nicely fits within the framework of the story as well as current issues of our society. Are we hero worshiping the right people and villainising the wrong ones? Are our priorities and world view as stuck and false as the politicians and media presented here? It's a strong message delivered powerfully throughout, leaving a rather blunt but unforgettable motif that lingers long after it ends.
Another strength of Reign's second part is through Andrews' awareness of Spidey's often underused yet important supporting cast (which has been very much marginalised in main continuity), using them in thematic roles while pushing the plot forward. Mary Jane remains a tragic spectre of Parker's love and desire for stability and normalcy, constantly denied through an ever-present sense of duty. This is something accentuated even more given the vast divergence of personalities between Parker and Spider-Man, the latter an alter ego in every way, changing Parker into something that leaps and bounces beyond the establishment as much as he does over the NY skyline.
J. Jonah Jameson also shows an obvious dichotomy, becoming the harbinger of Spider-Man's return; a man who despises masks now campaigning for them. Andrews has particular fun playing off this grand irony, with a distinct essence of Transmetropolitan's Spider Jerusalem in Jameson's ranting and methods, making him likeable and vital to the story's drive. There's even the return of an old school Z-list super-character who offers some comic relief, suggesting Andrews is willing to provide changes in tone to keep things from getting too heavy and depressing – although it has to be said, these jumps from tragedy to comedy and back are only that: small asides as to not disrupt the main flavour and message of the tale at large. A wise choice, I feel, as there's a thin line between a dark tone and a parody, and for a story that wears its influences so heavily, the line is thinner than usual… although Andrews walks it confidently.
Stylistically there's variation and depth in Reign that brings a rich quality to the pages. Andrews switches from a strong movie style framing to rigid symmetrical panels, to openly flowing, frame-less pages where necessary, each one offering a change in visual and meaning, but never once losing the book's powerful and steady pacing. In fact, it lends a distinct and unpredictable nature to the whole thing, adding another layer to its compelling edge.
Like its first part, this issue of Reign isn’t perfect, despite its high quality. There are a couple minor accidental missives, like Jameson's facial bruise not being present for a large duration then suddenly appearing later on before disappearing again, and some inconsistencies with Spider-Man's mask during climatic moments which 'cheat' a little for dramatic effect. Also storywise there's certain liberties taken for the sake of keeping the plot moving, although for most of the part Andrews' signposts these foibles, fully acknowledging the audience's curiosity over certain story devices and asks us to be patient for explanations; none more relevant than for the final few pages of the issue.
In a chronological sense, Reign is already half way through and as such there's still a lacking sense of genuine weight to the main storyline. While I still applaud the clear desire to keep the series within manageable means without the need to stretch it out, a substantial amount of plot will have to come in the next issue to provide the sort of punch the series has the potential to have, come its final part. At the same time the relatively small size of the limited series should help stymie the constant comparisons to The Dark Knight Returns, which this part starts to distance itself from. Issue three should give a fair few more answers, but in the meantime, Spider-Man: Reign is spinning a very enjoyable and more than memorable web.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/spihalf.jpg
'Buy this issue now at X-World and enter Spidey's web!' ( http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=2549&cat=SPIDER%2DMAN+%3A+REIGN)