Corey Brotherson
Feb 27, 2008, 04:06 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/mirandamerc_295cover.jpg " target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/mirandamerc_295cover-tn.jpg" align="left" hspace=10 alt="The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury #295"></A> Reviewer: Corey Brotherson cbrotherson@googlemail.com
Story Title: The Riddle of Rebel Ronin!
“Hmm… clever.”
Writer: Brandon Thomas
Artist: Lee Ferguson
Inker: Marc Deering
Colorist: Felix Serrano
Letterer/Production: Matty Ryan
Editor: Joe Illidge
Publisher: Archaia Studios Press
Published by: Archaia Studios Press (http://www.daradja.com/)
Miranda Mercury has a tough, tough task ahead.
This is an undeniable fact.
(It's good).
It's a new book, entering a market which isn’t quite as receptive to new books as it should be. It has a female lead, who you may have noticed, is also black, in a market which has painfully few female leads who tend to be, well, not black. And in another bold move to cap off a series of them, Miranda Mercury's many adventures start at issue 295, when it's actually only the first, which will likely confuse a few people who may well think they're looking in on an already burgeoning party and feel a little intimidated.
(It's very good).
Obviously none of these factors should stop a book from being successful. But in our dear medium, it seems very difficult -unjustly so- to strive and survive when any number of the above factors apply. The reasons could fill a column to itself, but let’s just stick with one big reason why The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury should be a hit:
(Oh, wait, did I show my hand too early?)
In case you didn’t read between the lines, The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury is a joy - a delightful bundle of ideas that manages to be fresh faced and old school classical all at the same time in both its execution and conception. Kicking proceedings off from the cover is something that hasn’t been done too often in the last few years, but it works, throwing you directly into the story with the effect of a well-timed splash page, introducing us not just to the dynamism of the lead protagonist, but the overall tone of the book; to bring you something a little bit different.
The story follows the "greatest adventurer in this or any other galaxy" and her partner Jack Warning, "the boy with the golden brain" as they aim to secure the legendary Riddle of Rebel Ronin. Aye, there's alliteration for you and therein lays the rather deft sleight of hand played by writer Brandon Thomas. The surface of the story presents a rather pulp-ish trail, featuring over the top villains with cackling muwhahahas, extravagant sci-fi devices, lasers, ships and a Mcguffin that intentionally looks like a Rubik's Cube. It's all very easily identifiable… and that's the point. Thomas draws you in with a likeable action driven front-lady and her charismatic 'padner' who initially fulfil the stock roles of the invincible, infallible lead and her Spock-alike foil, before slowly stripping these elements away to reveal something that has more depth than its gaudy hues may have you believe. Resulting in a story that works well to convey an identity that strives to mark itself from genre expectations.
The blending of tone works through some snappy dialogue and well-devised set pieces, bringing forth the talents of artist Lee Ferguson. His detailed pencils portray an energetic style that merges old school action with modern day artistry. It's a careful mix that is reminiscent of Cory Walker's work on Invincible, an excellent and well-suited array keeping each panel concise even when crowded with information. No doubt helping this are Marc Deering and Felix Serrano's fine inking and colouring, respectively, adding just the right amount of depth, shading and contrast without overpowering Ferguson's very able pencils.
The Riddle of Rebel Ronin! throws a large number of ideas at you in a relatively short space of time, and that works as both an advantage and demerit. A bit like Grant Morrison, Thomas' imaginative notions arrive and bounce off each other from page to page, offering tantalising glimpses of one thing before swiftly moving to the other, thankfully avoiding the confusion that sometimes comes with Morrison's genius by reigning things back a bit to allow the reader some breathing space. However, in doing this the pacing change is a little too dramatic, veering from high vaulting action to a rather bogged down midriff as the necessary exposition comes in, making the book really feel like it's passed 294 issues, such is the dense amount of information given. While that's probably the desired effect, it can prove a little too much in terms of slowing the pacing past its natural limit, something always particularly tricky to handle in a first issue.
Part of the problem emerges from the cube puzzle which rests at the centrepiece of the story, which is perhaps used to quicken the pace a tad (despite the use of many panels which often slow a page down), but too much time is dedicated to it. Visually it's a little too stilted to replace what would structurally be an 'action' sequence, while its execution within the plot doesn’t quite come off because we're not truly given the significance of the puzzle's difficulty or shown (as apposed to being told about it) prior. Conceptually it's a nice idea, but as something that rests as an important point in the story it falls a bit flat. However, what carries the issue through is heartfelt scripting and significant character progression that bookends the admittedly stodgy middle, helping to reconcile pacing and confusion caveats by its end.
Ironically, the use of a puzzle which hinders The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury actually sums it up quite nicely: it's a smart book. There are a lot of devices used here that make it so, many of which are the exact same reasons why it has such a heavy task as previously noted. Its contemporary techniques and characters are wrapped in something comfortable and recognisable; old becoming new in a fashionable female coat of… well, black. Even the use of kicking things off at issue 295 (of 300) is crafty when you realise it presents a nice illusion of continuity that not only layers the required façade that a universe is taking place within these pages, but also bypasses fears of those who may have grown weary of cynical #1's being flashed across their local comic book shop brows.
Sure, Miranda Mercury has a tough, tough task ahead of her. But I'm sure she wouldn’t have it any other way -- and neither should we. More of the same, please, lady (and gents)… more of the same.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altnone.jpg
BUY this issue at X-WORLD and SAVE! (http://www.x-worldcomics.com)
Story Title: The Riddle of Rebel Ronin!
“Hmm… clever.”
Writer: Brandon Thomas
Artist: Lee Ferguson
Inker: Marc Deering
Colorist: Felix Serrano
Letterer/Production: Matty Ryan
Editor: Joe Illidge
Publisher: Archaia Studios Press
Published by: Archaia Studios Press (http://www.daradja.com/)
Miranda Mercury has a tough, tough task ahead.
This is an undeniable fact.
(It's good).
It's a new book, entering a market which isn’t quite as receptive to new books as it should be. It has a female lead, who you may have noticed, is also black, in a market which has painfully few female leads who tend to be, well, not black. And in another bold move to cap off a series of them, Miranda Mercury's many adventures start at issue 295, when it's actually only the first, which will likely confuse a few people who may well think they're looking in on an already burgeoning party and feel a little intimidated.
(It's very good).
Obviously none of these factors should stop a book from being successful. But in our dear medium, it seems very difficult -unjustly so- to strive and survive when any number of the above factors apply. The reasons could fill a column to itself, but let’s just stick with one big reason why The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury should be a hit:
(Oh, wait, did I show my hand too early?)
In case you didn’t read between the lines, The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury is a joy - a delightful bundle of ideas that manages to be fresh faced and old school classical all at the same time in both its execution and conception. Kicking proceedings off from the cover is something that hasn’t been done too often in the last few years, but it works, throwing you directly into the story with the effect of a well-timed splash page, introducing us not just to the dynamism of the lead protagonist, but the overall tone of the book; to bring you something a little bit different.
The story follows the "greatest adventurer in this or any other galaxy" and her partner Jack Warning, "the boy with the golden brain" as they aim to secure the legendary Riddle of Rebel Ronin. Aye, there's alliteration for you and therein lays the rather deft sleight of hand played by writer Brandon Thomas. The surface of the story presents a rather pulp-ish trail, featuring over the top villains with cackling muwhahahas, extravagant sci-fi devices, lasers, ships and a Mcguffin that intentionally looks like a Rubik's Cube. It's all very easily identifiable… and that's the point. Thomas draws you in with a likeable action driven front-lady and her charismatic 'padner' who initially fulfil the stock roles of the invincible, infallible lead and her Spock-alike foil, before slowly stripping these elements away to reveal something that has more depth than its gaudy hues may have you believe. Resulting in a story that works well to convey an identity that strives to mark itself from genre expectations.
The blending of tone works through some snappy dialogue and well-devised set pieces, bringing forth the talents of artist Lee Ferguson. His detailed pencils portray an energetic style that merges old school action with modern day artistry. It's a careful mix that is reminiscent of Cory Walker's work on Invincible, an excellent and well-suited array keeping each panel concise even when crowded with information. No doubt helping this are Marc Deering and Felix Serrano's fine inking and colouring, respectively, adding just the right amount of depth, shading and contrast without overpowering Ferguson's very able pencils.
The Riddle of Rebel Ronin! throws a large number of ideas at you in a relatively short space of time, and that works as both an advantage and demerit. A bit like Grant Morrison, Thomas' imaginative notions arrive and bounce off each other from page to page, offering tantalising glimpses of one thing before swiftly moving to the other, thankfully avoiding the confusion that sometimes comes with Morrison's genius by reigning things back a bit to allow the reader some breathing space. However, in doing this the pacing change is a little too dramatic, veering from high vaulting action to a rather bogged down midriff as the necessary exposition comes in, making the book really feel like it's passed 294 issues, such is the dense amount of information given. While that's probably the desired effect, it can prove a little too much in terms of slowing the pacing past its natural limit, something always particularly tricky to handle in a first issue.
Part of the problem emerges from the cube puzzle which rests at the centrepiece of the story, which is perhaps used to quicken the pace a tad (despite the use of many panels which often slow a page down), but too much time is dedicated to it. Visually it's a little too stilted to replace what would structurally be an 'action' sequence, while its execution within the plot doesn’t quite come off because we're not truly given the significance of the puzzle's difficulty or shown (as apposed to being told about it) prior. Conceptually it's a nice idea, but as something that rests as an important point in the story it falls a bit flat. However, what carries the issue through is heartfelt scripting and significant character progression that bookends the admittedly stodgy middle, helping to reconcile pacing and confusion caveats by its end.
Ironically, the use of a puzzle which hinders The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury actually sums it up quite nicely: it's a smart book. There are a lot of devices used here that make it so, many of which are the exact same reasons why it has such a heavy task as previously noted. Its contemporary techniques and characters are wrapped in something comfortable and recognisable; old becoming new in a fashionable female coat of… well, black. Even the use of kicking things off at issue 295 (of 300) is crafty when you realise it presents a nice illusion of continuity that not only layers the required façade that a universe is taking place within these pages, but also bypasses fears of those who may have grown weary of cynical #1's being flashed across their local comic book shop brows.
Sure, Miranda Mercury has a tough, tough task ahead of her. But I'm sure she wouldn’t have it any other way -- and neither should we. More of the same, please, lady (and gents)… more of the same.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/altnone.jpg
BUY this issue at X-WORLD and SAVE! (http://www.x-worldcomics.com)