Archenemies #3
Originally presented at Comixtreme.com on June 7, 2006.
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Past Repeating
Starfighter and the Underlord meet face to face!
Writer: Drew Melbourne
Pencils: Yvel Guichet
Inks: Joe Rubinstein
World’s Worst Roommates Art: D.J. Coffman
Colors: Rick Hiltbrunner
Letters: Jim Keplinger
Editor: Philip Simon
Cover Art: Yvel Guichet
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Review: I’ve been very impressed with this series from the beginning, but I must say, I think this is the strongest issue yet. While the emphasis thus far has been on the comedic aspects of thrusting a superhero and his arch-enemy together in the same apartment. This issue we leave the apartment behind as Ethan drives Vincent to his father’s funeral (not realizing that Underlord had a part to play in that death), and we see these two characters more as real people than the archetypes they’ve been thus far.
Ethan may not necessarily like Vincent, but the compassion he shows towards his roommate, broken up over his father’s death (as far as Ethan knows) paints him as a more likeable character than the sort of egotistical hero he’s been thus far in this series. On the flip side, this issue we get to Vincent’s home turf and we get a feeling for how his environment worked against him to turn him into the would-be master criminal he is now, and he becomes a bit more relatable. By the end of the issue, despite ourselves, we find that we’re actually starting to like these guys - gives their inevitable confrontation even more weight.
Don’t misunderstand, there’s still a lot of humor in this issue - Vincent’s clashing with his sister, Ethan flirting with Vincent’s sister and the lame ways both of the characters try to cover up their identities when they finally confront each other in costume all made me chuckle out loud. Guichet and Rubinstein again turn in some very nice artwork - very sharp, very “superhero-y.” The cover again gives us an actual jumping-on point for the story, but unlike the last two issues it doesn’t really serve as the first two panels of the tale, but rather an excerpt from a point later on in the book. Doesn’t matter, though - it still helps pull you in much better than a random pin-up cover would.
Again, I find I’ve really gotten to enjoy this comic, and I’m sorry that it will be ending next issue. I hope Melbourne and Guichet have plans to bring these two back - I want to see where they go next.
Rating: 8/10
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Past Repeating
Starfighter and the Underlord meet face to face!
Writer: Drew Melbourne
Pencils: Yvel Guichet
Inks: Joe Rubinstein
World’s Worst Roommates Art: D.J. Coffman
Colors: Rick Hiltbrunner
Letters: Jim Keplinger
Editor: Philip Simon
Cover Art: Yvel Guichet
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Review: I’ve been very impressed with this series from the beginning, but I must say, I think this is the strongest issue yet. While the emphasis thus far has been on the comedic aspects of thrusting a superhero and his arch-enemy together in the same apartment. This issue we leave the apartment behind as Ethan drives Vincent to his father’s funeral (not realizing that Underlord had a part to play in that death), and we see these two characters more as real people than the archetypes they’ve been thus far.
Ethan may not necessarily like Vincent, but the compassion he shows towards his roommate, broken up over his father’s death (as far as Ethan knows) paints him as a more likeable character than the sort of egotistical hero he’s been thus far in this series. On the flip side, this issue we get to Vincent’s home turf and we get a feeling for how his environment worked against him to turn him into the would-be master criminal he is now, and he becomes a bit more relatable. By the end of the issue, despite ourselves, we find that we’re actually starting to like these guys - gives their inevitable confrontation even more weight.
Don’t misunderstand, there’s still a lot of humor in this issue - Vincent’s clashing with his sister, Ethan flirting with Vincent’s sister and the lame ways both of the characters try to cover up their identities when they finally confront each other in costume all made me chuckle out loud. Guichet and Rubinstein again turn in some very nice artwork - very sharp, very “superhero-y.” The cover again gives us an actual jumping-on point for the story, but unlike the last two issues it doesn’t really serve as the first two panels of the tale, but rather an excerpt from a point later on in the book. Doesn’t matter, though - it still helps pull you in much better than a random pin-up cover would.
Again, I find I’ve really gotten to enjoy this comic, and I’m sorry that it will be ending next issue. I hope Melbourne and Guichet have plans to bring these two back - I want to see where they go next.
Rating: 8/10