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Well, I was thinking about what to write this month, and then it hit me . . . I didn't
have anything to complain about. Why not? My friends can vouch for the fact that it doesn't
take much to get me going on a rant, especially where something I'm interested in is concerned
(comics in this case). Needless to say, I was confused. Then, when I went to get my comics
one day I actually found myself chastising my storeowner a bit because an issue of Micronauts
was left out of my box. Then I caught myself thinking, "did I just say that?" Yes, one of
the very titles I was frustrated with at the end of last year has become one of my more
enjoyable reads. Here was the problem! The titles that were really disgusting me have died
off for the most part, and the ones that were frustrating me for one reason or another were
picking up the pace a bit. I didn't think I'd have to leave myself a rant "safety." Now,
don't get me wrong, many of the frustrating titles still need work but I decided I should suck it up and give a nod to two titles that have really made a turn for the BETTER in my eyes. If you're interested in see what I previously had to say about these titles check out the January edition of Collector Times. Oh, and the fact that both titles come from Devil's Due is just chance from my end.
Micronauts
This title started out extremely slow and many of the issues were also light on content. I still believe that the first five issues could have been cut down to two or three, just for the sake of moving things along. However, after the fifth issue things really changed for me.
With end of the first story arc in issue five the readers were also given a farewell to writer Scott Wherle. As it turned out that farewell was exactly what the book needed. Dan Jolley kicked things off quickly in issue six. The issues were smoother, the dialogue was better, and there was interaction I actually cared about. Jolley brought a substance to Micronauts that Wherle did not, or could not. Wherle may have created the shells of the characters, but to me Jolley is the person who has actually put heart and souls into them.
In the art department Micronauts has never been hurting, but to me the book has continued to always evolve. We started the series with Eric Hanson, moved on to E. J. Su to finish out Wherle's run, then had Stephano Caselli do the first two issues of Jolley's run, and finally current artist Steve Kurth (who also did the Karza mini) came onboard. Each artist has seemingly built upon what the previous artist has done. How they have done it I'm not sure, but each time a new artist has arrived I find myself thinking that they have moved the quality up a notch. Now while I couldn't stand Kurth's art on GI Joe I think it works extremely well for Micronauts and I'm happy to see him on the title.
Unfortunately after all this work (and well done work it was) to bring Micronauts to where it is it has been announced that Devil's Due will no longer be publishing the title after issue eleven. I will say that I'm very weary of what is in store for the current incarnation of the Micronauts, but after all the work that has gone into brining this title around I'll see how its new home treats it for at least a couple of issues. If I think that the new home has demolished the work Devil's Due has put into the titles as of late, you'll hear about it.
GI Joe
When I originally heard that a new GI Joe series was in the works I was incredibly excited. The original series was one of the titles that brought me into the world of comics, and I couldn't wait to see what the new title would be like. I knew the series would pick up in connection to the previous one, and the time between the two would be explained, but I also knew there was much more to GI Joe than just fighting Cobra. In the hands of Larry Hama the characters breathed, lived, loved, and died (no TV parachutes thanks). It would only follow that a new writer who was familiar with Hama's work would take the same care with the characters and story right? Wrong.
Josh Blaylock's beginning on GI Joe was a number of familiar faces running around just fighting Cobra. Oh sure, they were dealing with a 21st century technological plot, but it was all just a bunch of words, explosions, and dead bodies to create an initial impact of "We're back!" The art of Steve Kurth also didn't help the initial issues of the run because in my eyes Kurth had an Aeon Flux look to some of the characters, and it didn't fit in the page of GI Joe (but it does in Micronauts).
Finally, about the time that Brandon Badeaux came aboard as artist (issue ten) the book started to solidify. The characters looked better, their interaction was more natural and you could see the seeds of future stories being planted. GI Joe was finally getting back to what it had been in the past. Now, I don't expect this series to be exactly like the first, but when you make the decision to directly connect a new series to the last one you do have to realize that people are going to carry over many expectations. Josh Blaylock is current fulfilling those expectations and also adding new ones. I mention the new expectations because beginning with issue 26 Brandon Jerwa will be handling the writing duties of GI Joe. He is getting his feet wet now with a story arc in GI Joe: Frontline, but we'll have to see how he handles the regular series. Blaylock has worked to get this series to a decent level, and I hope the quality at least stays where it is.
So, there you have it. Two titles that I was pretty disappointed with making large positive changes in a relatively short amount of time. Now, there could be others out there that may still be disappointed with the titles, but in the least Devil's Due has won my interest (and finances). A huge achievement? Only if you really know me. However, I am more than happy to eat crow at times and give credit where it is due (no pun intended).
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