The Stardust Kid #1

From the random unread comics pile, picked out by the Kiddo. I am guessing I originally bought this because you really can't go wrong with Mike Ploog's art.

Title: The Stardust Kid
Date: May, 2005
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Mike Ploog
Colorist: Nick Bell
Letterer: Dave Lanphear

The Stardust Kid tells the story of Cody, a boy about to turn 13, and his friend Paul, a boy who is, well, not what he appears to be.

This was a really nicely-written urban fantasy with a strong cast of characters and a take on ancient magic that was both familiar (evoking J.M. Barrie and Lewis Carroll) and refreshingly original.

Almost all of this issue was setup and introduction of characters, and it got a bit wordy in places, but it was looking to build a strong foundation, and I felt it succeeded. It will be very interesting to see where things go from here.

Mike Ploog's artwork is always brilliant, and this was just another example of how great he is. He has a flair for both the ordinary details that bring out personality in characters, and the large-scale fantasy images the deliver the sense of woner.

Rating: 7.5/10

Meridian #4

Continuing through the stack of comics I originally brought to Vietnam. Eight to go after this one. Most of these are from convention bargain bins back in the US

Title: Meridian
Issue: #4
Publisher: Crossgen
Date: October, 2000
Writer: Barbara Kesel
Penciler: Joshua Middleton, Bart Sears
Inker: Dexter Vines, Andy Smith
Colorist: Michael Atiyeh
Letterer: Dave Lanphear

When her sky-island nation is invaded, Sephie, the new Minister of Meridian, escapes from the captivity of her uncle and races back to help fight for her island home. Meanwhile on Meridian, a small group is organizing to resist the invasion.

The visuals of the floating-island world are gorgeous, and I loved the action sequences involving the flying sailcraft that are the world's main mode of transportation. The story is tightly plotted but still complex, and I was able to get a good sense of all the characters who appeared in this issue, in spite of jumping into the story in issue #4. I also loved the awesome and classic cliffhanger ending.

Backup story is part of a series called The First, and it didn't really do much for me. It involved two characters calling forth some sort of  grave-element-like creature. Some other things went on, but not enough to catch my interest.

Main story totally rocked, however, and I note that I have one other issue of this series in my to-read stack, and it's #19, and I really find myself wishing it was #5. Might have to seek out more of this story when I get back to the US.

Rating: 7.5/10

Sigil #6

Here's another random book from the backlog.

Title: Sigil
Issue: #6
Publisher: Crossgen
Date: December, 2000
Writer: Barbara Kesel
Penciler: Steve McNiven
Inker: Batt, Jordi Ensign
Colorist: JD Smith
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
Cover: Steve McNiven, Ray Lai, Wil Quintana

I went into this one with low expectations. The art looked a bit too Image-
influenced and the story, a space opera featuring a hero with a mysterious sigil branded on his chest that gives him superpowers, appeared to be a jumbled mess based on the "story so far" segment at the beginning of the book.

But once we got past a somewhat awkward initial fight scene in a spaceship hangar deck, the story started to flow pretty nicely. There was a lot going on here, but it generally made sense, and did a nice job of building suspense as the various characters were brought together so that Sam (the sigil-guy; short for Samandahl actually) can get to face a bad guy with the unfortunate name of Loser in a climactic arena fight.

I particularly liked the character of Zanniati, the runaway wife of another bad guy. She had a nice kind of cool confidence about her that worked well in the story. Former guardsman JeMerik was also fun, but he is annoying close to Sam in looks, and in a book this complicated, and potential character confusion is detrimental.

Still, this had a fun Star Wars kind of feel to it, with quick plot twists and frequent action scenes.

Much better than expected.

Rating: 7/10

The Hall of Insides

My second review from the New York Comic Con.

Title: The Hall of Insides
Date: 2011
Publisher: Sea Lion Books
Writer: Anne Elizabeth
Artist: Siya Oum
Colorist: Mauro Salgado
Letterer: Dave Lanphear

This is a standard-format comic short story set in Anne Elizabeth's Pulse World, and specifically in Vivant, the sentient extradimensional store that caters to the supernatural residents of New York City.

Ginger, Mac, and Noah discover the door to Vivant's insides, and they get treated to a behind-the scene tour. Unfortunately for them, one of the group has already committed a dangerous transgression.

This plays out as part teen drama, part adventure, and a large part cautionary horror tale. The various rooms of the insides are cleverly concieved, and Oum's art captures the wonder of the supernatural emporium nicely. Writer Anne Elizabeth loads Ginger's narration with alliteration, which gives an odd light tone to the story that contrasts with a somewhat grim ending.

Mac is by far the most likable of the characters, which is part of the point as Ginger is in line for some serious comeuppance (possibly more than she actually deserved; I suppose part of the point is to emphasize the danger of the setting, although this is accomplished a bit heavyhandedly).

This is a solid introduction to the setting, especially visually, and it works as a horror story, but aside from Mac, the lack of sympathetic characters makes it difficult to really get engaged with the story.

Rating: 6.5/10