When Tuxedo Mask sacrifices himself in battle, it shocks Sailor Moon into re-awakening as Princess Serenity. This event leads to the emergence of the Silver Crystal and causes Queen Beryl to take drastic actions to secure the illusive jewel.
"Act 9 Serenity -PRINCESS-" picks up where the last episode left off. After a climactic battle against Kunzite, Tuxedo Mask jumps in front of a blast to save Sailor Moon's life. He falls in battle and Sailor Moon transforms into Princess Serenity. For the first time in an adaptation of Naoko Takeuchi's manga, the reveal of Princess Serenity and the Silver Crystal has not been dragged out and happens early on in this series. Ordinarily, this would be a good thing. Instead, it completely deflates the tension and creates melodrama.
This episode follows its corresponding act within the manga so closely that it actually re-creates panels from the source text. This form of tribute should be applauded, especially as these images are actually quite effective when translated to animation. However, this fidelity to the manga also poses a dilemma. This particular chapter in the manga was slow-burning and was a denouement from the previous one, with much of the narrative comprising of exposition and dealing with the aftermath of Serenity's awakening. This works when read, but when animated it's a little dull. The lack of action causes the narrative to drag. In fact, the entire episode is just build-up to the Sailor Guardians travelling to the moon.
Despite the revelations made in this episode, "Act 9 Serenity -PRINCESS" was a bit of a letdown. Its pacing is a mess and is overall a little boring. The animators are also to be chastised for Sailor Moon's transformation into Princess Serenity. It's such a crucial moment and yet it's over in just a few seconds. While this episode should be praised for its fidelity to the manga, it's still too dull and likely should have been condensed and combined with the tenth act of the manga.
As Gotham City's most notorious cat burglar, Catwoman has ruffled more than a few feathers. When a gangster comes after her through her loved ones, it's clear that the Feline Fatale's actions have some very deadly consequences.
Catwoman Volume 1: The Game collects issues #1-6 of Catwoman, written by Judd Winick and illustrated by Guillem March.
When DC Comics relaunched its publications under the New 52 initiative in the fall of 2011, Catwoman came under fire for the treatment of its titular star and with good reason. From its cover to its final page, the first issue of the series depicts the Feline Fatale as little more than a sex object. Winick and artist March exploit the character's body, using every opportunity imaginable to show her in various states of undress. Thankfully, this is toned down significantly after the second issue and Catwoman is depicted in a much more respectful manner.
Beyond the exploitation of her body, Catwoman is also faced with drastic changes to her personality. She's wilder and more violent than she's ever been, which can be quite jarring to long-time fans of the Feline Fatale. It's frustrating to see her act so impulsively and make so many mistakes, especially when it leads to the death of an important character. This initially makes it hard to like Catwoman, but she grows tremendously over the course of these first six issues. She acknowledges her shortcomings and appears genuinely remorseful for her mistakes. It quickly becomes clear that this is not the Catwoman we all know and love, but she very well could be. The Game is merely the first part of her maturation.
In a way, Winick's tone for the title is reminiscent of Ed Brubaker's run on the character's second ongoing series. It is dark, brutally honest and unflinching in its portrayal of the criminal underworld. There is a lot of blood, violence and sexuality, which means that the title is highly inappropriate for younger readers or anyone sensitive to adult situations. This type of content both hinders and helps Catwoman. It depicts the character in a more realistic setting and sets her up as more than just a simple cat burglar. In fact, Winick is to be commended for writing scenes of the character wearing disguises for her capers, channelling her inner Sydney Bristow. It enables readers to take her more seriously and gives March a chance to mix things up with the character's look. On the other hand, Winick and March often go too far with violence. It can be hard to stomach at times, even for people acclimatized to such imagery.
Much of the criticism concerning Catwoman's title involves Guillem March's art. At its worst, it is exploitative and goes too far. There are numerous panels where Catwoman is drawn scantily clad, her melon-shaped breasts spilling out of her clothing. The ridiculousness of such images is distracting and unnecessary as her state of undress offers absolutely nothing to the narrative. It's unfortunate since March's art is otherwise quite stunning. He's extremely expressive when drawing reaction shots and he draws eyes like no other. He also knows how to compose a page and his action scenes are incredibly dynamic.
Catwoman Volume 1: The Game is a tug-of-war between exploitation and legitimate storytelling. The tendency to go overboard with sex and violence does not work in the collection's favour, as it comes across as unnecessary and adds nothing to the overall story. Still, the tone and pacing of the title are to be praised, while the character development is also worthy of acclaim. It's not always easy to see our favourite characters make mistakes, but sometimes it's necessary in order for them to become someone greater. As it stands, The Game fails to reach its full potential and is ultimately hurt by its creative team's poor judgment. Diehard Catwoman fans will undoubtedly be disappointed by Winick's characterization and March's objectification of the Feline Fatale, but it's interesting nonetheless to see the character at a point in her life before she's become the world's greatest thief. Truthfully, I want to love this collection and I do think that it has a lot going for it, but I personally can't get over just how far Winick and March go in their mission to portray Catwoman as a thrill-seeking sex object.
With the blood of so many innocents on her hands, the spy and Avenger known as Black Widow sets out on her own to atone for her sins. She's determined to make amends for her checkered past, but a shadowy new organization promises to complicate that journey.
Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread collects Black Widow #1-6, written by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto.
Black Widow is a sophisticated and slow-burning title, with shades of noir. It also shares the same tone as Ian Fleming's iconic Cold War-era James Bond novels. Its protagonist is a stoic heroine who attempts to remain detached from the world around her. Even still, she is far from being the frigid Russian princess many have depicted her to be in the past. Edmondson gives the reader glimpses of her compassion, which makes her sympathetic and far more complex than how she is usually portrayed. Black Widow is also often plagued by a tendency to presented as a flawless super spy. Here, she makes mistakes and is able to admit when she is out of her depth. It's incredibly refreshing and adds a sense of realism to the title.
Beyond his impeccable character work, Edmondson establishes the perfect cast and tone for the book. Rather than clutter his first six issues with guest stars galore, he keeps it simple with Maria Hill and Natalia's lawyer Isaiah acting as her supporting cast. The former connects the title to the Marvel Universe while the latter answers the question of how Natalia manages her finances.
When it comes to the tone, Black Widow is incredibly stylish and is boosted by a simmering noir aesthetic. For fans of Marvel's film or younger readers, this book may be a bit of a shock. It's dark and gritty as it deals with complex moral issues. Black Widow isn't your average superhero. She will kill when necessary and maintains an ambiguous moral code. It works well for the character and helps to differentiate her from her fellow Avengers.
The art in Black Widow is near perfection. Phil Noto's painted style suits the tone of the book to a tee and contributes to the overall aesthetic Edmondson has set forth with his writing. His characters are beautiful, but not in an exploitative way. He doesn't exaggerate proportions and doesn't dress the titular heroine in skimpy clothing. This adds a sense of class and elegance to the title. Sadly, his sketchy style does seem rushed and unfinished in some panels. Thankfully, these panels are few and far between.
Black Widow: A Finely Woven Thread is one of the most interesting books Marvel has released in quite some time. It's stylish and elegant, with just the right combination of character development and action. Beyond that, it's also one of the most accessible comics in Marvel's wheelhouse. Unlike most other titles, it does not depend on the reader's knowledge of years upon years of continuity. It also eschews the trend of comics being written with the intention of the stories being published as trade paperbacks. Edmondson writes both concise and compelling one issue stories and multiple issue arcs. For these reasons, Black Widow stands strong as a refreshing and innovative comic book worth reading.
When the Sailor Guardians are rescued by Sailor Venus, they learn that the enigmatic heroine formerly known as Sailor V is in fact the princess they've been searching for. After this shocking revelation is made, it becomes clear that this supposed princess is hiding something.
"Act 8 Minako -SAILOR V-" fully introduces the final member of the Sailor Team -- Sailor Venus. The episode cleverly interprets the character as a veteran to the superhero game who is not quite ready to work with the others too closely. She's hiding something and this mystery helps to heighten the tension in the series. She and her partner Artemis have full access to their memories of the past, whereas the other characters are still very much in the dark. This unwillingness to share the truth with the others makes for an uneasy alliance and Minako's stubborn independence highlights her dedication to her mission.
After stumbling through the past couple of episodes, the writers seem to be back on track with the series. Sailor Venus' portrayal thus far is spot-on and she's potentially being set up as a major player in the events of Sailor Moon Crystal. The mystery surrounding her character raises the sakes, while the final battle and cliffhanger of this episode served to heighten the suspense. Still, there was one glaring fault in this episode. During the fight scene, Sailor Jupiter is randomly able to generate a force field that enables the others to fly around with her. This sudden manifestation of powers went unexplained and created an unusual 'wtf' moment. Other than that, the plot is most definitely starting to thicken.
After learning that Tuxedo Mask and Mamoru Chiba are the same person, Usagi faces the difficult decision of whether she should keep his identity secret from her friends. Meanwhile, the Dark Kingdom has set their sights on Sailor Moon and are using mind control to encourage the citizens of Tokyo to search for her.
"Act 7 Mamoru -TUXEDO MASK-" picks up right where the previous episode left off. Usagi finds herself in a strange apartment and soon discovers that Tuxedo Mask is really Mamoru. She learns about his past and why he's so determined to find the Silver Crystal. His tragic background is meant to incite sympathy from the viewer, but Mamoru's actions are still questionable. Aside from his creepy behaviour in a previous episode, his asking Usagi to keep his identity secret is suspicious and places her in a very uncomfortable position. It makes it that much more difficult to sympathize with his character. He has nothing to lose from Luna knowing who he is and it's incredibly odd that he doesn't want to ally himself with the Sailor Guardians, despite his obvious affection for Usagi.
As with many of the previous episodes in Crystal, this entry follows the manga's plot very closely (with some minor alterations). As such, it moves the plot along quite nicely and leads to the introduction of Sailor Venus, which acts as the cliffhanger for this particular story. Even still, this episode still feels a lot like filler and the idea of a DVD rental store being popular doesn't translate well for modern audiences. The overall sense the episode leaves is that the first five minutes and the last five minutes were important, while everything in between was just fluff. Sadly, even the confrontation with Zoisite at the end was poorly executed. The Sailor Guardians are taken out almost immediately and Sailor Moon is held by Zoisite. It makes the Guardians seem incompetent and it makes Sailor Moon seem useless for not being able to break free from Zoisite's grip. Thankfully, Sailor Venus breaks up the nonsense of it all with her handy moon-shaped boomerang.
At seven episodes into the series, Sailor Moon Crystal is entering into a holding pattern. Its adherence to the manga's narrative is admirable, but the execution is starting to get a little wonky. By relying more heavily on Queen Beryl's Generals as primary antagonists in battle than the manga did, the Sailor Guardians are rarely victorious and it's typically a last-minute save that enables them to win. It's an unfortunate formula that doesn't match the pacing of the manga. After all, we can't root for the heroines if we know they're going to be defeated after one round of attacks. Still, Crystal is shaping up a whole lot better than the original anime. After all, it took eight episodes just for them to introduce Sailor Mercury in the original anime.
"Countdown" is a brilliant piece of ear candy that is deliciously catchy and experimental. This dance track serves as one of the standouts from 4 and was a major return to form for the singer. Combined with its stunning music video (complete with Audrey Hepburn references), "Countdown" is the musical equivalent of a pick-me-up.
After discovering a mysterious artifact with ties to an enemy her people, Warbird goes rogue and is chased across Cairo by S.H.I.E.L.D. Then, the world is blanketed in snow and it becomes clear that there's only one person responsible -- Iceman. The X-Men must not only save the world, but they must rescue their allies from their inner demons as well.
Astonishing X-Men: Unmasked collects issues #57-59 and #62-68 of Marjorie Liu's run on Astonishing X-Men.
Unmasked offers a variety of stories from the desk of Marjorie Liu. This collection opens with the two-part Warbird-centric arc that deals with the Shi'Ar's complicated relationship with art. She uses these two issues to further develop Warbird's character and flesh her out beyond her role as a warrior. Warbird was one of the standout characters of Liu's run on Astonishing and she did a brilliant job of providing readers with some backstory to the character.
At the heart of this collection, however, is the Iceman-driven snowpocalypse arc. In this story, the X-Men are dealing with the aftermath of X-Tremination and come face-to-face with the reality of Iceman's dark side coming to the forefront. Over the course of this four issue narrative, Liu gets right to the core of Iceman's character and deals with his insecurities in a way that no other writer has done before. Despite being one of the original X-Men, Iceman tends to get ignored by most writers and it's rare to find a story such as this one that places him in a starring role. For that alone, Liu should be celebrated. However, she also provides us with some great cameos of the character's past girlfriends and posits Mystique as the story's secondary antagonist. For fans of the X-Men's resident frosted mutant, this story will not disappoint.
Character development is a crucial selling point for Liu's run on Astonishing and that continues to be the case here. Throughout, she focuses on the intricacies of the X-Men's relationships with one another and indulges in the downtime between missions to give us maximum development. While other writers are eager to toss the characters into battle, Liu takes her time and carefully crafts subplots into her stories for the singular purpose of providing the X-Men with depth. From Northstar's struggles with immigration to Warbird's acceptance of herself as an artist, Liu helps to remind readers that the X-Men are more than just your everyday generic superheroes and that they have personal struggles just like the rest of us.
Astonishing X-Men: Unmasked is a bittersweet ending to Liu's near flawless run on the title. She concludes her tenure with a bang, providing fans with amazing character development and a much-deserved Iceman-centric story. To top it all off, the art is top notch. Phil Noto's covers are gorgeous and Gabriel Hernadez Walta's interiors match the tone of the book perfectly. While there were still some problems with the material, Liu's handle on the characters remained strong and the title was getting addicting. The fact that it was cancelled, and with such a unique team, is sad. Fingers crossed that Liu will return to the Merry Mutants some day!
