posted
Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!!! Hold the phone! Anyone reading this? I highly reccomend it! Fans of Umbrella Academy will especially like it and anyone currently giving more Image Comics a chance (like with Walking Dead) I believe will be highly impressed!
Joe Kelly has delivered a very original story thus far that drew me right in and left me astounded at the quality, while artist Max Fiumara delivers some fantastic art--capturing the 1930's depression, huge dragons and some real sense of emotion and cinematography.
The premise unique and high-concept: dragons are well-known real creatures and by the 1930's Depression era they have suddenly begun to breed again after several centuries of not doing so. The Depression as the backdrop provides a cynical sense of the world, rife with despair and sadness (fitting when seen by today's times, and whats possibly to come), and as a means of escapism, the poor and out-of-work folks go to watch underground dragon fights. This is all added as the larger story to the more personal lead character, a young boy whose father had ties to this underground.
You want something different? Pick this up!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I usually skip right over Image, but I'll check this out. Sounds delightfully strange - and I'll join Blockade Boy in hunting you down for the four bucks if it's a dud....
posted
Jillikers! Now FC is blackmailing me for an additional $0.50 to halt a beatdown!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Looks like you're off the hook, Cobie. I finally read this (the first issue - is #2 out?). Kelly takes a fairly pedestrian story (hard times, dad out of work) and turns it into something distinctive by adding dragons as an everyday phenomenon.
I'd love to get some backstory on this; how people dealt with the dragons when they re-appeared.
posted
Got issue #2. Love the imagery and good cliff hanger. Pacing if this keeps up is perfect for a pamphlet. Early indication that the characters are grey, not B@W, which is a good sign.
Hopefully it sells well enough so that there is a TPB someday but meanwhile, even at $4 I'm happy.
From: East Toledo | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Glad you're enjoying it BB! I'm also still liking it a lot. Lots of good going here, and like you say, the imagery is just really fantastic. I hope this does well enough to continue!
I highly reccomend this to anyone trying to find something new and of very high quality!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Legendary message board poster Pov recently had the below review on Four Eyes, and his positive endorsement usually means the comic book was a masterpiece:
quote:Originally posted by Pov: FUCKING. UN. REEEAL.
Four Eyes was excellent! This is the best Joe Kelly I've ever seen. Enrico is an engrossing and endearing character; indeed, everyone is so REAL. Boccioni is at turns charming and vile. Fawkes is a good man, hardened by life but devout and torn by the very conscience his boss lacks. Enrico's mother is a tormented widow, afraid now for her headstrong son. The backdrop of the Great Depression is a wondrous if odd setting for a tale involving dragons, but it all works. The art is very European, and the story flows from panel to panel, page to page... the 2-page splashes were truly incredible, whether it was Mr. Fawkes in the hatchery or Enrico huddled asleep with the nascent dragon. I don't know how this book is doing saleswise, but I'm going to switch over to the pamphlets ASAP. Truly a remarkable series!
For myself, the one who originally recommended this comic to Legion World (yeah, that’s me trying to get credit for something again ), I finally got around to reading #4. My only regret with this series was the long delay between issues, which is unfortunate (especially because I recommended this to Blockade Boy and Fat Cramer and feel bad if the delay made them forget or give up on the comic). I suspect it has more to do with Joe Kelly doing more Marvel work, but it could be Max Fiumara’s artwork takes a long time to look this incredible.
And incredible it is. Max Fiumara’s artwork is dynamic and beautiful yet very different than any artist currently making comics. His lines have a very hard edge to them that creates a sense of seriousness and purpose. The double-page spread Pov mentions above of Mr. Fawkes in the hatchery feels downright sinister yet is also very pretty to look at. The double-page spread also mentioned by Pov of Enrico huddled with the baby dragon (with just a quick lettering: “A miracle. A goddamn miracle” also is a beautiful image. It invokes duel, almost conflicting emotions: how nice it is when I huddle with my own little dog and yet, the sheer awesomeness of dragons.
The coloring job by Nestor Pereya also deserves some praise. The usage of reds and oranges really adds a little oomph to the series, in both the Great Depression background sense and also the ferocity of the dragons. It works very well with Fiumara’s art.
Of course, my favorite aspect of the entire series is the incredible writing by Joe Kelly. This series is obviously very important to him as you can just feel his love for Enrico, the main character, on every page. Enrico is an incredibly likeable character and stems from an archetype that is really missing in comics these days: the very clever, brave and self-reliant young boy (or girl). Little kids are not usually my favorite characters in comics, but Kelly is able to really make it work here. And its not all that far-fetched as many young children during the Great Depression were forced to grow up really fast and take on the mindset of an adult in order to survive (and indeed, that is how that archetype rose to popularity).
There is a scene where Enrico returns home to his mother to the shock of the Mafia Boss, and then when his mother goes inside and he simply sticks his hand out to the Boss and says “Mister Boccioni…? My money.” The next panel is a half-page shot with no dialogue of a surprised Mafia Boss and silent young boy and you can just feel emanating of the page that this boy is not afraid at all. Though I liked Enrico all along, this was the panel that made him now one of my favorite characters in comics.
I can’t wait for more, specifically the growth of the character Four Eyes, the dragon, who has been more of a plot device so far, but obviously has quite a story ahead of him. Kelly has created such a great premise full of characters you wouldn’t expect that are full of depth and just pure atmosphere.
Can't recommend this one enough!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
By the way, the story of how I found this title is groovy. I’ve been a fan of Joe Kelly’s for years, even though not everything he’s done has been my favorite. At ComicCon in 2008 I was with Caliente and Abin at the Image booth and Cali was walking through the line chatting up the creators and essentially being the celebrity of all celebrities at the Con. I felt a little weird cutting the line to join her and bothering any of the creators (and yes, maybe a little shy) but she pulled him out of line and onto the floor of the Con, just to talk to me! So we chatted for awhile, took a pic and he gave me a signed copy of Four Eyes #1 which hadn’t been out in comic book stores yet. Needless to say, I was very impressed and wish he would do more with this series, which I feel is his best work to date! (Even though his recent Spider-Man stories have been a high point for Spidey for the last decade).
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Haven't forgotten it at all, after reading #1, but I was waiting for the trade. May be a long wait....maybe I should just scare up the rest of the issues.
posted
Actually, I think Pov was able to get the trade. Or maybe I'm wrong? I think the trade was basically released just as the 4th issue was (the trade being the first 4 issues). Pov will have to let us know if that's true or not...
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Yessir, the trade is out! I just got mine with my July shipment from DCBS last Thursday-- I read it that DAY, and at least half a dozen times since. Mr. Fawkes is my favorite adult, though I love that Enrico's father is still a presence, even if only in his dreams...
quote:...(indeed, that is how that archetype rose to popularity.)
SEE: Newsboy Legion, even kid sidekicks like Robin, Bucky, Sandy, etc. etc. etc. ...
-------------------- "Anytime a good book like this is cancelled, I hope another Teen Titan is murdered." --Cobalt
"Anytime an awesome book like S6 is cancelled, I hope EVERY Titan is murdered." --Me
From: Up a Gumtree | Registered: Jul 2003
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