SAVANT:: Reviews

---

Castle Waiting Volume 2 #2 (Cartoon Books, $2.95)
For the most part, I hate fairy tales. Castle Waiting is unabashedly a fairy tale, but it's a very likeable one from where I'm sitting. Linda Medley is one of those writer-artists who is truly equally good at both crafts - her plots and dialogue are engaging and well-paced, while her art style is a mix of cartoony and serious, with just the right amount of detail and a distinctive look that's reminiscent of woodcuts.

This issue is the second part of a flashback story told by supporting cast member Peace. As a matter of personal preference I would have rather seen more focus on the present with Jain and company, but Medley does a fine job with Peace's tale. It's got some fairy-tale staples - an escape through the woods, the requisite angry mob with torches, a bunch of bearded women (which could maybe use some explanation, but then again I missed issue #1, and in a book where one of the supporting cast has a bird's head, it's really not that extraordinary), as well as the bits of wry humor that's been in the series all along (the Abbess, with the angry mob outside, asks, "Do they have rakes? I hate those.").

People sometimes separate good books from fun books. Castle Waiting is both. It's definitely worth a look.

Scion #4 (CrossGen, $2.95)
I hadn't felt much of a need to pick up a CrossGen book before - flipped through a couple of the #1's in the store, but wasn't really interested. As I was looking for different books to review this week, it seemed like a good time to give them a fair chance. If Scion is indicative of the CrossGen line as a whole, they've got a little while to go before they really grab my attention.

Nothing about the book really stands out all that much. Young hero, gifted with a mysterious power, on the run from an evil prince...it's not a bad book, really, it's just very average. Our hero is noble but impulsive, his sidekick spouts wise phrases, the villains talk too much when they're trying to kill him...all done with art that's decent but not particularly outstanding.

I don't want to write off CrossGen entirely, especially not based on a single issue. Hopefully, as the company grows and matures they'll put out some higher-quality material.

Geeksville Volume 2 #3 (Image, $2.95)
I waver a bit on comics like Geeksville. On one hand, I like to think that I can laugh at the "comics geek" stereotype as much as anyone; on the other hand, I wonder how comics as a medium are supposed to be taken seriously when comics themselves seem to favor the pimply, Coke-bottle-glasses-wearing nerd image. This week I decided to let it go and judge the book on its own merits.

My impressions were pretty mixed. The "3 Geeks" story was funny in parts, but you can only read so many "these guys are geeks and they're out of touch" gags before it gets a little old. Rich Koslowski's storytelling skills seem pretty well-developed; I particularly like his pacing and layouts, and there's a good variety to his caricatures. I'm wondering if "3 Geeks" works better as a continuing series than in the single dose I'm getting here.

The "Babes and Blades" gag mini-comic was an inspired touch - I'm assuming here that the bad Xeroxing job and the repeated splash page in the middle were intentional. A really fun "extra" to include, given its importance in the "3 Geeks" story.

I'm not sure how to take the "Dark Sky" story, not being familiar with the characters aside from their appearance in this issue. Looking at it by itself, it just seems a little too ranty, with too little humor to sustain the story, but the main character's POV is one that a lot of us can identify with.

The "Innocent Bystander" installment, on the other hand, was very accessible: a couple of quirky, funny stories about growing up with strange parents. I don't think the illustrations add a whole lot, though; at times it's like the creators couldn't decide on whether they were doing a comic or an illustrated prose piece.

Finally, there's "True Tales from the Comic Shop", written by veteran Tony Isabella. It's a few brief tidbits leading to one very funny (and scary) bit about the world's biggest Dazzler fan. Artist Craig Boldman does some good work with caricatures and Marvel pastiches. Some of the funnier bits in this story actually happen in the background, but overall it's a good feature.

All in all, I'm not sure what to think of Geeksville. I do like the anthology format, and there's enough going on here that I may give it another look.