TRANS-SCRIBE

Monday, 13 May 2019

Marvel Action: Spider-Man #3 Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘Peter Parker has signed up for an internship at The Daily Bugle, with the hopes that he’ll get the chance to interview Tony Stark in person – the perfect opportunity to pick the brains of another super hero. But he has a lot of competition, like Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy. After Peter finds out that Miles has spider-powers too, they begin working together to handle the escalating mutant animal problem – in secret from Gwen. But Gwen has a secret or two up her own sleeve, and she’s not about to be left out…’

It’s been an enjoyable slow build-up in Marvel Action: Spider-Man, of the series slowly introducing the three spider-heroes to each other and letting them discover that they’re not the only heroes like themselves, rather than just throwing the three of them together in the very first issue. Like all good team-ups, it’s better when we get to know the characters a little first, and get to see them gradually brought into the same story, rather than some kind of unexpected event that happens to them all at the same time.

Gwen probably has the best introduction of the three characters, and this issue is really her first chance to shine in the series so far. Having been built up over the first two issues as a strong-willed young woman who isn’t afraid to go after what she wants yet remains somewhat in the background in her civilian persona, it’s nice to see her step out as a hero for the first time. Especially as she proves that she is just as capable as her male counterparts.

This issue also sees the introduction of The Lizard to the series, something that I had suspected was coming since we saw Dr Connors in the first issue, and the enemies they team were facing were mutant animals. Despite it not being a surprise to find Connors behind everything that’s been going on it was still great to see the Marvel Action version of the character, and his design looked very good. Sticking close to the classic Lizard design artist Fico Ossio added spines and spikes to the character, a choice that made him different enough from previous versions, and lent him a deadly edge.

Despite not getting to beat the bad guy and bring him to justice the new trio worked really well together, and we got to see how each character differs and has their own strengths. Their shared love of science and using their practical abilities to solve the problems of the mutant animals only went on to highlight how similar they all are, and how good a team they can make. That being said, I do hope that their apparent need to try and out-quip each other gets something of a tone down in future issues.

The final page reveal – that Tony Stark had planned for the three of them to end up working together, so that they would discover that they are all spider-powered heroes – was a neat touch. It showed that the kids weren’t crazy in their idea to talk to Stark, and that he does have a good grasp on being a hero and knowing what they need, in this case each other.

With the team now together I’m excited to see where the series goes from here, to see if they continue to work well together or end up in conflict, and what new takes on bad guys the series will give us.

Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Friday, 10 May 2019

Goosebumps: Horrors of the Witch House #1 Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Goosebumps has always been a great series for getting kids into reading. It was a series that was very accessible, even to a kid like me who struggled with reading and writing, and it sparked an interest into horror, the bizarre, and strange fiction. As such, I was really glad to see that the series has made the leap into comics, allowing it to capture the imaginations of a whole new host of readers.

Goosebumps: Horrors of the Witch House #1 is a fairly standard set up issue, one that lays the groundwork for the main characters and the world. The story begins by introducing the readers to the ‘old Whaley House’, a run down building in an unnamed small town. Left empty for decades and in sore need of work to repair it, the new buyer, tech millionaire Veruca Curry, discovers that the people of the town think that the house is haunted.

Over the course of the issue we see various townsfolk, both adult and children, gossiping about the house, and giving various theories as to why the house is ‘evil’, including a curse, it being the former home of a witch, and even a UFO in the basement.

We are also introduced to the protagonists: there’s the shy Rosie, the sporty and outgoing Becca, and cool kid Carlos. Despite starting the issue in different social circles the three of them end up drawn together when they hear strange noises coming from the Whaley House, spurring on an investigation that reveals Veruca may have mysterious powers of her own.

There’s not a whole lot that happens in this first issue, but it does establish the world and characters well, and gives both the three kids and Veruca their own space to stand out and establish their personality traits.

The art and colours by Chris Fenglio and Valentina Pinto respectively, are simple, yet have a great deal of charm, with the book often feeling more like a Saturday morning cartoon in sense of style than a comic book. Scenes are very clean and clear, yet also have a great amount of detail within them; enough that if you wanted to you could sift through the background, picking out things that you might have missed.

A good start to the series, Goosebumps: Horrors of the Witch House #1 sets out well and creates a solid start to the story. Hopefully now that the world and characters are set up we will get more story progression in the next issue.

Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Thursday, 9 May 2019

Marvel Action Avengers #4 Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Marvel Action Avengers #4 is a strange comic. In the previous issue we saw the Avengers take down the monstrous Fing Fang Foom, as well as freeing Tony Stark from mind control, but discovered that the villain Count Nefaria had used this distraction to steal the Ruby Egress. This issue begins with Thor and Captain Marvel trapped in some strange dimension, looking for Doctor Strange.

At first I thought that this was a separate mission that the two of them were on that would somehow tie into the main story, yet as the issue progressed it was revealed that Count Nefaria had trapped the two of them there when he infiltrated Avengers Tower; something that we had not seen. The rest of the Avengers had even laid a trap for Nefaria thanks to information given to them by Doctor Strange – another thing that we had not seen. There was such a big jump in the narrative structure that I had to go back and check that I had not accidentally skipped an issue.

If Matthew K. Mannings wanted to skip certain aspects of the story, to jump forward in time in order to keep things interesting that’s fine, but it does feel like some very important story points have been missed out. A simple solution would be to show a couple of panels of flashbacks, but that doesn’t happen here. Instead the story choices left me feeling confused and somewhat lost. As a result, I found it very hard to stay in the story.

Jon Sommariva provided the art for the issue, and it all looks great throughout, with some fun and dynamic action sequences, and some interesting designs to new enemies and even a fancy new stealth suit for Iron Man. There are some nice contrasts between the other world and the real world thanks to colour palettes that are unique to each, with reds and oranges for the strange dimension where Thor and Captain Marvel find themselves, and blues and other cooler tones dominating the real world.

Overall Marvel Action Avengers #4 is a decent enough single issue, filled with action that moves the plot forward. However, taken as a part of the whole story it feels completely out of place, like there are huge amounts of the story missing.

Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Wednesday, 8 May 2019

Animorphs: The Invasion - Book Review

'Sometimes weird things happen to people. Ask Jake. He may tell you about the night he and his friends saw the strange light in the sky. He may even tell you about what happened when they realized the "light" was only a plane -- from another planet. Here's where Jake's story gets a little weird. It's where they're told that the human race is under attack -- and given the chance to fight back.

'Now Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco have the power to morph into any animal they choose. And they must use that power to outsmart an evil that is greater than anything the world has ever seen...'

I remember watching the Animorphs television series when it first aired in the UK, and loved the series very quickly. I'd never, however, read the books that the show was based upon, despite hearing repeatedly that the series was amazing. Thankfully, my husband has the entire series, so I'm finally getting down to reading them, and will be reviewing each book as I go.

'The Invasion' is the first book in the Animorphs series, and introduces a lot of elements to the readers very quickly. Within the first few dozen pages we're introduced to our five main characters, Jake, Marco, Tobias, Rachel, and Cassie, a group of teens in small town America. Not only that, but we discover that the Earth is playing host to an alien invasion, get introduced to four different alien races, and our heroes get the ability to transform into animals.

Whilst things do slow down a little after this action packed start the book keeps a steady pace throughout, and packs in a lot of character moments and plot into it's relatively short page count.

'The Invasion' is a bold book, not only does it have to lay the foundation for this galaxy spanning alien war that has found it's way to our planet, but also needs to quickly establish the rules of the universe. Thanks to some last minute explanations from the Andalite prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul the Animorphs learn that they can acquire the DNA from any animal that they touch, and can then transform into a copy of it.

Over the course of the book we follow our heroes as they test these claims, acquiring their first morphs and testing their abilities. What's most interesting is how each of the characters reacts to gaining these powers. Tobias seems to take to it naturally, and loves becoming a hawk, spending as much time as he can in it's body. Cassie, the daughter of a vet and a natural animal lover, seems to find the beauty and wonder in being an Animorph. Yet Marco seems to want to do everything in his power to not only avoid the war with the Yeerks but also doesn't want to transform at all.

We also learn that there is a limit to how long the Animorphs can stay transformed, just two hours, and get to see first hand the dangers of them staying too long, as in the final pages we discover that Tobias has become trapped in a Hawk body. Something that is sure to not only make things more difficult for our heroes, but highlights how dangerous their task is.

The Invasion does a good job at hammering home just how dire the situation is for our heroes, and the rest of the world, as we make an early visit to one of the locations that the Yeerks use as one of their regenerative pools, and see the scope, scale, and horror of what they are doing. It clearly shows that whilst this might be a children's series, the stakes are high, and the dangers that the Animorphs face is very, very real.

A wonderful introduction to the series, one that sets the groundwork for a story that will span multiple volumes and capture the imaginations of people all over the world. K.A. Applegate is clearly a writer that works well in long, sprawling fiction, and Animorphs is her longest series, and it's obvious that a large part of that success is thanks to the strong beginning established here.

Buy Now On Amazon

Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog