Daily Archives: 1 May 2010

I wonder if Sandra Bullock will dye her hair for the movie. She and Keanu Reeves would be just perfect for it.

Parker’s script lets the bad guy get away–I guess that turn makes it grim and gritty, though it’s otherwise a very colorful advertisement for the park ranger service–and doesn’t give the protagonists any moments of resolution before the epilogue, but whatever….

I think if it were from any other writer, any other artist, I’d be a lot happier with it. But Parker can do a lot better (for his first non-superhero work, Underground doesn’t impress at all) and Lieber shouldn’t be doing projects begging Whiteout comparisons.

Even with the touchy-feely outdoors nonsense at the end, there’s no setup for a sequel–no Underground on a cruise ship, for instance–but it is immediately forgettable.

I’m really put out, especially after the fourth issue’s success.

CREDITS

Writer, Jeff Parker; artist and letterer, Steve Lieber; colorist, Ron Chan; publisher, Image Comics.

So glad I was just kidding about skipping this issue and going on to the conclusion, since it’s the best one so far. There’s just an endless amount of fantastic Lieber panels here. It’s mostly black and white in those parts, so the art comes through beautifully The coloring really hasn’t been helpful in Underground and this issue just makes an example of how useless it’s been.

Parker spends most of the issue–it’s still a hurried pace–with the protagonists talking their way through their escape from the bad guys. I wonder if Parker was aware he had a bunch of white rednecks trying to take out the federal government in this issue… is it a Tea Party message or something?

However, Parker and Lieber use a poor cliffhanger here.

A cliffhanger should either come with the audience holding their breath or out of it. This issue’s does neither.

CREDITS

Writer, Jeff Parker; artist and letterer, Steve Lieber; colorist, Ron Chan; publisher, Image Comics.

It takes three minutes to read. Maybe four. There’s like a fifteen page fight scene.

It’s effective and all–the villains are complete scumbags and Parker does get a lot of concern going for the protagonists–but three minutes? Fifteen pages?

It’s even worse than I’d worried. I can’t even imagine waiting for these issues to come out, considering the rapid pacing. I almost feel like skipping the fourth issue and going straight to the fifth to get done with it. It’s not like I’m going to miss very much. There isn’t a single character moment for either protagonist in the issue. There isn’t even a reaction shot when the ranger boy plummets to his presumed death with the girl looking on.

I think Lieber disliked the Whiteout movie (I disagree), but if he doesn’t want to have Hollywood Hollywood-ize his work, he should stop doing Hollywood-ready comics.

CREDITS

Writer, Jeff Parker; artist and letterer, Steve Lieber; colorist, Ron Chan; publisher, Image Comics.

The second issue’s an all-action issue, probably has a present action of twenty-five, thirty minutes. Stuff happens in it, but really nothing. The bad guys show up and there’s a stand-off. That description sums up the issue. Oh, and the park ranger guy lives. I am, I have to say, distressed. Lieber always ends up on these fast reads–the second Whiteout series had this kind of pacing too–and it doesn’t suit his artwork.

I want the story to give me the time to look at the art and here, Lieber’s basically doing chase scenes through a cave. A dark cave. If I spend too much time looking at the artwork, I’m missing out on the whole chase element. If there’s not a hurried pace, the action movie adrenaline experience, it’s not working.

This issue doesn’t bode well for the series overall… but I’m a pessimist.

CREDITS

Writer, Jeff Parker; artist and letterer, Steve Lieber; colorist, Ron Chan; publisher, Image Comics.

I really liked this comic, but I’m almost worried I’m too jaded to properly appreciate it. This first issue sets up the characters–the guy and the girl park rangers who wake up the morning after to what turns into a really bad day–and there’s also the situational setup, where Parker’s got something relatively unique in Underground.

It’s set in Kentucky. The people don’t care about the environment, just getting financially stable, but Parker’s also makes sure to point out they’re not the smartest eggs in the bunch. It’s a nice mix, not degrading them, just matter-of-factly presenting them.

So it’s an area with tension, but not melodramatic tension; the park rangers aren’t melodramatic either. I guess my only real concern is with the tone. I can’t see what Parker’s going to do to get a really tense situation here.

Nice Lieber art. Unsure about the coloring.

CREDITS

Writer, Jeff Parker; artist and letterer, Steve Lieber; colorist, Ron Chan; publisher, Image Comics.