The next, for anyone who was in love with the backgrounds and buildings of the show as much as any other aspect of it, is the appearance of Castle Wyvern as the center of page 3. In the show, almost all of the pull-back views of the castle are from the same angle, and assumed to be based off one original drawing updated for era, time of day, and ongoing action onscreen. We have a number of clear shots of the layout, and this drawing of it appears to be based off a small, blurry thumbnail rather than a reference material or even a simple screengrab from the show. The structure and smaller details of the castle being inexact any fan could forgive; obviously the artists have a lot to focus on and can't devote too much time to researching and rendering one single panel of the comic...but the perspective is strangely off-kilter, giving the castle an Escher-esque feel.

The middle panel of page 4 is probably the single worst penciling job in the whole book. Nobody is proportioned correctly to their own body type or the others around them. Xanatos's head looks too big for his body, Goliath looks like a gorilla and seems to have borrowed Angela's hair; the lower body of both seem compressed, with the knee joint too high up on the leg. Brooklyn's upper body seems to have undergone a worse mangling, as if he had been based off his infamous "no-neck" action figure. No neck, and both chest and upper arms too thick and squashed; Brooklyn is rangy, and doesn't near Goliath's muscle density as he is shown as in this image; he looks as though he'd been gulping down the weight-gain formula body-builders often indulge in. More than that, he is overall terribly off-model, his expression adding to the suggestion that he is closer to a gremlin than a gargoyle. He's caping his wings awkwardly, under his arms, which we've only ever seen him do to let him wear a bomber jacket without ripping holes in the back of it.

Panel three on Page 14 is the next panel that really jumps out and snaps at your eyeballs; Goliath with Dumbo-sized ears, sporting an expression that might have been meant to be glassy-eyed love for Elisa, but the unfocused gaze and small smile somehow make him look drugged instead. ............................... next -->

The coloring is again a nice high contrast...only it is under his cheekbones and jaw line, suggesting a much sharper edge and sunken skin than our hero has. Castaway in the next panel and on the next page varies between well-rendered and goofy looking; the next panel is fine but he looks a little like he's disco-dancing in it, with the leg placement, whipping jacket, and upward-stabbing finger. And he is worse than even Brooklyn when it comes to not looking like himself; mustache aside, he looks a good twenty years older than he should. Which one could write off to clever use of aging makeup on his part...save that the shape of his face is just so different than how he appeared "just a few days ago" during Hunter's Moon.

Jon Canmore - now John Castaway - continues to be the center of awkward imagery over the next few pages; aside from his apparently having boxes of Pacman ghosts to distribute to his newly-dubbed Quarrymen, the shading on panel four of page 16 doesn't match

the linework, making his hips appear badly twisted from how they should be positioned in relation to his upper body. It appears that his has just taken a step forward and his lowered arm stayed behind, sliding off his shoulder like an animation error.

The big close-up of him at the bottom of 17 is an extremely powerful image backed up by compelling writing...until you notice that his left arm appears to have inherited Reed Richard's bendy power and is snaking around to hold the hammer at a physically impossible angle. That or he has grown another joint in the middle of his forearm. The position of the hand wouldn't be so obviously wrong if the shirt and coat sleeve on that arm wasn't following the same lines. Page 18, one panel that takes up the whole page, had equal potential for impact- no pun intended- as he shows how a Quarry-hammer is used by smashing apart a stone statue of a gargoyle (don't worry, it not a real garg)... but the coloring again works against the linework. The big speed-blur is going in the opposite direction it should, looking like Castaway just demolished the statue with an underhand strike that has now carried up and over his shoulder...and will likely continue around to take his own legs out. That suggestion isn't helped by the fact that he actually looks as though his is starting to fall over backward. I think we all know what action that this scene meant to imply, and yet the art is suggesting the opposite. next -->

Jon's not the only one within that series of pages who isn't quite looking right; both Elisa and Goliath look like caricatures of themselves on the first panel of page 16. Goliath as he awakens on page 26 again has the Pop-eye forearms, this time couple with severely shortened biceps; even the angle they are thrown out at cannot account for it. And on the last page of the comic, we are again hit with a couple perspective problems; the angle that the laser firing at Goliath appears to be should have sliced through Elisa's chest and arm if it took him across the cheek, and the one through his wing actually looks as though it is taking off her foot. His back leg again diminishes too severely, looking almost as though he had pulled it off and left it behind.

Now that we've grumbled our way through the worst bits, what about the rest? There are good panels in the comic...and then there are also ones that are generic and mediocre, often due to blasé-looking color work rather than the penciling. But the first page is pretty nice.

Not blow-your-socks-off amazing, but easily on par or better than many other comic artwork out there. The shading is realistic and snappy, the changes in background are nice against the same format of camera-interview and television studio. The only thing on the page that stands out as wrong is the misspelling of the second word on the page as "terryifying," which the more generous will write off to the lady speaking as having an unusual accent.

Pages 5 through 9 are...almost really enjoyable, except that where the pencils are good, the coloring doesn't complement it, and when the coloring is good, the linework- particularly the expressions of the characters- is weak. Hudson has a consistent greenish tinge, and while Brooklyn looks mostly like he did in the show, his horns are never done right, whether it is the angle of their bend, the shape, where they leave his skull, or that they are just too skinny. It is one of the better series of pages as far as the coloring having really good contrast, only it is one of the settings where they would be more muted; moonlight alone wouldn't cause such shiny reflections on their skin. The last panel of page 5 looks pretty sweet; at least by comparison, since it is definately the best rendition of Hudson, Goliath, and Brooklyn so far. ..............................next -->

Then Hudson looking virtually identical with his mouth gaping open in panels two and four of page 6 suddenly makes the comic feel, for all the dramatic coloring of the page, as though it was a cut-and-paste rush job. It highly distracts from the pretty and accurate pic of Goliath between them.

If the whole comic was as nicely drawn and colored as Goliath is in that image and the other close-up of his face at the top of page 10, the fans wouldn't be complaining near as much. Goliath *looks* like himself - his face, with an expression we're used to seeing on him now and then. It could have been cleaned up a little better around the jaw line and ear, but it is him, through and through. We've missed you, Goliath. Elisa on ten looks good, too; pretty much on model, nice pencils and expression, and a nice coloring job. Page 11 has its weaknesses, but lack of color and contrast is not one of them; the red sheet covering the statue in the second panel is eye-catching

in a good way, and the gargoyle statue, once revealed, is nicely textured, shaded, and given a realistically frightening-enough expression that we can see why the crowd there is scared....Even if that fear isn't quite making it through the way it could if a little more had been going on in the background of the first and third panel where we see the crowd. Maybe if the blond lady had raised a hand to cover her mouth, or we had a better view of their bodies and could have seen a bigger physical reaction.

Now we hit 12 and 13. These, like Castaway's appearances in pages 17 and 18, had the potential to truly make the viewer say "wow!" aloud, and then doesn't quite have the oomph to pull it off. In this case, it's not distracting physical or physics problems, it is merely that the shading- assumedly toned down to make it more obviously a flashbacked-to series of memories- is just too muted in a couple places. It looks GOOD, these are probably the best pages in the issue, but it lacks a sparkle throughout the whole set of slices to really kick.

next -->

The various color washes are nice, but more variety of those tones within each slice would have helped. But the wash of memories does pour over anyone familiar with the show the same way it is pouring over Goliath; Hakon, Macbeth, Demona, and Owen all present, all obvious from appearance and context who they are; and if Fox's face doesn't seem to have quite her usual cover-model beauty, she's still easily recognizable as well.

There are a few nits to pick, like Goliath's huge wrists in the first slice, Xanatos's uneven and bloodshot eyes in the eighth, and Angie's downright goofy expression in the ninth one. I think making the three center pieces all indigo-toned was a mistake, making them sink together between the yellows and oranges of the slices to either side. But Goliath just starting to awaken in the seventh slice...if anything more had been done with the sky behind him, it would have been a truly grin-worthy image.

The top panel of the next page 14, is equally as good, although the angle and size of Goliath's face is strikingly similar to page ten. It is better-colored than the latter, with his eyes looking more realistic (and brooding). Elisa again looks good,

no complaint can be made about the graphic of her there, either. Page 19 is the clocktower and the building it caps, and it is nicely done, if not the most dramatic or energetic page in the comic. The perspective is all equal, although it is a little confusing before you realize the top bar of images on that page are Goliath on Elisa's balcony, and not him randomly standing sideways in front of the precinct. And the fourth panel of page 20, focusing on captain Maria Chavez, is another prime example of the artist's talent. Why it seems to be absent from so much of the rest of the comic is open to debate, and certainly has been debated to death.

The fourth panel of 21 is well-drawn, although it could also have used a little bit more depth in the shadows and shading in regards to the "sun is almost done" time of day. Elisa's apartment looks right, and she looks pretty cute standing there in the oversized jersey she was using as a nightgown. The first panel of page 23 is another good one, with the linework and shading going hand-in-hand to produce some well-rendered musculature on Elisa and a properly soft look for her hair and dress. Unfortunately, this is another one that one can't enjoy thoroughly due to the character not quite looking as she should- but this time it isn't her face so much as about a foot below it. Elisa either is wearing the world's best miracle bra, or she was visited by the Boob Fairy while she was asleep a couple pages back, 'cause those curves aren't canon. Nice dress, though. .............................................................next -->

.

While the coloring again sadly lacks for variance in some panels, and came across in other places as too dark, the whole sequence of the fight and chase scenes that covers pages 22 to 30 finally picks up and moves, and takes the reader with it. The dialogue is also a bit punchier than the television version, too; a nice reminder that we can expect scripts with more colorful language than "phooey." It was also fun to see a return of the use of Jalapena! in the comic; everyone loves a good in-joke.

The problem here, and throughout the comic overall, isn't so much that the art is bad, but that it just isn't quite good enough for ten years worth of waiting. And while a great story and good writing can make up for mediocre art, for any who have heard this story before, there isn't any suspense to the plot to keep us jumping on the words alone. We find ourselves drawn to the graphics alone, comparing the art to the show, to the art produced in other comics and by those members of the fandom who are so highly-talented that they already have careers in the art world. But there are definately places in the comic that show that these artists are trying, are improving, and are capable of making a comic that we all would thoroughly enjoy looking at. Whether or not they do so in issue #2 remains to be seen, it is a pretty wide gap to close with even less time to work on it than they had for the first one. At least we can hope they stop drawing Elisa looking like she's of Asian descent.

How much of the art issues hinged on a reported problem that altered the quality of color in the comic throughout the whole print run is unclear; but certainly there is a noticeable difference between the colors of the printed cover of issue #1, and its original appearance.

~