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[Stephen Day]

For most of this issue, I have to say that the story itself was pretty standard with no true ground being broken. Burn Notice, Red and the Bourne movies are all recent examples of stories that tread the same ground that Dancer does, featuring an ex-member of the spy game being hunted down for his past. Up until the ending, I was thinking that I was dealing with a story that was pretty cliched. Quinn is little more than the typical damsel in distress and Alan is the stereotypical hardboiled ex spy. Don't get me wrong, a cliched spy story doesn't necessarily automatically make it a bad story, the three examples I gave above are all cliched in their own ways. They all get around this, to various degrees of success, with good writing. The writing on Dancer isn't bad, I wouldn't describe it as spectacular, but I've read a lot worse. Did it succeed in overcoming the cliches? It somewhat did I think, but not entirely.

What made this issue stand out for me was the ending. It was enough of a twist that it had me thinking that I was maybe reading something that I hadn't quite seen before. That feeling made me able to get past the cliches and enjoy what I had just read.

It's alright, nothing special, but enjoyable enough that it gets a 6 out of 10 from me.

[******]

the-news-stand/review-group-poll-for-may-30th-t82233.html

[******]

If your comic shop sucks, you can get Dancer digitally here: http://www.comixology.com/Dancer-1/digi ... /MAR120410

[Victorian Squid]

Dancer #1

I liked this better after a second read. That being said, looking at it squarely as an isolated single issue, it's not as strong a debut as it could be. The cover is bland, I feel like an attempt was made to do the "monochromatic illustration with splash of color in stark contrast" thing, but the red highlights one of the weakest parts of the finished drawing and is dead center. Dead center is metaphorically interesting, straight through the main character's heart, as it were, but dead center is compositionally dull too. Again, the bullet-hole lettering motif is subtly telling the reader that Fisher has perfect aim through the cross-hairs of a gun, but it isn't really visually compelling as a comic book logo here.

The pacing here is all over the place, and some of the exposition-through-dialogue is a bit clunky. For an example, the panel where Anna goes to great pains to tell the reader that Fisher is American and she is Irish. Some of the dialogue just doesn't ring entirely true when I read it both times.

The opening scene tries to pull off an interesting trick and almost succeeds. The problem is, the music's lyrics running visually through the panels makes it seem like they are happening in succession and not all at once. The pink lyrics add little the scene, but do a lot to confuse it, unfortunately, but it's still a clever way to open the book. The intent of ending the book rather abruptly a page after the cliffhanger is a little harder to understand. The only thing I can guess is this is some way to force readers to flip through the ads in the back of the book, trying to figure out what happened to the real last page.

The artist draws great backgrounds, but the details in the faces of the characters are too understated. Eyes and other facial features are too crudely shadowed in almost all the scenes, and the colors...they had to look better on a computer screen when they were done than they do on the printed page. Not great. Image might have benefited from hiring a separate colorist on the book. There's no dynamics to the tones and hues used, the artist relies too heavily on a limited color palette and much of the book looks washed out as a result. Again, I am sure this looked better "digitally". But so what?

Bottom line: I really enjoyed Jake Ellis, but I'm on the fence about Dancer. I'll give issue #2 a look to see how things look to decide whether or not to buy the rest of the miniseries.

6.75

[@dace1314]

Dancer is one part love story and one part government conspiracy mixed with a little espionage action. It has hit men, sniper battles and is set in exotic European locales. Nathan Edmonson's writing is clear and flows well and Nic Klein's art is nicely done, especially the coloring. Despite all of these interesting traits however, Dancer, as a whole, just isn't very interesting.

The book has been created by a team of people who put a lot of honest endeavor into it, and I can see how it could appeal to some. But for me, the characters were flat and cliched, and the same can be said of the plot. A very good attempt was made to get the reader to care about a dangerous man with a mysterious past who's life is suddenly threatened by unknown attackers, but in my case it did not succeed. I found myself flipping each page with little interest in what was going to happen next. I did not become at all attached to any of these characters and do not care what becomes of them. The pacing was a little odd as well, especially the ending. Many readers will no doubt be a little confused as to when the issue is actually over, since a full page cliff hanger is shown so close to the end that it feels like that's where it should stop, yet it clumsily continues on for one more page and throws the rhythm all out of whack.

The pencils, inks and colors of Nic Klein are the best part about this book. He skillfully sets up the mood of each scene and is efficient in his panel layouts getting the most out of each page. His coloring in particular I found pleasant to the eye, especially the outdoor scenes at night. There's one sequence in particular that stood out for me on both read-throughs as being quite beautiful and it simply shows two of the characters running through a moonlit park. The way that Klein has positioned one perfectly square panel over top of a larger zoomed out image of the cityscape has a really nice look and feel to it. He is very capable at visual storytelling and this stands out in the wordless sequences, the only part of the book where I felt properly drawn into the story.

I can see how some people may like this comic but when it comes down to it I simply didn't find myself properly engaged. The art and atmosphere is good but the characters are bland, dull and uninteresting.

6/10

[******]

Dancer #1

This was probably a beneficiary of low expectations for me, but I liked it. The opening sequence was well executed and exhibited strong visual storytelling. From there it got a bit dull and cliche with the character introductions, but the twist added enough intrigue to warrant giving the next issue a try.

Story: 6
Art: 9
Overall: 7.5

[******]

Ties happen.



BATMAN INCORPORATED #1
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art and cover by CHRIS BURNHAM
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
• BATMAN, INCORPORATED makes its NEW 52 debut with an all-new first issue!
• The series hits the ground running as BATMAN and ROBIN face off against the assassin GOATBOY!
• LEVIATHAN’S sinister mission revealed!

YOUNGBLOOD #71
story JOHN McLAUGHLIN
art JON MALIN & ROB LIEFELD
It’s the 20th anniversary of the comic book that launched the Image Revolution in 1992! ROB LIEFELD’s YOUNGBLOOD returns bigger and better than ever with an all-new look at the next generation of superheroes, courtesy of screenwriter JOHN McLAUGHLIN (Black Swan, Parker), up-and-coming artist JON MALIN and YOUNGBLOOD creator and Image founder ROB LIEFELD!
In this first issue, a young reporter is embedded in the Youngblood team. Her assignment is to gather enough information for a humiliating puff piece, but she quickly discovers Shaft, Vogue, Lady Photon, Die Hard and Cougar are a team to be reckoned with. Badrock would be part of the group too... if he wasn't in a coma with wounds that have nearly pulverized his otherwise rock-hard hide.

[Stephen Day]

Ties happen.



BATMAN INCORPORATED #1
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art and cover by CHRIS BURNHAM
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
• BATMAN, INCORPORATED makes its NEW 52 debut with an all-new first issue!
• The series hits the ground running as BATMAN and ROBIN face off against the assassin GOATBOY!
• LEVIATHAN’S sinister mission revealed!

YOUNGBLOOD #71
story JOHN McLAUGHLIN
art JON MALIN & ROB LIEFELD
It’s the 20th anniversary of the comic book that launched the Image Revolution in 1992! ROB LIEFELD’s YOUNGBLOOD returns bigger and better than ever with an all-new look at the next generation of superheroes, courtesy of screenwriter JOHN McLAUGHLIN (Black Swan, Parker), up-and-coming artist JON MALIN and YOUNGBLOOD creator and Image founder ROB LIEFELD!
In this first issue, a young reporter is embedded in the Youngblood team. Her assignment is to gather enough information for a humiliating puff piece, but she quickly discovers Shaft, Vogue, Lady Photon, Die Hard and Cougar are a team to be reckoned with. Badrock would be part of the group too... if he wasn't in a coma with wounds that have nearly pulverized his otherwise rock-hard hide.

I take it we can review either one?

[******]

I take it we can review either one?

Either, neither or both. Whatever floats your syrup filled boat.

[Stephen Day]

Either, neither or both. Whatever floats your syrup filled boat.

Thank you.

[guitarsmashley]

I can't add any to the reviews already posted. The issue does a bunch of things alright but nothing really well. Maybe I don't really care for the twist ending because a. I've already seen the trailer for that JGL/Bruce Willis movie and it's not like this has never been done before. B. As discussed previously the book ends very strangely it doesn't end on the twist it ends the page after the twist and as a result gets even murkier.

average comic gets an average score. 5.8

[******]

I've already deleted the file so I can't go back and double check, but I felt like the last page was there toget a good look at him and show definitively that it was a younger version of himself.

[bkthomson]

I've already deleted the file so I can't go back and double check, but I felt like the last page was there toget a good look at him and show definitively that it was a younger version of himself.

Yeah it was a younger version. Gawd how we are not seeing a clone wars?

[Victorian Squid]

I've already deleted the file so I can't go back and double check, but I felt like the last page was there toget a good look at him and show definitively that it was a younger version of himself.

Maybe that was the intent, but it doesn't really. The page before where he says in a caption box "It was me" had as clear a pic of the full younger double as any of the panels on the final page, but it's more about how final that penultimate page feels, and then how uncertain the actual single ending panel feels, with the dialogue "Keep up, keep up." seeming like it should go to a hypothetical next page that feels climactic. The panel that ends the book is anticlimactic and unfinished following what seemed like a natural pause in the story.

And the panels that compare the two Fishers really don't add anything that previous page didn't already tell you--they're doubles. This is not a new concept to anyone anywhere, there are thousands of stories with a doppleganger, so it's not like it really needs to be further broken down for you anyway.

After the page showing younger Fisher and the words "It was me", nobody is going to go "huh?" and then turn the page and say, "Ooooh, I get it--they're doubles!"

[******]

Maybe that was the intent, but it doesn't really. The page before where he says in a caption box "It was me" had as clear a pic of the full younger double as any of the panels on the final page, but it's more about how final that penultimate page feels, and then how uncertain the actual single ending panel feels, with the dialogue "Keep up, keep up." seeming like it should go to a hypothetical next page that feels climactic. The panel that ends the book is anticlimactic and unfinished following what seemed like a natural pause in the story.

And the panels that compare the two Fishers really don't add anything that previous page didn't already tell you--they're doubles. This is not a new concept to anyone anywhere, there are thousands of stories with a doppleganger, so it's not like it really needs to be further broken down for you anyway.

After the page showing younger Fisher and the words "It was me", nobody is going to go "huh?" and then turn the page and say, "Ooooh, I get it--they're doubles!"

Like I said, I already hit delete. All I remember is the page with the Punisher-lite walking down the stairs.