Never miss a post! 
Review: 86 Voltz: The Dead Girl
86 Voltz: The Dead Girl
Written by Bryan J.L. Glass
Art by Michael Avon Oeming
Published by Image Comics. $5.95 USD
There aren't a lot of softcover one-shots anymore, at least not for six bucks, so the prospect of some choice Oeming art on a done-in-one project was appealing to me. However, having read it, I'm reminded of my trepidation when I see an excellent actor involved in what is clearly a movie beneath his or her abilities. Many times the reason for agreeing to such a project has to do with either loyalty to someone involved, money, the chance to do something a little different (often self-indulgent), or some combination of the three. I think some combination of the three was most likely involved in Oeming's decision to illustrate this overwrought, uninvolving piece of confused Gothic cyber-sludge.
Glass aims for poetry right from the start in his narration, with turgid and tortured lines explaining the dead girl's existence: "God's little thimble is she, weaving thread across creation." Thimbles weave, do they? Then I suppose the lint screen on my drawer will fold my laundry, too?
The story is dreamlike, and while it was interesting at the end just what the 86 volts were being used for, Glass is unable to pull the reader into the story, largely because it's impossible to get a handle on the girl, who may as well be a mummy or robot, and the other characters are also left undeveloped. If the story wasn't so thin and full of good art from Oeming, it would be extremely hard to even finish. But Oeming does good work here, framing the story in a realistic style he rarely employs, with the middle contents containing haunting, high-contrast work at times recalling either Frank Miller or Mike Mignola, and the design of the dead girl is strong if containing some superfluous elements. Why would she need goggles?
Oeming and Glass have done decent work together before, and probably will again. This is not one of their stronger efforts, and quite easily avoided by all but the most committed Oeming completists.
Written by Bryan J.L. Glass
Art by Michael Avon Oeming
Published by Image Comics. $5.95 USD
There aren't a lot of softcover one-shots anymore, at least not for six bucks, so the prospect of some choice Oeming art on a done-in-one project was appealing to me. However, having read it, I'm reminded of my trepidation when I see an excellent actor involved in what is clearly a movie beneath his or her abilities. Many times the reason for agreeing to such a project has to do with either loyalty to someone involved, money, the chance to do something a little different (often self-indulgent), or some combination of the three. I think some combination of the three was most likely involved in Oeming's decision to illustrate this overwrought, uninvolving piece of confused Gothic cyber-sludge.
Glass aims for poetry right from the start in his narration, with turgid and tortured lines explaining the dead girl's existence: "God's little thimble is she, weaving thread across creation." Thimbles weave, do they? Then I suppose the lint screen on my drawer will fold my laundry, too?
The story is dreamlike, and while it was interesting at the end just what the 86 volts were being used for, Glass is unable to pull the reader into the story, largely because it's impossible to get a handle on the girl, who may as well be a mummy or robot, and the other characters are also left undeveloped. If the story wasn't so thin and full of good art from Oeming, it would be extremely hard to even finish. But Oeming does good work here, framing the story in a realistic style he rarely employs, with the middle contents containing haunting, high-contrast work at times recalling either Frank Miller or Mike Mignola, and the design of the dead girl is strong if containing some superfluous elements. Why would she need goggles?
Oeming and Glass have done decent work together before, and probably will again. This is not one of their stronger efforts, and quite easily avoided by all but the most committed Oeming completists.
Posted by ChristopherAllen at 6:20 PM [Link to this post]
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home