<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Recoloring
Review: I have the original copy of What If? 3 (collected in this book). Let me tell you, this book would of been a lot better if they did not upgrade the coloring. The new coloring is grainy. The original coloring was much better.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Recoloring
Review: I have the original copy of What If? 3 (collected in this book). Let me tell you, this book would of been a lot better if they did not upgrade the coloring. The new coloring is grainy. The original coloring was much better.
Rating: 
Summary: The Artwork Shines, But the Stories Aren't Up To Snuff....
Review: Visionary is certainly a fitting description of the late Gil Kane. His career as an Artist spanned decades, and his unique perspectives and "camera angles" influenced countless artists. It's only fitting that Marvel honor him with his own volume in the "Visionaries" series. If you're coming into this book to appreciate Kane's art, you'll love it; If you're going to judge the book by the overall package, as I'm doing here, it leaves a lot to be desired. The book starts out with a nice introduction by Kane's frequent collaborator, Writer/Editor Roy Thomas. From there we get a series of stories that span Kane's career at Marvel. The problem here is, most of the stories aren't especially well-written. There's a brief (And dreadful!) Hulk story that absolutely belonged here, since it was Kane's first published work at Marvel. After that is a drawn-out four-part Captain America story, which is notable for the first pairing of Kane and Inker Joe Sinnott. The Adam Warlock story is overwritten (By the aforementioned Roy Thomas) to the point of stupefaction, as is their first Captain Marvel issue, and the Jim Shooter scripted "What If...?" #3 is maybe the worst comic I've ever read. Tony Isabella's "What If...Gwen Stacy hadn't died?" fares MUCH better; I remember reading that story when I was just a kid, and it hasn't lost any of it's power. It's one of the most heart-wrenching Marvel stories ever. Kane and Thomas team up again, for the semi-readable origin of Iron Fist, and Shooter contributes an intelligence-insulting Daredevil story. There's an ok Kid-Colt western short, and a real blast-from-the-past Stan Lee Spider-Man issue, from Marvel's socially-conscious days, that deals with overcrowded prisons. The book closes with some sketch, pencil, and pencil/ink pages, including the uncensored version of one of the Kid-Colt pages (Marvel doesn't allow exit wounds to be depicted in their books, which makes drawing a gunfight a little tough!). Some of the pencil roughs are from issues that are VASTLY superior to the ones reprinted in this book, such as the "Death of Gwen Stacy" and the introduction of The Abomination; Too bad they didn't toss those stories into the book.... The art is beautiful, and I hope Kane's family makes a few bucks off of this book, but people looking for a great read will probably want to look elsewhere.....
<< 1 >>
| 
