Comics
Review: ‘Revival’ #8
After a really strong issue last month, Revival comes back with a fairly mediocre one. It’s a necessary issue that lays the groundwork for events to unfold later and – most importantly – serves to develop some ancillary characters. But by and large, there’s nothing particularly gripping about “Revival” #8, in large part due to a lack of focus on any one particular plotline.
WRITTEN BY: Tim Seeley
ART BY: Mike Norton
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE DATE: March 20th, 2013
“Revival” #8 sees the fallout of the Hines incident and the discovery of the body parts being transported out of the quarantine zone. Dana Cypress’ father, the sheriff, finally gets more of a role than a grumpy authority figure, as he acknowledges the frailty of the situation and recommends the town ask for outside help. The mayor, with whom he shares a bond and a secret from their past, disagrees with him, ostensibly for political purposes… but perhaps something more personal as well. Still, aside from hints, this story never really takes off the ground. Looks like it will play a bigger role in later issues, however.
The main plot in this issue, if there was one, was May Tao’s visit to local celebrity and 90 year old fitness guru Lester Majak. With her car stuck in the winter snows, Tao stays at Majak’s house for the time being. Her actual reason to enter Majak’s house, however, was because she discovered a message on Blaine Abel’s phone from Majak. (You remember Abel, right? Homocidal psychopath with tenuous grasp on reality? Limp Bizkit aficionado? Was that description redundant?) Majak, however, is smarter than Tao realizes, and informs her of a secret that… well, is rather underwhelming frankly. It builds depth to Majak’s character, but it feels relatively irrelevant at the moment.
There are some other happenings, too. One of Dana’s fellow officers is gay. Her sister goes to church, and meets another revival, who must have been a repressed masochist in her past life. But truly, nothing of any apparent consequence occurs in this issue. It can only rely on Lester Majak’s strength of character – and appreciation of Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin” – for so long.
“Revival” is still an excellent series. This just isn’t one of its more exciting entries. A necessary read if you’re following the comic, but this isn’t a good place to start if you’re not.
2.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – GeorgeShunick
IDW Dark and Paramount recently joined forces to launch limited comic book tales set in the worlds of Smile and A Quiet Place, and we’ve learned today that they’ll continue hanging around in those franchise universes with two brand new limited series tales.
Entertainment Weekly has exclusively revealed this afternoon that IDW Dark’s Any Given Smile debuts in September, while A Quiet Place: Rising Tides arrives in November.
First up, from writer Stephanie Williams and artist Pablo Collar, Any Given Smile puts a football-themed twist on Parker Finn’s successful Smile movie franchise.
The five-part limited series is “set in January 1995, during the American Arena League football championship game in St. Augustine, Florida. The rising superstar of the Sharks, backup quarterback Dupree, is feeling the pressure from his teammates, the fans, and also the city’s gambling underworld, to whom he owes a considerable debt. Meanwhile, a sports journalist investigates a string of suicides that may be connected to the big game. At the very least, they are connected to a sinister entity that preys on the minds of its victims.”
From writer Declan Shalvey and artist Luke Sparrow, A Quiet Place: Rising Tides will also be a five-issue limited story. The comic book tale “brings the creatures to the Florida Keys, where a father-daughter duo attempt to survive on water in a houseboat.”
EW further details, “This tense family reunion coincides with the arrival of the vicious creatures that hunt through sound. Grace and her dad find safety on the open ocean, but she’ll have to make landfall sooner or later; the father’s oxygen tank and their supplies are running low, while a hurricane swiftly approaches.”
Learn more about both comic books over on Entertainment Weekly.
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