Comics
Review: ‘X’ #7
Are the good cops in the dark and corrupt city of Arcadia? Is everyone dirty or on the take? There’s a new officer in town that may be above the corruption which makes him a target for both sides of this turf war in “X” #7. Will he and his squad become allies or one more target for our anti-hero to cross off his list? Read on, true believers and find out.
WRITTEN BY: Duane Swierczynski
ART BY: Eric Nguyen
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: November 13, 2013
The newest player to the game for Arcadia is Officer Danny Ruidoso, rookie cop and leader of the new Task Force X (isn’t there one of those already?). This ‘Suicide Squad’ may be aptly named since our titular hero tends to leave none of his enemies alive. We’ve got a rag-tag bunch of cops who appear who have never seen much action. Now, they have to track down the infamous “X-Killer”. Ruidoso, Tendler, Rizza, and Kendrick are tossed together to find the man known as X.
Writer Duane Swierczynski tries to build up some usable characters by establishing that not every cop in this town is immoral. They may come from all the obscure corners of the police force, but they still exist in Arcadia. The powers that be seem to want all their problems to destroy each other in the process. Mutual self-annihilation is always fun to watch. Perhaps down the line we’ll see “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” moves from X and the X-Killer Task Force.
The art by Eric Nguyen is back to being very angular and fluid. He really paints a distinct picture for each of the task force members which is a good move. He knows how to compose a good chase scene on foot. Ironically, his portrayal of the main character seems to fluctuate depending on whom he battles. X seems longer and lankier than in previous issues. For example, his big imposing figure is lost when tangling with former boxers like Officer Tendler.
The problem X has is that if he doesn’t kill his enemies, they really come back to haunt him. If he kills all of his adversaries, who will come back to seek revenge? Vigilantes with this M.O. always have this difficulty. It’s with a morbid curiosity I’ll keep turning the pages to see exactly how many bodies pile up before X fulfills his mission.
3.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Your Friendly Neighborhood Brady
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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