Livewire #1: A Fond Look Back

 

Livewire #1 Cover A by Adam Pollina & Ulises Arreola

After the events in Harbinger Wars 2, powerful psiot Amanda McKee had a lot of fence-mending to do. 

Aside from ordering Bloodshot to kill hundreds of GATE personnel, the way she used her abilities to shut down electricity, all over the world, had profound consequences.

Retailers showed little enthusiasm for this new series about a former antihero who had used her gifts to inflict untold harm. Even Diamond distributors seemed to have trouble getting Livewire Pre-Order issues to stores. Thankfully, the good folks at Valiant Entertainment intervened to make sure my local store got the Livewire issues they ordered. 

Enterprising young author Vita Ayala took up the challenge of redeeming Livewire in readers' eyes. Aided by accomplished artists Raul Allen and Patricia Martin (currently producing a three volume hardcover adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic Science Fiction novel Dune), Vita Ayala informed the series with whip-smart writing, mythology, and the occasional dash of humor.

Still, Livewire had weighty issues to confront. Especially from those she loved.

As a fugitive, wanted by the authorities in virtually every country in the world, she had limited opportunities to contact the young psiots she strived to protect in Harbinger Wars 2. 

Not that they were going to make it easy for her.

I enjoyed this first issue, set in my old stomping grounds of Los Angeles, California. The locales Vita Ayala chose helped root me in the story, and the way Raul Allen and Patricia Martin depicted them made me yearn to visit them again.

 

Maybe you were put off by the events in Harbinger Wars 2. Perhaps you simply haven't gotten around to the Livewire series yet. Still, if this Fond Look Back looks fun and interesting to you, check out Livewire: Fugitive, the trade paperback containing the first four issues of the series. 

Just think twice before buying it digitally. Hey, you never know. Amanda (Livewire) might decide to switch off the power again.

Dragon Dave

The Visitor #6 Spotlight: Coloring

 

The Visitor #6 Pre-Order Cover by Francesco Francavilla

It is the colorist's job to help us feel the emotions of the characters, and ground us in their world. In The Visitor #6, Ulises Arreola makes some very interesting color choices to help us do just that.

In this opening panel, my eyes are drawn to the coldness of the interiors. Even Kubo-sama's bright blue jacket is cool, as blue lies on the cool side of the color wheel. The only warm color he wears--his red tie--symbolizes who he is. Kubo-sama believes the future of Japan rests in his hands. The Japanese flag, remember, is a red circle on a white field.

 

Despite her artificial and cold surroundings, Talia Dauber's skin tones and the earth tones of her clothing radiate warmth. When we look at the two characters, we immediately know which one we identify with.

 

Despite what seems like equally spaced light sources, shadows stretch across the floor. They form an arrow or triangle, reminding us that The Visitor is at the center of this series. All the other areas of graduated darkness add richness to the seemingly bland interiors.

 

Just like in Francesco Francavilla's cover, Ulises Arreola shows us the storm raging within Talia Dauber at this moment. The lightning in her eyes joins with the explosions coming from her gun, helping us feel Talia's struggle.

 

It is The Visitor who brings calm to this storm. He does so with this cool blue explosion of force. With the cloud of white, it suggests his attack is actually a fire suppressant. 

Even with The Visitor's aid, Talia must still break free from Kubo-sama's attack. The way her surroundings transform from yellow-and-orange to red, and the yellow leaves her eyes, suggests her efforts at shaking off the mind control have reached new levels of intensity.

Or do her red surroundings signal that Kubo-sama is working even harder to exert the same domineering control he would wield over Japan?

Certainly this next panel, with the way he seems to be shining with a neon glow, suggests that despite his demeanor of calm, he is far from nonplussed by Talia's resistance.

 

Will Kubo-sama's overwhelming mental powers defeat Talia and The Visitor? Read The Visitor #6 and find out!

Great job, Ulises Arreola! Your colors imbue this issue with a wealth of meaning!

Dragon Dave

The Visitor #5 Spotlight: Coloring

 

The Visitor Cover A by Amilcar Pinna

In The Visitor #5, Ulises Arreola flexes his coloring muscles on the very first page. You can't help but gasp at this full page shot of The Visitor staring down at this forest-wreathed compound.

Notice the glowing lights of the security vehicles? Can you hear their sirens?  

WEE-OOH-WEE-OOH-WEE-OOH!

While penciler and inker Soo Lee likes to draw in her shadows, Ulises Arreola has enhanced them. I also like how he's aged the top of the air conditioning unit, and scuffed its sides. Somebody ought to send a custodian up to clean that air conditioner.

Artists work hard to get their light sources right. In the next panel, the evening sun shines down from low in the sky, brightening up the trees in the distance. The colors, still washed in yellow, grow darker as the light approaches The Visitor. Ulises also adds a few glints of reflected light to The Visitor's jacket.

Ulises then shows us The Visitor's perspective from down in the round planter bed. Interestingly, the sky mimics the color palette he uses for the grass, trees, and bushes. I'm guessing he's also swooshed-in the white contrails of the planes. 

 

 

The white glow, enhanced by blue, adds personality to the strange mask The Visitor wears. The glow reminds me of the way Shadowman's power dissipates off him, only in black.

I also like how the edges and folds of his jacket are highlighted by the horizontal rays of the setting sun. 

Okay, get up, Visitor. You can relax when your chores are done!

Tired of The Visitor hogging the spotlight? Well, he is the title character. Still...

Here's a sneak peek of our gal Talia Dauber. In this scene, she's literally glowing from within. Even her pupils are obscured! To find out why (and how) the United Nations Security Agent is having this illuminating moment, stop by your local comics shop and pick up The Visitor #5.

Or maybe I'll mention something about it in my review. You know, when I get around to writing it.

In The Visitor #5, Ulises Arreola uses color and light to add depth and interest to Talia and The Visitor's story. Could this comic be told in black and white? I suppose. Still, it would be so much less without the beauty Ulises contributes to each page.

Dragon Dave

The Visitor #5 Spotlight: Lettering

 

The Visitor #5 Cover B by Caspar Wijngaard

In The Visitor #5, Paul Levitz writes in largely visual terms. This leaves Simon Bowland with less lettering to do than in more recent series like Savage and Shadowman. Still, Simon enhances the story with expressive and emotive lettering.

Simon shares The Visitor's thoughts with us through blue narrative boxes outlined with yellow, and white lettering. While the character's past--at least in the beginning of the issue--are unknown to us, these narrative boxes give us insight into how he perceives the world, as well as what's important to him.

 

I particularly like this scene when a woman, wrapped up in her spiel, catches a glimpse of The Visitor. With a spiky balloon and red lettering, Simon shares her shock at turning around, and seeing this strangely clad figure falling past. Whether or not she's aware of the security threat to her company, seeing someone fall off a multistory building is guaranteed to frighten anyone.

As she no doubt realizes a second later, the figure is sliding down via a cable. He's unlikely to die from his fall. So we can smile, even while we know how much it would throw us for a loop if the same thing happened to us.

 

In fact, The Visitor does fall and hit the ground. At least, he does at one point in the story. When he does, Simon Bowland shows us the impact he sustains with a sound effect that pairs well with the motion penciler and inker Soo Lee tries to capture.

 

You may recall that The Visitor has the ability to interface with circuitry. The blue lettering of this sound effect--outlined in white--combines well with the way Ulises Arreola's colors the sparking electricity.

I hope The Visitor doesn't get electrocuted!

When people shoot at The Visitor, Simon Bowland relates the sound of the bullets' impacts with simple white block lettering. They help us realize that, while bullets would stop you or me, they probably won't stop The Visitor.

Also, consider how the BLAMs are smaller than the WHAMMM when The Visitor falls. This suggests that, while The Visitor was hurt in neither scene, perhaps the first one bothered him more due to its unexpected nature.

Perhaps, for a moment, the impact of his fall shocked him as much as seeing him fall shocked the woman.

 

Simon Bowland's most inspired work on The Visitor #5 could be the way he relates the title character's thoughts to us. These tri-colored narrative boxes merge well with his appearance.

As they relate his inmost thoughts, Simon Bowland's blue, yellow and white narrative boxes make The Visitor seem more approachable. They help us feel--and care--for him. That's a welcome contribution when dealing with a mysterious figure like The Visitor.

Dragon Dave

The Visitor #5 Preview Pages

 

The Visitor Cover A by Amilcar Pinna

After a long wait, we're all looking forward to the two final issues of The Visitor. What exactly have the Japanese researchers created? Who is the being known as The Visitor? And how will his plans clash or align with those of the Japanese scientists?

Perhaps in the inside front cover and the first four pages of The Visitor #5, we'll get a hint of where writer Paul Levitz, penciler and inker Soo Lee, colorist Ulises Arreola, and letter Simon Bowland are taking us with this beautiful and intriguing series.

I hope you enjoyed this preview of The Visitor #5. So what happens next? Who will live in this issue, and who will die? And how will the actions of Talia, the Japanese scientists, and the Visitor affect the future of the Valiant universe?

Drop by your local comics store today and pick up this penultimate chapter. I promise you: some of your questions will be answered!

Dragon Dave

X-O Manowar #3 Review: When Priorities Collide

Cover A by Christian Ward

 

In Valiant Comics' new X-O Manowar #3, writer Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum takes us to Hawaii, where Aric works inside a volcano to divert the lava flow. 

Lava flows creep slowly but relentlessly upon homes and villages. Nothing natural or man-made can stop them. People all over the world sit before their televisions for weeks and months, watching news coverage of the devastation--until these Acts-Of-God cease. 

Thankfully, Aric possesses extraterrestrial armor, driven by an alien consciousness called Shanhara. Guided by Shanhara, as well as billionaire industrialist Troy Whitaker, our 5th Century Visigoth has two counselors to help him accomplish what would ordinarily be impossible.

That doesn't necessarily mean the two will agree on what Aric should say or do or think.

 

While Aric aids local Hawaiians, his thoughts return to the Ukraine. Warlord Vlad Yakiov overturned Aric attempts to orchestrate an end to civil war, killing thousands in the process. Troy has counseled patience, which isn't a virtue that comes readily to Aric. In time, Troy argues, he will help Aric overthrow Yakiov's coup, and bring peace to the troubled country.

 

While Aric yearns to accomplish something substantive, Troy reminds him that, in order to get people to accept him, he must first engage in "Humanitarian Aid" that wins over their hearts and minds. Build up his street cred first, so to speak.

 

While Aric is correct about the preeminence of saving lives, Troy is correct that saving people's homes matters too. Sometimes, preserving one's way of life, and the things that matter to them, is even more important than one's continued existence. Or at least, it often seems that way.

Why else would the residents of Kalapana have worked so hard to save their beloved Star of the Sea church, when the advancing lava flow destroyed most of the Hawaiian community in 1990?

 

While Aric may doubt the necessity of saving homes, and Shanhara and Whitaker debate the wording of Aric's heroic utterances, X-O Manowar succeeds in diverting the lava flow. This family and their neighbors will sleep easily tonight in their own beds, and not be forced to find new homes in the future.

 

Once the frenzy of fighting a raging volcano ends, Emilio Laiso's panels take on a more normal--and sedate--organization. Aided by Ruth Redmond's warm coloring, Aric looks like your all-American hometown hero. You know, the high school football player who gets a chance to go professional, and represent his town on national television.

 

With Troy to feed him the right lines, Aric even sounds like your average guy-next-door. Or at least, your average guy-next-door-wearing-an extraterrestrial-armor-suit-housing-an-alien consciousness, that is.

 

X-O Manowar #3 takes an unexpected turn when the focus moves to the Ukraine. Vlad Yakiov, not content with having solidified his power, mobilizes his forces to bring the fight to Aric. This seems an irrational decision for someone who ought to be strengthening his powerbase as the would-be dictator of the Ukraine.

For more on that evolving story, you'll want to pick up a copy of #3, and see what happens in coming issues.

 

Cover B by David Nakayama

Aside from Whitaker's public relations mission, and Yakiov's seeming fixation on X-O, there's a lot going on in #3. At home, Aric seems delightfully unattached to his adoptive family in New York City. Young Desmond and his mother are building a strong relationship with Shanhara. An incident occurs which could tie in with the rebuilding of Project Rising Spirit. And something occurs that harkens back to a certain change that occurred to the original 1990s X-O Manowar, after the tumultuous events of the Unity crossover event.

 

Cover C by David Lopez

In fact, there's a lot in this new series that reminds me of the original X-O Manowar series. Take, for example, the fixation on the power of corporations. While Aric may not helm Orb Industries, Troy Whitaker channels the resources of his vast multinational company to build combat robots, and shoot rockets into space. As in the '90s, Aric distains the commercialism of modern life. And then, there's the lighthearted and inviting artwork.

 

Pre-Order Cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli & Ulises Arreola

With a whopping five covers for issue #3, Valiant's rolling out all the stops for this new X-O Manowar series. But the bonus is that, with so much going on in each issue, editor Heather Antos and writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum have presented a smorgasbord of interweaving plot lines for the reader to follow. 

 

"Sword of Shanhara" Retailer Incentive Cover by Dustin Weaver*

The lighthearted tone of the series also harkens back to the 1990s series. Robert Venditti and Matt Kindt helmed impressive runs that introduced X-O Manowar to modern readers. But in Dennis Hopeless Hallum, Emilio Laiso, Ruth Redmond, and Hassan Otsmane Elhaou, I see less angst--and more of the sheer fun and excitement--that captures the heart of the original series.

I'm curious to see if you agree with me, when you read through Issue #3.

Dragon Dave

* Dustin Weaver produced an interesting and beautiful anthology series titled Paklis a few years ago. I urge you to hunt down all five issues from Image Comics, and hope to see him renew the series in the near future.