Unreachable Star Reviews August 16th, 2006 (SPOILERS)

Unreachable Star Reviews August 16th, 2006 (SPOILERS)

This is our 181st edition, and once again a short one with only one
book this week. So let's get right to it. I will be spoiling elements
of the ending of the book, and also, if you haven't already read it yet
(or been spoiled elsewhere) the 'who dies?' mystery from issue #18.

This week, we look at...

Runaways #19 - 3.5 stars

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Runaways (Vol 2) #19 - "Dead Means Dead, Chapter One" (Writer: Brian
K. Vaughan, Penciler: Mike Norton, Inker:
Craig Yeung)

The Runaways mourn the death of Gert Yorkes, each in their own
ways. But an artifact left over from the Pride may trigger a new
crisis that will force the remainder of the group back into action.
Meanwhile, Chase has left the rest of the group and has his own
agenda.

It's nice to see, after a big death, a good chunk of the book devoted
to each character's reactions to the death. On the other hand, that
does lead to a bit of an impression that not much happens in the
issue itself. Still, I like where they're going. Chase hiring Lotus
was cool to see, and even if it is the expected story where Chase
tries to have Gert brought back from the dead, I'm confident Vaughan
will include enough twists to keep us guessing.

I do have to complain again about the timing of the Young
Avengers/Runaways crossover. Because of that book, we know Chase
will return to the team, and relatively soon, and we know he won't
succeed in the task for which he is (presumably) hiring Lotus.

Art is by Mike Norton, rather than any of the previous fill-in artists.
He's a good match for the title... it's not completely mimicking
Alphona's style, but it's not jarringly different, either. I hope
he'll continue to do fill-in work from time to time (although I think
Alphona's renditions will always be my favorite).

This is my Pick of the Week by default, but even if I were buying
other books this week, I'd say there's a good chance it'd be my
favorite.

Review: 3.5 stars

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Well, that's it for this week folks. Next week, according to the
shipping list, there's 3 books. Astonishing X-Men #16, Ultimates
Annual #2, and Daredevil #88.

See you next week...

Peter Dimitriadis
http://www.unreachablestar.net
The Unreachable Star - Comics & SF News/Reviews/Opinion

"Peter Dimitriadis" <ghost.RemoveThis@unreachablestar.net> wrote in
news:1155763758.536351.189720@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

> Unreachable Star Reviews August 16th, 2006 (SPOILERS)
>
> This is our 181st edition, and once again a short one with only one
> book this week. So let's get right to it. I will be spoiling
> elements of the ending of the book, and also, if you haven't already
> read it yet (or been spoiled elsewhere) the 'who dies?' mystery from
> issue #18.
>
> This week, we look at...
>
> Runaways #19 - 3.5 stars
>
> S
> P
> O
> I
> L
> E
> R
>
> S
> P
> A
> C
> E
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
>
> -
>
> Runaways (Vol 2) #19 - "Dead Means Dead, Chapter One" (Writer: Brian
> K. Vaughan, Penciler: Mike Norton, Inker:
> Craig Yeung)
>
> The Runaways mourn the death of Gert Yorkes, each in their own
> ways. But an artifact left over from the Pride may trigger a new
> crisis that will force the remainder of the group back into action.
> Meanwhile, Chase has left the rest of the group and has his own
> agenda.
>
> It's nice to see, after a big death, a good chunk of the book devoted
> to each character's reactions to the death. On the other hand, that
> does lead to a bit of an impression that not much happens in the
> issue itself. Still, I like where they're going. Chase hiring Lotus
> was cool to see, and even if it is the expected story where Chase
> tries to have Gert brought back from the dead, I'm confident Vaughan
> will include enough twists to keep us guessing.

I guess Chase is going to try to get that thing the cop was trying to
pawn.

> I do have to complain again about the timing of the Young
> Avengers/Runaways crossover. Because of that book, we know Chase
> will return to the team, and relatively soon, and we know he won't
> succeed in the task for which he is (presumably) hiring Lotus.

To be honest, I don't think YA/Runaways is even a necessary book. It's
just out there to do something with the Young Avengers during their 9
month hiatus. It's certainly not going to move the characters forward
or make a meaningful impact on either team. Who wants to lay odds that
Vaughan never even references Civil War? Anyway, the story is surely
more important than the end. Who can even compare quality between
YA/Runaways and Runaways? It was notably inferior.

--
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain
occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive." --Thomas Jefferson

"How far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying
to defend from without?" --Dwight D. Eisenhower