CON SWAG: Emerald City Comicon 2007 part 2

RAZOR KID #1 - RoninStudios: Written by Marcus Almand, pencils by Jeffrey Cruz

Picked up Razor Kid from DeviantArtist FooRay, who's working on issue 2 of the book. I'd seen it somewhere online and thought the style looked interesting if familiar. Upon flipping through and seeing it had the great work of Cruz, I had to check it out.

RK is standard superpowered storytelling, a young aspiring hero, competing to get a license from C.A.P.E. (citizens authorized for protection and enforcement), but where it shines in in the execution. The plotting and character, Alex Tanaka, are fresh and fun to follow. Turns out Alex is a genius who though he lost both his arms, devised his own prosthetics, that not only give him the functionality he's missing, but much more.

RK is a nice mix of good writing, solid art, and a well developed concept. Check this out if you like books like Invincible, where the creators make the tried-and-true seem fresh and fun!

STEVE LAWLIS: FRANKENSTEIN'S MONKEY - Rorshach Entertainment: Created/Written by Brian Meredith, art by Erik Thompson

I'd seen Erik's nice cartoon artwork for some time now, so I was excited to see he'd worked on a comic and was quick to pick up this new entry from Seattle Publisher Rorschach.

Steve Lawlis is well suited to Erik's style, as it feels much like a mash-up of 3 cartoon network shows; Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter's Laboratory. In fact, after a fun intro that feels like we're going to be treated to a nice cartoon inspired yet adult focused tale, things spiral into the all-too-familiar, with Lawlis being the macho stand in for Bravo, directed by the mayor to fend off outlandish threats to the city ala Powerpuff Girls, and alongside and up against evil/crazed scientists and situations born from their mischief, that would be Dexter's Labortory. Now, I don't think Meredith was actually going for that trifecta, but in hindsight that's what I found. I wish I had better things to say here, I wanted to like this, but it just seemed uninspired, and I really don't need to hear anyone quote Charlton Heston's key line from Planet of the Apes (you know it), EVER. AGAIN. THANKS.

I advise you go ahead and check this out if you like Thompson's cartoony style, the book doesn't get in the way of enjoying his work (though it could stand colors to make it really pop, like on the cover).