So I have not been reading much of what is out there right now, I am bad I know, I just do not have the money or time to really be buying full stories that come out a comic at a time. So with that said I did not read the Siege Story from the comics, just did some reading online. But on a recent trip to Reader's World, only place that sells comics around here, I saw the comic of Osborn #1 and skimmed through it and decided to buy it. Went home and then read it and I have to say I enjoy it. Kinda wish I had been reading the now-a-day stuff but I just did not have the time. So now onto the review. I will break it down into three parts: The Story, the art, and Osborn. So lets dive into prison and visit our old friend Norman Osborn.
The Story: The writer is Kelly Sue Deconnick who wrote such comics as Sif #1 and Enter the Heroic Age #1. Now I will not lie like I have said, I have not been writing to much stuff that is out there now so this is my first time seeing her work. The story takes place after the events of Siege and opens with Osborn aboard the Maximum Security prison, the Raft. Most of this comic is centered around what to do with Osborn now, and a little with Norah feeling guilty about not running her exposure on Osborn at the time. Parker makes a brief cameo, having lunch with Norah and being there for her. We cut then to a senate meeting about how the Osborn situation needs to be handled. Two of the senators make a judgment that Osborn needs a transfer "to a certain privately operated facility." And then of course we cut to that facility as a priest walks into the room, into the center surrounded by four prisoners, locked away in separate cells and once vacant cell of a what seems to be deceased prisoner. I am not sure if they appear anywhere else but they each have a little section about what each of them does so you can check it out if you buy the comic. The rest of the comic is a little bit of a spoiler so I am not going to say, but it ends with Norah getting a tip that Osborn is no longer on the Raft and has disappeared and we see Osborn being walked into the vacant cell inside "the facility". And then we get something that I really like. You remember the four prisoners? Well in each of these comics, there will be 5 total in this series, we get the back story of each of the other prisoners. This one is of June Covington, gifted chemical biologist and geneticist. All around the story is very good in my own option. The Norah/Parker scene is a little wordy and long but it still adds to it all and the prisoner back story part is a brilliant addition. Final Grade for the story: B+ very close to an A-.
The Art: Emma Rios did the art, Jose Villarrubia and Matt Wilson did the colors, and Ben Oliver did the cover art. The best art I will not lie is the cover, after all its sole purpose is to get you to notice it and want to pick it up right? Well that is exactly what Ben did. As soon as I saw that cover I had to pick this up. The inside art is also very good. I have seen worse and I have seen better. But this is still something I can never do and I give props to the artists. For Cover Art: A. Inside art: B+. Gotta admit though, the way they make the jail guard look fits his personality very well.
Osborn: I was deciding if I wanted to do something on all the characters but I think the only worth while one to talk about is Osborn, I mean the comic is titled Osborn. So what is Osborn like in this? Well he is very philosophical. In the beginning he is talking about a spider he sees in his cell waiting for its pray to come to it. And how he needs to learn to wait, to wait for his pray to come to him instead of going after it no matter what. Now granted Osborn is actually only in only four of the pages in this comic, the four he is in are some of the best parts. The next scene is where the senators come to visit Osborn to tell him that he is being moved. Osborn shows off his humor with a nice little joke but they seem to ignore it. Of course Osborn can already tell what they are here for even before they tell him which angers Senator Muffoletto, showing that Osborn still has that classic charm of his. All around Osborn gets an A even though he was just in four pages of this comic.
So all around I give this comic an overall grad of an A-. The story is great, a little wordy at some places but it is the 1st issue so you would expect that, the art is very well drawn and colored in and the cover art is amazing, and Osborn is just what you would expect him to be. Overall I highly recommend this as a read and even a buy. But if you just read them in the comic shop its still worth your time. Leave comments below if you have read this comic as well and what you think of it or if you have comments or complaints about my review I would love to hear them. I know it was a bit long so thank you for sticking with me. Look for the next review as I take on Osborn #2.
Lizard out.