Ender's Game: Battle School #1 (of 5) Written by: Christopher Yost
Art by: Pasqual Ferry
I would be remiss if I didn't first tell you that Ender's Game is one of my favorite books of all time. It is the only book I have ever read whereupon completing it I turned back to the first page and started it again. There is something about the character of Ender Wiggin that I so wanted to identify with that made the experience of reading the novel such an enjoyable experience that I didn't want to leave the world. So when I read that they were going to be adapting the novel into a number of mini-series of comics I was both excited and concerned. Christopher Yost is a very hit or miss writer in my opinion and so when I heard that he had been attached I worried that he might somehow try to put too much of himself into the script and it would thereby be worse for the effort. I am a rather large fan of Pasqual Ferry and when I heard that he had been attached as penciller for the series my opinion became a bit more positive. So I went into the reading of the first issue with a mix of great hopes and wanting very badly to withhold my expectations. I was rewarded by my hesitation and felt that my expectations where not only exceeded but interestingly enough I felt as though I shouldn't have even expected less. It is clear that Orson Scott Card's manuscript is so well put together that it is nearly foolproof. Unless Yost set out to ruin the story of young Ender Wiggin it seems as though it is impossible for him to fail. Pasqual Ferry's artwork is both stunning and simple. Frank D'Armata's colors add a rich level of complexity to each and every image. I cannot recommend this book enough to both those who have never read the Ender Series but also to those who know and love the series. It is also very all ages appropriate and has moments throughout the story that will look stunning when rendered by the incomparable Mr. Ferry. I give this book my wholehearted support.
X-Men: Original Sin #1 (One-Shot)
Written by: Daniel Way & Mike Carey
Art by: Mike Deodato & Scot Eaton
If you have been reading X-Men: Legacy and/or Wolverine: Origins then you are going to want to make sure that you check this out. Mike Carey & Daniel Way have managed to write two chapters of the upcoming story in this issue and feature both of their facets while minimizing their flaws. Mike Deodato's pencils and page layouts might be much more exciting than those of Scot Eaton's but Eaton's pencils look fantastic as well. Ultimately I think that this is a frustrating issue. The two stories in here link up rather well together and ultimately I think that this is going to be an interesting story that has been wisely limited to the pages of just two of the X-books, but at the same time it runs $3.99. While the main story is 24 pages with very few ads the reason that this is $3.99 rather than $2.99 is that it reprints the 16 page story "First Night" from Classic X-Men #1 ... which actually has nothing to do with the story that is going on in the rest of the book. Marvel has been doing things like this lately and it is going to alienate readers. Arbitrarily reprinting old stories in new comics and charging a dollar more is not going to draw more readers to the story. And it seems that this is probably going to be essential to understanding the rest of the story. So, take that for what you will.
The Ferryman #1
Written by: Marc Andreyko
Art by: Jonathan Wayshak
Honestly if you aren't reading Marc Andreyko's Manhunter series over at DC you are missing out on one of the best superhero stories currently being published. Now, if you are looking for something that much more resembles something Sam Kieth might have written and drawn back in the mid to late nineties then this is the book for you. Jonathan Wayshak manages to be one part Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl & The Gorillaz) and one part Sam Kieth, the rest is unidentifiable but all good. This is the story of The Ferryman, a bounty hunter of sorts for a Demon. When you sell your soul to a demon and the time for payment comes around most people would think that the demon himself comes a'callin'. But times have changed and everyone's desire to get rich quick means that there is so much business for demons that they had to shop some of their work out. Enter "Gideon", a Ferryman who has had just about enough of his job and is looking for a way out. Grab this interesting and action packed new mini-series to find out how that all works out for the man who's coming for your soul.
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