shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 17, 2014 23:15:36 GMT -5
Magnus Robot Fighter #7 (Dynamite) (untitled) writer: Fred Van Lente pencils: Cory Smith inks: Sandy Jarrell colors: Mauricio Wallace letters: Deron Bennett editor: Nate Cosby grade: D "Where the hell do we have to run to?"
"Looks like nowhere, Leeja. So we have to FIGHT!"This title has not only lost all sense of the original Magnus Robot Fighter premise by this point, but it's also lost all its spark. The writing feels more stilted, the comedy far more forced, and new inker Sandy Jarrell positively destroys the art on many pages, leaving it looking far too awkward and cartoony, completely clashing with the tone of the book. Or did Cory Smith's art just suddenly become terrible? Look at the image above and decide for yourself. It looks like it was made in MS Paint. I could care less about the convoluted intrigues, secret alliances, and uneasy deals at this point. This series has no core, neither in protagonist Russ Magnus nor in the setting of North Am. I'll keep reading because I'm a stupid completist, but this series has utterly lost me as of this issue. Just read a review of this issue (which, oddly enough, gave it a 9/10), and that reviewer is under the impression that Sandy Jarrell is not, in fact, the inker, but rather another artist sharing the responsibilities with Smith. This would explain the lousy art in most(but not all) places. But why in the world would you have two artists switching off on chores? |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 25, 2014 8:55:41 GMT -5
So I didn't realize until now that Fred Van Lente also currently writes for Valiant. Thus, if Valiant ever does manage to acquire the rights to Magnus, it's reasonable to assume that this continuity might carry over.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2014 22:21:42 GMT -5
I'm two issues into Manning's run and I am loving it. The writing is much less verbose than I expected, the art is really crisp and those covers are just fantastic. I'm not sure if it's something Manning thought up (I haven't seen it before) but using dashes between words when robots speak is one of my favorite small touches ever.
That being said, his use of "rob" instead of "bot" is the most infuriating thing ever.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 13, 2014 22:28:07 GMT -5
I'm two issues into Manning's run and I am loving it. The writing is much less verbose than I expected, the art is really crisp and those covers are just fantastic. It truly only gets better. The plots get a lot more imaginative and fun as the series continues. So glad you're checking it out  |
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Post by Jesse on Nov 19, 2014 23:17:13 GMT -5
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 20, 2014 10:19:35 GMT -5
Thanks much for this info. Could just be a segue into a new title or limited series, though. Recently, It's been a common trend in smaller, independent publications with an ailing title to draw new attention by rebranding the same storyline with a new title or limited series. We saw this with the Boom! Planet of the Apes titles, and we're currently seeing it with Valiant's Harbinger. From everything I've heard, Magnus is the most successful of the Dynamite Gold Key relaunches so, unless Dynamite is killing the entire line-up, I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the end of Van Lente's Magnus. |
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Post by hondobrode on Nov 20, 2014 10:45:17 GMT -5
They hinted in the solicitation about it being a transition.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 20, 2014 11:54:03 GMT -5
FWIW, the October sales say Dynamite as a company only put 7 of its 38 titles published in the 400 or so... the rest sold less than 3000 copies. Magnus did place on the Trade list, though... with 572 copies of the vol. 1 trade sold.. that seems pretty decent for Dynamite. None of the gold key books are there... it may be they didn't come out in October, though, as the all placed in September: Turok (#278), Magnus (#301), Solar (#315)... all between 5 - 6K sales.
August: ONly Doctor Specter released.
July: Turok (#270), Dr. Specter (#272), Magnus (#277 for #5, #298 for #0)
That seems lower than their 'girl' books, but higher than the retro stuff.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 20, 2014 12:02:28 GMT -5
FWIW, the October sales say Dynamite as a company only put 7 of its 38 titles published in the 400 or so... the rest sold less than 3000 copies. Magnus did place on the Trade list, though... with 572 copies of the vol. 1 trade sold.. that seems pretty decent for Dynamite. None of the gold key books are there... it may be they didn't come out in October, though, as the all placed in September: Turok (#278), Magnus (#301), Solar (#315)... all between 5 - 6K sales. August: ONly Doctor Specter released. July: Turok (#270), Dr. Specter (#272), Magnus (#277 for #5, #298 for #0) That seems lower than their 'girl' books, but higher than the retro stuff. Well that certainly contradicts my anecdotal evidence that Magnus was the best selling of the Gold Key books. Thanks much for these numbers! |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 20, 2014 12:06:24 GMT -5
At that level, the differences are very small (a few copies for each place) so it could well be that it was for the 1st couple.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2014 12:58:28 GMT -5
There's an interview out there with Van LEnte now about the end of Magnus (with #12) and his thoughts o the run if you're curious... FVL on BC-M |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Dec 7, 2014 14:44:37 GMT -5
There's an interview out there with Van LEnte now about the end of Magnus (with #12) and his thoughts o the run if you're curious... FVL on BC-M Thanks much for this! So Van Lent got to tell the full story he'd planned to tell. Sounds like the series wasn't so much cancelled as it was not renewed. I hate the tendency of modern writers, editors, and publishers to think in limited story arcs instead of massive ongoing experiences, but I'm pretty glad to see this particular incarnation of Magnus coming to a close all the same. |
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Post by shaxper on Jan 31, 2015 13:41:51 GMT -5
Doctor Spektor #4
Writer: Mark Waid
art: Roberto Castro
colors: Luigi Anderson
letters: Marshall Dillon
editor: Nate Cosby
We've already discussed repeatedly that this was NOT the story Mark Waid wanted to tell when he signed on for Doctor Spektor, and that helps to explain how damn confusing and thrown together this final(?) installment feels. From the perspective of a Magnus reader, though, the only importance it holds is repeated references to a war with the "Sky Gods."
As I understand it, the Magnus of the rebooted Dynamite universe, presumably further in the future than where he is now, teams up with the new Doctor Solar, Turok, and Dr. Spektor, to combat the Sky Gods from taking over all of reality using Zoron, the Priest-Magician as their agent. Somehow, the solution to preventing Zoron from destroying everything involved magically connecting each hero to Spektor and then hiding him away in an alternate reality where even he didn't know what had happened. They then won the battle against Zoron, but the war against the Sky Gods continues.
Confused? So am I.
Not going to delve into the rest of it, as that's beyond the scope of this review thread. As much as Dynamite's Gold Key relaunch began auspiciously enough though, I feel like they've really screwed the pooch at this point.
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Post by fanboystranger on Jan 31, 2015 14:21:59 GMT -5
Not going to delve into the rest of it, as that's beyond the scope of this review thread. As much as Dynamite's Gold Key relaunch began auspiciously enough though, I feel like they've really screwed the pooch at this point. That tends to be Dynamite in a nutshell. Everything starts out wonderfully, then just tapers off into oblivion. Only Matt Wagner's books seem to have any consistant plan over more than a few months. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 6, 2015 22:15:28 GMT -5
Magnus Robot Fighter #8 (Dynamite)  writer: Fred Van Lente pencils: Cory Smith inks: Felipe Cunha colors: Mauricio Wallace letters: Deron Bennett editor: Nate Cosby grade: B Magnus. Sorry...I'm not the person you thought I was.
Don't sweat it. Turns out...neither was I.Just when I'd pretty much given up on this series, Van Lente turns a new corner, and I don't just mean ditching Sandy Jarrell as an inker. Truly, we get back to the premise of the series with this issue -- Magnus attempting to uncover the truth, and we get much farther in one issue than, perhaps, we had in the last seven combined. Magnus learns the truth that the life he led was a lie, finds 1A, and puts forth a plan to take down Senator Clane. No more concern for petty alliances and double crosses, no more overly extended action sequences. Perhaps, now knowing he only has four issues left, Van Lente hits the fast forward button hard. And maybe he hits it a little too hard. After all, the big moment we'd been waiting for was Magnus' reunion with 1A and the conflicting feelings that would surface at such a point, but Magnus is pretty much "Oh, you lied to me about everything and manipulated me. Cool," and 1A is pretty much "I lied to you about stuff. Sorry. Let's move on" and they do. It feels really light on the drama. One little moment I did enjoy: as I've grown more and more concerned that the series is drifting too far from the original premise, we get this little visual nod, where Magnus liberates the captured Gophs from the Harvesters. It looks very similar to the moment in the original Gold Key first issue where Magnus liberates the captured humans from H8, with them caged and watching from the background as he struggles with their oppressor:  In fact, could that cloaked woman in the upper right be M'ree?  I'm still not convinced I like this series, but this installment was certainly more interesting than the last few. Important Details: - Magnus learns that his previous life was a lie and reunites with 1A - 1st appearance of the Central Network, a vast intelligence controlling and observing all of North Am and in cahoots with Clane - Explanation of the Uncanny Valley (the point where robots resemble humans too closely and "freak human out") and Mori's peak (the high point before the valley where a robot's physical resemblance to humans is most likely to instill human empathy). I assume they mean that robots should reflect the human ideal and not the human reality in terms of appearance; that would also explain why Magnus' fantasy life was at an imaginary location called "Maury's Peak." plot synopsis in one sentence: Magnus and Leeja survive the big scrape up from last issue, they free the captured gophs from the harvesters and leave H8R behind without a second though, Magnus gains the coordinates for 1A from Moira, and he and 1A reunite with plans to take down Clane. |
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