Post by goldenfist on Oct 17, 2008 15:55:23 GMT -5
Ign.com reviews Secret Invasion:Frontline #4.
If I could go back in time and force Marvel to trim any single Secret Invasion tie-in from the lineup, it would have to be Front Line. From the beginning, this mini-series has felt like an obligatory inclusion rather than a meaningful addition to the SI saga. If Civil War and World War Hulk had a Front Line tie-in, then so too must Secret Invasion. That seems to have been the thinking, anyway.
It's not that any one element of this series is particularly bad. It's just that the whole product is so resoundingly mediocre. It shuns the recurring cast of past Front Line books. While I'm just as happy to ditch Sally Floyd for a while, I really expect my Front Line books to have an ensemble focus. Instead, this series follows Ben Urich as he chronicles the plight of a group of humans impacted by the Skrull invasion. I could even accept that if the story were able to add a new wrinkle or two to Urich's character. Instead, we learn that he's worried about his wife and he copes with disaster by being a journalist. Shocking, I know.
I found it slightly interesting that Reed was attempting to tell a horror story among his other segments. The segment in question followed a group of hapless refugees trapped inside Stark Tower with a murderous Skrull on the hunt for blood. Unfortunately, the horror aspect never quite kicked in. I blame the art more than anything. Marco Castiello never frames the panels in a way that promotes feelings of tension or fear. And the coloring certainly does the art no favors, as it manages to remain bright and cheery even in a supposedly pitch black building.
With a dull cast of characters and a bland approach to tie-in storytelling, front Line really has nothing to offer readers, even if they still crave more Secret Invasion goodness. I really hope Marvel thinks long and hard before giving the green light to the next Front Line project.
Review Score: 5.8 Mediocre
If I could go back in time and force Marvel to trim any single Secret Invasion tie-in from the lineup, it would have to be Front Line. From the beginning, this mini-series has felt like an obligatory inclusion rather than a meaningful addition to the SI saga. If Civil War and World War Hulk had a Front Line tie-in, then so too must Secret Invasion. That seems to have been the thinking, anyway.
It's not that any one element of this series is particularly bad. It's just that the whole product is so resoundingly mediocre. It shuns the recurring cast of past Front Line books. While I'm just as happy to ditch Sally Floyd for a while, I really expect my Front Line books to have an ensemble focus. Instead, this series follows Ben Urich as he chronicles the plight of a group of humans impacted by the Skrull invasion. I could even accept that if the story were able to add a new wrinkle or two to Urich's character. Instead, we learn that he's worried about his wife and he copes with disaster by being a journalist. Shocking, I know.
I found it slightly interesting that Reed was attempting to tell a horror story among his other segments. The segment in question followed a group of hapless refugees trapped inside Stark Tower with a murderous Skrull on the hunt for blood. Unfortunately, the horror aspect never quite kicked in. I blame the art more than anything. Marco Castiello never frames the panels in a way that promotes feelings of tension or fear. And the coloring certainly does the art no favors, as it manages to remain bright and cheery even in a supposedly pitch black building.
With a dull cast of characters and a bland approach to tie-in storytelling, front Line really has nothing to offer readers, even if they still crave more Secret Invasion goodness. I really hope Marvel thinks long and hard before giving the green light to the next Front Line project.
Review Score: 5.8 Mediocre