Review- JUPITER'S LEGACY VOL. 2

JUPITER'S LEGACY VOL. 2 (Image, First Printing, 2017; Softcover)

Collects Jupiter's Legacy Vol. 2 #1-5 (cover dates June, 2016- July, 2017)

Writer: Mark Millar

Artists: Frank Quitely and Rob Miller

Colorists: Sunny Gho

Give a person everything that they want, and what will they want? A little more. Brandon finds this lesson out the hard way. Even if you give people everything that you think that they want, it still doesn't make them happy because you never know what really makes other people happy.

I'm being deliberately vague with this review, as nobody likes spoilers. Fandom tends to disagree on the shelf life of a spoiler, but I'm of the mindset that I don't want to be the guy to spoil it for you, so I try to not do them. Your mileage may vary.

The tide turns, the moving parts that make up life slide into a new tongue and groove, and the circle is complete. Everything old is new again. It's taken four books to make the point (two volumes each of Jupiter's Legacy and Jupiter's Circle), but the payoff is clear. That is, unless Jupiter's Requiem, coming in 2019, smashes the whole thing to bits. I don't care either way, I just want to learn about the aliens for chrissakes.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials of physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Paper stock: Medium weight coated stock with a slight sheen, closer to glossy paper than matte.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.

Review- JUPITER'S CIRCLE VOL. 2

JUPITER'S CIRCLE VOL. 2 (Millarworld/ Image, First Printing, 2016; Softcover)

Collects Jupiter's Circle Vol 2 #1-6 (cover dates November, 2015- May, 2016)

Writer: Mark Millar

Artists: Wilfredo Torres, Chris Sprouse, Walden Wong, Davide Gianfelice, Karl Story, Rick Burchett, and Ty Templeton

Colorists: Ive Svorcina with Miroslav Mrva

In this second volume of the prequel series to Jupiter's Legacy we see the final pieces of the stage set and ready to go. This story takes place from the late '50s through the mid '60s. Like the Silver Age itself, we see the end of the innocence of the Golden Age. More emotionally complex scenarios become the order of the day. Superman always had a woman, Spider-Man did not. Things become less black and white. Here we have The Utopian, who loses all due to his own perfection only to stumble upon someone who really ends up mattering to him.

The writing is solid while the artwork is inconsistent but good for the most part. The Teen Scene are basically The Teen Titans, becoming corporate shill sellouts. The Utopian and Lady Liberty fall in love, which is where Jupiter's Legacy comes in. And I still want to know everything about those space aliens that gave them their powers.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials of physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Paper stock: Medium weight coated stock with a slight sheen, closer to glossy paper than matte.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.

Review- JUPITER'S CIRCLE VOL. 1

JUPITER'S CIRCLE VOL. 1 (Image, First Printing, 2015; Softcover)

Collects Jupiter's Circle #1-6 (cover dates April- September, 2015)

Writer: Mark Millar

Artists: Wilfredo Torres, Davide Gianfelice, and Francesco Mortarino

Colorist: Ive Svorcina

Everything is not what it seems to be, and heroes aren't always perfect people. That is the takeaway from the second arc in Mark Millar's Jupiter universe. Read on its own and taken at face value, this is some entertaining stuff. Compare and contrast with every other post-superhero, post-deconstructionist property. I can see both sides of this argument (all heroes should be heroic versus not all heroes are heroic) but enjoy this series for what it is: An exercise on the motivations of superheroes in “the real world”.

The backdrop of the series is the early Silver Age (1959-1960). Instead of the Justice League Of America battling Starro the Starfish you have this team dealing with J Edgar Hoover trying to expose their dirty little secrets. Like Astro City, their battles are largely left offscreen.

I really enjoyed issues three and four, where we see The Flare make a selfish decision that impacts his family and his teammates. Brainwave (Walter) tips his hand in #5 and 6 and shows what a piece of garbage he is. Anyone who read the first series already knows that, but it is now apparent that he was the snake in the grass from the word go.

The artwork has that Darwin Cooke kind of faux Silver Age feel to it. It's inconsistent compared to the first arc in this series, but I believe that this was the intention. Millar wanted this to look like something out of the past that couldn't possibly be misconstrued for the present. The coloring is largely flat, also an artistic choice done to emulate the Silver Age.

I am intrigued enough to continue reading and am looking forward to see what happens next.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials of physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Paper stock: Medium weight coated stock with a slight sheen, closer to glossy paper than matte.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.