Finally, the famed Vapor Lord lies defeated. After such a battle, it’s time to reflect and redress all that has gone before. Settling into a dare I say, normal routine, Robyn gets a visit from Masumi who offers her a warning to go with the coffee and donut. It seems that a Supra-Neutralizing Astral Reaper, or SNARE for short has it in for “The Archer”. Well, whatever you can say about Zenescope books, subtly may not be their strong point as we get an issue filled with the expected confrontation.
Joe Brusha is credited with the story coupled with Lou Iovino on words. Taken at face value, I assume that Brusha is working the plot with Iovino working the dialogue. Whichever way it works, its clear that the twelve issue format is being used well, with mini arcs adding to the overall story. This gives the writers a chance to show Robyn in a variety of situations, learning new things before bringing it all together to fight the big bad towards the end of the run. It also allows for a variety of guest stars to encroach and possibly entice you to read other Zenescope books. Personally, I am not a huge fan of this approach at it is steeped in Zenescope continuity that as a “passing through” reader I just don’t know or have the time to care about. Still, I am sure fans of the long running characters will appreciate them. I was pleasantly surprised by the fun element of the dialogue throughout the book. Remember back when Buffy’s interaction with her gang was on point, yet watching now does not have the same feel, even feeling dated? Well, this book carries on that energy but it reads a lot better.
The art chores are handled by Sergio Arino, with help from Marc Rosette and Riveiro. I have often talked about a house style at Zenescope and throughout this book, there are differences to be seen. In the first part of the book, the art has softer lines and a level of curvaceous-ness that works well, without being over the top. Further on, character frames and face take a more angular approach. Both styles work well enough, with the latter style winning out for me. It’s not that the softer style is bad; in fact the pace of the action suits well, it’s when Robyn and her cohort are shown head to toe that perspective tends to become a little uneven. Still this is only a minor quibble. Colors are provided by Grostieta along with Bryan Valenza and Dono Sanchez Almara. By know, I am uncertain as to how many people have worked on this book?
This book is pretty much standard fare; there is a threat, a warning, a team up and a fight. This could describe any number of books. For fans to pick this up, they need to invest in Robyn and for the most part, due to the energy on show via the dialogue, Robyn may well be gaining some new fans.
Story – 3 Stars
Words – 3.5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 3.5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
(W) Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco (A) Lou Iovino (CA) Pasquale Qualano
Author Profile
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I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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