Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur #27
Writer: Brandon Montclare
Artist: Natacha Bustos
Colourist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
So, Moon Girl is doing "The Fantastic Three" by teaming up with Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm. And this is the third issue of the arc. Third time's the charm!
I am still a huge fan of this series, but I'm also still convinced that ditching Devil Dinosaur back in #23 was a big mistake. The issues since then have floundered, and the core concept driving this arc - slot Lunella into her own ad-hoc version of the Fantastic Four - hasn't quite worked. Until now.
The kinks have finally been ironed out, Lunella accepts Ben and Johnny as partners, and things are looking up again in #27. This is the first issue since the split where I didn't keenly miss Devil Dinosaur's presence. He lives on in Lunella's memories, and here that works perfectly. After learning to live with a 30-foot t-rex, Lunella is more than capable of working with the Ever-Loving Blue-Eyed Thing and Marvel's Original Hothead.
It also helps to dial back the scale of the challenges facing this new team, at least temporarily. Mysterious shenanigans (that could use some closer examination in coming issues) find the Fantastic Three rescuing a treed cat and making a hilarious hash of it.
Additional comedy is mined out of a snarky conversation between HERBIE and Johnny that goes a little heavy on the meta-humour. It'll delight grown-up Marvel nerds but it may sail over the heads of younger readers. The other great confrontation brewing in Lunella's lab - HERBIE vs. Doom-Head, no holds barred! - is sadly underdeveloped. HERBIE has a bigger role to play in the story arc, though, so we haven't seen the last of him.
Galactus is still in the neighbourhood stirring up world-destroying trouble, and he also shines a light on the mystery of the Fantastic Four-themed crimes that are wreaking havoc on Yancy Street. The culprit stands revealed at the big cliffhanger. While it's not all that surprising, the reveal does promise a blockbuster fight for the next issue.
The visuals in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur have never disappointed when they're handled by the core team of artist Natacha Bustos and colourist Tamra Bonvillain, and when Brandon Montclare gives them a quality script like this one, the results are epically satisfying. That cat-rescuing scene is bursting with cartoony vitality and expressive character work; it's a perfect fusion of great writing and great art.
Galactus the Life-Bringer has his proper gold-coloured speech balloons this time around. Any disappointment you might feel at his initial appearance at the Hayden Planetarium will be wiped away by the much grander way he's presented in the final pages.
After a shaky start, the Fantastic Three have found their feet. Giving them a little breathing room before they tackle full-on world-saving is a great idea, and the way their chemistry starts to pop in this issue has livened up the whole story arc. Lunella + Ben Grimm + Johnny Storm always had potential, and now, at last, we're seeing it realized. I'm eager to see where they go next.
Artist: Natacha Bustos
Colourist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
So, Moon Girl is doing "The Fantastic Three" by teaming up with Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm. And this is the third issue of the arc. Third time's the charm!
I am still a huge fan of this series, but I'm also still convinced that ditching Devil Dinosaur back in #23 was a big mistake. The issues since then have floundered, and the core concept driving this arc - slot Lunella into her own ad-hoc version of the Fantastic Four - hasn't quite worked. Until now.
The kinks have finally been ironed out, Lunella accepts Ben and Johnny as partners, and things are looking up again in #27. This is the first issue since the split where I didn't keenly miss Devil Dinosaur's presence. He lives on in Lunella's memories, and here that works perfectly. After learning to live with a 30-foot t-rex, Lunella is more than capable of working with the Ever-Loving Blue-Eyed Thing and Marvel's Original Hothead.
It also helps to dial back the scale of the challenges facing this new team, at least temporarily. Mysterious shenanigans (that could use some closer examination in coming issues) find the Fantastic Three rescuing a treed cat and making a hilarious hash of it.
Additional comedy is mined out of a snarky conversation between HERBIE and Johnny that goes a little heavy on the meta-humour. It'll delight grown-up Marvel nerds but it may sail over the heads of younger readers. The other great confrontation brewing in Lunella's lab - HERBIE vs. Doom-Head, no holds barred! - is sadly underdeveloped. HERBIE has a bigger role to play in the story arc, though, so we haven't seen the last of him.
Galactus is still in the neighbourhood stirring up world-destroying trouble, and he also shines a light on the mystery of the Fantastic Four-themed crimes that are wreaking havoc on Yancy Street. The culprit stands revealed at the big cliffhanger. While it's not all that surprising, the reveal does promise a blockbuster fight for the next issue.
The visuals in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur have never disappointed when they're handled by the core team of artist Natacha Bustos and colourist Tamra Bonvillain, and when Brandon Montclare gives them a quality script like this one, the results are epically satisfying. That cat-rescuing scene is bursting with cartoony vitality and expressive character work; it's a perfect fusion of great writing and great art.
Galactus the Life-Bringer has his proper gold-coloured speech balloons this time around. Any disappointment you might feel at his initial appearance at the Hayden Planetarium will be wiped away by the much grander way he's presented in the final pages.
After a shaky start, the Fantastic Three have found their feet. Giving them a little breathing room before they tackle full-on world-saving is a great idea, and the way their chemistry starts to pop in this issue has livened up the whole story arc. Lunella + Ben Grimm + Johnny Storm always had potential, and now, at last, we're seeing it realized. I'm eager to see where they go next.
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