Unity #6

Matt Kindt - Matt Kindt

CAFU - Artist

Brian Reber - Colorist

Dave Sharpe - Letterer

Clayton Crain - Cover Artist

 

After all the giant status quota shake-ups that crashed Unity’s core down to the ground, this issue was more of a strangely conventional installment that functions like a normal superhero book. It’s not that this arc of Unity is bad, it just doesn’t have the same slapdash pacing elements that really set the last couple of issues into high gear with exciting results. Can every single issue of this series consistently be integral to the plot, probably not. However, this new arc with Doctor Silk has been far too conventional for the series at the moment. Dealing with the aftermath of what has happened previously in a more direct manner would have worked better for me, and launching straight into the Armor Hunters tie-ins soon is going to kill the momentum that this series has going for it.

 

Some of the ideas in this tale are interesting, including the saga with Webnet’s secret code. Hopefully there is some sort of science based in this, as Kindt does the sort of technical spy thriller quite well. Silk’s origin is sort of by the numbers, and doesn’t stand out just enough to make him feel like a particularly well thought individual. Sometimes with Kindt’s writing, I feel as if the author loses the ambition that some of his other stories have. The writer needs to make sure that he is not quite losing track of his characters either, as that can be a really tricky way to make a comic book almost feel too robotic. My complaints with this tale are really technical, and may not bother those who just want a standard story with the newly established Unity team all together. The book is also going to tackle some more weighty plot issues in the upcoming Armor Hunters story, hopefully it will find a better pace and character balance in the current Dr. Silk storyline.

 

CAFU’s pencils are awesome as usual. The penciller gives the characters some great facial expressions, and the opening pencils draped in shadow feel really inspired. This leads to a splash that proves why CAFU is still a truly excellent penciller. His talking head scenes are packed with emotion and subtlety that should continue to make readers really happy. He has a page where he evokes the incredible layouts of Jim Steranko, proving that he is still innovating on his established style. Kaare Andrews recently likened the typical comic book artist too building a wholly unique style of writing that is similar to a sports car from a popular car manufacturer. CAFU definitely has a specific pencilling style that he brings to all of his different projects throughout the years. Colorist Brian Reber utilizes an exotic style of colors when compared to the typical Marvel coloring style. The tones are more muted and feature stagnant colors, in flashbacks there are nice hues of blue and red that bring some nice elements of the script.

Unity #6 is not the strongest narrative ever spun by Kindt and company, but a solid adventure in the web of Dr. Silk’s vicious mind games.