Ravencroft #1
Writer: Frank Tieri
Artist: Angel Unzueta
Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg & Dono Sánchez-Almara
Letters: Joe Sabino
I’ve quite enjoyed the three Ruins of Ravencroft one-shots in the run up to this series. Nothing spectacular but I’ve enjoyed them well enough. I assumed that having them set this story up we would hit the ground running in this first issue but that isn’t the case at all. This issue feels very much like the setup for the rest of the series and as such was a little slower than I expected. In fact it makes the one-shots feel a little unnecessary which is a shame. I found this particularly surprising when we look at the team involved in this issue. Frank Tieri wrote all three one-shots, Angel Unzueta drew the modern day segments, and Rachelle Rosenberg colored them.
I’m also struggling to believe that a fraction of the events that happen in this issue could be allowed. And before you start shouting at me, yes, I appreciate this is a comic. How can I talk about realism when elsewhere in the Marvel universe we have characters like the Hulk, an Immortal being you wouldn’t want to get angry, or Spider-man, someone who’s been bitten by a radioactive spider so now has spider powers? Yes, there’s an element of suspending your belief when reading comics. However, it’s one thing to have these extraordinary characters, but to make the stories work and resonate they also need to take place in a world with rules, and logic, that is believable. When I’m looking at a comic and saying it’s asking too much to suspend my belief here a line has certainly been crossed that shouldn’t have.
I won’t go into details for spoiler reasons but essentially everyone involved in staffing Ravencroft doesn’t ring true for me.
So we’ve got Misty Knight and John Jameson who look to be the heroes of this story, with Fisk in the background manipulating things for his own personal gains. Misty is working for a mysterious organisation who have been hinted at for a while now, with little information about who or what they are. John Jameson is trying to make amends for his recent actions.
Then we have the mysteries of Ravencroft. What’s Fisk hoping to gain? What’s going on with these mysterious “unwanted” creatures that have been teased in the one-shots?
There are a lot of questions, but I’m struggling to decide if I even care about these things or not. And that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the series. I hope we start getting some answers soon and the series starts to pick up a little.
I enjoyed Angel Unzueta’s art in the one shots, his work is quite stylised and works well for drawing this new, rebuilt asylum. All of his characters are instantly recognisable, a little larger than life perhaps, but good nonetheless. Rachelle Rosenberg is joined by & Dono Sánchez-Almara for colors this time and they do a good job with them. From the dingy, slightly clinical, asylum to Misty’s red jacket they do a good job.
This series hasn’t taken off running like I expected following the one-shots. There are still a number of mysteries to be solved, with no sign of resolution yet, I only hope they start providing answers soon to hold our interest.
Artist: Angel Unzueta
Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg & Dono Sánchez-Almara
Letters: Joe Sabino
I’ve quite enjoyed the three Ruins of Ravencroft one-shots in the run up to this series. Nothing spectacular but I’ve enjoyed them well enough. I assumed that having them set this story up we would hit the ground running in this first issue but that isn’t the case at all. This issue feels very much like the setup for the rest of the series and as such was a little slower than I expected. In fact it makes the one-shots feel a little unnecessary which is a shame. I found this particularly surprising when we look at the team involved in this issue. Frank Tieri wrote all three one-shots, Angel Unzueta drew the modern day segments, and Rachelle Rosenberg colored them.
I’m also struggling to believe that a fraction of the events that happen in this issue could be allowed. And before you start shouting at me, yes, I appreciate this is a comic. How can I talk about realism when elsewhere in the Marvel universe we have characters like the Hulk, an Immortal being you wouldn’t want to get angry, or Spider-man, someone who’s been bitten by a radioactive spider so now has spider powers? Yes, there’s an element of suspending your belief when reading comics. However, it’s one thing to have these extraordinary characters, but to make the stories work and resonate they also need to take place in a world with rules, and logic, that is believable. When I’m looking at a comic and saying it’s asking too much to suspend my belief here a line has certainly been crossed that shouldn’t have.
I won’t go into details for spoiler reasons but essentially everyone involved in staffing Ravencroft doesn’t ring true for me.
So we’ve got Misty Knight and John Jameson who look to be the heroes of this story, with Fisk in the background manipulating things for his own personal gains. Misty is working for a mysterious organisation who have been hinted at for a while now, with little information about who or what they are. John Jameson is trying to make amends for his recent actions.
Then we have the mysteries of Ravencroft. What’s Fisk hoping to gain? What’s going on with these mysterious “unwanted” creatures that have been teased in the one-shots?
There are a lot of questions, but I’m struggling to decide if I even care about these things or not. And that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the series. I hope we start getting some answers soon and the series starts to pick up a little.
I enjoyed Angel Unzueta’s art in the one shots, his work is quite stylised and works well for drawing this new, rebuilt asylum. All of his characters are instantly recognisable, a little larger than life perhaps, but good nonetheless. Rachelle Rosenberg is joined by & Dono Sánchez-Almara for colors this time and they do a good job with them. From the dingy, slightly clinical, asylum to Misty’s red jacket they do a good job.
This series hasn’t taken off running like I expected following the one-shots. There are still a number of mysteries to be solved, with no sign of resolution yet, I only hope they start providing answers soon to hold our interest.
A Look Inside
