Post by brentlambert on Jul 10, 2009 14:14:45 GMT -5
Nightstalkers #1 by Jan Oudshoorn
THE GOOD: This is definitely not a skeleton issue and Jan covers a lot of ground. Cagliostro is the standout of this series so far and I can tell that Jan enjoys writing him a good bit. I don’t know a great deal about the character, but I can tell he’s going to cause sufficient problems for the team in the future. The bit with the man talking about yodeling was probably the best scene of the issue. It had a bit of comic horror to it that I liked and it showed me a glimmer of Jan’s real potential.
THE BAD: There are a lot of places in this issue where Jan could have expanded on the details and really given us something to chew on. Particularly when the various mystical energies start attacking the guys. That was a great time to give some real, detailed scenery to help the reader understand that things have just gotten into a real bad place. Also, I don’t know what it is exactly, but Blaze just seems so off to me. But there really isn’t anyone outside of Cagliostro and Talisman who seemed really on point either. What I would suggest is writing down the characteristics for each team member and keeping such a list handy when editing future issues.
OVERALL: In terms of characterization, this title could use a lot of work, but I see potential in the narrative style. Jan’s dialogue can be snappy in places, but he doesn’t produce skeleton issues based around that alone. I think he sees the importance of actual narrative and I believe there is potential here.
THE GOOD: This is definitely not a skeleton issue and Jan covers a lot of ground. Cagliostro is the standout of this series so far and I can tell that Jan enjoys writing him a good bit. I don’t know a great deal about the character, but I can tell he’s going to cause sufficient problems for the team in the future. The bit with the man talking about yodeling was probably the best scene of the issue. It had a bit of comic horror to it that I liked and it showed me a glimmer of Jan’s real potential.
THE BAD: There are a lot of places in this issue where Jan could have expanded on the details and really given us something to chew on. Particularly when the various mystical energies start attacking the guys. That was a great time to give some real, detailed scenery to help the reader understand that things have just gotten into a real bad place. Also, I don’t know what it is exactly, but Blaze just seems so off to me. But there really isn’t anyone outside of Cagliostro and Talisman who seemed really on point either. What I would suggest is writing down the characteristics for each team member and keeping such a list handy when editing future issues.
OVERALL: In terms of characterization, this title could use a lot of work, but I see potential in the narrative style. Jan’s dialogue can be snappy in places, but he doesn’t produce skeleton issues based around that alone. I think he sees the importance of actual narrative and I believe there is potential here.