What's to Like:Mike Odum's submission to the September '09 Zuda competition is called WheelJack Union, and it is a technically sound piece of comic art. Odum works his black-and-white style to full effect, emphasizing stark contrasts throughout and skillfully shifting his use of black, in both degree and porportion, dependent upon the atmosphere and motion being conveyed. The linework is splendid, clean and consistent throughout, reminiscent of classic giant robot archetypes - Gigantor and The Iron Giant come to mind, but only in terms of the simple geometric shapes that comprise the machine.
Where WheelJack Union really shines is in the sequential aspect of the work. Odum shows off natural aptitudes for page composition and pacing that are truly rare for Zuda competitors. The camera in the tip of his pencil twirls the reader about the French battleground that opens the story, always providing dynamic scenes and evolving perspectives that synergistically craft a larger sense of the visuals than the simple 2-D pictures taken separately. Screen 2 is just a beautiful, exemplary piece of comic art, but it's only one example of Odum's mastery with the visual flow of WheelJack Union. Even when he launches into the oft-obligatory "recap" page that so often bogs down Zuda competitors, the transition is navigated seamlessly amidst a hot firefight and lasts a total of one single screen. And, when it's done, the reader better understands the story history and immediately dissolves back into the battle without a hitch. Impressive work there. One other quick note of praise for the creator's technical prowess: the lettering is truly gorgeous. Boxes and balloons are carefully placed to accent the art and supplement pacing, and the sound effects are expertly executed in terms of both placement and style.
What it Lacks:
All those kind words about the art and storytelling craftsmanship are not, unfortunately, accompanied by high praise for the characterizations within. The overall story itself is interesting as a World War II "What If" sort of tale, and the WheelJack robot has enough visual appeal and action potential to keep the reader interested. However, there is not much appeal to the human characters at the core of the story, and I attribute that to the scripting of the dialogue. It is not very distinctive among the characters, and the interaction between the WheelJack creator and the military officer on Screen 6 is particularly awkward. This is an area in which assistance from a writer or editor might improve the final product and make WheelJack Union a must-read on Zuda.
My Zuda Rating:
4 Stars. SO close to 5 Stars - I just want to like the non-robot characters more.
My Vote?
Possibly. I'm only a few submissions into my review, but WheelJack Union is definitely in the early lead.
2 comments:
I think their creator was written that way on purpose, from the synopsis I wonder if he's going to become a bad guy, be less selfish -become a hero, will the robots rise up against him, or help him enslave the poor populace? A lot of potential directions... The story needed color to really grab me, and give it that something extra to compete against some of the other impressive titles this month with me.
I wanted to post my thanks again on your blog in case you didn't read it on zuda. I MORE than appreciate you taking the time to give Wheeljack such a great and skillfully written review. Thanks a ton man!
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