Local Man #10 Review

 

Writer: Tony Fleecs & Tim Seeley

Artist: Tony Fleecs & Tim Seeley

Colorist: Brad Simpson & Felipe Sobreiro

Cover Artists: Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs, Whilce Portacio & Brian Reber

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: May 22, 2024

 

Jack’s 3^rd Gen boss, Camo Crusader, imprisoned his 4^th Gen recruits. Jack’s girlfriend, Inga, helped Camo harvest and sell their superpowers. Yet even as the teens’ bodies died, some of their spirits remained. Driven mad by Camo Crusader and Inga’s betrayal, former 4^th Gen recruit Seascape summoned a tidal wave. Jack rallied the locals and saved Farmington. But how do the townspeople feel about Jack killing Camo Crusader? Let’s leap into Local Man #10 and find out!

 

Story

Police Chief Brian Bucholz warned Jack that people would like him less when they learned he killed Camo Crusader. It doesn't matter that Jack prevented his former boss from killing the Police Chief. Brian had called in the death. He promised to write a report that justified Jack's actions. But someone leaked a video of Camo's death to the TV news channels, while Brian's report got mired in bureaucracy.

 

All this comes to a head in Local Man #10 when Farmington comes together to commemorate Jack's dad. After Father Leo praises Benjamin's public service, the parishioners assure the grieving widow that God will comfort her. Then, as they face the son Benjamin left behind, they disparage Jack.

 

Father Leo mentions that he needs Local Man’s help. His mother looks to Jack for support. But Deputy Alan Kopecki waits outside with two FBI officers. Instead of accompanying them to the station, Jack takes his dog Pepper and runs away.

 

Jack has made a habit of running away from Farmington. The first time, it was because he pulled a stunt that impressed Camo Crusader and the 3^rd Gen Public Relations agent. Now, Jack runs away to his former teammate. He shares Neon's vacation house in Joshua Tree, California, where the sunlight charges her superpowered body, allowing her to perpetuate the mist that keeps the authorities away. But Jack and Neon are getting on each other's nerves. Worse, she blames him for Camo Crusader's death. Neon loves her husband despite his faults and understands why Jack killed him. Still, living with his killer isn't easy. So when Father Leo requests Local Man’s aid, Neon packs Jack a duffle bag.

 

In Local Man #10, Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley remind us how the media controls our perceptions. They also demonstrate how people can come together to accomplish something worthwhile. But most of all, they suggest the importance of having a goal in life. Jack accomplishes good things wherever he goes. But his lack of focus allows others to manipulate him. How much more might Jack accomplish if he had a plan?

 

Art

Father Leo conducts the open casket service. Flowers fill the church and surround a portrait of Jack's father. Yet outside, hazy sunlight reveals the town in ruins and construction workers hauling away the wreckage. Lila rests her head on Jack's shoulders. Ben's death and the town's destruction have drained Father Leo. Once again, anger contorts Lila’s features as she thrusts Pepper into Jack’s hands, and he runs away.

 

TV images portray journalists, Gen Corp’s owner, and 3^rd Gen members Neon and Soft Kore. They also replay Jack’s singular instance of archery effectiveness. Jack is appalled by the 3^rd Gen's flashy replacements. He reclines on Neon's couch while she stretches on a yoga mat. A mist obscures the few plants that sprout outside the one-story desert home.

 

Brad Simpson’s appealing colors bring depth to Tony Fleecs’ art in Local Man #10. Jack's green shirt and Neon's blue-green workout clothes remind us of their complicated relationship. Yet her body and clothes glow pink when she grows angry and remind us of the mist outside. The subdued coloring of Jack’s wandering life contrasts with the poster art of Gen Corp’s new superhero team. Green and pink feature heavily, and the vivid tones make the image glow. Felipe Sobreiro lavishes similarly bold, bright colors on Tim Seeley's art when Crossjack and Soft Kore visit a Hollywood nightclub.

 

Uppercase black letters fill dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Even in panels packed with dialogue, the arrangement is easy to follow in Local Man #10. Colorful sound effects help us hear Father Leo’s attempts to contact Jack, Neon hastily packing Jack’s clothes, and gunshots ring out in a crowded nightclub. Black and green badges with white print identify potential weapons should Local Man need to fend off a vengeful opponent.

 

Thanks to Image Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Jack abandons his home, family, and neighbors again, only to return and find Farmington radically changed in Local Man #10. But has his hometown changed for better or worse?

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

X-Force #45 Review

 

Writer: Benjamin Percy

Artist: Robert Gill

Colorist: GURU-eFX

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Daniel Acuña; Whilce Portacio & Arif Prianto

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 4, 2023

 

Domino’s raid on an exclusive Russian bathhouse netted her a mysterious ring. Is it linked to Mikhail Rasputin? Can it help Sage rebuild X-Force? Let’s leap into X-Force #45 and find out!

 

Story

The Chronicler writes the story of X-Force’s downfall. His mutant powers influence those he writes about. Mikhail used his brother Colossus to help Orchis destroy the thriving community of Krakoa. But the massacre left Orchis running the world, and Mikhail craves power. So Mikhail gives the Chronicler a new task. Find another character for your next story arc. Choose someone inside Orchis who can work for me!

 

Sage lost her team at the Hellfire Gala. Mikhail holds half her people prisoner. She must reform X-Force to free the mutant community from Orchis' shackles. The key to achieving her goals lies in the mysterious ring. She's secreted the strange artifact in a No-Place tumor. But who can help unlock its secrets?

 

In X-Force #45, Benjamin Percy weaves readers into two intertwined dramas. The Chronicler yearns to escape Mikhail’s domination. Sage wants to defeat Mikhail. But the clock is ticking, and a misstep could sweep either player off the gameboard.

 

 

 

 

Art

Robert Gill packs pages with detailed art that portrays characters consistently from panel to panel. Darkness surrounds Colossus amid the tragedy of his life while parchment leaps from tall stacks upon the Chronicler’s desk. Orchis agent Jun Wei tantalizes with a dragon tattoo that slithers across her skull, while Deadpool savors the good life in Las Vegas. Settings filled with life and energy invite readers to visit every locale featured in X-Force #45.

 

GURU-eFX loads his palette and doesn’t hold back. Panels set in Krakoa and Las Vegas explode with color. Darkness surrounds people in Mikhail’s world, yet nothing hides from the reader’s gaze. Gray seeps into a colorful, unlit corridor in Dr. Strange’s house while the fire crackling in his hearth casts the library in pink and orange. Glowing symbols hover before his eyes as he studies the mysterious ring, while tears trickle down the Chronicler's cheeks as he writes a character’s demise in X-Force #45.

 

Joe Caramagna writes the Chronicler’s narrative in white boxes and Deadpool’s dialogue in yellow balloons. He gives aging eyes a break from his tiny script with a fact sheet on Orchis agent Jun Wei and the Telepathic Notations of Dr. Strange. Giant, angry letters roar amid the darkness when someone withdraws a gun and pulls the trigger. Who shot J.R., you ask? Forget Dallas! Discover who shot who in X-Force #45!

 

Final Thoughts

While Sage and Domino seek the key to mutant liberation, a prisoner’s desperate bid for freedom could doom countless others in X-Force #45.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.