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 The Order #3
Written by Matt Fraction with art by Barry Kitson, Mark Morales, Dean White and Artmonkeys Studios.
Reviewed by Kenne
I have to admit that when I first heard of The Order, back when it was called The Champions, I had my doubts about this title. First, it was a part of the aftermath from Civil War where Marvel decided that Heroes can only be heroes if they're registered to the government. Then Marvel decided to rename the book in order to keep from being sued for trademark infringement. I had a feeling that a book about unknowns that was a part of Initiative that already had to change its name from the more recognizable Champions to the obscure Order was bound to be a flop.
I was wrong. While some might say that the story being told is nothing new, I find it interesting and fascinating to read. Think about it, this is a book about former heroes and celebrities who are suddenly given powers and the chance to be SUPER heroes. Then to top it off, Matt Fraction isn't afraid to deal with difficult subjects like last issue's "Pretty girl with an eating disorder" or this issue's "athlete has to deal with a tragedy that destroys their athletic career". These aren't new subjects, but that doesn't mean that they cant still be entertaining and perhaps even educating. The team dynamics on this book are completely on the par of more successful teams like Avengers or the Justice League of America. It also doesn't hurt that the art is beautiful. While it's definitely a cheesecake style of art where the girls are given outfits that show off their midriff and have big guns sticking out of their chests, it's still very pretty art. And I say kudos to Matt and team for putting out an entertaining story.
 Supernatural Origins #5
Written by Peter Johnson with art by Matthew Dow Smith, Jo Mettler and Greg Thompson.
Reviewed by Kenne
There's a reason that I don't really like comics adapted from TV shows or movies. It's hard for me to adjust to something I'm used to seeing on a television screen when it's in another medium where the characters I know look NOTHING like the actors that portray the characters. It's just too jarring. Plus, there's a level of action and suspense that I feel gets lost in the comic version. Supernatural Origins is an example of why. Due to the success of the CW show Supernatural, starring Jared Padelecki and Jenson Ackles as brothers who are on a long road trip hunting down the things that most people don't believe exist.
In the comic, Peter Johnson is trying to tell the story of what took place before the television series when the brothers were still children. It stars John Winchester, a suddenly widowed father of the above mentioned brothers, who's out to figure out what happened the night that his wife died of supernatural circumstances. While I want to like this story and look past how it doesn't feel like the tv show, I just can't seem to do it. Like I said, there's some things that the show can do that don't work for me in the comics. Like in this issue, John and his new hunter companion are on the hunt for the answers to a clue that they found. It leads them to a psychedelic trip similar to Dante's inferno. However, as much as I want to feel into the story, I'm not. Everything feels disjointed and doesn't flow very smoothly from one panel to the next. There's even a couple pages that don't make any sense at all.
Plus, I'm not a fan of the art. In a previous issue, the artist had a hard time drawing a baby convincingly. In one panel, the baby looked like a short person, but in the next, he looked like a puppet or something. I'm usually one of those people who can overlook the art, particularly if the style fits the story, if the writing is good enough, but this isn't particularly compelling writing either. I'll probably pick up the next issue to finish the story, but if these creators come up with another mini-series based on Supernatural, I'll save my money and my Supernatural fanaticism for the real thing and watch the show instead.
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