Original Sin #8
Writer- Jason Aaron
Artist- Mike Deodato
Color Artist- Frank Martin
Review by Justin Townson
In my last review for Original Sin I expressed my dismay for the way the series was panning out, but hoped the book could stick the landing. After finishing up the closing issue I can say with disappointment that no, it didn’t stick it at all. As a general fan/defender of crossovers this one left me puzzled, confused, and wondering what the point of it all was.
The concept for a good story was all there, but the execution was lacking. Jason Aaron is a talented writer, and personally one of my favorites, but after reading this issue and looking back at the series as a whole, it left me frustrated. Too many times I’ve felt like screaming at the page for someone to answer a damn question. The entire series was drawn out way too much. Stretching this to 8 issues is a big part of the problem, this is a tale that could have been told in 5 or 6 issues at most. Another problem I’ve had with the series is that it had way too much Nick Fury. While Fury was an integral part of the Marvel Universe for a long time, he hasn’t been for a while. So to put his life at risk and throw the threat of death at him rings completely hollow. If he dies or not, it doesn’t play off as having any major impact on the current state of Marvel. Speaking of impact, the odd thing about this story is that at the end, I felt there was a larger impact from the Original Sin story in the tie-in books, like Spider-Man and Daredevil, than in the series itself. Perhaps this would read better in trade and with that in mind I wonder why Marvel didn’t use this as one of their original graphic novels.
While I found the story to be lackluster, the art in the book is anything but. This book is flat out awesome looking. Mike Deodato’s pencils and Frank Martin’s colors combine to create something special. I’ve talked about the interesting layout of panels in the last issue but this time something else caught my eye. There are flashbacks to Nick and The Watcher talking and Deodato draws the panels in a way that pulls you into the center of the image. Everything drawn is pulling you that way,as you can see above. It feels like there’s a bomb about to go off by adding that type of imagery and it brings a sense of tension to what’s happening.
Verdict
Pass on it. I try and look for the best in the books I read and with this series I’m struggling to find something. The idea was there and the art is great but it didn’t add up to what I had hoped. You could pass this series by and not miss anything. That’s my recommendation.
