Adventureman #3, from Image, continues the incredibly deep and rich saga of the woman who begins to be swallowed up by the fictional stories of a long lost pulp hero of the 1930s.
Single mom Claire Connell stumbles further into the Adventureman legacy, long lost and intriguing. Matt Fraction’s scripting is fully engaging. The weekly Shabbat gatherings of Connell’s family serve as the central pinning from which Claire’s “dull week” originates: Claire, consumed with understanding the sudden appearance of art deco buildings in downtown Manhattan, the mysterious messages from characters of Adventureman, and so on. She’s been contacted by characters in a long out of print pulp novel adventure series!
The visuals of this issue follow lockstep in the same amazing quality level as the previous two issues. Terry Dodson pencils, with Rachel Dodson inking a simply spectacular, vista-filled orgy of art, with attractive faces, fully articulated limbs, and fabric. The panel layouts are stunning. The poses are lithe and articulate but still lend to the flow of the story. The lighting (colour by Terry Dodson) is nuanced, the palette is so superb that it sounds like I’m gushing just to describe it. Wow.
Without over-selling my enthusiasm for Adventureman, I urge you to pick up the first three issues while you can and jump onto this train. It’s Rocketman, it’s Little Nemo in Slumberland, It’s Pirates of the Caribbean, it’s storybook adventure like-as-if Steven Spielberg decided to write a comic book series! The grace, the benediction, the verbiage, the plumage, the whatever: for mind-bending sci-fi-pulp-popcorn movie stories, this one has it all!!
Image, Adventureman #3, $3.99 for 26 pages of comic content plus 5 pages of extras.
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