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Underworld #1
Review posted: 12 Feb 2006
Writer: Frank Tieri
Artist: Staz Johnson
Publisher: Marvel Comics
3.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Adam White
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After seeing some news articles about Marvel’s new
Underworld miniseries I was interested to check it out, mainly
because it was a new idea and Marvel has done a heck of a job with
mini series lately. However, upon finishing Underworld #1, I
still think it’s a solid idea, but I did have a few problems
with it. Although enjoyable, there were mainly some technical issues
I had with it — nothing that couldn’t be worked out with a
little polishing.
The entire series would have benefited from
being a MAX project, which would have freed up the creators to take
more risks and include the rough content that was only implied.
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I knew Frank Tieri’s work mainly from the Weapon X series, of
which I was never very enamored. I think he has a rock solid concept
for Underworld, yet it had its good and bad points. The main
issue I had was with the dialogue, which came across as a little too
antiquated throughout the book. I know that one point is that the
main character, Jackie Dio, has been in jail since before the main
burst of superheroes came onto the scene, but since he was in jail
less than ten years he wouldn’t be quite that behind in his
speech patterns. Jackie’s narration is where the bulk of this
offense occurs, and I honestly think that the book could do without
the narration (or at least contain less of it). Jackie’s
actions and interactions tell his story, and the writing motto “less is more” definitely applies here. Also, some points of the
story, such as Jackie’s convenient conversation with the Hippo
about “The Consultant,”seem a little staged to service the
plot, and could have been worked in more naturally. However, Jackie
does seem to have solid characteristics and his encounters throughout
the issue are defined enough to make the narration redundant, which I
think is where things clashed a bit in my mind. Jackie’s
interaction with Silvermane was the best part of the story so far, and
it was honestly the only time Silvermane has ever been interesting or
sympathetic in any way, so that’s a serious accomplishment in
itself.
I recall Staz Johnson’s art from such projects as Robin, but
I hadn’t seen anything from him for awhile until
Underworld. I think that Johnson does fine enough work, but I
have to question whether he’s the best choice for this series.
Johnson excels at superhero stories, yet Underworld is the
antithesis of such stories, as Jackie Dio is a regular guy that really
wants nothing to do with superheroes. I would have preferred someone
with a grittier style; perhaps someone from Marvel’s current
stable of Punisher artists would have been more appropriate. The only
gripe I had with the art was Johnson’s portrayal of the Owl,
which seemed a little behind-the-times as far as his looks go (see
Daredevil from a year or so back to see what I mean), but that’s
more of an editorial/continuity issue. Again, I have nothing against
Johnson’s work, I simply think that he would have been put to
better use on another title and then Underworld could have had
a little more of an edgy realism to it.
Actually,
the entire series would have benefited from being a MAX
project, which would have freed up the creators to take more risks and
include the rough content that was only implied
in the more
age-friendly version. It reminds me a bit of how Punisher used to be,
back before Ennis and MAX, where you always knew that Frank fought
dirty and would kill without hesitation, but you rarely saw his full
potential because the creators were restrained due to censorship
issues. So, while I like Jackie Dio well enough to stick with it for
now, I think that some adjustments as far as content and atmosphere
would seriously strengthen the book and make Underworld a
must-read.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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