Comic Reviews by Walt

Creative Director & Executive Director: Orson Scott Card
Script: Mike Carey
Art: Sebastian Fiumara
Color Art: Giulia Brusco
Lettering: Cory Petit
Story Consultant: Jake Black
Cover: Jim Cheung & Morry Hollowell (variants by Timothy Green and Emily Warren)
Publisher: Marvel Comics

I almost missed this book. I’ve picked up the first two issues of Ender’s Game, and the trade dress for this is virtually identical, including the title’s logo font.

This story focuses on Bean rather than Ender. We open with Bean as a street kid trying to get in with a crew of other kids in order to survive. He presents a plan that hadn’t been done before, and while parts of what he suggests is followed–the crew gets a bully on their side–the other kids fail to see things through, which results in the bad stuff Bean knew would happen for a half-done job. The results of this helps propel him toward Battle School.

While I’d read the novel Ender’s Game a couple times and so was affected reading the comics adaptation of that, I’ve come into Ender’s Shadow cold–I’ve not read any of the later “Enderverse” novels, including the novel Ender’s Shadow. It’s cool reading about this character and seeing how Bean gets his name and winds up going to Battle School–I’m not sure how much credit to give to Card on the original work versus Carey on this adaptation. Suffice that whatever Carey does with the original, I’m having no trouble following along–and am enjoying this, knowing only that Bean was a character in Ender’s Game and that he’s the focal point of this run-through of that story.

The art has an interesting look to it. It’s almost sketchy in a way, simplistic, and yet it conveys so much at the same time. I have no problem with that–it seems to accentuate the story itself, and for a story I’m new to, I don’t think I really have much in the way of preconcieved notions as to what the look should be. I don’t have my Ender’s Game issues onhand to compare this to, but I’m pretty sure the visual styles are quite different…yet it works just fine, and I have no problem with it whatever.

On the whole, this is an enjoyable issue, even going in knowing it’s the first of a five issue mini. I enjoyed it more than the first issue of Ender’s Game, and am actually quite interested now in reading the novel of this title, just to learn more of Bean and everything only hinted at in this first issue’s segment of story.

While my usual hesitations at mini-series apply, if you’re particularly interested in seeing the property adapted visually, this is well worthwhile. For the more casual reader, I’d suggest waiting for the collected volume for a fuller experience instead of just getting a single issue’s content at a time.

Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Whole: 8/10

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2008, Ender's Shadow, MARVEL, Misc. | Tagged: Battle School, Cory Petit, Emily Warren, Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, Ender's Shadow: Battle School, Giulia Brusco, Jake Black, Jim Cheung, MARVEL, Marvel Comics, Mike Carey, Morry Hollowell, Orson Scott Card, OSC, Sebastian Fiumara, Timothy Green | Leave a comment »