Image Comics reviews 5/5/21 – Nocterra #3, The Good Asian #1

Commanders in Crisis #8

One thing that’s very admirable about Steve Orlando is how he is overflowing with ideas and concepts for Commanders in Crisis. Rarely is having too many ideas a bad thing, but occasionally that’s resulted in some hard to follow issues like this installment where Orlando crammed a little too much content into one issue.

Prizefighter and American Dreamer, a character Orlando co-created with L.A. Thornhill Sanchez, have some philosophical differences about being a hero before uniting against a common threat. Thornhill co-wrote the issue with Orlando. Midway through this exchange, Orlando and Thornhill seem to get lost in their concept and it reads a little confusing.

Orlando has been all about high concepts and theories with CIC and he’s balanced keeping it interesting and getting too complex for the story’s own good. This time he stumbles a bit. This is another function of the series being 12 issues instead of an ongoing title as an issue like this one gets a vast info dump that disrupts the established flow.

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Similarly, Thunder Woman takes Frontier on a historical glimpse of this Earth’s first encounters with the Sparks. This is another instance where Orlando and Thornhill’s ideas exceed a natural story flow with both characters speeding through premises that need more time to develop. But with the series long past its halfway point, it’s time to advance the story regardless of how bumpy the ride.

Davide Tinto’s artwork continues to be sensational. It’s harder to do now, but Tinto’s style is original, dynamic and makes you want to read the issue just to take in the art. Francesca Carotenuto’s color work is also amazing with such bold, vibrant colors that make the pages pop. CIC might deal with some bleak ideas, but the artwork is a sight to behold.

While a more convoluted read than usual, the ideas overflowing in Commanders in Crisis remain impressive. Hopefully Orlando can reel some of them in to be more cohesive as the series winds down.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Check out the first volume of Commanders in Crisis on Amazon.