Saturday, August 31, 2013

1st Impression: SOULFIRE # 6 (Vol. 4)

SOULFIRE # 6  (Vol. 4)
Written by JT Krul & Frank Mastromauro
Art by Giuseppe Cafaro, Mike DeBalfo & Nei Ruffino
Aspen Comics


FLIPPING THROUGH:
                It’s a BIG showdown between Oris (in Grace’s body)  and the Elemental Dragons vs  Malaikai, Benoist and the other. And the showdown has some radical repercussions.

ART:
                The art was superb this issue. Cafaro and DeBalfo do an amazing job with the pencils. Sharp detail with everyone. Great proportions with the characters. A good amount of details, including the backgrounds. And there are some panels that are poster worthy in this issue. There is a great amount of facial expressions and action that real fit the piece. The detail was definitely great; especially on the larger panels with the dragons and Oris. Any previous gripes I had about these two were washed away this issue. Ruffino’s colors deliver to the sharp pencils. The shading and tones are perfect for each scene and the overall grandeur of the book is heightened by Ruffino’s sharp and vivid colors. A great job by this team.

WRITING:
                This book continues to be entertaining. The stories are epic. The characters feel and act believable. The plot is good. And there is a sense of wonder that grips you through Krul’s writing when you read this book.  There are a lot of characters in this book but Krul juggles them all with ease. And the deepening stories  that come from this issue’s battle are both personal and profound.
                Unfortunately, there is one major problem with this issue: The pacing. The fight does take up most of the issue; I was actually expecting it to take up the entire issue and possibly a bit of next issue.  Yet, it still takes up a good chunk of it. Yet, there is a feeling, with this many characters that the battle moves far too quickly. Oris is an embodiment of Chaos (or so , we are lead to believe); And with the battle with the Dragons was great. It was just a bit too fast for me.  I enjoyed the last few pages because I was not expecting them but overall, things were moving too fast.  Otherwise, this is a solid book.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:
                Great art. Good writing. Yet, the pacing is what hurts the story and the book.

RATING:

                While the pacing does hurt the book, the art was even better than the last couple of issues. I give Soulfire # 6 an 8 out of 10.  

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