Oh Marvel Unlimited. You are going to be a very dangerous
application for me. Now that I can discover forgotten limited series like this…
well, you can expect some oddball Marvel reviews, that’s all I’m saying.
After reading it, I can see why this series is forgotten. It
isn’t that writer Brendan Cahill or artist John Burns do a bad job, it is just
that they are hamstrung by their leads. There is a reason that Silver Sable and
Dominic Fortune aren’t used more than they are. Sable is by far the stronger
character of the two, and she’s strictly C-list.
This is a fairly generic story about sleeper cells and betrayals
within the Wild Pack. I can’t really tell who everyone is, and the lack of
costumed villains to distinguish people from each other really hurts. Cahill
does a nice job with some of Fortune’s dialogue; he’s a lovable rogue
constantly in danger. He plays the damsel in distress role while Sable is the
butt-kicking action lead. The reversal of traditional roles is amusing, but not
enough to give the series enough traction.
I’ve never seen it, but isn’t this what Remington Steele was
based on? If so, then this would certainly make for a good Marvel version of
that show.
I assume John Burns is a classic artist of 2000 AD or
something. (EDIT: Just confirmed, he’s a Judge Dredd artist too.) His art has
that British flair that used to pop up in the late 80’s and 90’s, especially on
covers. His Silver Sable has a striking look, complete with enormous hair that just
screams 80’s action movie. She looks fantastic. Burns’ art is a good enough
reason for this to exist. He certainly has fans that must have appreciated this
look. That’s how I made this the first book I read with my new Marvel Unlimited
subscription.
That gets blown out of the water when Laurenn McCubbin takes
over on the last issue. Cut from six issues to four, Burns doesn’t get to
finish. McCubbin’s work looks so drastically different that I thought I was
reading a different comic. Not to mention the bigger problem; the main villains
were all eliminated in issue 3! I honestly couldn’t finish issue 4, that’s how
unnecessary it felt.
It is disappointing; this went from a niche project with a
targeted appeal to a four issue series that lived one issue too long. This EVIL
comic is recommended for Burns fans only.
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