Commentaries
Commentary for Chapter-112 - Partners
As I expected, HRG just can’t keep a partner. He doesn’t work well with Syler, he doesn’t work well with Elle, he shot Claude, and was shot by the Haitian, who although only mentioned briefly, it stuns me that he is still employed by anyone since he betrayed the company and Angela. The reference to him being out of the country is also a setup for the next tv episode where Peter and Nathan go to Haiti to find him.
Anyway, back to the GN - In a rare GN moment, there is a direct relation to the TV series in that it starts off with the cleaning of the people Suresh had placed in cocoons.
This GN is chock full of TV references as the target is the vietnam vet that Merideth captured many years ago. Not sure why he was on Level 5, his power doesn’t appear all that dangerous and I am sure Level 4 would do, after all, wasn’t Hiro only on Level 2 or 3?
Dan Panosian first GN project has captured the Vet very well. He also has given Merideth a great deer in the headlights look as it is clear that she is not going to make a good agent, not with her empathy for the people they are hunting. I think he has even gotten Noah closer to Jack than anyone else in the GN world has.
Commentary for Graphic Novel 110 - Viewpoints
So Sylar went off by himself, couldn’t see that coming, could you? I mean after all, he is cocky, almost all powerful, feeding a hunger, and gee, having problems making friends. So he gets spit on. Not sure if that is Thompson or someone else but it is definitely a Company Man, you can tell by the suit. So Sylar hops into a car. Now I am not an expert spy but if you put your assignment tracker passwords on a license plate, someone is going to figure it out.
Once again, Sylar is feeling confident in his powers and doesn’t call for backup. Lucky him, hot girl needs help, Sylar gets to be the Hero. And he gets to take out not one, not two, but three powered opponents. Tina Ramirez, Hot girl with bad breath, Mike, a guy with enhanced stregnth and the third, we will never know as he is now a smoking skeleton.
Sylar makes the classic comic villain speach, describing exactly what he is doing to his victims. This usually becomes a fatal flaw that leads the villain to torture the hero just long enough for the hero to figure out how to escape.
Then, just when Sylar could lose control and maybe acquire some powers, Hot girl wakes up, (apparantly chlorine gas doesn’t keep you knocked out very long), and begs him not to kill them. So he calls his buddies at the company and the Haitian and HRG show up. Interesting that the Haitian is in white and all the other agents wear black. That raises so many potential theories that I couldn’t even do them all justice.
Sylar gets his first fan and the Haitian takes it away. Reinforces the anti-Sylar prejudice in the company as the one person who would attest that Sylar acted heroically won’t remember a thing. Seems like that will be a running theme throughout the Sylar story as he tries to be good but Peter, HRG, and everyone else continues to distrust him.
Chuck Kim captures Sylar’s thought process very well. I thought it was completely in character and insightful into the slow change from villain to hero. He has written many GN’s lately including Doyle, Elle’s first assignment, Donna’s big date, etc and all of them have been well received. I did have a problem with Sylar citing protocol when he has no formal company indoctrination but I can look past it. Alitha Martinez does an excelent job on power exhibitions. I like the glowing arms signifying the stregnth and the wisps of chlorine gas. It is comforting to see that even women artists draw the women hot. The only woman in the GN’s I can remember who wasn’t drawn hot was Candice/Betty. Is it ironic that her photo hangs in the gallery of dead agents along with Eden, Bob, Gael, Bianca, and a few others which appears in this GN? I didn’t even know she counted as a company agent.
What else did we learn? Sylar has voice powers. Looks like the bank job came in handy. He clearly has no control over it as he smoked one victim before we even learned his power.
Looking forward to next week
Commentary for “Sum Quod Sum, Part 2″
Let me start out by saying that I tried to like this week’s graphic novel. I kept telling myself, that it would get back to the “feel” of last week’s. To that end, I will start with the positives:
1) I positively loved Jason Badower’s artwork (and not just because he added me as a friend on facebook and actually exchanged friendly emails with me). Elle gets sexier every time he draws her and I am almost certain she isn’t eating because she seems to have lost all of her baby fat. Further, Jason really captures the effect Elle’s power has when she is not in control. The GN and the show both were able to mimic each other. Sometimes show effects don’t translate well to GN’s.
2) I enjoyed the continued saga of Elle having no control of her powers. Other than the guy who could melt pots, she is really the first “Hero” who is completely out of control.
3) The comic gives us a very direct insight into the reason for Elle’s lack of control which, if nothing else, is very plausible. Her father had always controlled her life and now that he is gone, she has no controls and that scares her. I believe that could lead to no control over her powers especially when surprised, scared, etc. (Can’t wait until she meets Knox and he gets stronger with her fear but then she sends another desperation blast). I also get the idea that not only is she afraid of being alone but she is worried that someone might be coming after her.
4) I am absolutely happy (especially since Tarot won’t be in mourning….for now) that they found a way for Elle to look elsewhere for help without killing Claude.
Commentary for Chapter 108 – Sum Quod Sum, Part 1
The literal translation of Sum Quod Sum according to InterTran.com is “to be and to be”. It could also translate to “to be and exist” or more likely Popeye’s favorite “I am what I am.” Interestingly enough the title for next week’s TV episode is Eris Quod Sum which is translated “I will be what I am” and is about Syler. Regardless of the translation, my experience is that whenever someone uses Latin phrases, there is going to be a self discovery coming somewhere in the story.
The first thing we discover is that Elle is in London and having trouble controlling her powers. The easy explanation is that she shot her wad when she knocked Syler out. It could also be because she has no confidence in herself, lost her dad, lost her job, lost her life. Either way, she is shocking everything she sees.
Our favorite speedster must be exhausted because she is everywhere these days. Now Daphne shows up in London to find Elle. Now, I know that Pinehearst has a lot of powered agents. I even know that there are many people with duplicate powers. Therefore, I have to assume that they have a tracker at their disposal because there is no possible way they can know where everyone is without one. So they send Daphne to London to recruit Elle. This confirms my belief that Pinehearst will take anyone, even mentally ill, high risk, incompetent teenage girls who can’t control their powers.
Elle calls Noah, “HRG”. Disrespectful and odd especially knowing that at one time, she must have spent a lot of time with Noah and likely called him “Noah” or Mr. Bennett. Logic dictates that, if HRG is unavailable, and she doesn’t want to take a side with the company, that she seek out someone who is independent, yet could help her with controlling her powers. Unlike everyone else to date who has sought someone named Suresh, Elle seeks to find a needle in a haystack, Tarot’s favorite, Claude.
She finds him with no problem, mainly because he is paranoid. He actually reminds me of the angry ghost who teaches Patrick Swayze how to move objects without intending to do so. Claude has a similar effect on Elle as she seems to control her powers a little more in trying to get him to listen to her.
I have come to cherish Jason Badower’s work. He captures the characters emotion and looks. He really nails Claude in this one. He manages to capture the London landmarks well. I am also a big fan of thought boxes. Dialogue in comics tends to seem forced but writers seem to have a much better time expressing thoughts. It also gives much more insight into the character. Elle’s thoughts let us feel the angst she is experiencing at finding out she is alone in the world and yet has no sense of individual identity. She is seeking help from Claude but not just to control her powers but to help her be an individual. That is why she chose Claude. To teach her how to be alone. To function without relying on Daddy or the Company. To be what she is. Tune in next week for what will likely be the conclusion of Elle’s self discovery as she learns to stand alone.
Commentary for Chapter 107 - “Doyle”
First off, I have to ask, are the boys in the Rogue ever going to get somewhere. How annoying is that? Can we at least get a new advertisement????
That said, down to business. He’s fat, he’s ugly, and he can control your body. Ripped from the pages of old Batman Comics, the puppet master can control you. His power seems to be physical and not mental as his subjects can talk to him while he controls them. Wonder what his limits are? Sight? Distance? How many can he control at once?
We don’t get the pleasure of seeing HRG and his partner capturing Doyle but I think it is safe to say that the Haitian would be the obvious choice followed by sleeping gas or just a clunk on the head catching him by surprise (Maybe Claude was still around).
We do learn that he has quite the short fuse killing his neighbor, childhood bully and an inconsiderate driver. For someone described as a recluse who enjoyed keeping to himself, he is either extremely stupid, careless, or just overconfident. Certainly the deaths would at least bring questions from law enforcement (except maybe the traffic accident). Back to his limits. He was cut off by someone and then shortly thereafter the guy crashes his car. While sight might still be one of his limits, he seems to be able to distance himself from the subject which might make him able to control people through a television monitor.
The art is fabulous in this GN. I really get a feel for what a slob Doyle is, HRG actually looks like Jack, and Elle’s Lightning Storm was exactly how I pictured it in my head. I enjoy the different perspectives we get each week. My only lament is that we didn’t have any hot Claire drawings to gawk at.
Commentary for GN 106 - “Resistance”
Well, as I step into these giant footprints I wish The Muffin man well. I can now always say, yes, I know the Muffin Man! Good luck to you, we enjoyed your commentaries!
Diving right in, this week’s GN starts off midway through Claire’s transformation from the innocent victim we know and love to the vengeful killer she becomes in the TV series’ future. Here, she is willing to do whatever it takes to stop what she believes are terrorists. I have always told my kids that perspective is the most important judge of good and evil. Here we are seeing things from Claire Bennet, agent for Pinehurst Co.’s viewpoint. Thus the goal of stopping the terrorists is the “good” and the terrorists are “evil”. Everything is black and white for Claire. Hence Serena’s statement that Claire watches Peter “morphs from Uncle to villain right before her eyes.” First off, Uncles are sometimes Villains so that may not be much of a morph. Next, If we saw this from Peter’s perspective, I am sure he would be the noble crusader seeking to overthrow the evil Pinehurst who is destroying the world and that Claire would be transforming into the Villain as her motives change from fighting for her beliefs to blind vengance. Wait, Peter does say something like that later in the story. Either way, just like in war, only the side that wins will have the “right” perspective so the jury remains out on that issue.
