Tag Archives: Velocity

Review: Velocity #4 — “Decoys” Conclusion

Well, it took a year, but Ron Marz and Kenneth Rocafort’s miniseries about Cyberforce’s speedster is complete. Was the final issue worth the wait?

Yes! The miniseries as a whole is a fun, super-speed adventure that’s surprisingly new-reader-friendly, and the conclusion delivers.

Velocity: What, you weren't expecting me?As it starts, this chapter seems to ignore the cliffhanger from the end of the previous issue (though it’s included in the recap), until you get to the second page and Velocity literally turns toward the reader and says, “What? You weren’t expecting me?” The conversational, almost playful tone of the series really takes over in this installment.

Kenneth Rocafort’s art is key to that tone. I’ve mentioned before that I really like the style and creativity, and this issue definitely wouldn’t have worked as well if Top Cow had decided to replace him in order to keep the book on a schedule. He does seem to have toned down the sexiness-for-the-sake-of-sexiness that tended to crop up in the earlier issues, to the point where I don’t think I would have been embarrassed to read this issue in public.

There’s a splash page in the middle that at first glance looks like it’s using one of the standard techniques to show super-speed in action, but in context, it means something else entirely. I won’t actually post it, though, since it’s a bit spoilery.

Rest assured, that seemingly impossible escape is explained (though not precisely in the way I predicted), and as the clock ticks down, Carin Taylor takes the fight back to the villain for a final, over-the-top spectacular confrontation with Dr. Paine. The twist reveal comes in about halfway through the issue, and not only plays fair with the audience (it’s all set up well ahead of time), but sets things up for an element in the final battle that takes “speedster vs. robots” to a new level.

The series ends with a nod to its beginning, and a reminder that while this might be a stand-alone miniseries, the lead character continues on as part of an ongoing universe.

A few thoughts that involve SPOILERS: Continue reading

Velocity #4 Preview

Newsarama has a 5-page preview of Velocity #4, the conclusion to the miniseries focusing on Top Cow’s premiere speedster. It may come as a bit of a surprise to those who have been reading the book, but it doesn’t quite spoil the cliffhanger from the previous issue.

Velocity #4
story: Ron Marz
art & cover: Kenneth Rocafort

The Pilot Season Winner is Back!

The clock counts down to zero as the taut, pulse pounding series races to its conclusion. Carin Taylor, the hero known as Velocity, has been infected with a deadly techno-virus. Thus far she has been successful in saving most of her teammates from the same virus, but now the exertion is taking its toil and the fastest girl in the world may not be able to win this race. The issue concludes the creative collaboration of writer Ron Marz (Witchblade, Angelus) and artist Kenneth Rocafort (Cyberforce/Hunter-Killer).

Full Color 32 pages $3.99 limited series

According to Diamond, Velocity #4 ships next week.

If You Could Only Buy Three Comics (Revisited)

A couple of years ago, I wrote about cutting down the pull list by figuring out what I really liked reading, as opposed to what I just bought out of habit. This was followed up by a harsher test: if you could only buy three comics, what would you choose? At the time, I picked The Unwritten, Madame Xanadu, and The Unknown. Yes, at the time, The Flash wasn’t in my top three.

I found myself thinking about this again. Two of those series are gone, and I’m enjoying The Flash a lot more than I used to. What would my choices be today?

  • The Flash, definitely. While I didn’t care much for Flash: Rebirth, the ongoing series has proved to be a fun adventure.
  • The Unwritten. I think we’re approaching the half-way point with this series, which continues to be fascinating, thought-provoking, entertaining, and occasionally downright creepy as it explores the way stories shape the world. This book was one of my picks for the Read This Too! recommendation.

Those two are easy. The third one? That’s the hard part. The two contenders are:

  • Velocity. In the strictest sense of the question, I’d have to go with this one. It’s been a great story, and I want to see how it ends. But once that last issue comes out, I’d go with…
  • Lady Mechanika, which is shaping up to be a good steampunk mystery/adventure.

Actually, since Lady Mechanika is bimonthly and Velocity’s finale will probably come out between its issues, I could probably make a case for them sharing the third slot!

So what missed the cut, and why?

Continue reading

Flash Sales for December 2010

The latest relaunch of The Flash continues to hold steady around #10-15 in Diamond’s sales rankings, fitting into December’s chart at #12 for Flash #7 and #18 for Flash #8.*

ICv2’s sales estimates for the month have Flash #7 selling 56,304 copies, and Flash #8 selling 53,975.

Issue Rank Month Units Sold % Change
Flash v.3 #1 2 April 2010 100,903
Flash v.3 #2 12 May 2010 76,560 (-24.1%)
Flash v.3 #3 11 June 2010 68,799 (-10.1%)
Flash v.3 #4 15 July 2010 64,832 (-5.8%)
Flash v.3 #5 14 September 2010 62,063 (-4.3%)
Flash v.3 #6 15 November 2010 57,673 (-7.1%)
Flash v.3 #7 12 December 2010 56,304 (-2.4%)
Flash v.3 #8 18 December 2010 53,975 (-4.1%)

Some things to consider when interpreting these numbers:

  • Overall comics sales were down in December, as reflected in the fact that #7 went up in rankings even though it sold fewer copies than #6.
  • The book shipped twice this month.
  • A storyline concluded last month, making #7 a good jumping-off point.
  • #8 is the first issue without the Brightest Day banner on the cover.
  • #8 shipped the last week of the year, between Christmas and New Year’s. Any late shipments or reorders won’t factor into these numbers.
  • They’re fill-in issues. Good fill-in issues, but still stand-alone comics by a different creative team, pushed in between major stories to get the book back on schedule. The only thing today’s market hates as much as a late book is a fill-in issue. It will be interesting to see if #9 (the start of a new story, not to mention some high-profile speedster guest stars) climbs back up a bit or continues to drop.

Other interesting items of note:

  • Green Lantern #60, featuring a Parallax-possessed Flash on the cover, took the #2 spot.
  • Of the 11 books ranked higher, 4 were Green Lantern or Brightest Day, 4 were Batman titles, 2 were Avengers and 1 was Wolverine. That’s some solid company for the Flash.
  • T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2, focusing on the team’s speedster Lightning, sold 11,227 copies for a rank of #165.
  • Velocity #3 clocked in at 5,305 copies, ranked #263. I seem to recall that Top Cow considers this book a success (though it’s pulling half the numbers of Artifacts or Witchblade), which should tell you just how big a gap there is between the size of the DC/Marvel market and the size of the Indie market.

*Yesterday on Twitter & Facebook I mistakenly reported that they were #26 and #29, a big drop, but when looking back at the chart, I realized I’d been looking at the wrong column. Those were the dollar rankings, which differ from the units-sold rankings depending on cover price.

Quick Review: Velocity #3 — “Decoys” Continued

One of the things I’ve liked about the Ron Marz/Kenneth Rocafort Velocity miniseries is the tone: despite dealing with serious issues like viruses, murder, and human experimentation, there’s a sense of playfulness to it all. This holds through issue #3, in which Velocity goes up against hordes of robots as she tries to rescue her deathly ill Cyberforce teammates in the minutes left before the techno-virus kills them.

While the first issue was mostly setup, and the second issue dealt with a lot of problem-solving, this one is basically two long battle sequences with the speedster battling robots first in the wilderness, then in the crowded streets of Venice. It finishes up with a particularly nasty cliffhanger for the final issue…but as a long-term comic book reader (and sci-fi watcher) I came up with several ways to resolve it in the first few minutes after I finished reading.

I’m developing mixed feelings about the art, though. On one hand, I love the style, the detail, the expressions, and the creative panel designs. The pages often have a fragmented look that makes the story feel more hurried. On the other, some panels are sexualized enough that they distract from the story. Yeah, it’s Top Cow…but sexiness should serve the story, not detract from it, right?

(On a side note, I found it interesting that the issue shipping this week should have a text feature called “5 Things You Never Knew About Velocity.”)

Overall, the book maintains the energy of the first two installments. If you’re out for super-speed action, this is the place to be.

Velocity #3
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Kenneth Rocafort
Preview
Velocity #1 (full issue)

Review: Velocity #1
Review: Velocity #2
Review: Velocity #4

A digital review copy was provided by the publisher.

This Week: Zoom in Time Masters, Flash in Green Lantern, Velocity

This week sees the release of two Flash guest spots and a new installment of Velocity. Time Masters: Vanishing Point #5, guest-stars the Reverse Flash and leads into Flashpoint, while Green Lantern #60 guest-stars Barry Allen in a follow-up to last month’s cliffhanger.

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #5 (of 6)

Written by DAN JURGENS
Art and cover by DAN JURGENS & NORM RAPMUND

None of the Time Masters’ problems in the time continuum compares with what’s in store for them when they cross paths with the Reverse Flash! In fact, nothing will be the same for the entire universe after this fateful meeting!

Don’t miss this companion series to the best-selling “Return of Bruce Wayne” storyline!

Green Lantern #60

Written by GEOFF JOHNS; Art and cover by DOUG MAHNKE & CHRISTIAN ALAMY; 1:10 “DC 75th Anniversary” Variant cover by FRANK QUITELY

BRIGHTEST DAY continues as the truth about the Indigo Tribe members is revealed along with their Entity: the enigmatic Proselyte.

Plus, don’t miss a special Green Lantern movie image!

Velocity #3 (of 4)

Story: Ron Marz
Art & Cover: Kenneth Rocafort

The Pilot Season Winner is Back!

The clock is literally ticking on the life of Carin Taylor, the hero known as Velocity. The fastest girl in the world must race around the globe in an attempt to save her Cyberforce teammates. If Carin can’t beat the clock, she and her friends will succumb to a techno-virus and give Cyberforce’s greatest foe his greatest victory. The issue continues the creative collaboration of writer Ron Marz (Witchblade, Angelus) and artist Kenneth Rocafort (Cyberforce/Hunter-Killer).

4-page preview at Newsarama.