Pencilero
05-14-2005, 06:28 AM
I got all excited when FIG posted the news that Body Bags was going to be collected and re-issued. I couldn't wait to get my hands on them, because I recall really enjoying the book.
Turns out, I already had them! :P
I went looking for Spawn #10 to re-read, and stumbled upon Body Bags and the Dark Horse Annual 1997.
Looking back on the book today, I'm not as excited about it now as I was nearly a decade ago. Pearson's art is great, but the story doesn't do much for me as it appears to be a big fat homage to the times. Namely Quentin Tarantino and Resevoir Dogs / Pulp Fiction.
The book also loses points for the story of a little girl who wants to impress her hitman daddy by taking up his trade, and then pulls a Hollywood cop-out when she discovers they have to kill some nice lady she met previously. I'm a huge stickler when it comes to cliches like that, and you have to handle the execution masterfully or else it blows up in your face.
Body Bags 1-4 is still an enjoyable read; but it lacks the impact it had on me back when it was first released.
The Dark Horse 1997 Annual is a different beast entirely. The story is a throw away follow-up to the mini-series filled to bursting with expletives and racist terminology. Not that the mini-series didn't have these same elements, but it's gone from four 22 page issues to all of ten pages or so. I get the impression Pearson drew the feature, then phoned in the script.
Good art.
Questionable content.
Dude - Panda is 14?! OMGWTF!?! I totally forgot about that. :eek:
Call me crazy, but re-reading Body Bags I was also struck by how similar some of Namco's Soul Calibur characters resembled Pearson's work. I wonder if there was a Body Bags fan on staff at Namco at the time?
Take a look at Ms. Scorcese, she bears a strong resemblance to Ivy. Then there's that crazy fella with the face / neck doohickey that looks a lot like Astaroth's grandpappy. ;)
And I still haven't found Spawn #10. . .
Na razie,
Greg
Turns out, I already had them! :P
I went looking for Spawn #10 to re-read, and stumbled upon Body Bags and the Dark Horse Annual 1997.
Looking back on the book today, I'm not as excited about it now as I was nearly a decade ago. Pearson's art is great, but the story doesn't do much for me as it appears to be a big fat homage to the times. Namely Quentin Tarantino and Resevoir Dogs / Pulp Fiction.
The book also loses points for the story of a little girl who wants to impress her hitman daddy by taking up his trade, and then pulls a Hollywood cop-out when she discovers they have to kill some nice lady she met previously. I'm a huge stickler when it comes to cliches like that, and you have to handle the execution masterfully or else it blows up in your face.
Body Bags 1-4 is still an enjoyable read; but it lacks the impact it had on me back when it was first released.
The Dark Horse 1997 Annual is a different beast entirely. The story is a throw away follow-up to the mini-series filled to bursting with expletives and racist terminology. Not that the mini-series didn't have these same elements, but it's gone from four 22 page issues to all of ten pages or so. I get the impression Pearson drew the feature, then phoned in the script.
Good art.
Questionable content.
Dude - Panda is 14?! OMGWTF!?! I totally forgot about that. :eek:
Call me crazy, but re-reading Body Bags I was also struck by how similar some of Namco's Soul Calibur characters resembled Pearson's work. I wonder if there was a Body Bags fan on staff at Namco at the time?
Take a look at Ms. Scorcese, she bears a strong resemblance to Ivy. Then there's that crazy fella with the face / neck doohickey that looks a lot like Astaroth's grandpappy. ;)
And I still haven't found Spawn #10. . .
Na razie,
Greg