Nailbiter #2

Writer – Joshua Williamson
Artist – Mike Henderson
Colours – Adam Guzowski

Bucakroo, Oregon is not the nicest place to live.  In fact, you take your life in your hands every day you spend there as sixteen of the world’s most notorious serial killers were born there and one still calls it home.  Edward Charles Warren, whom the book was named after, is currently having a chat with a man named Finch and the local police officer, whom he also used to date when he was younger, about the missing FBI agent named Elliot Carroll.  Carroll was in town trying to find the common thread between all of the killers, knowing that something there had to tie them all together.  But the Nailbiter is not the only killer in town it seems, not that our protagonists know that as of yet and it is not too far a stretch to come to that conclusion considering the town’s past.  Williamson does it again with this issue and this book, delivering a story as gripping as anything else currently on the stands today.  The dynamic between Shannon and Edward is interesting and will make for some incredible situations going forward because of their shared history and the opposite sides of the fence they find themselves on now.  Finch is a wild card for the moment.  He is loyal to his missing friend but has a budding fascination about the killers and it is hard to get a read on him for the moment.  The great thing about this comic is it reads like an HBO show, as if it was adapted straight from the screen and if there were a comic made for television – this is it.  This book could be the next True Detective if handled right and if somebody out there had the smarts, they would get on this right away.  Incredibly fantastic stuff from Williamson and Mike Henderson for putting out one of the top books released this year.

5 out of 5

Captain America #21

Writer – Rick Remender
Artist – Nic Klein
Colours – Dean White

The final part of the Iron Nail finds Cap desperately trying to bring down Gungnir, the secret SHIELD helicarrier that can transform into a giant mech.  To do that, he has to go through the Iron Nail and it will not be an easy task to accomplish.  Eventually, Cap does so, but not before the Iron Nail has sucked the vitality from his body, leaving him looking like a frail old man.  This was by far, the best part of the five part story, and the most exciting one as well. But that seems to have been the trouble with the series so far under Remender’s hand, being that most of it has been up and down, and for the most part, down.  The book is well written and well-drawn on a consistent basis, but it is not as exciting as it could be or as it should be.  While his runs on books like Secret Avengers, Uncanny X-Force, Uncanny Avengers or his independent stuff are great fun and leaves you with a feeling of anticipation for the next issue, this series has not.  There is hope though and that is in the man himself, Remender.  If anyone can make the book more exciting, it is him and there is not even a need for a creative change.  A decent story, with some great ones hopefully still to come.

3 out of 5