I was a big fan of this character when she got a brief miniseries over a year ago, but the creative team now is completely different. Is it good?
Masumi #1 (Zenescope Entertainment)
This hero has a blade made up of the seven deadly sins. Badass. She’s off to Japan to see how her homeland is holding up, but we all know there’s no way that’s going to last very long. She quickly gets tailed by a mobster who’s got some low-level demonness going on; looks like a great time to kick some butt in my opinion. Unfortunately this issue takes 11 pages to explain Masumi’s deal, her sword and the basic backstory. Granted, we do get a badass action sequence during these pages, but it feels like a lot of wasted time.
Maybe he’s having a bad day!
Writer Joe Tyler does a good job with this portion, even if it feels like he spends too much time telling us basic stuff, and the action sequence is well rendered. The following pages aren’t so hot though. The exposition and introduction of Masumi’s sister is very blah. There’s a very basic tracking sequence, and the reveal of the bad guys is very been there, done that. Oh look, the hero is looking through a window as the baddies explain their plan. Sigh. It does end in another action sequence which isn’t half bad, and the overall goal of the bad guys is pretty sound. The execution is just a bit lazy.
The art is by Sergio Osuna and for all intents and purposes is pretty good. It doesn’t quite hit the heights of Jason Johnson, but it has a similar look and feel. Particularly the layouts, which tend to go out of their way to be interesting. Things feel rushed here and there though and it’s clear not a lot of thought went into blocking, but it gets the job done.
That angle is sexist.
Is It Good?
A decent first issue that has good action and a decent plot. Unfortunately it stumbles its way through a good portion of exposition.
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