Original Sin

Despite effective artwork and much-awaited answers, Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato’s “Original Sin” #8 doesn’t quite stick the landing. The pacing and structural problems of the last few issues were bound to take a toll on the finale, and issue #8 doesn’t make a strong impact. Though it’s a disappointing end to an altogether average series, it does establish creative, promising consequences for the Marvel Universe. I like to start with the positive, and Mike Deodato and Frank Martin produce some beautiful, fascinating panels. With cloudy backgrounds and murky inking, these pages do require close attention — no easily readable action here — but I was only ever surprised, not confused. The arrangements are simply so unexpected, with shapes popping in and out of the corners. Deodato also isn’t afraid to the let the metaphorical take visual precedence over the action, sometimes even leaving the Watcher’s corpse right under the reader’s nose, in the foreground, rather than hovering in the

“Original Sin” #7 by Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato is one big fight, “Nick Fury vs. The World.” “Original Sin” has been a bait-and-switch. The teaser was the Watcher’s death and the murder mystery. The mystery aspect has been kicked aside for a story about Nick Fury’s backstage role in the Marvel Universe. While the revelations about Fury are epic, the tone and structure of the story have changed from an intergalactic detective story to a story about Fury’s moral vulnerability and decline from the responsibilities he has carried. The two plot structures are linked by a theme of crime and punishment, and the shift is gradual. Still, a reader who picked the book up for the whodunit aspect would be right to feel nonplussed. When he’s not taking down an Avenger or two, Fury uses his time on the stage in “Original Sin” #7 to try to make a case against the commonplace moral logic that murder is bad, no matter what the motives. Previous treatments of the theme such as Dostoyevsky “Crime an

Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato’s “Original Sin” #6 is a perfectly acceptable read, but it lacks the forward momentum and direction to make it truly compelling. There’s arguably merit to slowing the story down before the final two issues, but it doesn’t feel like it’s resting so much as stalling. Bogged down by a great deal of recap from character to character, it inevitably drags — despite having the same evocative artwork from Deodato and line-level quality of writing from Aaron. It’s not going to affect my overall impression of “Original Sin” or turn me off the event, but even with all its great qualities, issue #6 is still overly slow and answerless. In principle, slowing down for issue #6 makes sense. The first four issues were full of frenzy, and issue #5 was all backstory, so a recap-and-recover issue is a logical next step. It also leaves Aaron with plenty of story for issues #7 and #8. However, the issue is very heavy on recap. It’s necessary to assemble the entire team in the

The cover to “Original Sin” #5 asks, “What is the unseen?” but the credits page attributes this comic book as “The Secret History of Colonel Nicholas J. Fury,” as written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Mike Deodato, with colors from Frank Martin and letters by Chris Eliopoulos. Fury takes center stage in this issue and, as this issue deals with history, a visit to 1958 kicks off the second half of Marvel’s summer event. “Original Sin” #5 is told in Fury’s voice, with the one-time Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. narrating adventures from the past seen for the first time, establishing a defense system for Earth that raises more than a few questions. Focusing on the secret history of Fury, Aaron sets S.H.I.E.L.D.’s top cop up as a difference maker in the Marvel Universe. I’d like to see Aaron take this idea and grow it out further. “Original Sin” #5 is a decent-to-good Nick Fury story that adds more subterfuge and sneakiness to one of Marvel’s most iconic personalities, but as the flow of the sto

In “Original Sins” #2, the Young Avengers continue their encounter with the Hood, Black Knight is visited by an inquisitive journalist and Howard the Duck is besieged by caption boxes. The concept behind “Original Sins” is to share tales of secrets divulged when the Watcher’s eyeball was detonated. This collection of characters are barely tangential to the actual event, but does provide a nice outlet (despite the flimsy excuse) for fans who have been itching to see characters like Howard the Duck or Black Knight. Frank Tieri’s ten-page lead Black Knight story sends an author and historian to Dane Whitman’s door to ask him about the curse of the Ebony Blade. Whitman, understandably, is resistant to discuss his trademark weapon and artist Raffaele Ienco is tasked with showing the readers Whitman’s suffering. As this all occurs, Ienco draws up stunning imagery that covers the gamut of the story, including historical evidence of the curse and Whitman’s own struggle with it. This chapter