Journey into Mystery #654 review
Seeds of Destruction part III
Writer: Kathryn Immonen
Artist: Valerio Schiti
Color Artist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Jeff Dekal
Review by Tom Barnett
This issue opens with our Lady Sif and Beta Ray Bill, still struggling to make sense of the damage and loss of Skuttlebutt, Bill’s ship and a second ship crashing into the Avengers deep space station. In J.I.M. 653, Bill’s girlfriend, Ti Asha Ra had died in the crash, now she is looking and feeling much better as is a sick Gaea, but why? Something in that second ship is alive. It’s affecting those ladies and not taking too kindly to our heroes.
Kathryn Immonen always does a good job of blending drama, humor and action through her stories and this is no exception. This story is a full of twists and unexpected surprises. Immonen isn’t holding anything back with this arc. While the first story arc was a bit lighter in tone, this second arc is slightly more serious and more complex. This issue drives the story forward, collecting up momentum like a Mack Truck going downhill.
Valerio Schiti and Jordie Bellaire make a fantastic art team as always. Schiti has turned in what should be considered the definitive version of Lady Sif. Schiti gives you fantastic and believable characters with clean and clear details. He also draws fantastic environments; I really love the scenes with Sif in a spacesuit outside of the space station. Bellaire’s colors in that scene are just great. She really knows how to set the tone for a scene through the colors, complimenting the story elements. Easily she is one of the best colorists in the business today.
The creative team is headed for a fantastic finish on this series so get on board before the ride is over.
Story: 4.5
Art: 4.5
Overall: 4.5
Tom is a contributing writer for Drunk On Comics. You can follow Tom on Twitter at @tphoto10