Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Books - New
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3255: Today's post is yet another blog on a publication that I found at the recent SGV Comic Book Festival that took place on Sunday, September 19th! That 'little' comic con sure had a lot of creative comic book self-publishers on its exhibit floor! Here is what Raul Aguirre Jr. has on his web site as to what the comic book is about: Codename Sparrow is a the highly original Romantic Spy Thriller you just can't miss! International Playboy and Gentleman Thief Eddie Torres while at the top of his game, and through no fault of his own, has it taken away. Rather than rot in prison he accepts an offer to be a covert operative for a private “Good Guy” agency called N.E.S.T!! Their mission: To save the world from itself! Codename: Sparrow TM and © Raul Aguirre Jr. Standard Comic So what is 'My Take' on this zero issue? First, the front cover: Man, that's a lot of copy on the front cover! That was my first thought. But the figures surrounded by the copy were striking. Inside Front Cover: Starts with the idea behind CODENAME: Sparrow. Good background as to how this new comic book series came about.Splash Page: Wait...It's a good thing I read the inside cover first, before going to the 'splash page'. Why? Because as the Opening Credit to this story says..."Before He Was CODENAME: Sparrow - Greatest Covert Operative In The World - He Was A Gentleman Thief." The title of the actual story is 'HOT ICE', although I don't see it on the splash page, but read it on the inside front cover. Interior Pages - 1st story - I find myself liking the artwork immediately. The black / white / gray interior pages are fine with me. Everything doesn't have to be in color. The figures are illustrated in a nice style, and I find myself getting to the end too fast. 'To Be Continued' shows up too soon for me! Next is a CODENAME: Sparrow Tribute Page, which is kind of soon for one, but since this is a 'Zero Issue'...What the heck! I see four other creative page with their interpretation of the character, and recognize them all as others that were at this San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Festival: Javier Hernandez, Graciela Rodriguez, Jim Lujan, and Hortencia Aguirre. Interesting on how the main character of this zero issue is portrayed by these folks! The next page is a one page feature: Who Is The Sparrow?' Which is helpful for a zero issue. Being a 'Zero Issue', Raul decides to next show a one page 'Development Art Sampler' to present "...some sketches I did referencing some 007 stuff to get my spy on". Raul has the spy thriller genre down pat! Then halfway through the publication is the second story. It's titled 'The Name of the Game". Whereas the first story was about Eddie's Cat Burglar Days, this second story is about how Eddie got his cool codename in his early days at the agency. However, the art style changes with this second story. Nothing wrong in different art styles, but after the first story ended with a 'To Be Continued', I was hoping to see more of the character in the art style that was first used. It's a cute story on how Eddie got his codename, but the change in art style made me think there was a different team on this second story. Nope...It still said 'Story And Art - Raul Aguirre Jr.' Okay, Raul is the creator, writer & artist for this self published series. He can do / present what he wants in his own self published series. However, my preference was for the first style presented in the first story of this publication. I realize that this is a 'Zero Issue', which are usually produced to introduce new readers to the characters, background, and other info needed to start a new comic book series. However, the use of two different art styles / black & white colorings makes this zero issue appear to almost be an anthology book, which are usually harder to sell to the reading public. Oh, I do want to add that origin story of Eddie's codename was entertaining! Next...there's some great ads on the inside back cover. Parody ads that is! I enjoyed reading them. Back Cover - The Ka-Blam printer's ad. Which is what I mostly see on self-published comics. They are a good printing outfit, and by the numbers of comics that are submitted to me for possible rview, they are a natural choice. Check them out at www.Ka-Blam.com! Okay, end of commercial for the printer! I gotta tell you, I enjoyed the character and premise that Raul Aguirre Jr. set forth in this zero issue. My only concern is the changeup in art style in the two different stories. Maybe they were presented that way because the first story was set in Eddie's suave Cat Burglar Days, while the second story was set in the current 'CODENAME: Sparrow' Days. That could be the reason, but I didn't ask Raul. If so, then the two different art styles for the two different periods of Eddie's life would make more sense to me as a reader and as a reviwer. I'm not going to let my 'hangup' on the artwork styles affect my 'grading' on this comic book...too much! That's because this zero issue is chock full of what could be done with a comic book series on this character! My comic book grade for this publication is a VERY FINE PLUS (VF+) 8.5 on a 10.0 grading scale. That is pretty darn good for a 'Zero Issue'! Here is the link to where you can buy this zero issue of CODENAME: Sparrow. Plus other items from Raul Aguirre Jr. Take a moment and see what else he has for sale! --------------------------- Thanks again, Raul, for sharing your time and your publication with me at the recent San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Festival! PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,250 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog! BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app! We currently have over 1,970 'Followers'! Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! And for those of YOU that haven't yet...I would appreciate it if YOU would!!! ~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
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