The Mice Templar: Destiny #5

Chapter Five: An Order Divided

by Brian JL Glass (writer), Michael Avon Oeming and Victor Santos (artists), and Veronica Gandini (colors)


For the first time since leaving the great tree and the Readers of the Wheat, Karic and Cassius encounter other mice, Templars. Though they were once Cassius' brothers they are not pleased to see him.

This is an intermediate chapter. Although the volume ends with this chapter the story does not. The chapter feels a bit rushed. As with some of the previous chapters there are two segments. The first is about their arrival in the Templar camp or community. The second is about the events that lead to Karic's acceptance of Ronan's (inevitable) challenge. Unlike the previous couple chapters that told more than one tale, in this case both stories revolve around Karic.

The Mice Templar: Destiny #4

Chapter Four: A Measure of Justice

by Brian JL Glass (writer), Michael Avon Oeming and Victor Santos (artists), and Veronica Gandini (colors)


The story continues to roll forward on two fronts with more action and more flashbacks. Karic continues to develop under Cassius tutelage as he is challenged by his mentor and the world around him. After an unsuccessful escape attempt some, but not all, of the mice live to fight another day.

Victor Santos does a beautiful job on this issue. He draws in a style that is similar to but not identical to that of Michael Avon Oeming. The use of a rougher approach and a different color palette for the flashback sequences is both effective and a thing of beauty.

The Mice Templar: Destiny #3

Chapter Three: The Bright Realm

by Brian JL Glass (writer), Michael Avon Oeming and Victor Santos (artists), and Veronica Gandini (colors)

This chapter reads much faster than its predecessors. There are some flashbacks but for the most part the story moves forward with exciting moments in two different settings. Karic's tutelage continues as he and Cassius encounter beauty and danger when they cross into the Bright Realm. While to the north, led by Leito, imprisoned mice fight for their lives in a bid to escape the dungeons of Dealrach Ard-Vale.

The Mice Templar: Destiny #2

Chapter Two: In the Bowels of the Earth

by Brian JL Glass (writer), Michael Avon Oeming and Victor Santos (artists), and Veronica Gandini (colors)


Karic and Cassius, captured by mole goblins, descend beneath the Haunted Wood. In Dealrach Ard-Vale mice of varying stripes fight amongst themselves while the rat Druids scheme to overthrow King Icarus.

This chapter seems much busier than the previous one. Much happens as the bigger story starts to take shape.

The Mice Templar: Destiny #1

Chapter One: The Haunted Wood

By Brian JL Glass (writer), Michael Avon Oeming and Victor Santos (artists), and Veronica Gandini (colors)


Karic and Cassius first approach and then cross into the Haunted Wood, Efrahan Forest. The visual storytelling is this chapter feels haphazard. The panels are arranged in very non traditional patterns. The transitions between the panels are rough at times. In the dream sequences the panels have rough edges. All this could lead a reader to feel they are reading a sloppily constructed chapter. That is not the case. This is just one segment of a much longer story. It is doesn't move the story forward as much as it re-examines the past. There will be a pay off it just isn't in this chapter.

The Mice Templar: Destiny #0

Prologue

by Brian JL Glass (writer), Michael Avon Oeming and Victor Santos (artists), and Veronica Gandini (colors)


Chronicles of the Templar

A brief recap of the the first volume (The Prophecy).


The Sacrifice

Picks up where the first volume left off, immediately after Karic's knighting. Things take a contentious turn in the tree as a split emerges over the role Karic's is to play going forward.

Powers v13: #6

Godkiller: Part 1 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Michael Avon Oeming (artist) - This issue-and-a-half has nothing to do with the Z storyline. It picks up on some of the things that began in the previous issue and is the beginning of a new arc. It is unclear why this issue was included in this collection.

The new storyline deals with ancient beings, deities, in two particular scenes. In the first scene Walker and Callista travel to the Andes where they do battle with some unnamed and presumably ancient creature(s). There is a very Kirby-esque double page spread before the battle begins. The second scene is a murder investigation that Walker and Sunrise are conducting. The victim is Damocles, a power and member of the Golden Ones; a powers team that claimed to be reincarnated gods.

Powers is a creator-owned series published through the Icon imprint of Marvel Comics

Powers v13: #5

Z: Part 5 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Michael Avon Oeming (artist) - The big picture is still murky but the little ones are crystal clear, and beautiful. It hurts to look at them, dwell on them, but they are worth the pain.

Boiled down, this segment is all about Walker's relationship with his girlfriend, Heather. There's more to than that, but that's the centerpiece, the bone to which the muscle is attached. Christian and Heather aren't together, instead they each get the spotlight for a time. He is despondent over not being near her, or maybe it is something more than that. She also hurts and in doing so reveals more than just her pain.

Oeming does a masterful job with the visual part of the story. Did there really need to be that many splash pages? Maybe not, but they all work.

There's a brief flashback to the 1950s which follows up on the flashback in the previous installment of this arc. In addition to providing background it also provides Oeming with an opportunity to imitate a famous 20th century painting.

The story continues to come together but some of it is still out of focus. With just one more installment to go in this arc it seems as if Bendis and Oeming may be doing more than just putting on the finishing touches. It seems as if they are sowing seeds whose fruit will be harvested in future arcs.

Powers is a creator-owned series published through the Icon imprint of Marvel Comics

Powers v13: #4

Z: Part 4 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Michael Avon Oeming (artist) - This segment of the story had much less action but was much more interesting than the previous one. The story developed, stuff was revealed, important stuff. The picture is closer to complete than it was before. Stuff didn't just happen, important stuff happened.

The war hero, Z, is disparaged a little more, first by the teen who claims to have killed him and then by one his old war buddies. Z wasn't the man, the hero he claimed to be. he was a boozing thug who lived off a reputation he didn't fully earn.

Lines start to get blurred. Walker has trouble remembering the past, which isn't a new phenomenon.

Powers is a creator-owned series published through the Icon imprint of Marvel Comics

Powers v13: #3

Z: Part 3 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Michael Avon Oeming (artist) - the best way to describe this installment is action. It's one big long chase scene, with a helping of World War 2 flashback thrown in for good measure. There isn't much in the way of character moments.

Oeming is in the driver's seat. It is mostly visual with a few lines, presumably penned by Bendis, thrown in here and there to help clarify and further expand the knowledge base. Possibly this isn't the first time that Powers has been this visual but so far this arc doesn't feel like most of the ones that preceeded it because of how it is being told.

Powers is a creator-owned series published through the Icon imprint of Marvel Comics

Powers v13: #2

Z: Part 2 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Michael Avon Oeming (artist) - The plot thickens. The most interesting developments come at the end of Part 2 when Christian confronts some people from his past. The encounter and the scenes leading up to it help to add some depth to the flashbacks in part 1.

The bulk of Part 2 focuses on a flashback to 1944 when Christian, Z, Billy, and Goose were costumed heroes. They didn't stay on the home front. They went toe-to-toe with the Nazis, including a giant robot. The flashback helps to fill in some of the gaps, adds background material, but doesn't seem to provide any vital pieces to the puzzle. They are fun, cool pages that are big on action.

Rereading Part 1 helped to illuminate what was happening in the first three pages of Part 2. Christian's girlfriend is receiving visions from his past. It is tough to say at this point why or how the visions are coming to her but they aren't all pleasant visions. These three pages may actually have been part of the previous issue. There are no clear chapter breaks in this or any of the other Powers collections.

Powers is a creator-owned series published through the Icon imprint of Marvel Comics

Powers v13: #1

Z: Part 1 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Michael Avon Oeming (artist) - Although it starts with a chase scene (excitement! right?) the opening segment of the 13th collection of Powers fizzles a bit. The lights have been flipped on but they are flickering a bit. It's a slow start. Hopefully the pace and intensity of the story will pick up as more information is dropped into place.

Is the reader supposed to sympathize with Walker in the flashback sequence? Doubtful. Bendis and Oeming are probably just messing around, casting Walker in a negative light so that later he will seem to shine that much brighter. Even in the present he acts fairly aloof. The best character moments involve a couple of unnamed cops arguing over what they ate for lunch. Walker maybe in the spotlight, Pilgrim is mentioned but nowhere to be found, but he doesn't act or seem like he deserves it.

Not withstanding Walker's attitude, the flashback sequence is cool; a rare look into the past of the world that Powers takes place. Set in the post-WWII era Walker and company, of which the arc's titular character Z is the leader, do as they please. They see themselves as better than those around them and act accordingly. They aren't cops, the law probably considers them to be robbers, but they see themselves as being something else: Robin Hood and his merry men.

Powers is a creator-owned series published through the Icon imprint of Marvel Comics

What I Read - The Mice Templar Vol. 1: The Prophecy #7

#7 The Symbol - I'm not satisfied with the way in which Pilot seems to have been swept under the carpet. Given the important role he played in the last few chapters I hope that he (at least in flashback) will return and his origin be revealed.

I get the sense that certain things in this story are supposed to be accepted at face value. Pilot's role thus far may be one such thing. I am not dismissing him as dead just yet. He was carried off by a bat, presumably to his death, but having not actually seen his death I'm open to the possibilty that he may return.

I'm eager to read book 2.

The Mice Templar by Brian J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming, and Will Quintana

What I Read - The Mice Templar Vol. 1: The Prophecy #6

#6 Truth Behind Lies - Karic's life seemed to be stabilizing since the second chapter. That all changed in the previous chapter, with the formal introduction of Cassius. Karic is trying piece it all together, make sense of it all and is receiving conflicting messages from different sources, all of whom claim to spreak the truth. His age and inexperience don't work in his favor.

In stories like this it is often difficult to determine what or whom to believe before the story has run its course. Sometimes the author intentionally muddies the water, sometimes steers the reader in one direction for dramatic purposes, and sometimes it just it seems complicated when it is actually very clear.

The Mice Templar by Brian J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming, and Will Quintana

What I Read - The Mice Templar Vol. 1: The Prophecy #5

#5 Readers of the Wheat - A couple things are becoming clear to me about this series. First, I think I was wrong when I said that the story moves very fast it. It doesn't. It is told in short bursts.

My mistake was to assume that each chapter was a single unit. I no longer believe that to be the case. Each chapter can be divided into three or more segments. In this way each chapter moves the story ahead by leaps and bounds but should be read not as a single unit but as a collection of them.

Second, I'm able to appreciate the artwork, in particular the facial expressions much more at this point in the story. I'm not sure exactly why. My first thought was that it took me time to get used to the faces of the mice. It also occurs to me that it might just be that Mike Oeming's artwork has evolved, become more subtle. I'm leaning towards the former explanation but the latter may have also contributed to my ability to appreciate the visual nuances of the storytelling.

The Mice Templar by Brian J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming, and Will Quintana

What I Read - The Mice Templar Vol. 1: The Prophecy #4

#4: Black Anaius - Its weird how the story is unfolding. It seems both fast and slow. Karic and Pilot's journey progresses slowly, but there is a lot of back story. That information, knowledge is being dispensed in little pieces. It doesn't feel like it is coming at me too quickly but there is a lot of it and for the most part it is background material. It does not relate directly to the unfolding story for the most part, so it is somewhat disjointed and doesn't seem as vital.

Of course the artwork is gorgeous.

I'm not sure why I wasn't as moved by the battle with the giant, red ants as I was by the sacking of Cricket's Glen, in the second chapter. Maybe because the ants didn't talk. Maybe because I never felt like Karic and Pilot were in any real danger. I'm not sure.

The Mice Templar by Brian J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming, and Will Quintana

What I Read - The Mice Templar Vol. 1: The Prophecy #3

#3 In the Beginning... - Karic and Pilot flee Karic's hometown. Pilot aims to train Karic. Meanwhile another Templar is on their trail.

The story continues to unfold. Karic has dreams that help to explain some more of the world he lives in and its past. Pilot starts to teach him how to be a Templar.

This is a slowly evolving story, with a lot of exposition. The first chapter focused on the present and gave the story a point of departure from which it launched in the second chapter. The third chapter focused on the past, started painting the bigger, broader picture.

I get the impression that not everything is at it seems or has been presented. Karic and Pilot are being pusued by an unnamed mouse, presumably another Templar. The text implies that this is a rogue Templar, at least at first it does, but later there is a hint that maybe it isn't. I'm starting to wonder if Pilot isn't the one that Karic should be wary of.

The Mice Templar by Brian J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming, and Will Quintana

What I Read - The Mice Templar Vol. 1: The Prophecy #2

#2: The Calling - This chapter flowed quickly, like the first one, but unlike the previous one it wasn't weighed down with exposition. It was all action. Michael Avon Oeming's art was gorgeous. Will Quintana's colors were stunning. I dunno if they were holding back last chapter or if there was a conscious reason for taking things and slowly as they did.

The story seems to be shaping up to be a standard quest type story with Karic as the hero in training.

The Mice Templar by Brian J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming, and Will Quintana

What I Read - The Mice Templar Vol. 1: The Prophecy #1

#1 The Dark Lands - So far I'm not wildly impressed. There's a lot of exposition in the first chapter; too much in my opinion. In general I think the story flows a little too quickly, I do like the way the chapter ends, with Karic becoming the more serious one and Leito the more playful one, which is a reversal of the roles they played through out the chapter up to that point.

I some had trouble keeping track of all the characters. There aren't that many of them but they are all mice and to my eyes they all looked fairly similar, at first. I got about halfway through the chapter before I had to go back and reread what I had just read (a couple times) before I was able to more easily identify all of the names, faces and personalities.

What drew me to this series is Michael Avon Oeming's artwork. I love the look of it. The coloring by Will Quintana only intensifies the job Oeming did penciling the story. So far no complaints here.

The Mice Templar by Brian J.L. Glass, Michael Avon Oeming, and Will Quintana