LNH/REVIEW: The Tribulations of Kid Review Special: Powernaut 1987

[Scott Eiler]

On 2018-06-15 09:27, Drew Perron wrote:
> Kid Review turns on the camera and waves, sitting back on a pink couch. 
> "Hullo! Kid Review here, reporting from a top-secret location while the 
> ReviewSat is being fumigated."
> 
> ... "As part of my Big-Ass Catchup Project, I'm going to be reviewing
> some of the storylines that have come out on RACC... well, 'recently'
> is probably the wrong word, but within the past while. And I'm
> starting with Powernaut 1987!"
Hooray!  Kid Review is back in the game!


> "Many Powernaut comics have had a problem with fitting in enough
> exposition to contextualize what it is we're doing this time and how
> the greater elements of the Powernaut and Superhuman World mythos fit
> in. Here, tho, things work pretty well, simply by introducing
> something and rolling with it. Do we know what the Infrared
> Sunbreaker Choir is? Not from this comic (tho, as always, there are
> helpful links to the Superhuman World wiki), but we know they're
> weird and cosmic and have a cool name and want to stop the Powernaut
> movie, and here, that's really all that matters."
Powernaut 1985's trailers had an Easter Egg about winged flame beings, 
having to continue about their Master.  That's intended to be all you 
need to know about those beings in Powernaut 1987.  Perhaps I could have 
put in a footnote, though.


> "On the website, Scott talks about 'a certain level of crappy art, 
> suitable for 1987 drawing software', but honestly, the art for this 
> one's pretty good! There's a few odd soft shadows, but I love how the 
> characters are shaded with variations on their own color rather than 
> just black, and the lack of outlines works really well. Plus, the simple 
> face of the Sunbreaker gets some really good expressions, and honestly, 
> I *really* love the head of the Choir's pose in #1 - it's manic and 
> determined and just a bit unhinged and just a bit cool."

You are so kind, Kid Review.  It looks a lot like crayon art to me.  But 
perhaps I've learned something, for when I produce Powernaut 1990s 
comics where the art *and* the coloring is supposed to be good.  And I 
fancy myself to be a caricaturist, so I keep working on facial expressions.


> "The basic story itself is pretty good. That said, there's some places 
> where I'm not sure what's intentional ambiguity and what isn't. Should I 
> understand what, exactly, happened with Sunbreaker at the end?"

heh...  Thanks for reminding me, the Powernaut has absorbed the power of 
a mighty being made of flame.  That might be important as I plan 
Powernaut 1988.  It's pretty ironic how important that might be, even. 
(intentional ambiguity)


> "These are small quibbles, though. Overall, it's a nice, fun, mostly
> self-contained Powernaut adventure, and that's worth a lot."
> 
> Drew "trying to not worry too much and just charge thru" Perron

Why thank you, Drew.

-- 
(signed) Scott Eiler  8{D> -------- http://www.eilertech.com/ ---------

When you *are* the leader... whatever goes wrong... whether you did it
or not... *you* are held responsible. - Barack Obama

I know. - Archie Andrews

- from Archie #617, March 2011, scripted by Alex Simmons.