Domino Vol. 1 Killer Instinct was kind of an impulse buy as I knew next to nothing about the character in spite of the fact that she's been around for a while. The verdict? Pretty good stuff. I thought the story was effective, with some genuine emotional beats, and it was only mildly set back by lackluster art.
The art of course is in the style so common at Marvel now- it has its moments but too often facial expressions and storytelling flow are hampered by inferior draftmanship. I much prefer the clean art style in a lot of the European comics I've been reading lately- not to sound snobby but the story is so much easier to follow when you can see clearly what's happening! So while the art did not wow me (other than the occasional panel that I thought looked good) the story itself was fine.
Domino is a mercenary whose mutant power is "good luck". She basically exudes a probability altering field around her, I guess- it's not super clear- but it causes things to go her way. An enemy's gun will jam, for example, or something fortuitous will happen to save her life, that kind of thing. She's pretty carefree and footloose, and has two besties named Outlaw and Diamondback who are her partners in crime (sometimes literally). They take jobs and spout all the snarky dialogue you'd expect, and it's fun- this was chock full of guest stars too, as writer Gail Simone definitely went to the well with the appearance of characters like Deadpool, Shang-Chi and the Amadeus Cho version of Hulk.
I thought the Shang-Chi appearance in particular was effective if a bit rushed. I don't really know why Amadeus Cho is now a Hulk but it didn't really matter, I just went with it. A bright spot here was Diamondback- she dated Captain America at one point- but she's also a past member of the Serpent Society so she can roll both ways.
She's a fun addition and it was nice to see her pop up here. She has too much potential to not be utilized. The focus here though is strictly on Domino, and Simone takes aim at Domino's strength- her uncanny luck- by deconstructing her to an extent, using a nasty villain named Topaz who has links to Dom's past. It wasn't amazing or anything but it was good and this title has a lot of potential- Gail Simone seems to be having fun with it and I will definitely be sticking around for a while.
The art of course is in the style so common at Marvel now- it has its moments but too often facial expressions and storytelling flow are hampered by inferior draftmanship. I much prefer the clean art style in a lot of the European comics I've been reading lately- not to sound snobby but the story is so much easier to follow when you can see clearly what's happening! So while the art did not wow me (other than the occasional panel that I thought looked good) the story itself was fine.
Domino is a mercenary whose mutant power is "good luck". She basically exudes a probability altering field around her, I guess- it's not super clear- but it causes things to go her way. An enemy's gun will jam, for example, or something fortuitous will happen to save her life, that kind of thing. She's pretty carefree and footloose, and has two besties named Outlaw and Diamondback who are her partners in crime (sometimes literally). They take jobs and spout all the snarky dialogue you'd expect, and it's fun- this was chock full of guest stars too, as writer Gail Simone definitely went to the well with the appearance of characters like Deadpool, Shang-Chi and the Amadeus Cho version of Hulk.
I thought the Shang-Chi appearance in particular was effective if a bit rushed. I don't really know why Amadeus Cho is now a Hulk but it didn't really matter, I just went with it. A bright spot here was Diamondback- she dated Captain America at one point- but she's also a past member of the Serpent Society so she can roll both ways.
She's a fun addition and it was nice to see her pop up here. She has too much potential to not be utilized. The focus here though is strictly on Domino, and Simone takes aim at Domino's strength- her uncanny luck- by deconstructing her to an extent, using a nasty villain named Topaz who has links to Dom's past. It wasn't amazing or anything but it was good and this title has a lot of potential- Gail Simone seems to be having fun with it and I will definitely be sticking around for a while.
I can see how bad draftmanship would hinder stories like this one for sure! I do like that cover though and am glad it was still a good story overall. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe covers are awesome. I wish the interior art was as good...
DeleteThis sounds like fun! I hate it when the story is good but the art style detracts from it. I've been there with a few graphic novels. It sucks! I may pick this up in the future. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mikky! It's definitely worth checking out- Domino's a lot of fun. :)
DeleteI would be curious to try this one as well
ReplyDeleteI'd like her superpower!
ReplyDeleteI would too :)
DeleteI agree, it's really frustrating to try and read a comic when you can't tell what's really happening in the pictures. Whoa, that's a really cool and unique power! Glad you enjoyed this one despite the art :-)
ReplyDeletealways look for more graphic novels and comics. this one sounds good.
ReplyDeleteI've had some issues with the artwork for this series, too. Have you seen the most recent covers? I know you used the Morbius cover a few months ago, and they've kept with the "realistic" theme. It's often unsettling to see, and I miss how they looked in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteAmadeus Cho became Hulk in Totally Awesome Hulk, I think. I know that he's the Hulk in that one, and he thought he could cure Bruce Banner. I'm not entirely sure what his origin story is, but I liked his part in Domino.
I really like her "posse"! They're fun to read about. Shang-Chi was a nice appearance, but I agree that it felt rushed. He's supposed to helping her unlock her powers/figure stuff out, but it didn't take very long. Her inappropriate thoughts and comments were funny, but I think that whole thing could have been expanded on. It's a fun read, but I do think there's some room for improvement. :)
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
I like this cover. I don't read many graphic novels but I see a lot of people really like them.
ReplyDeleteMary
I loved Deadpool arguing with Domino about luck being a superpower or not in Deadpool 2, lol. Also, I pretty much just go with things in comics in general - no-one's got time to read the entirety of the existing canon dammit! ;)
ReplyDelete