Review — Showcasing Visual Stopping Power In ‘Murder Inc.: Jagger Rose’ #3
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
Great illustrations and dynamic colors make up for a somewhat flimsy script with seemingly meaningless tangents. With a tighter story, this series would be a highlight of the entire year.
Overall
8.5/10Sometimes even the simplest panels have the greatest stopping power.
Midway through the latest issue of Murder Inc.: Jagger Rose artist Michael Avon Oeming provides little more than a transition from the warn-torn streets of Jersey City to an airplane crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a panel – though it takes half a page – that shows a thumbnail-sized plane with an orange streak behind it. The illustration is ridiculously simple. The aircraft is so small that you can’t make out any details. There is no text to accompany it. It doesn’t even really move the plot forward that much.
And yet it is a focal point for perhaps the entire issue.
Understanding when simplicity is called for is a hallmark of Oeming’s work. He’s not known for his detailed drawings or photo-realistic artwork. But in a case like this, it isn’t needed. Major credit also goes to colorist Taki Soma who practically forces readers’ eyes to the image with her light purple-blue hues – which are a dramatic departure from the harsher blacks and greens that dominate the issue.
The plane in question is carrying protagonist Jagger Rose and the remaining members of her mafia family back from the Vatican to the US, which is now under siege from its own government. The entire government retaking the streets storyline seems – at least for now – a flimsy plot point in Brian Michael Bendis’ script. Ignoring that, though, there is plenty going on here to keep readers engaged.
After being offered a job by the pope – and dealing with her former don’s death – Jagger Rose is struggling to understand her role. She finds it through a funky, though seemingly unnecessary, virtual reality meeting. In it, the other heads of the mafia families are literally sitting around on psychedelic skyscrapers. Again, Oeming elevates the material he is handed.
Given Oeming and Soma’s great work, this series could be a highlight of the year if Bendis can tighten and makes some other improvements to the script.
Murder Inc.: Jagger Rose #3 is available today at your local shop.
