Trade Marks: Deadline

I remember this miniseries getting a decent amount of press back in 2002. It seemed like a rare, novel idea – centering a story around a female journalist with the Marvel Universe serving as backdrop. Of course, we’d seen this a bit with Marvels – but this is a much more quiet and personal story. I picked it up in TPB back then, and re-read it last week. It holds up quite well. Bill Rosemann does an admirable job fleshing out the character of Kat Farrell, and shining a light on Daily Bugle luminaries like Betty Brant and Ben Urich. The storyline is decent, if a bit convoluted – but we get plenty of superb cameos from various super-villains (I can’t recall the last time I saw the Orb). It could have all gone a bit haywire, had Guy Davis not been tasked with putting pencil to paper. He’s a true master – likely one of the finest comic book storyteller of the past quarter-century. His artwork looks even better when compared to the flashy, and yet incredibly stiff and awkward Greg Horn covers. Davis makes Kat Farrell’s look like a woman. Horn makes her look like an anorexic Gillian Anderson. This is far from perfect, but it’s an interesting read, and a refreshing perspective on the Marvel Universe. Trade Mark: B+