Alpha Big Time 2
Alpha probably killed a bad guy, how will he tell Spider-Man?
The Good
Joshua Hale Fialkov continues the story of ALPHA! After seemingly killing a bad guy in an alley, Alpha is struggling whether or not to tell Peter Parker what he has done. Fialkov does a good job with this story by seeing some inner conflict within Alpha and that the character is willing to do the right thing; even though it might place him in jail or powerless. That is always good to see in a character because it shows how they standout from many replica superheroes.
The pace for this issue is perfect. Almost everything in this issue has a meaning and Joshua Hale Fialkov never drags things out (i.e. Alpha and Peter Parker conversation). When Fialkov puts Alpha in a situation, he wastes no time to move Alpha to the next thing or cling to that big plot twist, but not making it seem obvious.
I do enjoy the artwork by Nuno Plati. This comic book is not as serious, or violent, as other titles and it really captures the cartoon nature of the characters. Plati's bright colors and design of the characters speaks [to me] that ALPHA could be turned into an animated TV series. It is because of Joshua Hale Fialkov's tone for this comic and Plati's art style that left that impression [on me] that Marvel should turn this into an animated TV series instead of a comic.
The Bad
This series is okay to continue on, but it isn't breaking new ground. With so many titles Marvel is now publishing it is hard to find the good ones to read and follow. While I'm not saying Alpha isn't good, I'm not saying it is great either. Marvel has done this before with teenaged heroes with powers. One example is Spider-Man. He had superpowers when he was a teenager and regretted a lot of things in his early days, just like Alpha. Marvel is trying to break new ground for a newer generation, however they should just stick with the characters that are now iconic instead of creating newer replicas of iconic characters. Alpha is not for me, but it could be for someone who likes these kind of stories told from a different characters perspective.
The Verdict
If you are looking for something to read for fun, this is the best series to read. However, if you are looking for in-depth character development, modern teen issues, and over-the-top action; you won't find it here. This series has at least one connection to main stream continuity (i.e. the Superior Spider-Man). Joshua Hale Fialkov makes this series light enough to invite new people to comic books and the art style by Nino Plati assists Fialkov in accomplishing that goal. This is a great book to some, but not to many veterans of comic books. Overall 3 out of 5.
Previous review:
