I hate to say it but I am tending to side with commenters from issue #25 who were bemoaning the loss of series artist Alphona. This book just doesn’t feel the same without him :(
I agree with John. Ryan’s art doesn’t seem to quite gell with the Runaways. As a concession, I’m not being fair to Ryan’s work since it is unavoidable to not compare it to Alphona’s work. However, even the art on to itself is kind of unusual; the poses of the characters seem overly staged and unnatural and the whole thing looks flat (that might be a result of the thick lines thought which might not be Ryan’s fault.)
Perhaps I’m just being overly critical. I recently reread the Runaways volume #1. Alphona’s art in the beginning was a little crude (what with it being his first time), but he quickly hit a sharp learning curve. Before long his art was beautiful and crisp (In terms of panel composition). I just have a feeling that Michael Ryan isn’t going hit that same learning curve and find a style that feels more Runaways. On the other hand Ryan mentioned in an interview, fairly recently, that he is doing all he can to improve his craft. So I look forward to eating my words.
Oh yeah, does anyone know what Alphona’s future projects are…if any?