[Trade Winds] Punk Rock and Trailer Parks

Posted by Graig on October 16, 2008

(SLG Publishing)

One flip through this new original graphic novel from alternative cartoonist Derf and I was preparing to hate it. It wasn’t specifically the illustration, which is odd but not unappealing, or the cursory glance at the subject matter, which seemed full of potential, but the combination of the two. Punk Rock and Trailer Parks appeared to be yet another loser-outcast-nerd-rebel-hero drawn in underground comic style, and while I do try to read and enjoy all types of comics in all different genres, the subgenre of agony-humor featuring “angry and/or ignorant geek protagonist v. the world” (typically semi-autobiographical), from even top-talents like Jeffrey Brown to Chris Ware (well over three years later and I’ve yet to finish reading Jimmy Corrigan) is one I have the most difficulty sustaining interest in. I’ve been through my awkward stages in life, and I’ve grown from them, and while I can relate to all different kinds characters, the redundancy of the stunted man-child incapable of resolving their past and facing the real world without hostility or fear of rejection wears predictably thin, and is, quite frankly, something I can’t relate to. Within 20 pages of Derf’s new book, however, I realized this wasn’t the same old story.

Set in the turn-of-the-decade 1980’s in Akron, Ohio, we’re introduced to Otto, a towering geek, replete with nerd glasses, bad acne and a tragic sense of style. Otto is the prototypical rebel; having been branded the outcast he’s embraced his role. He does things to his own tune, like recording every fart on tape for his senior project, and doesn’t really care what people think of him anymore. Instead of hanging his head he looks up to the sky. Though the sense of inferiority has been, literally, beaten into him, he’s come to the realization that maybe in his school he’s the bottom of the food chain, but he’s one of few who can actually escape the food chain altogether, which in a sense makes him better. An optimist and dreamer, Otto devises the guise of “The Baron”, a persona which he refers to always in third-person that lets him be tough, hyperintelligent, sexual, and uber-geeky all at the same time.

Two sophomores befriend Otto, primarily to get a ride around time, and through them he’s introduced to the punk scene in Akron, which at that time was “the” punk scene in the country. Otto quickly feels a kinship with the music, it’s rebellious attitude and it’s do-your-own-thing mantra, and a series of events winds up placing him smack in the heart of the scene, getting a job at “The Bank” as bouncer/courtesy ambassador to the bands that come through town (like the Ramones or Joe Strummer ). Otto winds up becoming a legend in his own right throughout the punk scene, eventually joining a band himself, and actually enjoying the dichotomy of his dual life as both loser and icon. His relationship with his junior friends grows as he exposes them to his life in the trailer park and his philosophies, varying between the absurd and the all-to-real.

The book is more romantic about the past than it is nostalgic, with exuberant highs and some pretty gut-wrenching lows. Though not a true story, Derf obviously draws upon his own experiences and his own knowledge of the punk scene in Akron to craft the tale, and deftly recreates the atmosphere for the reader to vicariously experience what it was like to be there. Otto’s life as a teenager is obviously not one of great joy, but by the end of it he found a way to cope and a way to live that didn’t conform to all the other people who would put him down.

There’s very little that’s typical about Punk Rock and Trailer Parks, I found from one moment to the next that I had no idea what would happen, which is to say that Otto is unpredictable, yes, but also that Derf is never out to get him. Too often in underground comics, the writer/artist hates their character (or themselves) and puts them through shame after shame in attempts to break them. With Otto, Derf doesn’t. He admires his character and has him triumph even when he fails, which seems to be another punk philosophy (where getting arrested is a good thing).

If I were to sound byte the book, I’d say it’s Freaks and Geeks by way of James Kolchaka, illustrated in a style that alludes to a theoretical offspring from a cocktail of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Robert Crumb and Don Martin, but it’s so much more. It’s funny, smart, and insightful, and presents something different but not so different as to be off-putting (except that there is punk rock, sex, nudity and language, which obviously may not agree with all audiences). There’s no South Park-style extremes here, the book isn’t out there to push buttons. It’s creator has a story to tell and he tells it with a style all his own.

4 and a half out of 5 Vikings

4 out of 5 Vikings

Supergirl #34

Posted by Devon on October 7, 2008

(DC)

Wonder Woman, one of the oldest and best characters in comics, doesn’t necessarily need albino warrior monkeys to make her interesting but that’s a whole other story.

Supergirl, over the past few years has suffered “albino warrior monkey syndrome,” meaning too much back plot and background detail and backstory has been used in order to make her “interesting.”

Does Supergirl need to have been trained in the ways of The Amazon by warriors on Paradise Island? Not really.

Does Supergirl need to have formed a bond with Batman while here cousin Superman, wrings his super-powered hands while worrying about how best to approach his little cousin? Not really.

Does Supergirl need to be “the daugther” of The Trinity? No, not really.

This all anyone need know: child, rocketship, Krypton, Earth.

Thank God for Supergirl #34, on sale now.

Supergirl’s life as Supergirl has been in shambles. When not bringing down Air Force One in an ill-advised attempt to talk sense to The President, she’s been trying new and ill-advised ways to cure cancer and the citizens of Metropolis are a bit sick of it and Daily Planet reporter Cat Grant is fanning the flames. Supergirl is at a crossroads and just when things look their bleakest, a very good friend from Superman’s past shows up, offering her a chance at redemption, one simply involving the donning of a pair of glasses.

Writer Sterling Gates pulls together all of the threads laid down in the previous thirty-two issues and presents them as a simple base to build upon. What he smartly does next is simply move on and advance his own agenda and that seems to simply make Supergirl fun again. He does and the last page proves he’s the right person for the job.

Artist Jamal Igle is the perfect choice for this book. There’s no argument here that Supergirl has been hyper-sexualized in her appearance. There’s none of that here. Under Igle, Supergirl owes more to Hannah Montana than Britney Spears. Igle excels at simply drawing what’s needed. From the first page to the last, Igle infuses his characters with an identity. The minute you meet Clark Kent you know who he is by what he does with his glasses. The minute you meet Cat Grant her body language lets you know that this woman’s gonna be trouble. Supergirl, literally, is in good hands.
Supergirl is back on track and infinitely readable again. Albino warrior monkeys need not apply.

4 out of 5 Vikings

Batman #680

Posted by Adam on

(DC)

All the while Grant Morrison’s been dazzling us with his run on All-Star Superman, he’s also been doing something rather more challenging and bent in his run on Batman. In the process he’s attempted to synthesize and redefine the history of DC’s two most well-known superheroes, and he’s done so by specifically referencing the Silver Age. This is perhaps an easier task with Supes, whose goofy but imaginative adventures from the late 40s through to the 60s provided a lot of fodder for the character’s mythology even when re-imagined in the 1978 movie or the post-Crisis relaunch. As silly as some of that stuff is, it does seem to cohere to a consistent theme of optimism and imagination that fits the character of Superman, and besides, even the stuff DC tried to strip away from his history has slowly been creeping back in. As long as it’s all handled with a certain degree of intelligence, the way-out aspects of Superman’s mythology—multi-coloured Kryptonite, Bizarro, Krypto the Super-dog, and so on—all seem natural. They work, and they’re inextricably linked with the character.

Batman’s trickier. Much more so. That’s probably because, ever since the late 60s, the character’s been slowly redefined through a more natural process that culminated with stuff like The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke: Batman as noir on speed, a grim avenger facing off against twisted, monstrous villains whose candy-coloured silliness has become the very thing that makes them creepy rather than juvenile, with the Joker as the apotheosis of this concept.

All well and good, but as we all know, there are aspects of Batman’s history that cause the average fanboy to cringe. If they see Bats as “dark” and “serious” and “gritty”, a supposedly realistic, intense, and badass superhero, then it surely doesn’t help that image to bring up the Adam West TV show. The 50s and early 60s comics are even goofier, often sending Batman off to outer space, saddling him with a weird array of costumes and identity changes, and tormenting him with an imp from another dimension. Yet, here’s Morrison, bringing up these aspects of the Bat-mythology in the same year that gave us The Dark Knight, and introducing (or reintroducing) them into the current, ultra-dark continuity of the books. He’s even doing so in a storyline that features one of the most freakishly skeezy incarnations of the Joker we’ve ever seen. Morrison’s goal is apparently to somehow reconcile these two sensibilities…and while it’s too early to say for sure if he’s succeeded, he’s certainly created something unique here.

It helps that, in this issue, everything seems to be finally falling into place. Morrison’s Batman run has been a lot more jarring and dense than his take on Superman, or even (and this may be a controversial opinion) his scripts for Final Crisis. Morrison’s tossing out a whole bunch of interesting ideas that tie into Batman’s history, but in his usual style, he often doesn’t bother to develop them in a coherent fashion–or so it’s seemed for much of this run. An issue away from the climax, however, things are suddenly snapping into place. Much of Batman’s 50-era adventures, we’ve learned, took place in his mind during a bout of psychological reprogramming involving sensory deprivation. The current storyline has been centered on “The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh”, a Batman doppelganger from outer space who Batman encountered in the 50s; we’ve now learned that this story was a hallucination meant to create another, emergency backup persona for Batman in the event of a psychological attack. Zur is a sort of positive version of the Manchurian Candidate, a “Batman without Bruce Wayne” who can keep fighting even when everything he cares about has seemingly been destroyed. Likewise, the Bat-Mite, who’s been dogging his footsteps for the last two issues, is revealed as a personification of “the fading voice of reason”, one who’s forced to abandon him completely as Batman enters the inner sanctum of the Black Glove.

We also finally get a better idea of who the Glove and his attendant Club of Villains may be—they’re basically a bunch of rich socialites gambling on Batman and his ability to survive this psychological attack. Almost every plot thread Morrison let loose is suddenly coming together in an extremely dramatic way, and the climax of this issue really packs a punch. Batman goes symbolically deeper into madness than he’s ever gone, entering a David Lynch-style arena to do battle with the Joker and learn a twist that you probably saw coming, yet works pretty effectively anyway.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a comic storyline take this long to really pay off, and then to do so all at once, so near the end…it’s both impressive and a little frustrating. As I said, this has been a far more jarring, disconcerting run than Morrison’s other DC contributions, but that fits the character, after all. If All-Star Superman transforms the Silver Age trappings of his book into something noble and stirring, it’s only logical that Batman’s should wind up in a darker, more psychologically charged place. Whatever you think of the results, the simple fact that Morrison’s actually done something new and interesting with Batman after all these years warrants a thumbs-up. That the book is suddenly firing on all cylinders dramatically is just the icing on the cake.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] Station #3 (of 4)

Posted by Graig on October 3, 2008

(Boom! Studios)

My initial impression of Station was favorable, but hesitant. Two issues later and I’m left with my jaw gaping in anticipation for the final chapter. On the international space station, an accident that has killed one astronaut was revealed as sabotage, and while finger-pointing would be the obvious next step, there’s just no time as the station catches fire and everyone must work together to ensure their survival. Writer Johanna Stokes has satiated my fears that this was going to be some kind of “picked-off-one-by-one locked-room murder mystery”, full of not necessarily false but clichéd melodrama, and instead has delivered an intriguing “who and why” mystery, where it’s seems certain that one specific person wasn’t a target, and nobody is a clear suspect. In fact, Stokes has constructed her cast of characters to make each of them seem improbable as the saboteur. Artist Leno Carvalho is nailing the claustrophobic atmosphere, putting a number of heads and bodies tightly together in near every panel, only widening the scope to show the vastness of space. His eye for detail is incredible and his characters emote well. He’s a definite rising talent, getting stronger with each issue. At this point the only aspect of the book that’s not getting better is the coloring. The switch from Imaginary Friends Studios to Andrea Barreto was not a clean one, the second issue looking remarkably amateurish, and this third improving slightly, but not maintaining the same subtlety as the first issue. A mystery, set in space, novel, but effective.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] Red Mass For Mars #2 (of 4)

Posted by Graig on

(Image)

I’ve resigned myself, at this point, to the erratic publishing schedule of Jonathan Hickman’s books. The fact that eight out of the twelve issues of his three four-issue mini-series (this, Pax Romana and Transhuman) have slowly trickled out onto the rack over the past nine months should lead to much reader frustration, and yet I rejoice every time one hits the stands. Hickman’s inventiveness, and his unique deviation on familiar concepts keeps me coming back to his work with little-to-no hostility about perceived delays. The second issue of Red Mass For Mars comes almost 4 months after the first and yet I open to page one and remember immediately where the series left off. In the distant future, the Earth, having only recently found its salvation and glory, is facing annihilation as an alien invasion looms. Their superheroic protectors will be helpless in the face of the aliens’ might, leaving a one-shot suicide mission as the only option. Hickman compelling, time-jumping narrative structure advances the story and intrigue quickly, but doesn’t diminish the story’s impact. Atypical for today’s superhero comics, Red Mass might be a little too compressed when it could easily extend itself a few issues beyond (but given his books’ schedules, it’s probably for the best they rest at four issues). Artist Ryan Bodenheim provides terrific superhero and sci-fi aesthetics in equal measure, with Hickman’s unique coloring style (aided by Marty Shelley) the proverbial icing on this tasty cake. If one quibble with the art, it’s Bodenheim’s use of Paul Giamatti as a mode for one character, it’d be distracting but for appearing in only a half-dozen panels. I can hardly wait for the next one, but I definitely will.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Trade Winds] Chumble Spuzz vol. 1 & 2

Posted by Graig on October 2, 2008

SLG Publishing

I picked up the first volume of Ethan Nicolle’s Chumble Spuzz earlier this year mainly as review fodder. I’ve done that a lot over the years with Rack Raids, picked up a title not for my own enjoyment but for review purposes, and by and large it results in a stack of comics and trade paperbacks that may be good, but I don’t enjoy, or that I enjoy but aren’t any good… or both… or neither. It’s easy to stick with DC and Marvel, comics companies that I’ve invested time and years in, but I’m getting to the point where they’re comfortable fluff (for the most part), and sometimes I want substance, or something different.

Chumble Spuzz volume 1, subtitled “Kill The Devil” is certainly not “substance” but it’s definitely different. The biggest draw for me was Nicolle’s art, which is a masterstroke of cartooning wonder. Every panel is eye-catching, beautifully rendered with a decidedly clean, yet richly and precisely detailed, inking style. Flipping through the book before purchasing sold me on it, even though the description about a pig possessed by Satan didn’t exactly captivate me.

The book stars Gunther and Klem, two simplistically illustrated, made-for-cartoons looking characters of indeterminate species (I’d have to say that Gunther is perhaps a mouse while Klem is possibly a rabbit), with the typical buddy duo (ala Ren and Stimpy or Pinky and the Brain) of the schemer (Gunther) and the simpleton (Klem). In “Kill The Devil” the duo infiltrate a carnival — by way of an “Indian Rug Burn” box — where they proceed to become involved in a pig catching competition that wins them, yes, a demonically possessed pig. They consult with their friend, the gangsta-talking monkey Reverend Mofo, who advises them to take on the devil, naturally.

The main story is amusing in concept and much of the execution is pretty humorous, but a lot of the comedy also fell flat, like Nicolle was trying too hard to push the edge. Again, it’s in Nicolle’s art that I found the most laughs, as his facial expressions on humans, demons and anthropomorphic animals alike are expertly controlled. He also has a knack for dropping easter eggs in the background, and it’s these little things that I found more rewarding. It’s in the second, shorter story that Nicolle reigns his script and delivers a potent dosage of the funny. Titled “Salmonella”, it treads on beloved institutions like the Keebler Elves, Cookie Monster (emphasis on the “monster”), Colonel Sanders and, naturally, Jesus, as vampire chickens break loose at a blood drive. It’s a tight, hilariously absurd romp that plays fast and loose with pop culture while contributing something of its own to it.

Chumble Spuzz Vol. 2

Nicolle explains in the introduction a fascination he has with feral people — dedicating the volume to wolf girls of Singapore — in particular a spoof ‘pigeon man’ which he came up with for a Far Side-aping comic strip he did in high school (one included in the volume, and quite good, mind you).

The story finds Gunther obsessing over the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich, lusting after the PBJ-Bot that’s out of his financial reach, while Klem feeds the pigeons in the back yard. There, the titular Pigeon Man shows up and Klem, having conveniently witnessed a program about feral people, calls a feral human zookeeper and sells the old naked guy for a princely sum (allowing him to acquire his own PBJ-Bot). Klem feels bad about his short-lived pet, and goes to visit him at the zoo. There they discover the zookeeper is using the feral men of the zoo in an illegal pit fight (which leads to some hilarious feral men with names like “manda bear”, “man-cock” and “homo-snakien”.

The sheer variety of feral men, illustrated in Nicolle’s impeccably funny-yet-disturbing style, is the big draw here, but with his brother the pair have a tighter, funnier script which keeps the laughs and even a few knee-jerk “icks” coming (the “mangaroos” have to be seen to be believed).

The second story is a surprisingly multi-layered tale that runs through alternating stories about a blind blues man, Gunther and his feeble uncle, and Klem and his dead sea monkey, all which eventually collide in a mind blowing, epic fashion. Condensed to 27 pages, this rich story moves at an incredible clip and is all the more impressive for it. Unlike previous tales, where Nicolle’s art takes the spotlight, here the script is actually the essential ingredient, fully engrossing and funny.

There’s no doubt that with the copious amounts of poop jokes and naked old men running about this book that the Nicolle Brothers aren’t reaching for a high-brow audience, but anyone who has the stomach for a good belly laugh and an eye for incredibly well designed and rendered art will find a lot to appreciate.

Volume 1 - 3 out of 5 Vikings

Volume 2 - 4 out of 5 Vikings

[Trade Winds] Help Is On The Way

Posted by Graig on September 26, 2008

(Dark Horse)

Though comic book makers are slowly embracing the internet as a different storytelling avenue, it’s the comic strip creators who have really triumphed in exploiting the world wide web for creative satisfaction. The conventional newspaper comic strip world is even more difficult to break into than the comic book industry, with the newsprint medium waning as people turn to the internet and television for information, traditional comic strips no longer reach the audience (children or adults) like they once did. As such, syndication agents controlling who will and won’t succeed demand an almost generic quality that appeals to the broadest audience possible, altogether making the likelihood of achieving any sort of For Better Or Worseor Ziggy-like (nevermind Peanuts or Calvin and Hobbes) popularity almost nil. If you actually have something to say or are trying to appeal to a specific audience, you didn’t have much of a chance to do so until the internet came along. Now, the creators of strips Penny Arcade or The Perry Bible Fellowship or The Rack or even our own Adam Prosser’s many creative endeavors can be made in a format of their choosing, on a schedule of their own design and for a potentially limitless international audience.

If you take even a lazy look around, you’ll find there’s certainly a lot to consume, all at varying levels of quality, but it’s also almost all at no cost, which is the bargain of the century, I’d say. However not all of us can make the daily or weekly, or even sporadic commitment to checking in on favored web-comics or checking out new ones. As the end result of having a day job spent in front of a computer, I confess that unless I’m creating it, I have a hard time consuming on-line content. So, what’s the next best thing? Paying for it in printed form!

Reading a web comic, especially a good one, will make you want to read more of it, all at once. Sometimes this can lead to head-splitting hours in front of a computer screen, not wanting to leave until all is consumed, else you might forget where you left off, or worse, never return. I find the paperback collection is perhaps not the most cost effective, but easily the preferrable way of consuming the bulk of someone’s web comic output. And when it’s good stuff, it’s something you’ll want to have on your shelf, beside your bed, or in your bathroom magazine rack for repeated reading, all places where a laptop is remarkably inconvenient/inflexible.

Help Is On The Way is that good stuff, the kind of funny you don’t want to end, the kind of funny you want to revisit over and over again, the kind of comic strip you want your friends to read, the kind that inspires quotable quotes like “Your hair is resplendent, like the mane of a hirsute Quebecois” or “Your hide will make a fine poncho”.

Help Is On The Way presents a dense collection of comedian Scott Meyer’s Basic Instructions web-comic, each one a four panel “how to” on a particular topic. Each panel features instructional narrative below which is a cartoon of Meyer exchanging some snappy repartee with friends, co-workers, his wife or some kid to either highlight the “how to” or contrast the instruction with a “how not to” example. They’re illustrated in a style Meyer’s wife calls in one strip “Photocartooning”, which Meyer himself refers to as “tracing”, so it’s not necessarily the peak of illustrated comedy, but the use of repetitive imagery is a skill in upon its own and Meyer uses it to great effect here.

Although characters are rarely, if ever named, you start to get a sense of the cast of the strip after the first dozen or so. Every strip includes Meyer, and key players are his wife, his mulleted, mustachioed boss and his self-absorbed asthmatic friend Ric (who provides the preface), each of whom are equally as capable of dishing out the sarcasm.

Devising the formula for an effective comic strip can be tricky and take some time. The same way the early episodes of a sitcom can be rough, so to can the early days of a comic. So, instead of starting from the very beginning, this collection begins at a point Meyer feels confident that the formula is down. A few of his earlier entries are present providing an interesting look at the early manifestation of the strip.

It’s quite difficult to explain to someone why something is funny (perhaps there’s a strip in “how to explain why something’s funny”?), so I’ll just say go to the site, read a few for yourself, and decide. Even if you read it all for free, you might just want to have it in a handy, accessible at-your-disposal version (like having watched all of a TV series then purchasing the DVDs for repeated consumption), or as a convenient gift for people you like.

If I were more adventurous I would have written this review in the vein of one of Meyer’s strips, but I’m not as smart nor witty as Meyer, so it’s probably best that I didn’t.

4 out of 5 Vikings

The Helm #2

Posted by Max on September 24, 2008

(Dark Horse)

Whoa, a second review for the same series? What madness is this!? I’m typically loath to do back to back reviews of any series, simply because there’s rarely a change drastic enough to warrant a second review. Good series are good, bad series are bad, and while there may be a significant change down the line (especially with a switch of artist/writer), typically the first issue of a title is a good indication of what you’re in for. So why the change of heart? Well for one, Helm creator Jim Hardison actually contacted me personally after my last review, a rare occurrence even when the review is glowing (which this one was not). Honestly, I was expecting him to tear me a new asshole, but not only did he thank me for the review, but offered to send me the next issue of his book free! Not just some fancified digital version either, but an actual paper copy, signed, sealed and currently sitting on eBay in my private collection. What a cool guy huh? What’s more, Jim didn’t even care if I actually reviewed the book, he just wanted to get my opinion (clearly the man is incredibly desperate). Still, while Jim may not be a manipulative, insecure attention-whore, I certainly am, so I figured I’d use this opportunity to once again force my unwanted opinion on the masses.

Alright, I know what you may be saying to yourself: Nice creator + free comic + significantly improved score = sell out. Well I’m here to assure you that absolutely isn’t the case. I’m not saying I couldn’t be bought; heck, look at the weird ass crap we advertise on the site (Our motto: Anything but porn!). No, I’m just saying Mr. Hardison didn’t do a good enough job to warrant such a high score. Here, take a look at the official Rack Raids Integrity Manipulation Pricing Guide:

1 Viking: Free comic

2 Vikings: Pizza with our choice of toppings.

3 Vikings: Prostitute and/or gigolo

4 Vikings: Attractive prostitute and/or gigolo

5 Vikings: Attractive prostitute and/or gigolo with pizza (toppings optional)

As you can see, Mr. Hardison’s attempts at bribery simply wouldn’t have been enough to garner him a 4 Viking rating (that prostitute he sent was average-looking at best). So where did those extra 1.5 Vikings come from? Well, while I stand by my review of Issue #1, this second issue is such an improvement that I would be remiss if I didn’t bring it to your attention.

First off, the art; it’s pretty good. OK, that’s a bit simplistic, but since everything from my last review still applies, feel free to go back and read that if you’d like more detail. What I’d really like to focus on, and what elevates this issue above it’s predecessor, is its writing. While the first issue had it’s funny moments, a lot of the humor felt flat to me; recycled jokes that had been done better in films like Clerks (and much, much worse in films like Clerks 2). Combine nerdy guy with pop culture reference, and you’ve got instant comedy! It was a shame, because the book already had a great comedy angle built in. After all, anyone can make nerd jokes, but a asshole talking hat is something special. Fortunately, Issue #2 shifts the focus firmly onto the relationship between Mathew and Helm, with hilarious results. I don’t want to spoil anything, but both the training montage and the Helm’s attempts at cock blocking are worth the price of admission on their own. What’s more, while Mathew was a totally pathetic slob in the first issue, here he’s a totally pathetic slob trying to become a regular slob. It may seem like a small difference, but for me it was enough to turn Mathew from an object of scorn to a guy you can relate to (a must for any dweeb hero). Sure the guy’s not perfect, but at least he’s not a total loser.

My one big problem (hopefully addressed in future issues), is the fact that despite his new attitude, Mathew still hasn’t done anything particularly heroic. Yes he’s killed a monster and battled wraiths, but both were cases of self-defense. Heck, even the “evil sorcerer” he killed was simply defending his home (which Mathew and the Helm had broken into in order to swipe some magical goodies). It’s a bit odd, and while the hint of a new master villain at the end of this issue suggests a change in the status quo, I’m still not quite on the bandwagon. On the other hand, I think it would be brilliant if Hardison is pulling a fast one on us, and it turns out the Helm is actually a malevolent force. Wherever this book goes though, I plan to be along for the ride, as The Helm has suddenly gone from middling to superb in my eyes. Don’t believe me? Fine. Buy your own copy and see for yourself you paranoid bastards!

4 out of 5 Vikings.

[Trade Winds] Essex County Vol. 3: The Country Nurse

Posted by Graig on September 16, 2008

(Top Shelf)

Strolling through the artists’ alley at the recent Toronto Fan Expo, stopping to admire Cliff Chiang’s handywork and exchanging a few words with Peter David amongst others, I came across Jeff Lemire’s table where he had a few advance copies of the latest volume of his award-winnng Essex County series for sale. While waiting in line - anxious as the small stack of copies depleted - the trio in front of me spoke to the artist as he signed the second-last copy of The Country Nurse. “I hope this one ends on a more upbeat note,” one said, “because the last two were kind of depressing.”

“Really?” Lemire questioned. He mentioning that he thought at least this latest ended optimistically. Next in line, I said a few words of appreciation as I got the last copy he had available (he signed the book with a little crow doodle inside the front cover). After finishing my tour of the convention floor, I returned to the booth I was helping man and one of the other people working there looked at my new acquisitions. Coming across Essex County Vol. 3 he said, “You know, this series is really good, but man it’s depressing.”

That was two “depressing” comments within the span of half an hour, and to tell you the truth, I can see it, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the appropriate adjective to describe these wonderful books. Atmospheric. Solemn. Pensive. Reflective. These books aren’t exactly jubilant, but they’re hardly dark and moody either.

The first two volumes stand apart from one another as independent stories, different tales that span multiple time periods, bridged to one-another using some of the same characters. The first is primarily about young Lester, an orphan living on his uncle’s farm, his imagination his only escape from a life he has no control over. There he befriends Jimmy Lebeuf, an ex-hockey player messed up by a concussion, who joins him in his fantasy role-playing, but his uncle doesn’t want them hanging out together. In the second volume, we learn about Jimmy’s father, Vince, and his uncle, Lou, both aspiring professional hockey players. The tale weaves between the past, as Lou and Vince get their shot at the big leagues, and the present, where Lou is alone, estranged from his family, old, deaf and senile, haunted by the past.

This latest volume brings it all home, as we follow the area nurse, Anne, as she journey’s between patients, passing by Lester and his uncle’s farm, checking in on Lou, and visiting Jimmy at the gas station where he works. Anne is a widow, raising a teenage son who wants little to do with her. She has a lot of compassion for what people are going through, her son included, and gives him his space as much as she can allow. She does have a busybody streak though, and involves herself in the private lives of her patients, knowing she shouldn’t, but unable to help herself.

The tremendous impact of the first two volumes makes it difficult to see this as a stand alone story, but it still holds its own. Although it does follow Anne about her daily routine interspersed with flashbacks to Essex County, 1917, it involves some important events in the lives of the players introduced in the previous volumes. The historical elements presented throughout all three books give a history spanning nearly 90-years of the community, all made even clearer by a family tree showing the connection between all the players introduced. The richness of the storytelling makes the tree unnecessary, but useful for quick shorthand to see how it all comes together.

Lemire’s storytelling craft is superb, in this volume truly tightening the laces and tying the bow on the entire series. His inking has tightened up tremendously since the first volume, with crisper, tighter lines, although not losing his defining freehand aesthetic. His characters are fantastic, both in personality and in graphical representation, each uniquely defined, each relatable in their own way, full of nuance in language and movement. Lemire fills the pages with leafless fall and snow-covered winter landscapes, giving them a cool atmosphere, which may be what people are interpreting as “depressing”. But rather than being depressing, it creates an environment in which the heat of the characters emotions can cut through… anger to kindness to compassion to love to regret.

The masterstroke is indeed the density of the overall project, the weaving of the history with the present day, the overall sense of this Southern Ontario landscape, and the community Lemire has built are all tremendously affecting. Each book has a definite impact, but together, they’re brilliant.

(And yes, it does end, I feel, quite optimistically.)

Volume 3 - 4 out of 5 Vikings

Series - 5 out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] Sub-Mariner- The Depths #1 (of 4)

Posted by Jeb on September 9, 2008

(Marvel)

When Marvel changed the Marvel Knights imprint to feature “out-of-continuity” stories, I didn’t pay that much attention, assuming that it would just mean that Spider-Man could meet the Green Goblin now and then without having to explain why Norman Osborne’s neglecting his duties with The Thunderbolts. And to be honest, I have no idea how much (if any) of the Marvel stuff I’ve read over the past couple of years fell under this banner. I have to say, though, I certainly didn’t expect to see anything quite like this miniseries. The biggest problem with reviewing this comic is that a tremendous amount of the fun is in the sense of discovery one gets reading it, and even detailing the basic plot will spoil some of its charm. I can say that writer Peter Milligan and artist Esad Ribic have drawn inspiration not so much from Lee and Kirby as from Jack London, Conan Doyle, Stephen King, and even a dash of Joss Whedon, crafting a story of the terrors that await man in the darkest depths of the ocean. In particular, Ribic’s paints, ranging from a bright world of exploration to claustrophobic horror aboard a submarine, just continue Marvel’s amazing recent run of eye-popping art. I’m not particularly a big fan of Subby, and I really only took a look at this for the creative team, but I’m hooked. I think you will be, too.

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1

Posted by Adam on September 3, 2008

(DC)

At this point, almost no one seems to know exactly what Final Crisis is about. No, I don’t mean that in a wise-ass, “Grant Morrison’s so weird and confusing” kinda way, I just mean that Final Crisis threatens to transform the DC Universe (again), but the top brass have so far kept it a pretty tight secret *how* it’s going to do so. Our only clue so far seems to be that Morrison wants to deal with the logical endpoint of the creeping “darkness” and “grittiness” that’s been infecting the DCU, and, winkingly, tying it together with the editorial oversight and corporate shenanigans that have been making such a mess out of things. The most obvious connection has been between the cancellation of Kirby’s Fourth World Saga back in the 70s, and the apparent triumph of the forces of Apokolips (a connection that Kirby himself made), but there have been a number of others. Now, in Final Crisis: Superman Beyond, Morrison seems to be dropping hints that the DC Universe is going to somehow be saved from commercialization and violent grim ‘n’ grittiness by the end of this series. Now that’ll be a neat trick.

In the main Final Crisis storyline, a bomb went off in the Daily Planet offices, causing serious injury to Lois Lane. Superman sits at her bedside, keeping her alive by massaging her heart with his heat vision, unable to leave or she’ll die. As this series begins, though, Superman is visited by Zillo Valla, a “Monitor”, one of the extradimensional beings who watch over the multiverse, and to whom we were introduced in “Countdown”. She’s stopped time to allow Superman to join her on a desperate mission that will somehow impact the Crisis; if he helps her, she can provide a means of saving Lois’s life. Superman signs on board Zillo’s vessel (which resembles a certain familiar yellow submarine) with a number of other versions of himself, including a violent, evil antimatter Superman, a Nazi Superman, a guy who bears a suspicious resemblance to Doctor Manhattan, and, interestingly enough, the kiddie version of Captain Marvel we’ve recently seen relaunched by Jeff Smith and Mike Krunkel. Almost immediately, they find themselves pursued by the forces of the “Dark Monitor” (in other words, the Anti-Monitor from Crisis on Infinite Earths) and are forced to flee into the “arteries” between time and space (in other words, the gutters between comic panels).

There’s more–a lot more–and all of it filled to bursting with an extra-strength dose of Morrison’s wild imagination. We get a brief tour of the 52 Universes (for the first time since 52 itself, I believe), as well as some background on the monitors, and a seeming confirmation that, yes, evil is destined to win this particular conflict. And, as you’ve probably heard, it’s all in 3-D. When all of this is put together, it can be a little hard on the ol’ noggin, even for regular Morrison readers, but hey–better a hypercompressed comic loaded with ideas that you have to read several times than a bland, decompressed fight comic, right?

Morrison has had an odd stewardship of Superman for the past couple of years, writing the out-of-continuity “All-Star Superman” which has nevertheless come to redefine the character. In some ways this book seems like the culmination of what he was doing there, but whereas All-Star is optimistic, classicist, and generally warm and fuzzy, this story has a queasy sense of unease about it…like an acid trip that’s just starting to go bad. A big part of that is Doug Mahnke’s artwork. What I find interesting about Mahnke is that he’s able to replicate classical superhero draftsmanship, but he adds a subtle sense of underlying chaos and detail that brings it down to a more tactile level, and not always in a pleasant way. You get the impression that his characters really do engage in bodily processes like breathing and shedding skin flakes, that metals in his world rust, that food goes bad. Frank Quitely, of All-Star Superman, has some of the same style, but Mahnke’s work has a certain underlying…unwholesomeness to it. He’s a perfect fit with this material, showing us a vast, cosmic mythology worthy of DC’s past, but making us feel that things are on the verge of going very, very wrong indeed.

Speaking of Mahnke, he also drew Morrison’s Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein, and his depiction of a decaying, superior civilization in this book seems drawn from Seven Soldiers. In fact, there are a ton of echoes, callbacks and reflections of pretty much all of Morrison’s past work for DC, even The Invisibles (“Ultramenstruum” is mentioned as the Macguffin of the series). As I believe Morrison himself mentioned in an interview, this may not be the “final crisis” for the DCU as a whole, but it’s the culmination, and (mostly) the conclusion, of his own work for the company. One thing’s for certain, then: however the DCU stands at the end of Final Crisis, it’ll be a lot less weird without Morrison in it. Pity.

4 out of 5 Vikings.

[Raided] X-Factor: Layla Miller (one-shot)

Posted by Graig on August 29, 2008

(Marvel)

Something’s awry with the ongoing X-Factor series of late. Not, it’s not the drastic shift in artwork (to a seemingly long-out-of-practice Larry Stroman), or the sudden 6-months later jump, or the move from Mutant Town to Detroit, but rather a key player in the success of the series is gone, but certainly not forgotten. Layla Miller. You know. The “I know stuff” girl. Perhaps the most endearing new comic book character of the past few years, she was last seen about six months ago, abandoned in a future where everything went wrong for mutants. This one-shot picks up a little while later, with Layla still incarcerated in a mutant concentration camp. But, as we know, she knows stuff, and manipulates events not only to aide in her own escape but to accelerate the mutant revival and a civil overthrowing of the increasingly totalitarian government (led by, apparently, Donald Sutherland). The art by Valenine De Landro, Andrew Hennessy and Craig Yeung is in complete fitting with the X-Factor art style that populated the first two and a half years of that book (even with a high rotation of art teams, there was still a sense of consistency), and feels so much more like Peter David’s X-Factor than the main title of late. What does this prove? That I might enjoy reading a Layla Miller-centric title than a book about a group of mutant private investigators. Let’s hope for a speedy return.

4 out of 5 Vikings

DCU: Last Will And Testament (one-shot)

Posted by Graig on August 28, 2008

(DC)

The really big names, the Ennis’ and Morrisons and Ellis’ and Gaiman’s get where they are by delivering the unexpected, mainly by using/making/remaking C- or D-list characters and finding that spark in them, lifting them aloft into A-list, or at least B-list, territory (for a time, anyway). The Demon. Animal Man. Stormwatch. The Sandman. Many of these creators continue on to redefine maligned properties, seeing inspiration where others don’t, having an affinity for a minor player that bolsters a book well beyond it’s original creative intent. It may not always be where they get the most attention, but it does bring out some of their most entertaining work.

Brad Meltzer, isn’t necessarily a name you’d fit amongst the mainstream’s luminaries; his output sporadic, his contributions often as questionable as they are inspired (see Dr. Light/Sue Dibney/Justice League of America). It’s clear by what he has done that he’s a fan of the mid-80’s comics from Jerry Conway, Mike Barr and Marv Wolfman, team books all, where certain characters seem overshadowed or underdeveloped. Just looking at his team selection for his Justice League revamp, you can tell who those were: Vixen, Red Tornado, Speedy, Black Lightning, and Geo Force.

However, the New York Times bestselling author is dabbling without really applying himself and he hasn’t stuck with anything long enough to champion these characters above their lowly status. But here, in this unofficial Final Crisis tie-in, he nails one of them to the proverbial cross, raising their status, lifting them up amongst many of their peers. It’s not enough to tell a good story with a crappy character, you have to make people give a damn, and dammit, I think I now care about Geo-Force.

One thing I have to say about Meltzer is the guy can write a damn fine narrative. He may not be able to craft the best action sequences or ever take full advantage of what superheroes and comic books can offer, but he knows how to get into characters’ heads, he knows how to set a mood, building tension through setting and pacing, and he can certainly weave disparate strands into an admirable whole. That’s exactly what he does here.

As the story is set up, the world looks like it’s about to end, it could very well be everyone’s final day, and it seems everyone is preparing for it. In close proximity to Morrison’s Final Crisis that’s obviously the connection, but it could just as well be Crisis on Infinite Earths or Final Night or Zero Hour or any other of the Earth-decimating threats that have occurred (or will occur). Meltzer keeps it vague intentionally, and it helps the book stand-alone in a sense, although it will likely send continuity-minded fanboys into a tizzy. The story centers on Geo-Force who will spend his last night seeking revenge on Deathstroke for killing his sister, Terra, lo those many years ago. Everyone warns Geo-Force that he’s completely outclassed, despite his incredible power, and also that revenge is the least heroic of actions. Geo-Force struggles with his decision, but feels the weight of the plans he’s set in motion pulling him forward. Can he best Slade Wilson? Doubtful. But eventually he realizes that in losing, he can still win.

Interspersed throughout are moments between Wonder Woman and Donna Troy, Batman, Robin and Nightwing, Superman and Pa Kent, Green Arrow and Roy Harper, and others which highlight these characters and what they perceive to be, perhaps, their final moments. It’s not as dark as it could have been, which is surprising, and it is quite touching at time (if a little empty, knowing that the good guys will eventually win), even providing some interesting counterpoints to the central story, and adding to the overall building atmosphere of the book (it’s an interesting bait and switch, where Meltzer builds the mood around the end of the world, but substitutes the conflict between Brion and Slade instead.

The art is an intriguing amalgam of Adam Kubert, and inkers Jon Dell and Joe Kubert. The elder Kubert’s influence is obvious and provides an anachronistic feel to the book. Though not always the most attractive looking, it services the story well, flowing along with the copious text boxes naturally.

Although there’s a resolution to the conflict between Geo-Force and Deathstroke, it’s definitely not the end of the story. That end of the world is happening elsewhere, and the impact of Geo-Force’s decision will no doubt continue on in Batman and the Outsiders (as we are so told), but if Meltzer really wanted to see a journey for Geo-Force and the Outsiders through, he would be taking over the reigns of the maligned series, and I just don’t see that happening. For all the heights that he has lifted the character to, he’s just as quickly going to fall afterwards, and (to my surprise) it’s really too bad.

4 out of 5 Vikings

Punisher MAX #60 and #61

Posted by Jeb on August 27, 2008

(Marvel)

As torch-passings go, this one’s been pretty quiet. I think many of us imagined Garth Ennis wrapping up his run on The Punisher with an apocalyptic finale, to be followed by an issue or two from one of Marvel’s big-gun crime writers (Bendis and Brubaker, for example, are among the best in the biz) to provide some buzz and sales boost, and offset the disappointment of Ennis’ departure. Instead, before we here at Rack Raids even got our heads around #60, the sendoff to both Ennis and artist Goran Parlov, here comes #61, featuring the first of their successor teams, veteran crime novelist Gregg Hurwitz and artist Laurence Campbell.

Of course, it’s been obvious for the past few months that Ennis had something different in mind for the end of his run than the explosive bloodbath many of us were expecting. The key to this last storyline, “Valley Forge, Valley Forge,” was the conspirators’ belief that the one enemy Frank Castle could never bring himself to kill was soldiers of the United States Army, and while the past few issues haven’t lacked for action, it’s mostly been a matter of Frank cleverly managing to incapacitate the GI’s sent after him, short of killing. And, sure enough, in #59, we saw how that cost him his freedom, leaving him helpless in the power of his enemies… or almost. Because the corrupt generals who determined to save their skins by bringing Frank down entrusted the job to a man of conscience, and with Colonel Howe now in control of Frank’s fate, Ennis’ Punisher story comes full circle, linking this storyline with the Born miniseries, as well as stirring echoes from many of the past 59 issues.

If this final story arc has a weakness, it’s the lack of integration of the text piece that flows through it: as a précis of the mistakes of Vietnam, it’s rather bland compared with the deeply personal vision of The Punisher himself. With Ennis having shown us Frank’s birth in Vietnam, he couldn’t bring the story to a close with anything short of the bitterness and helpless fury that the war still clearly evokes in Ennis himself. As a conclusion, it leaves us in no doubt that the cathartic violence of a Frank Castle is a puny weapon compared with the evil within the human soul, or the sense of honor and duty that can, all too rarely, transcend it.

The first thing to note about issue #61 is that Hurwitz and Campbell are really in a no-win situation: hewing closely to Ennis’ approach, or diverging from it, are equally likely to bring criticism from this book’s faithful (based on the sales figures, almost maniacally so) readership. I think that Ennis pretty much decided that for them, though: “Valley Forge, Valley Forge” was so thoroughly tied in to Ennis’ vision of Vietnam, and the questions of moral responsibility that remain unanswered in its wake, that any other writer was going to have to regard that as a closed chapter and move on.

So, in issue #61, we’re almost meeting The Punisher for the first time all over again. I have no idea if Hurwitz or his successors have any plans to use any of the characters from Ennis’ run, but I would think it unlikely. What this issue gives us is not a continuation of the broad sweep and social indictment that fueled Ennis, but the beginning of a down-and-dirty crime tale that bleeds elements of the classic Western.

Part of that is due to the setting: a Mexican border town, ravaged by the kidnapping of its young women, none of whom ever return… alive. But in larger part it’s the role that’s been given Frank here: the man of his hands who can’t get involved with the problems of those weaker than he– see Destry Rides Again, Shane, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (or Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s “Old Man Logan,” running currently in Wolverine). When the townspeople make contact with Frank, he turns them down because he’s not a hitman or bodyguard. And, at that point, we can plot the rest of the issue ourselves: the disappointed townsfolk cower in fear, one old man is bold enough to stand up to the predators, he is cut down mercilessly… and just as all hope is lost, there looms The Punisher, ready to take on evil in the name of the powerless.

That the book resists easy dismissal based on its time-worn plot is due largely to Campbell’s art (he did last year’s Punisher MAX Annual). He gives Frank’s interior dialogue shadings dark enough to mask some of the purple in Hurwitz’ prose, and his depiction of the old man who goes to his death to fight for what’s right is as shattering as it is predictable.

And we can’t pass over what might be the most jarring transition from the old team: Tim Bradstreet is no longer doing the iconic covers. Any replacement was going to be a difficult transition, but I have to say that Dave Johnson’s cover art here seems more suited to the Punisher War Journal book than Punisher MAX.

You’d be hard pressed to ask for a more complete break with Ennis’ version of The Punisher than the one Hurwitz gives us here: hard-boiled genre variations don’t seem to be the sort of thing that holds Ennis’ attention.. On the other hand, Hurwitz is very proficient with the conventions of the genre, and knows Frank well enough that The Punisher doesn’t seem out of place here. Last year, Hurwitz turned out a tough, tense, blood-soaked MAX revival of Marvel’s Foolkiller, and readers of his novels know he’s got the chops. I’m guessing that future issues of this run won’t be as easy to predict as this first one was.

Punisher #60:

Punisher #61:

[Raided] X-Men Origins: Jean Grey one-shot

Posted by Jeb on August 25, 2008

(Marvel)

No offense to the folks that enjoy them, but I really don’t need any more of these Marvel Origin/Mythos type stories– I was reading the damn X-Men when the “origin” actually took place, thank you very much, and I just don’t get much out of these revamped retellings. But after seeing an online preview of the first few pages of this comic, I had to check this one out… and holy hell, is Mike Mayhew’s art impressive. His work here is right up there with Bryan Hitch’s Fantastic Four and Chris Weston’s The Twelve as the best superhero art I’ve seen so far this year. I’ve always enjoyed Mayhew’s covers (Magneto as the King of Spain was a pretty good joke, and I loved all his She-Hulk stuff), but wasn’t at all prepared for the quality of his sequential work. The paneling and layout are both imaginative and logical, and his command of facial expression is nearly the equal of Terry Moore’s. The book doesn’t lack for impressive action scenes, either, and for an artist to actually get me to enjoy a Danger Room scene is no small feat. In a way, X-Men Origins: Jean Grey suggests to me the sort of effect Greg Land is striving for, but without the pornface and runway posing and spot-the-celebrity references. And within the limitations of this kind of book, Sean McKeever does a good job with the script, presenting a version of Jean Grey’s youth and eventual arrival at Xavier’s school that mixes established canon, bits from the movies, and a new storyline that gives her a tragic underpinning that seems completely unnecessary, though well laid out. Even if you share my lack of interest in yet another version of how Charles Xavier recruited the X-Men, you really should take a look at this comic.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Trade Winds] The Apocalipstix

Posted by Adam on August 24, 2008

(Oni Press)

Comic books frequently strive to be dementedly imaginative, satirical, and edgy, and I can’t think of a better way to instantly grant these qualities to a comic than by setting it in a post-apocalyptic scenario. Instantly, your book gains a veneer of punk-rock coolness and wry satire, as the end of civilization transforms America and the human race into twisted, exaggerated versions of themselves. It also provides a venue for SF adventure, which, depending on how over-the-top the authors are willing to pitch it, can allow for just about anything to happen, and a minimal need to explain it.

On the other hand, this particular subgenre was always tied pretty closely to the cold war, with its promise of total annihilation from nuclear weaponry. While mankind never stopped being technically able to wipe itself out, even after the Berlin Wall came down, a full-scale nuclear exchange seems pretty unlikely these days. That’s why post-apocalyptic tales have had to find new ways to end the world, like killer plagues, zombies, and, um, dragons. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Trade Winds] Tiki Joe Mysteries vol.1 : The High-Stakes Patsy

Posted by Graig on August 21, 2008

(SLG Publishing)

Using nostalgia in storytelling is tricky. Longing for an idealized past or place can be used and abused by storytellers to create an immediate connection with an audience, but it so many cases it rings hollow. The wistful oversimplification of a time or place can raise a viewer or reader’s hackles as often as it comforts them. The phrase “you can’t go home again” is overly simplistic, yes, but an accurate one, as recreating a time or place in a film or book can only happen to a certain extent, and negotiating the reality with the glorified fictionalization is the greatest challenge. Everything changes, and as years pass, what has occurred since will influence everything that results beyond. You can’t make a science fiction film exactly like Forbidden Planet today, or write hard-boiled pulp fiction like you could in the 1930’s, or make a TV show like Leave It To Beaver… and if you tried, the modern audience just won’t accept it, because it wouldn’t be authentic. You can however do it through a filter, like Quentin Tarantino, or Frank Miller or the creators of Mad Men, where you’re embracing aspects of a time or place but re-contextualizing for a modern audience.

But that’s not the path that writer/artist Mark Murphy has taken… there’s nothing filtered about the nostalgia in Tiki Joe Mysteries. The new book from SLG Publishing presents a pair of tales that are obviously influenced by the Rat Pack (even says so on the back cover) and their movies, but strives for nothing more than to earnestly emulate the post-War/pre-Kennedy Vegas swagger of Martin, Davis, Sinatra and Bishop. And somehow it works.

Murphy, in cobbling together his two stories, ignores modern influences, from dialogue to illustration techniques. The clean look of the book is a match with black and white newspaper strips of the 60’s, akin to Jim Holdaway on Modesty Blaise or John McClusky on James Bond, Murphy no doubt using film and photo references to capture setting, wardrobe and style of the time. The adventures Joe Halliday, war veteran and tiki-themed bar owner, finds himself in are equally steeped in the culture of the era. In the first, Joe finds himself put under the thumb of mob thugs seeking protection money, but, naturally, Joe and his army buddies aren’t about to just roll over. In the second, a quintet of beautiful stunt cyclists descend upon Vegas at the same time as the father of Joe’s main squeeze is exhibiting a precious diamond. As expected, the diamond disappears, and Joe and co. are on the case.

Both stories are unapologetically predictable, but it’s not about creating something different, and it’s not about homage or even really nostalgia. It’s a meticulous re-creation not just of a time or a place, but a specific type of story with a specific cast done in a specific style, with specific dialogue and mannerisms. It comes together as authentic, not approximation or parody. Murphy succeeds 100% at what he strives for, which is to make a comic book knock-off of the Rat Pack starring in serialized adventures. There’s no commenting on the politics of the Sixties, there’s nary a nod or wink to the audience about any retro cool pastiche, and there’s nothing to imply that there’s anything more to it than what’s presented. In fact, if I hadn’t been told otherwise, I could swear that the book was reprinting actual 1960’s material.

I don’t think you could do that as effectively anywhere else as in comics. It would be very difficult to write a whole book in the same prose as they were written in the 1960’s (dialogue yes, but otherwise the conventions of language have just changed so much). You couldn’t easily do an earnest movie replicating the Rat Pack, because you would be using stars who act in a modern way and speak in a modern way, and shooting the film would be done in a modern way with a modern crew and modern technology. Things evolve to the point that doing them the old way is not just impractical but sometimes impossible. But in comics, you can have Frank and Sammy live again through imagery and word balloons, you can recreate a setting truthfully, you can mimic dialogue with a well-attuned ear, and you can illustrate a book in much the same way they were done decades before. You can actually approach authenticity.

Yes, it’s stiff and predictable and a little hokey, just like Dean and Joey were, and that is the charm of Tiki Joe Mysteries. It’s an impressive work, not just because of Murphy’s ability to resurrect a style, a culture, and a time (or as it is represented in the entertainment of the era), but because he also makes it enthusiastically enjoyable. If you appreciate and enjoy watching post-war movies, from Alfred Hitchcock to Russ Meyer, then Tiki Joe is a welcoming read.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] Secret Invasion Tie-Ins: Thor #1/Inhumans #1/X-Men #1

Posted by Jeb on August 20, 2008

(Marvel)

Given that comic book sales figures are based on advance orders, and thus reflective of reader anticipation rather than actual reader response, it would seem likely that much of the success of Marvel’s Secret Invasion event has been the elegant simplicity of its premise: “Anyone might be the enemy. Who can you trust?” And as the core story of the Skrull invasion plays out in the main title, it’s left to the inevitable ancillary books to offer alternative views of, or shed light on, the central storyline while still functioning as standalone tales. In the past, these spinoff minis have often served as proving grounds for new talent; for Secret Invasion, though, Marvel’s brought out a number of pretty big guns, and given them enough storytelling leeway that the resulting books are more than just grace notes, or dangling appendages, to the main series, but worthwhile on their own merits.

One of Marvel’s best recent moves was taking Thor off the board for a couple of years, then bringing him back in an engaging and imaginative new series from J. Michael Straczynski and Oliver Coipel. Given their unique take on the character (as well as Asgard’s potential to unbalance the forces arrayed against the Skrulls and bring the war to a sudden, screeching halt), I had wondered if this mini would serve as anything more than a holding action to explain just why Thor and company aren’t jumping into the fray. Writer Matt Fraction ignores that, sending the Skrulls hurtling headlong into collision with godly forces, but with a story surprisingly filled with more heart and intrigue than you’d expect in 22 pages of spinoff. He takes immediately to Don Blake, defining this human aspect of the Thunder God quickly and deftly. He also picks up the threads of Straczynski’s ongoing series smoothly, and brings back one of the most beloved characters in the series’ history. Doug Braithewaite gives us an Asgard of somewhat rougher texture than we’re used to (perhaps fitting since the place currently resides above Oklahoma), with a gritty power that’s more Buscema than Kirby. And don’t be surprised if the events of this story wind up having implications on the Marvel U past the three issues of this miniseries.

The Inhumans spinoff works almost in reverse from that of Thor: instead of events that will shape the Marvel Universe in the future, we step back for a glimpse at a hidden link from the Illuminati to World War Hulk to the Secret Invasion itself. Heroes writer Joe Pokaski doesn’t get as far under the skin of the Inhumans as Fraction does the Asgardians, and so far his story’s a pretty straightforward “Who do you trust?” outing, with the usual banter and bickering among Gorgon and the gang, and lashings of mad ambition from good old Maximus. But I can never get enough of the Inhumans, and the last panel raises enough questions that readers who want to know more about the Skrull invasion will be intrigued to pick up the next issue… if Tom Raney’s gorgeous art hasn’t already sold them. He has the Inhumans down pat (you’ll swear the guy has been waiting his whole career to draw Medusa’s hair), and also uses a neat trick of showing the religious/spiritual foundations of the conflict between Skrull and Kree (progenitors of the Inhumans) as a series of stained glass windows.

And who else might we expect to explore the religious side of the conflict than Lucifer creator Mike Carey? The Skrull fleet that hits San Francisco in issue #1 of the X-Men spinoff is blessed by a “soul shepherd” and assured by its leader that by participating in the war, the soldiers are already “saints.” Still, Carey doesn’t wade too deeply in these waters. He brings on the X-Men (newly relocated to the Bay Area), and steps aside to let Cary Nord and Dave McCaig deliver the most deliriously giddy action scenes that any of the Secret Invasion books have seen so far. This issue is an absolute riot of color and spectacle, with the feel of the best of the Claremont-Byrne epics, but leading into issue #2 on notes of darkness, and despair, that are earned, not forced.

As you might expect, you can follow Secret Invasion just fine without having read any of these books. What you might not have expected is that all three series promise to be satisfying reads on their own, even if you never pick up the main title.

Secret Invasion: Thor. Three and a half Vikings

Secret Invasion: Inhumans. Three and a half Vikings

Secret Invasion: X-Men. Four Vikings

ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction #1

Posted by Adam on August 18, 2008

(Red 5)

Hi, I’m Adam. I’m the only comics reader in the universe who isn’t utterly sick of zombies at this point. This is because I haven’t read any of the recent zombie books–not because I have anything against the subgenre, it just happened to work out that way. As a result of all this, I think I’m in a pretty good position to review this comic dispassionately and with no bias…but then, since there are so many zombie books out there, maybe mine is the minority opinion.

Put simply, this is a modern war comic with zombies, which immediately calls to mind the “Masters of Horror” episode “Homecoming”. That episode, while insightful and funny, didn’t really click for me; the problem is that if you portray the zombies as sympathetic Iraq war veterans who are there for political reasons, you don’t really allow for the kind of rampaging carnage that is the genre’s raison d’etre. Nevertheless, satire is ingrained in the zombie genre at this point, so it was inevitable that someone would try and combine current events with the zombie genre again. But who would have guessed it would be the writer of Underworld? WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Raided] Batman #679 (RIP)

Posted by Eric on August 13, 2008

(DC Comics)

Zur-en-arrh, eh?

Grant Morrison, you’re in a very small minority of writers that can have the editorial and artistic leeway granted by the publisher of a major character to do anything you desire. And you don’t waste a panel, do you? There’s definitely a part of me as a reader that gets excited about the unlikely idea of Bat-mite providing the exposition in a Batman comic published in 2008, but there’s another part of me that wonders how new readers or people unfamiliar with the Bat mythos will receive something as far out as this. I mean, all in all the story of Batman RIP is fairly straightforward; a group called the Black Glove is trying to destroy Bruce Wayne and Batman while ruining everything in his life. The motivations behind that, and how the plan came together are still mysteries, but it’s the details and how the story is getting from A to B that is why this book is worth reading. I’ve made it in no ways unclear that I’ve absolutely loved this story arc thus far, and when all is said and done I think it’s going to blow us away. That being said, I was wondering in which issue was the story going to drag ever so slightly, but enough that it’s noticed due to the ridiculous pace the first three issues put forth. While the first issue’s main criticism was it retread on plot points that had already been established for the sake of getting new readers to catch-up, this book takes a break from the revelations and twists to set up the last two issues which seem as though they’re going to revolve around the Joker and the ultimate destruction of Bruce Wayne. As with the rest of this story, this issue had it’s reasons and place in the arc, but we’ll have to wait a few weeks to see where it’s all heading. The issue is good, the art is great and for the next installment I cannot wait… See what I did there?

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] NewUniversal 1959 (One-Shot)

Posted by Sean on August 12, 2008

(Marvel)

I don’t know anything about writer Warren Ellis’ re-imagining of Marvel’s “New Universe” line from the 1980s, which is the larger backdrop for this one-shot. I just know that the cover had a “noir” look to it and that my dealer told me that it was a solid “superhero noir” story that stands on its own. He was right. NewUniversal 1959 is a solid superhero noir (more noir than superhero) tale that can be taken on its own terms. What do I mean by “superhero noir”? Well, let me put it this way - within the first three pages Tony Stark takes a bullet point blank to the head, which serves as our introduction to the story’s “protagonist” Philip Voight, a dedicated, ambitious and pragmatic NSA agent convinced that the super-powered beings slowly starting to emerge in America pose not only a national security threat, but a threat to human existence itself. Imagine Ed Exley from LA Confidential (more the novel than the movie) with no restraint and you get an idea. Voight is a complex and compelling character, truly convinced that the means he employs will justify the end result - undoubtedly the hero of his own story, but, ultimately, alone with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Writer Kieron Gillen does a great with the limited number of pages he’s given to craft an engaging, atmospheric and complete noir tale about fear, paranoia, obsession and the downward spiral of moral ambiguity. I’d read a Philip Voight ongoing by Gillen, especially if Greg Scott and Kody Chamberlin (quickly becoming one of my favorite noir artists) continued to handle the artwork. Recommended.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Two-Edged Sword - Sean’s Take] Hulk #5

Posted by Sean on August 10, 2008

(Marvel)

I’m not a huge superhero fan, but I dig this comic quite a bit. The series so far has been little more than a string of superhero title matches — featuring Red Hulk squaring off against Green Hulk, the Abomination, Iron Man and (in this issue) Thor — and, to be honest, I appreciate the simplicity of it in our Secret Invasion/Final Crisis comic book landscape. Titans colliding. Twenty-two pages of big screen action. It makes the book accessible. Anyone can pick up any issue of this series and at the very least get an entertaining, no-holds-barred, superhero brawl. That says something. What’s more, Red Hulk makes one hell of a heel. He’s an unstoppable, hilarious, arrogant prick, and anyone that’s ever watched wrestling will tell you, ya’ gotta have a great heel in the ring to sell the match. Compared to previous issues, Ed McGuinness’ art here looks a tad rushed, but he still nails the explosive double-page spreads and action pieces. This is the closest thing to a “one-and-done” that Marvel is publishing right now. A real blast.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Trade Winds] Shmobots OGN

Posted by Graig on August 9, 2008

(BOOM! Studios)

I hope writer Adam Rifkin isn’t really trying to make some serious or pointed cultural analogy in his first graphic novel, Shmobots, because if he is, it’s the most racist comic I’ve ever read!

That get your attention? I’m not totally serious, but I did find myself wondering just what the point Rifkin was trying to make while reading the book. Shmobots takes place in an alternate world where the government decided to have robots perform all tedious labor (picking up trash, cleaning dishes or toilets etc.). The problem is they sourced it out to the cheapest firm, who skimped on the manufacturing process (must be set in America, because in Canada, our government always pays way too much for everything), but instead of receiving a tireless workforce, society wound up with a whole new class of citizens (”mechanical-Americans”), lazy slackers, given a programmed sense of free will which has evolved into an unjustified sense of entitlement (Shmos - defined as “a stupid or obnoxious person”, hence “Shmobots”). They’re angry, they’re useless, they’re annoying, and it’s hard to escape the parallels to stereotypes of some immigrant populations. You also have to wonder about the inspiration/motivation behind taking away jobs that are usually performed by an immigrant population (the jobs “regular folk” are too good for), both legal and illegal alike. Sounds like a grand Republican scheme to deter further illegal immigration, but that’s neither here nor there. To its detriment, the book doesn’t actually tackle such delicate matters, but instead is a variation of the slacker/stoner movie and is out to have a good time, and (I believe) sincerely means no harm.

Though the satire may be lacking, the exploration of the Shmobots and their integration into society is a lot of fun (especially once I relaxed a little). Centered around three robots - Rusty, Eyeballs and 69.5 - and their equally slacker human roommate, Miles, the quartet rehearse in their garage, pine over women, discuss topics inanely, and generally loaf around failing to contribute to society. Rusty has his eyes set on a human cashier at the egg salad fast-food joint they frequent, despite the fact that she absolutely despises him. 69.5 goes out to get an actual job, but finds that he can’t overcome society’s prejudice towards his kind. Miles goes to see his dad, a doorman at a hoity-toity building, to hit him up for cash, instigating only conflict. Eyeballs, well, he has the car. Meanwhile, there’s a Shmobot Killer in town, which has the bulk of the human public rather enthused and glued to the media coverage, but remains the police’s top priority. In another sub-plot, there’s Marshall Rumplebaum, a balding husband and father who discovers his wife has been cheating on him… with Linc, the robot who messed up painting all the house numbers on their street. Marshall is sent into a tizzy, both about the cheating and what she was cheating on him with. It all coalesces nicely as the quartet gear up for their “big gig” upon which all their hopes and aspirations lay. Of course, given the tone of the book, it’s not going to fare well. Along the way they find themselves harassed by rednecks, getting kicked out of strip bars, and winding up before the bolt cutters of the Shmobot Killer.

Although far from groundbreaking, Rifkin has created an sub-genre that takes all the clichéd conversations of pot-addled college drop-outs and puts it in the mouths of robots, and the effect is actually quite hilarious. The exploration of the many ideas behind the general public’s reaction to Shmobots is present, but thin, but the decision probably was made that further exploitation of the “racism” theme would be, like, a bummer dude.

The art by Les Toil is ingenious, capturing a retro-50’s pastiche in the robot designs and color scheme (and even sound effects), even though the book is set in a contemporary setting. Toil is able to get nuance out of static robots brilliantly, each having their own peculiar physical or facial quirks which allow them to emote, but unlike normal human expression (think of the variety of robots in Futurama and you’re on the right track). His designs are wonderful (not just on the robots, but on buildings, cars, signs, clothes, tv shows) and his storytelling fluid and engrossing. Toil also seeds the book with a lot of clever backgrounds and nuanced imagery to nice comedic effect. He’s not a flashy artist, but he certainly knows his way around the page, and sells the story way beyond what I’m sure even Rifkin imagined.

I would be more impressed by Shmobots had it actually approached some of the more serious themes it sidesteps, but as it stands it’s tremendously entertaining. Plus, it gives us Kitten TV, which may be an even greater pop-culture invention than the Shmobots themselves.

4 out of 5 Vikings

( Note: BOOM! is currently serializing Shmobots on their website, updating a page a day)

[Raided] Robin #176, Nightwing #147, Detective Comics #847

Posted by Graig on August 8, 2008

(DC)

Otherwise known as “this week in “Batman R.I.P.”, three of the “Bat-verse” titles have all hit the stands, each touting their affiliation to the non-event of “R.I.P.” happening over in Grant Morrison’s Batman run. From everything I’ve read, be it on-line or the books themselves, I do get the sense that “R.I.P.” was not intended as a massive crossover, but a self-contained story, and that the changes that may affect the character in the central Bat-title was deemed so integral that it influenced the publishers to inflict them upon the other titles that share characters and environments, but not after the fact, instead during. Rumor has it that’s why Chuck Dixon got the boot off Robin and Batman and the Outsiders, but it’s a moot point to belabor because they’re both trucking along without him.

Robin #176 concludes its two-part “R.I.P.” tie-in, which, given how little it actually reveals, was an abrupt and mildly annoying shift from what Dixon was doing with the title. Fabian Nicieza has taking up writing chores, and on such short notice, I’ll admit, has done an admirable job. He’s managed to quickly capture the feel of Robin while also lacing in a bunch of threads fed to him from corporate to loosely tie it to Morrison’s work. In the two-parter, Robin is trying to cope with the fact that Batman has mysteriously disappeared (assuming as a result of what’s happening over in the main “R.I.P” story) and with the recently returned Spoiler side-kicking along is trying to track his mentor down. Nicieza has quickly turned Robin grim and sullen, whereas Dixon had been restoring some lightheartedness, fun, and general teenage shenanigans to the title, which is unfortunate (and leaves speculation about whether Tim Drake will be taking up as the Dark Knight). Nicieza’s take works, but I liked Dixon’s better. The title is also exploring some of the concepts introduced back in 52 but left abandoned by most writers, and teases at bringing in some of the Jason Toddedness of Countdown. it’s a very loose connection to “R.I.P.” though, and that it concludes its tie-in well before the Batman “R.I.P.” run ends, leaves it somewhat hollow and unessential.

Over in Nightwing #147, a new storyline begins, bringing Two-Face to New York in search of Nightwing’s help in rescuing a former love interest of Harvey’s from mob bosses who want her dead (because she is that tired cliche of key witness in a court case). Of course, things aren’t exactly what they seem (they never are with someone called Two-Face), and Dick finds the danger far more serious than he’s prepared to deal with. It’s another high-action, borderline-absurd romp from Peter J. Tomasi, who is absolutely keen on making the title as action-packed as possible, no matter how many conventions of the genre he has to flagrantly use. Tomasi’s dialogue has in previous issues been fun, but it’s pretty tin-eared this issue. Artist Don Kramer has usurped “series regular” Rags Morales as penciller, but he’s a decent substitute. As for the “R.I.P.” connection, it’s non-existent, and seems more a cash-in on Two-Face’s role in the The Dark Knight movie. I expect, though, an “R.I.P.” connection will start making its way then usurping the story by it’s third chapter.

Meanwhile, Paul Dini is still doing his thing in Detective Comics #847, and like Nightwing seems to be affiliated with “R.I.P.” in trade-dress only. Issue 847 continues “Hush Returns”, Dini’s first story arc since taking on DC’s second-oldest title two years ago. As is typical, Dini is focusing on the bad guy, delving into Hush’s childhood, his burgeoning hatred of Bruce Wayne, and introducing a mentor, who certainly hasn’t been doing Tommy Elliott any favors in the mental health department. In further disassociation from “R.I.P.”, Batman, Robin and Nightwing are all together battling The Wonderland Gang, while simultaneously discussing the danger of Hush’s presence since he know’s their secret identities. A sweet little scene between Zatanna and Selena Kyle has the two (verbally, no, ahem, catfight here) hashing out Bruce Wayne’s lovelife. Dini’s certainly threading together a few clever plot and character ideas, and is executing them as nicely as most of his previous run on the series. The issue takes no pains to connect to current events of Robin, Nightwing and Batman, and the “R.I.P.” banner seems to undermine the great work Dini is doing by stretching to connect it to Morrison’s work.

So, there we go, three titles, each featuring the same dripping-blod-bat header and each barely, if at all, connected to another story that was actually meant to stand apart. It’s kind of insulting to the reader and the writer of the books, a cheap market ploy, a manufactured event where none existed. Dini’s Detective is, for now, a solid, stand-apart venue for some Bat-storytelling if the whole R.I.P. thing isn’t your cup’o'tea.

Robin - 2.5/5 Vikings

Nightwing - 2.5/5 Vikings

Detective Comics - 4/5 Vikings