[Raided] Fables #76

Posted by Graig on September 26, 2008

(Vertigo)

My interest in the latest issue of Fables was more for scientific reasons than personal curiosity or entertainment purposes. I read and enjoyed the first 40-ish issues via trade paperback off my girlfriend’s (now wife’s) shelf but kind of fell behind on reading her monthly issues and have never caught up. I’ve been interested in the idea of accessibility in comics lately, and knowing that issue #75 was intended to be the big (extra-sized) wrap-up to the grand series masterplan, I suspected issue #76 would be the logical place for a new or returning reader to jump back on. Turns out, not so much. To me, this issue reads as an epilogue, as the Adversary comes to the world of Mundys and doesn’t at all like what he see. Essentially he’s a curmudgeonly old man, looking at the world through the eyes of someone unable to accept change. What this unspeakably evil dictator will become is either the grouchy guy sitting on the front steps saying “What’s so good about it” when someone says “Good day” or he’ll be plotting the Fables’ downfall. Really it could go either way, and writer Bill Willingham isn’t giving much of an indication which way it’s going. In fact this issue seems to come to a close rather abruptly, not leaving much in the way of tantalization for the following issue. As a re-establishing point for returning readers, it’s not bad, with a fair share of both humorous and dramatic moments, as well as giving a sense of Fabletown, and naturally the briefest of recapping recent happenings in the whole Fables v. Adversary conflict. But for new readers it’ll be impossibly impenetrable and certainly not a place I’d recommend starting (maybe next issue?). On the plus side, some gorgeous Mike Allred/Laura Allred fill-in art.

3 out of 5 Vikings (+1 for ongoing readers, -1 for new readers)

newuniversal: Conquerer One-Shot

Posted by Adam on August 29, 2008

(Marvel)

I’m a little confused, here. The story is that when Marvel asked Warren Ellis to consider revamping the New Universe, Ellis’s first reaction was that it made more sense to do it as a single book, and the Marvel brass agreed. As do I–from what I’ve seen, none of the original New Universe books were all that interesting, and Ellis making newuniversal a single title with a plethora of superpowered characters has made it, at the very least, a fairly substantial story. So that’s that, right?

Apparently not, because suddenly Marvel seems to be trying to turn newuniversal into a whole franchise, complete with spin-offs. A few weeks back we had “1959”, about the adventures of a federal agent (appearing in the original book as an old man) who was tasked with wiping out the sudden influx of superpowered characters 50 years ago, and apparently succeeded. Now there’s this one-shot, “Conquerer” [sic], written by “Gutsville” scribe Simon Spurrier with art by Eric Nguyen and John Rauch. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Conan the Cimmerian #1

Posted by Adam on July 28, 2008

(Dark Horse)

Conan’s back! And is a guest star in his own book!

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, this issue is largely taken up by a flashback sequence drawn by Richard Corben. The story involves Conan’s grandfather, who (according to the new backstory furnished by Kurt Busiek) was Conan’s main inspiration in deciding to head out and explore the lands to the south, so it’s not like there’s a lack of barbarian action involved here. But despite the coup of getting Richard Corben to illustrate, this is a very weird choice for the putative issue #1 of this series (even if this is, in reality, issue #51 of a previous series.)

The main story has Conan ambushed by a band of Vanir (essentially, Viking) bandits on the outskirts of his homeland, Cimmeria, to which he was returning. Rescued by the timely arrival of a mysterious hermit, Conan takes advantage of his hospitality and finds himself hearing a story of his grandfather Connacht, who the hermit apparently knew. In this tale, Connacht found himself forced to flee his tribal grounds over a dispute and coming upon a group of “bog people” in the midst of a sacrifice. After seeing a woman being throttled and cast into the swamp (a real ritual ancient Northern Europeans seem to have indulged in, by the way) Connacht finds himself unable to stand by when he realizes the woman’s two sons seem about to be sacrificed as well. Leaping into the fray, Connacht soon finds himself with two young charges for whom he’s ill-suited to look after — especially since there seems to be something distinctly wrong about the boys.

Tim Truman and artist Tomas Giorello (who illustrated the last four issues of the previous series) have been drifting further and further from Kurt Busiek’s vision, and with the launch of this retitled and renumbered book they make several more breaks, like getting rid of the typescript font used to suggest Robert E. Howard’s authorial voice (which is a shame, I liked that touch). I wonder, will Truman continue to build story arcs that weave Howard’s original stories into a larger chronology of Conan’s life? Howard never wrote about Cimmeria except as a poem (which was quoted in the previous “#0” issue), which gave it, and Conan’s past, an effectively dreamlike and ambiguous feeling. That’s partly why I wasn’t crazy about Busiek’s “Born on a Battlefield” stories, which made Conan’s history all too literal; now we’ve got an entire extended plot arc that seems to deal explicitly with Cimmeria and Conan’s past. In fact, I can’t help but wonder if the entire series is going to be this way. Heck, for all I know, Truman’s only planning a temporary stint as writer, Busiek’s going to return in a year or two, and this whole series is just an extended fill-in while he’s off writing Superman.

Not only does the structure seem to be different, but Corben’s art creates an entirely new vibe. It’s moody, dark, ominous and oddly still, even when Connacht is laying waste to his opponents. In a strange way, it captures the tone of a dark, ancient, lost world far more effectively than Giorello or Cary Nord, but at the expense of the pure vitality of the previous issues. It works, probably because this is a story of the past, even within the context of the book itself, but it’s still a big change even from the earlier pages of this issue.

Of course, obviously the basic elements of this series are never going to change: barbarian warrior romping through a landscape of dark magic and corrupt civilizations, stealing, killing and seducing women, and just basically making the cast of “300” look like a bunch of latte-sipping, turtleneck-wearing wussies. But this book is taking a marked 90-degree turn from what it was. It’s going to be interesting to see Conan filtered through a new sensibility for a while. The question remains, where do we go from here?…

3.5 out of 5 Vikings.

Firebreather #1

Posted by Max on July 17, 2008

(Image)

Hello folks! Because I’m a lazy bastard and missed my Monday deadline, I’m going to try and do a review a day Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday to make it up to you. A Herculean task no doubt, but never let it be said I didn’t give it the old college try, which should not to be confused with the new college try aka giving up and drinking a lot (Note: My preferred method). Now, on with the reviews!

First up we’ve got Firebreather from Image comics, an ongoing series continuing the adventures of Duncan Rosenblatt, the titular hero. The son of a regular woman and what appears to be a 300-ft dragon (no, that’s never explained, so I’m gonna guess very flexible), Duncan engages in the usual teenage activities; buying ice-cream, fighting his father’s combat training dummies, and then getting the crap beaten out of him by said father (who, for those not paying attention, is a big-ass dragon). While I may have some questions about the, um, mechanics of a dragon/human union, as a premise it works fine. Duncan is essentially a human kid with dragon features (including wings), and overall the story has a very Blue Beetle vibe to it. Everyone in town is familiar with Duncan and his abilities, and the whole tale, though fantastic, seems grounded in reality, including the shared custody between Duncan’s divorced parents. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Raided: Jack of Fables #22 - 23

Posted by Sean on July 6, 2008

(Vertigo)

I used to read Fables every month, but in Sean’s “Great Scale Back of 06” I cut the title from my pull-list. After reading the most recent two issues of the Fables spin-off, Jack of Fables, I’m thinking it was a bad call. Simply put, these are great characters (fully developed and complex contemporary versions of classic fairy tale figures), and great characters make for great comics. Anyway, I grabbed these issues because they feature a flashback tale of Jack Horner (basically the “Sawyer” of the Fables world) during his days as an outlaw in the Wild West, and I’m a sucker for Westerns. Writer Bill Willingham doesn’t crack the genre mold with this story, but he’s not trying to. This is a well executed and exciting “chase” story, with Jack and the Candle gang on the run from Bigby Wolf, sent from Fabletown to rein Jack’s bad behavior in no matter what the cost; and the dialogue is vintage Western (more John Ford than Sam Peckinpah if you know what I mean), which adds to the “classic” Western atmosphere. At the end of the day though, it’s all about the characters, and Jack (charming, charismatic, daring and ruthless) makes the perfect outlaw, and Bigby (stoic, relentless, tough-as-nails, unforgiving) makes the perfect lawman. I was hoping for a good Western yarn from these issues, and I got that and more — I may be adding two more titles to by pull-list now.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] Conan the Cimmerian #0

Posted by Jeb on July 1, 2008

(Dark Horse)

“Know, O Prince, that the Chronicles of the warrior named Conan continue to fatten the coffers of Dark Horse Comics. But in latter days, the darkness of complacency fell upon its disciples, and in order to revive their allegiance, Conan the Barbarian was foully slain. Behold, then, the emergence of its successor: Conan the Cimmerian.” Not that I blame Dark Horse, mind you: if the comic-buying audience is more inclined to cough up their hard-earned cash for a book with a #0 or #1 on it than a #51, then why not give it to them? So, there’s now a new Conan title, introduced here with an adaptation of Robert E Howard’s poem (!), “Cimmeria,” interspersed with a typically bloody encounter between Conan and a band of Vanir marauders. Basically, though, this is just a continuation of Dark Horse’s careful managing of the Conan license: writer Tim Truman remains Kurt Busiek’s successor while artist Tomas Giorello continues the Frazetta stylings that have been the book’s trademark. I’m of two minds about the series: on the one hand, as I say, no one can fault Dark Horse’s stewardship of the property, or the care they’ve lavished on it. On the other hand, an ongoing series framed and signposted by stories as familiar as Howard’s Conan tales tends to feel as though it’s marking time as it moves in and out of adaptations of stories that have already been told and re-told (and are still available to be read in their original format): it becomes a kind of closed system, with less room for innovation (not as though that’s a hallmark of most comics anyway). But if you’ve a love for Conan of old, or if Dark Horse is providing your introduction to the character, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s business as usual here; but that’s business of a high order, indeed.

[Trade Winds] MuZz Volume One

Posted by Graig on June 28, 2008

(SLG Publishing)

As disciples and purveyors of the form, we all know comic books are the confluence of words and pictures. At their best neither one should overpower the other, instead working in tandem to tell the story. Dialogue and narrative should compliment art, not explain it, and art should move the story, not just statically represent it. Together a clear representation of the story, character and tone should come through. But comics aren’t always at their best, and an enjoyable story isn’t always the sum of it’s parts. Often a weak writer can hide behind a talented artist, knowing the artist will embellish a scene, a character, an action that will present it in a manner that they couldn’t conceive. Similarly a weak artist can appear better paired with a talented writer, letting well-crafted words do most of the work in relaying the message to the reader. But what happens when both the dialogue and the images combat one another, when the words are unclear and the images just as abstract? Unfortunately you get MuZz, a new original graphic novel from creator FSc (Foo Swee Chin), a book where clarity from both sides is rarely forthcoming.

The plot isn’t easy to summarize, primarily because it becomes more convoluted as the story moves forward through it’s 228 pages. MuZz begins on a train, occupied any number of strange creatures, all on a journey to the mythical land of MuZz. The story’s protagonist, Farllee, a human girl, arrives disoriented, missing an eye, and unsure who or where she is. By the end of the first chapter she knows her name and has a vague sense of where she is (as does the reader), which is, I believe, akin to a purgatory for dreams, the creatures and beings each dreams long forgotten trying to find their way to a final resting place.

The train derails (somehow, the reason it does is not clear) and Farllee and her band of oddball creature-friends forge ahead on their journey, encountering nefarious beings and wondrous creatures, with the girl manifesting some powers that surprise and frighten everyone. The story progresses with many, many jarring transitions and a plethora of unintelligible dialogue filled with names of cities and people that require dedicated effort in understanding. Inevitably, Farllee winds up in the hands of someone who might be her brother and discovers that there are, perhaps, clones or sisters or manifestations of her multiple personalities which share her abilities. The girls are all able to dream and manipulate the existence in which there should be no dreams, and this leads to the State of Dreams taking an interest. The dialogue throughout the book is peppered with allusions towards Farllee’s hidden past and foretold destiny dropping notes of a bigger picture in the creator’s mind. For me, however, that picture is confounding.

The dialogue and thought balloons are dense, full of weight and intention but rarely clarity. That FSc’s art is equally devoid of clarity much of the time aids matters less. Reminding me of Tim Burton’s thin, scratchy lines from his poetry book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy…, there’s an definite grim aesthetic that FSc holds throughout, however, her sense of panel composition, perspective and delineation leaves much to be desired. Character designs are also an issue, as her bevy of unusual creatures from early in the story are so abstract that it’s difficult to tell what they actually look like or where they are in relation to one another on the page. I’d estimate that one-third of the visual storytelling is indecipherable upon first glance, and paired with the overwhelming text full of cryptic meaning, the reader needs to invest a lot into comprehending the tale being told. I am willing to concede that much of this vagueness in text and illustration might be intentional, representing the frequent lack of logic or clarity in dreams, but this concession still doesn’t do anything to improve the reader’s comfort with and understanding of the material.

MuZz is an Alice In Wonderland-esque story merged with the “chosen one” cliche and it’s these conventions which I was clinging to while futilely trying to make sense of the fantasy I was reading. There are aspects I did like, primarily in the flashbacks, pertaining more to bleak science-fiction concepts about a land devoid of food and the desperate measure they take to feed themselves, as well as the idea of government-sanctioned body farming. The purpose of such concepts to the story are unknown, and the information the flashbacks were intending to provide helped only a little in clarifying the character and the story.

This first of many planned volumes of MuZz doesn’t close with any readily identifiable resolution, or cliffhanger for that matter, it just hangs abstractly, no satisfaction or encouragement to carry forward with the characters and their story. If you’re willing to venture into MuZz be prepared to invest yourself deeply, as the book is quite demanding. I tend to enjoy confusing, and I do like a puzzle, but, unfortunately, I just couldn’t give the book what it wanted, thus I found no reward within.

1 and a half out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] House of Mystery #2

Posted by Sean on June 12, 2008

(Vertigo)

Tons of potential for this series. I love the “bookend” format that features a slowly developing (and increasingly tense and claustrophobic) “ongoing” story about the permanent inhabitants of the House enveloping stand-alone tales told by the visiting patrons about all things bizarre, otherworldly and…well, mysterious. This issue’s stand-alone features gorgeous watercolor style paintings by Jill Thompson that perfectly compliment writer Bill Willingham’s tale of a process server that goes to extraordinary lengths to serve a tax bill on an underwater creature. Willingham’s two standalones have been pretty amusing, but when the quality of the standalones starts matching that of the bookends – this is going to be a can’t miss series. Good series with vast potential – I’m happy House of Mystery exists in this market.

3 and a half out of 5 Vikings

[Trade Winds] The Facts in The Case of the Departure of Miss Finch

Posted by Jeb on May 21, 2008

(Dark Horse)
The Facts in The Case of the Departure of Miss Finch is the latest repurposing of an old Neil Gaiman story into a new graphic novel, in this case the original is a short story from his Smoke and Mirrors collection. The new script is an adaptation by letterer Todd Klein (that’s one way for letterers to get more of the credit they deserve!), with painted art by Michael Zulli (once one of Gaiman’s Sandman collaborators).

The story’s classic Gaiman: young moderns in London and their encounter with the spiritual realm that underlies the world they think they know.

Like much of Sandman, the story is not so much about questions and answers, as it is impressions, feelings, color. In its original story form, it has the matter-of-fact disquiet of one of Poe’s less sanguinary efforts (William Wilson, say); brought to life in Zulli’s lush paints, it loses some of its sense of mystery, but it makes up for that by presenting its ambiguous ending entirely straight-faced: Zulli’s work is most impressive in giving flesh and life to a concept that, once visualized, could easily have been bland or just too on-the-nose.

I won’t go into too much story detail, so as not to spoil the fairly slight plot: our unnamed narrator is a blocked American writer, in London to get away and restore his muse. He’s contacted by a pair of old friends who desperately need him to complete a reluctant foursome: he’s to be a sort of blind date to one of their acquaintances, the evidently unwelcome “Miss Finch.” Naturally he agrees, and when we finally do meet Miss Finch, she’s certainly difficult and abrasive. But as the evening progresses from cab ride to sushi restaurant to a visit to a most unusual and mysterious “circus,” Miss Finch begins to interest, then perhaps nearly charm, our narrator. And that’s when…

Well, as I say, I’ll let you read it for yourself. Even if you already know the original story, Zulli’s painting, which veers from the mundane to the macabre to the sublime and back again, will delight you. And while I’d always relish new original comics work from Gaiman, it’s hard to complain about an adaptation as well-crafted as this one.

Tor #1 (of 6)

Posted by Sean on May 15, 2008

(DC)

Come on. A lone caveman warrior. Dinosaurs and bizarre mutant creatures. All courtesy of the legendary Joe Kubert. If this type of pulp fantasy doesn’t get you excited, check your pulse. I mean, this is a self-declared “Prehistoric Odyssey.” Self-declared!

It takes an odd combination of cojones and camp factor to call your book a “Prehistoric Odyssey,” to have those words etched in a large rock next to the titular character as he walks by. It grabbed me. It grabbed me in a way that said - this is all you need to know about this book, and you’re either going to love it or hate it.

Well, needless to say, I loved it. I love that DC put this book out, on the same day they put out The War That Time Forgot no less. In a small way it shows a growing commitment to something other than superheroes. That’s not a slam on capes. That’s just a comment that there is a whole lot of room, and a very large appetite, for diversity in this medium.

There’s room for a prehistoric odyssey.

Kubert is really on his game here. The layouts. The pacing. The composition. The expressions captured in the titular character’s face. In fact, Kubert is so on his game visually here that I actually think the book would be more compelling without the narrative. Just the pictures. The images in this book are so visceral and compelling that they transcend the language.

A prehistoric warrior on his own. A man of action. His journey - both physical and spiritual - through a bizarre lands. His odyssey. We need more comics like this.

4 and a half out of 5 Vikings

Conan #50

Posted by Adam on May 14, 2008

(Dark Horse)

It is the end of an era. I guess this falls somewhere between the time the seas drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Aryas, huh?

Well, maybe not. After all, Dark Horse’s best-selling “Conan” book may be coming to an end with this, the 50th issue, but it’s going to start right back up again in a month with “Conan the Cimmerian” #1. Why the change in title and the artificial cancellation? You got me, except that it’s probably the usual distributors’ lust for #1 issues. Sigh. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

House of Mystery #1

Posted by Devon on May 10, 2008

(Vertigo)

Vertigo Comics as a publisher, of late, has been threatening to eat itself. Much in the way that Marvel holds up Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four run as gospel, Vertigo, as a company, seems dumbfounded about what do towards adding anything new to the house that Alan, Grant & Neil built. While series such as 100 Bullets and Preacher have put Vertigo back on the map,“once-DC Universe-based series” such as Animal Man, Swamp Thing and Sandman are the ones that got them to the dance. Subsequent “DC” Vertigo series like The Witching have tried to re-capture some of that initial zeitgeist but have collapsed under the weight of what came before. How do you have a new reader step into a shared universe that sort of ceased to exist a decade before?

Simple. Tell good stories.

That said, you should be checking out House of Mystery #1, on sale now.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Raided] Suburban Glamour #4 (of 4)

Posted by Graig on April 13, 2008

(Image)

Having just read (and reviewed) Carey and Bolton’s God Save The Queen, the final issue of Jamie McKelvie’s first work as both writer and artist shone in a completely different light, in fact I’m now looking at Suburban Glamour differently because the two works are different sides of the same storytelling die. While both works stand completely on their own, the story underneath is surprisingly similar, that of a British teenager bored out of her skull who finds that she has a complete other history than what she’s known all her life. Over the 96 pages of each story there are two opposing sides in a struggle over the control of a fantastical domain, a war which our heroine is clearly meant to solve. The hero of each story has a male best friend who desires to be her protector but is not nearly as strong as she, and as she discovers her true nature, conflict arises between them. As interesting as each book is alone, telling a traditional fantasy story of self-discovery and destiny, it’s more interesting to see how each book takes roughly the same concept and progresses differently with it. Whereas God Save The Queen takes greater focus on the fantastical side, McKelvie keeps his story reigned in, exploring the humanity of his lead character. Moreover, Suburban Glamour is about identity, accepting who you are and choosing your own path, rather than escaping your life or believing in destiny. The first three issues were paced methodically to build to the big climax, the big conflict between the Queen and her escaped-from-prison sister, a conflict which Astrid was clearly meant to solve. But McKelvie doesn’t go the expected route with the story and it’s this choice that truly defines the series. The slow roll-out of the story’s fantasy elements was deliberate, the conversations Astrid has with Dave and others taming the surreal, grounding everything to a very human way of dealing with change, which is to push against it, or at the very least, accept it on your own terms. Fun and stylish, it’s a solid character story made visually pristine from McKelvie’s impeccably clean, expert line accompanied by some stunning color work from Matthew Wilson.

3 and a half out of 5 Vikings

[Trade Winds] God Save The Queen

Posted by Graig on April 12, 2008

(Vertigo)

I’ve been sitting on the hardcover version of this original graphic novel for over a year, dusting it off finally in preparation for the softcover release this week and finally giving it a read. To be perfectly honest, aside from seeing the punky title and troupe of characters on the cover along with Mike Carey and John Bolton’s names, I never took the time to figure out what this book was all about. All I knew was I was struggling to find some interest in it. What I didn’t realize, and was both pleasantly surprised and disappointed by, was this book takes place in the Sandman universe. My pleasant surprise is no doubt understood, for any reader of Gaiman’s masterwork or some of it’s more prominent derivatives, including Carey’s brilliant Lucifer series. Having the book set in familiar terrain, even if it is incredibly distant from the main source, gave some welcome ground and an immediate understanding that there are possibilities in this world. My disappointment, though, set in because Sandman-derived mini-series, series and on-shots were so abundant for so long that the spin-off cash cow seemed dried up long ago, which isn’t fair considering the dearth of ideas Gaiman incorporated into his series. I guess I was also disappointed that it was Carey tapping that well again, which, to be fair, given the lead time needed to produce an original, fully-painted graphic novel, was likely started years before actually seeing print. I guess what it comes down to is I left Sandman behind a long time ago, and the mediocrity of most of its derivative works thinned out its appeal to the extent that I wished to side-step any further exposure.

But Vertigo, smart cookies they are, actually buried the Sandman correlation. The cover copy and even most of the promotional advertising of the Hardcover said nothing about it being set in the Sandman’s universe. I’m curious of the methodology behind that frankly. Were they fearing that, like me, so many others would probably avoid the title were it yet another derivative? Did they think that the die-hard Dream King fans would, reading the solicitation text or cover copy, recognize it for what it was regardless? Or was it an experiment on Vertigo’s part to see how an original hardcover graphic novel by one of their top creators would sell without tying it to their most renowned publication?

The story of God Save The Queen finds Mab, the vile ex-monarch of Faerie, escaped from her prison and using her wretched magics and brutal accomplices to dethrone her successor, Queen Titania, and enslave the realm once again. Meanwhile, in London, a rebellious young woman looks to escape her mother’s lamentations over her father’s departure, and seeks a high-risk escapist life of whatever highs are offered to her. One night partying Linda meets a group of gothic club rats who bring her and her best-friend-since-childhood, Jeff, back to their place where she’s introduced to “Red Horse” a mix of heroin and human blood that gets them right messed up. Jeff tries unsuccessfully to act as Linda’s guardian angel and protector, but he’s steamrolled by her sharp tongue and determinate attitude.

Linda’s hooked by the drugs and enamored by Verian, the group’s leader, much to Jeff’s chagrin. After a Red Horse cookout one night, they are brought by their new friends to their native land of Faerie. The trip, at first thought to be a drug induced hallucination suddenly seems less surreal when Linda’s abandoned in the realm, and finds herself hunted. Her ties to Faerie are just as you might expect, and she’s naturally the key to helping Titania run Mab off the throne. Aye, there is a bit of predictability to this story… a Faerie tale not unlike any other, just more Vertigo in nature.

Indeed Carey pulls off a traditional Faerie story that may not hold many surprises but nonetheless is an engrossing read. There’s a cinematic quality to the storytelling, an economy of characters and pacing that keeps the concept tight and the progression tighter. Indeed it does seem less comic book and more movie. The characters are not build of much more than typical archetypes, but they suit the story just fine. There’s not much depth here to push the story or its situation beyond the 96 pages it contains, its resolution satisfying. There may be more stories of Titania or the Faerie in the future but I doubt the need to see more of Linda (her mother on the other hand…).

Bolton’s photo-referential artwork breaths air into the lungs of the characters, emphasizing the cinematic nature of the script. There’s a tangibility to them and their surroundings that, when twisted in the realm of Faerie makes the line between the two worlds perfectly defined. The magic, the people and the fantasy of the fabled lands are more loosely structured and less clearly realized than the real world in Bolton’s paintings, and it’s a great juxtaposition. There are indeed times where I find the near-photographic art to be distracting, but for the most part his lavish illustrations carry the story along perfectly.

The book truly does stand alone, and one’s familiarity with Sandman isn’t really tested here (since, to be honest, I couldn’t actually remember Mab or Titania distinctively from Gaiman’s stories). It’s a complete book, leaving no loose ends nor tying any up. Fantasy fans will find it familiar but welcoming and easy to digest. It’s a sweet and simple dose of dark magic and good versus evil.

3 and a half out of 5 Vikings

[Trade Winds] The Stardust Kid

Posted by Adam on April 8, 2008

(BOOM! Studios)

As most comics pundits have been opining for the last decade or so, comics aimed at kids are a crucial ingredient in the success of the business. Ignore the younger set for too long, and you get pretty much what we have now: an aging, niche-oriented fanbase with no new blood coming along to increase the size of the audience or expand the boundaries of the medium. With this message finally beginning to sink in (though remarkably begrudgingly in many quarters) we have in fact started to see true kids’ comics return, ever so slowly, to the direct market as well as bookstores. But since comics companies would still rather turn a profit as quickly as possible, most of them have stuck to the genres that already seem to be clicking.

Fantasy is of course immensely popular in the print-only books section thanks to Harry Potter and his ilk, so it’s not surprising that we’re starting to see more and more stuff like J.M. DeMatteis and Mike “Elusive” Ploog’s Abadazad, or the latest effort from the same team, The Stardust Kid. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Trade Winds] Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper

Posted by Adam on February 14, 2008

(Scholastic)

Comics aficionados almost always start off at one end of an orthographic line leading from “writing” to “art”. At one extreme, you might get a “writing guy (or girl)” who sees the art mostly as illustration for the story, something that simply makes it more impactful and specific than a novel. At the other, you’d get an “art guy (or girl)” who’s more interested in the visual aspect and sees the narrative mostly as a framework on which to hang cool character designs and setpieces. The former might look at a beautifully drawn comic without a lot of text–like, say, Shaolin Cowboy–and complain that the story’s too thin and the characters are bland. The latter might look at a narratively dense but simply drawn comic–like, say, Fell–and decide that it’s unengaging or hard to follow. Everyone has their preferences in this regard, their own idea of what a comic should be, and no one’s “wrong” per se. Of course, I’m talking here about the extremes; to me the best definition of a great comic creator is that they know how to use both aspects of comics to play off each other and create something that neither could do alone, or at the very least that leaves room for both the writing and art to shine.

Kazu Kabuishi is the creator of Daisy Kutter, writer and artist of the webcomic Copper, and editor of the acclaimed Flight anthologies. He’s most definitely an “art guy”. Not only are his comics art lavishly drawn and gorgeously coloured, he has a great understanding of page composition and narrative flow. Like most of the Flight artists (and indeed, many of the comic artists of his generation), he’s inspired heavily by manga and anime, with Hayao Miyazaki being a particularly obvious influence. He merges it with western-style cartooniness to create an appealingly simple and expressive style that draws the reader into the action and engages them during the smaller, quieter moments, both of which are handled beautifully. With his new graphic novel, The Amulet Book One, he’s employed these techniques to full effect.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Neozoic #1-3

Posted by Adam on February 3, 2008

(Red 5)

Remember that Calvin & Hobbes cartoon featuring dinosaurs attacking each other in F-14s? And it ends with Calvin proclaiming, “This is so cool!” and Hobbes saying, “This is so stupid.”

That’s pretty much Neozoic in a nutshell. This tale of high-tech dinosaur hunters in a baroque fantasy world combines all the most utterly awesome and the most utterly ridiculous stuff you’d expect to see in a comic: hot babes, anachronistic technology, lush artwork, ludicrously ornate costumes, swordplay, a densely detailed fantasy world, and oh yeah, dinosaurs. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Doc Frankenstein #6

Posted by Graig on December 26, 2007

Burlyman Entertainment

At this stage the Wachowski Bros.’ Burlyman Entertainment has been in operation for over three years, and what they have to show for it is two Matrix trade paperbacks, seven issues of Shaolin Cowboy, and this sixth issue of Doc Frankenstein (plus the five that preceded it). I want to make a big deal about how the irregular release schedule of these books (and countless others from different publishers) makes it very difficult as a reader to follow both the title and the storyline, but at the same I’m also a proponent of quality over quantity, and if it takes 4-6 months for Geoff Darrow to do an issue of Shaolin Cowboy or longer for the Bros. and Steve Skroce to put together an issue of Doc Frankenstein then I think I just need to accept that. Afterall, these books never fail to deliver in the entertainment department.

The latest issue of Doc Frankenstein follows exactly the same path it took before, which is to say pushing every Christian button it can, while at the same time examining ideas of faith and soul through the archetype that would have the most reason to. Since Frankenstein’s monster is a patchwork of body parts, stitched together from different corpses, reanimated by energy from the sky, he lives yet is comprised of dead tissue. Is he human or the monster he was born to be? Does he have a soul, and if so is it uniquely his or from one or many of his hosts? If he doesn’t have a soul, can he still have faith, can he still believe in a higher power or life beyond death, or by sheer fact that he *is* life beyond death does that allow him to believe in something altogether different?

Though the Wachowski brothers are (slowly) probing the mind of the intelligent creature, exploring his understanding of self, they also take every pain to jab a spear in the side of organized religion, painting the Catholic Church as a power-mad, violence-driven organization that preaches through fear rather than understanding. With this issue, the Wachowskis are firmly entrenching themselves as heathens by telling “The Blasphemous Never-Before-Told Origin Story of God”, and you can bet it’s highly overblown, and intentionally poking the proverbial sleeping bear.

To start, a priest lets a faery out of her confinement box, and she bestows upon him her true knowledge of God, painting Yahweh as the foulest, most salacious and barbarous of the deities. He’s shown as a power-hungry, war-driven drunkard who came to be “the God” through intolerance and aggression. Yeah, safe to say this is far, far away from being a Jack Chick track. It’s so overblown that the people who should be offended by it might actually get a laugh from it, else wise just experience outrage.

Besides pushing buttons, there’s not much story flowing through this sixth issue. It’s a between arcs breather which sets up the next stage of Doc Frankenstein’s adventuring as well as some sub-plots of as-yet unknown importance. Realistically, with months between issues, each should really work as stand-alone stories, and yet they don’t, which is the biggest challenge with the series. With six issues in the bag, a trade paperback is in order and I’d say it’d be the preferred way to read the book. Perhaps the Wachowskis and Burlyman should look at releasing self-contained stories in 64 or 96-page volumes annually, rather than two or three issues a year.

Despite the lack-of-schedule frustration, I keep reading, and what keeps me coming back, time after time, is the art. Steve Skroce’s art is always stunning. Skroce is a master of detail, but doing so without excessively busying the page. His lines are clean, thick and defining, employing precise shadows to further define his layouts. His characters are individualize, uniquely designed, and in a comic-book “reality” vein, with the details of the face or body language being very natural. At the same time, Skroce can employ comic-book conventions: muscular physiques, dream-like faeries, and larger-than-life characteristics, showing the occasional Tex Avery inspiration but keeping it in fitting with his own style. Shannon Blanchard’s colors are easily some of the best in the industry, enhancing the moody scenes with a deeper palette or making the spectacular pop with vibrancy. Skin tones are richly textured and enhance the naturalness Skroce’s style strives for, while at the same time adding accents to backdrops to inspire even further wonder.

Though hardly recommendable for everyone, if you’re amused by South Park and want a little insolence with your action (and have the patience to wait for it), this is most definitely for you.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] Suburban Glamour #2 (of 4)

Posted by Graig on December 24, 2007

(Image)

What does Jamie McKelvie do when he’s not the subject of pop-punk-comedy songs (watch the video for “Octopus In Love” by The Duloks)? He’s making kick-arse (sub)urban fantasy comics, that’s what. With the second issue of Suburban Glamour the mini-series is starting to come into focus, which, at this stage is best described as McKelvie’s hipster version of Fables, although frankly, that likening to Fables is all too easy, since at this stage any creator trying to incorporate the world of fairy tales into a real world setting (whether it’s Alan Moore or Allen Smithee) will likely get that same title referenced. With the initial shock of seeing McKelvie’s work in full color (by Matthew Wilson) worn off, I can see Suburban Glamour with fresh eyes, and it’s a popper… every panel is as attractive as its protagonists, and now that the conceit of the story is revealed, there’s something for the reader to really grasp onto aside from the illustrations and stylish and bored (but not boring) British teenagers. From cover to cover, this is a book filled with contemporary design and style which alone makes it a worthwhile purchase, but beyond that are engaging characters and a spin on fantasy that will actually make you want to read it and not just ogle the pictures.

4 out of 5 Vikings

Conan #46

Posted by Adam on November 27, 2007

(Dark Horse)

Issue #46 is a milestone for Dark Horse’s Conan book for two reasons. For one, it’s the conclusion of the “Born on a Battlefield” storyline depicting Conan’s origins, which has been told in a series of one-shot issues scattered throughout the series’ run, going back to #8. For another, it’s the final issue written by Kurt Busiek.

Like many people, I was fairly skeptical when I learned Busiek would be scripting a Conan book. That skepticism turned to surprised delight after a few issues. Any Conan adaptation that’s going to lay claim to being true to Robert E. Howard’s stories, as this series does, is going to have to be uncompromising, edgy, violent, ribald, and more than a little nuts; it should confront us with a primitivistic aspect of human nature that attracts and repels us in equal measure. The author of Astro City and other upbeat, retro superhero comics is not exactly the natural choice for a project like this. And yet, Busiek consistantly knocked it out of the park during his run, with the early issues especially balancing the unflinching, Nietzschean intensity of Howard’s stories with a slightly more postmodern approach that confronted Howard’s philosophy, and Conan’s simple morality, in interesting ways.

Plus, it’s got dudes with sharp objects wailing on each other. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Trade Winds] Flink OGN

Posted by Graig on November 25, 2007

(Image)

It seems like only a few weeks ago since I reviews Doug TenNapel’s last graphic novel, Black Cherry (it wasn’t even a month ago, although the book came out in July), and, as usually comic books (especially graphic novels) take a while to come together, I hade to wonder how TenNapel could so quickly release another one. I was suspect of the quality of Flink before I even read it.

TenNapel’s stories have always had a stream-of-consciousness aspect to them, an unrefined quality to them that sometimes work in their favor (as with Black Cherry’s raw, anything-can-happen mafioso story) and sometimes not, (the bizarrely religious alien-invasion and school of Ted Nugent education in Earthboy Jacobus). When it works, it’s enhances the often irreverent nature of the tales TenNapel tells, but when it doesn’t work, it’s usally pushing the etherial too far and coming off as sloppy or meandering. Having read all of TenNapel’s work, from Gear on down, I get the sense that he starts his storytelling knowing where it begins and where it ends and then just goes with it until point A meets point B. His cartooning style seems to back this up, as it appears roughed out with brushes and pens, the shadows at times defining the figures and not the lines themselves. His skill at cartooning, however, keeps his characters appearance uniform, where they could easily in lesser hands be distorted contortions in his slathered-on, ink-heavy style, and in his style, TenNapel is still able to sketch out a welcoming believable and/or fantastical environment for his characters to inhabit.

But Flink is TenNapel’s weakest effort to date, and it suffers from awkward pacing, motivationally challenged characters and a dire lack of focus. The back cover states, bluntly, “It’s a story about a boy and his Bigfoot,” but even that TenNapel gets wrong. If it’s anything, it’s a story about a Bigfoot and his human, but even then that’s not what it’s really about. There’s a thread of father and son bonds that TenNapel attempts to weave into the story, but it’s so roughly sketched that it’s not apparent until the final pages where the boy, Conrad, is reunited with his father just as Flink, the Bigfoot, is reunited with his son. If that’s a spoiler, sorry, but the relationship between Conrad and Flink never makes much sense, and TenNapel never hits upon it hard enough. It’s like this was cobbled out, an as-is first draft that he never looked back upon to edit or refine.

The opening pages aren’t very clear, and it’s only through revelation through the story and finale that we understand the visuals that were presented. Also, the culture of the Sasquatch as TenNapel introduces in this story aren’t explored nearly enough… there should be a Disney-esque sense of discovery here, using Conrad as a vessel for the reader to discover the ways of the Bigfoot (ala the Jungle Book or Monsters, Inc.), but no, the human’s visit to the strange world of Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) is over almost as quicky as it began and a great, joyful opportunity is missed.

TenNapel shoots over the interesting possibilities he brings up in Flink, including establishing any meaningful bond between man and creature, as he seems to rush through every story element to get to the end. On a character level and story level, this one’s a failure.

2 out of 5 Vikings

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together

Posted by Adam on November 14, 2007

(Oni Press)

“Scott, if your life had a face, I would punch it in the balls. Seriously.”

As a goofy, oversensitive, slacker man-child from Toronto who hates real jobs and falls for girls who are way out of his league, I“m always a bit surprised at the success of Scott Pilgrim. That is to say, I“m surprised that people enjoy it as much as I do, considering that it seems tailor made to speak to me, and me alone. Literally, this is me reading Scott Pilgrim: “Oh, look, it“s the CityTV building! Oh, and Dundas Square! Oooh, Sneaky Dee“s! I hate that place, why would Scott hang out there? Hey, I think I“ve been to that Vegan restaurant…” etc. But I guess the zany spirit of fun and universality of the characters and situations speaks to just about everyone, as witnessed by the popularity of this comic, which gets better and better with every installment. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Trade Winds] Black Cherry OGN/ Therefore Repent! OGN

Posted by Graig on November 3, 2007

(Image/ No Media Kings/IDW)

It’s 10 A.M. and I’m in bed with the laptop, my wife beside me sleeping, my stepson in the living room watching cartoons. There’s a knock at the door. I haul myself out of bed, put on my robe and head towards the door, my stepson circling around me telling me he heard a knock. I open the door, and it’s as I feared: Jehovah’s Witnesses. They look me up and down through the barely opened door and apologize for waking me up so early. Then they proceed to tell me they’d like to talk about the Bible, that it’s a “good book written many years ago”. I tell them I’m not interested in the same partially annoyed tone I usually reserve for the faceless telemarketing peons. An you know, it’s the truth. I’m not interested.

In my teenage years I was a solidified Athiest, if only for sheer rebellion’s sake. These days I’m a fast and firm Agnostic believing simultaneously that anything and nothing is possible. Do I have a spiritual side? Perhaps, but do I believe in a singular God or that any of the religions have it right? Nope. Plus, there’s something about organized religions, as much as governments and big business, that bothers me. They do have their place in our world and society, but I’m not sure any of the good they do really counterbalances the harm en masse (my opinion only and not that of this site or its other writers). So when it comes to entertainment that has distinctive Christian (or any other religious) overtone do I shy away?

Nope.

In fact I love them.

Stories that use the mythos of religions often end up telling pretty good stories, since most of the mythos are just stories to begin with, much as the fables of Greek or Norse gods were. Films like The Prophecy (with Christopher Walken brilliantly cast as the rogue angel Gabriel) or The Rapture are fascinating. I’m sure there are the highly religious that see the use of Christian symbols for entertainment purposes as blasphemy, but often films and stories such as these have to do with faith, which I think is what most people get out of religion anyway. As an agnostic I think having faith, in whatever you wish to believe, is fine, as long as you don’t become blind in the process.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Raided] The Sword #1

Posted by Jeb on October 24, 2007

(Image)

I think I“d have enjoyed this first issue more if the book was called something else. Sorry to get spoilery here, but after several pages establishing the Brightons (good-guy dad Alex, devoted mom Elizabeth, wheelchair-bound artistic teen Dara) as a happy, well-adjusted, basically average family, we start to get hints of dark intrigue surrounding them. Next thing you know, their home is invaded by some super-powered types, who go medieval on the house, and the family, searching for “the sword,” which they are certain Alex has in his possession, just as they“re certain that Alex was once called “Demetrios,” and somehow involved with their intrigues. Though it means the life of himself and those he holds dear, Alex steadfastly denies this, until the climactic moment when… well, hell, the book is called The Sword, right? I mean a few pages of grisly torture and death can“t hide the fact that the artifact of the title does exist, is connected to the Brightons, and is going to be found sooner, rather than later– making the first issue brutally convincing, but also feeling as though we’re already ahead of the story (not only do we know the sword will be found, but it’s clear from page 1 who will get it and what effect it will have on them). And it’s possible that the Luna Brothers have some unusual directions to take us… but it’s equally possible that this mystical Sword will bring a quest for vengeance much like others we’ve seen before, as it certainly begins that way. As usual with the Lunas, the dialogue is strong, and the artwork fluid and memorable: fans of Girls or Ultra will want to check this out. Others, though, might want to wait for the first collection (as far as I can see, the series is ongoing, not limited) to see if the story gets a bit more meat on its bones.