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] Special Forces #3 (of 5)

Posted by Graig on August 8, 2008

(Image)

It’s been a few months since we last saw an issue of Special Forces, previously solicited as a 6-issue mini-series. Word from Baker is that he overproduced for issues #1 and 2 (full 32-page instead of 25-page books), and thus fell behind but is also ahead, with the main story wrapping up in issue #4 instead, with one wrap-up issue to follow. This issue, proudly being touted as “the most offensive thing Kyle Baker’s ever done”, is certainly a button-presser. When we last saw our protagonist (won’t say “hero”) Felony, she had just been shot, while her autistic comrade-in-arms, Zone had been kidnapped by insurgents. Merely wounded, Felony is knocked unconscious by a child she refuses to kill, only to wake up to a room full of scarred and deformed children (as hideous as Baker could make them) playing soldier themselves. The kids are a serious threat to both Felony and themselves, and she needs to devise her own rescue. Zone meanwhile is having the living $#!+ kicked out of him, but when they take away his toy soldier, it’s payback time. Baker riddles his book with definitely-not-code-approved imagery, inappropriate bondage and action cheesecake shots, as well as gratuitously malformed children. In the backmatter Baker includes articles and photos excerpted from different sources, detailing his influences for this issue (child soldiers in Iraq, birth deformities, sexual assault within the army ranks, Hamas-sponsored Disney rip-offs) which he then takes and pushes to, well, comic-book extremes. Not even broaching any sense of idiotic patriotism, Special Forces is uncomfortably wrong on every level, which is entirely the point. Awareness goes down a lot easier with Kirby-inspired two-page spreads of a nearly-naked, Ellen Ripley-esque babe kicking the crap out of 6 mutant children in one shot. You’re supposed to be equally revolted and entertained. If you’re the former and not the latter, just as well. If you’re the latter and not the former, then does America have a career for you. This book doesn’t just want you to react to it, though, it wants you to question why you react the way you do. It’s absurd, it’s horriffic, it’s funny, and it’s disturbing, it wants you to feel it all, and somehow Baker manages to weave a thread of intellect through all the knee-jerking around. Like Buckley’s medicine, it taste bad, but it works.

4 out of 5 Vikings

Storming Paradise #1 (of 6)

Posted by Sean on July 7, 2008

(Wildstorm)

Writer Chuck Dixon is someone I’d genuinely like to meet. I think sometimes we say to ourselves without thinking, “Man, I’d love to hang out with [INSERT NAME OF WRITER/ACTOR/MUSICIAN HERE]. But Dixon is someone I can actually see kicking back with and talking about Patton, The Guns of Naverone, Where Eagles Dare and the Time/Life World War II series for a few hours over a case of beer. The guy has a knack, and a real passion, for engaging stories about war and the men who fight them. Generally, most of his war stories have focused on small commando teams fighting in the shadows of a larger conflict. But with Storming Paradise, Dixon takes things to a whole new level, broadening his scope to an alternative history of the Pacific Theater.

Storming Paradise opens with The Manhattan Project ending in disaster, forcing President Truman to order a full-scale invasion of the Japanese mainland. Dixon very skillfully weaves together about a half dozen individual plot threads in a way that flows naturally, allowing the reader to see a story organically develop from every level and both sides of the conflict. From MacArthur and Patton (and their animosity for each other), to grunts leaving Italy for Japan, to a Hollywood star with a guilty conscious, and from the Japanese high command to the women and children conscripted to help prepare the coastal defenses, the scope of this story is (appropriately) immense, but never loses the intimacy of the individual story lines. It’s everything you want from a World War II epic.

Artist Butch Guice is a perfect choice for this series. His intricately detailed style, grounded in realism, draws you into the story and lends an air of believability necessary to “sell” alternative history. What’s more, Guice is a talented visual storyteller, and through framing and pacing is able to brilliantly convey both the larger-than-life and personal aspects of this story.

Don’t expect a lot of action in this issue. Dixon is taking his time setting up the story, and establishing the central characters, which is going to be critical to giving the inevitable invasion greater context and deeper meaning. This is great book, and I would love to see more alternative history comics on the stands. There’s room for them, especially ones as well done as Storming Paradise.

5 out of 5 vikings

Special Forces #1 (of 6)

Posted by Graig on November 4, 2007

(Image)

The US Army has an annual recruitment goal of 80,000 new recruits per year, so it’s no surprise that, in the shadow of a manufactured war-for-profit, for the past few years they haven’t always been meeting their objectives. As the Associated Press recently reported, “The Army began its recruiting year Oct. 1 with fewer signed up for basic training than in any year since it became an all-volunteer service in 1973″.

In order to fulfill quotas, the Army is now throwing money at young people along with the offers of free or sponsored education. On top of this recruiting violations have been on the rise, including one well-publisized incident where an autistic teenager was signed up, even passing the physical and exceeding the minimum score on the Army’s basic entrance exam. Kyle Baker’s new mini-series uses this news story (reported by ABC and CBS, and not just “weird hippie alternative papers”, Baker notes), and the generally lapsed standards for military recruitment, as a launching pad for his latest satire, Special Forces.

Our guide is Felony, a grade school drop-out who hit her third strike and had two options: the Army or jail. She, along with Zone, an autistic kid, Hummer (of the don’t ask, don’t tell variety) and a couple others were inappropriately enlisted by a sergeant desperate not to return to war, and even though he met his quota, Sarge was still sent back, now in charge of his freakshow recruits. Sarge, along with his entire team, save Felony, it’s evident, are unfit to serve, and everything goes to hell.

Baker has tacked serious material before, most recently with Nat Turner, but he’s better known for his comedic work, so this book does mark a bit of a departure for him, in that it’s not a comedy or a drama, but a farce. The action is ratcheted up to levels I’ve never seen Baker work at, not cartoonish but completely overblown. He showcases a Hollywoodized vision of war through grotesqueness such as heads exploding and disemboweling, and his next-generation M*A*S*H*-style ensemble brings it all together as just over-the-top. But that’s the point, it’s looking at the extreme end of real problems, working for a response that’s equal parts amusement and depression.

Baker’s art, here, has also taken different form than what we’re used to, channeling the biggest names in comic book satire: tightly structured and heavily detailed, with plenty of Frank Miller-style cheesecake, and full of Harvey Kurtzmann and Will Eisner inspiration. This first issue plays out as if it’s a sharper, long-form Mad Magazine parody of a war film like Platoon or Jarhead, but the underlying meaning is far too unsettling to dismiss as easily. This isn’t about the war in as much as it’s a look at some of the procedures, people and policies behind the war machine, and how they compromise or are compromised.

There are laugh out loud moments (Sarge’s recruitment of Hummer), shocking ones (Doughboy’s fate), disturbing ones (Zone’s following of his schedule), exciting, titillating, tense, sad… the whole gamut. Baker is a master storyteller, and Special Forces is just further proof that, if he’s not already, then he will be remembered as a legend of the medium.

5 out of 5 Vikings

Trade Winds: Super Spy

Posted by Graig on October 1, 2007

(Top Shelf)

For every James Bond and Jason Bourne, Emma Peel and John Steed, there’s a Willie Caine, Tara Chase or Sharlink “The Shark”. Where The Man From U.N.C.L.E. or the double-oh agents may glorify the life of spies as a sexy, almost cartoonish existence, it’s series like Queen and Country or Matt Kindt’s Super Spy that bring things back to reality, showcasing a tense and fragile, deadly and/or scarring existence to the men and women that serve their nation, hopefully for the better good.

Super Spy is a deceptive title for this collection of 30+ interlocking stories about WWII espionage, the missions, the people undertaking them, and the toll the job takes on the individual, their family and the bigger picture and not the glorious Bondian action it insinuates. Compiled in a non-linear fashion, each story is self-contained but also a part of the bigger picture. Paths cross, stories interweave, some come to abrupt halts while others seem to dangle, the ending uncertain.

There’s a sadness to the life of the spy that Kindt emphasizes, a distance and loneliness from true relationships, a perpetual distrust of the people around you, a lack of comfort in one’s surroundings, a lack of support for superiors, and often a complete lack of understanding one’s objectives. It’s not a life the bulk of the many characters we meet in Super Spy choose with an informed mind. In many cases it’s out of necessity, in others it’s just to discover that it’s not all gadgets and glory. Still others never realize exactly how much danger they are in, even to the bitter end.

Kindt’s stories are the sobering antidote to hyper-active, testosterone driven spy films like XXX, restoring a humanity to the profession, or a the very least, in some respects, clinically observing the chilling effects of the job on the psyche of the people who perform them.

That’s not to say it’s a dour work. Far from it. There are still spy missions, which regardless of their physical requirements - whether it be extracting information or transporting it from one location to another, eliminating one’s enemy, or blowing up a manufacturing plant - are still damn engaging. There’s inherent tension of covert operations and both the individual stories and the larger picture are engrossing and addictive.

The entire book is printed with a pulpy-yellowing sheen, giving the air of aged stories, the aesthetic of of-the-era printing. The coloring varies between sepia tones, black and white with blue washes and full color (with a four-color sensibility). Kindt’s art serves the stories well, with a roughness of line and edge, generally, that has a tense and rushed feeling, giving into the characters and their often desperate plight. Kindt also switches up his style from time to time, refining his lines or colors to suit the calmer stories. Unfortunately there are a few occasions where Kindt’s characters blur indistinguishable from one another and the sheer number of characters and their somewhat random appearances makes them a little hard to keep track of while progressing through the stories. But it’s a minor quibble, as overall, it’s a gripping work on both an artistic and entertainment level. A must-read for any fan of espionage stories.

4 and a half out of 5 Vikings

Trade Winds: Notes for a War Story

Posted by Graig on August 19, 2007

(FirstSecond)

In a country of indeterminate origin (could be any of the war-torn Eastern European countries of the past decade), three young, undereducated men, Christian, Stefano and Guiliano, forge out along the countryside, scavenging and squatting, searching for a life that’s different, if not better, than the one they know. Christian was bandied between foster homes, Stefano abused and hardened, now called Little Killer. Guiliano is the odd man out, from a good family with some money, and no matter what happens, he’s constantly reminded by his friends, he always has the option to return home.

These men, still boys, are quite naive in the ways of their country, aware of the war around them but mostly oblivious to it. They have their own little code of manliness and honor that pushes them through extreme situations. But despite being a gang of their own, they’re lost, directionless and impressionable. Enter Felix, who takes the cold Little Killer under his wing and puts him in charge of the other two, sending them out on deliveries and collections, teaching them violence as well as street smarts. Eventually, given a little confidence and a little money, the boys become Felix’s, they’re his to do as he pleases, and we learn that Felix is in many ways just as impressionable, the lot of them enlisted into the war, not entirely sure what they’re fighting for.

Notes for a War Story is a tale that translates across boundaries, one person’s war-torn country is another’s gang-riddled neighborhood, where young men are curried into servitude by clever leaders who are more charming or brutal or more intelligent, offering wanting children that which they don’t have. Is it a father figure? Money? A home, a family, a purpose?

Told from Guiliano’s perspective, Gipi’s story is a young man’s story, the subtleties of which explore the needs and emotions, fears and desires that teenage boys have, and how easily swayed they are by predators who know how to give them what they both want and need. It doesn’t matter the intelligence or the class, it’s just predator and prey. Guiliano, unlike the other boys, always has an out, and as such, he’s always able to see past the situations they get into, and if there’s ever any doubt he can’t get out, he will leave. Guiliano dreams of his friends (and occasionally himself) headless, a metaphor for their aimlessness, their lack of control, and perhaps their inability to think for themselves.

Notes… is a potent and compelling read. Gipi’s roughly scrawled lines washed over with different hues of greyish-green watercolor representing the dark, dirty and ugly terrain in which these boys transgress. The character illustrations themselves may feel overly simplistic, but Gipi’s cartoons are well defined, his naturalistic dialog (well-translated here) and vague-yet-detailed environments suck the reader into this alternately believable and cinematic world.

4 and a half out of 5 Vikings

Raided: Amazons Attack #1

Posted by Graig on April 26, 2007

(DC)

If it sounds like a 1950’s B-movie, I think it’s supposed to. The mini-series opens up in Washington D.C. where, in a flash, a literal army of armed and armored women have appeared on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, around the Reflecting Pool, and atop winged horses invading a decidedly no-fly-zone. The Amazons are taking your capital. Referencing shlock sci-fi fare of yore Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, where a spaceship crashes into the Washington Monument, and preying upon post-9-11 fears of terrorism and planes crashing into the Pentagon, there’s two levels to Will Pfeifer’s story: one of giddy enjoyment, the other of “how dare they” shock and awe. In either case, it’s pulp fiction that can, however unintentionally, penetrate into the subconscious. With clean, attractive, and richly detailed artwork from Pete Woods, the book looks great, and with the possibility of homeland invasions a rarity, nevermind by supernatural forces, this story should be a lot of War of the Worlds-style fun. And yet, it’s not nearly as entertaining as it could be. The reason for this is because it’s unfortunately set in the DC Universe, where obviously superheroes, rather than good old-fashioned grit and manpower, are going to engage the warriors and win the war. Also, it being promoted as “The First Major Comics Event of 2007″, which means, guh, another crossover. Though capturing the reader immediately with it’s brutal and epic opening, the first failing is that Pfeifer spins the story in and out of Jodi Picoult’s run on Wonder Woman. Not having read or intending to read any Picoult’s stories (mainly based on the Rack Raid reviews of issues #6 and #7), much of the background to the story is lost, and some plot developments, which no doubt tie back into the next Picoult Wonder Woman issue, are vague. Instead of being its own tale, it feels, at least partially, like a derivative afterthought to another story. Pfeifer is ever a crafty and inventive writer, and no doubt this mini-series will take on a life of its own, but it really should have started out the gate as it’s own entity.

3 out of 5 Vikings

Raided - Sandman Mystery Theatre: Sleep of Reason #5

Posted by Graig on April 14, 2007

(Vertigo)

It’s my curiosity that got the better of me. DC needed a new Sandman (for some reason, Geoff John’s “Sand” in JSA didn’t suffice), and the torch was being passed via Vertigo’s Sandman Mystery Theatre. The original Sandman Mystery Theatre by Matt Wagner and Steve Seagle was a brilliant series telling golden age Sandman stories set in a pulpy 1940’s world of brutality and murder. The stories were fairly straightforward, each spanning a 4-issue arc with a similar story structure, but always intriguing (DC just release Vol. 5 of the trades reprinting the series). This modern update, written by John Ney Rieber, takes place amidst the brutality of a war-torn Jerusalem, where years before Wesley Dodds had his last big adventure, while in the modern day photojournalist Kieran Marshall is having his first, both connected. The particulars around the connection are muddy, and throughout the five issues of this series the plot has unfolded dream-like, lacking structure or clarity. The art by Eric Nguyen is interesting, but often difficult to decipher. Normally a book that is this difficult to follow would have been dropped immediately, but like I said, curiosity got the better of me, and I stuck it through, but in the end it was a highly unrewarding experience. I couldn’t get a sense of Kieran Marshall’s character throughout the entire ordeal, and I was never really certain on what the ordeal was he was enduring. Even the covers from Tim Bradstreet, an artist I typically have nothing but praise for, were fairly ugly photo collage-esque messes. For fans of Sandman, or those who will find a future tale of this new version interesting (whether from Justice Society of America or some other title), you’re really better off with the Wikipedia recap to learn his origins.

1 and a half out of 5 Vikings

Virulents One-Shot

Posted by Graig on April 3, 2007

(Virgin Comics)

Vampire terrorists? Well, not quite, but that’s the overly simplified description of Virulents, an extra-sized squarebound one-shot from Virgin comics. The book is the first story I’ve come across that tackles the post-9/11 wars with a supernatural bent, a modern Weird War Tales that sees soldiers facing forces beyond their understanding. It’s also the first story I’ve read that’s set in the Middle East (here Afghanistan) which doesn’t deal exclusively with American soldiers as the heroes, which isn’t to say there’s sympathies lying with Terrorists here, but instead the protagonists are a squad of both American and Indian soldiers. This melding of forces leads to the expected conflict within the team, as there are two teams of diverse faiths with two leaders butting heads, which leads to the classic Ugly American surfacing, though concentrated in only one soldier.

There’s a nice sense of depth to Virulents. It isn’t just a schlock horror story, but a well thought out piece of action and suspense with equal doses of gruesome horror and intense characterization. The characters sell the story, and by bringing together these soldiers from different training backgrounds, different cultures, different religions, and wholly different attitudes, the reader gets something incredibly unique, offering insight, however slight, into another culture. Samik Dasgupta’s script is tight, drafting pointed, often barbed dialogue that flows naturally, even as Hindi swears are inserted amidst English patter.

The story plays out wonderfully, giving the reader enough time to understand the dynamic of the team as well as some subtle insinuations about motivations, and ominous allusions to the impending danger, including a prologue sequence which shows a U.S. air strike forcing the terrorists deeper into their caves where the inevitable is discovered. It’s not quite halfway into the book before the first sign of the unreal appears, but as soon as it does, the pace is picked up, bordering on frantic. Violent, bloodsucking, seemingly invulnerable pseudo-Lovecraftian creatures swarm, and men are taken down and taken apart quickly, forcing four members of the team into a cave where they’ll no doubt never leave. The terror is palpable and it’s through Dean Ruben Hyrapiet’s stellar artwork and storytelling that the frenetic nature of the attackers is understood. Hyrapiet’s artwork is reminiscent of Captain America artist Mike Perkins, detail oriented and rife with shadows. It looks disturbing, which means he’s doing his job well.

There are two elements of Virulents that don’t work for me. The first is the merely cosmetic element of awkward bolding and italics used throughout the lettering of the book, while the second is a plot point involving a character fighting the change into a creature. While we are given a theological background that could explain the origin of the creatures, there’s not enough detail in the nature of the creatures (vampires? zombies? something else) to clearly explain how they’re created or killed. Overall though, everything in Virulents works and works well. It’s wonderfully cinematic, and perfect for any fan of horror films.

4 out of 5 Vikings

Army@Love #1

Posted by Jeb on March 26, 2007

(Vertigo)

It“s the “@” that gives it away.

Some reviewers of Rick Veitch“s new series, Army@Love have taken it to task for not being this generation“s “M*A*S*H*”: an anti-establishment view of an unpopular war, with its protagonists the only heroically “sane” people in the asylum. And, no question, Veitch makes it clear in his afterword that he“s driven to create this book by the war in Iraq. But that doesn“t mean that he“s required to come up with a new “Catch-22” or “Dr. Strangelove”: his vision here is more akin to a wildly perverse version of a wartime soap opera like “The Best Years of Our Lives”, or “Winds of War”, filtered through the entertainment-obsessed lens of 21st century online pop culture. This isn“t “us” (sensitive, liberal, humanist) against “them” (The Establishment): to Veitch, we“re no saner for enduring the war at home than the soldiers at the front are for being there in the first place. Picture the bastard child of Sergeant Rock, Our Love Story, and American Flagg, and you“ll be somewhere in the vicinity. “@ Love”, indeed.

As the story opens, there“s action both on the front lines and on the home front. We“re five years in the future, and the war in Afbaghistan (ahem) continues unabated. It“s become such a pop cultural event that the notion of it ever ending seems hardly to be entertained at all: it“s water-cooler entertainment now. Soldiers couple under fire while faithful spouses succumb to temptation at home: this time, though, Veitch not only plays with the gender roles (the husband left behind while his wife goes to war), but throws in such bizarre 21st-century touches as cellphone calls that relate horror and lust across a hemisphere in real time. Combat decisions are driven by focus groups and marketing concerns, and if it seems insane to imagine a “Hot Zone Club” (soldiers made horny under fire doing what comes natch“erly), it“s not significantly less sane than many of the horror stories that come back to us from the front lines. As satire, it might not be subtle, but the book“s strength is that the satire is bolstered by a fundamentally sound story of greed and desperation underneath.

I won“t spoil the specifics of the storyline: like any good soap opera, Veitch has a rich cast of characters, most with their own dark sides and selfish agendas, and in this first issue he sets the groundwork for a storyline of death, deceit, double-dealing… and sex. Lots and lots of sex.

That“s my only real caveat about the book: the sex scenes are very much in-your-face, but that“s part of the point, and while it may interfere with some readers“ enjoyment, I can“t say that they“re gratuitous. I don“t think I“ve seen much of Veitch“s art since Maximortal, but even so, the artwork here seems several large steps beyond that in terms of focus and consistency. He still has that Steve Dillon-like ability to suggest something sour and rotten in even the most innocent face, but you“d be hard pressed to imagine it put to better use.

While I“m not sure Veitch“s perspective on our 21st century pop-culture obsession has all that much interesting or unique,about it, he layers it on top of a highly readable story.

3 and a half out of 5 Vikings

[Trade Winds] Gear TPB

Posted by Graig on February 27, 2007

(Image Comics)

Mr. Blik, Gordon and Waffle were raised in a mega-mansion by Mrs. Edna Cramdilly who left the little darlings her house and every penny of her fortune when she died. But Mr. Blik, Gordon and Waffle aren’t her grandsons, they’re cats! The brothers live a life of freedom, adventure and, well, usually total mayhem. Whether they’re taking on ferocious bears, mythical sea creatures, zombies, giant robots or aliens, these rich kitties just can’t keep out of trouble.

This is not the description of Douglas Ten Napel’s recently reprinted comic book, Gear, but rather Nickleodeon’s description of their cartoon show Catscratch. The cartoon, if you havn’t seen it, is pretty much as it’s described, goofy, fun and lively entertainment for youngsters, but featuring a sense of humor akin to Dexter’s Lab or Spongebob Squarepants that will keep the parents (and stoner college kids) entertained as well. It’s popular, enough to have spawned its own Happy Meal toy line at McDonald’s, and you can bet that Image is touting its connections to this new printing of Ten Napel’s first comic book. But be warned, especially for the little ones, Gear is not Catscratch.

Yes, it’s true that Catscratch and Gear share the same creator, and that there are characters named Waffle and Gordon (and Mr. Black became Mr. Blik) in both, and these characters even look the same (a note from Ten Napel states that he had actual cats with these names), but that’s where the comparisons end. The happy go-lucky fun loving (if neurotic) nature of the Catscratch cats isn’t wholly absent, but the surroundings of these characters is a whole different ballgame.

In Gear, animals are intelligent, and there are three dominant species on one continent, each vying for supremacy: cats, dogs and insects. The cats have sub-fractioned into the warring North and South, with the south cats of the city called Norman being the weakest, possessing only one run down giant robot, called a Guardian. Early in the story we meet Waffle, Gordon, Mr. Black and Simon, the latter of which dies and sudden and dramatic death before the end of the first chapter. The North Cats and the Dogs are joining forces, meanwhile there’s a Dog commander desperately searching for the mythical Gear, an artifact that should provide it’s holder the power to rule the world. The insects attack Norman, while Gordon and Mr. Black liberate an insect Guardian, and Waffle makes friends with a mantis named Chee. In a roundabout way, Gear is activated (and is not nearly the magical entity everyone believed), the Bugs and South Cats unite against their united foe, and victory is never assured.

This is a book that, although lighthearted, is about war. It’s not so bleak that it’s without hope, Ten Napel’s penchant for use of Christian themes, here primarily Heaven and Hell, is strewn throughout, and is more blatant and less thematic than in later works. Heaven is presented obviously a place where the good people go, where they can become guardian spirits and help out in times of need, while Hell is a place where some can get a direct ticket. Ten Napel’s structure for the story is manic, irreverent and upon first read, a little convoluted. But it’s simplicity of the battle lines shines through with subsequent readings, as do the characterizations, the distinctive personalities much firmer than they may at first appear.

Originally published in six parts about a decade ago via Fireman Press (home of Scud: The Disposable Assassin), and collected once in black and white, this new volume is digest-sized and colorized giving it a whole different flavor than Ten Napel’s original black and white work. It’s neither better nor worse than the original publishing, just different. It’s a fun read, and an necessary library addition for any who enjoyed Ten Napel’s Creature Tech or Iron West. It’s unfortunate that it’s a little too heavy handed for the young Catscratch fans who could be a prime target for this, but despite the new, vibrant coloring job, this is probably ready for the tween-and-above market and not much younger.

4 out of 5 Vikings

Raided: Utopiates #2

Posted by Graig on February 10, 2007

(Bloodfire Studios)

Now this is more like it. I wasn’t exactly inspired by the first issue of Utopiates but I could see the promise of its premise, and with this second issue Josh Finney and Kat Rocha have capitalized upon it and tamed it into something if not quite unique then definitely enjoyable. It’s strange to have a two-part sub-story to a four-issue mini-series, but here it is. In the future, the American war against “terror” has transitioned into specifically a war against Muslims. The war is no longer strictly a government-controlled military affair, but instead a cooperative effort with commercial third-party sub-contractors, including Intersec, the company who developed the Imprint drug. It’s no surprise, then, that Instersec uses their drug on their soldiers to make them better on the battlefield. Although this issue does show us how the drug is used in war, it’s more about the impact on the veterans once the war is over. Their mind and body a mess of post-traumatic stress and withdrawal symptoms. Finney writes this issue with a bitter taste in his mouth, invoking Bush-gov buzzwords and escalating the implied (although never actually felt) terror level that seems like the natural course should we continue along the same path. The backdrop to the story is positively Verhoeven-esque, a kinship shared with Robocop and Starship Troopers in this respect, including the sense of humor, dark as it is, that was lacking from the first issue. This added to the political bent has created a much more interesting and satisfying read. This second issue expands the world of the drug, where it came from and what its purpose was (as with many modern inventions, it was derived from the advances used initially to make war), but at the same time it tightens the weave of this world, crossing it into the domain of the first book. Even if you missed the first, don’t hesitate for a second to pick the second issue up. Recommended.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] Annihilation #6

Posted by Graig on February 2, 2007

(Marvel)

With all the big events that have and continue to go around, Annihilation just kept getting more and more overshadowed, until it was practically lost in the dark. Once it became evident that this pan-dimensional intergalactic war was going to stay out of Earth’s trajectory, well, that was probably lights out for a lot of people… not that they stopped reading, but that they stopped investing into it as much. But still, this series didn’t pull its punches. There were some big changes, some reversions, some revisions, and some revamping all amidst big-scale action and space warfare. Keith Giffen brought it with this mini, sparing the Bwa-ha-has for another time and giving the book a real heft, if perhaps not the importance it desired. Nova certainly had his moment to shine this issue, as Ronan did in the previous and Drax the issue before that. Galactus also gets his moment, finally, and it’s worth waiting for. Artist Andrea DiVito drops a Galactus splash on page 3 that would give the King himself envy. It’s nice to see a story of this scale get resolved. Though aftereffects will obviously linger in the Marvel Galaxy beyond this series, there is a resolution here, a surprisingly satisfactory one (considering how disappointing and fulfilling other epic mini-series have been over the past two years). This one, I had wondered excitedly how it would conclude, not seeing the resolution in sight, and Giffen and crew managed to delight, surprise and fully entertain. The trades are coming, so keep an eye out. It’s good old fashioned comic-bookery with the big blockbuster feel.

4 out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] Warhammer 40,000 - Damnation Crusade #1

Posted by Sean on December 31, 2006

(Boom! Studios)

Take the most popular tabletop war game and merge that with the fastest growing publisher in the comic book business and you have geek synergy - as well as a recipe for success. Damnation Crusade is the first in a series of comic books Boom! has planned exploring the vast and rich Warhammer 40K science fiction universe. This series focuses on a Chapter of Space Marines - the fiercest and most loyal protectors of the Empire (the good guys) - and their fight against the Necrons, an army of cybernetic undead. The Warhammer universe is very detailed with a expansive history, and Boom! does themselves a favor by bringing veteran Warhammer novelist Dan Abnett onboard to pen this series. What results is an accessible, character focused, science fiction war story that can be enjoyed by Warhammer fans and non-fans alike. Artist Lui Antonio also does a good job capturing the brutal savagery of combat in the Warhammer 40K universe. A good start to what I hope will be a long series of comics.

3 and a half out of 5 Vikings

Sandman Mystery Theatre: Sleep Of Reason #1

Posted by Graig on December 16, 2006

(Vertigo)

Since the imprint of Vertigo was created to represent the “suggested for mature readers” line of DC Comics, the Sandman is one of few characters that has been allowed to jump in and out of the continuity of the DC Universe. Swamp Thing and Hellblazer aren’t really allowed anymore, and the Doom Patrol isn’t quite the same when it’s not in Vertigo territory. The original Sandman Mystery Theatre series (by Matt Wagner and later co-written with Steven T. Seagle) took place in the 1930’s and ’40’s and spent it’s time delving into, yes, mystery plays. Occasionally, other Golden-Age heroes would cross over into Vertigo territory via the series as well, allowing for a much different perspective on the world of capes and tights than we normally see.

In one of his final appearances, Wesley Dodds, the Golden-Age Sandman, helped Jack Knight (aka Starman) out on a case, then took his last bow in the world of mystery men, leaving abroad to spend the last days of his dying wife Diane without interruption of the superhero kind. He was last seen in JSA Secret Files and Origins as a frail widower encountering the powerful magician Mordru. Wesley gave his life rather than unveil the secrets the mystic sought. Sleep of Reason takes place between these two appearances, as we find Wesley and Diane in Afghanistan in 1997. The rich man and his wife are made targets, and Diane is taken with Wesley left with the chore of collecting her ransom.

In Afghanistan today, Kieran Marshall is an embedded photojournalist documenting the battle between NATO forces and the Taliban. In the thick of the battle, one name keeps surfacing: Masad. The soldiers say he’s a myth, perhaps a organization of men, but some think he is a man, more deadly than any other. During his life Wesley Dodds was subject to vivid, often prophetic dreams, and it would seem now Kieran Marshall has them as well. His quest for Masad leads him to the man, but he is more vicious and evil than his dreams could tell, and in a moment of desperation he grabs a gas pistol and a voice deep within him commands all the soldiers around him, enemy and allies alike, to sleep.

John Ney Reiber takes the task of creating a new Sandman but without ignoring the old. Moving the street-level noir to a completely different, and much more modern and horrific atmosphere, both Kieran and Wesley are given space to breathe as characters, but one as a hero at his end, the other a hero just beginning. Artist Eric Nguyen takes the artistic chores and does so admirably, making this series not too visually different from Guy Davis’ long tenure on the original, but at the same time adding heavier tones and not quite as elaborate compositions. Lee Loughridge provides colors, mostly earthen tones to get the feel for desert warfare. The final three pages feature some abstract action and visual flourishes, but there is a relevance to them yet to be revealed. The mystery begins.

Though definitely interesting, Sleep of Reason doesn’t quite provide the same ease of access that the original provided with each story arc. This “passing of the torch” almost caters to old fans without granting easy access to the new reader. Hopefully subsequent issues will bridge the two better. I’m also a little disappointed that the mini-series is five issues long, and thus out of fitting with the regular series’ typical 4-issue arcs, but that’s a minor quibble. It’s a book that is good enough to make me want to see where it’s going but there’s not enough yet to give a firm recommendation.

3 out of 5 Vikings

[Trade Winds] Showcase Presents: The Unknown Soldier

Posted by Elgin on December 1, 2006

(DC Comics)

The Unknown Soldier character first appeared in Star-Spangled War Stories issue #151 and ran for 64 issues from 1977 to 1982. This Showcase volume contains the first 38 stories featuring the work of writer Bob Haney and artists Dick Ayers and Gerry Talaoc. Backup features in the original comic featured Enemy Ace by Robert Kanigher and John Severin and Captain Fear by David Micheline and Walt Simonson, although these are not included in this volume.

This title focuses on the missions of an American World War II intelligence agent whose head and face are so severely disfigured from an early combat mission that he typically has them completely wrapped in heavy bandages. In order to remain useful to the war effort he becomes a master of disguise who can assume the identity of almost any man. Unfortunately his disguises often itch, forcing him to be conscious not to give himself away by scratching. He is also prone to loss of temper at enemy atrocities and has been known to blow his cover in this manner.

These are exciting stories and well illustrated but suffer from the same faults most DC war comics share. The continuing characters typically featured are involved in more combat situations than is reasonable to believe anyone could suffer through and remain whole, either physically or mentally. Yet the DC soldiers universally survive and, like Sgt. Rock, seem to thrive. War stories involving disparate characters, as EC’s titles, Two Fisted Tales or Frontline Combat, are more believable. Superior to those comics are the ones adapted from the thousands upon thousands of true events available throughout history that could provide equally exciting, emotive, and edifying stories. Some comics have taken advantage of this fact, including those same EC titles, but most noticeably DC comics themselves.

Sam Glanzman produced at least 69 short stories for DC’s war titles and 2 graphic novels for Marvel about what he saw during World War II aboard a destroyer, the U.S.S, Stevens. They were terse, sometimes funny, sometimes horrifying, always true to life. While Mr. Glanzman often featured himself in the stories, more often than not, others were the center of the event. The Unknown Soldier is worth your time and money, as will the presumed second volume, but the true gems of the DC war comics are as yet unmined.

3 and a half out of 5 Vikings.

[Raided] Midnighter # 1

Posted by Russell on November 25, 2006

(Wildstorm)

Finer minds than mine have thought it first, but it’s worth revisiting: at his worst, Garth Ennis is still better than a greater percentage of writers out there. I’d even go so far as to extend that to his collaborator, Chris Sprouse, whose linework and storytelling are exemplary on a consistent month-in-and-out basis. So the two of them teamed on a Wildstorm revival of everyone’s favorite Batman-analogue? Who could lose with that? Unfortunately, the first issue’s not as great as the above promises, but it’s still not bad. It’s the Midnighter in some over-the-top action in a real-world setting (presumably lining up with Morrison’s Authority premise at some undetermined point in the future), subsequently absconded by a Big Bad and drafted to hunt down a notorious villain, whose identity when revealed on the final page gave me a giggle. Unfortunately, that’s about it — I was left with a giggle, but no real meat on the bone, you know? Perfectly fine, but not much to chew on. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Raided] Battler Britton #5 (5 of 5)

Posted by Sean on November 11, 2006

(DC/Wildstorm)
The payoff issue, and what a payoff it is as writer Garth Ennis’ World War II fighter jock mini-series wraps up. Though the previous four issues weren’t exactly short on action - with plenty of well choreographed aerial combat sequences - issue five takes it to another level with twenty-two pages of non-stop, pulse-pounding action, as the British and American pilots race against time to stop a division of German tanks from overrunning the Allied defenses in North Africa. This is edge of your seat stuff and an amazing adrenaline rush. Ennis’ characterizations of the previous four issues give the combat real meaning, investing the reader, and Colin Wilson’s kinetic and detailed battle sequences bring the battle to life. This was an incredible mini-series, and I hope DC publishes more quality war comics like this in the (very near) future. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Trade Winds] The Enemy Ace Archives (Volume 2)

Posted by Elgin on November 3, 2006

(DC Comics)

One of the great, if faded, genres in comics is war. Almost every publisher has had war titles of varied quality. DC had several books dedicated totally to combat stories during the 1950s and 1960s. One of the better titles was Our Army At War. This title mainly dealt with World War II. From a few early stories, notably, The D.I. and The Sand Fleas in G. I. Combat # 56, a lead character developed named Sgt. Rock who came to be the focus of almost every issue.

In 1965, Enemy Ace was developed as a backup story line and quickly became a rival to Sgt. Rock. Von Hammer, the ace, became so popular that he was given a solo title tryout in Showcase. Sales were not good enough for a permanent selection but were good enough to make it the starting story in Star Spangled War Stories replacing the G.I. versus dinosaur stories that had been the focus of that title. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Deathblow #1

Posted by Sean on

(Wildstorm)

I was very jazzed about this new action-espionage series when I first heard it announced, being a fan of both writer Brian Azzarello and the old Wildstorm “Team 7” commandos (which former Navy SEAL Michael Cray, codenamed “Deathblow,” was a member). Only problem with that though is that feeling too jazzed about anything can lead to unrealistic expectations – and right now I“m wondering whether I set my sights too high for this book or whether it really is just mediocre. With only one issue in though, it“s too early to tell.

The concept is great. No denying that. After six years out of circulation, and believed dead by his former associates, Michael Cray “accidentally” resurfaces – a tough as nails, resourceful black-ops specialist without a country and without any apparent allies. A living breathing WMD that no one has any influence over whatsoever. The possibilities are endless. But despite an interesting premise, the execution in this issue leaves something to be desired. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »