WELCOME BACK

No comic started better or went off the rails faster in 2005 than SEA OF RED. The first issue was probably the best debut of the year, but damn, did I lose my happy feeling about the book quickly. Now, the first arc is done, and we’re underway with a second one, and I have to sit here and tell you that I’m out ten bucks. Goddammit.

SEA OF RED #5-7
Written by Rick Remender and Kieron Dwyer and Drawn by Paul Harmon
Published by Image Comics

You see, Rick Remender was feeling smug. So smug, in fact, that he offered to put his money where his mouth was. Knowing how I had soured on this book, he was so sure that they were back on track that he said he’s send me ten bucks if I didn’t read these and like ‘em.

It sucks to be a man of integrity sometimes.

Because, yeah, the book is completely back on track. Getting further away from the interminable movie plot/fake James Cameron, the book brings Marco the vampire back in touch with the vampirates we met back in issue one, particularly their leader Blackthroat. Secrets are revealed, and we begin to discover that what we saw happen in issue one was really only a surface examination of what truly happened on that pirate ship 500 years ago. It makes a world of difference to put the modern characters into the background and put the focus back onto what made the book interesting to begin with.

There’s a new artist this arc, Paul Harmon, and since he uses layouts from Dwyer, as previous artist Salgood Sam did, there’s a pure consistency to the storytelling. The first issue is a bit rough as far as keeping the characters differentiated well, but Harmon shows improvement over the next two episodes.

SEA OF RED, with this shift in arc and approach, has achieved a nice unpredictability to it. With a concept this rich, there’s no reason that this book can’t be one of the best book son the stands each month. If Remender and company can maintain what they’re doing now, they’re well on their way.

/Mason

I MISS NIBBIL, BUT…

Gosh, but Colleen Coover comics make me happy. I read ‘em, and I swear I hear Tony The Tiger saying, “They’re grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!” in the background.

BANANA SUNDAY #3-4
Written by Root Nibot and Drawn by Colleen Coover
Published by Oni Press

Poor Kirby. Such a sweet girl, but she has some unusual circumstances in her life. She’s the new girl in her school. The most popular girl has it out for her. She’s crushing hard on Martin, but their lives may be too crazy to ever get the two together. And oh, yeah, she’s brought with her to the new school three talking monkeys that are taking classes with her. That makes puberty just a tad more difficult, you know?

It’s always hard to go wrong with monkeys, no matter what you do, and when the three are as hilarious as the ones Kirby is saddled with, you’re definitely on the right track. Plus, and this is so important: I haven’t seen the first two issues of this series, and there’s no front cover recap, yet I was still able to follow what was going on with complete ease. Do you realize how rare that is these days? A comic that’s new-reader friendly without needing to read an essay before you start? Wow. That’s just one of the many things that charmed me immensely about BANANA SUNDAY.

Because, you know, there’s that art by the aforementioned Miss Coover. She’s swell. From the first time I cracked open her wonderful SMALL FAVORS, I was hooked on her amazing talent for simple storytelling, appealing characters, and cute girls. Turns out she can draw a man primate as well. If she can hand-make donuts, I might have to ask for her hand in marriage. Root Nibot’s script is whimsical and full of crisp, clever dialogue that adds zip to the tale. He also finds ways to keep the plot grounded in understandable themes, so that the monkeys don’t completely outshine Kirby and her travails.

I read this book with a huge smile on my face, which is really just about all you can ask for when you crack the cover on any new comic. So cheers to BANANA SUNDAY, and fingers crossed for a sequel to come soon.

/Mason

A SECOND OPINION

This book has sort of vexed me from the start. The writer is a guy whose work has run hot and cold for me since I first saw his name in a credit box. The artist is someone whose work I have hated with a passion since I first cracked a cover that held it behind it. So to say that I’ve not been overly receptive to this title would be undercutting it a bit.

GODLAND #5
Written by Joe Casey and Drawn by Tom Scioli
Published by Image Comics

So, once again, I sat down with an issue of this title to see if I could get it to penetrate past my built-in prejudices, and for the first time, there was real movement for me. Go figure. I think it started with the actual content of the story, at least as far as the characters go; yes, there is a huge dollop of the fantastic here, with wacky villains, aliens, castles and such, but at heart, GODLAND slowed down and became a story about something else: the feelings of loneliness and bitterness felt by Neela Archer at how her brother’s powers have destroyed what she had created as her life. That’s something I can get behind, an emotional truth that forces some introspection and movement in the character’s arc. I tend to believe that Casey can get bogged down, falling in love with his big ideas, but here he curbs that, and delivers a story that works.

That left my traditional struggle with Scioli’s art. Look, I understand that pretty much every artist working is in some way cribbing from the style of an artist who came before him or her. It seems like you can’t throw a pencil without poking out the eye of someone who’s aping Neal Adams. What bothers me is when there’s no attempt to deviate, such as Scioli’s pure homage to Jack Kirby. It knocks me out of the story, even if it’s well executed, because I’m constantly aware of it. But something interesting happens in this issue, and I’d like to believe it was purposely done: Scioli shifts in certain spots to aping the work of one of the best Kirby-esque artists who came down the pipe after The King: Herb Trimpe.

In fact, the huge confrontation scene between Adam and Neela is pure Trimpe, showing a direct link to Herb, and yet demonstrating a bit of what Trimpe took from Kirby as he came up through the ranks. It brought an actual smile to my face, which was definitely a first for Scioli’s work.

GODLAND isn’t reinventing the wheel. Not even close. But it is showing signs of gaining some needed character depth, and that’s important. Big ideas, no matter how large they might be, run out. But good characters can last forever. As long as the book keeps that in mind, things will keep looking up for Casey and Company.

/Mason

BOOTY CALL

I loves me some pirates.

DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES #2
Written by Dwight MacPherson and Drawn by Mike Fiorentino
Published by Arcana Studio

I had some enthusiasm for issue one of this pirate/horror tale, as I thought it had done solid work in melding the two genres in a fashion that was well thought out and explained with some clarity. Plus, it had the added bonus of reading as very dense; no decompressed storytelling here. So it was with some curiosity to see how MacPherson would handle the second part, as the focus was headed to a different set of characters. Happily, the book passes with flying colors.

In fact, issue two is much stronger that its predecessor. Now, we follow a pirate ship sailing the high seas and in possession of the map to God’s very own treasure, and to the distress of the crew, the captain has been driven quite loopy by possessing the map. Therefore, he finds new sport in murdering his own crew, either by bullet or keelhauling. And you thought your boss was a dick.

What the captain doesn’t realize, though, is that he has a mole in his midst that has plans of his own, and the guy whose brains he splattered to take possession of the map in issue one? Well, he’s been rejected by the afterlife and resurrected as a very pissed member of the walking dead. Whoops.

Amidst this intrigue, we also get some ship-to-ship battling, a flashback to how the relics got buried to begin with, and more. Again, not a decompressed book we’re dealing with here. There’s real value for your yanqui dollar when you put DEAD MEN in your buy pile. Plus, this is one of the nicer looking small press efforts being produced in color; Fiorentino’s art serves the story well, and the paper stock keeps the tones sharp. Can’t wait to see if MacPherson can top himself again next time around.

/Mason

TECHNOLOGY MAKES OUR LIVES EASIER

Click on the AUDIO post above for a spoken-word (and slightly different) take on this review!

FELL #3
Written by Warren Ellis and Drawn by Ben Templesmith
Published by Image Comics

The third issue of FELL is miles ahead of the first two in quality, and considering I was already pretty convinved the book was going to make my top ten of 2005 list over at The Shoot, that's saying something. This time out, detective Richard Fell takes a day off to go buy a suit or two. Good idea considering the damage his clothing has taken in the first two issues.

However, nothing is ever that simple for our hero, and as he walks around Snowtown looking for a place to shop, he discovers just how much the economic downturn has devolved the city into a place where crime and lawlessness have taken root at a level that shocks him. Because no one expects a suicide bomber to show up at a thrift store...

Ellis does an excellent job of continuing to develop Fell's character here. Not only do we learn about him in the way he talks to the other citizens of Snowtown, we also learn about him by the way he doesn't talk to some people. It's sharply executed stuff, ably abetted by the incredible art of Templesmith. The story is driving Snowtown itself as a character, but it's Templesmith who breathes life into it, like a Frankenstein gone mad on cheap wine. It hasn't taken long for FELL to become one of the best comics being published today, but you know what?

You shouldn't be surprised.

/Mason

KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE

A few months ago, Devil’s Due re-launched its flagship title, trimming the core cast and paring away some of the excess baggage that had built up over time. Now, we’re five issues into that experiment. So what’s the verdict?

G.I. JOE #4-5
Written by Joe Casey and Drawn by Stefano Caselli and Nelson Blake

By the end of the last volume of the book, it appeared that the JOE universe was perhaps so overpopulated and over plotted that anyone coming into the book for the first time was hopelessly screwed. Now, that isn’t to say that the book wasn’t readable; it was very readable, but much more so if you had been with it for a while, so the appearance of unfriendliness to new readers was dead on target. The solution was an obvious one: whittle the book down to the characters fans responded best to, and those who could serve other plot purposes, and work from there. Plus, add some new elements besides COBRA to the mix, so that JOE took on a bit more relevance to the real world. Writer Joe Casey was brought on board to do the job, and voila, experiment underway.

The first storyline utilizes one of those new villainous elements: a former militia bad guy buys some nasty tech from a classic JOE baddie and commits a number of horrifying terrorist acts. Perfect. The team must be brought back together, introduced to the new readers, face a worthy foe… exactly what you’d want to do right out of the gate. And early on, it was handled beautifully. There was a reality to the violence and to the plot that really worked. And as issue four rolls around, the Joes are off on a mission to stop the antagonist from putting in motion even more nasty acts of a similar nature. But oddly enough, Casey’s climax falters.

Action-wise, this stuff is good. The ex-Cobra fellow sends the militia guy some assistance, leading to an all-out bullet fest in the skies over the southwest. Cool. But the primary job of stopping the evil plan in motion bogs down, because it’s a technobabble solution, worthy of a mid-level STAR TREK episode. The action for that portion of the story is nonexistent, and worse, extremely difficult to get across from an artistic standpoint. I felt for Caselli as I read it, wondering if he struggled with drawing it.

Issue five is a traditional “clear the character decks after the big mission” piece, and is much more successful, wrapping a nice bow on the initial storyline, and setting in motion Casey’s second arc. Blake steps in for Caselli and sadly suffers in comparison, but that’s no reflection on the quality of his own work. That’s just the business of doing a fill-in job. In all, G.I. JOE remains a well-executed soap opera with a lot of shit blowing up, and if you don’t expect any more than that, you’re in good shape.

/Mason

A CRACK IN THE ARMOR?

One of the best superhero comics being published today has hit a rough patch…

INVINCIBLE #27
Written by Robert Kirkman and Drawn by Ryan Ottley
Published by Image Comics

I love this book. Have from the very start, as a matter of fact. Kirkman’s characters and stories are good, clean fun, and his homage to the great superhero comics of the past has proven time and again to be a terrific antidote to the doom and gloom that Marvel and DC have been offering over the last couple of years. But now, the book is hitting its first real tough spot, and it’ll be interesting to see how Kirkman handles it.

At the core, the problem is really, really simple: there’s not been much in the way of forward movement in this book, nor has there been anything in the way of action. Now, you can get away with a lack of action in a more cerebral book (which this is not), and you can get away with a lack of forward movement in a book with no driving premise. INVINCIBLE is a book that has one of those: a second-generation superhero not only fights for what’s right, but to atone for his father’s turn to villainy. But over the last three issues, the plot has moved exactly this far: Invincible has flown into space to help an alien world facing a horrible death, discovered that his father is still alive, and learns he has a new brother facing death on said world. It isn’t until the end of this issue that the threat finally shows up. And mind you, issue twenty-five was double-sized.

The only action we’ve actually seen over those issues has pretty much come from the supporting cast fighting battles back on Earth. Now, I’m no fanboy, and I like character stuff as much as anyone, but this book succeeds when there’s a balance involved, and right now, exposition is eating INVINCIBLE’S lunch. Making matters stranger, thanks to the crossover with MARVEL TEAM-UP, we have a glimpse of the plot for this book five issues ahead. So you’re left begging Kirkman to step on the gas and get to it a bit, you know?

Don’t get me wrong; as I said above, I dig this book. I’m still completely onboard. And it looks like next issue will begin restoring the balance to the title, and certainly, the cliffhanger is a dandy. But I can’t say for certain how someone picking up the comic for the first time would react, and I’ve really never felt like that was a worry before. So, go get ‘em Robert; the fans are waiting. I have faith that you won’t let us down.

/Mason

HARRIS O’MALLEY, ARTIST…

…Joins Harris O’Malley, writer, on BENEATH THE CRACKS: THE BRIDE, and writer Jens Altmann on BERSERKER: THE WILD HUNT #1-3, both available from Studio Underhill.

BERSERKER is a five-issue mini-series in progress. The story centers on the old Celtic myth of a huntsman who seeks human prey, and Altmann throws a new twist into the mix by setting the tale in modern day. The Huntsman’s targets are those who have lost the will or desire to live, but when the being’s ancient enemy is able to save the life of one of the near-dead, a new sort of modern Viking is created.

I’m a sucker for bringing legend into a modern milieu, so I found myself buying into the story with relative ease, particularly with the Huntsman’s work being investigated as the work of a serial killer. But O’Malley’s work tends to be a little inconsistent, and backgrounds are sometimes non-existent. He does well with character scenes, but the inconsistency is most apparent during action sequences, leaving them lacking in fluidity.

His sparse and spare panel work is much more successful in THE BRIDE, another neo-modern take on an old story. This time, however, it’s the “Bride Of Frankenstein.” O’Malley’s take follows the Bride, set free during a raid in which her Dr. Frankenstein is arrested as a serial killer, on an odyssey through the city as she deals with the remnants of memory belonging to the souls who make up her body. It’s a cold, harsh take that gives us a Bride at the mercy of chickenhawks and pimps in the big city. THE BRIDE is an effectively rendered tragedy of a soul who never wanted to die, and who never wanted to live.

Looking at THE BRIDE in particular, there is definite evidence that O’Malley is slowly grasping the basics of storytelling, and I think with experience, he’ll grow and become more effective at page layout, backgrounds, and portraying motion and action.

/Mason

SEASON OF THE WITCH #1-2
Written by Jai Nitz and Drawn by Kevin Sharpe
Published by Image Comics

Poor Jessica Suddreth. The fourteen-year old high school freshman has everything a girl her age could have working against her. She scrawny, makes poor grades, has inattentive parents, and is the target of the meanest kids in her class. The only thing that gives her a moment’s peace is flying her kite from the roof of her apartment building. But her life takes a sudden and dramatic turn when she is magically transported to a world of magic and placed in a position to follow other legendary girl warriors like Dorothy, Alice, and Wendy. Now, she will be trained as a “Spell Sword,” and sent off to overthrow the terrible tyrant King Elian. If, that is, she can master her craft, and her wildly varying teenage girl emotions.

SEASON is a surprisingly effective and entertaining entry into the genre, and Jessica makes for a very appealing heroine. Nitz does an excellent job of setting up how miserable her existence is in the real world, which allows you to accept Jessica’s decision to stick around in a magical world where she has some power and control over existence with no qualms. Anyone who knows kids realizes that the one thing they crave most is autonomy over their lives. Plus, while the magical world allows Jessica to live as her ideal self (which is taller, stronger, and bustier), Sharpe’s art never feels like it’s exploiting that fact. There are no horrific fan-service shots to titillate the reader, making the book friendly to the audience considered to be Jessica’s peers: young girls.

Nitz also pushes his story along with some alacrity; there’s no decompression at work, just straight storytelling pushing things forward. Along with the fine story work, extra credit goes to Sharpe for some really terrific artwork; his style works just as well in depicting the real world as it does when Jessica crosses over. His stuff is clean, detailed, and effective in interpreting Nitz’ script. SEASON OF THE WITCH is good fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

/Mason

CANVAS #1
Written and Drawn by Various
Published by Black Velvet Studios

CANVAS seems to exist mainly to showcase the work of a number of young artists. There’s a science fiction element to the five stories in the book, but none of them really hold up under much scrutiny, particularly because three of them are initial pieces of what would seem to be much longer works. To say that’s risky for an anthology from a small publisher would be undercutting it a bit.

The best-known “name” artist in the book is Eric Canete, and it’s his work that gets the leadoff spot in the book. The stuff printed here is nice, and sharply detailed, but he also contributed the story and let himself down a bit. Nothing here truly gives him the chance to cut loose and display a broad look at his abilities, which is a shame.

To my eye, the best material in the comic comes in artist Byron Penaranda’s work in a story called “The Intergalactic Misadventures of Maizy Martin.” The story is a dialogue-free exercise focusing on a woman who drives a cab for aliens and other types. The story grinds down at the end, losing the reader, but Byron’s art is terrific stuff, showing a grasp of detail, character, and whimsy.

Issue one of CANVAS has a publication date of 2000, but I picked it up at San Diego this past summer. Issues should still be available from the publishers.

/Mason

THE RICK REMENDER HOUR

Starting NaWriRevDa (National Write A Review A Day) month off, a look at a couple of efforts from the fertile brain of writer Rick Remender, both published by Image Comics.

STRANGE GIRL #4
Drawn by Eric Nguyen

Unlike Mark Millar’s higher profile CHOSEN, there actually was a book with religious overtones that stuck to its guns and kept the courage of its own convictions this year. That book was Remender’s STRANGE GIRL. With the biblical rapture as its starting point, Remender took his lead character Bethany down a path that saw her grow from a very young girl to a survivor of the ultimate horror.

There was a delay between the last issue and this one, so it took me a bit of time to get back into the flow of the story, but it came easily enough. The reason STRANGE GIRL continues to work well is that it is founded on a premise that doesn’t restrict itself to a number of rules; Hell is now on Earth. That means magic, murder, mayhem… broad humor… anything goes. That infects the story with a very carefree attitude, and that attitude infects the reader. This issue, we get a much clearer look at how Bethany survived the horror of losing the world at an early age, and at how she survived being eaten or tormented along with the rest of the damned. It’s gripping, brutal stuff, and necessary at this point in the story so we can get fully invested in the series.

Rounding things out is the wonderful work of Eric Nguyen, whose work has never looked better. I’ve seen it written recently that this book needs a sale uptick to keep going, and I encourage those out there looking for something new and interesting to read to pick this book up and give it a shot.

FEAR AGENT #1
Drawn by Tony Moore

FEAR AGENT is Remender’s acknowledged tribute to the gonzo science-fiction comics created by guys like Wally Wood back in the 1950s, and for the most part, it succeeds pretty well. Heath Huston is a futuristic exterminator whose job it is to wipe out nasty alien infestations; in issue one, he’s on the task of tracking down a sort of troglodyte race who have been raiding human settlements and stealing equipment. This being a comic book and not a documentary, it isn’t quite as easy as Huston would hope, and a nasty complication arises in the process of trying to eliminate his prey.

Deliberately retro in its writing and artistic style, there’s a smirking machismo here that soaks through each page. This is the classic approach writ large; the hero is a drinker on Warren Ellis scale, and in love with his completely phallic weaponry. Taking it with the tongue it buries so deeply in cheek, you can’t help but read it and have a great laugh. Nothing here should even remotely be taken seriously.

The one glaring flaw is that, like I did in the above paragraph, the script narration resorts to a few modern phrasings and anachronisms, and they throw you out of the moment. FEAR AGENT’S so immersed in the moment and milieu otherwise that those bits feel false and poorly executed. Balancing that is the long-awaited return of Tony Moore to a substantial work. He’s been mostly AWOL since he exited THE WALKING DEAD, and it’s nice to see his work again, and in full color to boot.

FEAR AGENT and STRANGE GIRL provide a nice balance to the way that SEA OF RED rather fizzled after its opening issue, and are both worthy of your time and dinero.

/Mason

I LIVE!

This blog has been on hiatus for a couple of months, but will be making a very strong and stirring comeback in the month of December.

Issues have been two-fold. One: I've been kind of sick of comics. Never a good thing for a guy who receives and reads a metric ton of them every year. However, there's been a distinct lack of excitement in the medium as of late, and while I've read some perfectly good books (and reviewed them at The Shoot), I haven't had the energy to deal with them. However, last week I sat down with some truly great books, and it energized me a bit.

The larger factor at play in my life, though, has been my participation in NaNoWriMo this past month. Last night, in the space of 29 days, I finished my first novel. 67,547 words worth of it. You want to talk about devoting your energy to something? Wow.

It was one of the most amazing processes I've been a part of in my adult life, and one I'm incredibly grateful for. For those who have the desire and the discipline, I recommend it heartily. It can change your course as a writer.

Here at the Comics Waiting Room, I'm going to attempt to crash through some of the backlog that's accumulated while working on the book. So I am going to try and attempt at least one review a day between December 1st and Christmas. Wish me luck.

And please stop by to read.

/Mason

SIBAM OCTOBER 4, 2005 EDITION: PART TWO

Image Comics

FELL #1
Written by Warren Ellis and Drawn by Ben Templesmith

Ellis’ latest creator-owned gamble turns out to be a worthy one with this nifty little detective book. Using a straight, restrictive format (sixteen pages of story, all nine-panel grids), he brings Richard Fell to vivid life as a detective working homicide in the worst part of the city. I’ve seen some online whining that Fell feels like a standard tough guy Ellis protagonist, but I think he veers away from that quite well. Fell is more of a man of reason, a descendent of Holmes, not a Spider Jerusalem type who chooses violence for its own sake. Fell is haunted and saddened by the world and truly seems to be dedicated to making his little corner of it better. For a while now I’ve been telling those who would listen that Ellis is comics’ biggest romantic writer, and FELL continues to prove me right. Extra kudos to Templesmith for his beautiful art; getting away from vampires agrees with him nicely.

BODY BAGS #1-2
Written and Drawn by Jason Pearson

When bounty hunter/killer Mack gets a surprise visit from his precocious, ass-kicking teenaged daughter Panda, all Hell starts to break loose in the big man’s life. What’s a father to do when his daughter decides she wants to follow him into the family business and won’t take no for an answer? Shoot her? Or teach her the tricks of the trade?

Obviously, shooting her would make for a very short book, so instead the training begins and the body count begins to grow in this absurdist piece of entertainment. Pearson manages to tap into a vein of pure lunacy as he finds ways to take the levels of graphic violence and bubbling sexuality to new places. This is a down and dirty hit of pop comics, with zest, gusto, verve, and not a single ounce of redeeming social value. Perfect.

GODLAND #3
Written by Joe Casey and Drawn by Tom Scioli

The first two issues of this book didn’t do much for me. I could sort of see where Casey was aiming; by using Scioli’s pure Kirby-pastiche art, he was working a modernist tribute to the late King and his wealth of ultra-cosmic ideas. Cool. But at the same time, I’ve held a strong distaste for Scioli’s art for a long time. I’m sick of pastiches; Kirby left behind a solid body of work for me to enjoy, and I don’t need someone muddying up the water. So the story took a strong backseat.

However, I tried to take a stronger look at the story and concepts with this issue, and yeah, it’s kinda groovy. Don’t get me wrong; Casey isn’t reinventing the wheel, but he is doing a nice job of creating a solid retro-pop sound on the four-color page. He’s embraced one of the fundamentally great things about comics: you can go anywhere and do anything, as long as you create a world where that makes sense. That’s what GODLAND is really all about. I’m in.

DEATH JUNIOR #3
Written by Gary Whitta and Drawn by Ted Naifeh

The conclusion of this wonderful miniseries is just about as perfect as you could ask for. The characters grow and complete their arcs, the plot resolves itself nicely, and you walk away feeling good about the whole series and its potential for a sequel. It was only missing a bow.

The third issue finds Junior working with his friends so that he can undo his blunder and return his father to his rightful job as Death. Earlier in the series, Junior had blundered a bit and a bad guy had stolen Dad’s powers and locked him away. Plus, Junior had accidentally killed one of his best friends. This could have played very heavy, but Whitta works it all note perfect so that the book is still a great read for younger readers. Throw in some lovely work from Naifeh, and this was truly one of the year’s more pleasant surprises.

EXPATRIATE #3
Written by B. Clay Moore and Drawn by Jason Latour

No. No no no no no.

This is, quite simply, the single worst plot twist of 2005. Nothing else even comes close. This makes murdering the Blue Beetle look like WATCHMEN. This makes “House Of M” read like LOVE AND ROCKETS.

No. No no no no no. Bad Clay. No soup for you.

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING

G.I. JOE #43 AND AMERICA’S ELITE #0
Written by Brandon Jerwa and Joe Casey
Drawn by Emiliano Santalucia, Tim Seeley, and Stefano Caselli

The old JOE endeth and the new one begins as Devils Due restarts the franchise and shifts the focus to a smaller version of the team. I’m guessing this is to streamline the storylines and make the series more inviting for new readers, but I also think it has the effect of whittling away some of the deadwood that can gather in the plot lines of a long running soap opera, which is what G.I. JOE has always been. It’s just a soap opera with ninjas and a lot of gunplay.

In the aftermath of the original team’s breakup at the end of issue #43, we meet the new version fairly quickly in ELITE, as a satellite crashes into Chicago, causing a cataclysmic event in Chicago and setting the Joes on the scene not only to assist in the aftermath, but to find the bad guy responsible for the thousands of deaths that have occurred. This Joe team already feels a bit more contemporary than past takes, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out as the book continues on. And hats off to Caselli, who is now freed from DEFEX and working on a book well suited to his talents. ELITE is a very good-looking comic.

MEGACITY 909 #7
Written by Andrew Dabb and Drawn by Kano Kang and Zack Suh

This is the penultimate chapter to this terrific series, and while I’m sad to see that it’ll be heading off into the sunset, I’m sort of glad, as well. This insane mishmash of demons, techno soldiers, meta-powers, and futuristic landscapes works hard to keep its balance and move the characters and plot forward; keeping it going indefinitely would be risky, and the risk of lapsing into self-parody would loom large as the road got longer.

I’ve been recommending this book from issue one, because it does offer a very unique blend of gorgeous art and off-the-hook storylines; nothing else on the stands reads quite like it, and the sort of “painted manga” look to the art is also something else you won’t see somewhere else. But I fear that my waving my arms around and screaming have done no good, which makes me sad. So as there is only one issue left after this one, I will save my breath and shout at you to buy the trade when it comes out, and savor the last remaining piece of the story for myself when it arrives.

HACK/SLASH: THE FINAL REVENGE OF EVIL ERNIE
Written by Tim Seeley and Drawn by Aadi Salman

This latest HACK/SLASH one-shot works very hard to be the best of the bunch, working in very strong character arcs for both Cassie and Vlad, which lends an air of depth to the book that the earlier, more high-concept driven stories lacked. Of course, the high-concept stories were also a real fun time, so whether or not it was necessary to give Cassie and Vlad strong character arcs is a “your mileage may vary” decision. However, sadly, the forward character movement is almost completely negated by the book’s titled guest star.

Evil Ernie. Ugh. I know that Chaos Comics and its characters had extremely loyal fans, but I was never even remotely one of them. Indeed, my distaste for the majority of them was pretty strong. So that made the appearance of Ernie a tough sell to me, and even though Seeley does yeoman’s work in trying to fit the character in and make him work with Cassie and Vlad, I just wasn’t having any of it. So basically, I just tuned his parts out as much as I could and did my best to enjoy the character bits Seeley was working so hard to get across. I’m truly a fan of this book, and its next incarnation as a miniseries bodes well for increasing its audience. Hell, maybe even Ernie’s appearance will bring some of those Chaos readers to future issues of the title. Maybe, just maybe, that will have made this guest appearance worth it.

/Mason

OWLY

My love of OWLY is nearly uncontainable. This is a nifty little interview with Andy Runton about how he got this wonderful series off the ground. If you haven't read OWLY, you're missing out.

If you've read it and don't like it, I may have to get Doane on your ass.

/Mason

SIBAM #101… PART TWO!

HERO SQUARED #1
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis and Drawn by Joe Abraham
Published by Boom Studios

This is the first issue of a miniseries follow-up to last year’s one-shot of the same name. Keith and J.M. bring the same wonderful lunatic zeal to this book that they brought to their JUSTICE LEAGUE collaborations, telling the story of a superhero displaced to an alternate world where his counterpart is an annoying slacker. Unfortunately for him, his nemesis from his home universe has followed, and in the new world his counterpart is dating her counterpart. It may sound silly and confusing, and it is. It’s also damned funny. I never read the one-shot. Now I have to go find it.

100 GIRLS #5
Written by Adam Gallardo and Drawn by Todd Demong
Published by Arcana Studio

Picking up from the trade paperback, we jump right back into the story of young Sylvia and her search for her super-powered clone sisters. The issue is solid enough, and there’s some plot movement in the reactions of her pursuers, but the book sticks pretty tight to its formula of finding a new sister and absorbing her. While the segment works fine, the book is going to have to be careful to not become too repetitive in its efforts. The cliffhanger ending points towards the thought that the creative team realizes this as well.

BOOKS FROM VIPER COMICS

RANDOM ENCOUNTER #4
Written and Drawn by Nicc Balce

I didn’t like the first issue of this mini, but I thought it picked up nicely the rest of the way, delivering a solid action story and climax here in the finale. Balce’s art was the real star for me, his ameri-manga style easy on the eyes and simple in its storytelling. There were some genuinely intriguing experiments attempted by the author here, as he joined the select few artists attempting to complete a real melding of sequential art and the video game world. Not completely successful in that effort, mind you, but close enough to suggest he’ll do even better next time.

ODDLY NORMAL #4
Written and Drawn by Otis Frampton

On the flip side, I fell for this mini right out of the gate, but I’m a little disappointed in the ending. We get a lot of exposition and no true resolution to Oddly’s main problem (the disappearance of her parents). Instead, we get the pieces put in place for further Oddly adventures, and an ending that offers resolution rather than resolve. Couched within the exposition and furtherance of the plot is a good message about believing in oneself, and in the end, I believed that ODDLY was more than worth my time and I was ready to read more of her journey right away. Good enough.

BOOKS FROM IMAGE COMICS

STRANGE GIRL #2
Written by Rick Remender and Drawn by Eric Nguyen

I was hesitant when I picked up this book to read it. I had really enjoyed issue one, as I had enjoyed the first issue of Remender’s RED SEA. However, that book fell apart early in issue two, so I could only cross my fingers and hope for better results here. Happily, issue two of this book was a dandy, even more exhilarating than the first. Young Bethany, left behind after the biblical rapture, must navigate the new world of demons and insanity very carefully, and it doesn’t help when she pisses off her boss, her prime protector against the rest of Hell’s hordes. Nguyen’s art is simply gorgeous and would be worth the price of the book even if the story sucked. It doesn’t.

THE ATHIEST #2
Written by Phil Hester and Drawn by John McCrea

With two issues now out, this has immediately become a top ten book for me. Hester’s protagonist, the ultimate debunker, travels to visit a man slowly turning into living cancer, as he tries to unravel why a number of people are heading for Winnipeg and claiming to be the spirits of the dead returned to posses the living. Full of sharp ideas and characters you can’t help but want to read about, THE ATHIEST may just well be the frontrunner for next year’s “Best New Series” Eisner.

BATTLE POPE #1
Written by Robert Kirkman and Drawn by Tony Moore

Kirkman’s first comics work returns, now in color, in an attempt to find it the larger audience it lacked the first time around. POPE is, by turns, foul, disgusting, blasphemous, sexist, and grotesque. I recommend it highly. If you can’t laugh at Jesus wearing a t-shirt that says “What Would I Do?” then you’re probably already stocking up on holy water to throw on Kirkman next time you go to San Diego. Here’s a hint: he won’t melt. Tony Moore’s art is pretty rough here, but you can see in spots that he’s going to develop into the amazing artist who co-created THE WALKING DEAD and made it look so pretty.

GIRLS #3
Written and Drawn by the Luna Brothers

This has blossomed into a full-blown sophomore slump of mammoth proportions. We’re threw issues in, and not only is there not a single believable character, there’s still absolutely no clue as to what the fuck the plot is. Besides naked women hatching from eggs, that is. Yes, it looks pretty, but if you’ve asked someone to spend nine bucks at this point, they should have inkling as to what the story is. ULTRA laid it out in issue one: Pearl saw the psychic and was told she’d find love within the week. One more issue like this, and GIRLS is officially a disaster.

ZOMBIE KING #0
Written and Drawn by Frank Cho

See the zombie. See the cow. See the zombie fuck the cow slowly and gently. Moo, Bessie, moo. See Frank Cho having a good laugh at how much he can get away with. Laugh, Frank, laugh. Actually, ignoring the cow-fucking, this is a decent enough start to Cho’s next big project. He’s always had an appreciation and desire to draw monsters; you can see that in LIBERTY MEADOWS when he meanders in the Sunday-sized strips. So this is quite lovely to look at. The only downside is that it lacks balance, as we suddenly shift to an exposition-laden scene at the end of the issue that nearly drags the rest down like an anchor. Will be keeping an eye out for issue one, no doubt.

STUPID COMICS #3
Written and Drawn by Jim Mahfood

Loves me some Mahfood. As a Tempe resident, I’ve been privileged to follow his work for a long time, and this issue of STUPID COMICS is even a bit more fun, because most of the material originally appeared here in Arizona in the PHOENIX NEW TIMES. Still, many of Mahfood’s themes are universal, whether it’s his pokes at the stupidity of government or his tirades against manufactured pop culture. He isn’t for everybody, but he’s pretty much always for me.

FERRO CITY #1
Written and Drawn by Jason Armstrong

“THE MALTESE FALCON with robots” best describes this tasty little slice of cyber noir. Armstrong gives us a protagonist we’d have no problem seeing Bogey playing (though Brian Dennehy is the more modern choice) and a murder mystery wrapped around the civil rights movement of Circuited-Americans. Densely plotted and told, this is a nice antidote to the number of new books that seem to ship and decide they don’t need to tell you anything right away and you’ll still come back. Armstrong gets a nice pat on the back and thanks from me on that one.

PVP #0
Written and Drawn by Scott Kurtz

I happen to really enjoy PVP, and it’s hard to quibble with the $0.50 price tag, but this brief collection of highlight strips to introduce the characters and background of the book feels a little haphazard and not as tight as it should. The strips Kurtz chose are good, but they leave a certain lingering sensation that something is missing, and I can’t help but feel like a pointer to where the original strips could be found would be a solid idea. Since they’d been plucked from storylines, the new reader could have known right then where to go and read the full story. The brand new strip featuring the origin of Skull is dandy, though.

GUN CANDY #1/THE RIDE: MARDI GRAS #1
Written by Doug Wagner and Chuck Dixon and Drawn by Brian Stelfreeze and Sanford Greene and Jason Pearson

GUN CANDY is a prequel to the adventures of Laci, the teenaged assassin made infamous by Stelfreeze’s art the in THE RIDE trade paperback (see part one of the column), and given room to play, Stelfreeze completely cuts loose in gonzo fashion. Absurdist layouts, over-the-top violence, gratuitous sexuality, you name it… Stelfreeze has found a way to put it in here and make it look glorious. The pure neo-porn cover for his side of the flipbook adds to that dimension as well (trust me- go find it and look at it). I almost felt sorry for Dixon having to share with this stuff; his story is really very good, his artists do an amazing job of bringing a very dark and cynical story to life, and it damned near gets swallowed whole by its companion. On the other hand, maybe the pervs picking up the Stelfreeze cover will discover the excellent stuff awaiting them on the other side when they would have ignored something of this quality before. Looking forward to issue two.

SEASON OF THE WITCH #0
Written by Jai Nitz and Drawn by Kevin Sharpe

It’s gorgeous to look at. Has solid action. A good heroine. But once again, I say: tell the reader something in your story. Apparently, if you read the notes in the sketch section, etc, the heroine of this book slides back and forth between our world and this fantasy one, but nothing in the sequential pages would explain that, not even her mentioning of Missouri. It’s all well and good for Nitz to note that he’s putting some time between the solicits of issues zero and one so he can use this one to get orders and interest up, but he’d have been better off actually explaining what the story is going to be about. And if it’s supposed to be a book that appeals to teenaged girls, maybe it would be a little less icky for them if an orc didn’t call the heroine a whore, huh?

/Mason

YAY! MINI-COMICS!

Alrighty… time to start digging through the San Diego pile.

STRANGEWAYS
Written by Matt Maxwell, Drawn by Luis Gurana, Cover by Steve Lieber
Available from the Author

The horror-western genre will add a new face this fall when the first issue of this book hits the shelves via Speakeasy Comics. In the meantime, you can easily enjoy and appreciate this nifty preview of what looks to be a darkly entertaining story.

STRANGEWAYS brings together cowboys and werewolves (where most stories in this genre seem to have an affinity for cowboys and vampires). That means a different type of action being brought to the page, and a different depiction of the western landscape, one moodily developed by Gurana in shadowy, scary tones.. Maxwell’s story finds us focused on the travels of a carriage and its occupants, and as the genre demands, they find themselves traveling in lands that maybe they should have avoided.

Of course, if they did, the story would be damned dull, and over quite quickly.

We’re given just a glimpse here of what’s to come, but it’s made apparent that there will be thrill, chills, and gore aplenty to give the reader a visceral experience. Matt’s a friend, and I know how much time and effort he’s put in to making this book a quality read, right down to the beautifully gruesome cover by the great Steve Lieber. It’s cool to read this and see how it’s all paying off for him. I’m expecting big things from STRANGEWAYS once the pamphlets start shipping in November.

FLYTRAP #1
Written by Sara Ryan and Drawn by Steve Lieber
Available from the Artist

If this were the only thing I had returned from San Diego with, I would still consider that trip to be a huge success.

I’ve made no secret about it: Steve Lieber is my favorite comics artist, and if I had my choice, he’d be the first person I’d hire to draw just about anything I’d want to write. There’s very little he can’t do, from high-level action heroics, to quiet, talking heads. Few people have his level of versatility, and few ever will.

This little book finds him working with his (very) talented wife, Sara Ryan, again. Their first effort, ME AND EDITH HEAD, was a supplemental project to her excellent novel EMPRESS OF THE WORLD. This time out, they start fresh, introducing us to public relations ace Maddy. Maddy is a nice normal woman with a crazy job, an asshole of a boyfriend, and too much to do with her life in too little time. However, the intervention of an alternative circus starts a tumble of dominoes that leave her with a new direction in life.

FLYTRAP is just about perfect. In fourteen pages, we get a well-rounded portrait of who Maddy is, what moves her as a character, a feel for the “world” she lives in, and a solid step towards who she is going to become in the next phase of her life. If this were published by Marvel, it would have taken six issues to get to this point. Wonderful stuff.

COOL JERK 2005 SAN DIEGO SAMPLER
Written and Drawn by Paul Horn
Available at the Cool Jerk Website

I picked up Paul’s 2004 effort last year and was immediately smitten with his sharply wicked sense of humor and lack of reverence for, well, everything. I even put myself on his mailing list, and now I get the weekly strip e-mailed to me. So I guess you’d call me a fan.

COOL JERK follows the denizens of Spittle Beach, primarily wiseass Armpit and his superior-in-every-way girlfriend Puppy as they roll through their normal lives battling the forces of stupidity, inanity, and pop culture horror. Horn has been doing the strip for about fourteen years now, so he’s solidly found the voices for his characters. He also only does a strip a week, so you don’t get the sense of burnout or exhaustion that you find in many other long-running strips.

Paul does real-world artistic stuff and does JERK for fun at this point, but I’d like to see him roll the dice and start talking to Image or Speakeasy or someone about finally starting to collect the JERK strips in trade paperback. He deserves to find a larger audience for the work, and I think it’s out there; besides, once in a while, it’s nice to get paid for doing what you love.

ASTRONAUT ELEMENTARY #5-7
Written and Drawn by Dave Roman
Available from the Author

ASTRONAUT ELEMENTARY is a book I always look for when I go to a show. Dave Roman’s “mini-manga” is one of the few being produced in this format that has an all-ages reach in its storytelling, and I like being able to pass it around to the younger set in my life.

The titular school is located on a space station somewhere out in the far reaches of the universe, and its student body is comprised of the best, brightest, and oddest that the galaxy has to offer. The primary story here in this triple-sized effort focuses on a robot named Cybert who has been sent to the school to destroy another student. Amusingly, this doesn’t get him sent to the principal; instead, he is given a far worse fate: a trip to the guidance counselor, whose job it is to make him see how limiting his career goal is. It’s even funnier than it sounds.

Other stories follow the Cybert’s target, a young gay student named Spike, and Team Feety Pajamas (a group of kids who believe they’re bullies who run the school). Each segment is drawn in Roman’s wonderfully whimsical style, and those segments are packed with story. Previous issues were eight pages each, but this one is truly triple-sized, with 24 pages of packed-to-the gills goodness. I hope Roman soon finds the opportunity to publish all the AE stories together in a nice collection.

WANNABEE #1
Written by Rich Johnston and Drawn by Thomas Reidy 3rd
Available from The Vicious Circle Project

When I saw this on the table, I couldn’t resist it. I swear, I actually heard a booming voice say, “The power of Satan compels you to buy Johnston’s book!”

Just so you know.

So what has comics’ biggest rumor monger done this time? WANNABEE is the story of a time traveler who has come backward to live out his dreams of becoming a big-time comic book writer. His conveyance draws him to an ambitious young woman named Julie who shares that dream. Together, they work to try and find success by bringing together Alan Moore and Marvel Comics for a dream project.

Nah… that’s the end of trying to describe this thing in serious terms. Fuck that.

WANNABEE is really just Johnston taking the odd crap he’s heard and absorbed over the years and living out a personal parody and fantasy of himself and his quest to write comics. Roberto kidnaps Alan Moore, shaves him bald, and tries to use him to get a series of his own greenlit by Joe Quesada. And you’re telling me Rich hasn’t tried this already?

Sell me another one.

Still, it’s mostly harmless and inoffensive, and Rich doesn’t try and play it too broadly. Reidy’s art is too inconsistent to do the book any favors, but it could have been worse: Johnston could have drawn it himself. WANNABEE isn’t anything great or fantastic, but it settles in for pleasantly dumb and diverting, and that may just be enough to call it a success.

/Mason

I AM AN IDIOT

My final take home tally from the con:

25 minis
9 small sized graphic novels and trades
3 oversized items
5 standard sized trades
36 floppies

Plus: 5 extra floppies (dupes or actual copies of things publishers sent me electronically), 2 novels, and 5 samplers.

I was supposed to shrink my haul this year. 7 books doesn’t really significantly fulfill that goal.

/Mason

MIDDAY REPORT: THURSDAY

News and notes: have had a good time so far. Thank God.

Ross Richie of Boom Studios has some cautiously ambitious plans, and I’m intrigued to see where they’ll lead.

Bumped into old pal Tom Spurgeon last night, and he’s growing facial hair. It’s somewhat disturbing.

A man larger than me is walking around the con wearing a Harry Potter costume. This is surely a sign of the apocalypse.

Not enough anime girls so far. Dunno what’s up with that.

Brett Warnock of Top Shelf has sent me back to my room to unload my bag, as he is a pro at getting you to look at their books, Glad to see Alex Robinson’s follow-up to BOX OFFICE POISON is finally ready and out. TRICKED is huge, by the way.

One thing I left out of the previous audio post: at 4:30 this morning, my hotel room phone rang, and a whispering caller claiming to be a comics pro of my acquaintance was on the other end of the line offering me oral sex. I politely declined, as the caller was not a woman.

Everyone has their deal breakers, after all.

/Mason

FEELING GOOD

God, I love being in San Diego.

Sure, Nerd Prom can be insane, but what can’t you know? All I know is that I’m sitting in my hotel room right now with the window wide open, enjoying the weather. It will be four months before I can open a window back home.

Four long fucking months.

I got up this morning, worked out, cleaned up, and then headed out for breakfast and a nice walk. One thing I see in SD guides is recommending that people shop at the downtown Ralph’s grocery store, but as coda, I’d go further and recommend getting a Ralph’s shopper’s card. I acquired one about five years ago, and I’ve done well with saving money since then. If you come to the show every year, it just makes good sense. It was certainly helpful today as I bought Gatorade, Propel water and Power Bars. It knocked $7 off of my bill.

The show kicks off at 5:30pm this evening, and I’m thinking I’ll head down there sometime around 4:45. By the time I finish the walk, and get through the press badge line, I figure I’ll get inside around 6pm, hopefully missing some of the madness of the initial geek rush. The nice thing about going as press is that I’ll avoid being in the attendee line, period; what a scary place that can be. Last year it was particularly bad, as the con was slow to get the hall open on Preview Night, and there was a near riot.

My goal for this year is to come home with less stuff. Last year I returned to Arizona with 85 items in my bag for review. My suitcase could have held a dead body and been lighter. It took me until November to get through the pile. Part of it was my intent on getting the MPS column a little bit more out in front of people (which was very successful), and part of it was my sorority girl-like inability to say no. But this year, I’m gonna be a rock. A rock, dammit!

Anyway… audioblogging will probably start tomorrow. I’ll drop in with impressions of Preview Night, etc. Until then, adieu!

/Mason

SOLID ADVICE

More brilliance from the Comics Foundry gang: a guide to doing San Diego. My fave advice, from Marvel editor Andy Schmidt:

"Please don’t get drunk and harass the female editors in particular. Cons are often sort of seen as a boys’ club, but, man, that’s a mistake you don’t want to make."

Go read and enjoy!

/Mason

HEY KIDS! COMICS!

Speakeasy Comics

ATOMIKA #3
Written by Andrew Dabb and Drawn by Sal Abbinanti

I wasn’t particularly sold on the first two issues of this series. I felt like they didn’t do a good job of explaining the alternate timeline, and the stories suffered from confusion because of it. However, this is a much better effort. The story is stripped down to essential components, the setup is quick and effective, and there’s a sense of completeness to the proceedings. If ATOMIKA could continue to improve in this manner, I think it’d have a good chance of becoming Speakeasy’s “flagship” title.

THE HUNGER #1
Written by Jose L. Torres and Drawn by Chris DiBari

Instead, this book immediately leaps to the top of the Speakeasy reading pile. Zombie books are all the rage these days, but this one does a fine job of standing out as something different. A poor bastard makes a wrong turn during Mardi Gras and winds up as a zombie in the control of a very bad group of men. But when a torture session goes bad, and his controller dies, suddenly the undead fellow finds himself possessing a small bit of his life’s memories… and an unquenchable thirst for brains. Now he’s on the run with blood on his hands and a bag full of drug money. Believe me, it sounds cool, and it reads even cooler. More books like this, please.

THE GRIMOIRE #3

Written by Sebastien Caisse and Drawn by Djief

This tale of a young witch on the run from her mother and the raccoon who protects her hasn’t gotten much love from the critics, but I’m continuing to enjoy it well enough. It’s beginning to suffer from plot overload; I’d like to see Caisse pull back and put some focus on the main character and her mother rather than continue to throw new mystical threats at her every other page. That’d go a long way towards keeping this book accessible to new readers. That, and a front cover recap of what’s happened previously. I cannot emphasize enough how important that is for a new book in this crowded market.

BEOWULF #2
Written by Brian Augustyn and Drawn by Dub

The first issue of BEOWULF was a nice setup for the series, though it could have been a little tighter in the plotting. Decompression is the last thing a new book from a new publisher needs. This second issue is a far stronger effort, as the title character meets a potential love interest and invades a prison for super-freaks and kicks a lot of ass. Really, when your lead character is an immortal warrior of legend, that’s where the focus needs to be. Give the reader some top-notch action, and you’ll satisfy every month. I hope Augustyn stays on this path.

Viper Comics

RANDOM ENCOUNTER #3
Written and Drawn by Nicc Balce

This issue is sort of a rarity: too many mini-series these days have a poor sense of pacing, and don’t have good structure as far as the acts play out, but RANDOM executes itself perfectly. We’re heading for a climax in this story of strange invading monsters and the teen heroes battling them in their small town, and the battle reaches a nice crescendo in these pages. I still don’t have a great idea of what exactly is happening here, but that’s what issue four should provide: the solution to the mystery. I wasn’t fond of this book out of the gate, but each issue has improved steadily. I’m definitely curious how it will end.

ODDLY NORMAL #3
Written and Drawn by Otis Frampton

On the flip side, as much as I’ve enjoyed this series, ODDLY has suffered from some really odd pacing. We have one issue left, and the uber-plot of the book (Oddly’s home and parents vanishing) seems to have completely faded from the book. Now, maybe I’ll be surprised, and next issue will be very tidy; I don’t know. Maybe this is just the first of many planned minis, and that plot has taken a backseat on purpose. But you’d sort of expect some sort of indication. Still, what’s here is really enjoyable. Oddly is a terrific protagonist, and this is a perfect book to give to a younger girl who might be interested in trying comics.

Dark Horse Comics

HELLBOY: THE ISLAND #1
Written and Drawn by Mike Mignola

It’s Mignola. He’s written and drawn a new HELLBOY story for the first time since before the film came out. It’s really fucking good. If you need me to tell you that, you need help. Or you ride a very short bus to work every day. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

Image Comics

GIRLS #2
Written and Drawn by The Luna Brothers

I dug ULTRA. Issue one of the Lunas’ follow-up series was, on the other hand, damned near a complete disaster. The protagonist was obnoxious, the dialogue was clumsy, and the pace was horridly languid. Issue two is so much better, that you wish they’d scrapped issue one and started the story in media res. In fact, after I thought about it, I went back and read the book again, and there was really nothing stopping them from doing so. I found myself wishing for firmer editorial guidance. However, as I said, this issue really works well, and the ending was a doozy. Now the book has my complete attention. Good job, boys.

IRON GHOST #2
Written by Chuck Dixon and Drawn by Sergio Cariello

The first issue of this series felt like Dixon was basically transplanting Alan Moore’s V FOR VENDETTA into a Nazi Germany milieu. That problem lingers, but Dixon does a better job in creating more interesting characters for the Ghost to kill. In fact, the radio man spotlighted in this issue was so compelling, I actually forgot about the title character/serial killer and was genuinely surprised when he reappeared in the book. Full credit to Dixon there. Cariello’s art is pretty sweet as well. IRON GHOST gets a little more rope from me.

NOBLE CAUSES #11
Written by Jay Faerber and Drawn by Fran Bueno

I’ve talked at length about my enjoyment of Faerber’s superhero soap opera, and of my enjoyment of it, so I’m not going to in this review. Instead, I’d like to take special note of the end of the back-up feature OPPOSITES ATTACK. I’m a longtime fan of Brian “Hollywood” Joines, the writer, and I’ve enjoyed his witty and entertaining work on this strip. He and his artist, Chad Thomas, got the most out of their four-to-six pages every issue, and I hope to see their work collected in a square-bound one-shot of some sort. Barring that, I’d like to see Joines’ promised return to THE 7 GUYS OF JUSTICE happen. It was due a couple of years ago, but has been in a holding pattern since. Image? Speakeasy? Somebody help the dude out.

/Mason

Why I Love Neil Kleid

"It isn’t a bad thing. Stephen King makes a very good living being sinister and creepy, as does Rich Johnston."

Go check out this beauty.

/Mason

Plasm-Boy

I love David Lapham's work, and I love even more that he's perfectly willing to discuss his early work without equivocating. STRAY BULLETS is a timeless masterpiece, and MURDER ME DEAD is well worth your time to check out.

More good stuff from the Foundry crew.

/Mason

The Surrogates

I reviewed this book over at The Shoot a couple of weeks ago. It's good. Read it.

This is another terrific interview from the Foundry gang. It's good. Read it.

That is all.

/Mason

QUICK HITS

FAILURE, INCOMPETENCE
Written and Drawn by Tom Pappalardo
Published by Standard Design

Creator Pappalardo refers to this book as a retrospective of the last ten wasted years of his artistic life. While he’s being a bit facetious, I do wish he’d have been a bit more judicious about presenting the best of his material, rather than seemingly all of it. The inconsistency here is enough to drive you insane, and it exposes his weakest ability, which is finding a solid ending to a story or gag. It’s like watching an episode of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE made up solely of material presented in the last 30 minutes of the show. There’s talent here; they key is for the artist to mine through his stuff and find 20-22 pages to put out a really solid comic.

IMAGE BOOKS

STRANGE GIRL #1
Written by Rick Remender and Drawn by Eric Nguyen

I was sort of looking forward to this one, and I didn’t feel let down. What starts as an amusing look at the adventures of a misfit little girl takes one of the great left turns in recent memory: the true biblical rapture occurs, leaving the girl behind on Earth with demons and assorted other baddies. The character is appealing, the scenario wide open for just about anything, and Nguyen’s art looks nifty to boot. Good stuff.

FLAMING CARROT #3
Written and Drawn by Bob Burden

More ingenious madness from the mind of Bob Burden. I don’t know if I could easily persuade a newbie to dive into the Carrot’s world, but anyone out there with a warped sense of humor is missing out on comedy genius. Telling you about what happens in the issue misses the point; but if you really must know, an evil giant chicken wing is on the loose, and the Carrot and his buxom former lover Dynamite Girl are on its trail. If that doesn’t make you giggle, don’t buy the book. If it does, welcome to the club.

SEA OF RED #3
Written by Rick Remender and Kieron Dwyer and Drawn by Salgood Sam

Issue one of this series was damned near brilliant. Issue two killed just about every last bit of goodwill that issue one built up. Issue three gets the book somewhere back close to the middle. There’s still another twist in the middle of the book that’s enough to make you want to throw the book across the room, but the last half of the story begins to work again. I wish I knew what this really was: either there’s something really amazing brewing here, or the book is using the reader as a bukkake target. Your guess is better than mine.

HERO CAMP #2
Written by Greg Thompson and Drawn by Robbi Rodriguez

The second issue of this title is even more quaintly amusing than the first. A young boy, the child of two superheroes, has been sent off to a camp for super-powered teens. Unfortunately, no one believes that he doesn’t have powers. This time out, one of the girls in his class uses her personal elves (formed when she spits them out) to keep an eye on our young hero. Hilarity ensues. Good stuff that reminds you of comics’ simpler and more fun days.

NYC MECH: BETA LOVE #2
Written by Miles Gunter and Ivan Brandon and Drawn by Andy Macdonald

This is developing into one of the more interesting love stories I’ve seen in a while. Set in the creators’ world, which is populated by nothing by sentient machines, there are philosophical opportunities here, but they never overwhelm the basics of the story. Plus, Macdonald’s art is a gorgeous revelation with each passing page. I’m gonna have to hunt down the first series in San Diego.

BATTLE HYMN #3
Written by B. Clay Moore and Drawn by Jeremy Haun

This book seems to really be finding itself. I didn’t find myself thrilled with issue one, but last issue and this one have really begun taking the story and characters in directions I wasn’t anticipating. What started out looking like a darkened take on THE INVADERS has found it’s own unique hold on the iconic characters it’s examining. I’m officially hooked.

INVINCIBLE #23
Written by Robert Kirkman and Drawn by Ryan Ottley

Last issue was the “0” one which recapped the character’s origin and set him on the path to losing his virginity. This issue takes the focus away from the character completely, focusing on the background plots that have been brewing for almost a year now. It’s a risky move, having just given new readers a perfect jumping on point, but it works. The key is in making the character Kirkman focuses on, Allen The Alien, fleshed out well and interesting in his own right. Big things are promised for issue #25, and at this point, I’m not exactly sure what they’ll be. That’s a good feeling when it comes to comics.

WALKING DEAD #19
Written by Robert Kirkman and Drawn by Charlie Adlard

Kirkman’s other creator-owned series picks up from last issue’s cliffhanger and resolves it nicely. We also get the introduction of a new cast member, a great battle against the zombie hoards, and even more secrets to be buried. Good stuff. And congrats to Kirkman on his kudos from ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. He deserves it.

NOBLE CAUSES #10
Written by Jay Faerber and Drawn by Fran Bueno

Faerber’s super-soap opera continues plugging along nicely with this issue. I think what he’s done is rather wise in this day and age: every issue, Faerber provides the reader with a number of solid twists and turns, shifting directions on the fly, and keeping the readership guessing. I’ve seen some critics say that NOBLE CAUSES is nothing but a “b” level comic that never seems to aspire to make a statement or aim for greatness. My response? That’s exactly why the book succeeds. Sometimes, people want to know exactly what they’ll get and Faerber doesn’t disappoint them.

FLAK RIOT #1
Written by Robert Napton and Michael O’Hare and Drawn by O’Hare

I was pleasantly surprised out how this book came out of nowhere to capture my attention. Set in the near future, we meet the klutzy and put-upon Zoe, getting ready to face another shitty day at a job she hates. That’s about to change however, because she decides to answer a strange ad in that day’s paper. Zoe, you see, has decided to become an inter-dimensional bounty hunter. Equal parts comedy, science fiction, and adventure, it’s easy to get behind the protagonist and cheer her on. Plus, O’Hare’s art is absolutely gorgeous.

CASE FILES: SAM AND TWICH #17
Written by Marc Andreyko and Drawn by E.J. Su

Our dynamic police duo continue their investigation into a string of crimes seemingly committed by vampires as the tale begins a downhill race towards what looks to be a violent and bloody conclusion. This continues to be a strong, well-written title, and E.J. Su’s art is perfectly suited for this kind of material.

SMALL GODS #9
Written by Jason Rand and Drawn by Juan Ferreyra

The current storyline draws to a close in this book, and it feels long overdue. The second time around just didn’t have the joy and zest that the first story did, and none of the characters clicked for me. Too much here just doesn’t work, although the morally ambiguous climax holds promise that the creative team will have this book back on target soon. They’re too good not to.

COMMON FOE #1
Written by Keith Giffen and Shannon Denton and Drawn by Jean-Jacques Dzialowski

1944. Germans vs. Allies. Standard World War II setup. Then the writers throw the curve: an ancient demonic evil rises on the battlefield, and suddenly killing one another must be put by the wayside: there are more human concerns to be dealt with. There’s a metric ton of kick-ass potential in these pages, and Giffen is a guy I have always trusted to come through for me. I’m looking forward to seeing how this one plays out. It looks lovely, too.

GIRLS #1
Written and Drawn by the Luna Brothers

Notable out of the gate for introducing its lead character while he’s masturbating, that still doesn’t stop the disappointment from creeping in as you get through the story. I’m all for having an unlikable lead character, but Ethan is such a waste of space that the Lunas are going to have to cover some ground to make him redeemable. On the bright side, their work continues to grow, artistically. Worth watching.

EXPATRIATE #2
Written by B. Clay Moore and Drawn by Jason Latour

Unlike BATTLE HYMN, I really liked the first issue of this Moore production. Happily, nothing changes my mind this time around. This is a unique looking book, with a warm (yet noir) texture to the proceedings, and there’s an unpredictability at play that makes it a real joy to read. Jason Latour is a true find, and I’m excited about the idea of watching him grow and develop.

DEATH JR. #2
Written by Gary Whitta and Drawn by Ted Naifeh

This charming little series continues as Junior’s innocence has let loose an unspeakable evil that may cost him his father forever. There’s a surprising level of pathos and sadness in this second outing, but it never feels icky or inappropriate. Instead, the book takes on the feel of a classic Brothers Grimm tale or other pre-Disneyfied fable. The dialogue has charm to spare, and Naifeh’s art is sweet perfection. I can’t wait for the next one.

DEVIL’S DUE BOOKS

G.I. JOE: RELOADED #14
Written by Chuck Dixon and Drawn by Grafiksismik

This alt-universe story of the Joes draws to a tidy close as the company begins clearing the decks for the Joes’ re-launch next month. The inevitable problem with this book was never its quality; it was always reasonably well produced. Instead, the problem was market saturation; there’s really only room for one G.I. JOE, and fans wanted the original. They knew it, and they knew the characters. Re-imaginings should be done after long periods of gestation (see: GALACTICA, BATTLESTAR). That makes them go down easier with the fanbase.

G.I. JOE #42Written by Brandon Jerwa and Drawn by Tim Seeley and Drawn by Emiliano Santalucia

This is the penultimate issue of the regular title, and it looks to be going out on a high note. Rather than having to close everything down, Jerwa looks to be setting the table for Joe Casey’s new version by wrapping up some outstanding plot points and putting some pieces onto the board for Casey’s pleasure. While there’s plenty of action in this issue, Jerwa does a nice job of reminding the reader that the Joes are addictive reading because you like the characters.

BLADE OF KUMORI #5
Written by Ron Marz and Drawn by Grafiksismik

This has been the best of the Aftermath titles, and the one that I’ll definitely miss reading. Marz’ modern samurai tale has mixed action, drama, and romance in matching amounts, and remains the book with the most long-term potential (depending on how the series ends in issue six). Marz did a lot to damage his reputation in the 90s, but over the last five years, with his Crossgen work and this book, he’s been through comic-writer rehab. Keep it up, Ron.

DEFEX #6
Written by Marv Wolfman and Drawn by Giancarlo Caracuzzo

On the flip side, this was the weakest of the Aftermath launch, and this final issue does nothing to change my mind about that. Even the art falls down this time around. Marv Wolfman is a legend in the field, and has produced some of the best comics ever. But I suspect that this book will slide quietly off his resume, never to be seen or mentioned again. I’m okay with that.

BREAKDOWN #6
Written by Chuck Dixon and Drawn by Dave Ross

This ran a clear second in my list of how I felt the Aftermath titles ranked in quality. Dixon and Ross created a solid action saga/family drama that held my attention and didn’t let go. Dixon sends the series off with a bang, delivering a climax straight out of a Bruckheimer movie, and Ross doesn’t let him down with the visuals. Dixon and I may never agree on political philosophy, but I’ll always agree that he’s one of the great action writers in comics. Good job, gents.

/Mason

Enter And Be Worthy

Like R. Crumb's work? Old friend Alan David Doane is running a spiffy new contest. Go forth and place your name upon it.

/Mason

Now Back On His Meds: Neal Adams

Almost.

Neal makes a lovely attempt at humility, and it comes very close to taking hold, but he narrowly escapes it in the end. Good stuff by the Foundry crew.

/Mason

From The Man Who Brought Us SKATEMAN And MR. T AND THE T FORCE

It looks like Neal Adams is the latest comics legend to come out of the crazy closet. Fun!

The Comic Foundry is doing some terrific work. Go check this one out. It's a hoot.

/Mason

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY REPORT

There are two comics shops in Tempe. I decided to check both of them out and see how they were handling the big day.

Shop one: fuck all happening. 12:30pm.

Shop two: fuck all happening. 12:45pm.

Did pick up some of the free comics that I didn't get from publishers. Some amazing stuff, really. A new OWLY story. COMIC FESTIVAL, the Canadian artist showcase. RONIN HOOD. SUPERIOR SHOWCASE. THE ADVENTURES OF PAUL. Even the BETTY AND VERONICA book was lots of fun. But local turnout sucked ass, so no one is going to see these great books.

This was your Free Comic Book day report.

/Mason

The Luna Brothers

Shouldn't they be film stars with that name?

Anyway, the increasingly fine Comic Foundry has an interview with the Lunas running right now. It's worth it just for the preview art for GIRLS that accompanies the piece. Interesting that they chose the pages of their male lead having a wank and cleaning up after himself, hmm?

/Mason

THE TRUTH ABOUT ROBERT KIRKMAN

It’s simple, really. Kirkman is a terrific writer, a guy who makes some truly gonzo entertainment.

As long as he owns it, that is.

Kirkman came to some prominence with his first creator-owned comic, the wonderfully blasphemous BATTLE POPE. That led him to Image Comics, where he’s currently writing two titles: INVINCIBLE and THE WALKING DEAD. That led him to Marvel, where he’s written titles such as CAPTAIN AMERICA, JUBILEE, FANTASTIC FOUR: FOES, and MARVEL TEAM-UP.

Stop yourself from yawning through that last sentence. I dare you.

Kirkman’s a young writer, and I certainly don’t begrudge him going out and increasing his fame and the amount of dollars in his pocket, but the gap in the quality level between his personal stuff and his work-for-hire stuff is staggering. His Marvel work suggests a deeply cynical response to it on a reader’s level; reading the titles brings a near revulsion. The inability to get excited about those books could, quite frankly, induce a pandemic of apathy in any fan of quality comics. And believe me: I read JUBILEE (at first).

On the flip side, INVINCIBLE and WALKING DEAD remain two of the most genuinely exciting books on the market, and two of the best creator-owned works currently being published. They’re books wherein anything can happen, there’s a constant sense of change and exploration, and they consistently engage me with every issue.

INVINCIBLE 21, 22 and the 0 issue have arrived over the last six weeks or so, and they’re really terrific. Kirkman has worked hard and managed to create a really interested hybrid of a superhero comic: take one part Lee/Ditko SPIDER-MAN and mix it with one part SAVAGE DRAGON, and you have INVINCIBLE. Essentially, the strong emotional core of teenage angst and romance is intertwined with Erik Larsen’s freakshow mélange of monsters and assorted odd characters. These three issues have plenty of action and plot movement, but their heart is the relationship between Mark (Invincible) and his girlfriend Amber, who has come to believe that his perpetual absences and excuses mean that he’s a drug dealer. Their confrontation, and his revealing of his secret identity, is the basis of the zero issue. In this $.50 priced book, Kirkman has his lead recap the book to date, which has the dual effect of letting Amber in on Mark’s secret life, but also makes the book much more new-reader friendly. It also leads to a momentous and mature choice for where Mark is headed next with his life.

Balancing the wonderful, brightly colored world of INVINCIBLE is THE WALKING DEAD. DEAD is a dark, bleak look at a world in the throes of a different Armageddon: an unknown plague has raised the dead, and zombies are walking the Earth in search of fresh, live food. The book follows a small band of survivors, led by a cop who missed the first month of the plague because he was recovering from being shot in the line of duty. The book isn’t so much about the zombies, though they are a brutal background presence. Instead, WALKING DEAD works as a different horror story: the creation of a new society, a new rule of civilization in the face of the collapse of the old one.

Issues 17 and 18 complete the latest arc, and they’re a stark example of this type of tale. When one of the survivors turns out to be a serial killer, Rick is forced to go against popular opinion and makes the unilateral decision to hang the perpetrator. Of course, nothing is ever quite that simple, and the resulting story is sad and gut wrenching. There’s so much depth of character, and such unpredictability to the plot, that you can never be even the slightest bit sure where the book is going.

This summer sees BATTLE POPE re-released, this time in color, and I’m hoping it finds the sick, twisted, depraved audience it deserves. It’s Kirkman in his rawest form, but I suspect that those brave enough to sample it and have a sense of humor about it will really enjoy it. And maybe, just maybe, some of those Marvel readers will trickle over and help Kirkman’s sales on the books that represent his best work

/Mason

SOME REVIEWS

All books courtesy Image Comics.

BEYOND AVALON #2
Written by Joe Pruett and Drawn by Goran Sudzuka

Issue one of this title showed a lot of promise, with its entertaining plot and strong appeal to young female readers. When we left Princess Megan at the end of that tale, she had left her mystic island home to go off into the bigger world in search of adventure (and her missing father).

Her second issue finds her on a new island and in the company of something of a local flim-flam man. He takes her under his wing and decides to use her for his personal quest: slaying a dragon and stealing its gold. Megan’s charming combination of naiveté and thirst for adventure make her something of an easy mark, even though she knows that Jerome (the ne’er do well in question) is seedy and somewhat full of shit.

This is really a delightful little book, and the second issue reinforces its perfect appeal to young girl readers. There are so few books on the stands (that aren’t manga) aimed at that demographic, that you can’t help but hope when a new one hits the stands it will succeed (and not suck). BEYOND AVALON doesn’t suck. I hope it succeeds. Grade: B+

MORA #2
Written and Drawn by Paul Harmon

Issue one of this title, on the other hand, left me sort of ambivalent. I thought it was an alright start, and Harmon’s artistic talent is really terrific. But story wise, it was a little thick, and it felt like Harmon was trying to shoehorn too much stuff in without enough explanation.

That’s a strange criticism on the surface, and I know that. No one is sicker of decompressed comics than I am. But I also understand the need to let your story breathe.

Issue two actually does do a better job of letting the story breathe a bit, but it still ran into problems right out of the gate. And the biggest problem was the fact that I needed to go read my review of issue one to remember anything about the book.

For all of Jim Shooter’s faults, his motto that “every comic is someone’s first” is more applicable (and important) today than it ever has been. With so many comics fighting and clawing for retail shelf space, you have to give readers a reason to buy your book, especially if they never have before. And one way to make sure they never do buy it… is to not tell them a single thing about what’s happened previously and leave the new reader clueless and not caring. Anyone picking up MORA #2 would have absolutely zero clue who the characters are, or why there’s a tortoise and hare narrating the book or anything else. Not having a recap page is just a huge error on Harmon’s part, and it made enjoying the book difficult. He’s a dynamic talent, and the book is very, very beautiful, but better planning is required here. Grade: C+

THE ATHEIST #1
Written by Phil Hester and Drawn by John McCrea

This is an immediate contender for the year’s best new series.

Antoine Sharpe is an unusual professional. His specialty? Debunking the supernatural. However, his rigid sense of logic is about to undergo a huge test, as there’s an epidemic striking random people all over the world: they’re suddenly speaking with different voices, the voices of people long dead and who claim to be possessing the living.

From its stirring opening sequence where a phony John Edward-type psychic suddenly really starts communicating with the dead to the exhilarating sequence where Sharpe destroys a doomsday cult by talking the leader into committing suicide, this book fires on every cylinder. To make matters even more exciting, the risen dead and their possessed bodies are congregating en masse in Winnipeg, Canada for an unknown (but likely sinister) purpose.

ATHEIST is a fantastic piece of entertainment, and it solidifies a personal feeling for me: as much as I can appreciate Hester’s artistic talents, I find him far more interesting behind the keyboard. Solidifying this book’s look on the artistic end, McCrea tones down some of the more gonzo aspects of his art and delivers dark, brooding pages that enhance the drama of Hester’s plot. I could go on about this book, but what it boils down to is that, when I was finished reading it, I wanted the next issue Right. Fucking. Now. Grade: A

FLAMING CARROT COMICS #2
Written and Drawn by Bob Burden

Only Bob Burden can do what Bob Burden does.

More than most creators in the business, Burden creates such a unique product that it’s damned near impossible to homage it, mock it, or duplicate it. And partially, it’s because FLAMING CARROT is already full of self-mockery and strange homages.

The Carrot himself is such a strange creature that you must move well beyond suspending disbelief to read the book. This issue finds pygmies building a giant ear on the outskirts of town, Carrot’s personal zombie following him everywhere and causing chaos, Carrot sleeping with a hottie reporter writing an expose of his insane life, a two-headed female pop star, and a baloney-shooting gun. And in Bob Burden’s world, it all makes perfect nonsense.

I’ve been reading CARROT since its earliest days, and while I understand that the book is a serious acquired taste, I still love it immensely and get a smile on my face whenever I sit down to read a new adventure featuring the character. If you read that previous paragraph and held your nose, I have no problem with that. But if that even remotely appealed to you, I encourage you to seek out an issue and give the book a try. Grade: A-

/Mason

COLOSSAL COMICS COLUMN CROSSOVER 2: THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS

Click here to go to Part One of this column

This time around, I’m digging through a ton of issues from Devil’s Due Publishing. 35 of them, actually. This portion focuses on some of their licensed material.

MU #1-2
Written by Andrew Dabb and Manson Khan and Drawn by Mark Lee

MU is apparently based on an online role playing game. Now, let me open and honest right now, because this applies to the next two books I’m going to review as well. I don’t play video games. Not at home, not at work, not at the mall. I’ve never so much as owned a Nintendo, let alone a Playstation, X-Box, or whatever else. So I know fuck-all about the games these books are based upon. Got it? So that has no bearing on how I feel about the comics.

This book has what feels like a pretty standard fantasy scenario: long ago, an evil god came to the land and conquered most of the world. He was stopped by two warring wizards who united as one to bring him down. Unfortunately, a thousand years have passed, the kingdom is weakening, and the evil god looks to be returning in some form or another. Only a wizard considered to be mad seems to realize it, however, and he engages the services of a young warrior on a quest to aid him in preventing the god from returning and destroying everything.

Like I said, nothing very fresh there.

What makes MU readable, though, is that it does its best to stand on the gas pedal and plow through its lack of originality. There’s an effort here to simply ignore the familiar trappings and just try and entertain the reader. It isn’t always fully successful, but I can appreciate the effort. The one truly terrific element to the book is the art by Mark Lee. I’d call what he does “compu-manga,” and he’s kind enough to provide a primer on how to do it at the end of the story. Grade: B-

DARKSTALKERS #1-4
Written by Ken Siu-Chong and Drawn by Alvin Lee

This book, however, is much stronger. The premise is at least interesting: a powerful entity that consumes planets and their inhabitants decides to start seeding worlds so that they will grow “tastier” over time, and he can return to them for a better meal. That includes Earth. Of course, rather than superheroes, the seeds have sprouted catwomen, demonic creatures, succubae, and other oddities.

Wisely, Siu-Chong quickly puts the world eater in the background, and puts his focus on the lives (and deaths) of the strange creatures populating the Earth. One story spotlights a girl brought back from the dead and her Frankenstein monster of a brother; another follows a catwoman who only wants to get a good role on Broadway, but her feet are holding her back. There’s a certain charm to the way the scenario for this “universe” is thought out, and I appreciated that some of the less-familiar paths were traveled.

The weakest aspect of the book is the art. The layouts range from the uninspired to the confusing, and the coloring simply overwhelms some portions of the book in the early issues. There is improvement as you get through issue four, but Lee and the Udon crew are capable of better. Grade: B+

STREET FIGHTER #11-13
Written by Ken Siu-Chong and Drawn by Arnold Tsang

I didn’t mention this problem with DARKSTALKERS, though it was present. I had all published issues to work with. But the Udon crew demonstrates quite well how to make new-reader unfriendly comics with this book.

Dear Gentlemen: I don’t play the video game. I haven’t read the first ten issues of your comic. That shouldn’t prevent me from enjoying your work. But if you don’t bother to welcome new readers with a RECAP page I can’t. Not the way I should be able to. If a new reader isn’t made comfortable, your sales are in for some nasty surprises.

All I can tell you, really, is there there’s a conspiracy being run by some bad guys, and a crew of good guys out to stop them. They mostly seem to be made up of characters from the game. One woman apparently used to work for the bad guys (she was brainwashed, I think), and when she joins the good guys, one of the goodies is suspicious because brainwashed girl killed her father.

The intrigue and unpredictability that Siu-Chong brings to DARKSTALKERS is lacking in this title, though (amusingly) the art here is considerably better. Tsang brings a rather loopy and over-the-top element to his manga stylings, and it looks really good. The colors are more in control here as well. Grade: C

G.I. JOE #37-40
Written by Brandon Jerwa and Drawn by Tim Seeley

There’s a single key element to successfully writing the main (continuity heavy) JOE title: remembering that the book, at its core, is a military soap opera drama. The fights are never what really matter; instead, it’s all about the characters, the interplay, the double crosses, and the obstacles facing the cast that don’t involve bullets.

Jerwa understands this quite well.

Reading this much of the book in one sitting, you get a good grasp of Jerwa’s gift for soapy plotting. Sure Cobra is out there, and they’re a big threat with their new weapon. Sure, the Joes are going to have to face down the snakes and stop them, in the process blowing up a lot of stuff. But the hook is the intrigue behind the Joes being in trouble with the government and getting a new military leader. The hook is in The Baroness being pregnant with Destro’s baby and facing assassination from a vengeance-seeking Cobra Commander.

I have always had a soft spot for the Joes, from the time their first issue came out from Marvel when I was a kid. I never expect literary brilliance from the title; I expect to be solidly entertained by fun characters and solid action. That’s all I ask. And Jerwa delivers. Grade: B+

G.I. JOE: RELOADED #9-13
Written by John Rey Nieber and Chuck Dixon and Drawn by Various

RELOADED is sort of the comics equivalent to the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA television series. The JOE concept was re-imagined from the ground up, continuity free. I guess you could also equate it to Marvel’s ULTIMATE titles.

What this does is provide an opportunity for new readers to sample the title and characters. However, this is sort of hit-and-miss as far as how it’s executed.

The cast is shrunk and tightened up, which is a wise move. That allows you to invest in characters that are drawn more fully, and spend more time in the spotlight. But beyond that, there doesn’t feel like there’s an enormous amount of difference between this and the main title. There’s one character whose allegiance has changed, but aside from that… not much in the way of changes.

I’m torn about this. If you’re going to go this route, why not make deeper and more fundamental changes? The point is somewhat moot now; the title will be vanishing as the company re-launches and refurbishes the entire JOE franchise, but I can’t help but think that maybe RELOADED as it appeared was misconceived. The comics were perfectly entertaining and Chuck Dixon really brought some intensity to the book when he came on board, but I don’t think it will be mourned. Grade: B-

Thanks for reading.

/Mason

He's Back!

Not only has old buddy Chris Allen opened up his own website, he's also brought back his classic column, Breakdowns. This is good news for comics reviewing, indeed.

Chris has been someone whose work and opinion I've respected greatly since the moment I began reading his stuff, and he's never dull. Go forth and check him out.

/Mason