YEARBOOK STORIES 1976-1978
Written by Chris Staros
Drawn by Bo Hampton and Rich Tommaso
Published by Top Shelf

YEARBOOK brings together two short stories focused on Top Shelf honcho Staros’ younger years, each previously published as part of the late, lamented SMALL PRESS EXPO anthologies. The first, “The Willful Death of a Stereotype,” turns its eye towards a young geek’s attempt at achieving popularity and power through a school election. Story two, “The Worst Gig I Ever Had,” skips ahead to his high school years and the first rock band he played in. Each has its merits, though there’s no question that “Stereotype” is the shining gem of the duo.

Autobiographical comics have become such a mixed bag over the years that you tend to have your defenses built so high against them that they have little chance of succeeding. So many are about tweedy jerkoffs who want to tell you every minute detail about their lives and forget to tell you an actual story. But Staros knows exactly how to make them work. “Stereotype” has a full story to tell, and it’s one with an emotional and intellectual progression. “Gig” is a bit more of an extended humorous anecdote, but it also delivers on the punchline. I wish more cartoonists understood how important that is.

Artistically, Staros couldn’t have done better by himself. Bo Hampton is in a class by himself, and “Stereotype” looks incredible. Tommaso also turns in some terrific work, though it lacks some of the fluid spontaneity of Hampton’s work.

For four dollars American, this is a pretty sweet little treat. Pick it up and give it to someone like me who had lost his taste for autobio comix and remind them that the genre can still be done with skill and intelligence.

/Mason

POPGUN VOL.1
Edited by Mark Andrew Smith and Joe Keatinge
Published by Image Comics

Anthologies are a tricky thing. When you try and limit them to one central theme, they can feel forced and lack spontaneity. If you allow them to be broad and open, you run the risk of the entire affair feeling scattered and without purpose. Plus, there’s always the requisite gem-to-crap ratio to deal with, no matter what kind of anthology you have. Putting one together isn’t for the faint of heart.

But AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS maestro Mark Andre Smith and Image marketing guru Joe Keatinge have certainly given it their best shot with POPGUN. Ostensibly based on the concept of the pop single in music, the results are a bit trying and inconsistent for the first two-thirds of the book, but the final third of this gargantuan book (450 pages) finds a solid groove and delivers a powerful crescendo of sound and fury.

There are some gems early on the line-up. Jamie S. Rich and Joelle Jones contribute a nifty relationship tale (their specialty) that’s as solid as any of their other work in that genre, and it gives the reader an early good taste in their mouth. Chris Moreno’s “Sanz Pants” follows along shortly after to keeping the beat moving. But it isn’t until Adrian Dominguez and Matthew Weldon’s “Ellie saves the World”, an issue-length adventure, drops in that POPGUN grabs hold of you by the lapels and refuses to let go until the final chord is struck. Their tale of a teen superheroine is so fun and funky that you find yourself wanting more of Ellie’s adventures sooner rather than later.

Image has become one of the best anthology makers in the business, and this is a worthy effort to stand alongside some of the previous efforts like AFTERWORKS and 24/7. There will certainly be more POPGUN; I expect it will be fun to keep an eye on it and see where it goes.

/Mason

THE ART OF BRYAN TALBOT
Published by NBM

A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed THE ART OF GREG CAPULLO and gave it a resounding pan due to a number of glaringly bad decisions in design. So I was quite pleased to see this book in my mailbox- no North American publisher does better “Art” books than NBM, and I expected this would be excellent. As usual, they didn’t let me down.

This is how you do an “Art” book.

Bryan Talbot is one of the greatest living artists in our field, a man who has been mastering his craft for decades. He’s shown himself to be versatile, tackling superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, rock stars, and human interest. He can pencil, ink, paint… you name it… and he does so in brilliant fashion. And each bit of that is on display in this terrific over-sized book. You also get to see a retrospective of his whole career on display here; some of his earliest work is on these pages, along with some of his most recent. It allows the reader to see just how much talent he had to start with, and just how much he’s learned and progressed with over time.

There is also very little “white space” inside this book. Where there isn’t art (printed at all sizes) there is commentary text from Talbot explaining the origins of various works and how they came together. Sometimes he even expresses chagrin about the results, but he isn’t afraid to put them out there.

The book also comes with a lovely introduction by the great Neil Gaiman, but the real star is the life’s work of a man whose talents know no boundaries. Any serious collector of comic or pop culture art will want this excellent work on their shelves.

/Mason

THE SLEEPY TRUTH VOL.1
Written by Jason M. Burns
Drawn by Erik Valdez y Alanis
Published by Viper Comics

Sleepy Hollow, NY, is a strange little town. It’s beset by all sorts of oddities: sea monsters, ghostly Native American tribes… and maybe even a space alien who’s taking over the city council. So who can the citizenry turn to in order to keep them in-the-know about these phenomenon? How about the staff of THE SLEEPY TRUTH, the local newspaper dedicated to blowing the lid off it all? Of course, the staff isn’t quite what you’d expect: there’s Suzanne and Thomas Watson, the oddly-birthmarked 15-year old twins who run the show; their friend Grant (age 15), who has prosthetic hands; and Matthias, their portly 14-year old friend who claims to be telekinetic, but can’t prove it.

In volume one of what looks to be a potentially lengthy series, the kids must contend with two threats to their First Amendment rights: the return of the creature the twins believe ate their father, and the afore-mentioned alien and councilman, who are determined (in classic SCOOBY fashion) to put these meddling kids out of their hair for good.

SLEEPY comes across as a gentle, fun little lark, and shows a nice grasp on how to put together entertainment that can appeal to readers young and old. No question, one of the real markets for these books should be school libraries; there’s no profanity, no sexuality, just clean fun all the way around. The kids are interesting, unique characters, their dialogue rings true, and while there’s a “threat” involved, you know that whatever resolution comes will be appropriate. I wish there were more like it.

Viper has made its mark in the field mostly with sharp-edged books like DEAD @17, MIDDLEMAN, and THE EXPENDABLE ONE. But with SLEEPY and EMILY EDISON, they’re showing that the youth market is one they can succeed in.

/Mason

MASKED MAGICIAN
Written by Mike Maddox
Drawn by Pradeep Ingale
Published by Virgin Comics

Centuries ago, a statue fell to earth that allowed the bearer to control the four elements of the world, and it led the planet to ruin. Only the foresight of a select few allowed humanity and the Earth itself to survive, and they split the statue’s power amongst other objects and hid them around the globe. Then they banded together to create a society dedicated to not only making sure no one ever uses that power again, but that sees to it that magic stays solely in the realm of illusion. Unfortunately, a power-hungry member of that society has decided that he wants the statue’s gift for himself, and anyone in his way must die. Now, a special effects technician and his dead partner’s daughter must band together to stop the world’s climate from a magical armageddon.

This is quite an unusual way of bringing the character that did those TV specials a few years back into the spotlight again. That man’s purpose was to expose how tricks are done, and I personally avoided watching- I didn’t want to know. This book actually offers up a sort of “purpose” in doing such a thing, as it serves to keep illusionists from seeking genuine power. Hmm.

The script follows the classic hero’s journey; a man possessed of gifts he barely understands loses his mentor, discovers a conspiracy centuries old, and must dive into this world, discover his inner strength, and save the world. But this is not a bad thing: there’s a reason that the hero’s journey is one of the strongest and most reliable tropes in fiction: when it’s done well it works. And Maddox’s story and dialogue absolutely do. Tom, the protagonist, is very likeable, and possesses just enough of a skeptical sense about him that he doesn’t easily buy in to what he’s being told in concern to real magic, but he also isn’t so stubborn that he ignores the things happening around him, either.

Unfortunately, the book has one enormous Achilles’ heel, and that’s the art. Ingale’s work is stiff, his characters are un-involving, and his grasp on anatomy and movement is poor. In fact, during the climactic fight, I honestly couldn’t tell you precisely how the villain is defeated, because the art doesn’t make it clear at all. It lacks pizzazz, and when you’re dealing with magic and illusion, that ain’t so great.

At five bucks (and laying beneath a stunning cover by the brilliant Brian Stelfreeze) that makes MASKED MAGICIAN a tough call, purchase-wise. Cheap, but not pretty. Sort of like the person sitting next to you at last call. Whether or not you want to go home alone is entirely up to you.

/Mason

PAINKILLER MERCENARIES: ORIGINS

All books from Dynamite Entertainment

PAINKILLER JANE #4
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti
Drawn by Nigel Raynor

Thus begins one of the stranger crossovers in recent memory: Painkiller Jane versus The Terminator. In the present, our indestructible heroine takes out a helicopter in a gun battle, decides not to start a gunfight with 100 armed men, and chooses instead to drink herself silly with her best friend. In the future, John Connor and his resistance fighters alter one Terminator’s trip through time and send it further down the line and into the restroom at Jane’s favorite watering hole.

Much to my surprise, this actually works pretty well, maybe because of the slow pace. It isn’t until the end of the issue that both plots dovetail. Therefore, both tracks read exactly like their regular books, and since PAINKILLER JANE is always a ludicrously violent and hilarious treat… score. And Palmiotti has a solid grip on writing the TERMINATOR world as well, offering up strong material in the short scenes here that we got out of the complete recent series that DE put out.

Kudos are also in order to Nigel Raynor, who has moved from being one of the shakier artists in the DE stable to one who really seems to be growing and learning at a quickening pace. This looks like the best stuff I’ve seen from him; maybe getting him away from GALACTICA was just what he needed.

Good fun all the way around.

MERCENARIES #1
Written by Brian Reed
Drawn by Edgar Salazar

Typically, one of the quickest ways to turn me off to a comic book or film is to have the sentence “based on a videogame” play a part in it. The second quickest way to make me ignore a comic is to have the words “cover by Michael Turner” in the solicitation copy. So MERCENARIES started out buried in a pretty deep hole. But…

…This is one of those rare times when I turn out to be wrong. Because MERCENARIES is a skillfully executed comic.

Three mercenaries, along with their “home” operative, set themselves up for hire and take on all the tough jobs. Their current assignment pits them against a faction of the Chinese army, always a tough one, and when one member of the group falls into the hands of the bad guys, it begins to get complicated. After all… even though they’re doing the job for money, they don’t have to agree on how to execute their objectives. That’s why they aren’t exactly a true “team.”

Brian Reed has come to prominence as a writer at Marvel, but it’s his recent Image book THE CIRCLE that’s sort of made him worth watching in my book. He has a real good grasp of how to put together an action sequence, and for a book based on a videogame, he manages to string together some characters worth reading about. It helps that Salazar has serious chops as an artist. His work is dynamic and has some grace to it, but he also knows his way around the use of shadow and perspective.

And that Turner cover? It isn’t of a woman with balloon breasts that dwarf her head, allowing Mike to keep his fly zipped and concentrate on things like composition and anatomy. So it’s pretty sharp. Just like the interiors.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: ORIGINS #1
Written by Kevin Fahey
Drawn by Jonathan Lau

The best BATTLESTAR book from DE so far was ZAREK, which told the origin of the infamous terrorist turned political prisoner. The reason it worked so well was because it fit into the framework of the show, but didn’t feel slavish to it. Using that template, this series follows in its footsteps, beginning with a look at the background of everyone’s favorite narcissist villain, Baltar.

We open with scenes of the childhood on Aerilon reference in the show. Baltar is the son of farmers, his quest to better himself and rise above his station, yet held back by the failures of his imagination and the equipment he repairs and tries to make more efficient. We also jump forward, to two years before the Cylon armageddon, and see his first meeting with Caprica Six and the early developments in their relationship. And it works; it works within the framework of what we know about Gaius, but it also is a strong enough story that it would work without the trappings of the show.

A big part of that must be credited to Fahey, who writes for the show itself. His Baltar sounds exactly right, and you can easily imagine James Callas uttering every single word that appears on the page here. He also gets strong support from Lau, who turns in much sharper work here than what he did on the recent PEGASUS one-shot.

The original GALACTICA’s Baltar was a one-note caricature, as John Colicos ate enough scenery to keep him going to Weight Watchers for life. But Ron Moore’s Baltar is a much more complex and fascinating character, vain and self-serving, yet with a spark of inner strength and vulnerability. Week in and week out, he’s been the most riveting piece of the show. Starting off this series by putting him in the spotlight was the best possible move, and the book delivers on that promise.

/Mason

POTTERS FIELD #2-3
Written by Mark Waid
Drawn by Paul Azaceta
Published by Boom Studios

The final two chapters of Mark Waid’s clever little procedural arrive and do a bit better job of showing the strength and flexibility of the concept. John Doe, who’s life’s mission is to put names to the anonymous dead, is approached by a woman who claims that her twin sister is among those in Potter’s Field, and she has a recent assault by local thugs to prove it. But of course, there’s a lot more to her story than that, and it could likely mean the end of Doe’s entire operation if he isn’t careful.

Doe himself is an intriguing heir to The Shadow, using a network of operatives to ferret out information about frozen cold cases and getting them closer to being written in black. In issue one, we got a slight one-off of a story; good, but nothing that really let the concept of what having a Doe running around a city would mean. But here, Waid allows more of the local New York flavor to kick in, and expands the character universe in order to give some dimension to the obstacles that someone doing this sort of work would face. Thus, it’s a far more gripping read, and there feels as though there’s something at stake for everyone involved. That makes for good comics.

Of course, it helps that Azaceta continues to grow as an artist, and his work is much more suited to this book than it was to TALENT. With a book with noir roots, like this one, you need someone who can deliver darker, edgier work on the page, and this stuff looks terrific.

The one problem I see here is that there needs to be more, especially for the eventual trade paperback. Right now, the added material is pretty slight. So… sequel anyone?

/Mason

UNBEATABLE
Written by Matthias Wolf
Drawn by Carlos Gomez
Published by Razor Wolf Entertainment

Heimen Dale Jr.’s existence has gone… astray. He’s awakened to find himself in an insane asylum, with no clue how he got there or why he’s now incarcerated. All he has are his early memories and his dreams. The memories are of he and his father, and how he taught him to quietly learn how to stand up for himself, and of the girl next door, Denise, that he fell in love with and married. Seemingly a pretty standard existence. But his dreams… those are something else entirely. His dreams are filled with one brutal, bloody fight after another, as he’s continually murdered in battle with some of history’s greatest warriors. Now he must begin to piece together exactly what has happened to him, before he completely loses his sanity and the ability to withstand the pain he feels upon waking up from those fights. And what he’s about to learn will be unlike anything he could have imagined. Ever.

Debut graphic novels can be a tricky thing; writers often struggle with story structure, pace, and dialogue, and artists are usually pretty green as far as storytelling capability. But UNBEATABLE manages to defy those problems- Wolf’s script is strong, he juggles multiple pieces of the story with grace, and the characters are genuinely interesting on the page. He also does an excellent job of offering up solid clues as to what’s really happening without slapping a huge neon sign on the page that says “Clue Here.” Going back through the book, he actually makes the book’s final revelation fairly obvious, but it certainly wasn’t upon first read.

Gomez also turns in strong work, shifting back and forth seamlessly between the various milieus Wolf places the character, and showing an adept ability for portraying action. He also does well with characters and faces, which makes it easier to dive fully into the story.

I think the highest complement I can pay UNBEATABLE is this: lacking space, I rarely find myself keeping a lot of debut graphic novels from small publishers. They don’t turn me on enough to merit a spot in the collection, instead getting donated to friends, schools, you name it. But UNBEATABLE is a keeper, earning a permanent place of honor on the bookcase.

/Mason

GOBLIN CHRONICLES #1
Written by Troy Dye and Tom Kelesides
Drawn by Collin Fogel
Published by Ape Entertainment

A young goblin boy named Gorim is a rebel without a cause no longer in GOBLIN CHRONICLES, a new kid-friendly fantasy book that follows a pretty standard path in setting up its uber-plot. Gorim loves to read and create, where goblins are a war-like race, and that doesn’t sit well with his parents. In fact, each race in the GOBLIN world (troll, elf, goblin, shape-shifter) is constantly fighting, thanks to the manipulations of the Dark Queen who rules the land. However, there’s a greater purpose to her keeping the factions fighting; there’s a prophecy (there always is) that says four will band together and bring her down… and you can probably guess that a little goblin boy who prefers to read than fight is destined to be one of them.

There’s nothing inherently offensive about using the standard tropes of a fantasy story, so I’m willing to give the book a pass on that, because they’re executed with competence and charm. However, the book does get bogged down on the artistic side; Fogel’s art is static and lacks dynamic movement, and the color scheme is murky, making it difficult to tell the goblins and trolls apart. The dialogue could use a bit more punch as well, but it’s acceptable as is, as opposed to some of the art issues.

One other thing I’d point out- the target audience here is definitely younger by nature, making publishing this as a miniseries a questionable call. Indy publishers are already ignored by a significant percentage of comics shops, making this a tough sell to a limited market; the real sales potential here is in bookstores for the collected edition.

/Mason

Friday's Fall Finale... concluded!

The last new column of 2007 is up and it's a doozy! Matt delivers a brand new FULL BLEED full of huge news: his book, STRANGEWAYS, will be in the new Previews! So pre-order that bad boy!

Also: the holiday hiatus announcement is now on the front page, along with links to those CWR writers who are blogging through the holiday... including ME!

/Mason

Friday's Fall Finale...

The main site will be shuttering for the holidays, but blogging will continue. However, before all that happens...

2007 IN REVIEW by yours truly, is now live, as I take a look at some of the year's better books... and a few you don't want anywhere near you...

Plus, Elliott ends 2007 by beginning his personal manifesto about comics and what they should mean to us all!

Go read, for Pete's sake!

/Mason

Thursday... as tomorrow's main site holiday approaches, we still have plenty of goodies to come!

First... Vince delivers his final OMNIUM GATHERUM of 2007, wherein he takes on Ed Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA OMNIBUS and finds it... boring...

Plus: I review J. Chris Campbell's very odd piece of cartooning, ZIG ZAG #2.

Click over and say hello, yes?

/Mason

Wednesday...

WON TON SOUP marries sci-fi with "Iron Chef"... and it's pretty good.

/Mason

Tuesday...



It's time for the December edition of JESS KNOWS BEST! This time around, she offers up some holiday gift giving advice for the geek set, plus provides some guidance in how gamer couples can keep their relationships fresh and free of burnout.



JESS KNOWS BEST also has its own MySpace page now, too!



/Mason

I just posted this bit of PR out to the news sites:

VIRGIN COMICS WRITER SAURAV MOHAPATRA JOINS THE
COMICS WAITING ROOM!

Up-and-Coming Talent is the Latest Addition to the Comics Columnist Community!

TEMPE, AZ, Monday, December 10, 2007-

The Comics Waiting Room (www.comicswaitingroom.com) is proud to announce the addition of comic book writer Saurav Mohapatra to the site. Mohapatra will be writing a column titled “NINE PANEL GRID” for the site and it will cover his trials and travails in making it in the comics business and the things he continues to learn along the way. Saurav is currently writing DEVI, THE SADHU, and DEEPAK CHOPRA PRESENTS: INDIA AUTHENTIC for the publisher, so you can see the results of his columns and the lessons he’s learned on the stands at your neighborhood comics shop!

“NINE PANEL GRID” begins today with an introductory and the first two lessons in scripting that he had to internalize in his early efforts. The column will then run on a bi-weekly to monthly basis as Mohapatra’s writing schedule allows. The column will be archived at www.comicswaitingroom.com/ninepanelgrid.html so that anyone who has missed an installment can easily catch up. Column one can be found at http://www.comicswaitingroom.com/ninepanelgrid1.html.

Comics Waiting Room owner and Editor-in-Chief Marc Mason had this to say about the addition of Mohapatra to the site: “Saurav is a terrific young talent, and I’m ecstatic to have him add The Waiting Room to his list of assignments. He brings a new, unique voice to the table, and his connection with Virgin Comics will help him see his work published across the world. I think he’s going to be able to help other writers trying to follow in his footsteps and give them the tools and the confidence they need to succeed.”

About The Comics Waiting Room:
Established by Marc Mason in July 2006, after working for a number of other comics-related websites, The Comics Waiting Room has consistently added new content five to six days a week. The site offers reviews of comics, graphic novels, and media, as well as occasional media and entertainment features. After producing 99.9% of the content himself in the first year, the second year has seen the addition of five new columnists to the site, with more to come!

Contact: Marc Mason
marc@comicswaitingroom.com

Manga Monday! Leading off the week, a review of the (now super-good) ES (ETERNAL SABBATH).

Plus a new columnist joins the site. Details to come shortly!

/Mason

Friday...

Vince offers up a new OMNIUM GATHERUM, covering a variety of topics, including his complicity in the Defalco era Fantastic Four.

Then, I review Alex Robinson's new book, LOWER REGIONS.

Enjoy your weekend!

/Mason

DOCK WALLOPER #1

CWR BLOG EXTRA

Latest in Virgin Comics line of Hollywood director-created comics is DOCK WALLOPER, from the mind of Ed Burns and written by Burns and comics stud Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Siju Thomas. Burns has made his movie career based on films about schlub New Yorkers who can’t get their shit together when it comes to women and who need to drink and navel gaze a bit less. So the premise of WALLOPER comes as a bit of a surprise; set in Depression era New York, it follows the trials and tribulations of two unusual friends: John “The Hand” Smith, a bruiser whose right hand is much bigger than his left, and his best friend and fellow orphan, Bootsy.

In the first issue, the duo manages to fall under the good graces of an Irish gangster thanks to a timely bit of saving their own asses from a hit by a rival Italian ganglord. Thus, even though the Irish (being thorough racists) would prefer to not have Bootsy around, they are stuck with him for the moment thanks to Smith’s loyalty to his friend. But as the pair moves upward through the ranks, you can bet that temptations galore will work to tear the two apart, beginning with their first taste of actual money.

Actually, I suppose that could lead to Burns getting back to telling a tale about schlub New Yorkers who can’t get their shit together and need to drink less, but in a different format and era. But either way, this is actually quite a bit more appealing than a lot of his film work; the characters are interesting, the dialogue is crisp (something I’d bet good money is attributable to Jimmy), and Thomas does a nice job of depicting the era’s clothing, architecture, and colors.

Mind you, it isn’t a rocket science debut, but it is done well enough to merit a continued look (or at least a reading of the inevitable collection). If there’s one thing I know, it’s that Jimmy P. makes damned good comics, and his involvement here was reassuring from the time the book was announced.

/Mason

Thursday... we're running a bit out of order this week, so you get a new COMIC CULTURE WARRIOR today instead of Friday...

This week, Elliott remembers the work of Elliott S! Maggin and how it influenced him, and points your way towards Maggin's congressional campaign for office.

Vote by clicking, won't you?

/Mason

Today at the Waiting Room...

Matt Maxwell returns with a new FULL BLEED, dreaming of a Marvel Comics that never was and pondering the audience for big ticket comics like DC's Absolute editions.

You'll never look at Tom Spurgeon the same way again...

Plus: I take a gander at THE ART OF GREG CAPULLO

/Mason