Review - Buffy Season 8 #5

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON EIGHT #5
By Joss Whedon, Paul Lee & Andy Owens
Colors by Dave Stewart, Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy
Published by Dark Horse Comics, August 2007. $2.99




Joss Whedon has weaved his basic themes of redemption, equality, and female empowerment in all of his stories and here he is doing it again with confidence. A decoy Buffy, explored in this issue, received her powers with a shock of thunderous pain, along with the bonus prize of shared memories and the legacy of female strength. A hilarious television commercial is presented by Andrew, who I imagine is functioning in a public relations capacity, which calls back to his many awkward daydreams and graphs in season 7. Decoy Buffy is recruited through these means and her life is forever changed. She feels the tug of humanity, and discovers the resources to believe in her abilities. In one of her first missions with a group of young slayers she is savagely bitten while trying to save a fellow mate. The mate lets her know the wound is a badge of honor as she has heard Buffy has a neck wound too. One particularly moving sequence involves a recruiter offering her the mission as decoy Buffy saying, “….I gotta figure you want the truth. As in ‘Why me? Did I get the hardest, darkest path to walk ‘cause I’m strong, I’m good, I can handle the heavier burden? Or am I weak, expendable, the one that won’t be missed. The truth? There is no truth. There’s just what you believe.” That passage cuts to the heart of the whole series

Yes, I am the resident Joss Whedon fanatic, and it would be difficult for me to point out any serious flaws in anything he has done thus far. I feel fortunate that I can say “The Chain” is his best work since Angel season 5’s disturbing episode, “A Hole in the World.” With that, I must point out this is not the strongest issue to enter the series as a new reader. The structure is non-linear and there is only brief mention made of our new world of 2,000 slayers and the decoy Buffies running around. The comics have proved innovative in allowing Joss to focus his microscope away from the core Scoobies. If you’re only a fan of the adventures of our merry band, this may be a difficult issue for you. The television series would never have had an installment like issue #5. Within its pages are rooms in the house of the Buffiverse we have never explored. Finally, guest artist Paul Lee does an impressive job over regular artist George Jeanty. The various underground faerie-tale creatures the decoy Buffy brings the gift of equality are fantastically realized, even the one that looks like a leaf-blower.

I am bowled over by this one, I must admit. It holds within its pages one of the best genre stories to explore the human condition in 16 pages. Up next, Brian K. Vaughan brings us Faith, the darkest slayer yet!

Review - Batman 668

BATMAN 668
By Grant Morrison and JH Williams III
Colors by Dave Stewart, Letters by John J. Hill
Published by DC Comics, August 2007. $2.99



While Grant Morrison is raking in accolades (and rightfully so) for his work on ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, he’s also chugging along on some of the finest -- if also most nostalgic -- Batman stories to come along in some time. His premiere storyline, “Batman and Son” with Andy Kubert, swam the rivers of late-80s Batmen, revisiting Talia al Ghul and the events of BATMAN: SON OF THE DEMON. The current story, “The Island of Mister Mayhew,” revisits the Batmen of All Nations, an international club of Batman look-alikes first seen in DETECTIVE COMICS 215 from 1955.

In this second of three parts, “Now We Are Dead!,” the Batmen (now called “The Club of Heroes”) are having a rare reunion on the very Island of Mister Mayhew of the arc’s title -- only they’ve become trapped on the island and are being picked off one by one. Morrison does a very nice job building interesting and engaging personalities for each of the Batmen -- Man-of-Bats and Raven Red are a Native American father and son duo with a strained relationship, El Gaucho is an Argentine vigilante worth respecting, and the Legionary is an overweight Italian who revels in the stories of his youth -- while still moving the mystery along at a nice clip.

But what really makes this issue shine is JH Williams -- bar none, one of the finest artists making comics today. That he spends so much of his time working the superhero side of things is a one of the best reasons I can think of for superhero fans to get out of bed on Wednesday mornings. A flashback to the last Club of Heroes meeting, captioned “Eight Years Ago,” is playfully rendered in a six-panel grid colored with “comic book dots,” which I’m sure have a real name that simply escapes me tonight. When we’re blasted to the present day -- with the Club’s discovery of another of their murdered number -- we get some of the most sophisticated paneling I’ve seen outside of Frank Quitely. Even in splash pages, Williams employs a handy trick -- a thin black border around details worth our attention, with specific colors standing out of the otherwise gray background. I seem to remember him doing the same things in his run on DESOLATION JONES, and I’m happy to see him back in action here.

BATMAN under Morrison and Williams is, simply put, superior storytelling of trademarked characters. Batman might not be forever changed by the end of next issue, but some of these other characters will be -- if any of them survived -- and thanks to the storytellers involved, that will matter to me just as much.

Tell me more: JH Williams III, Grant Morrison.

Review - Sharknife: Stage First

SHARKNIFE: STAGE FIRST
By Corey Lewis
Grayscaling by Alejandro Fuentes
Published by Oni Press, March 2005. $9.95



I used to see SHARKNIFE mentioned in the same breath as SCOTT PILGRIM a lot, because they both came out around the same time, and both from Oni Press, and both in the same format -- digest-sized, to fit next to the manga -- and both with similar influences and tropes. Like PILGRIM, Corey Lewis through SHARKNIFE invents a world with its own rules and logic, centering on the Guangdong Factory, a Chinese restaurant constantly threatened by monsters that live inside its walls, and constantly defended by the busboy Ceasar Hallelujah, who transforms into the mighty bio-mech ninja Sharknife with the munch of a magic fortune cookie.

Also populating this world are Chieko, daughter of the Guandong Factory’s owner, baker of the magic fortune cookies, and damsel-in-distress to Sharknife’s conquering hero; Ombra Ravenga, crime boss of Sharknife’s unnamed city, and ringleader of the villains who send monster after monster to do battle with Sharknife; and a manageable but forgettable supporting cast that wouldn’t be out of place in an 80’s cartoon with much the same setup.

That’s the great weakness of SHARKNIFE -- it begins with a concept that’s well-worn, and despite artwork has flashes of kinetic fun, doesn’t rise above what we’ve seen before from other post-modern medium-bending action/adventure tales. Chieko is practically Olive Oyl, fainting when monsters attack, and Ravenga might as well be Mum-ra, Skeletor, or any other villain who’s ever lurked in the shadows, flinging deadly beasts at The Hero, either for purposes unclear or clichéd (in this case -- Ravenga is a crime lord who also ran the city’s hottest restaurant, until the Guandong Factory lured all of the customers away).

The dialogue tries to be ironic and sly, but where SCOTT PILGRIM has heart behind its awkward posturing and battle scenes, SHARKNIFE simply stumbles from fight to fight to fight. There’s no sense of what’s at stake, Sharknife himself comes across as a kid’s Ultimate D&D character -- always with a bigger, badder trick up his sleeve, and never in any real danger. And I know that’s part of the joke -- the bombast, the heroic pronouncements -- but knowing your dialogue is stilted doesn’t un-stilt it by itself.

While the artwork shows gleams of a Paul Pope influence (there’s even a Paul Pope poster behind Corey Lewis’s author photo), it’s often too hectic and confusing to follow what’s going on. This could be a case of mine eyes being unused to SHARKNIFE’s manga influences, but I like to think I’m not yet too old to appreciate the Brand New Scene. So, fine, I’ll say it -- grindcore IS just noise, and this comic IS, at times, too busy.

There’s some fun to be had in SHARKNIFE -- asides and captions like “Oh noes!” and “ZOMG!” give the book a sense of humor and freshness, but ultimately it’s a book that doesn’t rise above its influences.

Tell me more: Corey Lewis, Oni Press.

Review - SUGARSHOCK!

SUGARSHOCK!
By Joss Whedon & Fábio Moon
With Dave Stewart and Nate Piekos
Published by Dark Horse Comics, August 2007. Free for you, and free for me!

LOUD MUSIC! LOUD MUSIC! STRANGE BUZZING!! “I’m not saying that I’m better than you…. I’m not saying I’m rubber and in no way did I suggest you’re glue” goes the future pop-hit from SUGARSHOCK! a four-piece band hailing from another beyond I would not mind visiting. Joss Whedon is taking off to more otherworldly outfits to get his brand of girl power on and I couldn’t squeal louder. SUGARSHOCK! is his own tweaked take on Jem and the Holograms or Josie and the Pussycats and has genre-mashed its way into my heart. One thing I have come to know about Joss is his passion for music, whether it is Sondheim or slow jams. Born from this love of hard-rockin’ tunes, SUGARSHOCK! is poised to be a release for all the creative energy stifled from the cancellation of Firefly, as this online-only web comic draws the closest, of his recent work, to representing the energy and the wit of the tragically befallen series.

Dandelion, the lead singer of the band, is a precocious and slightly schizophrenic Viking- hater. Her drummer, Wade, is a voluptuous woman of such awesomeness she brings home a groupie from every concert for indiscreet sex and absolutely no talking. L’Lihdra, lead guitarist, looks masculine in her pinstriped suit but has ways of resolving the in fighting with a sensitive touch. Then there is Robot Phil, the robot bassist, who is a robot, and he likes to ride shotgun and not to be threatened. I love these characters in a way I have not loved a group of people since the crew of Serenity. Their personalities are so distinct, and every word that comes out of their mouths are facets of who they are, marvelously specific. The language is a shade too precise, and all of the background details are awkwardly, and hilariously, straightforward. (The winner of the South Fairville Hormer’s Shrimp n Taco Rock Off receives a giant check with BIG CHECK written on it. Hee.)

The gorgeous artwork makes this my favorite single issue to come along based on the art alone. Fábio Moon has a way of making everything loose and flowing with electricity. Whimsical details like Dandelion’s stink-eye projecting a small lightning bolt are funzies. I took a special shine to a cloud of hearts obstructing the view, of which I won’t say anything more. Whedon’s mission is to make us fall in love with yet another amazing ensemble, and SUGARSHOCK! is an unqualified success. All I want is to read more, get to know the group better, and see what’s going to happen next. This is 8 pages of pure joy, man, go read it!

Review - De:Tales

De:TALES
By Fábio Moon & Gabriel Bá
Published by Dark Horse Comics, June 2006. $14.95



At the risk of turning this into the Moon/Bá blog, I recently spent some time with the brothers’ “first major American release,” a collection of short stories, memories, and tales from Brazil. It looks like the earliest of the stories is dated 2002, so De:TALES covers the twins’ work over the course of a few years, and it’s hard to know when Fábio’s work stops and Gabriel’s begins, but I think that’s how it’s supposed to work.

The collection dips into magical realism from time to time, such as when the brothers pee in a circle to invoke the spirit of a friend who has passed on, just in time for his birthday; or when one of the brothers (Fábio, maybe?) goes on an imaginary date with a girl he was too shy to actually talk to one night in a bar. But just as fulfilling are the stories about being tourists in Paris, or getting into a fashion show for free after waking up in a stranger’s bed.

De:TALES is also an examination of form and craft, particularly when Fábio and Gabriel take turns illustrating the same story with “Reflections I & II.” “Reflections I” paints Fábio as the defter hand at panel layouts and pacing, but part of the fun of looking at a Gabriel Bá comic from 2002 is knowing that by 2006, Bá was producing work like CASANOVA -- a superior study in pacing and layouts if ever there was one.

Tell me more: Fábio Moon & Gabriel Bá, De:Tales preview at Dark Horse Comics.

(The only real smudge on De:TALES is the introduction from Diana Schutz, in which she tells us she “chose to politely ignore” the writing not done by Moon and Bá in a Xeric-award winner the brothers passed on to her at CCI years before they found a home at Dark Horse. Maybe it wasn’t to Schutz’s liking -- it was, goodness forbid, an “action-adventure tale” about superheroes -- but why take time in Moon and Bá’s introduction to put down some nameless writer’s early work? There are 112 pages of enjoyable comics to follow -- revel in that instead.)

Review - Casanova 8

CASANOVA 8
By Matt Fraction and Fábio Moon
Letters by Sean Konot, Cover by Gabriel Bá
Published by Image Comics, August 2008



The very first time I read an issue of CASANOVA was on a bus from Milwaukee to Chicago, following a visit to the Masters of American Comics exhibit, in order to see original pages from LITTLE NEMO and POPEYE. I read it and I thought, “oh, okay. He’s trying to write a Grant Morrison comic book.” It wasn’t as good as a Grant Morrison comic -- what the eff is? -- but it was fun for all of its sixteen pages of comic book, five pages of backmatter. I came back for issue two.

And I came back for issue three, and four, and five-six-seven.

What kept me coming back -- and what I look forward to as I read every issue -- is that backmatter that comes after the story proper. Writer Matt Fraction talks about process, about how each issue was constructed, about how seeing the giant cranes on the Oakland side of the San Francisco Bay (which I’ve been looking at myself for the past year) informed a scene, or a visual, or an entire issue. He talks about overheard conversations that came along at just the right time, and about how the act of creating CASANOVA is a testament to the life that he lives. Folks like Cormac McCarthy go out of their way to NOT talk about the creative process, to let the work rise and fall by virtue of the work itself. But it’s not that simple all of the time -- with CASANOVA, part of the work is the life that surrounds it. I like that a lot. And by the time issues five or six were coming out -- and far and away by the time this issue, issue eight, came out -- I was making special trips to the comic shop on the Wednesdays a new CASANOVA was due. It still feels very Morrison-influenced (especially in eight’s backmatter, where Fraction recounts writing Casanova recover from an illness, so that HE might recover from an illness), but instead of feeling like sheer imitation the way issue one struck me, it now feels like Fraction is building on a tradition instead of replicating it.

The art in this issue, which starts a new story arc, is taken over by Fábio Moon, twin brother and studio-mate of CASANOVA co-creator Gabriel Bá. Though it comes from a different artist, there’s a certain inspired-pop-magic in twins trading off on illustrating a book that very much concerns itself with evil, alternate universe, and sexy twindom. Fábio and Bá are fantastic, apart or together, as I gushed on about a little bit in my review for 5, and they’re on the verge of the rest of the world recognizing it, too.

One thing that leapt out at me -- there’s a pretty unfortunate foot on page four, as Casanova kicks backward at a up-to-no-good nurse … but even that is part of CASANOVA’S charm, watching quality comics craftsmen draw weird looking feet from time to time, or slip into action-comics patterns only to shake themselves free of it a few issues later. CASANOVA is one of the special ones -- a comic book worth reading, re-reading, and examining from all angles.

Tell me more: Matt Fraction, Fábio Moon & Gabriel Bá.

Review - Ultimate Spiderman #111

Ultimate Spiderman #111
By Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, and Stuart Immonen
Colors by Justin Ponsor, Letters by VC’s Cory Petit
Published by Marvel Comics, July 2007. $2.99

After two game-changing action-packed arcs - The Clone Saga and Ultimate Knights - Brian Michael Bendis has grabbed our shaken, frail bodies and forced us to sit with him and have a quiet chat. Between fighting various mutated freaks, dealing with the Ultimate love triangle, going to school and working at the Daily Bugle, Peter has had no time to deal with his disapproving Aunt May who once figured so closely to his daily life.

Aunt May’s guilt over Uncle Ben’s death became known in an issue similar to #111, "The Talk", the appropriately titled “Guilt,” issue #45. In “Guilt,” Aunt May talks to her psychiatrist about her inability to cope with a world where vigilantes run around in their pajamas doing whatever they want. She is relieved at the assurance her nephew is not involved in this fast growing trend. Issue #111 brings her growing concerns full circle. May has come to know the ugly truth: Peter Parker IS Spiderman. Yes, it’s time for that talk. I enjoyed reading Peter’s rationalization of the Spidey-sense, and Aunt May knowing the full story of the day the infamous radioactive spider bit Peter. In an odd, subtle moment, he tosses off the once traumatizing incident when Green Goblin threw Mary Jane off Brooklyn Bridge as mundane.

The one disappointment with this issue is a flashback to a battle with Ultimate Spot at the ROXXON labs just before picking up Aunt May at the hospital. The artist Stuart Immonen, to whom regular artist Mark Bagley is passing the Ultimate torch with #111, illustrates this sequence. The reader has the unfortunate position of only seeing their dialogue along the margin. I am disappointed this dull “staged reading” effect was implemented. While I love the witty exchange with May’s comical inability to understand what Peter is saying, and that the trashed lab hurt Peter’s young scientist heart, I would have expected a more ambitious execution of the conversation. Interspersing the intimate kitchen chat with the fight would have proved more engaging, especially if Bagley’s softer style had been integrated with Immonen's contrasting angular take on action sequences. This section felt like there was a last minute decision to include Immonen on the story; as a result, it felt lazy.

In the end, this issue delivered great moments for Aunt May. Her questions are just the right ones, as she feels increasingly nauseous the more she unweaves the delicate web of deceit. May discovers that Ben's familiar wise words of; "with great power..." is the great motivator for Spiderman. In her smile, I can see her relief. She can have a conversation with a superhero, thus providing the perfect bookend to “Guilt.”

Review - Lost at Sea

LOST AT SEA
By Bryan Lee O’Malley
Published by Oni Press, 2nd ed. March 2005. $11.95



LOST AT SEA is a pre-SCOTT PILGRIM graphic novel from Bryan Lee O’Malley concerning four teenagers, a road trip, lots of cats, a blinking NO, and lost souls. Our hero is Raleigh, who believes she lost her soul the summer after her childhood best friend moved away. What led Raleigh to be in this car with three strangers is something she pieces together for herself, and for us, as the trip progresses.

Raleigh’s lost best friend is given a fair amount of art-and-pagespace early on, only to go unseen for the last two-thirds of the book, but once LOST AT SEA turns into what it turns into, it’s a touching chronicle of post-high school moments that is fulfilling and truthful.

Steph, one of Raleigh’s car-mates, tells her toward the end that Raleigh has survived “your life’s great trauma,” which is melodramatic in the way it should be. But like real life, Raleigh’s story doesn’t end or crescendo with her life’s great trauma -- it just keeps going, moment by moment, as her experiences add up to be who she is. So even though LOST AT SEA doesn’t have the storytelling balance of SCOTT PILGIRM'S PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE, the honesty of the story being told still endears it to me.

What I noticed in particular about Bryan Lee O’Malley’s art in SCOTT PILGRIM, and what is even more relevant to my own experiences in LOST AT SEA, is his eye for true detail even in a cartoony world. I’ve never seen the spartan utility of rest stop bathroom portrayed so accurately -- even down to the tilt of the mirrors. I feel like every location was drawn a photograph tinged with memory, which makes the story’s proceedings feel even more important -- and makes me remember the rest stops, diners and Americana I’ve experienced in my own travels. LOST AT SEA is the kind of book I resisted at first, but now that it’s done, I keep turning over in my head again and again, finding the places in my own life where my experiences match up with Raleigh’s.

Tell me more: Bryan Lee O'Malley, Oni Press.

Review - Star Wars: Legacy 14

STAR WARS: LEGACY 14
By John Ostrander, Jan Duursema & Dan Parsons
Colors by Brad Anderson, Letters by Michael Heisler
Published by Dark Horse Comics, July 2007. $2.99



It’s summertime, so I’ve been re-playing KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPBULIC. Which means I’ve been walking around in my daily life and imagining lightsabers. More than usual, I mean. So I tried one of the many STAR WARS comics to see what was what in the world of the not-movies.

I’m not a big fan of the Expanded Universe stuff. I love Star Wars, as it existed circa 1984 -- the first three movies, the old figures, the Millennium Falcon. Everything else (prequels included) has been like fancy fan-fiction, and that’s fine with me. It’s fun to imagine and re-imagine Star Wars and it’s characters, but like anything some of it hits and some of it doesn’t.

Playing KOTOR and reading this issue of LEGACY -- the setting of the latter being 137 years after the first (released) Star Wars movie -- it seems like the general pattern of non-movie Star Wars stories is that the Jedi/Sith conflict is one that repeats itself over and over again. There’s always a Jedi in danger of falling to the dark side, and there are always scoundrels and bounty hunters getting caught up in the action. The Republic is always on the verge of collapse, and there are always new colors of lightsabers to be seen.

LEGACY’S Jedi in question is Cade Skywalker, a Luke’s descendent and a surly youth. He abandoned the Jedi and became a bounty hunter -- sort of like taking Luke and Han and blending them into one character. But the thing is -- Luke and Han worked best because they balanced each other out. Cade is like everyone’s high school D&D character. He’s the smartest, most charismatic, fastest, strongest, Force-iest character around, and while that makes him pretty badass to the teenager playing him, he’s not very interesting as a fictional being. And seeing him square off against a new legion of Sith, in this case Darth Krayt, who looks kind of like Stryfe from Marvel’s old X-FORCE series, just feels like the same old Star Wars story in a new pair of pants. There’s a Wookiee, there are Imperials, there’s a Hutt and a hot twi’lek -- but the pieces are rearranged into a new design.

I understand the appeal of that -- in the case of the first KOTOR it was very satisfying. But while LEGACY is competent, it doesn’t have the freshness KOTOR had. It’s interesting to see how the creators make the familiar Star Wars pieces fit, but it doesn’t have that spark of Something New necessary to keep anyone but a die-hard Star Wars fan coming back.

Tell me more: Star Wars Official Site, Star Wars @ Dark Horse.

Review - New Avengers 32

NEW AVENGERS 32
By Brian Michael Bendis & Leinil Yu
Colors by Dave McCaig, Letters by AS & Comicraft’s Albert Deschesne
Published by Marvel Comics, July 2007. $2.99



… and then there’s NEW AVENGERS. Now, on paper? Marvel Comics, Skrull invasion, Spider-Man crackin’ wise, jet planes crashing? Awesome. Well, not literally I guess, because here it IS on paper, and it’s kind of … less than awesome.

This is probably the third separate occasion I’ve picked up an issue of NEW AVENGERS, because I want to like it so much. And I wouldn’t have even bothered this time around, except I read a six-page preview on Newsarama featuring the team on a jet arguing about Skrulls, having the same kind of conversations internet fans were having about who could be a Skrull and why, and it was funny and clever, and I saw it on the shelf this week and said -- yes, okay. New Avengers.

The backstory is this -- the team fought Elektra in the last issue, Elektra died, and turned into a Skrull. The assumption is that this signifies a Skrull invasion of Earth, in which anyone we know could be a Skrull -- and who knows how long they’ve BEEN a Skrull. Which is a pretty neat idea -- not brand new, but a kind of retro-cool that I appreciate in my superhero comics.

The art by Leinil Yu is positively gorgeous -- lots of blacks, thick lines, but also great facial expressions, especially from Spider-Woman. But when paired with Brian Bendis’s wordy panels, and the entire New Avengers team riding on a jet, in a pretty complicated seating arrangement -- it’s often difficult to figure out who’s talking, and what’s happening. The characters don’t really have individual voices, so when it’s hard to tell who a word balloon is pointing to, the words therein don’t really clear it up either. The latter half of the issue involves a (Spoiler Alert!) plane crash, and there are some intricate goings-on within the plane that are hard to figure out here, too. It took me three reads to figure out what’s going on between Wolverine and Spider-Woman, for example. So while the art is gorgeous, it doesn’t always flow so well.

And while the words are clever, there are just flat out too many of them. I know it’s cliché to say that of a Brian Bendis-scripted comic, but the dude’s got a certain reputation for a reason. There’s one awkward paragraph in particular where Spider-Woman gives us 88 words (I counted!) about the history of aliens in America and Spider-Man’s reasons to distrust the media that a simple writing exercise could’ve helped -- “cut your word count here in half, and see how it reads.” Odds are, you’ll still get the info you want, and the restriction will make you the cleverer for it. Um, Mr. Bendis. Sir.

There are a lot of high points to his dialogue -- his Spider-Man is spot on, with lines like “Was that Skrully of me?” But whereas GREEN LANTERN 21 starts a superhero epic that conveys history, moves the plot forward, but doesn’t overwhelm -- NEW AVENGERS 32 is too much talky, too confusing to follow, and really only has one thing that happens plot-wise. The Skrull Invasion’s a neat idea, but I think I’ll hold off on my big Marvel crossovers until Mark Millar is writing them again.

Tell me more: Skrulls, Brian Michael Bendis.

Review - Green Lantern 21

GREEN LANTERN 21
By Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert.
Colors by Moose Baumann, Letters by Rob Leigh
Published by DC Comics, July 2007. $2.99



A pair of superhero sagas tonight -- first, GREEN LANTERN! The cover says this is part two of “The Sinestro Corps War,” while page one says it’s chapter one of “Sinestro Corps” -- either way, this issues features the fallout of Sinestro’s master plan to wipe out the Green Lanterns throughout the galaxy. Now, I was born and raised a Marvel man -- I kept up with DC mostly through the SUPER FRIENDS and SUPER POWERS TV shows, so I know Sinestro is the pink guy with the mustache who fights Green Lantern. What this issue tells me is that he’s teamed up with an assortment of DC baddies -- Cyborg Superman from the “Reign of the Superman” story of the 90’s, Superboy Prime from INFINITE CRISIS, and the robot Manhunters from I-don’t-know-what -- and they’re murdering Green Lanterns, following the rings to their replacements, and murdering them too. The villains wield yellow power rings, and there’s an evil insect-like parasite involved called Parallax that used to possess to Green Lantern Hal Jordan, and now possesses Green Lantern Kyle Rayner.

Whew! The good news is that most of that information flows like honey and doesn’t impede the enjoyment of the story whatsoever. In fact, it probably amplifies it -- even without the benefit of a “Previously In…” page like Marvel uses these days, it’s not that hard to get caught up in the story, and it feels -- in a good way -- like I’m being plopped into a superhero sci-fi epic that has been going on for some time now. There’s a lot of history here to take in, especially for someone (me!) who doesn’t know many Green Lantern specifics, but it reminds me of the way I felt when I read SECRET WARS as a kid -- there was a large cast of characters with pre-existing relationships, but I was able to keep up with what was happening now while appreciating the history they were sprung from.

There are a few points of confusion -- why Sinestro is embarking on this master plan, for one thing. Sinestro’s history as a Green Lantern himself is alluded to, but it’s not explained how things went sour -- something about a fall from grace, and too much pressure placed on his shoulders. I also don’t know if I buy Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Earth, as the doubting hero unwilling to bear the burden of leadership. I thought Hal was supposed to be fearless, the greatest Green Lantern there ever was. But I dunno, maybe that was Earth-2 Hal, or pre-Crisis Hal, or something like that.

This is still the opening salvo of the Sinestro Corps storyline, so there’s not a whole lot of forward movement here -- but I’m for sure coming back for more. GREEN LANTERN and “The Sinestro Corps War” is shaping up to be one good superheroes-in-space epic.

Tell Me More: Green Lantern.

Review - All-Star Superman 8

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN 8
By Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely & Jamie Grant
Letters by Phil Balsman
Published by DC Comics, July 2007. $2.99

No am tempted to yell preview in perfect English.



This issue of ALL-STAR continues Superman’s adventures on Bizarro-Earth, a square planet slowly sinking into the Underverse. He has to escape the planet or die under the influence of the Underverse’s red sun, and to help him he has only a bunch of Bizarros, a superslow Bizarro-Flash, and one singular Zibarro, the Bizarro-Bizarro. Also, Solaris, the Tyrant Sun makes a cameo.

I tell you this -- every issue of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN is packed full of more sheer dynamism and superhero excitement than anything else Marvel or DC will publish in a year. It’s not about fistfights and power grudges -- it’s about Superman and the people he loves. Grant Morrison is crafting the Superman stories Jimmy Olsen’s grandkids are going to hear about. He’s taking the myths and characters we know -- Clark & Lois, Lex Luthor, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen -- and infusing them with a new sense of wonder and love.

Penciller Frank Quitely is, for my money, one of the finest comics draftsmen I’ve ever seen. His layouts are simple but graceful, and the subtle difference in body language twixt Superman and Zibarro speaks more to their differences than any fistfight might. Digital inks and colors by Jamie Grant bring a unique atmosphere to every setting, from the red glare of the Bizarro World to the bright green of Mr. Quintum’s moon laboratory.

The only downside to getting chapter-chunks of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN is that the ads for other DC books look either disappointingly flat or deceptively exciting -- after living in the ALL-STAR world for 20-odd pages, I’d really love to believe that DC COUNTDOWN is as fulfilling a superheroic tale, but I just know it’s not true. Pick up ALL-STAR SUPERMAN in individual issues, read them, and pass them on to someone you like. Get the collected edition to keep and reread whenever you forget how super Superman can be.

Tell me more: Grant Morrison talks ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, Get the book, already.

Review - Buffy Season 8 #4

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON EIGHT #4
By Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty & Andy Owens
Colors by Dave Stewart, Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy
Published by Dark Horse Comics, June 2007. $2.99




I watched BUFFY on TV intermittently -- I was more of a FIREFLY guy when it came to Joss Whedon -- but it was without question one of the best written TV shows of its time, and Joss wrote the heck out of the X-Men recently, so I was pretty interested in what BUFFY SEASON 8 had to offer*.

The first four issues of BUFFY feel like a two-hour season opener. Some time has passed and we’re caught up on what our friends have been up -- Buffy’s still slaying, Xander has one eye, Dawn’s a giant -- and though not all of the “where are they now” questions are answered, there’s enough to set the new status quo. Like I said, I wasn’t the biggest BUFFY fan from the start, so there are certain things I’m not quite up to speed on -- the skinless dude introduced at the end of issue 3 felt like it was an important reveal, but I had no idea who it was -- but all the same, it feels more like a fully realized world you’re stepping into rather than something so continuity-laden you’ll be lost if you don’t have the DVD box sets to reference. Joss knows how to write comics, and he knows how to write BUFFY -- the characters come to life and the dialogue is fun, efficient, but tailored for the form.

The art, by Georges Jeanty and Andy Owens, captures the expressions of the actors who used to play these characters in a way that’s fun and familiar, but not overbearing. It’s amazing how a few lines on paper can capture Alyson Hannigan’s smirk just so.

The sort-of-downside is that this opening arc is working like a long episode of a TV show, whether you know it as a comics reader or not. There’s a moment in issue 4 when you think something terrible has happened to one of the characters -- we see their hand reaching up from off-panel, we turn the page -- and they’re fine! It’s a bit of a let down, because everything we’ve seen or half-seen up to that point has led us to believe some serious biz-ness has gone down with one of our near-and-dears, and given that this is comics and not TV, there’s a danger in the air that anything’s possible. If Xander only has one eye, and Dawnie’s a giant, who’s to say Buffy can’t lose an arm, or be turned into a dude, or Willow or Giles or Anyone Else No Matter How Important can’t be killed? When the Very Bad Thing turns out to not happen -- well, one gets the feeling there’s more to meets the eye, and that we’ll find out to what extent in later episodes. Er, issues. And that will no doubt pay off in the long run, but as a story unto itself, it feels a little like a bait and switch.

I bet the BUFFY SEASON 8 trade paperbacks are going to blow up. They’re really good comics, and the folks making them (so far) really know what they’re doing.

Tell me more: Joss Whedon, Dark Horse Comics.

*That said, with the news that VERONICA MARS SEASON 4 is coming to DC/Wildstorm immediately post-cancellation, I think an ill-thought trend is forming -- being that if it’s not good enough for TV, comics will still take it! Joss knows how to write for comics, he’s written for comics before, and he ended BUFFY on his own terms years before “Season 8” came to be -- so that’s fair game. But when a series is cancelled, no matter how well-loved the series may be -- I think it sets a bad precedent to immediately shift it over to comics, as if it’s a second-best medium. It’s a different medium, not the lunch table you can slink over to when the cool kids don’t want to talk to you anymore.

Review - Captain America 27

CAPTAIN AMERICA 27
By Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting & Mike Perkins
Colors by Frank D’Armata, Letters by VC’s Joe Caramagna
Published by Marvel Comics, June 2007. $2.99



I’m not really a Captain America guy, and I don’t know what it means that this issue is part of “The Initiative,” which seems to be a post-Marvel Civil War non-crossover event, but what I do know is this: two issues ago Captain America died, and the result seems to be the best CAPTAIN AMERICA comics since the last time they got rid of the guy, when Ronald Reagan was revealed as…



…“The Deadliest Snake of All!”

Okay, so that was an imposter posing as Ronald Reagan. But it was still a pretty awesome comic book to nine-year-old-me.

These days CAPTAIN AMERICA is an ensemble piece, following Cap’s old partners the Falcon, Sharon Carter, and the Winter Soldier (a newly alive and bionic Bucky, Cap’s WWII-era teen sidekick) as they deal with his death. Also part of the supporting cast is Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, who many feel is directly responsible for Cap’s death following said Civil War. Oh, and Sharon Carter sees Dr. Faustus (the Marvel one, not the German one) in the mirror, taunting her over the post-hypnotic suggestion that a) caused her to murder her boyfriend Captain America, and b) keeps her from telling anyone about it, even though she’s tortured over what she’s done. Also Arnim Zola is in it. Arnim Zola’s head is in his chest:



If it sounds like superheroic soap operatics, it certainly is. And the Brubaker/Epting/Perkins team are doing a great job of it, too. Issue 27 also features the Black Widow, former Soviet spy and former lover of the Winter Soldier, who, for reasons unclear to me but probably clear to folks who read THE AVENGERS, the Winter Soldier thinks should be “an old woman by now.” But she’s young, hot, and dressed in leather instead! It’s actually a pretty neat moment when the Widow and the Soldier fight in the street over the possession of Captain America’s shield (the Widow is working for that dastardly Tony Stark, you see), and the ex-Bucky wishes that he could go back to the old days where his memory would be wiped after every mission. I don’t really know what that means, but if you’re used to having your memory wiped, and now all of a sudden it won’t be, and you’re fighting your ex-girlfriend over your dead best friend’s favorite shield ... well, I can understand a little pining for the good old days.

In summary: the current run of CAPTAIN AMERICA? Future superhero classic. Get it while it’s hot!

Tell me more: Marvel Comics, Captain America.

Review - Buddha Vol. 4: The Forest of Uruvela

BUDDHA VOL. 4: THE FOREST OF URUVELA
By Osamu Tezuka
Published by Vertical, November 2006 (pub. in Japan 1987), $14.95



Whenever I talk to folks about manga, I can count on the same two or three things coming up: they don’t know what these kids today see in the stuff, it’s intimidating to have to buy into a 30+ volume series just because you want to read a comic book, and Osamu Tezuka doesn’t count as manga, because he’s just too good. It’s the same point of view that leads MAUS and PERSEPOLIS to be shelved anywhere but the graphic novel section in your local chain bookstore -- if it’s that good, it must not be comics.

BUDDHA really IS that good, and that’s why it’s important to remember that they ARE manga. They’re about as good as manga gets, but still -- it’s a nice reminder that Japanese comics aren’t all cat people and yaoi, you know? Assuming you’re not into cat people and yaoi, that is.

BUDDHA’S most valuable asset is that it’s telling one of the Greatest Stories Ever Told -- literally, the story of Siddhartha achieving enlightenment -- but it never forgets to have fun with it. When Siddhartha spends a year sucking the pus out of a diseased and disfigured woman, he notes that it’s a bit scandalous for a man to spend so much time with his lips on the body of another man’s wife. “Skip the dialogue,” he says, “and this panel would look like --” But of course, he’s cut off by another ascetic stumbling upon the scene, one who doesn’t have the benefit of reading the words on the page. The story ranges from melodrama to slapstick, with characters such as Assaji -- a snot-dripping buffoon who can tell the day and details of anyone’s death simply by looking at them -- but rather than feeling scattered, BUDDHA instead feels intricately woven, a masterwork by a comics master.


Tell me more: Osamu Tezuka official site, Osamu Tezuka wikipedia page, Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, Vertical, Inc., Buddha (the dude).

Review - Hellboy: Darkness Calls 2

HELLBOY: DARKNESS CALLS 2
By Mike Mignola & Duncan Fegredo
Colors by Dave Stewart, Letters by Clem Robbins
Published by Dark Horse Comics, May 2007. $2.99



Oh, Hellboy. I remember asking my folks to drive me to Raven’s Haven in Day Heights, Ohio, seeking out the first issue of HELLBOY: SEED OF DESTRUCTION, because MONKEYMAN & O’BRIEN by Art Adams was going a back-up feature in each issue. I wasn’t the least interested in this red dude with sawed-off horns, drawn by a guy whose art I’d hated in the Marvel Comics “Days of Future Present” storyline, but a talking gorilla and a hot redhead? Thank you, yes!

But as I picked up each issue of that first miniseries, I found myself drawn more to the story of a hulking devil with a red right hand fighting off Nazis and a ghostly Rasputin, than the misadventures of a monkey doing … whatever they did in that Monkeyman story. The point is, Hellboy is one of the few mid-90’s indie creations that’s been published (semi)consistently since its inception, and with DARKNESS CALLS it’s still finding new ground to cover. This is the first series drawn by someone other than Mignola, and while Duncan Fegredo’s art is discernably different, it still feels like the same world. Ghastly ghouls and speaking skeletons are still around, the pacing that feels Hellboy-unique is consistent with previous series.

I love the pacing -- the silent reaction panels, the close-ups of strange statues and weird birds -- you know you’re reading a Hellboy comic with the tiny panels and big-eyed owls. Though Hellboy lost his supporting cast a series or two ago (effectively spun-off into BPRD), this has actually managed to free the series to delve deeper into the Lovecraftian supernatural of his world. Issue two has witches, undead armies, Baba Yaga, battling zombies, more witches, mustachioed imps, and a cameo by Hellboy’s devilish dad -- the result is that it feels packed without being frantic. HELLBOY is probably best read in trades, which almost always contain a bonus epilogue not seen in the miniseries, but as single issues go, HELLBOY: DARKNESS CALLS is the only reason to paw through the otherwise license-cluttered Dark Horse shelf these days.

Tell me more: Hellboy, Dark Horse Comics,

Review - Hunter's Moon 1

HUNTER’S MOON 1
By James L. White and Dalibor Talajic
Colors by Juanmar, Letters by Ed Dukeshire
Published by Boom! Studios, April 2007. $3.99



The cover of HUNTER’S MOON tells me it’s written by James L. White, writer of the Academy Award-Winning RAY, and the script feels like an early draft of a screenplay. There’s so much dialogue it doesn’t leave much work for the art to do, and the dialogue itself has the bloodless efficiency of movie-talk to it. The plot concerns Linc (short for Lincoln), who wants nothing more than to take his latest hot girlfriend up to a secluded cabin for the week -- until he gets saddled with the son he just can’t seem to connect with! His son wants to be a rapper … but Linc wants him to go to law school! Linc wants to order a piece of pie (“apple’s usually safe”) … but the eccentric waitiress won’t stop yappin’! We quickly discover that small town yokels pull guns on black kids for bumping into white folks, all Linc and his son need are some quality alone-time to find their stride, and that Strong Men Sometimes Cry.

I picked this book up because of two threads on the Engine, one wondering what Boom! Studios titles anyone was reading, and the other asking about titles featuring black women as lead characters. The ads for other Boom! titles on the back cover illustrate that they’re designed to option their titles as movies (“Cover Girl … A Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour-style action-comedy!” & “Dominion -- A new series that takes the storytelling tone of the TV show Heroes and gives it an Independence Day twist.”), and while it’s nice to see in HUNTER’S MOON a title that features black folks in lead roles, it would be nice if those roles, and the story they inhabit, were doing something new. Even the first issue’s twist ending (spoiled on the Boom! website if you’re interested) isn’t enough to bring me back for issue two -- it really just sets the story up to cover even more well-tread territory.

Tell me more: Boom! Studios.

Review - Amazing Spider-Man 541

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 541
By J. Michael Straczynski, Ron Garney, and Bill Reinhold
Colors by Matt Milla, Letters by VC’s Cory Petit.
Published by Marvel Comics, $2.99



Marvel recently announced they’ll be canceling the two regular Spider-Man titles that aren’t AMAZING in favor of a three-times-a-month schedule for their flagship title, edited by Steve Wacker of DC’s 52, presumably with a staff of writers and artists working in concert, much like the way network TV is created these days. The change is coming after the “One More Day” storyline, which threatens to “change everything!”, which, itself, comes after “Back in Black,” in which we are smack dab in the middle. That makes the next few issues of AMAZING the end of a long, storied, Spidey-chapter, and since I've written before that I love Spider-Man the character and not-so-much SPIDER-MAN the comic, I thought I’d stop by AMAZING and see how the end of everything we know is shaping up.

AMAZING, and most mainstream superhero comics, are already taking several cues from TV. Most every issue starts out with a “Previously…” page to get you caught up in case you’re a new reader, or maybe just confused by all the competing Spider-appearances since the last issue of your preferred title. It’s interesting that in a given episode of, say, RESCUE ME, the previouslies take a good two minutes, getting us up to date on the goings-on of the expanded supporting cast, but with AMAZING, with 540 previous installments over the course of 40+ years, the previouslies consist of:

-Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, and is now Spider-Man

-Spider-Man revealed his identity to the general public

-Spider-Man and Iron Man got really mad at each other

-Aunt May got shot because the Kingpin wanted to kill Spider-Man

-Spider-Man got really mad at the Kingpin

On a TV show, the actor portraying Mary Jane might pull the executive producer aside and mention her disappointing at being a series regular, and a recognizable cog in the Spidey machine, and yet left with nothing to do these days but sit in a hospital room and offer Peter Parker an ignored shoulder to cry on. At least Aunt May, unconscious she may be, is a plot point. As it stands, Peter’s supporting cast a) doesn’t seem to exist in this issue, and b) for those who are around, don’t have much to do but watch this installment of AMAZING happen around them. Some might say, hey, if you want Mary Jane, go read SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE, about to be handed off to the capable Terry Moore -- but really, if this is the flagship Spidey title, and has been for the aforementioned 40+ years, why can’t I get it all for my three bucks? The internets points to Morrison and Quitely’s ALL-STAR SUPERMAN as superheroes done right, with every 22-page issue crammed full of ideas, drama, and modern mythology -- but really, we should be demanding the same of all of our periodical entertainment. Here’s hoping the upcoming sea change gives Spidey and his cast the depth they deserve.

Tell me more: Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Comics.

Review - The Black Diamond Detective Agency

THE BLACK DIAMOND DETECTIVE AGENCY
By Eddie Campbell
Based on a screenplay by C. Gaby Mitchell
Published by First Second, $16.95



A fellow blogger picked up BLACK DIAMOND here at Heart HQ and gave it a flip recently. “It’s a good explosion,” she said. It sure is!


(From Publishers Weekly's 13-page preview)

Eddie Campbell’s artwork is gorgeous throughout. It’s a story of 19th Century America, which returns Eddie to the time period of FROM HELL -- but even though some of the mustaches might bring back memories of his seminal collaboration with Alan Moore, BLACK DIAMOND is a whole other creature. Instead of relying on a standard nine-panel grid, Eddie’s page layouts are more varied and inventive, and the use of color throughout paints (ha!) a more dynamic view of the world than the black and white sooty oppressiveness of his Jack the Ripper examination.

And while the internets tell us that Eddie took liberties with BLACK DIAMOND’S basis, a screenplay by Charles Gaby Mitchell, its plotting and pacing and scripting aren’t on the same level as FROM HELL. The book is essentially a mystery, and as Eddie says in the above-linked CBR interview, “I thought the mystery ought to be more complicated, being a long time reader of the greatest detective mystery writer Raymond Chandler. I believe that a book can bear more of that kind of complexity than a movie, because the reader is more at liberty to back a few pages to resolve difficulties, while a movie moves relentlessly forward.” The mystery is suitably complex, but it doesn’t possess the graceful efficiency of a movie like BRICK, which takes a complex mystery, drives it relentlessly forward, and yet still offers the viewer -- whether a first-timer or someone coming back for more -- a satisfactory experience. BLACK DIAMOND can be confusing for the sheer number of characters -- detectives and secret service agents -- that people its pages. I think some of them even died, but it was honestly hard to tell.

The dialogue tried to do a lot of expository work, but not always to the best result. We get a villain’s recap of his plan at the end, and his statement that his revelations are possibly “out of sour grapes” doesn’t lessen the fact that it’s a terrible cliché. On the other hand, there are also a lot of moments of pure dialogical bliss -- “You don’t know a goddamn thing about a goddamn thing” was a simple thing that made me smile, and of course “Up yours, modern times!” might as well be engraved on a plaque and hung in Mr. Campbell’s home.

Spending time with BLACK DIAMOND is a lot like Eddie’s Batman one-shot from a few years ago, BATMAN: THE ORDER OF THE BEAST. It’s fun to see him work in color, and an interesting Campbellian aside into the worlds of Batmen or American gangsters, respectively. But what I’m really looking forward to is THE AMAZING REMARKABLE MR. LEOTARD, his promised next book, and one that springs, presumably, in its entirety from Eddie Campbell’s mind.

Tell me more: Eddie Campbell, First Second Books.

Review - Mystic Arcana Handbook 1

OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE - MYSTIC ARCANA 1
By lots of people
Published by Marvel Comics, $3.99



Okay, nerds -- I love this kind of stuff. It’s a whole lot of pages of obscure magic-related minutiae, featuring profiles of characters you might know, like Alpha Flight’s Talisman or the Fantastic Four’s resident witchy babysitter Agatha Harkness, but mostly it’s page after page of folks I defy you to have ever heard of, like Bible John, who looks like a serious Lynyrd Skynyrd fan and apparently hangs out a lot with Blade, and Papa Shorty, who is from New Orleans, has no legs, and seems to levitate.

I wasn’t going to actually this review this masterpiece -- and in fact hadn’t done more than flipped through it -- but then I happened on this excellent capsule review from Hannibal Tabu and the Buy Pile. Mr. Tabu pointed out the supertrash magnificence of MYSTIC ARCANA, which spends a lot of its time summarizing various magic-related storylines from Marvel’s storied history.

My hands-down favorite, from the entry on Black Talon, who is a voodoo master dressed up like a rooster, reveals that “Having grown tired and angry at Eric’s (the Grim Reaper -ed.) constant racism, (Black Talon) and another ally, Man-Ape, abandoned Eric during the battle.”

Man-Ape, in case you’re not a Marvel Comics nerd, is this guy:



I mean, how much of a racist do you have to be to piss off a black guy who calls himself Man-Ape? I’m not saying that Black Talon and Man-Ape, as fictional characters, shouldn’t be outraged at racism. I’m just saying that, as fictional characters, a black houngan who dresses up like a rooster, and a black African who dresses up like a giant monkey, aren’t inherently sensitive depictions of African or African-American culture. And that it’s pretty funny for one of them to stand up and say, “Enough with the racism, The Grim Reaper.”

What this teaches me is that magic-based Marvel comics should stop trying to be so serious, and should revel in their ridiculousness.

There’s also a guy named Cadaver who is, naturally, a reanimated corpse, and whose magic sword was created when he pulled out one of his own ribs. And let’s not forget the previously mentioned Talisman, daughter of the super-heroic Shaman, and whose last name is “Twoyoungmen.” Ahh, classic John Byrne!

Seriously, dudes -- buy this book as soon as you can. It’s got to be the funniest Marvel comic in years.

Tell me more: Mystic Arcana.