Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Okay... now I’m caught up and looking forward to new material submitted by this motley crew of fence-jumping lunatics. Here’s the second column these guys submitted. I’m still not sure what leadership, in any, there is. There’s a reduced line-up this week, like a JUSTICE LEAGUE EPISODE just starring the Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, with a quick little cameo right at the end by Batman. Still, I think this is a shakier alliance than the one at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.
Anyway... here they come... so buckle up:
Title: Tangled Webs #13
“Writer”: Ron Zimmerman
Artist: Sean Phillips
Publisher: Marvel
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
This issue of Tangled Webs is the second comic book endeavor by television writer and Howard Stern bud, Ron Zimmerman. Zimmerman’s first effort was the infamous Punisher issue from a few months back. In that issue, Zimmerman sent the Punisher back in time to wipe out Al Capone. It was an issue chock full of inane dialog, continuity errors, and the total misrepresentation of established Marvel characters. Zimmerman’s clever twist of an ending had the Punisher waking up and realizing that it was all a dream. An elaborate, bad dream. Yes, it was, Mr. Zimmerman. Yes, it truly was.
So far, Tangled Webs has been a can’t miss showcase title for talented takes on the wall-crawler’s world. Ennis’s first arc was decent. Ruckas’s Kingpin issue was phenomenal. I even liked the Rhino arc. Twelve issues of top notch stories. I guess it was about time for a stinker.
Tangled Webs #13 was supposed to be Zimmerman’s act of redemption. Set in the Bar with No Name, this story follows a conversation between three super villains during their down time between acts of villainy. Most of the issue features the Vulture, Al Kraven (son of Kraven the Hunter), and a mysterious third party discussing their recent encounters with Spider-Man.
The Bar with No Name got its claim to fame as the site of a mass slaughter about fifteen years ago in the pages of Captain America. In that story, Scourge, the villain killer, walked in and wiped out an entire bar-full of super villains in a hail of bullets. As I read this issue, I found myself wishing for Mr. Scourge to make a repeat appearance.
This is a sittin’ and talkin’ book. I usually love those types of books because it is a good chance to get to know the characters. I welcome these types of stories, as long as the writing is good. But this isn’t good writing. The dialog in this issue was painful to read. Any attempt at humor is mean spirited, sophomoric, and even racist at times. I know, these are supposed to be villains, but even Spider-Man is using that type of humor in this book, which leads to dialog problem number one.
It has always been a challenge for writers to put words into the wall-crawler’s mouth. Spidey is always funny. Funny at the expense of the villain, but funny none-the-less. This humor has always been a good offensive weapon in that is really pisses off the villains, but it is also a defensive weapon, hiding Spidey’s own fears. But most of all, Spidey is funny in an innocent, fun, and PG rated sort of way. In this issue, Spidey is not funny at all. His ‘witty’ banter ranges from ignorant to cruel. This was one of the objections I had with the Ennis story arc. Spidey’s humor should never be mean spirited, something writers like Ennis and Zimmerman seem to forget. I mean, do I really want to hear my friendly neighborhood Spider-Man talking on and on about propecia and saltpeter? No. The humor falls completely flat. He doesn’t even get the BWAHAHAHA right, leaving out the ever essential W.
I could go on and on where and when this comic goes wrong. For some reason, Kraven’s son is wearing a suit instead of the furs and hunting gear of his dear departed father. He struts around the bar and talks like a pimp, because, you see, this is the newer, hipper Kraven for the new millennium. I winced at every attempt by Zimmerman to hip up the characters. Does anyone really want to read about a villain who says “Ex-squeeze me?”
Zimmerman is that middle aged guy who attempts to talk like his kids and comes off as a bigger boob because of it. He even tries this move with the Vulture by giving him lines like “She thinks she’s all that and the Sunday Times.” For chrissakes, the Vulture is like sixty years old. How about each giving your characters a different voice? They don’t all have to sound like ignorant gang bangers or TRL hosts.
Towards the end, Zimmerman even tries to get all socially relevant and treats us to an out of the blue commentary on Clinton, Bush, and the state of America today. You can literally hear the story come to a screeching halt as Lil’ Kraven fills a half page panel full of dull, convoluted discourse.
I will not reveal it, but once again, Zimmerman attempts to craft a shockeroo ending, but it falls flat on its face due to heavy handed clues peppered unevenly throughout the story, tedious exposition, and horrible dialog.
I hear Zimmerman is going to be writing more tales of this hip, new Kraven in the future. Well, after this issue, I sure ain’t KRAVEN’ any more Zimmerman stories. (NOTE TO READER: That horrible play on words is funnier than anything written in this issue. That’s how bad it really is.) Marvel, please keep Mr. Zimmerman away from your characters. This is Ron Zimmerman’s second strike. Anyone praising this book is either blind or in Marvel’s back pocket. Thanks a lot, Ron, for another bad, bad dream that I hope I will soon forget.
Title: JLA #65
Writer: Joe Kelley
Artist: Doug Mahnke
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
It’s official. The team of Kelley and Mahnke is my favorite since the JLA’s relaunch. Grant Morrison’s run had all of the high concept, big budget thrills of a Michael Bay film. It is just too bad that it also had Bay’s lack of characterization. Mark Waid’s run was the flipside of the coin: a lot of characterization, but other than the decent concept behind the Tower of Babel arc, not too much happened. Take those two creators, mix all of their strengths together, and you have the current JLA run.
The main problem behind a book featuring a team of characters with titles of their own is that nothing of real relevance can happen to the main characters. Any story centering around one character has the reader asking, why isn’t this story in that character’s main title? I found myself asking that question in the middle of Kelley’s previous arc centering on Wonder Woman, but upon further inspection, I realized that the Golden Perfect arc was an intelligent and epic look at Wonder Woman’s role in the JLA. It focused on her strengths and weaknesses and how they affect the rest of the team. This arc was the type of world threatening tale that has come to be the standard in JLA, but unlike Morrison’s stories, Kelley centered this tale around a single character and it worked a whole lot better.
Kelley follows up his Wonder Woman tale with JLA #65, “Bouncing Baby Boy”. This is a stand alone story focusing on Batman and Plastic Man. It’s one of those calm before the storm issues that I love to read. We get to see two JLA members interacting in a small story and Kelley nails it perfectly.
This issue is Plastic Man’s time to shine. Kelley takes full advantage of the fact that Plas does not have a book of his own and creates an exciting, funny, and often touching world for him to wrap himself around. I would love to see a Plastic Man mini with this creative team. To go into the story would reveal too much. Kelley knows and respects these characters. He deftly utilizes humor by pairing the grimmest member of the JLA with the goofiest. And Kelley’s Plas is not the annoying boob from previous incarnations. He’s actually funny.
The artwork in this issue is phenomenal. Mahnke’s pencil’s and Tom Nguyen’s inks were a little sketchy for my tastes in the previous Golden Perfect arc, but they toned it down and cleaned it up for this issue. Mahnke is definitely lauding the works of Jack Cole in his imaginative shaping and stretching of Plastic Man’s body. His Batman is calm, grim, and ruthless. Mahnke even gets to draw a few of those monsters and aliens he does so well.
By the end of the story, we not only get a glimpse at what’s going on behind those Elvis shades Plas sports so proudly, but we see some clues as to why Batman recruited the former criminal into the JLA in the first place. This is a truly strong story that brings out the very best of an unlikely duo. Big things are on the horizon for this title, but these little stories are what keeps me coming back for more. As long as Kelley peppers this type of characterization in between his earth shattering epics, he’s got me as an avid reader.
Title: Wonder Woman #180
Writer: Phil Jimenez
Artist: Roy Allen Martinez
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Bring on the bad girls. One of the biggest problems with Wonder Woman is that she doesn’t really have a formidable set of villains to lay some Amazonian wrath upon. Sure Cheetah and Circe are deadly, but recently, Cheetah has been turned into a man, and Circe has been extremely overused in the last few years. It is about time Princess Diana had a new batch of uber-babes to tussle with. Enter: Villainy Inc. All right, the name is a little hokey, but not since the Female Furies has a team of super villainesses been so menacing and powerful.
Last issue, Wonder Woman and her potential boyfriend, Trevor Barnes, were mistakenly teleported to the savage world of Skartaris (you know, the world where that Ollie Queen-lookin Warlord guy traipses around with a feathered Thor helmet and sword). Upon arrival, Diana realizes something is amiss and soon finds out that a team of super villainesses from earth has conquered this uncivilized land. Of course, it is Wonder Woman’s job to stop them.
Wonder Woman #180 introduces us to each member of Villainy Inc. The thing I like about this issue is that Phil Jimenez patiently reveals the origins of each member with interesting exposition. Some of them have faced Diana before, others have faced her mother, while others are brand new threats. Super Friends fans will be delighted to see the giantess Giganta among the ranks of Villainy Inc. I cannot wait for the inevitable battle between Wonder Woman and the 2000 foot woman.
I admire Jimenez’s conviction to the Wonder Woman character. In the last year, he has put Diana through the emotional wringer with her mother’s death and the destruction/rebirth of Paradise Island. The Death of Hippolyta issue was the single redeeming story from that load of offal crossover from last summer known as Our Worlds at War. Jiminez has attempted to define a character who has been around for decades, but hasn’t really been as fully developed as she could be.
It was a clever move to throw Trevor Barnes into the mix in this most recent adventure. He adds a grounded human angle to a high concept story that involves an Amazonian princess’ trek to an other dimensional world. He is interested in Diana, but is intimidated by her frequent adventures with the spandex crowd and Greek deities. Trevor’s inferiority complex is an interesting concept to explore and Jimenez is slowly developing this conflict.
The conflict between Trevor and Diana is also complicated because of Diana’s unresolved feelings for Aquaman. The whole reason the two of them are on this distant world is because Diana thought that it was where Aquaman disappeared to after the aforementioned Our Worlds at War story. Trevor knows about their feelings for one another which is another strike against Diana. Personally, I think Aquaman and Wonder Woman should hook up. They are both royalty. They are both fierce warriors. And both of them used to ride together in the Invisible Jet all the time in the old Super Friends cartoon.
Phil Jimenez was doing both the writing and art on the book for a while. His classical style and attention to fine detail made each issue a work of art. Roy Allen Martinez has taken over the artistic chores for a few issues while Phil rests his paws. He may not be as good as Jimenez, but he definitely has potential. I love watching an artist develop his talents over a span of a few issues. Martinez actually surprised me by developing in a single issue. His characters seemed a bit stiff towards the beginning of the issue, but loosened up and were down right good by the end.
For those of you missing Jimenez’s art, this issue has a back up story featuring Troia (Diana’s little sister and former Wonder Girl) as she attempts to save Fury’s life and track down an all new Angle Man. The art is great as always and Jimenez fleshes out some of Diana’s supporting cast very well.
Wonder Woman has been a consistently good read since Jimenez jumped on board. The book isn’t phenomenal, but Jimenez is trying to take the character into new directions and flesh out a character that has been underutilized for way too long. This is a decent read for those who may want to see an old character get a breath of life.
Catwoman #6
Written by Ed Brubaker
Illustrated by Brad Rader
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
Is it strange that the best issue to date of the relaunched CATWOMAN has the fewest appearances by the title character? Maybe. I’m enjoying writer Ed Brubaker’s gritty tales of a refocused Selina Kyle who’s become the protector of Gotham’s seamy East End, but even he seems to have trouble making the lead character really interesting. I don’t know that it’s his fault – historically Catwoman’s been a strong villainous *icon*, but she’s rarely been an intrinsically interesting *character*. For the first few issues, Brubaker overcame this weakness through sheer strength of storytelling. I wasn’t there so much for Catwoman, but rather for the intriguing crime stories he was building up around her. As of issue #6, though, a supporting character has suddenly leapt to the fore and solidified my interest in this title:
Holly.
You remember her, right? She was the whiny, underage prostitute Catwoman took under her wing in Frank Miller’s groundbreaking BATMAN: YEAR ONE (sample line: “Selinaaaa!”), and she returned to Catwoman’s life in the first story arc of Brubaker’s relaunch. In this latest issue she narrates the entire story, and she utterly steals the show. The story opens with her taking a cheesy personality quiz, the kind you get as e-mail chain letters. The quiz is silly, but Brubaker uses it beautifully as a jumping-off point for Holly to begin thinking about her choices in life. Her responses to the quiz recur, too, giving structure to Holly’s observations as we see a day in her life where she essentially works as a scout for Catwoman in the darker corners of Gotham City.
That structure alone is a confident bit of storytelling, but what’s more impressive is how Holly’s narration reveals the way she sees the world. She’s a former junkie and former prostitute, and her narrative captions size up everyone she sees according to her experiences: “Dealer”, “Casual User”, “Undercover Cop”, “Wannabe Gang Banger”, etc. It’s gritty as hell, and the story reminded me more than anything of a Martin Scorcese flick. Unflinching, compelling, and dangerous. Very dangerous. Holly’s age is indeterminate, but she looks to be late teens at the most, and I had a palpable sense of trepidation for her as she was casually making her way through a world that seemed far closer to reality than the DC Universe where Batman and Superman always arrive in just in time to save the day. Brubaker’s writing here is more akin to his brilliant, straight-up crime comics like THE FALL and SCENE OF THE CRIME. I’ll be curious to see how readers react, because it’s the farthest damn thing from the T&A-laden action/adventure that characterized the book before. Me? I am soooo hooked.
And by the way, the issue’s not all doom and gloom. There may be a pervading sense of darkness, but thankfully the story pauses for a few lighter moments between Holly and an old friend who may also be a romantic interest. These moments are subtle, realistic, and charming. If Brubaker can bring some of the same magic that’s going on between these two characters to Catwoman herself, this title has the potential to become one of the best books on the market. Brubaker’s also writing BATMAN right now, a run which hasn’t really impressed me, but it seems clear that the greater freedom he has on CATWOMAN has brought out the best he has to offer.
And how ‘bout the art? Gorgeous. This is simply one of the best-drawn comics you could find right now. The first four issues were handled by Darwyn Cooke, a talented designer from the Batman animated series who infused the series with that same animated style. In the space of two issues, though, I think new artist Brad Rader has bested him. Cooke’s a fantastic storyteller, but I found him just a little too *cartoony* at times for the tone of the stories. He gave me an “Archie” vibe that was a little too unsettling amidst the prostitute killings of the first story arc. Rader continues Cooke’s tradition of animation-inspired designs, but his work is a little more grounded in reality, a little closer to David Mazzuchelli’s work on BATMAN: YEAR ONE. And as if the penciling alone didn’t make this book shine, the rich, gloomy coloring by Matt Hollingsworth (DAREDEVIL: YELLOW, ALIAS) elevates it to near-perfection.
This book is a hard sell, I admit. Catwoman’s so associated with being a T&A temptress, little more than a sexy foil for Batman, that it’s hard to believe her solo series is actually one of DC’s best-kept secrets. To the doubtful, I suggest this: read the first ten pages of this issue at your local comic shop. They’ll cut right through any preconceptions you have about the title and give you a good taste of the what Brubaker and his kick-ass crew have in store. Ten pages will take you maybe three or four minutes to read at most – hardly excessive considering that you’ll probably discover, like me, that this is one of the best books DC has to offer.
Score: 4.5 out of 5
The Path #2
Written by Ron Marz
Illustrated by Bart Sears
Published by CrossGen Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
I’ve been giving CrossGen a second chance of late. Their first wave of titles featured slick (if repetitive) production values, but writing that was mediocre at best. I found myself resenting the company for putting so much capital behind such impersonal, stock stories. To a good degree, I still think they’re just utterly missing their potential, but I admire that they’re at least trying to bring some diversity to comics, and their second wave of titles has actually produced a few which interest me. Mark Waid’s RUSE, for instance, is a flat-out winner. The beautifully-drawn SOJOURN might have some potential if Ron Marz’s writing wasn’t so friggin’ by-the-numbers. I’m actually fairly anxious to read Chuck Dixon’s kung-fu adventure comic, WAY OF THE RAT.
So, ever the optimist, I’ve also given CrossGen’s THE PATH a try for several issues, and I’m back to report that it’s. . .okay. Not a very dramatic pronouncement I’m afraid. It’s not good enough for me to enthuse about like RUSE and not bad enough to enjoy making fun of it. But it’s perhaps notable that the series offers enough to make me want to read a few more issues before passing final judgment.
The current issue deals with a tense public showdown between the series’ lead, the monk Obo-san, and the seemingly mad Emperor, Mitsumune. Obo-san wields his slain brother’s magical blade, a sword which once brought down a god. When Obo-san refused to give it to the Emperor in the previous issue, Mitsumune commanded him, before a vast assembly, to commit ritual suicide for his insolence. I have to admit, it was a good cliffhanger to cut away on, and I’m more than impressed with the wholly unexpected way the scene plays out in the current issue. Ron Marz is still a somewhat stiff writer, and I can’t help but consider him to be CrossGen’s chief hack, but he had me on the edge of my seat at several points in this issue, so there may be hope yet for him.
Following the CrossGen tradition of slow pacing, all twenty-two pages of this issue are given over solely to this single confrontation – a scene which would, in reality, cover perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes of real-time. It’s pacing with an eye towards trade paperback compilations, but I still found it to be a reasonably satisfying read by itself. Japanese pacing, whether in comics, film, or literature, has always been as much about the journey as the destination, so it seems fitting that this is a comic with an eye towards atmosphere and slowly-unfolding events.
I have two complaints, one minor, one major. The minor complaint is that Ron Marz’s dialogue is a little on the stiff side, lacking nearly any humor and constantly filled with gravity and portent. Think PRINCESS MONONOKE. Now I liked PRINCESS MONONOKE, but I’d criticize it, too, for having players that felt more like larger-than-life stock types than real people I could relate to. I think there’s a modern tendency to think that everyone who lived in medireview time periods, be it in Japan or Europe, always spoke in grave tones, never used slang, and never had a moment of humor. Admittedly we’re dealing with warriors from the upper classes, but there’s a certain “sameness” to their dialogue that translates into a sameness of characterization. I want to be as enthralled by the characters as I am by the plot, and that’s just not happening so far.
My larger complaint is with the art. The artist is Bart Sears, a stylist whose work I took a shine to way back in the 80’s when he made a bit of a splash on JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE. His work is detailed and his designs amazing, but his storytelling during the action scenes is almost a total failure in my opinion, and for that reason alone, the book almost falls apart. Ever see one of those George Perez action pages with about twenty little panels showcasing moment-to-moment action? That’s *sort of* what Sears does, except where Perez is always clear and concise about what’s happening in each of those little panels and how each one relates to the next, Sears seems more intent on creating the chaotic feel of the combat in, say, the movie GLADIATOR. So we have lots of swords swinging, bodies toppling, and blood flying, but my mind isn’t sorting them into a meaningful narrative. It looks like an abstract montage of moments, not a fight sequence I can actually follow. As a result, scenes that should have been an adrenaline surge release after all the tension of the previous pages instead brought the story to an utter halt for me. When the reader has to stop and try to figure out panels like they’re some kind of puzzle, you know something’s gone wrong.
I’m hoping that Sears will do some fast artistic growth, because there’s enough good stuff about THE PATH that I’d like to stick with it. I like the unpredictability. I like the novelty of Obo-san as a monk who’s lost faith in his gods to such an extent that he seeks to hunt them down. I like the unsettling, even violent atmosphere created purely by the coloring and weather effects. So consider this review a qualified recommendation. This series needs to evolve if its to become another winner like RUSE, but it’s at least got the potential.
Score: 2.5 out of 5
The Ring of the Nibelung (Vol. 1)
Written and illustrated by P. Craig Russell
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
“Kill the Wabbit! Kill the Wabbit!”
If you recognize Elmer Fudd’s hilarious war-cry from the Bugs Bunny parody of Richard Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle, you now know the limit of my operatic knowledge. I suppose I slept through one or two operas in grade school, too, and heard the justly famous strains of “Ride of the Valkyries” in APOCALYPSE NOW, but I don’t think those really count. I’m not an opera fan. Or at least, I never thought I’d be. Over the past ten years, though, I’ve become a huge fan of writer/artist P. Craig Russell, and this guy, well, he adapts operas to comics. He’s also adapted works by Rudyard Kipling, H.P. Lovecraft, Michael Moorcock, and Oscar Wilde, but his passion for opera remains the most recurring motif in his body of work. And dammit, he’s gonna make me a believer.
How the hell is he doing it?
Russell starts with the “libretto”, the translated text of the opera. Now I may not be a fan of the particular mix of music, singing, and visual staging that is opera, but even I have to admit there are some pretty fantastic stories underlying many of them, and it’s hard to beat the story of RING OF THE NIBELUNG. Steeped in Germanic mythology, it’s a tale of greedy gods, scheming dwarves, brutal giants, and the humans that are swept up in their epic power struggles. Anyone who knows a little Norse mythology or who’s even read a few issues of Thor will recognize some of the key players: Voton (Odin), Loge (Loki), and the Valkyries, to name a few. Anyone who’s read LORD OF THE RINGS will have little trouble understanding a story revolving around a cursed ring of power.
If all Russell did was translate the events of the opera literally, though, there’d be little reason to embrace this collection. What good is a summary of events? His goal is something more, though – to recreate not only the story of the opera, but all the subtlety and majesty of the music that is integral to it, taking full advantage of the unique visual vocabulary of comics. He accomplishes this through the use of occasional symbolic scenes, through innovative techniques such as transitioning from pencil art to color art, and always, always through the use of complex layouts. Intimate character moments are told in small, intimate panels, but the panels explode into half pages and even full-on splash pages for the moments of grandeur – scenes of combat, a darkly seductive scene of incest, and of course, the ride of the Valkyries as a raging Voton approaches in the form of a thunderstorm.
What impresses me most, however, is that Russell has humanized these gods and goddesses such that any reader will be able to empathize with them. Alberich the dwarf is any man who’s turned to lust for power as a result of love scorned. Voton is a scheming father and husband who’s clearly in the wrong on many occasions, but it’s hard not to root for the guy when his shrewish wife, Fricka, is constantly hounding him. My favorite character, though, is Loge, the consummate schemer and source of some of the funniest moments in the story. The events are epic, no doubt, but the characters are eminently human.
Russell’s art goes a long way towards establishing this humanity. In fact, he uses photo references for many of the key players, but he’s enough of a stylist that the final art in no way suggests slavish devotion to reality. Russell is happy to take his art in more cartoony directions for the likes of the dwarves, and his jaw-dropping backgrounds are wild, baroque, and surely drawn from purist imagination. The wilder elements give the work its dynamism, while the realistic character designs keep the whole affair grounded in human experience. Expect vivid coloring, too, bolder than the realistic palettes that dominate most comics nowadays, and perfectly suited to the larger-than-life story.
Before I started writing this review, I poked around on the internet to see what other comic sites had reviewed this trade. I found none. Maybe some smaller comic sites have covered it, but I hit most of the major ones and was disappointed to find that not a one had a review of this groundbreaking material. Here’s P. Craig Russell, expanding the boundaries of what comics can be about and inventing new techniques for adaptations. . .and no one’s got anything to say?! What a crock. This is essential reading for anyone interested in seeing the medium mature, for anyone with a love of fantasy, literature, or opera, and for anyone who just enjoys an epic story told with conviction. This trade covers the first half of the opera, and the second half should be out in late July. Together, they’ll stand as one of the most significant comic book works ever produced.
Hyperbole? Uh-uh. The work may be under recognized, but only because comic fans are so historically resistant to new ideas. Now maybe you’re thinking I’m just some comics art-snob who ya can’t trust, even though I just reviewed CATWOMAN too, and my favorite trade of last week was G.I. JOE Vol. 1. Fine, fine – I do like the high-falutin’ comics at times. But if you don’t trust me, at least trust in some of the creators who have sung the praises of RING OF THE NIBELUNG:
Frank Miller – “Wildly ambitious and utterly gorgeous…I suspect we’ll all be studying this beauty of a comic book for years to come.”
Jeff Smith – “This is not your father’s CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED. P. Craig Russell’s drawings are filled with light, grace, and wit. They are also filled with tension, sweat, and fire. Russell has done more than adapt; He has interpreted, and in doing so gives us a Ring Cycle that is half comic book, half grand stage opera. You’ll hear the leitmotifs.”
Neil Gaiman – “P. Craig Russell’s beautiful telling of The Ring Cycle manages both to be the most faithful and inspiring reworking of the opera into comics form, and the ultimate high fantasy saga.”
Score: 5 out of 5
HOWARD THE DUCK # 6
written by Steve Gerber; art by Phil Winslade.
Reviewed by Buzz Maverik.
Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas are doing a lot of things right at Marvel Comics these days. In addition to bringing in a lot of hot new talent, especially in the writing front, they are quietly bringing back some of the best of the older talent. That means Steve Gerber.
Back in the '70s, Gerber was Marvel's resident weird writer. He wrote a DEFENDERS arc where Nighthawk's brain was removed and passed around like a fresh hooker on an aircraft carrier. He wrote strange, unpredictible stories in the pornographically named MAN-THING, where he ntroduced us to his greatest creation, HOWARD THE DUCK. Howard was a cigar smoking, hot tempered duck-like being from another dimension who was sucked into the Marvel Universe. He landed his own comic book, which was recently collected in THE ESSENTIAL HOWARD THE DUCK.
Marvel's MAX line is a perfect showcase for Howard and for Steve Gerber's brand of satire. The new series, heavy on spoofs of modern pop culture, is able to show and say things that had to be alluded to in gobbledy-gook in the '70s. Gerber is allowed to make the gags he wants to make.
This issue finds Howard and his friend Beverly (we're not quite sure about the nature of their relationship) arriving at the Boarding House of Mystery, run by Cain and Abel, which is the only place in Cleveland that will take them in. Howard has been turned into a rat by his arch-nemisis (and Bev's ex-husband) Dr. Bong. In the Boardinghouse, Howard and Bev meet spoofs of various Vertigo characters including Hellblazer John Constantine, both Mystery Theater and Gaiman Sandman (and his family) and Spider Jerusalem. Meanwhile, there's a faction of renegade angels in Heaven working to promote religious extremism. It all ends with a set up for a confrontation between Howard and Oprah.
Phil Winslade is the perfect artist for this book. He has incredible range and imagination. All comic books should have good art, but a book like HOWARD THE DUCK requires it, because bad art could turn HTD silly. Winslade's depictions are funny and dynamic but never silly. He's like long time HTD artist Gene Colan (my personal all time favorite comic book penciller) in that way, although his style is all his own. I've been a fan of Winslade since he did ANT MAN'S BIG CHRISTMAS and the DARDEVIL arc, both with writer Bob Gale.
I would highly recommend this book to fans of MAD MAGAZINE, the SIMPSONS and the NATIONAL LAMPOON. If you appreciate the ridiculousness of modern religion, current events and pop culture, you'll have a good time here.
My rating: Whada'yu think?
Thanks, guys. Nice stuff. Let me know when you’re ready for #3!!
"Moriarty" out.
