Look out, Talkbackers! AICN COMICS REVIEWS COLUMN is comin’ at ya! It’s me, Ambush Bug , back again with my critical compatriots in crime offering up some more reviews just for you! Take a look-see at what we’ve got in this week’s pull!
*It’s round three with Vroom Socko and Cormorant taking on Brian Michael Bendis and SECRET WAR in a no holds barred tag team cage match!
*Sleazy G gets MONOLITH-ic!
*And Buzz Maverik had to find something to review this week, right? WRONG!
*All that, a bag of Wavy Lays, a ton of Cheap Shots and much, much more!
So get your scroll on and check it out!
(Click title to go directly to the review)
SECRET WAR #3
SHOCKROCKETS TPB
MONOLITH #9
MARVEL 1602 HC
Y: THE LAST MAN #27
NOTHING #0
CHEAP SHOTS!
SECRET WAR #3 (of 5)
Brian Michael Bendis: Writer
Gabriele Dell’Otto: Artist
Marvel Comics: Publisher
Vroom & Dave: Secret Reviewers
Vroom Socko: Man, it’s been almost five months since we reviewed the last installment of this series. The delays on this third issue raised two concerns in my mind, for good or ill. First, that the long wait between issues would hamper the momentum of the story. Second, that since the NEW AVENGERS line-up was released between this issue and the last, the story might become less a Marvel Universe event and more like an AVENGERS miniseries.
Thank god those fears turned out to be unfounded.
The opening of this issue was easily the strongest yet. Hell, it would have even made a killer beginning to the first installment. Basically, Peter Parker is having nightmares worse than Sinatra’s flashbacks to Manchuria. He doesn’t know why he’s dreaming about fighting a bunch of tech villains alongside familiar friends wearing unfamiliar costumes. He doesn’t remember his trip to Euro-Despotland either. This Secret War is apparently so secret that even those who fought in it don’t know about it. How fucked up cool is that?
Dave: Wow, we’re now three for three in terms of taking opposite stances on this series! You championed the first issue while I was ambivalent. I suddenly got onboard the second issue even as you laid down your first major misgivings.
And LO!
Come the third issue and you’re all over the paranoia stuff while I just couldn’t get past the feeling that, gee, we’ve crossed the halfway point of the series and somehow it still feels like we’re in the goddamn set-up stage! Maybe I should credit Bendis for going with an unconventional structure, but jumpin’ Jesus, right now I think he could use a little convention! We’ve had two issues of watching mysteries build and seeing our heroes gather, and riiiight when as they’re poised to storm Latveria and the blood is good and pumping…
We jump forward in time to after the invasion?! I call foul. It’s like extended foreplay leading up to a bout of impotence. Is that the feeling anyone wants in a thriller? A dramatic cock-block? Is novelty of structure worth the loss of momentum? Vroom, I think you hit the nail on the head when you noted this issue would’ve made for a good opening. There’s a longstanding piece of advice for writers to enter a story as late as possible for the best dramatic oomph, and yes, beginning with the flashbacks to a forgotten war would have been exciting. But midway through the story? Vastly underwhelming. Frustrating.
Vroom: See, I think that might be the point. The focus of the series seems to be more on the ramifications of the invasion than anything else. Superheroes are by their very nature a reactive force. By becoming proactive at the behest of Fury, they’re opening a massive can of worms in that villains are proactive in nature, and they’re much better at that then the heroes.
Dave: Interesting thought, though if you’re right, I can’t say I feel enthused for yet another story set to undercut the effectiveness of superheroes. Entirely too much of that lately.
Vroom: Well, who says this one does? We’ve got two issues left, and we have yet to see how this will play out. The story seems to be more of a commentary on that trend, with a team of superheroes being forced by non-superhero Nick Fury into a situation that goes against their nature. Coming from Bendis, that’d be something. All I know for sure is that he’s doing some solid work here.
But what I’m really loving about this book, the one element that’s been consistently amazing, is what Del’Otto’s been doing on the art. While I’m not a big fan of the two-page splash, this issue opens and closes with one, and they both deserve to be hanging in a museum somewhere. I’ll wager my signed copy of Fortune & Glory that those pages were the cause of the delay, but I’d say they were worth the wait.
Dave: I’d have been far happier with a monthly series with traditional art. Maybe one of those realist types who can really turn on the espionage vibe? Steve Epting, Butch Guice, Brent Anderson…guys like that.
But then again, I’m just not much of a fan in general of painted art in comics. With a few spirited exceptions (the art of Dan Brereton and Scott Morse, for example), painted art undermines the immediacy of sequential art for me. The eye lingers too long on individual panels when it should be moving forward, and “realism” asserts its ugly head far too often. I started to warm to Dell’Otto’s work in the second issue of SECRET WAR, which featured a lot of drama for our leads in their civilian identities, but come the return of costumes in the third and I’m reminded that painted costumes can look pretty doofy (something about all those gleaming highlights…), and Dell’Otto’s redesigns of all the tech villains just look drab.
What I am liking about the book is the same stuff I like in any Bendis outing, even the ones that disappoint: fascinating moment-to-moment character interaction when there’s no action going on and an impressive sense of menace during the build-up to action sequences. I’m just missing a sense of payoff.
Vroom: You want a payoff with two issues to go? And I thought I could get impatient.
Dave: Think of it more as me not wanting to feel like I’m still reading the prologue after crossing the halfway point of the story.
Vroom: I will agree with you on the moment-to-moment stuff. I especially enjoyed the sequences featuring Daredevil and Spidey. Kinda makes me wish Bendis was doing a CAPTAIN AMERICA & FALCON style title with those two. (Possibly instead of NEW AVENGERS… but that’s another column.)
Dave: Agreed. The Daredevil/Spidey interaction is always good in a Bendis book.
Vroom: In any case, I do have a gripe or two with the book, but it’s nitpicky crap. First, while that final image is cool as hell, I have to wonder what some of those people are doing there. Some of them, while being tech-based villains, have a clearly detailed history of how they became that way. And one of them, Mentallo, doesn’t use tech at all!
There’s also the strange appearance of Diamondback. Not only is she not a tech villain, she’s no longer a villain at all! Of course, since her real name is Rachel Leighton and this character is referred to as Debbie, I doubt they’re the same person. I’m guessing this one was some other villain who didn’t want to be her old identity anymore (let’s call her Elfstar,) so she co-opted an existing one.
But as I said that’s all nitpicky shit, and I certainly enjoyed this section of the series.
Dave: My own nitpick (‘cause all the preceding bitching was over the big stuff) is the bonus material. Now SECRET WAR is only about a buck more than a regular comic at $3.99, but I honestly think it’s a little…err…premature to showcase Dell’Otto’s pin-ups and design work so extensively before the story’s even done. It’s like watching a DVD and finding the “behind the scenes” extras inserted in the movie itself instead of after it. The four pages of previews for the PULSE tie-in were pretty obnoxious too. And the seven pages devoted to a transcript of Captain America’s 9-1-1 style call to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Smart enough dialogue, but Cap couldn’t help but sound a bit wussy asking all of those panicked, frustrated questions about his attackers. Cap’s supposed to be the man with the plan, the guy who keeps his cool, and DAMMIT, if he’s gonna make his identity public, he forfeits his right to make whiny phone calls to S.H.I.E.L.D. just because he was attacked in his home!
Guess I’m just waiting for these superheroes to seem effective again one of these days…
Vroom: Well, I don’t think we’ll have long to wait. Although there’s another three months until the next issue, so we DO have long to wait, but… You know what I mean!
SHOCKROCKETS (TPB)
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Reviewed by Dave Farabee
There’s a lot of promise in Kurt Busiek’s somewhat forgotten SHOCKROCKETS miniseries, just collected by Dark Horse, but somehow it never manages to take off. The concept’s a mélange of action/adventure hooks, beginning with a young dreamer destined to become a hero and including elements of everything from THUNDERBIRDS to TOP GUN to GODZILLA. No inherent sin, there. The “pop cultural blender” approach can work as long as the story’s told with wit and verve, but as with Busiek’s recent wartime fantasy, ARROWSMITH, those qualities are decidedly lacking here.
Bummer.
Quick premise: the year is 2087 A.D. and Earth’s in a painful recovery period after a near ass-kicking by an alien race called the Fermeki. On the frontline of the efforts to maintain peace and stability are the Shockrockets, an elite aerial unit backed by ships that hybridize earth and Fermeki technology. Like the ships on the old THUNDERBIRDS show or even BATTLE OF THE PLANETS (aka G-FORCE), each vehicle has its own unique look, special weapons, and memorable codename – “Avalanche”, “Sonic Shark”, “Stinger”, etc. It’s all very superhero-ey – practically the equivalent of having costumes and superpowers – but I still ended up confusing which ships were which throughout, notably undercutting a fun idea. It’s a shame, because artist Stuart Immonen turns out some really detailed anime-style ship designs – they just don’t stick.
The hero of SHOCKROCKETS is Alejandro Cruz, a poor kid with a gift for tech and dreams of joining the Shockrockets. His family says he’s got his head in the clouds, but Cruz knows that if he could just…just…
Are you sensing the clichés yet? They’re pretty hard to miss, and though Busiek delivers ‘em with a certain workmanlike craftsmanship, there’s little chance of getting excited over them. Even the mild innovation of having a Latino hero is dampened by generic comic booky dialogue and characterization that strips away the richness of the concept.
Cruz does, of course, find his way into the Shockrockets. In an action/adventure contrivance that seems at odds with some of the story’s more realistic sci-fi touches and post-invasion realism, his destiny literally crashes into him – he’s watching a Shockrocket battle with their arch-enemy, would-be dictator General Korda, when a downed Shockrocket ship impacts not far from him. He tries to help the wounded pilot, but…
“No -- time! Got to make attack run -- kill the mine-brain, or -- all of ‘em are dead! Approach programmed -- but -- but --”
And I hate to spoil things, but the guy dies. Possibly of bad dialogue, possible of an overdose of clichés. And while it’s certainly among the hokiest bits in SHOCKROCKETS, sadly it’s not an isolated incident. An exchange that might be forgivable (if uninspired) in the melodramatic world of superheroes just doesn’t cut it in a more realistic sci-fi setting. In any case, Cruz takes over the dead guy’s ship, miraculously wins the skirmish for the good guys, and then finds himself spending the remainder of the series struggling to cut it as a full-time Shockrocket. He battles Korda, struggles with self-doubt in the ultimate high-stress job, and even makes some interesting discoveries about the nature of the symbiotic relationship between the alien Shockrocket ships and their human pilots.
But it’s all a bit of a bore. For instance, when some rampaging Godzilla-type monsters show up in one issue (mutations, we’re told, from the radioactive alien bombardment), there’s no sense of awe or wonder. How do you make rampaging Godzilla-monsters boring?! The problem is that the series can’t seem to decide whether it wants to be a quasi-realistic Robert Heinlein military adventure or high-flying escapism in a more traditional comic book vein. The result is either a watered-down sci-fi story or a sluggish action/adventure outing – your choice. And Busiek’s captioned descriptions of the Shockrockets in action just don’t convey the visceral thrill of aerial combat. The man’s obviously done his research and knows the jargon pretty well, but a host of captions describing air-to-air combat just don’t do the concept justice.
So I can’t really recommend this one, pretty pictures from Stuart Immonen notwithstanding. Still have a hankerin’ for some aerial combat done up comic-book-style? Then may I recommend these stronger outings…
*G.I. JOE #34 (original series) for a self-contained story featuring the best aerial dogfight you’re likely to find in American comics. It’s basically an entire issue of an F-18 versus a modified A-10, with writer Larry Hama breaking out just about every trick in the world of modern dogfighting and wrapping with an ending that’s nothing short of perfect.
*Reprints of DC’s old Enemy Ace stories by Robert Kanigher, as found in the ENEMY ACE ARCHIVES or those SGT. ROCK reprints DC put out in the ‘90s. The central innovation of these ‘60s tales of an unstoppable World War I ace is that the protagonist is German, but the aerial battles are great, if a touch repetitious. Kubert’s art is its own draw, of course.
*Garth Ennis’s recent ENEMY ACE: WAR IN HEAVEN. This one’s just been collected in a trade and spotlights (naturally) the grittier aspects of air-to-air combat. It’s essentially the “Last Enemy Ace Story” and jumps forward in time to the second World War.
*NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF WIND – Aerial combat is only one aspect of this brilliant sci-fi/fantasy manga, but given the love of flying evident in writer/artist Miyazaki’s anime flicks (PORCO ROSSO, KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE, LAPUTA), you just know he’s gonna do the concept justice in his one comic book.
THE MONOLITH #9
Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Artist: Phil Winslade
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G
This has been a quiet little title deserving of more attention than it has received. The writers have made some interesting decisions that indicated they were taking a different path than most mainstream title launches, and I’ve found it refreshing. Palmiotti and Gray intentionally set it in the real NYC and not a DCU analogue of a real city, and they decided to utilize a character at least slightly based in our world. They decided to take the Jewish legend of the golem and build a series around him. They’ve spent a lot of time laying the groundwork for The Monolith—he was originally created several decades back to protect the Jewish community in New York and then confined in a basement for several years, and we see his creation and early exploits in lengthy flashback scenes. The writers also spend a fair amount of time developing the characters of the two girls (both former runaway prostitutes trying to straighten out their lives) who find and uncover the Monolith, and their attempts to learn more about him and keep him concealed while trying to aid him in his mission.
Issue #9 starts with a sequence set in the present day, and in just the first four pages they managed to write a scene which made me feel truly squicked out by the bad guy they’ve just introduced. They also managed to make me happy to see the finality with which The Monolith dealt with this guy, while seeing the potential for danger that led The Monolith’s creators to lock him away. We then jump into a flashback that reveals that some mobsters at one point forced a rabbi to create an opposite number to The Monolith, a similar creature made of iron—but one where the creation process went awry. It turns out this iron creature has been inactive for decades, but a sudden act of violence has awakened him in the modern day at the same time and it’s put one of the main characters in harm’s way.
Phil Winslade’s contribution to the title shouldn’t be underplayed. I’ve enjoyed his work for years, and this book wouldn’t be the same without him. His work depicting New York City is fantastic. It doesn’t just have buildings and shops and restaurants that look like a city—it feels like a city, and there’s a huge difference between the two. His work with facial expressions has always been fantastic, and this is no exception. When you can look in a comic book character’s eyes and tell what they’re feeling it tells you something about the quality of the work. He also does a great job of communicating the strength the Monolith possesses while at the same time making you feel a childlike naïveté and a sense that he looks like a little kid wearing a suit that’s too small for him. Winslade is an underappreciated talent who deserves more attention in comics in the US. Hopefully this title will help remind people of that.
It’s been a series which had a lot of nice moments and good characterization, but never quite seemed to catch fire on the shelves. Sadly, it’s not going to get a chance to, either, since it has now been announced that the series will end with issue #12. I’m a little bummed that I’ll never get to see peripheral Batman character The Ragman turn up, since he was based on a similar Jewish legend. I’m far more bummed, though; with the way DC seems to have treated the book recently. See, over the last few issues Palmiotti and Gray have had the girls realize that considering their past lifestyles they really should get tested for HIV, and one of the two ends up testing positive at the end of issue #8. At the end of issue #9, released (I believe) three weeks ago, we found out which character. It’s been a subplot that’s been running for months, and features a main character who will have to learn how to live with her disease. Sound familiar? Sure it does. You probably read press releases and news stories last Wednesday about this scenario. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in this title—it was in GREEN ARROW.
The cynic in me thinks that DC didn’t make a big deal out of the events in MONOLITH because the book was cancelled, or because it wasn’t well known enough, or it wasn’t in a title that could cross over into a team book. Then again, if DC had pumped the story in MONOLITH the cynic in me might have seen it as a sales stunt to try to draw attention to an ailing title. I’m not sure how and why the decision was made to turn the focus on GA and pretend it was the first title to do this when MONOLITH had been building the story for a few issues and theirs broke weeks before the GA issue. I just think it’s really unfortunate that the title’s already been cancelled, and that as a result the work being done here is being ignored by the publisher. These three creators (Palmiotti, Gray, and Winslade) have been turning out some solid work that dared try something different, and it deserved more support from DC and better luck in the marketplace.
MARVEL 1602 (HC)
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Andy Kubert
Colorist: Richard Isanove
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Dave Farabee
Alrighty, we’re past the point of 1602’s crazy pre-release hype and the mild-to-major disappointment that gripped everyone as we came to realize it wasn’t the Second Coming. There’s a hardcover out, though, and it’s got some pretty neat stuff. Just seeing the art of Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove in oversized format is its own draw, plus there’s an intro from comic historian Peter Sanderson, an afterward from Gaiman, the entirety of the first issue’s script (accompanied by character sketches), and an overview of how the woodcut style covers were created.
Time for a second look, then?
Sure!
What strikes me first and foremost about 1602 is that, stripping away the labyrinthine plot and pseudo-historical trappings, it’s terrifically faithful to the concepts originated by Lee, Kirby, and Ditko in the ‘60s. There’s a central heroism to the characters that shines even as they ride out the dark, tumultuous currents of Inquisition-era Europe. Sir Nicholas Fury, née Nick Fury, may be the spymaster for Queen Victoria rather than the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., but he’s still a total patriot and friend to the heroes of his era. The X-Men, dubbed the “witchbreed” in 1602, are still the swashbuckling outlaws that any teen would want to join – never mind the internal bickering and retro-piety. And Reed Richards? Still the most brilliant mind of his era; still the noble explorer, even if he and his crew travel by sea and not the stars.
I give Gaiman a lot of credit for this and I suspect the decided lack of postmodern irony or tarnished heroism is due to his decision to mirror in 1602 only those Marvel characters created before 1969. He fudges the idea once or twice – there’s a Phoenix reference, for instance, and the acknowledgment of Magneto’s Jewish heritage stems from a post-‘60s addition to the character – but when Gaiman writes in his afterward of the magic of discovering early Marvel as a kid, you’ll know his love of the era is genuine. I also liked the following elaboration on developing the series’ concept:
“And then September 11th happened, and while I wasn’t certain what I wanted in there, I suddenly knew what I didn’t want. No planes. No skyscrapers. No bombs. No guns. I didn’t want it to be a war story, and I didn’t want to write a story in which might made right – or in which might made anything.”
Promising.
And not, as one might fear, an indicator that 1602 is totally lightweight. In fact, it’s a multi-continent-spanning adventure with a huge cast of heroes and villains, a rock-solid grounding in the history of the era, and a mystery as its central structure. It begins with anomalous weather patterns threatening all of Europe, perhaps the world, and a could-be-related mysterious cargo being transported from Jerusalem to England. The most powerful players are the withering Queen Elizabeth, the ambitious King James of Scotland, the witchbreed-hunting Grand Inquisitor, and an Eastern European dictator with the familiar name of Von Doom.
They’re the instigators, but it’s Fury and the Queen’s magician, Dr. Stephen Strange, who garner the most screen time. You can tell Gaiman loves these lesser-known power players. His Fury gets the face-time usually reserved for the likes of Spider-Man - alternately a confident military badass and a man anguished over the possibility that doing the right thing might mean betraying England. Strange, of course, is the outlet for Gaiman’s vast storehouse of arcane knowledge, but he’s no cipher. His spells and metaphysical wanderings may speak to Gaiman’s fascination with medieval magics, but Strange’s love for his wife, Clea, grounds him solidly in this world. Strange knows full well that change is in the air in the year 1602. If James ascends the throne after Elizabeth dies, a magic-user like Strange and his wife are due for some very hard times.
And so the players on the chessboard begin moving.
Fury hires blind freelance agent and balladeer, Matthew Murdoch, to see that the mysterious treasure from Jerusalem reaches England safely. Carlos Javier and his witchbreed students mobilize to avoid the Inquisition and perhaps lend Fury a hand. And from America, historical figure Virginia Dare pays England a visit, accompanied by a pale-skinned Native American known simply as Rohjaz. If you’re not catching the fact that I’m talking about Daredevil, Professor Xavier and the X-Men, and Captain America, then you need to read more Marvel comics! Yes, 1602, like JLA/AVENGERS, is one for the fans.
I like it quite a bit more than JLA/AVENGERS, though. At its heart, 1602 is a “What If?” or an “Elseworlds”, and while it’s not the boldest of high concepts, Gaiman’s assured storytelling and eye for detail make it one of the best. How can you resist hearing the FF’s 1602 origin story told in the form of a folk ballad? Or the Latin placard on the front of Javier’s school, Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis (“All things change, and we change with them.”)? Or the Shakespearean romantic touch of Jean Grey masquerading as a boy – “John Grey” – with 1602’s Cyclops and Angel sparring for her affection? One is aware of the guise, the other not…
If 1602 has a notable failing, it’s that it loses some momentum in its closing chapters. There’s a large cast of players moving around and occasionally crossing swords quite spectacularly, but by the third act readers are likely to feel anxious for Neil to hurry things up and start resolving the mysteries. And when the resolutions do come…well, it’s not that they’re bad, just a little on the prosaic side. The real climax for 1602 actually occurs in its penultimate chapter when Reed Richards outlines a most unusual theory as a source of hope for the beleaguered heroes. He posits that they’re all living in a universe whose fundamental principles are not rooted in subatomic particles, but in something even deeper - stories. And what’s more…
“…a universe which favours stories. A universe in which no story can ever truly end; in which there can only be continuances. If we are in such a universe, as I hope, then we may have a chance.”
Given that one of the chief criticisms against serial superhero comics is their lack of closure, how refreshing is it to have one of the foremost writers in the medium cite this very aspect as a sign of hope? It’s a grand moment, yet tinged with classic Marvel tragedy when Reed has to explain to 1602’s Ben Grimm that living in a universe of stories also means a permanent cure for his condition is unlikely: “For in the end, alas, you are so much more interesting and satisfying as you are.”
It’s such a great moment that what follows is almost necessarily a letdown. And there are minor gripes as well: the multiple teases of a spider-bite for a certain Peter Parquagh throughout 1602 seem arbitrarily frustrating. I was mildly bothered by the Vulture-esque assassins being part of an apparent league of killers when every other Marvel hero or villain has only a single analog in 1602. And, yes, a few of the insider references get a little clunky – “Sometimes I dream of building a room in which dangers would come from nowhere,” waxes the Professor X analog at one point. One or two groaners like that.
Visually, 1602’s a happy mixture of superhero dynamism and Old World lushness, the lushness largely due to the digital coloring from Richard Isanove over Andy Kubert’s pencils. The technique was pioneered by the pair in the Wolverine yawner, ORIGIN, but finds a much stronger fit in 1602’s classical setting. Occasionally Kubert’s energetic style feels constrained by the conventional panel layouts (Gaiman’s script indicates a preference for straightforward grids, ala WATCHMEN), and I suspect that might be why his characters sometimes appear to be “overacting.” What might look right in a dynamic Neal Adams-style panel looks a bit over-the-top in a plain ol’ square panel. Consider it a mildly-flawed element of an otherwise pleasant collaboration. Kubert’s swashbuckling character designs are uniformly terrific, especially on Fury.
But the series’ greatest artistry might come from its immaculate woodcut-style covers, courtesy of poster artist, Scott McKowen. They’re a bit submerged in a hardcover like this – chapter breaks, essentially – but I had to mention his very cool notion to base the hard cover’s dust jacket on an engraving of the conspirators behind England’s famous Guy Fawkes Day. Nice bit of outlaw synchronicity there!
In the end the only real drawback to 1602 is that it’s not quite the Holy Grail of a story readers always seem to be imagining when they pine for the likes of Gaiman and Moore to write their favorite superheroes. Personally I don’t think such a story will ever exist and I’m perfectly happy to have in its place the smart, witty, textured dalliance with the genre that 1602 provides. Not a boring page among its eight issues, and true to Reed’s theory, the tale ends with a sense that the next great story – the next “continuance” - could be right around the corner. Whether that ever happens or not (and Lord help Marvel if Gaiman’s not its chronicler), it sure does feel like the truest ending a Marvel epic ever had.
Y: THE LAST MAN #27
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Pencils: Pia Guerra
Inks: Jose Marzan, Jr.
Publisher: DC Vertigo
Reviewer: Ambush the Last Bug
Man, the shit heads fan-ward in this issue. Those of you who do not read Brian K. Vaughan’s tale of the last man on Earth and the search for what made him that way are truly missing out on one of the most well-crafted road stories in recent years. I usually start out these reviews with some cute anecdote or something goofy, but I have to cut right to the chase with this book and give it the attention it deserves.
So far, we’ve followed Yorick and his female companions across America in search of the cause of the plague that annihilated every male on the planet. It’s been a rough journey, one filled with mostly tragedy and a little bit of triumph (well, Yorick did get a little ooo-la-la a few issues back, so that’s cool). Throughout it all, we’ve gotten to know these characters. I feel as if I’ve been traveling alongside Yorick and Dr. Mann and Ampersand and 355 on this long trek and become friends with them along the way. Brian K. Vaughan has done an amazing job with this eclectic cast of characters. Each of them memorable. Each personable and fully realized. Each important in the heroic Odyssey Vaughan has mapped from issue one.
At the heart of this epic story lies the secret behind the death of all the men of the world and the reason why Yorick is the only one who survived. Since the beginning, this has been the hook. The problem is that with all of this build-up to the big reveal, there’s NO WAY it’ll be as satisfying as we’ve all built it up to be. Expectations are high for this series. The fans are drooling for the answers. The pressure is on Vaughan to make the big reveal worth while. How does Vaughan deal with this problem? Well, he makes the road to the answers more interesting than the answers themselves. Each and every story focuses on the characters, not the hook. So the big reveal, no matter how great or not-so-great it is, isn’t as important as the path followed to get these answers.
In this issue, clues are given as to why Yorick survived the plague and I’m not sure if I like them. You see, Yorick has been carrying something on him from the start of this series and it may be the link to why he survived. My problem with this is that, unless I am forgetting a mention early on in the series, we weren’t clued into this fact until this very issue. It seems contrived. The secret seems too convenient. If this is the first time the object in question has been introduced, it does a disservice to the tightly-knit storyline Vaughan has made for us since the beginning.
But the truth is, I really don’t care. I understand that this comic has to reach a point where answers are given, and it may very well be that I don’t like the destination these characters finally reach. But in the meantime, I am enjoying the hell out of watching these characters scramble about in this crazy, koo-koo, mixed-up world Vaughan has created. So despite the contrivances, I’m still recommending this book for the simple fact that it is one of the first books I read when I sit down with my stack of new comics and it’s usually the last one I think about when my stack disappears. Top that off with art that continues to impress from Pia Guerra and some of the best cliffhangers in comics and you’ve got one hell of a book.
Read this book. Don’t fret so much about the answers. I’m not. Experience the book while its here. The answers will come soon enough whether you like them or not.
NOTHING # 0
Written by Nobody
Art by Nobody Else
Published by No One
Reviewed by Buzz Maverik
For the second or third week in a row, I walked out of my local comic shop; Li'l Chemo's Adventures In Comicland, empty-handed. I didn't find one damned thing worth buying. This ever happen to you?
I don't have a pull-list since I don't follow regular titles. Why don't I follow regular titles? Because I've read about a hundred-billion comic books and I've figured out the secret of THE KILLING JOKE (don't e-mail me asking me the secret of THE KILLING JOKE. Like the Enigma of Steel in the movie CONAN THE BARBARIAN, you have to find the answer on your own or Crom will cast your unworthy ass out of Valhalla). Basically, I try to look for something new, different, and well done. If it's not well done, it should at least be medium rare.
Don't get me wrong. A lot of good stuff is being published. It's just that once I get the essence of it, it doesn't seem to get any better, so I move on. Aside from the good stuff, Marvel and DC publishes all that stuff with the superheroes being raped and murdered. Everybody dies or turns rotten. It was shocking when it was done almost 20 years ago, but I suppose each new generation enters their late twenties and must experience adolescent angst and nihilism. Reconstruction just isn't as cool as deconstruction. That means I left a lot of stuff on the shelves.
Of course, Marvel and DC aren't everything. Dark Horse apparently publishes nothing but STAR WARS comics these days. STAR WARS was cool when George was cool, but those days ain't ever comin' back! And then you've got Image line of gimmick comics, where either the '90s have gone to die or the '80s have come to life. The superhero sitcom book. The superhero reality show book. The superhero court show book. CSI: METROPOLIS. Superhero soap operas. Superhero cooking shows. Superhero make-overs. Superhero secret headquarters improvement shows. I passed.
I wandered over to the indie section. Been meaning to get a little more indie since the outies are sucking so much. But all I saw was book after book about people who'd bore the shit out of me in real life. I'm beginning to think I'm not an indie kind of guy. I'm not going to read a comic book that reads like a novel I wouldn't read or comes across like a movie I wouldn't see. I like genre stuff. Action, comedy, horror, science fiction, fantasy. Even some pirates or cowboys would be okay. But I found too many comics about guys who couldn't get laid or funny looking kids mocking people. I've already lived that, why do I need comics about that?
I then made my way to the Manga section. After my seizure, I picked up one of the books and threw it back. Dammed if I'm going to read anything that starts in the back! Why don't you just ask me to drive a fucking car on the left side of the road while you're at it?
All I wanted was Marvel's ESSENTIAL MONSTER O' FRANKENSTEIN VOL. 1 and DC's SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER VOL. 2: THE FACE & THE BRUTE. Was that too much to ask? Apparently it was given shipping and printing schedules. Of course, with Li'l Chemo's comic shop, even if the trades are put out, they aren't necessarily brought to the store.
Yeah, I could order 'em online, but aside from the fact that it's more fun to bitch, that would take even more fun out of comic buying. It's bad enough that comic shops are the only real retail outlets where you can find any kind of selection any more. I miss the gamble of going into a convenience store and seeing what was on the rack. Even if they didn't have what I wanted, I could always find something. But this week, I found nothing.
Cheap Shots!
DEMO 10 : Can I rave some more about Becky Cloonan's evolution as an artist to be reckoned with? Can I possibly say more about Brian Wood's developing mastery over the one-shot form? How about DEMO's ability to mess with your expectations, going from a simple teenagers-with-powers lineup to a deeper exploration of the lives of young people today? I don't know how many raves it takes to make you read this book, but here's at least one more: this issue is great! It emulates a certain common vein of storytelling so well that when things go pear-shaped it catches you completely by surprise. This is another sucker-punch from the DEMO team - watch for the issue where they switch chores (with Wood illustrating and Cloonan writing). – Lizzybeth
GREEN ARROW #43: Well, it was in the news, so I guess we’ve gotta mention it. In this issue, it is revealed that Green Arrow’s adopted ward and former child prostitute tested positive for HIV. And it looks like she’s going to be the new Speedy. This issue doesn’t really focus on this “big event.” Rather, it continues the tale of a gang leader’s rise to become the new mob boss of Star City. Only the last page deals with the controversial topic, so I can’t really comment yet on how Winnick is going to handle this situation. Personally, I think it is a bad idea from the get-go. I’m not saying that people suffering from HIV cannot be portrayed as heroic. I just feel that it is a bit reckless and irresponsible for someone with HIV to strap on some tights and fight crime given the fact that these guys get beaten up and bloodied on a monthly basis. I’m sure this is an issue Winnick will choose to deal with in his own over-sentimentalized way, but suiting up someone suffering from HIV in skin tight clothing and giving them razor-sharp objects to fling around in combat sounds like a can of worms that may be best left unopened. – Ambush Bug
POWERS #5: If there was any doubt about Marvel's promise of a hands-off approach to their new ICON line, this issue pretty much dispels it. Hoo-boy! This is the one comic where I actually take a deep breath before turning the page because god knows what kind of messed-up-ness is in store. This time I was getting fairly certain that Deena Pilgrim was gonna get whacked, especially since a new female character was added to the cast. But something better happened instead. Strangely enough, POWERS actually got more fun after Bendis took over half of Marvel. It's his own playground and his longest-running title, and the collaboration with Mike Oeming is probably Bendis's best. If I had to recommend just one Bendis-penned title, this would be it. – Lizzybeth
LOKI #4 (of 4) - Aw, man, I’m actually sad about this one. The tale of Loki’s hypothetical victory over his fellow Norse gods sure did start off strong, but when all was said and done…it disappointed. What was innovative in the first issue or two – Loki finding himself unsettled in his victory even as he tried to gloat over his captive enemies – became tedious as it was repeated again and again and again over the course of the remaining issues. I also didn’t think much of Rodi’s revisionist Marvel history to lend sympathy to Loki, revealing childhood cruelties from heroes like Balder and Sif and outright evil from Odin, who supposedly set up Loki’s fall in order to temper his favored son, Thor, into the role of hero. Four issues later and the ultimate point of the story turns out to be one that we already gleaned when Loki hesitated to execute Thor in the first issue: that he has at least the capacity for redemption. The story ends on a tragic note that seems unfulfilling, not because it’s tragic, but because the events that shaped it were contrived for this story alone and have little to do with the Marvel Universe’s take on Norse mythology. It’s a shame, because Rodi’s got some good ideas and the painted art throughout was phenomenal. Maybe if the story had occurred as an original piece outside the Marvel Universe it wouldn’t have felt so…off. – Dave
NIGHTWING #98 - Another nail-biting issue of what could possibly be the best Bat-crossover ever. This is by far the tightest multi-issue event I have ever read. Gotham is in the middle of one of the worst mob wars in its history. Literally, every criminal is vying for leadership of Gotham’s underworld. Batman and his crew have been caught on film and broadcasted on national television. For the first time, Bats has been revealed to be a man, not an urban legend or creature of the night. A fed-up Commissioner Atkins has ordered the GCPD to shoot anyone wearing a mask. No one knows where the Spoiler is. And every member of the Bat-family is running in circles trying to contain the chaos. In this issue, Nightwing takes advantage of the dubious reputation he has built for himself since the murder of Bludhaven’s crimelord, Blockbuster. Dick Grayson is spiraling deeper and deeper into the abyss. Writer Devin Grayson has been in the zone for the last year on this title. The action is fast, frantic, and especially well rendered by SLEEPER artist, Sean Phillips. Those of you burnt out on crossovers should pick this saga up. It’ll make you believe these things could possibly work. – Ambush Bug
MY FAITH IN FRANKIE TPB : I was just delighted with this series, and here is one of the times where I will trade in my single issues for the pocketbook edition trade. It's true that you lose some of Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel's wonderful detail in the size reduction, but you gain a sketchbook section and a preview from Jill Thompson's next project. Now I can only bribe writer Mike Carey with chocolate and leaf-raking for another series following these characters. In brief: Frankie's invisible friend is a little demigod named Jeriven who latched onto Frankie. His powers are sustained by her belief and devotion. But little Frankie grows into Teenage Frankie and she'd like another kind of companionship now, nudge wink. Jealous Jeriven can only watch as Frankie gets closer to a childhood friend, and his efforts at religious prohibition of sex work as well as, well, any of them do. Even worse, what neither of them know is that the careless wish that Frankie made as a child, the one that raised her new boyfriend from the dead, brought back everything but his soul. It's jealous god versus undead lover boy for the heart of the magical girl next door in this fun little gem of a trade. – Lizzybeth
SHE-HULK #8 - It’s alright, I can admit it: much as I’ve championed and will continue to champion this excellent series, the last two issues have been kind of “blah.” Writer Dan Slott was looking to have some fun by throwing She-Hulk into a cosmic adventure featuring the likes of Adam Warlock, the Champion of the Universe, and the Living Tribunal, but for whatever reason the cosmic stuff failed to tickle the funny bone. Grin-inducing at best, no outright laughs. I still love Juan Bobillo’s ultra-quirky art, though. It’s a shame he’s leaving the series, even if Paul Pellitier (who guest-pencilled the previous arc) is no slouch. – Dave
GOTHAM CENTRAL #24 - Month in and month out, GOTHAM CENTRAL is one of my favorite reads. Not enough of you are reading it, and you’re missing out. It’s a police procedural that takes the approach of the TV series “Homicide: Life On The Streets”, or HBO’s current winner “The Wire.” Rucka alternates stories with Ed Brubaker—one writing the day shift, the other the night shift, with stories periodically being co-written when they’re big enough to require around-the-clock coverage. Placing this kind of police procedural in Gotham provides an endless array of stories built around the way Gotham’s costumed criminals impact everyday citizens and the cops who try to protect them. Issue #24 wraps up a two-part storyline in which one of the cops, Crispin Allen, can’t prove that he was involved in a clean shooting because a single bullet is missing. It’s missing because a dirty cop has been stealing evidence and then selling it online to collectors who want to own a piece of a super villain crime scene. The reveal of the purchaser of this particular item was a nice surprise. It was also impressive to see Renee Montoya beat down and shame the dirty cop in front of all of his buddies. There’s only one concern I have with the whole issue: the name of that dirty cop is Jim Corrigan, and he looks just like a slightly younger version of the Jim Corrigan who was the earthly host for The Spectre for decades before he finally earned his reward and ascended into Heaven. The end of John Ostrander’s THE SPECTRE series was a pretty final one — Corrigan finally got to ascend and The Spectre had to find a new host. Now, suddenly, a Corrigan who is a cop has appeared again. It’s not clear yet if it will be a matter of retrofitting continuity like the god-awful Byrne DOOM PATROL revamp, a coincidence, tied into the future of THE SPECTRE once he’s separated from Hal Jordan over in REBIRTH, a red herring, or something else altogether. Suffice to say it’s enough to make longstanding fans of THE SPECTRE nervous, since the character has suffered through a lot over the last few years. GOTHAM CENTRAL is still highly recommended as one of the best titles DC is publishing right now though, and the introduction of this character could very well be the start of another in a long string of excellent stories. – Sleazy G
THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1950-1954 BOXED SET - Attention early Christmas shoppers - Here, you're done. Go relax. Who wouldn't want this? Everyone from your kids to your girlfriend to your dad will be excited to receive these impeccably designed (by Seth) and absolutely complete collections of Charles Schultz's PEANUTS from the very beginning. Even those of us who were sick of them in the final ten years or so of the run will be astonished by these early strips and the loving presentation by Fantagraphics. Put this secular relic of the 20th Century on your list. - Lizzybeth.
ENGINEHEAD #5 - Can’t finish the column without mentioning this book. Joe Kelly has been writing his quirky little fingers off and it’s about to come to an end with issue #8. Those of you who missed out on it, wait for the trade to be enlightened. But those of you who have been following this title from the beginning know that this is a truly original and well-crafted take on super-hero-ing. Like all of us, Enginehead finds himself asking the big questions in life like “Why am I here?” and “What am I supposed to be doing with my time on Earth?” Unlike him, we don’t have a legless mechanical monkey following us around. Or a neutered and lobotomized former sexual predator for a brother. Or the consciousness of five super villains bumping into each other in his head. Enginehead uncovers the cause of the Flaw of the Universe in this issue and he doesn’t like what he finds. It is existential and heady, but gritty and fun too. And don’t get me started on Ted McKeever’s surreal artwork. It may not be for everyone, but any appreciator of comic books as an art form has got to give this guy props. Pick up the back issues of this series or check out the trade. You’re in for a unique read. – Ambush Bug
