| #5 | 5/23/07 | #6 |
SHE-HULK #18
Writer: Dan Slott Artist: Rick Burchett Publisher: Marvel Comics Reviewer: Ambush Bug
I’ve been a strong supporter of SHE-HULK since the very beginning. It’s been fun to watch Dan Slott not only develop the character, but develop as a writer through this title. SHE-HULK was one of those titles that stood out among the rest of the Marvel crop in that it embraced the Marvel Universe and its rich history. Not only that, but it took a fantastic element from John Byrne’s classic run with the character--namely the fact that it didn’t take itself too seriously.For the longest time, I could always count on a guffaw or two while reading this title. Slott seemed to have a wealth of knowledge about the Marvel U and knew how to tell a funny yarn inside of it. Lately, though, my love affair with SHE-HULK the comic has been strained. And I can’t blame Dan Slott for this.
No, it’s not Slott’s fault at all. First and foremost, my growing disinterest in this title has more to do with the state of the Marvel Universe and the fact that even a humorous book like SHE-HULK has been sucked up into the whirlpool that is CIVIL WAR. Not only has this series lost its identity due to that crossover, but now it is directly tying into WORLD WAR HULK. Like the Spider-Man series which have tucked away their own storylines in order to fit into the grand scheme of things, thusly forgetting things like character, plot, identity, and cohesiveness of a monthly book, SHE-HULK has been stricken with the same malady.
In the last few issues, we have followed She-Hulk as she takes up as a SHIELD agent under Tony Stark’s new regime as SHIELD director. She’s been assigned on a wild goose chase to find the Hulk, but in actuality, we all know it was Tony himself who banished the Hulk from Earth to a galaxy far, far away. So for the last few issues, She-Hulk has been tracking down gamma radiation, only to find former Hulk foes instead. These have been entertaining reads. Slott shows that he can shelve the humorous stuff for a bit and we actually get a whole heck of a lot of straightforward superheroism and action. It’s stuff like that that proved to me what I had suspected: that Dan Slott is not just a one trick pony. He’s a good writer who CAN tell a good super-hero story.
But with this issue, a problem that has been festering in me for a while hit its boiling point and I had to write about it.
Simply put, this book would have been a much better read had there been a different artist on board telling the story. I know Rick Burchett has been a name in comics for a while, doing some amazing work with Batman and Superman at DC. I know that Slott was uber-psyched that he was coming on board SHE-HULK. But I simply can’t stand the guy’s artwork. It’s not that it is bad, but it is unsuitable. Think of casting Johnny Knoxville to play Hamlet. Think of casting Judy Densch to play Malcolm X. Think of Jody Foster playing a hot chick. These are mismatches. It doesn’t take anything away from the character or the actors trying to play them, but any way you slice it, the pairing just isn’t going to work. That’s kind of how the artwork on SHE-HULK was to me.
Slott is trying to tell an action tale. This is THE big issue when She-Hulk realizes Stark has been dicking her around for months, not telling her that the Hulk wasn’t on the planet. I want to be engulfed in that story. But I wasn’t because the panels and characters looked flat, stiff, disproportional, and cartoon-like. Characters have no grounding or weight. Limited expressions are utilized. Shading and realism are out of the window, in favor of straight-forward angles and little or no depth whatsoever within the panel with even less attention paid attention to background. I don’t want to take away from Burchett’s style. It is fitting for a book that may be catering to a younger audience like the WB cartoon books like SUPERMAN and BATMAN, but in a weighty story about anger, loss, and betrayal, it just doesn’t fit.
A well told comic book is an effortless read where the reader doesn’t think about the writer tapping away at the keys of his computer or an artist at his drawing board. It engulfs the reader. I long for these types of comics, and while SHE-HULK has the capability of enveloping me with the story, the artwork does just the opposite. This is simply a case of wrong artist for the material. Had this story been a goofy romp, maybe I would have been more lenient on it. But since this is a balls-out action with ramifications style drama, the book failed for me because the art was unable to carry that type of heft.
SUPERGIRL #17
Writer: Joe Kelly Artist: Ale Garza
SUPERGIRL & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #30
Writer: Mark Waid Artist: Barry Kitson Publisher: DC Comics Reviewer: Rock-Me Amodeo
If you’re looking for a good comic book with Supergirl in it, I can make a recommendation. If, however, you are looking for a good Supergirl book – well, you’re outta luck, chuck. Ain’t no such book around.I read SUPERGIRL # 17 last week, and the biggest complaint I had was that every time I pick up the book, I feel like I missed the previous issue. Sometimes I actually did, sometimes not, and it hasn’t helped either way.
When this incarnation first began, it was full of eye-popping eye candy. Of course, one can only do so many issues with eight splash pages each and three words of dialogue before completely losing an audience that want to actually READ a comic book. Then they went in a different direction, going to Kandor in a plot that I still don’t understand. Then they sent her to high school. To the Outsiders. Gave her a super-powered Ike Turner as a boyfriend to play against her Tina. Threw her against Batgirl, who got skewered with crystals.
Through it all, we have watched Kara think about herself, her past, her present, her friends, her enemies, her cat, her fashion sense... But we haven’t watched her actually DO anything, as far as I can tell, except maybe a botched Outsiders mission. I see characters cycle through, but they don’t seem in continuity at all. Even in this book, Kara fights Wonder Girl and Robin, and I was convinced it was a dream sequence until Robin wakes up, but it still feels like none of it will be referenced in any other comic book. Ever.
And the other story lines: what happened to Batgirl, left bleeding in a cave in #14? I dunno. What happened to Wife-Beater Lad after the big explosion in #15? I dunno. Where did Boomer, her BFF of the last few issues, go? I dunno.
Why should we give a crap about this character, who spends most of her time running away from being an adult, and the other half wise beyond her years, and some weird third half trying to figure out the plot? I dunno! I think she was programmed to kill Superman, but everyone knows she won’t, so that can’t REALLY be what all this is about, could it? Is the book about mysterious and convoluted origins? We seem to be reading more about hers every issue, but it’s not like she’s fricking Wolverine, so that can’t be what this is all about.Kara can’t figure out why she’s here – that’s all I get. Heck, I’m looking at the plot from the outside, and I can’t figure it out either. Nor do I care. And without the eye candy artwork, there’s no reason to pick up this book until they find a new writer who can bring Kara’s strengths to the table, not make her seem like she needs a daily dose of super-lithium. Sorry, Joe, I liked your run on the old JLA, but it just isn’t happening for me here.
As for LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, this is a very nice book. Mark Waid has been writing comics for a long time, and I love Barry Kitson (when he has a good inker, and he has two in Gray and Palmiotti.) But this is a LEGION book, not a SUPERGIRL book.
After her initial introduction, where Kara occasionally overshadowed a very good plot with her annoying “I must be dreaming” shtick, she has turned into a steady bit player in a much larger story. Which is fine! But the title really should just have stayed “Legion of Superheroes” because Supergirl has about as much of a starring role as any other Legionnaire, which in a cast of about 47 ain’t much.
The one thing I don’t really like is this whole “anyone who feels they are a Legionnaire in their heart is a Legionnaire,” and the motif of sticking it to old people, i.e., anyone over 25. Seems awfully short sighted for folks who just saved the universe and such. If they would just stop hammering it for one issue…but it’s a minor criticism, really.
If you always liked the Legion, then you will like this. But don’t buy it for SUPERGIRL, because she’s just another face in the crowd. And as poorly written as she is in her OWN book, that’s not such a bad thing. But if you picked up her appearance in BRAVE & THE BOLD #2, just a wee bit short of absolute comic book perfection, anyone can see she has a ton of untapped potential. Potential enough to have her own book, even! Oh, wait…
GUTSVILLE #1 (OF 6)
Writer: Simon Spurrier Artist: Frazer Irving Publisher: Image Comics Reviewer: Sleazy G
Every now and again I stumble across a comic that reminds me that the ol’ “don’t judge a book by its cover” adage exists for a reason, and GUTSVILLE is certainly one of them. In fact, when I first saw the cover, heavy on the red and black, along with the name, my first instinct was to write it off as another trite zombie book. Since I don’t have the blind spot for zombie books that Ambush Bug does, I nearly passed the book by...until I noticed the artist was Frazer Irving. I’ve enjoyed some of his recent DC work, so I decided to flip through the book. I quickly found my initial assumption was completely off-base, and there was nary a zombie to be found. I figured “what the hell, it’s a slow week” and decided to grab a copy of the book. I’m glad I did, because I can honestly say this is the weirdest and most original concept I’ve seen in a long time.I’ll try to sum this up as best I can: a little over 150 years ago, a ship left England headed for Australia. A few days before they arrived, a terrible storm broke out and the ship went down. Instead of just sinking, though, it was swallowed by some sort of leviathan—and the people on board survived. Those people included puritanical religious zealots, thrill seeking aristocrats, and colonists seeking a new life. They get one, but it’s a completely unexpected and confusing one. Somehow, the people who had been on that ship manage to establish a colony inside the guts of the creature that swallowed it and have survived there for generations. The zealots have taken their beliefs and twisted them into a bizarre Christian sub-sect based on Jonah’s trials in the belly of the whale, and are now running the colony by bullying people with the threat of censure or execution for heresy. There’s also a group of aborigines swallowed around the same time who are treated as slaves, at least one of whom has been going on walkabout and seeing ancestral spirits guiding her.
And that’s just the background stuff. The real meat of the story has much more to offer: a serial killer called the NoSunMan stalking the colony, his most recent victim, the victim’s son who becomes the new Ratcatcher in town, a love triangle, a group of dissidents who want to try and escape the creature’s belly, a secret map that might lead to freedom through the back end of the digestive tract, executions by way of the creature’s acid secreting ducts…there’s more than enough weirdness here to keep you turning pages. And then, reflecting the prediction from the aborigine woman’s dreamwalk, the final page shows something black and dangerous swallowed by the beast that I can honestly say I didn’t see coming at all.
Along with all of this, there are supplemental pages in the back featuring text and visual descriptions of some of the bizarre creatures that coexist with the humans in the guts as well as the first installment of a murder mystery set in the colony. It’s basically an extra 8 pages of content in place of any ad pages whatsoever, and as far as I’m concerned that’s a helluva deal for your $2.99.
Oh, and the whole reason I decided to pick GUTSVILLE up and flip through it? Frazer Irving? His work here is fantastic. I’ll grant I was initially nervous because the denizens of the colony were somewhat reminiscent of the characters from DC’s SEVEN SOLDIERS: KLARION miniseries, also drawn by Irving. My concerns were put to rest very quickly, however. Irving draws those puritanical types like nobody’s business, and the panels often have the feeling of an etching or a daguerreotype, and it’s perfectly suited to the subject matter. What let me know this series was in good hands, though, were the pages where he showed his flexibility and skill by changing his style to suit the story when needed. There are a few pages which show the aborigine woman while she’s in communion with her ancestors/gods/spirits/whathaveyou, and it has a much more colorful, smoother, more flowing style than the rest of the book. In fact, there’s a one-page spread where he overlaps the aboriginal vision in a panel with the townsfolk, and it works quite well. Those pages, along with a few panels where we see the paintings of the resident artist in the village, offer bright splashes of color and a different feel than the rest of the book, and they’re enough to tell me that Irving’s a talent with more than just one trick up his sleeve.
GUTSVILLE is the most unusual, most thought-provoking, most off-beat book I’ve come across in quite a while, and I found I picked up on a few things after the second reading I didn’t notice in the first because there was so much to look at initially. This is the best book I’ve taken a chance on in a long time. I’ll definitely be in for the long haul on this one, and if you’ve grown bored with the same old stuff lately this is definitely one to check out.
NEWUNIVERSAL #6
Writer: Warren Ellis Penciler: Salvador Larroca Publisher: Marvel Comics Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
Now at the halfway mark of Warren Ellis' "sci-fi epic" and each issue has been a nice progression on the last. A nice chunk of the characters we've been introduced to this past half year have had their roles significantly expanded on in the big picture of the White Event, whilst we've also still been having some people of significance trickle in even though we're a good ways into this tale. I think what I'm trying to get at here is that while this book is definitely moving; the pacing thus far has been kind of odd, probably because this seems to definitely have the "big picture" of being a full-on story broken down into twelve segments. Not two-parter in six chapters each, not two halves of a whole; just one large scale story that happens to have been made in an industry that likes it installments monthly.The reason I'm getting into all this is that while most issues of NEWUNIVERSAL so far have had a bigger concept or character to introduce or whatever, this issue is a lull and kind of just fleshes out something more reflecting on the state of the book rather than furthering that state itself. And that actually kind of makes the reading of this particular issue a breeze-through. Sure, in the large scheme of things, i.e. reading this whole thing in trade, this will I assume be a nice little segue from those more introductory chapters I just got done mentioning to the big shebang-bang that is all but inevitable at this point for this world, but as a single installment, this is pretty lacking, even with all the word balloons that take on the first and last thirds of the book, since the middle third is all quiet action as Justice takes out some of his own on a section of the populace in front of him. Between that and Phil Voight basically giving a long-winded speech on why super humans are scary, that's really all that went on in this particular issue.
Like I said though, I'm not trying to belittle this issue in any way, or god forbid invoke the dreaded "d" word (Take the word "compression" and add a little prefix to it and you'll see what I'm talking about). Voight's little "Let Loose the Dogs of War" speech to the President as to where things can and will go is very ominous, as are the actions of Justice himself, but as important as these points are a whole issue dedicated to a plot transition we knew was coming from the get go tends to make this issue come out as less than inspired when on its lonesome.
And speaking of somewhat uninspired, as much as I love and respect Salvador Larroca's artwork, this issue for the most part was really, really off to me. First things first, I think all the actor references are finally starting to overwhelm me. We got Sawyer from LOST in here, Bruce Willis as Justice, heck, I think I finally just picked out James Cromwell as Agent Voight. It's gotten kind of excessive. Plus there's something very off about Sal's facial features here. Some of them are very awkward, like parts of the skull front have sunken in or something, or they look like they've been made out of wax. It's actually kind of eerie at times. It makes me wonder if maybe this has been rushed a little art chore-wise because I know Larroca has been a bit busy of late, not only doing this monthly but putting out the recent SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL and even doing covers for books like ULTIMATE FF. I have to assume that's the case because typically his art is stellar all around, but in this the facial anatomy kind of went to hell, even though his inanimates looked as detailed as ever, especially in the "Justice goes apeshit" scene.
The trade will remember this part well. As part of a giant hour long or whatever read this shift will actually probably be the biggest lynchpin that gets the main thrust of the book going. But even though I know and understand this, it still doesn't mean this actual individual three dollar purchase didn't really seem to satiate me much at all. It's just how these things work from time to time, "The Road to Hell is Paved with blahity blah blah" and all that. I think if anything I was just more disappointed with the art, because in a situation like this the art being completely on its game would have probably made this easier to swallow. So I guess that just means this "paradigm shift" had itself a little snag. Happens. It just means that the next issue will need to have just that little bit extra going for it to regain the little bit of lost momentum. I'm sure from what we've seen up to this point that won't be much of a problem.
FEAR AGENT VOL 1 "Re-Ignition" TPB
Writer: Rick Remender Artist: Tony Moore Publisher: Dark Horse Books Reviewer: Squashua
You see that cover over there? Man, that guy and that babe in the space suits are so totally about to get tentacle raped.What? Touchy subject? Get over it. If a nine year old kid can recognize that a cover is an homage to tentacle rape - I'm looking at you, HEROES FOR HIRE #13 - then there's something wrong with our society in that a kid that age can recognize it. Let me tell you, I'm just now getting around to realize just how out-and-out filthy some of the movies of my youth actually were. If people can't see the humor in a cover like that, they need to get some heads checked. Misogyny-be-damned.
So, back to the topic at hand, FEAR AGENT. Rather than splurge on the issues, I waited patiently for the trade, which collects issues 1-4 of the series for around $14. There's so much content that it sure seems like a lot more than four issues of content. The tale centers on Heath Huston, one of the last Fear Agents - a sort of Texas-originating, space-faring Marine Corps that probably dissolved long ago defending Earth against a number of amoeboid life-forms.
The action is non-stop, the artwork is top-notch, and the universe is deep and rich. Certainly it can be silly at times, and the first couple sequences with an intergalactic alien trucker felt a tad goofy, but once you get past that, the history to be had is definitely meaty. If you're into fun and pulpy sci-fi with a twisted bend to it, FEAR AGENT is for you, and this trade collection, complete with cover reproductions and with additional sketch content, is worth picking up.
BIRDS OF PREY #106
Writer: Gail Simone Artist: Nicola Scott Publisher: DC Comics Reviewer: Rock-Me Amodeo
The fact is, even on a bad day, I think Gail Simone can write rings around most writers. And this was not a bad day. Not her best stuff (she sets a high standard), but still one of the top three comics I read this month. If you haven’t been picking up BIRDS OF PREY since about issue 56 or so, you are missing out. If you didn’t pick up the SECRET SIX mini last year, you REALLY missed out. And right now, the Secret Six are mixing it up with the Birds, so I’m pretty happy about the whole thing.It has (for me) all the right elements of tension and humor, like the old “True Lies” movie – some parts are played for laughs, but you know Simone could just as easily kill anyone but a franchise player. I think that’s part of what I like when a really good writer revitalizes a bunch of these B-listers, because you know that half of them could get put down permanently, so the stakes always feel high within the story. And unlike some comics (cough* NIGHTWING *cough) we actually CARE about the characters who die, so the stakes don’t seem artificially high. One gets the feeling that Simone plots about 6 to 12 months ahead before beginning any arc.
It’s not that Simone is perfect. For every Catman or Ragdoll she brings to life, there’s a Vixen that is still insufferably dull. But when she shines…does anyone remember the story from a while back where she assembled some of the greatest hand-to-hand combatants on the planet to fight the Shiva-level Twelve Silk Brothers? Even the bad guys were daunted – “By the gods…is that Richard Dragon?!?” Makes me smile just thinking about it. And in the back story, Black Canary and Wildcat were working a scam in Asia to reroute drug traffic to a mob that Huntress was infiltrating. The whole thing was like an “Ocean’s Eleven” meets “Enter the Dragon.”
In this issue, we get six different 1-on-1’s. The two former Furies, Barda and Knockout, square off, Harlequin against Misfit, Ragdoll against Manhunter, etc. Some are played for laughs, some not so much. We get an inkling that Spy Smasher may not be the heartless power-grabber she seems to be (caring about the villagers – whatup?). And two memorable scenes with Creote – one between him and Huntress, which is pretty funny if you get the joke, and one between him and Ice, which was reminiscent of the scene between Logan and a brainwashed Jean Grey waaaaay back in UNCANNY X-MEN #110 (and we know how that turned out, so it was no surprise here, either--I couldn’t tell if it was an homage or a ripoff, but I like Simone so much, I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt).
Since this issue is the penultimate issue of the arc, so I recommend going back and grabbing the previous two, if you can, especially since Simone is leaving to concentrate on the poorly written Picoult problem, WONDER WOMAN. Get her while she’s hot. I’m not sure even Simone can save WONDER WOMAN, but I will follow her there when she does, if only because of the incredible job she has done on this book over the past five years.
LOADED BIBLE 2: THE BLOOD OF CHRIST #1
Writer: Tim Seeley Artist: Mike Norton & Mark Englert Publisher: Image Comics Reviewer: Ambush Bug
In the jaded world we live in today, when you look at something titled LOADED BIBLE and hear the concept, Jesus vs. Vampires, one may automatically think that this is going to be one of those books that will go the easy route and make fun of religion while emulating the “kewl” aspects of the vampire. In lesser hands, this would be the case. Fortunately, LOADED BIBLE is in hands fully capable of not only telling an enthralling story, but making it a true tale of good and evil without being all preachy about it.In my time as a comic book reviewer, I’ve had the privilege of reading religious comics and comics which adolescently emulate that which them deem as Satanism. In both cases, the message often outweighed the skill behind the story. These books read like brochures, more interested in knocking the other guy and promoting themselves rather than actually taking the time to make the read worthwhile.
Now, I’m not religious at all. But religion does interest me. To me, religion is yet another mythology like that of Ancient Greeks and Romans, or even more common mythologies such as Star Wars, Tolkien, and yes, even comic books. Something about mythology touches our souls. It gives meaning to that which has none and helps guide us in times of stress. Now, I don’t worship a short-stack of comics or drink from the blood drawn from the staples fastening the pages, but I have seen firsthand how comics, like religion, have drawn people together, given them an identity, and filled some kind of hole in their souls.
One thing I hate, though, is being preached to. Fortunately, LOADED BIBLE doesn’t have a preachy bone in its body, if comic books had bones, that is. LOADED BIBLE is simply an adventure/horror story that just happens to have the Son of God as its star. There’s no reading from the holy book or fingers pointing at certain people for doing certain things. This book has no time for all of that hooey. This book is simply a straight-up adventure yarn and I love it for being just that.
Props have to go to Tim Seeley for coming up with the story and running with it. He’s written a sympathetic Christ, one who just found out that he isn’t the Second Coming, but a clone made from genetic material made from the real Jesus. The world is in apocalyptic turmoil. Vampires run the show outside of a few remaining golden domes which house the last humans in America. These humans need something to believe in and a Jesus clone is just the thing to inspire people to fall in line. Although the government/church is trying to pass Jesus off as the real deal, the vampires have other ideas, beginning with demoralizing Jesus by revealing his true history to the supposed savior and then to the rest of the world by broadcasting it on TV. All of this happened in the last issue of this series of 48 page one-shots. Issue two deals with the ramifications of this revelation.
And like I said earlier, Jesus doesn’t mess around. He’s lopping off heads, tossing holy water, and skewering vamps with his broadsword. There’s something fun about seeing Jesus Christ at the heart of all of this hardcore action. And the thing is, Seeley makes sure to keep Jesus in character. He feels for these vampires and wants to find another way to deal with them. He’s a demoralized soul because he just found out that he isn’t what his creators said he was. He’s a shepherd without a flock. He’s a lost soul in need of redemption and purpose. These characteristics make for great drama and what make this a special read.
In the end, with a concept like Jesus vs. Vampires, LOADED BIBLE proves to be better than it should be. It grabs a ludicrous concept and takes it seriously, but not seriously to the point of preachiness--seriously to the point where you stop reading the book halfway to exclaim, “I’m having a blast reading this!” Seeley is on top of his game on the story department. LOADED BIBLE is a truly imaginative read that never forgets the importance of story and characterization. Don’t be scared that this is going to be a sacrilegious or preachy bore. Those adjectives don’t apply. LOADED BIBLE 2: THE BLOOD OF CHRIST is an adventurous and exciting ride and well worth checking out.
SHADOWPACT #13
Writer: Bill Willingham Artist: Scott Hampton Publisher: DC Comics Reviewer: Rock-Me Amodeo
Where’s the beef? For those of us who appreciate an issue devoted to off-stage characters, I have to say that this issue…really pushed me past my limits.We finally get resolution to the completely implausible cliffhanger of Enchantress keeping Nightmaster alive by force of will and sleep deprivation. But it should be noted that during the whole episode, we never got ONE clue that anyone on the team was doing ANYTHING about what would happen after she collapsed from exhaustion. I mean, wouldn’t it have been nice to bring Dr. Midnight, or a surgeon, or at least an undertaker on board for a consult? Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.
Then the team went in search of Blue Devil’s trident (recommended by 4 out of 5 rhyming demons) with a half a team of substitutes, some of whom were fleshed out better that our lead cast.
Now we get a whole ISSUE filled with other folks? Geez, Bill, if you didn’t want to use the people on the team, why are you writing the book? I don’t think we’ve had enough time to get to know many of our main players before a stunt like this could be pulled.
And every issue, we get the Phantom Stranger, in his typically overused role as the most formidable eunuch in the DCU (a position occupied at Marvel by Uatu) whose only real strength is a semi-palatable infodump. Every issue, the perpetually sour Stranger drones on and on about evil forces that exist only (or at least partially) for the demise of Shadowpact, who were (let’s face it) all D-listers about a year ago, and don’t seem to have move much higher up the food chain, frankly.
So Dr. Gotham has it in for them. He has enlisted the Sun King, baby, and I can’t imagine Fire Woman is very far behind, with a showdown set in the Sonic Temple. No wonder this book has a cult following.
But, I have a question. Why all the dark plots about destroying Shadowpact? Yeah, yeah, the Shadowpact is legendary (suuuurre they are)…but if they always get destroyed in the end, why are the bad guys taking them so seriously? Think about it for a second. They should be all happy and crap - “Woo-hoo! Finally, some good guys we KNOW are doomed! Woot!” Consider my disbelief officially unsuspended.
This issue, along with P.M.S. (PhantoM Stranger) we see the current developments of a punk, an evil guy, and an “angel.” The issue ends with a seemingly desperate attempt to show us other eeee-vil forces amassing against out heroes, but with one sentence each, how can we have any scope with which to dread? It’s like saying “stuff is gonna happen.” Well, duh! What stuff? Big stuff? Little stuff? Double-stuff, the mint-flavored kind?
Who knows. Who cares. All I know is that the last line had a typo, and the blurb for the next issue says “This would be a nice time for someone to quit the team.” Well, I couldn’t agree more. And that would be me.
LAST BLOOD webcomic
Website: www.lastblood.net Writer: Bobby Crosby Art: Owen Gieni Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Always a supporter of the zombie genre in comics, I checked out this little online comic and was glad I did so. Zombie stories seem to be a dime a dozen these days. It takes either some kind of special twist or some pretty durn good writing to stand out from the rest of the herd. This web comic has both. Basically, it is your typical zombie survival story. A group of characters are trapped in an abandoned school, taking refuge from the zombie menace outside.The twist is that soon after the zombies attack, a pair of vampires show up. At first they are mistrusted and seen as an equal threat, but after saving the survivors’ necks a few times, the crew realizes that the vampires are out to keep the humans alive. The premise makes sense. Vampires need the blood of live humans to survive. Zombies are thinning the herd, so to speak. So an enemy of my enemy is my friend sort of thing is going on, where the vampires struggle to keep the humans alive in order for themselves to survive.
An even cooler twist is the revelation later in the read regarding the close ties vampires and zombies have to one another. It is a relationship that makes sense. And that’s what I like about this story. It ties the two seemingly different monsters together and sets up new and interesting scenarios to play out the role reversal of the vampires.
On top of it all, there is some pretty imaginative writing going on regarding structure as well. I especially like the way the story started off with a zombie breaking free from a coffin in the middle of the ocean, walking up from the surf to claim its first victim and begin the zombie plague. It was an interesting way to set things off, draw the reader in, and prepare them for a wild ride.
Another aspect of LAST BLOOD that I found to be interesting is the way the story is presented on the web site. The creator seems to have big plans for this story. A page of the story is released every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and has been pretty consistent for the last five months and not only does he have a sequel already in the planning stages, but also plans on making this into his own independent film. It’s admirable to see this guy’s passion for his story. Each page also has some creator commentary towards the bottom of the page that gives the reader a behind the scenes look. This section shows the author’s thoughts and feelings about the page above, future plans for upcoming pages, and offers a glimpse into the creative process and how malleable storytelling can be once the images and text are put onto the page. This creator commentary was almost as interesting as the story itself.
My one critique of the story is the fact that the characters prove to be a bit flat. Much attention has been paid to the larger aspects of the story and its high concept, but I found some of the characters to be one note and interchangeable. But I have to say, developing a character or some kind of entertaining read one page at a time seems to be tough task. I was entertained as I clicked through the pages and I'm going to be returning to the web site to see which (if any) of the vampires and survivors live to tell another tale. The book was collected and distributed on Free Comic Day a few weeks ago and it is definitely worth your time. Plus it's free. A great zombie premise, some really nice artwork, and some very cool twists are just a click away. Check it out.
POSTCARDS: TRUE STORIES THAT NEVER HAPPENED OGN
Edited by Jason Rodriguez Written and Drawn by Various Contributors Published by Villard – Random House Reviewed by Ambush Bug
An idea is an amazing thing. A sentence, an image, a tiny snippet of music can spark one’s imagination and allow a writer or artist to take off in a dozen directions. All a good writer needs is just that one morsel of inspiration to tell a story worth reading. POSTCARDS: TRUE STORIES THAT NEVER HAPPENED is an anthology based on such inspiration.Editor Jason Rodriguez does a great job of framing this wonderful piece of graphic storytelling. In the intro he tells the reader how this book came to be. While out antiquing with his wife, Rodriguez stumbled upon a box of old postcards and soon came up with the concept that resulted in this book. Sending one of the postcards to a handful of artists and writers, these talented individuals used the snippets of information on the backs of the postcards and the images on the front to formulate short stories. Some of the age-old messages were comprised of a single sentence while others revealed intimate details. All were mysterious and personal. Rodriguez not only presents these postcards and the stories that were inspired by them, but explains his own thoughts about each postcard and how he came to choose which artist to send it to before each story.
The stories themselves are imaginative, intimate, and oftentimes beautiful snapshots of life, adventure, and drama. The cast of contributors is extremely impressive. Harvey Pekar (AMERICAN SPLENDOR), Tom Beland (TRUE STORY, SWEAR TO GOD), Phil Hester (GREEN ARROW), Rob G (Ait/Planet Lar’s THE COURIERS), Stuart Moore (PUNISHER X-MAS SPECIAL), Joshua Hale Fialkov (ELK’S RUN), Ande Parks (CAPOTE IN KANSAS), and Antony Johnston (WASTELAND) make up the talented cast of writers and artists contributing to this book.
All of these stories struck a chord with me, but a few stand out as the best of the bunch. I was surprised by Phil Hester’s beautifully written and drawn entry about an awkward relationship between a father, his young wife, and his son. This story unfolds like a blooming flower revealing scandalous layers followed by beautiful revelations as the boy is forced to become a man and only realizes how special his relationship was with his stepmother long after he has left home. Known for his work on GREEN ARROW, this story surprised me with not only Hester’s beautiful artwork, but the poetry and depth in his words.
Another story which stood out was by Tom Beland, about a lonely man who welcomes death. This tale isn’t haunting or morose, but touching and sweet.
There are quite a few heartbreakers in this book, but none compare to the story of a little tomboy who is dead set against wearing her dress despite how much her mother wants to see her in it. The story sounds innocent and downright bland, but the last few panels were a gut punch to me and I challenge anyone not to be affected by how this story by James W. Powell ends. Another heartbreaker comes from ELK’S RUN creator Joshua Hale Fialkov who tells a story of a couple who has fled America and gone to France and how hard acclimating to a new environment can be.
There’s a fun story about Tic Tac Toe con artists by Stuart Moore, a haunting story of a quarantine by Jason and RJ Rodriguez, and another snapshot into the grumbling life of Harvey Pekar wrapping up this wonderful compilation.
I’m not really doing these stories justice with my descriptions. Told out of context these stories may seem bland or everyday. And the truth is, they are. These are intimate, real life stories about lovers and liars, adventurers and cowards, heroes and villains. The time and effort spent in each story is evident. Editor Jason Rodriguez says that postcards were the first forms of text messaging. They were written in code or in-speak, often vague or unclear to anyone except the writer and the person the card was intended for. These snapshots in time were all these writers and artists needed to take off to make this truly memorable graphic novel. If you want to try something new in the indie market, but are afraid to take a chance, try POSTCARDS: TRUE STORIES THAT NEVER HAPPENED. I doubt you will be disappointed.
THE SPIRIT #6 DC Comics
Another excellent entry in Darwyn Cooke's take on the Eisner classic, I think this latest issue of THE SPIRIT has drawn me in a good bit more than any of the previous outings. The big factor here is the depth of the story, which literally spans the lifetime of a very bitter and tragic soul, August Blue. Going from quiet piano prodigy in his youth all the way to revolutionary punk rocker in his maturity thanks to the help of a special little blue rock from outer space, this is a very troublesome and moody tale that only Darwyn Cooke could tell. I've said before that since each issue is more of a "one-off" tale this book doesn't always leave me in anticipation of the next, but when it's in my grubby mitts I'm still always amazed and just how much story Cooke can cram into each issue, using every panel and storytelling device to get out as much depth and meaning he can on the page. At the very least this book is a textbook on how to tell a comic book tale, but it's also a book that's rife with so much genuine emotion in its ink that it feels like it truly is channeling the great Will Eisner himself. This is just good comics. - Humphrey
IRON MAN: HYPERVELOCITY #5 Marvel Comics
I didn’t want to like this series. Really. I’m not an Iron Man fan (even before Marvel started portraying Tony Stark’s favorite drink as being a vinegar and water.) But darned if this series didn’t grab me with its high concept (a virtual Tony running at 85% intellectual capacity) and clever writing. I think the series hooked me in #2 when Tony talks about the suit activating tactical autonomy if he’s incapacitated or “just too meat-slow to keep up in a Mecha fight.” Man! That speech made this little cyberpunk’s ears perk right up! Issue #5 carries the plot along, though the Tonyghost pummeling goes on a bit too long and we get to see perhaps the most disturbing aberration of Tony’s love for the Avengers that one could imagine. But overall, I have liked this series. Next issue is the last, and three characters say it will be interesting. I’m inclined to agree. As pointless mini-series go, this one has been beautifully drawn and fun to read. – Rock-Me
WONDER WOMAN #9 DC Comics
This issue of WW puts two W’s in YAWWN! With a piss poor lead-in and late distribution schedule from the beginning of this series, I’m beginning to think the only way to fix the mess WONDER WOMAN has rapidly unwound into is yet another reboot. Sure, Terry Dodson’s art is nice to see. He draws a wicked-decent pair of woman glutes like no other. But it’s the story that makes this one a true stinker. I can understand the appeal of trying to bring talent from outside of the comic book industry to spark new life in these age-old icons and I can’t fault write Jodi Picoult for trying, but in the end, this book reads like it was written by someone who has never read a comic book before. In the middle of a full scale assault, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and Black Canary meet to chat for about two pages. Said chat could have been much more dynamic had it occurred during some kind of action sequence, but alas it doesn’t and screeches the comic, which started out blazing with the destruction of the Washington Monument, to a halt. But it’s the character and the universe of Diana that the writer just doesn’t get. Such misses have been popping up throughout the last few issues with Diana not knowing what credit cards are or how to pump gas even though she’s been in Man’s World for years. But what really annoyed me was the Spice Girls and Chicago Cubs reference Circe drops while battling Wonder Woman. If I am to believe that Diana doesn’t know how a credit card works, but gets these pop culture references? And why are such references used by two warriors from an ancient civilization in the first place? This line of forced and unfunny humor took me completely out of the story, and I wasn’t really invested in it in the first place. Gail Simone…take me away! - Bug
HELLBLAZER #232 DC Vertigo
Just a couple issues into his run on what should be the Vertigo flagship title and Andy Diggle is really treating his long-term readers. In true HELLBLAZER fashion this issue features a little bit of the ole sleight of hand. We get an opening sequence involving Constantine suiting up but instead of his usual trenchcoat and shirt and tie we're treated to some of the Constantine of old as he dons his dress blues that he first showed up in way back when a certain Alan Moore introduced the character. And while the story itself seems to be following a rather nonchalant story about Johnny boy spending his time away gambling about some swanky digs, it actually turns out to be something very integral to the character’s past. And it's also nice to see that Diggle has acknowledged some little confusion about our lead's last name while he was at it (yes, it's pronounced like "fine" not "teen"). Each issue so far has been like coming home again, and it looks like Diggle is going to be doing what he can to bring back a little history to this long-running title and shake things up a bit. These past couple issues have definitely been a sign that this book is in very good hands again and I'll be anticipating it all for as long as it lasts. - Humphrey
