X-FACTOR #39

Writer: Peter David
Artist: Valentine DeLandro (pencils), Craig Yeung (inks)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
A Two-In-One Review from Ambush Bug and BottleImp

AMBUSH BUG (BUG): Damn. Just...damn.

BOTTLEIMP (IMP): I’d like to second that “Damn,” and add my own “Holy F#*%ing Crap.”

BUG: This book reminds me of a George Foreman fight I saw quite a few years ago. Foreman was once known as a powerful fighter in his day. Big, mean, nasty. Anyone who watched the documentary WHEN WE WERE KINGS knows what I mean. But when George resurfaced during the nineties, he had one of those pleasant demeanors, presenting as a teddy bear of a guy, nothing like the jackhammer punching machine of old. But then, when the bell rang and George went out to fight that comeback fight, shades of the old Foreman started to surface and by the end of the match, the fighter with teeth and a punch that could shatter mountains proved that he still had what it took to hang with the big dogs.

X-FACTOR #39 proves that Peter David, one of my all time favorite writers, has what it takes to still write stories as powerful as a Foreman right to the jaw. This issue hits hard and doesn't pull back. In a time when event books give new meaning to the words light and fluffy, David is still churning out stories with heft, leaving the characters changed and not on some kind of hokey comic book level where most writers only know how to deconstruct and rebuild stuff. David's X-FACTOR started out with a bang. Or better yet his MADROX miniseries did so. I loved what David did with a once B-list character. He recognized the cool powers he had and the potential for the character. Now I would definitely class Madrox as an A-Lister in the Marvel U or he's at least damn near close.

IMP: I totally agree with you, although I’m sure most readers (even those who are fans of X-FACTOR) would hesitate to put Madrox in the same list as Wolverine, Spider-Man or Captain America. It all comes down to how one defines an A-List character—and I think that while you can base your ranking on how many books the character appears in each month, the flashiness of a costume, or how “badass” a character is in a fight, both you and I look at the facets that make Madrox a genuinely intriguing person rather than a four-color cutout of a superhero. And that’s what Peter David has done with X-FACTOR all along, starting way back with issue #71 of the series’ first volume, when he took a bunch of mutants that were the idiot bastard children of the X-World and molded them into deeper, more human characters than Cyclops or Wolverine had ever been.

BUG: Yeah, but the last year has been rough on the book. Crossovers with the other X-books and the Skrull Invasion along with artwork that was less than good (Sorry, Stroman, but this latest set of issues you did were just plain bad) had me debating about whether or not to keep this series on my pull list.

Then an issue like this one comes along and I'm glad I stuck through the hard times.
IMP: You and me both. I get the feeling that every time he’s forced to tie his writing into whatever crossover event Marvel is pushing at that particular time, a little bit of David’s soul shrivels up and hides in the corner. I’m just glad that he toughed it out through the “Messiah Complex” and “Secret Invasion” nonsense and came out swinging. Remember when Peter David left his first run of X-FACTOR in the middle of a Genosha story arc? Let’s all be thankful that he’s not abandoning the best-written X-title because of another case of “crossover-itis.”

BUG: Then we wouldn’t have gotten such a perfect issue like this. In the intro, Mr. David requested for people not to rush to their computers and give away the ending. Out of respect for Mr. David who wrote such a powerful and memorable story, I don't want to give a damn thing away about this issue other than the fact that it deals with the birth of Madrox and Siren's baby. And that it is such a GOOOOOOOOD story.

IMP: A lot of comics out there try for “The Moment”—you know, a few panels or a page or two that reach out and grab the reader by the throat and plant themselves indelibly in the brain. Grant Morrison really tried for that with the “death” of Batman in FINAL CRISIS…but just compare that scene with the last seven pages of X-Factor #39. Sweet zombie Jesus. There’s been a lot of talk about Morrison and his “experimental” comic book stories, but David has done more to turn superhero comics on their head in those seven pages than Morrison has in CRISIS’ six published issues.

BUG: And, finally, the art is up to par too. With DeLandro's pencils and Yeung's inks, no one looks alien and you can make out what's going on. And that's all I ask for when it comes to art in this comic. His characters are clear and this art team highlights the best part of this book--Peter David's fine story. X-FACTOR has had some difficulty keeping its artist on board for a while. Here's hoping this team sticks around.

IMP: I’ll say it again: X-FACTOR is home to mutantdom’s…hell, I’d even venture to say comicdom’s most deeply faceted and human superheroes. It’s only fitting that this series has an artist like DeLandro who so well conveys visually that attitude of extraordinary people in an everyday world.

BUG: I wish I could say more and maybe when a week passes (when this review is posted on AICN) and more people have read the book, we can talk more, but rest assured that Peter David is writing at the top of his game again. He promises huge ramifications and cliffhangers. He's promising that X-FACTOR is going to be something to shout about again. If this issue is any indication, he's keeping his word.

IMP: Even though I really love the current dynamic of the team, I can’t resist putting in one plea to Mr. David: bring back Layla Miller and Quicksilver! Those One-Shots whetted my appetite for these two fantastic characters (well, one fantastic character and one who was MADE fantastic only when Peter started writing him) and I’m hoping that X-FACTOR has room set aside for them. But with David’s writing and DeLandro’s art as good as they are, this title remains tops on my list.

BUG: These old writers (I'm sure Mr. David would object to being called old, but I consider him one of the elder wise men of comics), they may have been writing for years and some may think that the glory days of those old great HULK stories are behind him, but then he comes out of nowhere with a haymaker like this issue and as you put down the book with a blown mind, you remember why he will be remembered as one of the greats.

IMP: Shall we say it together?

BUG & IMP: X-FACTOR's good again. Woo-hoo!

TERMINATOR: SALVATION MOVIE PREQUEL #1

Writer: Dara Naraghi
Artist: Alan Robinson
Inker: Alan Robinson
Publisher: IDW comics
Reviewer: William

It’s been over two decades since the iconic T1 and T2 first came into theaters, and only a few years since the lukewarm T3 finished out the original trilogy. (Hey I liked T3, but I never truly loved it. It gave its best effort but everything always came out as being sort of “meh”, as if it was just one step away from creating anything truly memorable). Now we have the beginning of a whole new Terminator trilogy, starting with Terminator: Salvation and this prequel comic limited series associated with it. Being a huge Terminator fan, and one who is excited but still cautious about the upcoming movie, I decided to pick up a copy and see what kind of whole new world is being brought to us by the McG/Bale team.

First off it’s interesting to note how much of a different, and yet similar, environment this apparent Terminator trilogy will be. Different in that we’re finally going to see the much discussed, but seldom seen, Judgement Day wars. Forget the whole living in the present, one Terminator sent after John Connor thing. We’re finally able to see the day to day battles that made up the epic Judgement Day war (whether or not that’s a good thing is still up for debate, as there once was a time that fans everywhere had so many exciting notions about what the Clone Wars were like, at least since Alec Guiness first mentioned that casual throwaway line in the first Star Wars movie. Now that we’ve seen the results, were they truly up to expectations?).

Similar in that much of this film will apparently have a Mad Max kind of theme going with it, where the lives of a few survivors from a catastrophic event will be chronicled throughout various desolate and desert-like atmospheres. Mix Mad Max along with the last Resident Evil movie and you’ll get the sense of how this comic is previewing the upcoming movie.

So with all that was mentioned what does this comic then bring along as a surprise? Well it’s interesting to see how much of a downgrade the Terminators will get within this new saga. What I mean is that one can easily follow the progressive technological trend that the Terminators had within the original Trilogy. There was the basic Terminator in T1; the upgraded T-1000 in T2, and finally the combo T-101/T-1000 that was the T-X in T3. Now, at least according to this comic, we’re backpedaling to a more basic Terminator, as we’ll see the beginnings of the first human-disguised Terminators used by Skynet for its infiltrations. And let me tell you this, the results are horrific. The first panel of this Terminator makes it look like someone awkwardly stuck a bald Michael Myers type mask over its head, only they forgot to cover his easily identifiable red robot eyes with a human’s. (If you’ve seen the recently leaked Terminator: Salvation toys, then you know who I’m talking about). The scared comment by one of the poor saps who first discovers it is “it’s one of them new models that supposed to look like us”, which makes me wonder who the hell Skynet is fooling with these models. We’re also introduced to a cool-looking Sidewinder Terminator, apparently a serpent-like robot that is used by Skynet within desert parts of the world.

At least on the human side it’s fun to read how certain characters are responding to the recent war. There’s the usual “we need to save the world” civilians that join John’s army, but what’s really interesting is the new angle brought along from others. These so-called “Survivalists” have instead chosen not to fight alongside John but rather ride out the war, seeking to hide as long as they can by living “under the radar”. Whether or not they play an important part of the upcoming movie is still left to be seen, but it’s still interesting to see.

The artwork by Alan Robinson is decent enough, with hints of Mike Mignola apparent throughout the pages. In the early parts of the comic we see the worldwide results brought about by the Terminators on some famous landmarks, and it’s impressive enough to see. Dara Naraghi’s writing is crisp and clear. Within the first few pages of the comic we’re properly introduced to all the new settings and players, with just enough info given when needed without spoiling any upcoming events. If you’re looking for anything John Connor related, though, forget about it. He gives a brief voice over at the beginning of this issue, and is seen in an even more brief flashback later on, but that’s it. This series seems to be devoted to the all new concepts and characters coming from the new movie, and even without a devotion to John Connor things still seem very interesting thus far.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #584

Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: John Romita Jr.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee

Culminating about - god can you believe it already - a year's worth of nearly weekly Spidey stories, "Character Assassination" is here to finally shake things up a bit and give us some revelations. Really, what it is here to do is make me fess up a bit. You see, I was definitely one of those detractors that said that after "One More Day" (mind you, still one of the biggest FUBARs and worst story arcs I've ever read) I probably wasn't going to be buying any Spider-Man comics any time soon. I wavered slightly when I saw that Dan Slott, a man I figured was born to write Spidey, was announced as part of the "Brand New Day" crew, but for a handful of months I was pretty stalwart in my stance. But I kept my eye on the book. I watched as Slott and Guggenheim mostly did the heavy lifting and started reintroducing characters and developing all these storylines we're starting to see come to a head here with this big arc. I saw lots of artists rotate in on the book that I absolutely love, including the astounding Marcos Martin and the return of JRJR to the pages of this book. And recently we've seen some of the guys I wasn't too thrilled to see as part of the BND squad slowly rotate out a bit and peeps like Mark Waid and Joe Kelly show up from time to time to put in their input on the guy in the red and blue PJs...

And that's how they started to win me over...”One More Day” might have been a giant brown stain in the bowl, but now that bit of porcelain has been all scrubbed down and is sparkly and smells Winter Green fresh...

... okay, that was a horrible analogy. But the book is good, and as much as I want to be all fanboy rage about the shitty way they got to this point, I can't. I'm not forgetting it, and part of me will always hold it against them, but these are good Spidey stories we're seeing here. Damn good ones at times too (i.e. The Joe Kelly-penned Flash Thompson issue. God that was emotional). There's good creative crews that are working here and there's direction. There's lots of plots and sub-plots roaming about here, as we're seeing with this first part of “Character Assassination” here. There's the mayoral race that has been an underlying theme for several months now, the Spider-Tracer killer that has been a mystery for just as long and put Spidey even more on the run than usual because of it. Then there's Menace, J. Jonah's father, Harry and his shenanigans...there's just a bunch of good material here and it's been juggled very well the past several months because the thrice-monthly format actually really does work for a book like this; I really don't know if it would work for any other ongoing Big Two character, just because Spidey has definitely been the character that has benefited most from his more "grounded" roots and his interaction with tons of supporting characters. There's been a couple lackluster issues out of the thirty or so since we've started this format, and some stuff like the whole Jackpot hullabaloo has failed miserably, but I'd say 80% of them are just good Spidey comics.

Now, this issue itself - again the first part of an arc that apparently is going to give us a lot of answers - is another pretty good read. Despite it trying to cover a bunch of those plot points I mentioned earlier, particularly the Spider-Tracer Killer (which gave us a great lead-in involving Shocker and Boomerang to kick it off) this issue doesn't really feel that crowded. Actually, if anything comes out of this arc, I'm almost afraid that too much will be resolved and we'll be facing a whole slew of brand new themes and plots which may be a little jarring, though I don't think that will be the case. At the least I imagine we'll see more material involving Mr. Negative and I'm sure Norman Osborn will rear his now all powerful head again, but I digress. There's a bunch of great little character moments in here, from Spidey's quipping as he flees from the cops (again) to the villains I mentioned earlier, to J to the third power as he's rehabbing his heart issues against a punching bag, to a revelation at the end that might be a little too out of nowhere, but at the same time works kind of nicely. And yes, the book looks fantastic under JRJR's pencils, as we all know the man was pretty much born to draw Spidey (and it also helps that he's got the field legend Klaus Janson inking him, which always makes his work "pop" that much more when they're teamed for some reason).

So yes, Spidey comics are good. "Character Assassination" is starting off good as well. This book is by no means the best thing I read every time it comes out, but sometimes it comes close and that combined with the consistency of it means a heck of a lot considering how many issues come out over a month, year, etc. Really, right now the only thing I'm hoping that comes out of this, like I said before, is that we don't come out of this with so many plot threads tied up that it becomes a case of "Okay, here's a whole bunch of new shit now to follow all that shit!". And I hope this doesn't get too bogged down in “Dark Reign” either. I know it's a no-brainer given the whole Osborn situation and the past with Spidey, but I think we're juggling enough as it is. Spidey, and Peter Parker himself really, are in a good place right now. He's got enough on his plate to give you that feeling he's stressed, but it's nothing so overwhelming that the book has sunk back into the depressing, overly melodramatic schlock this book was peddling up to and including “One More Day”. But so far Slott and Guggenheim and crew have really nailed that balance, and I have faith they can keep it going for a good while longer. As long as that happens, I'm willing to keep giving this book the benefit of the doubt.

Humphrey Lee has been an avid comic book reader going on fifteen years now and a contributor to Ain't It Cool comics for quite a few as well. In fact, reading comics is about all he does in his free time and where all the money from his day job wages goes to - funding his comic book habit so he can talk about them to you, our loyal readers (lucky you). He's a bit of a social networking whore, so you can find him all over the Interwebs on sites like Twitter, The MySpaces, Facebookand a Blogger Account where he also mostly talks about comics with his free time because he hasn't the slightest semblance of a life. Sad but true, and he gladly encourages you to add, read, and comment as you will.

THE MIGHTY AVENGERS # 21

Written with the usual Dan Slott madness
Drawn with the usual Khoi Pham magnificence
Published with the usual Marvel marvel
Reviewed with the usual Stones Throw mendacity

This was a great issue of THE AVENGERS, building expertly upon the momentous events of previous issues, while establishing a new roster that already looks like being one of the most exciting in the title’s history. I have to say, I was surprised with some of the characters in the new team. Captain America’s back and he’s heading a group that looks like it won’t be able to stop fighting amongst itself long enough to fight any villains. Cap and Hawkeye engage in some classic rivalry for the team’s alpha male position, while you get the sense that Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are both quietly disdainful of them.

I was pleased to see Hawkeye in his most famous costume, and you understand perfectly why a former circus performer and criminal would have to act with such an inflated sense of ego around the WWII vet and national hero Captain America, who he calls “Methuselah”. Insult of insults, Clint asks him “how’d we ever win the war with you on our side?” Hawkeye’s the only character that can provoke the normally placid Cap like this. But when the Scarlet Witch confronts him about his behavior, he thinks (in a great use of the thought balloon) “She’s right! But I’ll be hanged if I’ll admit it!”, a wonderful bit of character writing.

Don’t get me wrong, though, there’s a villain, and a pretty damn cool one at that. Resurrecting a plot device from all the way back in AVENGERS (vol. 1) #9, a mercenary employed by Baron Zemo stumbles across the machinery that turned Simon Williams into Wonder Man. We don’t need any complex motivations with this guy--he’s out for power and power alone, and when that’s combined with the machinations of the Enchantress, the Avengers are in trouble.

The art was great, bold and expansive, impressing especially in the frequent, fast-moving fight scenes (which feature, in no particular order, an exploding train carriage, a super-speed chase and a return of Cap’s heli-car).

I laughed when Erik Josten said he didn’t want his superhero name to be “anything as corny as Wonder Man” and the Enchantress picked Power Man (I guess since Luke Cage mostly goes by Luke Cage these days). I also liked the idea of a whole room of Kirby-style machinery going on the blink because of a short fuse. Pretty funny.

Best of all, though, was the twist ending, which leaves you wondering if Captain America, accused of treachery by scheming city politicians, unable to control a rebellious young team and upstaged by a villain posing as a hero, is still cut out for early 21st century life. I can’t wait to see where they go next with this, and I’m looking forward to many more AVENGERS issues from this team!

MYSTERIUS THE UNFATHOMABLE #1

Writer: Jeff Parker
Art:Tom Fowler
Publisher: DC Wildstorm
2 in 1 Reviewers: Humphrey Lee and steverodgers

Bug note: Sometimes two @$$Holes dib the same book for review. In those instances, a Thunderdome-style death-match is held to see which one gets to review it. But occasionally, as with today’s case, there’s a draw, so we said “What the hell, let them both review it…” Enjoy the double dibbage.

steverodgers: A fun, light-hearted magic comic from Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler that centers on a mysterious magic-type for hire named Mysterious and his new partner, a former snarky alt-paper reporter who has curious abilities of her own. The art has a Mad Magazine feel to it, with everyone expressively faced with lank limbs and bendy joints and our hero sporting a wild booze nose. The backgrounds are richly-detailed, giving the comic a timeless feel, even though it’s set in the present day. The thrust of the story is not super clear, but there is a séance and a humorous trip to Hell that goes very badly.

Mysterious plays fast and loose with his magic (never a good idea, says John Constantine), and has a hard time paying his bills. The comic ends on a rather bland cliff-hanger, but there is enough happening, humor and quirk that I am willing to give the second issue a shot to see where things go.

And now for another opinion…


Humphrey Lee: The best way to describe this book is "Quirk". Pure, unadulterated quirk. From the way we're introduced to our title character - via his new assistant, Ella - all the way to his "aloof" and kind of downright scoundrel-like ways of treating all those around him. I know it's not exactly the most effective term to describe something, but this is one neat little book. It's humorous and pretty creative and whimsical as it goes through the paces. If anything, I can say this book has probably the most unexpected sense of casualness I've seen when it comes to a scenario of someone getting damned to purgatory due to a FUBARed seance. That's really the best way I can kind of sum up this little ditty.

And the Tom Fowler art really nails all this home too. If there's any big reasons to recommend this book, which by now if you haven't figured out I'm giving this book a pretty enthusiastic thumbs up, it's Fowler's comical and slightly exaggerated pencil work. This looks to be a pretty fun and under the radar ride. A "fantastical distraction" from the norm to put it one way.

I highly recommend checking this out in some way or the next. A trade wait wouldn't be a bad idea to see if it pans out and is able to keep up the pace, but I think it'll make a great afternoon read when it's all done and collected.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #28

Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Simone Bianchi
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Optimous Douche

You can truly sum up this latest issue of parallel earth searching X-Men with one simple phrase: a great story, suffocated by heavy lines and claustrophobic panels.

Many have voiced their distaste for Bianchi’s panels since Ellis took over AXM. And it’s understandable to see a certain amount of resistance when a style breaks convention, as Bianchi has with the almost charcoal feel he puts on the page. Don’t believe me on this theory about resistance to change – just look at the number one retort from any vehement defenders of FINAL COLITIS.

We all hate certain art for whatever reason. Personally, I can’t stand manga/anime for the gaping piehole eyes and over-the-top expressions that make the “Facts of Life” cast look like Shakespearean actors. Others find Quitely an ugly artist, where I think he bleeds genius on every page. Bianchi seems to be one of those equally polarizing artists inciting either glee or nausea with every deep deep push of his pen.

Prior to this issue I wouldn’t have called myself a Bianchi fan, but I also was not quite sure why there was so much fanboy venom spewing in his direction. Were his panels a wee bit dark and dusky? No doubt. But the grand sweeping panels of the alien graveyard or the new X-Complex made me forgive a room or two bathed in black. His detailed and unique face work made me look past the fact that Beast likes to work by blacklight. There was always a balance of Bianchi’s strong suit to counterbalance his shortcoming of defining tight spaces. This issue, though, unfortunately drew a neon sign around the chink in Bianchi’s talent armor by taking place all indoors.

Like I said, I love Bianchi’s close-ups, and this book is wrought with them. I applaud the fact that Wolverine actually looked like he was wearing a mask instead of his costume appearing to be a second skin as most artists tend to do these days (seams, boys--seams). However an entire issue of close-ups simply becomes boring after a point. Yes, there were a few moments of action as the X-Men explored the Chinese temple once powered by mutant talents, but they were all darker than a 1970s New York Porn theater.

The real shame in all this is the fact Ellis continues to unravel the mysteries behind the Ghost Boxes and the lack of mutants across the multiverse with his trademark great dialogue and humor. There is also an awesome “rosebud” moment that gave me anticipatory sweats for the next issue. It’s just that when every great line is delivered from a ¾ face against a back drop of mossy green blurs, you begin to wish you were just reading Ellis’ script of the book so you could imagine your own background and setting.

When Optimous Douche isn’t reading comics and misspelling the names of 80’s icons, he “transforms” into a corporate communications guru. "What if the whole world had superpowers? Find out in the pages of Optimous’ original book AVERAGE JOE. Read the first full issue on Optimous’ New Blog and see original sketches by fellow @$$hole Bottleimp. If you are a publisher or can help these guys get AVERAGE JOE up, up, and on the shelves in any way, drop Optimous a line."

THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE Vol 8

Written by Eiji Otsuka
Art by Housui Yamazaki
Release by Dark Horse Manga
Reviewer: Scott Green

Though volume eight is not THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE’s strongest, it does underscore what's significant about the manga. Horror is often at its best when directed towards a social statement. Yet, I question some of what's said by horror anime and manga. For example, there are airs of social withdrawal and/or authoritarianism in a lot of the horror manga that concern revenge, the consequences of breaking taboo or hidden dangers. People are dangerous... The rules of the universe are actively malevolent... Your desires will destroy you... This manga stands in stark contrast. One look at Housui Yamazaki's illustrations of a rotting corpse is sure to dissuade any thoughts THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE being sugar coated, yet the subtext to the manga is about opening your eyes to the world and becoming socially engaged. I've called THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE a liberal arts inspired manga, but the tone of the manga is also essentially liberal. It's a neat trick to make horror scary and not about hiding or running away, but Eiji Otsuka pulls it off with whit and irreverence.

Though THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE remains a superlatively literate, intelligent horror manga, I don't feel that volume eight is the series' strongest. It's not a matter of narrative momentum, because while the manga has been developing an overarching plot concerning opposing forces and history catching up with the titular supernatural problem solvers, the appeal of the manga has always been the short stories featuring Eiji Otsuka's hybrids of buried cultural phenomena and current concerns, along with Housui Yamazaki's disturbing images. Volume seven may have hit a zenith with celebrity branding grafted onto plastic surgery, the ear mouse, jinmenso (a supernatural tumor with a human face) and multiple revenge plots in one particular story. I suspect Otsuka has too many interest, too many opinions and too much knowledge ever to present anything entirely simplicity. However, volume eight is something of a step back to basics.

THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE has moved from one anthology to another a number of times during its Japanese serialization. It's been in KADOKAWA MYSTERY and SHONEN ACE (home of many manga adaptations of anime, such as SAMURAI CHAMPLOO and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, as well as other violent manga such as MPD PSYCHO). It became part of Comic Charge, a manga anthology for young businessmen launched in 2007. If you've been following recent manga industry news, Comic Charge has recently been cancelled, and THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE, along with writer Eiji Otsuka's MPD-PSYCHO and Yakumo Hyakkai are slated to move to a new anthology this summer.

The relevance of this history is that I strongly suspect that volume eight catches THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE in the wake of one of these transitions. The first story in particular has the hallmarks of an introduction for new readers. "A Cafe in a Campus Town" finds the members of THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE handing out fliers for what they're calling the Kurosagi CMM (Cash-Money-Makin') Club at the enrollment ceremony for the Chiyoda School of Buddhism. You could call this ploy to cast themselves as an entrepreneurial venture in order to lure in new students at the Buddhist collect "half clever", except, perspective members might be a little wary when they see that KCMMC's flyers read "Why be broke when you could stack up bills like bodies? You must have one of the following qualifications to join: 1) like or have interest in corpses. 2) Can speak with spirits. 3) Have special abilities that others do not." Still, five potential newbies are misguided enough to show up at the Kurosagi welcome party. Kursagai's scant budget puts off most of these trial members. Then, they begin meeting the members of the group. Ao Sasaki is the manager and IT specialist or "hacker". She is quick to show off her abilities by pulling up coroner's photos from a tracker accident in California. Then there's Makoto Numata, who can dowse, but only corpses. As such, he's not too impressed by a newcomer who's good at finding lost wallets. Yuji Yata can channel an alien, who speaks vulgarities through a sock puppet. Keiko Makino is an American trained embalmer, and has a sample of her work on hand. Finally, Kuro Karatsu is an itako, a priest who can call up spirits of the deceased. In response to being over-educated and underemployed, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service was established to transport the bodies of the deceased to where they need to be. The business is about as profitable as it sounds. So, after weirding out, grossing out or offending most of the prospective recruits, the survivors are taken to the group's familiar stomping grounds of Aokigahara Forest, where, as in previous stories, they locate the remains of a suicide victim. After some grisly illustrations from Yamazaki examine the results of leaving a corpse in a wooded area, the plot launches into a nice ghost story from Otsuka, concerning the spiritual resolution of the body's owner.

I've written this description in such a way as to strip out the clues to nature of the haunting the haunting because, ultimately, it's the kind of ghost story that litters folklore. In most of THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE stories, this would be embellished with some esoteric anthropology or unexpected modern issues. Here, the simplicity puts the focus on the particulars of the manga: the unique characters that comprise the titular business, and the unflinchingly graphic depictions of the business' cases.

It's a fine horror anthology story, but not an outstanding entry in THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE. Though reduced from the manga's potential, it's a moving story, with bittersweet notes of reconciliation that suit THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE. Few, if any, North American readers are going to start with volume eight of the manga, but if anyone did, they'd find that the story eased them into the premise.

Other stories in the volume aren't Kurosagi's best either. The center piece pulls from Otsuka's acedemic study of folklore. It concerns Shigo Kekkon. As Sasaki describes it

"They did it in Northeastern Japan. Similar rites existed in Okinawa... China, Taiwan, and Korea, too. You can find instances of it throughout East Asian Society.”

It was most prevalent in China, where a woman's death expenses are the responsibility of the family she's married off to. If you died single, there's no one to bury or mourn for you. So, by marrying her to someone's son who's died single, the son is honored with a wife... in exchange for footing the cost of his new bride's burial."

Otsuka repackages Shigo Kekkon as Afterlife Marriage, marketed to the well-to-do. At the same time, the story pulls in what's happening among the economically challenged, specifically a struggling artist taking menial jobs and spending his nights in manga cafe's.

The plot is informed by a deep foundation of knowledge and opinion. In a way, Otsuka's work is a bit like MASAMUNE SHIROW without cluttter or MAMORU OSHII without the hang-ups. Manga readers are accustomed to seeing this sort of knowledge with science, machinery or the specific subject of a title. For example, GUNSMITH CATS is refined by Kenichi Sonoda's precise depictions of firearms and cars. Yakitate!! Japan has more about bread making than you'd ever want to know. Seeing this interest and knowledge applied to anthropology definitely distinguishes THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE among manga titles. The problem is that the volume does not distinguish itself among Kurosagi's more inspired stories. It does feature plenty of ghostly manifestations, which allow Yamazaki to work the sort of cinematic "J-horror" frights that are typically reserved for his solo-created sibling manga Mail. In addition to Kurosagi's physical horror, trading in disturbing notions of the body gone awry, Yamazaki works the disconcerting notion of the out of place, such as arms reaching out from the ground to trip a victim down a staircase. Yet, Otsuka doesn't seem to be fitting together elements as disparate as the ones pulled into previous stories. Shigo Kekkon seems like the kind of ceremony that he'd know about. By merely updating it, the uses as if he was simply crossing off a bullet point from a list of ideas. Simply updating it doesn't hit the high standard set by earlier THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE stories. This isn't helped by the final story that offers Kurosagi's second narrative about babies abandoned in coin lockers (volume four offers the previous one). It's connected to traditional midwives this time, which is a new theme, but having read this the same weekend as volume three of Osamu Tezuka's BLACK JACK, which had its own coin locker baby story; it feels like a played premise. Again, I suspect that Otsuka might be easing into a new anthology. It's a slightly disappointing volume in a highly recommended manga.

Scott Green has been writing for AICN ANIME for over seven years. If you like what you see here and love anime & manga, be sure to check out his latest AICN ANIME column here.

Hey folks, Ambush Bug here. This pair of comics is why I like this Indie Jones section so much. You couldn’t find two more different comics. In fact, the only thing they have in common is that they’re featured here in our books on the fringe section. Check them out.

WHY I KILLED PETER
By Alfred (art) & Olivier Ka (story)
NBM Comics Lit

Devastating and powerful; that's what this book is. It’s a gut punch that reverberates in your brain and sparks a variety of emotions. The subject of child molestation is heavy one. If handled amateurishly in fiction, it could come off as exploitative or melodramatic. But this book is neither. Olivier Ka tells a terribly personal tale of how one selfish act by an adult can cripple a child for a lifetime. This book will anger you. It will make you cry. It will make you sick. And in the end, it will make you applaud the makers of this book for being brave enough to put this story into graphic art form. The images by Alfred are wispy and loose, utilizing a variety of styles by the last page to convey different modes of understanding the author experienced though his tragic life. Occasionally, I felt as if the story, told in the present tense for the most part, uses some words and phrases that were a little bit too mature coming from a child’s mouth. But this is a minor distraction in an autobiography that was probably very cathartic to put to print and definitely memorable to read.

STONE RABBIT: B.C. MAMBO V1
STONE RABBIT: PIRATE PALOOZA V2
By Erik Craddock (art/words)
Random House Children's Books

STONE RABBIT is one of those fun characters with a universal appeal. Younger readers will love the offbeat adventures and the exaggerated antics of said bunny. But these books are also loaded with jokes and references that adults will enjoy as well. Volume One is a time-bending trek into the past as Stone Rabbit falls through a hole in his bathroom floor and lands in the Neolithic Era. Prehistoric fun follows. Volume Two pits Stone Rabbit against a crew of ghost pirates. Erik Craddock has created a memorable and fun rabbit in Stone Rabbit. It's definitely geared more towards the younger reader, but this oldie had fun reading it too.

Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, reviewer and co-editor of AICN Comics for over seven years. Check out a five page preview of his short story published in MUSCLES & FIGHTS 3 (AVAILABLE NOW at Muscles & Fights.com.) on his ComicSpace page. There you can also see a five page preview of his short story in MUSCLES & FRIGHTS! Bug was recently interviewed here and here at Cream City Comics.

THE MIGHTY AVENGERS #21
Marvel Comics

The best of the three "Dark Reign" tie-ins this week, this new roster issue pulls no punches and is so densely packed with story, it almost deserves its $3.99 price tag. I said almost. Slott puts the cool in old school as he flashes back to Wundagore mountain, some of the Avengers’ earliest days, introduces a pair of new villains, and has some of the coolest back and forthings you're likely to read this week as Hank Pym and Amadeus Cho go back and forth trying to find out who's smarter than the other. The new line-up is sure to make sparks too. All that and the return of Scarlet Witch. All in all, a fantastic debut issue. - Bug

HELLBLAZER #251
DC Vertigo

Every time a new creative team comes on to handle old Johnny boy, there's that bit of panic and doubt. There's been so many great runs, so many great creative teams - really, this has probably be the best handled ongoing out there for pretty much all it's twenty(!!) years now - that you can't help think: "Okay, this has to be it. This is finally going to go in the shitter, or worse, it's about to start reveling in mediocrity. It's just the law of averages y'know?" But this actually was a pretty good start. It could easily go into the old porcelain god of course, but Milligan made a couple moves that surprised and actually delighted me. I like the idea of giving John a love life again. It's been near 200 issues since Kit walked into and out of his life, so it doesn't feel like this is just another cycle of things. And I like how it looks like this is going to get somewhat socio-political again as, well, look at the cover. Yes, it has a double meaning as you'll see if you flip through the pages, but one of those is definitely what you think it is and is a good flashback to the Jamie Delano days. All in all, including Camuncoli being picked up on the art chores (I've been digging on his stuff for a long while now), I like this as a start of things to come. – Humphrey

DARK AVENGERS #1
Marvel Comics

Missed opportunity. That's what this book was. Sure it was pretty obvious who the members of this team of Avengers dopplegangers were from the shaded poster, but Bendis could have played into the mystery and had a big last page reveal the original series became famous for in its earliest issues. But no, Bendis doesn't really know subtle. He'd rather explain it all with tons and tons of word balloons. Despite this story being the equivalent of having a joke explained to you, the potential for fun is there and it's what's going to keep me around for future issues. Seeing Osborne's team of villains in disguise face off against the real heroes will be good fun. I just wish Bendis would look at some of those old Fabian Nicieza books and realize what fun he could be having if he weren't so in love with his own words. Deodato's art is another reason why this book will definitely be in my pull box for now. - Bug

ZOMBIE COP OGN
Image Shadowline

For the most part, zombie stories are broad strokes storytelling, trying to show how an entire society deals with an apocalyptic event and facing their own death chomping for their brains. You don't see too many smaller, more personal tales like ZOMBIE COP, which is firmly planted in a world overrun by the undead, but never loses focus of being a story about one man on a mission. Officer Joe Mundy is bitten and doesn't have long before he turns completely into a drooling zombie, so he does what he can in order to solve one last mystery, a mystery that could uncover the reason for the zombie plague itself. That's right, while other zombie stories never explain why the dead walk, ZOMBIE COP treats it as a mystery, which is a refreshing and new spin on the genre. Occasionally, writer Jeff Mariotte overwrites this done-in-one original graphic novel. Lines like "My thoughts squirm around my brain like worms through a corpse." fall a bit redundant and clunky, but for the most part I was entertained by this one. The art by Szymon Kudranski is top tier. The artist doesn't hold back on the gore. Blood and brains splatter right into the reader’s face as you read this one. There were a few action sequences toward the beginning that I found hard to follow, but for the most part this is one OGN that looks and reads well. - Bug

THUNDERBOLTS #128
Marvel Comics

Much like last year, when Tony Stark had to be in every issue of every series Marvel puts out, now it looks like Norman Osborne is following suit. Those Stark appearances wore out their welcome quick and I myself am a bit sick of him already. But Marvel has always been a company to suckle until the teat was dry. Despite another appearance of Osborne, Andy Diggle does what he did best in Vertigo's THE LOSERS here as he assembles a team of badasses who will act as Osbourne's black ops team. So far we've only seen a handful of them and the enigmatic group shot on the cover (done by the amazing artist and my pick for best artist of 2007 in last year's @$$ies, Clint Langley) has yet to be revealed, but I like what I've seen so far. I want to know who else is on the team though and for that reason alone, I'll be back next month. But with the promise of this book getting its Diggle on, I must declare myself a T-Bolt fan again. - Bug

Remember, if you have a comic book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.