| #14 | 8/2/06 | #5 |
(Click title to go directly to the review)
BATMAN #655
AGENTS OF ATLAS #1
THE CREEPER #1
DUSTY STAR #1
THE SPECTRE #3
IRON MAN: THE EXTREMIS HC
Big Eyes For the Cape Guy presents HOSHI NO KOE: THE VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR
Big Eyes For the Cape Guy presents USAGI YOJIMBO #95
Indie Jones presents ARTESIA: BESIEGED #2
Indie Jones presents THE EC ARCHIVE: WEIRD SCIENCE VOL 1
CHEAP SHOTS!
BATMAN #655
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Andy Kubert
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G
Awright, let’s get this outta the way right up front: yeah, I love Grant Morrison too. Suffered through the lame Oscar Wilde arc of THE INVISIBLES, bought WE3 and SEAGUY, read a friend’s copies of ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL back in the day, love his stuff on ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, yadda yadda yadda. Guy’s done a great job of reconceiving 7 SOLDIERS, and I like some of his other new takes in the post-IC DCU. Like a lot of you out there, I always look forward to whatever new project his working on (I’m already trying to imagine what he’s gonna do to THE AUTHORITY and WILD C.A.T.S.). So yeah, when I heard he was taking over BATS, I was pretty stoked considering what he’s done with Bruce in the past.
I’m sure you’ve all figured out by now why I needed that preemptory defense established: it’s because I like some of what Morrison does with his debut on the title, but I gotta take issue with some of it, too. We’re not just talking about minor details here, either—I’m talking about major points that make me more than a little nervous about the title and its place in the DCU.
Take, for example, Bruce Wayne’s decision to leave Gotham City and head to Europe. I’ll gladly grant that Batman spends an awful lot of time in Gotham, and it’s always nice to see him get outta town every now and again so the artists have something else to draw or we can see how he fits in when he visits Brussels or Angkor Wat or whatever. But to have him leave because pretty much all the supervillains in his rogues’ gallery have been dealt with? Jeebus, bit of a stretch there, eh? Not to mention it doesn’t really fit with the arc directly previous, much less what’s going on in its sister title, DETECTIVE, at the moment. I mean, really? Just like that? Guy takes a year’s vacation, gets all tanned rested ‘n ready, kicks everybody’s ass in like a month or two, then jets off to Europe again? C’mon, man—there’s suspension of disbelief, and then there’s suspension of brain activity, y’know? Makes you wonder why Batman didn’t just put his back into it years ago and then clean up another city in the DCU every three or four months, don’t it?
Oh, and that SPOILERY thing about most of his rogues’ gallery being out of commission—let’s SPOILERY talk about that SPOILER for just a SPOILER minute: Joker got shot in the freakin’ face. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve been saying it needed to happen for at least half a decade now, because the guy’s just gotten away with so much that somebody would have killed him by now. That’s not really the point, though. What makes it troubling is that we get a vigilante cop in a Batman suit who shoots the Joker point-blank in the grill (and yet he survives…guess he musta been part of the Weapon X program, eh?). Sure, on the one hand, I give Morrison credit for having the balls to do something that crazy just to get a character out of his way and get Batman outta town for a while. On the other hand, though, it causes problems both in the DCU and out of it. I mean, if people thought the Joker was nuts before, and if people thought he was too vicious and extreme before (killing Gordon’s wife, crippling Barbara, beating Jason Todd to death, not to mention scores of others he’s killed off), what exactly do you think getting shot in the face by someone dressed like his nemesis will drive him to? We didn’t need a more demented, more aggressive Joker—he was in need of scaling back, if anything. Beyond that, is this really the kinda thing that’s ideally suited to kicking off what’s supposed to be a great new direction for the character? Having somebody we’re led to believe is our hero shooting his enemy in the face? I dunno, man…call me crazy, but I say leave that shit to Frank “One-Trick Pony” Miller over in the pages of ASBAR. I just don’t see how this is a worthwhile development for the character, the title, or the readers.
Speaking of SPOILERS, by the way, the SPOILER idea of having Commissioner Gordon affected by the Joker’s gas and making some really tasteless comments also rubbed me the wrong way, probably because it was handled so dismissively. And don’t get me SPOILERED started on Joker beating that Bat-clad cop with a crowbar just like he did Jason Todd and not actually having it mean anything in the story—what a wasted opportunity. Something like that shouldn’t be a throwaway—it should at least make an attempt at resonance, y’know?
Sure, it’s nice to see Batman gettin’ outta Gotham—I’m cool with that. And yeah, I like that Grant’s gonna focus on some of the less utilized rogues instead of going for the same handful that get used over and over. And sure, he took some pretty gutsy and ballsy steps to get the story there. And yes, I like ginger beer as much as the next half-bat crazy scientist’s wife—maybe even more so. And I’ll readily admit that I was assuming Morrison would do something nutty and unexpected with his arc. All that said, though, there’s just something that feels not right in this issue. Those first half-dozen pages or so don’t sit well. Maybe that’s just me, and some of you thought it was…what is it you kids today say…”fuckin’ sweet”. I dunno. For me, though, it just felt wrong. Wrong for the character, wrong for the title, wrong for the company. I mean, can you imagine that being the issue somebody buys for their kid and then reading it later? That’s just messed up, man. It may be fine in ASBAR (not really) or an Elseworlds title or some shit, but not in one of the flagship titles of the DCU, y’know?
Don’t think I’m kidding myself, though. I’m not gonna sit here and storm around and swear I’m not gonna buy the next issue, because I am. I’ve been reading BATS and DETECTIVE for years and years, and I do really like Morrison, so I’m gonna hang in there and hope it gets better or there’s a twist somewhere I’m not aware of. Still, this issue gave me some weighty concerns, and I had to get it off my chest. Maybe there’s a big surprise twist waiting around the corner and all isn’t as it seems here, but that’s not the way the story is told in this issue. I’m still hoping Morrison’s gonna pull it out somehow, but for now I’m officially in the “disappointed” column on this one.
AGENTS OF ATLAS #1
Writer: Jeff Parker
Art: Leonard Kirk (pencils), Kris Justice (inks)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
I was one of the ones who found MARVEL: THE LOST GENERATION a pretty fun read with its reversed timeline/storyline and scads of kooky characters throughout the ages. In that miniseries, one team of misfits stood out as something special. It had a robot named The Human Robot, Marvel Boy—an early descendant of Quasar (not by blood, but by the fact that he too wears a pair of Quantum Bands), the Greek goddess of Love—Venus, and Gorilla Man, who was, of course, a talking gorilla (no team is complete without that, you know). The team got some screen time in Byrne’s miniseries and I seem to remember an issue of WHAT IF? that featured the group, but to be honest, I don’t remember what they did or what made them stand out. It was just the kooky combination of characters that piqued my interest and it was that same feeling that made my ears perk up when I saw that a new series featuring these heroes was on its way to the shelves.
So far this year, Marvel has been kicking @$$ in the super hero miniseries market. They’ve got the energetic and stylish DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON, the epic ARES, the surprisingly riveting SON OF M, and the much-better-than-the-ongoing-ness of IRON MAN: THE INEVITABLE. It’s come to pass (at least this year) that Marvel minis are worth checking out. Sure there are stinkers, but I’ve been relatively surprised more than disappointed every time I’ve picked one up this year.
AGENTS OF ATLAS #1 starts out with a nice little recap for those who don’t know much about this team of heroes from Marvel’s history (I’m one of them, so this was greatly appreciated). It’s done in a quick but intriguing manner, offering snippets of action and character, highlighting characters’ powers and the threat that brought them all together. The thing I liked about this extended introductory sequence was that it extrapolated on the right parts and glossed over others in a way that left me intrigued to find out more about these characters. We get to see the team work together to save the kidnapped President, but how the team came together, what their initial reactions were to each other, and what happened to send the team in opposite directions are details left to be dealt with another day. What we do see if some very nice teamwork. Turns out this offbeat mismatch of powers was the right mix to get the job done in the 50’s. It was nice to see this type of teamwork and energy conveyed in the writing.
Flash forward to the present. Of course, something happens to bring this team back together. Pretty soon, the Human Robot is carrying Gorilla Man (armed with a machine gun in both hands and both feet) into battle without skipping a beat. Seeing this scene immediately gave me both that feeling that makes one utter “cool…” under your breath, but it also tugged at the heartstrings a bit in that these characters know each other so well that a large span of time can pass and they can pick up the teamwork as if they were battling the Yellow Claw yesterday.
Criticisms? Well, although SHIELD Agent Jimmy Woo is supposed to be an integral part of this series and the lynchpin to this team of cool looking characters, not much characterization is spent on him. I’m sure Woo did something along the way to be rewarded with the trust of a talking gorilla, an alien, a goddess, and a robot, but it’s not seen here. But writer Jeff Parker leaves a lot of holes in the back story of these characters…and that’s…okay. I’m willing to be patient a bit as long as these holes are eventually filled in. This issue didn’t leave me with that empty feeling I often have after reading a first issue of a Marvel book. Enough information was revealed and enough morsels were sprinkled to both satiate my appetite and entice me to come back for more.
Leonard Kirk is no stranger to team books and shows the same sort of attention to detail and classic style that made him stand out when he drew JSA and SUPERGIRL. Kirk doesn’t let style get in the way of telling a good story. Everything that is needed is there and everything that isn’t—isn’t. It’s just straightforward comic book art only with a soft fluidity that has gone hand in hand with Kirk’s work for quite some time now.
Writer Jeff Parker is a new name to me. If he’s done other work, I don’t know of it, so to me, this was an impressive debut. Parker has a fun cast of characters to bounce off of each other and some cool history to draw upon. He did this well in this first issue. Here’s hoping that he keeps the fun momentum going throughout the rest of this miniseries. If that happens, Marvel will have another hit miniseries on their hands.
THE CREEPER #1 (of 6)
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Justiniano
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewed by Dave Farabee
I’ve got all of two or three comics featuring The Creeper, but that doesn’t mean I’ve no fondness for the concept: mentally unbalanced superhero whose visual looked like the bastard child of The Joker and a bottle of French’s mustard. The character’s been tweaked and updated over the years, but his origin’s remained pretty constant: jerky reporter, Jack Ryder, gets in over his head and winds up the beneficiary of technology that turns him into the agile, mildly super-strong Creeper. Adventure and cancelled series ensue!
Which brings us to the latest revamp for the character, wisely planned as a six-issue miniseries rather than an ongoing destined to be cancelled at issue six. Horror writer Steve “30 DAYS OF NIGHT” Niles is onboard as writer, presumably to bring a bit more genuine “creepy” to the Creeper. Maybe that’s why I was surprised at how traditional, even hokey Niles’ take is.
In this version, Jack Ryder’s an abrasive talk show host with a liberal edge and the usual accompanying hate mail and sponsor pull-outs. Reminded me of Oliver Stone’s TALK RADIO (based on the true story of talk radio host Alan Berg), right down to Ryder’s estranged relationship with one of the show’s producers. But Niles doesn’t mine the concept for much more than exposition. Ryder’s in a heated debate with the moral opposition to a scientist experimenting with “nanocell technology,” shortly to play a pivotal role in the origin of the Creeper
Ah, nanotechnology! It’s the new radiation when it comes to gaining superpowers!
In a contrivedly old-school moment, Ryder decides to break into the lab of the nanoscientist on the eve of his big test. See, he wants a “scoop” (do talk radio hosts actually look for scoops?), and what’s a little B&E in service to that? The bad news for him is that he walks in on a pack of mobsters shaking down nanoscientist-guy to apply his formula to a mob boss’s son who got cooked in a fire. Guns are drawn, panic ensues, and somewhere in the chaos, Ryder gets a syringe full of the experimental nano-formula pumped into him. With nary a bit of suspense, the thugs seemingly off him, but he rises a few pages later as The Creeper for some payback. For all the gunplay and leaping about, it’s all very traditional and surprisingly unengaging.
Niles’ one contribution to the Creeper mythos that I liked was that The Creeper’s laughter seems to genuinely hurt his foes (at least I think that’s a new addition). I was surprised that there was no explanation for his outlandish appearance, usually chalked up to a hasty costume Ryder’s wearing when science goes ker-blooey on him. Here…uhh…nanotech just seems to turn people yellow and give ‘em red back-fur. Guess it’s just one of those side effects they whisper about on prescription drug ads (“Levitra may cause abdominal pain, heart palpitations, and in some patients, yellow skin and red back-fur”).
Throughout the entire issue, there’re some painfully clunky Bronze Age-style dialogue and thought balloons:
“What is it, walk away from Jack Ryder Day?”
“Thank God for that ‘Take Back the Night’ defense course I took to get on the fems’ good side!”
“If my laugh disturbs you, I suggest you don’t point guns at me!”The worst offender of the lot has to be the thought balloon on the big, splash page reveal of The Creeper. Artist Justiniano, working a lanky horror style in the tradition of Kelley Jones and Kyle Hotz, draws a pretty damn cool image of the Creeper hurtling from the trees at the mobsters…and Niles has to go and ruin it with a thought balloon reading, “Unbelievable. They don’t realize it’s me.” Unbelievable. Niles doesn’t realize when to let the art do the talking.
In the end, it’s honestly not a terrible comic, but I can’t imagine it clicking with a modern audience when it feels more like a mediocre 80s book. Tell you what: you want a good Creeper story, your best bet is to watch his one-shot appearance on BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. His origin was retooled there, too, but in such a way as to actually enhance it, making explicit the kinship with The Joker that’s heretofore just been a visual coincidence. It’s funny, it’s weird, it’s cool, and I suspect The Creeper works best as a supporting player anyway. Look for it on the fourth DVD boxed set.
DUSTY STAR # 1
Written by: Andrew Robinson & Joe Pruett
Illustrated by: Andrew Robinson
Published by: Image Comics & Desperado Publishing
Reviewed by: superhero
I hate comic books that cost over three dollars. But what I hate worse are comics over three dollars that actually look interesting enough to buy. What I hate even more than a three dollar comic that looks interesting enough to buy is one that’s good enough that I’m going to have to buy the next issue, therefore causing me to spend over three dollars on another comic book. OK, fine, actually with the thirty percent discount on new books that my comic guy gives me it comes out to about two dollars and sixty-five cents with tax but you get my drift.
Damn you DUSTY STAR. Damn you for being a good comic book that costs $3.50 an issue.
When I picked this book up in the store the thing that stuck out to me the most was the artwork. Honestly, as I was checking it out I just kept thinking, “Wait for the trade, wait for the trade…” but in the end there was something about the book that made me plunk down my hard earned cash and that happened to be the look of the book. Artist Andrew Robinson manages to combine elements of Jamie Hewlett and Chris Bachalo mixed in with a tiny dash of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s STAR RAIDERS/ATARI FORCE years. Robinson’s art is what makes the book really work in my opinion as he successfully renders a post-apocalyptic old west sensibility with a cartoonish style that manages to grasp the future grittiness of the genre. DAISY STAR is a great looking comic filled with a familiar yet unique visual palette. Everything about the art worked here for me. The storytelling, the colors...everything looks as you’d expect a good western setting to look.
While I wish I could say the story gripped me as much as the artwork did, I can’t. It’s not that story is bad, far from it. It’s just that most of the book focuses on setting up the players of the story and not much else. Unfortunately there isn’t a ton of characterization or back story to this tale so the weight of the incidents in this book just feels a little on the lighter side. Obviously, it looks like what’s being established here is a tale of revenge, and I love a good vengeance story. I just wish I’d gotten to see a bit more of the central character’s personality and history in this issue instead of having to wait for subsequent tales to get to know what makes DUSTY STAR tick. As it is, though, I did find the straightforward western backdrop and action to be enough to keep me interested in the next issue, so I’ll be picking it up hoping that I get a little more insight as to what’s driving the motivations of DUSTY STAR’S central character.
I do wish that DUSTY STAR had been released as a graphic novel or a trade sized book from the get-go, however, because it seems like the twenty two or so pages in this book weren’t enough story for a first issue. As I said, though, it’s interesting enough to keep me coming back so obviously someone’s doing their job right. It just seems that the pacing of the story might have been served better with a double sized first issue or just being told in a longer format altogether. But then, if they did that I’d probably be bitching about the fact that I had to pay $7.00 for a single double-sized comic book, wouldn’t I?
THE SPECTRE #3 (of 3)
Writer: Will Pfeifer
Artist: Cliff Chiang
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G
As I’ve mentioned several times here in the past ( including a review of #1 of this series ), I’ve got a long history with The Spectre, and he’s always been one of my favorite characters. I absolutely hated the whole Hal Jordan/Spectre debacle, though, and thought the idea that The Spectre could somehow become the “Spirit Of Redemption” was just about the stupidest goddamned piece of new-agey hippy bullshit I’d ever heard. It wasn’t altogether surprising, considering the source, but boy howdy did it suck eggs. That’s why I had pretty high hopes that this miniseries would restore The Spectre to its rightful place.
The end result turns out to be a bit of a mixed bag, unfortunately. I mean, sure, a lot of the most important traditional elements have been restored: The Spectre is the Spirit of Vengeance, and he’s got a permanent human host, and that permanent host is a former cop with the drive to do what’s right. Still, we all know where the devil can be found, and I definitely have problems with the details in this series.
For one thing, the “One Year Later” routine gets dropped into this story in a particularly troubling manner: new host and dead cop Crispus Allen initially blows off The Spectre’s request. Sure, fine, can’t blame the dead guy. We learn, however, that in that time The Spectre didn’t bother to get another host—he just sat on his @$$ waiting for another shot at Allen. He then turns around and blames Allen for all the atrocities committed by people who weren’t stopped in that time. Not only is this illogical—The Spectre would damned sure have found one other person out of 6 billion who could handle the job—but it puts a shitload of guilt and responsibility on Crispus Allen’s ghost, a fact that doesn’t get nearly enough play. In fact, for Crispus, something like that probably woulda broken him permanently. Oh, wait—except for the fact The Spectre reveals later that even though Allen’s ghost was kicking around Gotham sentient for the year, Speccy was still borrowing Allen’s body to take care of business behind his back. Huh? What?
Even more troubling than that problem, though, is the resolution of Crispus’ quest for vengeance against the man who murdered him, the dirty cop Jim Corrigan. I still refuse to accept that the similarities between this character and the original host of The Spectre were of any value whatsoever, and it’s a detail that went virtually unexplored and unexploited in the DCU since this guy was introduced. That’s not the worst of it, though: the worst of it is that The Spectre now behaves in a manner that suggests he knows which crimes will be committed by whom in advance, but intentionally withholds this from Allen until it’s far too late. The Spectre instead leads Allen to a spot where he sees his own son kill Corrigan—an act for which the kid must be punished. Again: Huh? So let me get this straight: if a mortal acts in the name of vengeance he must be executed, but when a dead guy’s body cohabitated by The Spirit of Vengeance does it it’s all good? The fuck? And who, exactly, was searching for revenge against a kid whose dad was murdered a matter of seconds after he carried out justice? And just why in the holy hell would Crispus Allen just kinda shrug his shoulders, go “yeah, I guess I’m okay with that”, and then agree to keep working with this otherworldly jagoff who just fucked his kid over after lying to him and joyriding in his body for a whole year?
Look, I wanted to like this series. I really, really did. I enjoyed Will Pfeifer’s work on the late series HERO, and I loved Cliff Chiang’s art on HUMAN TARGET. I also thought Pfeifer did some really nice work with the Sub Diego stuff over in AQUAMAN. But the fact is this story just didn’t click. Too much of what went on here felt forced, and far too much of it was poorly thought through. There are too many inconsistencies and out-of-character moments and logical flaws for it to stand up to more than a moment’s thought. I don’t know if this stuff came from editorial, or if it’s just a misstep on Pfeifer’s part. I do know, however, that I was pretty let down with the end results, and it’s put a damper on my enthusiasm for the series it’s meant to lead into, the upcoming TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED miniseries.
IRON MAN: THE EXTREMIS HC
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Adi Granov
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Baytor
“The Extremis” opens with Warren Ellis calling into question the very
existence of Iron Man by questioning exactly what it is that Tony Stark
has accomplished by creating his super-suit. One character even goes so
far as to compare him to the highly mockable Dean Kamen, the inventor of
the Segway scooter, who has done some extremely important work, but is
best known for creating something that’s “almost useful”.
It’s an interesting notion, but the question is never answered in any serious way, since Tony Stark, like all super-heroes in established universes, is unable to affect any significant change to his environment. He exists for no other reason than to punch bad people, and Ellis’ lengthy meditation on this question ultimately goes nowhere. At best it’s a bit of an interesting diversion in the first couple of chapters while Ellis assembles the pieces of his story, but mostly, it’s easy fodder for critics of Ellis’ leisurely pacing to mock Stark for talking about cell phones for too many pages.
Things properly get moving in the third chapter, where Iron Man faces a home-grown terrorist who’s been treated with a super-serum that has granted him a wide array of superpowers that makes him more than Iron Man’s equal. Their fight is brutal and gritty, a far cry from the sterile city-destructing antics of INFINITE CRISIS, with cars filled with people being used as weapons. This is violence with consequence, and Ellis properly ramps up the terror of the situation, as Iron Man barely escapes with his life (and the lives of a few unlucky civilians) intact, setting the stage for Iron Man’s next stage of evolution and his eventual triumph over his twisted technological twin.
I’ve not entirely made up my mind about Adi Granov’s artwork, which tends to be stiff and posed, but manages to hit my WOW! button on a number of occasions. No doubt he draws a mean Iron Man fight scene, but the sheer volume of quiet conversations has me wishing for a more expressive artist.
Overall, this is a good book, well-written and well-drawn, with a lot of great scenes, including a mostly throw-away moment where a rebellious young girl encounters our villain in passing, which starts with the two outsiders almost making a human connection before the scene takes a sudden, violent turn. I always like such scenes, because they don’t depend on villains being over-the-top evil and dedicating their entire existence to killing; instead they focus on how quickly such a personality can go from sympathy to anger over a simple difference of opinion.
But I can’t help but feel this book is suffering from being in between two formats: the monthly (HA!) serial and the stand-alone graphic novel. The main thing that brings this story down are the early chapters which seem to be making too much of an effort to set the tone for the future, instead of concentrating on crafting a kick-ass adventure that happens to make some changes to the franchise. When Ellis revisits Iron Man’s origin (making a few key alterations in the process), it doesn’t feel like an extension of the plot, drawing natural comparisons between the hero and the villain, but rather a declaration of intent for future stories, which Ellis will not be around to tell.
Still, I enjoy the notion of regular Graphic Novels of iconic super-heroes (even though I confess to not being a huge fan of the genre these days). I remember all these crappy prose novels from my childhood that attempted to craft more complex and in-depth stories (never capturing the color and excitement of their four-colored counterparts), and that’s a niche Graphic Novels could proudly claim for their own. There should be longer form Spider-Man and Superman stories that pace themselves accordingly, instead of using the more frantic pace typically found in the monthly (although, of late, they haven’t been doing over-much of that). There’s no shame in a super-hero story that unfolds slowly and focuses on the more human elements (without resorting to soap opera), and that’s what Ellis has done here with “The Extremis”, even if its early chapters are seriously flawed.
HOSHI NO KOE: THE VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR
Creator: Makoto Shinkai
Adapted By: Mizu Sahara
Publisher: Tokyopop
Reviewer: Dan Grendell
"When did I stop asking her if she was ever coming back?"
This is a bit of an oddity. Apparently, this is a manga version of an anime, when it's usually the other way 'round. Having never seen the anime, I don't know how true to the story it is, but it certainly makes for a compelling manga.
HOSHI NO KOE is about two young people, Mikako and Noboru, who are about to enter high school together. Several years before, aliens were discovered on Mars known as Tarsians, and of course there was fighting. A large expedition is being assembled to travel outside the solar system in search of more Tarsians using captured Tarsian technology. People from all walks of life are being included to help possibly relate to the Tarsians better, and Mikako is chosen to go. She leaves, and the burgeoning romance between the two people is stretched as they are forced to rely only on text messages to communicate.
The situation becomes worse the farther Mikako gets from Earth. As she travels, using faster-than-light technology, it takes longer and longer for messages to travel between the two - and their romance suffers. Noboru ages at the normal rate, while Mikako hardly ages at all. Time passes normally for the young man, and as other women show interest in him, he begins to wonder if waiting for Mikako is crazy. Eventually, he puts her out of his mind and resolves to move on, but can never quite forget her, and when he hears that the space task force was attacked and mostly wiped out by Tarsians and that a rescue force is being assembled, he knows what he must do, even though he has no idea whether Mikako has survived. One last message has arrived and reminded him of his love.
A touching romance about separation and loss, HOSHI NO KOE is extremely well done and Sahara's art only helps it. It all has a sort of dreamlike quality to it, making you feel as if you are floating in space as the messages pass back and forth and the events that occur seem more like memories than actions. This sense of unreality makes the feelings of loss and confusion all the more potent, and it was the perfect way to handle the layouts and art for this story. Hats off to Sahara.
A great example of true romance rather than a sexcapade or bawdy comedy, HOSHI NO KOE is touching and wonderful. If you have a heart, this manga will hit you there.
USAGI YOJIMBO #95
Writer/Artist: Stan Sakai
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Reviewed by Dave Farabee
Everyone who’s read the adventures of the rabbit samurai, Usagi Yojimbo, loves them. Everyone who’s met its creator, Stan Sakai, loves him. His book’s picked up several Eisner awards and had over a dozen nominations. The trade collections have featured introductory testimonials by luminaries ranging from Jeff Smith to Will Eisner to Paul Dini to Alejandro Jodorowsky.
With all that love circulating…
Let’s say some mean stuff about USAGI YOJIMBO, shall we?
Okay, I’m being a little facetious, but not completely. I’ve got a heap of USAGI trades on my bookshelf and generally speaking, much love for the book (here’s a column that sees me offering up a loving review of an issue from some years ago)…BUT…over time I’ve come to realize that USAGI’s not above criticism, not without its flaws. And while I highly recommend it to just about anyone with a taste for adventure and/or interest in the samurai of Japan, I thought it might be interesting to look at an issue from a more critical perspective.
To wit:
USAGI YOJIMBO #95 is, in many ways, a typical USAGI story. It stands completely on its own, yet sets up future conflict, and serves up a tragic melodrama while enlightening the reader on feudal Japan (specifically the beggar’s guild and the life of the paid assassin). All good, right? Well, let’s give this latest some scene-by-scene scrutiny and see. The first few pages are previewed at Dark Horse’s site if you want to read ‘em before continuing.
“Shizukiri”, named for the grim assassin who makes his appearance later in the story, opens with a hapless pair of beggars driven off by a merchant and a prostitute. First time readers may be surprised to see realities like prostitution acknowledged given USAGI’s cartoony visuals, but that’s normal for the book. As are the rather flat characters and their dialogue (Merchant: “Ooo! I like a feisty woman.” Prostitute: “A rich merchant like you can easily afford my company tonight.”) While the book’s all-ages agenda is one of its finest qualities, I do find myself wishing a bit more nuance went into the scripting. Sakai often shorthands the characterization of merchants, beggars, thieves and other commoners of feudal Japan into clichés, and I mostly feel these clichés are steeped in reality, but surely some richness of the era is lost when dialogue and characterization become so perfunctory.
Things go from bad to worse for the father/son pair of beggars when they chance across a cruel samurai who casually murders the son…simply to test his newly-bought blade. High points to Sakai for such a shocking scene. On the downside, the image of the dead son is accompanied by Sakai’s recurring visual motif for death: a word balloon coming from the character with a little skull in it. The surprisingly comic nature of that motif, alongside the father’s hoary “SOB! SOB! SOB!” response, blunts the edge of the death. On one hand, it keeps the book relatively friendly to younger readers, keeps it from becoming morose; on the other hand, if you follow the book for any length of time, you might find its visual levity increasingly unwelcome. What’s more, the callousness of the samurai is played without subtlety, discussing drinks with his friend while a father cries over his son’s corpse. It’s not the concept but the heavy-handed depiction (more “SOB! SOB! SOBs!” from the father) that has it careening into maudlin territory.
Immediately following the incident (USAGI’s not a book to lollygag), we see an assassin being procured by the “Union of Beggars” in response. Turns out, the murderous samurai holds a high rank – untouchable by the law, but not by the vengeful. Love the idea, here, and I also enjoyed the assassin’s no-nonsense agreement to their conditions (with just enough left unsaid that there’s a damn good surprise at the end). Poking around online, I learned that the assassin, Shizukiri, has faced off with Usagi in a past issue I’ve either missed or forgotten, but I was impressed that the reader learns everything he needs to know about him during the course of the story.
Later scenes depict Shizukiri with his wife, the prostitute from the opening sequence. She’s troubled by his drinking and they both hate each other’s choice of career. Alas, much of the resulting dialogue is straightforward, borderline cliché (Shizukiri: “I’m tired of all this death. This will be my last job! No more killing for me.”), though I enjoyed the alienness of the culture that might chalk their tragic lives up to inescapable karma (“I was born to be a prostitute, and this is how I will die.”) Still, it’s hard to get past the ol’ “one more job and we can start a new life” bit.
What follows is a lot of blood-letting, courtesy of Shizukiri. I don’t want to ruin the finale with a play-by-play, but my issues with Sakai’s bloodless, cartoony depiction of death all recur. Corpses pile up inconsequentially like the bad guys in an Arnie flick, which’d be fine if the story was more escapist. Sakai’s going for gravitas, though. And he does manage to pull off one of the finale’s two surprises with a deft touch in spite of the throwaway kills. The other surprise, concerning Shizukiri’s wife, only brought home the book’s contrivances and clichés. What should have been a truly emotional scene falls flat on its face as a result.
To some degree, USAGI is one of those books that simply is what it is. It has today all the same strengths and weaknesses that it had when it debuted over 20 years ago. And some of those weaknesses may just be inherent in Sakai shooting for the widest audience possible (though I sometimes wonder if USAGI’s percentage of youth readers is even in the double digits). In any case, I do respect its stability. I like the idea of new generations discovering intact the heroes and legends of previous generations. It’s one of the reasons I prefer the “illusion of change” for the big superheroes over actual change. But it can be frustrating for the longtime reader. And if you find over time that you’ve got some core issues with a book (for USAGI, the flat supporting characters, the sometimes contrived melodrama, the casual depiction of death), it can be hard to sign on for the long haul.
For me, that’s meant limiting myself to reading USAGI in progressively smaller doses, even though any given issue has moments that still intrigue. So I recommend the series in spite of my own waning interest, especially to readers who’ve yet to sample it. But I have to wonder at how amazing it’d be if Stan could do a little retooling of his approach, bringing some nuance and throwing off the shackles of cliché.
I would very much like to see that.
ARTESIA: BESIEGED #2
Creator: Mark Smylie
Publisher: Archaia Studios Press
Reviewer: Dan Grendell
"Serpents are loose in the dark tonight."
Mark Smylie's visionary fantasy series continues to thrill and excite with this latest issue. Last issue saw the armies of Artesia, pent-up and going wild in the walled city of Abenton, surprised by the arrival of the Traitor King Euwen and his besieging army. With no one to support them and surrounded by enemies who have sworn not to attack the city but who will not let the army out, Artesia has little choice but to withstand the siege.
Despite an enchanted ram and determined assaults, Artesia's troops repel all attackers until the dark of the moon, when they take advantage of bad discipline among Euwen's men to make an assault of their own. The ride through the besieging camp is chaotic and deadly, but serves to put Euwen on his guard; this is not a weak-willed slut he faces, but a true warrior and priestess. He calls a truce under the white flag, not to surrender, but merely to talk to his enemy - and things turn out a bit differently for Artesia than expected...
ARTESIA truly is a living world, where it is possible to get lost in its reality and truthfulness. People act so true to life, behave as you would expect them to in each situation - and when they don't, I always think "Huh, I never would have thought of that but it makes total sense." Smylie's wonderful painted art just adds to this escapism, making it so easy to believe in the characters and places portrayed. Not photorealistic by any means, yet very real in a less defined, more cloudy way. Color choice is perfect for getting across emotions and ideas, and the lights and darks come together in a watercolor masterpiece that tells the story with skill and passion.
If you've never read any ARTESIA, you are definitely missing out, and the first three mini-series are available in trade. This is fantasy done right.
THE EC ARCHIVE: WEIRD SCIENCE VOL 1 (WEIRD SCIENCE #1-6)
Writers Al Feldstein, William Gaines, and more
Artists: Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kamen, Al Feldstein, Harry
Harrison
Publisher: EC Crypt/Gemstone Publishing
Reviewer: Baytor
Few comic companies are as revered as EC. Eeking out an existence as a
hole-in-the-wall publisher in the 50s, their top book selling a few
hundred thousand copies at a time when many sold in the millions, their reputation has endured long after more successful companies have
became dim memories. Their fortune reversed in subsequent decades, when
their one surviving book, MAD, would sell in the millions while the most
popular books from the Big Two sold at levels that would have seen
cancellation during EC’s salad days.
EC: publisher of some of the best comics of the Golden Age, and you’d be lucky to bump into a single person on a message board who has ever read any of the comics that made them a legend. Gemstone has been stealthily selling horribly bound collections of their unsold monthly reprints (not to be confused with a proper trade paperback) and beautifully bound over-sized B&W hard-covers since the 90s and now they’re poised to unleash them again, this time in a standard-sized color Archive Edition, the first volume of WEIRD SCIENCE to see release in October.
So, obviously, I haven’t laid hands on the Archive Edition, so I’m calling in a pre-emptive strike, to review the original stories (or, in this case, the color reprints from the 90s) to let you decide if this is the book for you.
First, the bad news. While EC was renowned for its stable of incredible artists, few are on display at this early stage. The art star of these six issues is the little-appreciated Jack Kamen, who is probably better known for being the father of the inventor of the Segway scooter than for his contributions to comics. A shame, because he draws incredibly sexy women (albeit with the same face) and has a fairly modern, detailed style. He draws 6 of the 24 stories. Also contributing 6 stories are Harvey Kurtzman, who has an art style that is an acquired taste to say the least, and Al Feldstein, whose stiff period style will probably be enjoyed only with a heaping dose of irony (or by those who enjoy a girl with big headlights)—neither man would stick with art chores on WEIRD SCIENCE for very long. Wally Wood supplies another 4, although his first two efforts are uniformly awful, while his final two are starting to display the overly-rendered style that made him the science fiction artist of the 50s. Frequent TALES FROM THE CRYPT contributor Graham Ingels supplies a lone tale in his usual style (most resembling Sam Keith’s work on SANDMAN), with the last slot filled by Harry Harrison, who’d later go one to fame as a science fiction author.
In these early issues, the best stories are the ones drawn (and presumably written) by Harvey Kurtzman, and they unfold like a well-told joke, supplying a much needed sense of intentional humor. In one, a scientist discovers that plants are capable of feeling pain and it could have easily descended into banal melodrama, but the tale wisely angles toward a humorous conclusion. Another story grafts a fairly standard science fiction idea onto an amusing story about a vain body builder, which never even bothers to appear serious. And in a major déjà vu moment, we have “The Last War On Earth” where a scientist uses his considerable brain power to find a way to end war on Earth by faking an alien attack, which would later echo in a little tale by Alan Moore called WATCHMEN…although I suspect the idea was not the slightest bit original when EC did it. In re-reading these six issues, I found myself looking forward to Kurtzman’s tales, as they were, by far, the cleverest of the bunch and the ones that hold up the best to modern tastes, despite some now overly familiar story ideas and Kurtzman’s much maligned artistic style.
On the flip side of the coin are Al Feldstein’s 6 stories, which are among the weakest of the collection, but inspire some of the biggest laughs…albeit of the unintentional kind. These are the sort of science fiction tales that give the genre a bit of a bad name, unfolding in the most uninspired and predictable way with the most earnest of delivery. “The Flying Saucer Invasion” is nothing more than a catalogue of uninteresting UFO sightings, pedantically debunked by a government man as weather phenomenon and hallucinations, before its final (and not slightly shocking) reveal. Thankfully, his tales aren’t all bad, with a couple of the later ones being fairly good and more in line with EC’s reputation for quality.
Kamen turns in a number of worthy tales, but finds his niche in the final tale in this collection with “Divide And Conquer”, an amusing example of the Battle Of The Sexes stories that he would draw across a variety of genres. Brilliant scientist, Betty Page look-a-like wife, an affair, and a murder plot that goes horribly awry for the schemer. It’s a fitting finale to the volume, as we see one of EC’s more familiar formulas making its debut, along with the wry sense of humor that makes their stories enjoyable half a century later.
But a lot of these stories haven’t aged terribly well. What was a fairly novel story idea in 1950 is often clichéd today, such as “The Micro-Race!”, which had me screaming “The Simpsons did it!” at my comic, as it uses a story idea that would be famously re-used on “The Twilight Zone”, “The Simpsons”, and “South Park”. In “The Man Who Was Killed In Time!”, it’s hard to imagine the notion of a time-loop being so new as to require a two-panel coda that lays out the story’s panels to graphically explain the time line and its repeated story element. And “Sinking Of The Titanic!” has you wondering when the guy with the time machine will finally realize that the mysterious man who saved his life as a child was himself? Just bear in mind that such tales were told before series like “The Twilight Zone” would transform these ideas into over-used clichés, and if that doesn’t work, have fun doing your own personal “Mystery Science Theater 3000” to them.
These are among the first tentative steps EC is making toward developing a more adult style of comics, and it would be decades before guys like Will Eisner and Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman would really succeed. So don’t believe all the hype. This stuff is good and fun, but also formulaic and dated. If you’re the type who enjoys spending an evening watching 50s B-movies and “Twilight Zone” marathons, then this is definitely the sort of thing you’d enjoy, even in its crude, early stages. And even the bad stories are enjoyable with a little alcohol (or mind-altering substance of your choice) or with a heavy helping of irony.
Remember, if you have an Indie book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.
Remember, if you have an Indie book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.
THE ALL-NEW ATOM #1
DC Comics
This is my favorite monthly superhero book at the moment. I like writer Gail Simone’s use of scientists as the heroes of the book, and the fact that it’s got an immediately likeable supporting cast (even if Byrne’s art makes the scientist nicknamed Panda look like he’s a 12-year-old who overslept). I like that they’re trying to use Ray Palmer’s shrinking technology for scientific endeavors, and that the book embraces that without turning up its nose at swashbuckling superhero action. I like the lead, Ryan Choi, a hottie to his students and as giddily enthusiastic in the face of danger as Chris Eccleston’s Doctor on the new DR. WHO. I like The Atom riding a dog into battle. I like the underground base Byrne draws for the bad guys. And not everyone will appreciate this reference, but the story reminds me, in a good way, of the Walt Simonson THOR story with the Dark Elves and the hamburgers and the Vietnam vet. If you were readin’ THOR in the 80s, you know the one I mean. There’s a lot of weird stuff being thrown our way, but the mystery is a happy one. - Dave
BATTLER BRITTON #2
DC/Wildstorm Comics
It’s always a bit maddening to try to make up your mind about a Garth Ennis war comic, because you never know if the damn thing is any good or not until the end. BATTLER BRITTON is starting off in familiar enough territory, getting a good amount of humor and pathos out of the American/British conflict, and using the battle with the Huns as the fuel for that fire. Taking place as it does during the early years of America’s involvement in WWII, the portrayal of the Americans as hot dogging fools that don’t know what they’re up against is true enough not to be insulting, and Ennis pokes a bit of fun at Britain’s early mistakes to let the reader know it’s all in good fun. But we’re two issues in and the main story really hasn’t presented itself. I’m guessing it’s the conflict between Battler and the now-lisping American major, and that’s just as likely to be comic relief rather than the main plot. Or perhaps it’s just an homage to Battler Britton’s serial adventure roots, as there’s some rather abrupt narrative breaks. In reading this, I half-expected to see individual story titles as we’re dropped without warning into action, as if this were a collection of serialized shorts, each with its own little moral or point. It’s a funky comic, but so far I’m enjoying it. I just hope the wheels don’t fall off in the final chapter like FURY: PEACEMAKER. - Baytor
UNCANNY X-MEN #477
Marvel Comics
Dunno why UNCANNY’s been on such a brisk shipping schedule since Brubaker’s run started - seems like an issue about every two weeks - but I like it. Gives me a chance to size the run up quickly, and so far I remain enthused, even though the latest’s a bit of a letdown. The problem: no X-Men. Or maybe I should say, no real X-Men. In the last two issues, they gathered and commandeered a spaceship to track down rogue team member, Vulcan (retconned into X-history through the DEADLY GENESIS mini), and this issue fills us in on what he’s been up to. Namely, shenanigans in space, blasting the crap out of Shi’ar spaceships while he figures out how best to avenge himself on their empire. During the course of the issue, Vulcan’s history is recapped, which is convenient for those who didn’t read DEADLY GENESIS, and Brubaker introduces a few contrivances to Shi’ar culture to get him the information he needs. It all feels a bit forced, and because Vulcan still feels like an interloper in X-Ville, I wasn’t thrilled that he got a whole issue to himself. I wonder if Brubaker maybe gets too taken with his bad guys? Remember when he gave over a whole issue of CAP to Crossbones indoctrinating Sin? I wasn’t wild about that either. Maybe his time amongst the hoods in SLEEPER and his general inclinations towards crime fiction are at the root, but whatever the case, I’d prefer more screen time for the heroes. As always, his moment-to-moment writing remains strong, though – very neo-Claremont – and Clayton Henry’s guest-pencils carry the space action well. - Dave
BEYOND! #1
Marvel Comics
I’m late on board of this one, but I had to mention it. I picked up this issue based solely on the fact that it has The Hood as a cast member. Fond memories of that MAX miniseries will make me pick up anything with this character and after reading this first issue, I’m glad I did. Seems someone’s pulling a Beyonder on a group of heroes, tossing them onto a spaceship, and pitting them against each other. I like the group of mismatched heroes. I like the shockeroo ending (even though I know it’s not gonna stick), and I liked the cross between modernism (acknowledging that this type of thing has gone on before) with the old school sensibilities of having a group of characters thrown together for the sole purpose of knocking the shit out of each other. What can I say, I’m sticking with this one to see what happens and I like what I’ve seen so far. Nice art by FLASH’s Scott Kolins, but I wish someone else would ink his stuff. Kolins’ inks are often very uneven—sparse in some areas and then too dark and blotchy in others. But overall, an impressive first issue. - Ambush Bug
B.P.R.D. – THE UNIVERSAL MACHINE #5 (of 5)
Dark Horse Comics
Structurally, this has been an offbeat miniseries. The B.P.R.D.’s walking repository of knowledge, Kate Corrigan, has been held hostage for almost the entire story, with the fate of Roger the Homunculus hanging in the balance too. And yet UNIVERSAL MACHINE has also been a quiet, reflective story for the B.P.R.D. team, featuring dark and touching flashback stories for the other members. It’s an odd mix, but ultimately it comes together in a final issue filled with surprises--a final issue that’s among the most satisfying to emerge from the Hellboy milieu. For Kate, this means no clichéd rescue, no last minute charge of cavalry. Her escape must be of her own design. For Roger…well, the resolution to his story is one you just need to read. It’s brutal, it’s beautiful, it’s got guest art from Mike Mignola himself, and it wraps with, of all things in such an occult-drenched comic, a quote from the Bible. It just now occurs to me that this is my favorite “team” comic on the market. - Dave
THE PUNISHER #36
Marvel Comics
Another final chapter of another fine Punisher arc by Ennis. At the end of each of these MAX PUNISHER story arcs, I’m hit with the usual feeling of frustration that Hollywood paid homage to Ennis’ much weaker Marvel Knights run rather than to this far superior MAX series when they brought Frank to the screen a while back. All they have to do is film one of these arcs, panel by panel/shot for shot/line by line, and they’d have a super hero franchise like no other. This last chapter to the “Barracuda” storyline ends with a bang as the Punisher, the Dynaco Corporation, and the vicious Barracuda come to a face off with only one sailing off into the sunset--and guess who that is. All that and artist Goran Parlov draws some pretty darn scary sharks. - Ambush Bug
