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November 30, 2004
Usagi Yojimbo
Why do I like Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo? I could tell you why. But in place of 1,000 rambling words, here is a panel from the latest issue (#80) that says it all:
This book is hot noodles. You yearn for it. Trust me.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 05:13 PM
Subway Reading: Manhunter
Manhunter #1 & #2 - On the advice of the Precocious Curmudgeon, I picked up the first two issues of this recent DC series. The art, pencilled by Jesus Saiz and inked by Jimmy Palmiotti, was very solid. I would describe the style as a tighter Brent Anderson, with finer line weights and less ink in general. I liked the character work; Saiz conveys a believable range of emotions in his consistent and distinctive faces. One major gaffe stood out, however (see below).
My reaction to the story, however, was mixed. I'm not sure that I completely buy the main premise or the characters' motivations. The main character is jaded, embittered prosecutor Kate Spencer. She decides to become a vigilante super-heroine after losing a case against a super-human mass murderer. Apparently that's all it takes - well, along with a conveniently left-behind security card that provides access to an evidence room full of super-villain paraphernalia - to become a deadly costumed killer. Not only does it seem way too easy to go from civilian to super-hero, but Kate seems to make the decision to become an adventuring murderer with about as much forethought and consideration as she would give to changing her socks. I suppose the idea is that the turmoil in her personal life combines with the frustration inherent in her professional life to push her over the edge. The problem is that writer Marc Andreyko presents the mechanics and the internal conflict of this transformation as way too easy.
Because of this flaw, it's tough to evaluate this series. I liked everything else about it: the art, the action, the cliffhanger at the end of issue 2. I'm probably going to start buying the book on a monthly basis. But the writer has not managed to suspend my disbelief enough to really get me invested in the story. It's on the bubble. 3 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 12:11 PM
A Word To My Enemies
I do a fair amount of my comic book purchasing on eBay. Specifically, I like to buy trade paperbacks on eBay. I'm not a stickler for condition, so used is OK, and I loves them bargains! But there are a couple of eBay sellers out there who drive me up one wall and down the other. These folks list dozens, if not hundreds, of trades at once. They price these trades at cover price or maybe a dollar below, and often only offer a "Buy It Now" option. So I am left to click through page after page of comics that I have no interest in buying. Why don't I have interest in buying them? Because I can go to my local frigging comic shop and buy them for the same price, without paying for shipping and waiting at least a week to get them! I don't see the logic! I suppose that if you are working on an oil rig off the coast of Alaska, you may not have a local comic shop to visit. Of course, if you are browsing for comics on eBay from that oil rig, you can also go to Amazon.com, buy the same trades for cover price - no, make that 20% off cover price - and get free shipping! So I am left to wonder why these sellers choose to list these dogs that have no hope of selling. The only reason I can come up with is that they want to irritate me. Maybe I have enemies out there. Shadowy enemies who are trying to slowly agitate me to death at the price of 35 cents per listing. Base villains, your treachery will not succeed! So speaks the Pickytarian!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:36 AM | Comments (1)
November 29, 2004
Subway Reading: Sleeper, Tom Strong's Terrific Tales
You are hurrying down the stairs, eager to catch the Manhattan-bound F train that has just entered the station. Upon your arrival at the platform, you note that this train is already packed to the gills. You'd never be able to read a comic book in that sardine can. Your only hope is that the delays that caused this train and the platform to fill up also bunched up the traffic behind it. If so, there will be a near-empty train pulling into the station moments after this one leaves. You decide to roll the dice and wait.
Sure enough, another train rolls into the station 90 seconds later, nearly devoid of passengers! Excellent. Your instinctive feel for the rhythms of the New york City subway system has earned you a comfortable seat. You smugly board the train, select a seat by the window, and decide to reward your cleverness by reading that Peter Bagge story in the latest issue of Tom Strong's Terrific Tales.
Tom Strong's Terrific Tales #12 - The aforementioned Peter Bagge story is almost as much fun as you anticipated. Alan Moore must have enjoyed scripting this brief tale of the Strong family's dystopian suburban future; he mocks not only the characters but the book itself with quips about Eisner Awards and cold-cast figurines. Bagge's art seems a bit looser than usual, though it's still lots of fun. The second story is a Jonni Future tale, drawn by Chris Weston rather than Art Adams. It's enjoyable enough, though sort of one-note. Its middle of the road quality proves to be the perfect bridge to the last story, though, which is one of the most forgettable of recent memory. The art, by Alan Weiss, was shockingly amateurish. The "plot" is non-existent. To be fair, you've never cared that much for Young Tom Strong. But even by those low standards, this was a major dud. It left a bad taste in your mouth that prevents you from giving this book more than 2.5 stars.
Your smile has been wiped away. You could have weathered the Tom Strong disappointment, but the dark side of your "wait for the train after the crowded one" strategy is rearing its ugly head. A crowded subway train takes longer to board. Helpless folks trapped in the middle are trying to swim through the crowd to exit at their stops. Meanwhile, the knucklehead masochists on the platform are trying to force their way into the dense wall of humanity inside the car. This leads to more time at the stop, which leads to bigger crowds at the next stop, and so on and so on. Your empty train car and seat are nice, but they have to be because you are stuck in the tunnel waiting for the whole mess to lurch forward to the next interminable delay. You need to get your head out of the situation before you get consumed with impotent rage. Flipping through your dwindling stack of last week's comics, you find just the thing. The new issue of Sleeper.
Sleeper Season Two #6 - After 18 issues, you're starting to wonder when it's going to get old. It happened with The X-Files; one week you were on the edge of your seat wondering what was going to happen to Agent Mulder, what were the secrets of his past, etc... then the next week you found that you couldn't care less. After about three pages of Sleeper, though, these concerns always melt away. The 3-way manipulation showdown between Tao, Lynch, and Holden gets more and more tense each month, and this issue is no exception. The brief origin-flashback in this issue provides a welcome (though dark) bit of comedy relief in an otherwise grim and suspenseful tale. On nearly every page, artist Sean Phillips leans on the Will Eisner technique of a full-page panel for the main action, with supporting inset panels that move the story along. But he does it so deftly that you don't even notice it until you flip back through the issue after reading it. This is the kind of comic book that reminds you why you love comic books. 4 stars.
Brubaker's spell broken, you pull your head up. After two comics plus a backwards-flip through one of them (you do this to evaluate the art without getting caught up in the story; you're particularly proud of this little technique), you should be at your stop. But what's this? You're only at 34th Street? Gah. And now the conductor is announcing something about the train ahead of you being stopped because of a door malfunction. Stupid train-crowders. Always ruining it for the rest of us. You hop on the express train across the track, which is too crowded to pull out another comic. So you pass the time by dreaming up a silly gimmick for today's blog entry.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 04:02 PM
November 28, 2004
Subway Reading: Ultimate FF, The Losers, Black Widow
Ultimate Fantastic Four #13 - Despite my promise last month to wait for the trade on this series, I still walked out of the store on Wednesday with #13 in my hands. Science -- or, more accurately, pseudo-science -- is the engine that drives the story here, and Ellis shows off his ability to make drama out of the process of discovery and invention. Penciller Adam Kubert and inker John Dell take over the artistic duties in this arc, and they maintain the high level of visual appeal established by Stuart Immonen. Kubert has the unenviable task of pencilling a virtually action-free, dialogue-heavy script. Sometimes he overshoots with unnecessarily unusual camera angles. More often than not, however, he hits the mark. I especially like the 2-panel sequence on the top tier of page 7, where he expertly uses Reed's contorting, stretching figure to pull the reader's eye through the action. Also worth noting is the texture that Kubert, Dell, and colorist Dave Stewart give to Ben Grimm's rocky hide.
Ellis' usual decompression is on full display in this opening chapter of a new story arc. It's little more than 23 pages of set-up, but honestly it worked for me. He introduces a couple of interesting character development ideas and teases us with the promise of a visit to the Ultimate version of the Negative Zone. I'm eager to see this one play out. 3.5 stars.
Black Widow #3 - Is anybody reading this miniseries? If not, it's a shame, because this definitely rises above the usual Marvel B-level character vehicle. Writer Richard K. Morgan can be a little heavy-handed with the feminism; I think the plot communicates it effectively enough without preachy dialogue from the characters. Sub-text is more effective than explicit text for that sort of thing. There is a weird bit of unintentional dissonance at play in this book, with Greg Land's typically cheesecake covers and Natasha's frequent underwear scenes somewhat undermining the feminist themes. But, hey, consider the source. The fact that a Marvel book is at least nodding its head in this direction is commendable. 3 stars.
The Losers #18 - Usually I try to read my comics slowly. The alternative is to run out of comics by Friday and then face 5 comic-less subway rides until I can get a new fix. Unfortunately, this issue of The Losers confounded my efforts. No matter how hard I tried to pace myself, I had to keep flipping the pages! In the last year and a half, writer Andy Diggle has emerged as the heavyweight champion of pulse-pounding comic-book action. This arc is a flashback story of how The Losers attained their current A-team-like fugitive status, and this chapter shows the turning point in that fateful mission gone wrong.
Artist Jock continues to do the most with the least. His expressive minimalist line work is marked by silhouettes and sparse backgrounds, and colored with broad, abstracted strokes by Lee Loughridge. This style complements the story's brisk pace nicely. There are no details, hatching, or gratuitously blended shading for the eye to get caught up in. Instead the reader zips through the action, loving the ride, and then slamming to a delicious moment of frustration with the cliffhanger on the last page. All in all, a very nice job. 4 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 03:26 PM | Comments (1)
November 24, 2004
I'm Glad You Asked...
I was all out of new comics to read today. I didn't even have any unread trades laying around. So what was I to do on the subway? Read the newspaper? A regular book? Play that game where I stare at other people until they look at me, then I turn away quickly so they don't know for sure that I was looking at them in the first place? Bah. I pulled out Essential Fantastic Four Volume 3, and re-read FF #51 and 52, the first appearance of the Black Panther. I can gaze at Jack Kirby's tech drawings all day, and between the hidden African nation of Wakanda and the equipment of Klaw, master of sound, there was tons of material. It's also fun to read Reed and Sue as written by Stan Lee. Every exchange between the two amounts to: "Reed, darling, whatever shall we do?" "Quiet, girl! How can I come up with a solution with you are prattling on in my ear?!"
The plan was to go through the list of new comics today, but instead I think I am going to follow the lead of The Precocious Curmudgeon and others by answering Steven Grant's year-end comics poll...
1) What's your favorite comic of 2004?
A lot of great books to mention here. Kurt Busiek had an awesome year, writing Superman: Secret Identity, Arrowsmith, and Conan. She-Hulk, Street Angel, and Scurvy Dogs reminded me how hilarious comics can be. But for overall best comic of the year I am going to have to go with The Goon. Specifically, the most recent issue was the best self-contained comic story I have read in a very long time. Eric Powell is a genius. A toothless hillbilly genius, to be sure, but a genius all the same.
2) What's your favorite comics related moment?
Finding out that David Lapham and Bill Sienciewicz were going to be the new creative team on Batman. Alas, the moment of hearing that news was as good as it would get; the plan was eventually scrapped. I saw some of those pages, and believe me, the comics world missed out on a great run.
3) What's the worst thing to happen in comics in 2004?
The end of Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men. Whether it was Marvel's fault or not, this move seemed to signify the end of Marvel's brief reign as the home of the most creative, innovative, and enjoyable super-hero comics on the market.
4) What's your most fervid hope for comics in 2005?
There are three comics from the "big two" publishers that I would like to see survive the year: Hard Time, Plastic Man, and She-Hulk. Let's hope they make it.
5) What aspect of comics in 2005 are you most looking forward to?
Two weeks ago I broke the seal, so to speak, by buying my first manga. Combined with the general decline in quality and diversity in Marvel's line, it has been an easy decision to shift some of my comic book budget from the so-called "House of Ideas" to comics from across the Pacific. Actually, I have also enjoyed some of DC/Humanoids' European graphic novel reprints. I look forward to exploring and enjoying both of these international sources of subway entertainment.
6) What's your worst fear for comics in 2005?
I have always harbored a secret fear that the comic book industry will suddenly and swiftly implode under the weight of economic reailty, leaving me and my fellow nerds weeping in the rubble. I suppose that probably won't happen in 2005, but it still seems painfully possible. A more realistic fear, one that is already being realized, is that the ratio of crap to non-crap from Marvel will continue to increase. I know there is always DC, Dark Horse, and others, and I buy and read books by these publishers, but it was Marvel that got me into comics as a youth and that is where my heart lies. The Quesada-Jemas reign of 2000-03 got me back into the comic stores on a weekly basis. That's why it's so sad for me to see them retreating to a world of variant covers, market flooding, and Rob Liefeld. Finally, I fear that the Fantastic Four movie will be a stinking pile of unwatchable drivel.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:50 AM
November 23, 2004
oh yeah...
I knew there was something else that I wanted to post. According to my site's log files, somebody recently found this site after searching on Google for the phrase "crack for reshaper." That just might become the new name of the site. Or my first-born child.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 12:58 PM
Subway Reading: She-Hulk, Stray Bullets, Madrox
Back on the scene, crispy and clean! Sorry about the 3-day absence. Between work during the day and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas at night, time has become a precious commodity. I know you're all dying to know what I read on the subway for the last few days, but first I have one brief item.
My post about Planetes has yielded some great discussion about manga, full of helpful information for manga-shy American comic fans like myself. For example, I learned that I will have to look for first printings of Tokyopop translations if I want to get the color pages in color instead of black & white. Also, the literal English translation of "manga" is "irresponsible pictures." Good stuff!
OK, enough chit-chat. On to the reviews!
She-Hulk #9 - Juan Bobillo is out. Dan Pelletier is in. The consensus (among about three bloggers; I'm nothing if not exhaustive) seems to be that this is a change for the worse, but I disagree. I love cartoony comic-book art as much as the next guy, if not more. But I found Bobillo's work inconsistent and static. The line weights lacked variation and the forms were amorphous and unappealing. Pelletier's art, on the other hand, displays a much higher level of polish. Yes, he has his feet firmly planted in the world of traditional super-hero art, but in this case I think that is a strength. She-Hulk works because it is a light-hearted take on a particular era of the Marvel super-hero world. The more traditional art style serves to place the reader in that world, and that makes the subversive pardoy elements that much more unexpected and effective.
As for this particular issue, writer Dan Slott packs in a ton of memorable comedic moments. The Titania scene alone was worth the price of admission. This was yet another book that earned me some curious and wary glances on the subway. Luckily for me I was reading it after work on Friday. Evening commuters are in a much better mood than morning riders, and on Friday evenings they are practically giddy. Not that they are speaking to each other or making eye contact or breaking any of the long-standing social contracts that make city life bearable, but I find that on Friday evenings there is much less hostility directed towards your average snickering comic book reader. Something for me to remember for the next issue of The Goon. 4 stars.
Stray Bullets #35 - I like Stray Bullets so frigging much that I should recuse myself from this review. I do not have the ability to be objective. I love it, I love it, I love it. Any issue of this comic could be used as the textbook in any class on creating comics. The storytelling. The pacing. The script itself, from the characters, to the plot, to the themes, to the tone. Lapham restricts himself in some drastic ways: adherence to an 8-panel grid; black and white art that is devoid of tonal variation or skritchy pen hatching, etc. And yet his work shines, rising to a level that his full-color, wild-paneled peers can only dream of. If you have never tried out an issue of this comic, you are depriving yourself of the best comic of your time, maybe one of the best ever. 5 stars.
Madrox #3 - Peter David has a very distinctive narrative voice. In this book and Fallen Angel, he is very self-consciously writing noir. Yet he keeps things breezy, fun, and most importantly, self-conscious. This is the second issue in a row where a character reflects on the noir sensibilities of his situation. And in Fallen Angel, the frigging (apparently my word for the day) town is named "Bete Noir." This post-modern self-awareness can be tricky, but David makes it work.
Unfortunately, the other similarity between this series and Fallen Angel is weak art. Pablo Raimondi and Drew Hennesey have made strides since the first issue, but they still have a ways to go. They should take a look at Tony Harris and Tom Feister's work on Ex Machina. While Harris uses the same tight-outline style, he manages to keep his figures from looking stiff and lifeless. There is also considerably less uncomfortable anatomy, and tighter compositions inside the panels. These artistic shortcomings prevent me from giving this book more than 2.5 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:49 AM | Comments (1)
November 19, 2004
Subway Reading: Captain America & Conan
Conan #10 - Awesome as usual. This was the first in what I assume will be a 2-part mystery, and it does a great job of setting things up without giving anything away. Rather than spin its wheels and drag out the set-up, though, new suspects and new wrinkles are introduced right up to the last page. I can't remember the last time that I got to the end of a comic book and felt that twinge of anxious frustration upon seeing "to be continued."
But the name of this blog is not "The Gushytarian." So indulge me in some nit-picks if you will. Cary Nord, for all his awesome art, is prone to the occassional anatomical gaffe. Proportions get wonky from time to time, and more than one arm ends in a indistinguishable lump instead of a hand. In the latter cases, I suppose he is going for a silhouette effect, so maybe that can be attributed to miscommunication with colorist Dave Stewart. But don't let me misrepresent my feelings about the visuals in this book. The layouts and storytelling are incredible. The coloring is among the best ever. On the whole, you will be hard pressed to find a better monthly comic book. 4.5 stars.
Captain America #1 - Writer Ed Brubaker took on a very tough task with this assignment. In some ways he is doomed to fail. There is a camp of Captain America fans that wants wild super-hero action. There is another camp that wants the character to be a metaphor for the US, and that camp is divided along the same idealogical lines that divide the country itself. So no matter who he pleases, Brubaker is bound to alienate and agitate at least one large group of fans.
Personally, I just want a good read. I did not share the negative view that a lot of fans took of John Ney Rieber's post-9/11 politically-themed run, but admittedly that had a lot to do with John Cassady's art. Similarly, I enjoyed this take on the character, due in no small part to Steve Epting's exceptional art and Frank D'Armata's attractive coloring. This team worked on the ill-fated Crossgen pirate book, El Cazador, and they haven't lost a step. Meticulous research makes such a difference; I'm sure Epting had to do a ton of it for El Cazador and he brings the same verisimilitude to Captain America. As somebody who has spent a lot of time in the vicinity of the Brooklyn Bridge, I can personally vouch for the accuracy of the exterior shots in this book. Also worth noting is the impressive two-page spread where Cap is approaching the elevated subway train. I'm not usually a fan of splash pages; too often they are gratuitous and come off as lazy or easy rather than effective. This spread, however, more than justifies its existence with a complex composition that is full of movement, drama, and beauty. Another feather in Epting's cap is his distinctive and consistent character work. Sharon Carter appears in this book, and while she is drawn as the knockout blonde that she should be, she still has a distinctive appearance that makes her much more human and believable than the standard generic beautiful woman that many artists would give us.
As for the writing, Brubaker explores some of the same moral ambiguity and character introspection that he does in Sleeper. Rather than plopping Cap into his umpteenth fistfight with Batroc the Leaper or using him as a flimsy spokesman for a political agenda, Brubaker gives us a welcome look at Steve Rogers as a living, breathing soldier who is haunted by the death that surrounds him.
Except for the train wreck that was the Pulse, so far this has been a very satisfying week of comics. Captain America fits right in. I am looking forward to issue #2. 4 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 11:11 AM
November 18, 2004
Subway Reading: Ex Machina, The Pulse, Fantastic Four
Last night, I leave work and get on the subway, eager to get down to Midtown Comics to pick up my weekly fix. I have no books to read on this short ride, so I pull out my current backup trade: Sandman Vol. 2, The Doll's House. I finish the next-to-last chapter and put it away, saving the last chapter for when I run out of comics this week. Wierdly, the guy sitting next to me asks if it was any good! Huh? I turn and ask him to repeat himself and he does. I was so flabbergasted that all I could do was stammer, "uh... yeah, it's good. Really good." Then I sat in uncomfortable silence for the 3 minutes before my stop. Pathetic! I'm the Pickytarian, dammit! And that's all I could manage? "Uh, yeah, it's really good?!?!" I disgust myself. On with today's reviews:
Fantastic Four #520 - Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo have found it. That tiny, imperceptible point of balance between superhero action and fun, between light-hearted comedy and tense drama, between comic book perfection and unreadable dreck. And don't believe for one second that Waid has acheived this state of nirvana on his own. The fill-in issues featuring the new Frightful Four are all the evidence you need that Wieringo and Karl Kesel are integral to this delicate balance. For example, the flashback sequences in this issue are well-written, but it is the character acting that sells them. I'm going to enjoy this arc while it lasts; this team will be very sorely missed. 4 stars.
Ex Machina #6 - Maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel like artists Tony Harris and Tom Feister turned it up a notch in this issue. It's like they pull off a magic trick every month. The drawing is almost mechanical in its accuracy, and the lines are super-clean. And yet there is not a hint of stiffness or flatness to be found in a single panel. I chalk it up to clever staging, brilliantly restrained inking, and subtle exaggeration in the acting.
Brian Vaughan does a nice job of starting off a new arc. He sets up a new mystery that is tied to Mayor Hundred's past, continuing to use the technique of doling out that past in the form of flashbacks that seamlessly tie into the present storyline. My one reservation about the characterization in this book is on prominent display in this issue, however. I find myself knocked out of the story when the characters either get too preachy or too stereotypical. It's a very fine if not impossible line to walk in a story about politics. More often that not, Vaughan manages to walk that line. But in the scene where the Mayor is arguing with his aide Dave Wylie about school vouchers, the writer stumbles a little. Lines like "I warned you... I'm not a liberal or a conservative, I'm a realist" undermine the believability of the character. It seems like the writer is putting his own beliefs into the mouth of the mayor, and turning Wylie into a stereotype of somebody who disagrees with those beliefs. But in the scope of the general excellence of this title, this is a minor problem. All in all this continues to be one of my favorite monthly titles. 4 stars.
The Pulse #6 - How much longer? How much longer am I going to allow this to continue? Every month - scratch that, more like every week, Bendis and Marvel pick my pocket. I plunk down at least $2.95 on the strength of that name on the cover, and I wind up dissatisfied. I mean, come on. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me 17 times, shame on me, right? The problem is that I am still enjoying Ultimate Spider-man and Daredevil. So I am repeatedly amazed that Avengers, Secret War, and The Pulse can be so inferior in terms of quality. Let me break down this issue for you. I'm not even going to warn you about spoilers because I WANT to spoil it. There is no reason to spend three bucks on this book, which is perhaps the most blatant example of padding for the trade that Marvel has attempted so far. And that's saying a lot. Here's what happens: 3 pages of Wolverine being mad at Jessica Jones for some unnamed reason. Flashback for 11 pages of what we already saw in Secret War: Mysterious woman blows up Luke Cage's apartment, Jessica Jones and Cage go into the hospital, but they can't treat him because he has unbreakable skin, Captain America, Nick Fury, blah blah blah. Literally the same scene from Secret War, down to the same exact script for 4 pages. Then 7 pages of the hospital blowing up and all the superheroes except Jessica disappear. This entire issue could have been accomplished in 3 or 4 pages. I feel like a heel and a sucker for buying it. And do you know what? I'm getting off the train. That's it. No more buying The Pulse, no more buying Secret War, no more buying any of this flimsy drivel that is being passed off as comic book entertainment. I read somewhere recently that Bendis offers a money-back guarantee on all his comics. He should get out his checkbook and prepare to receive a fat package from me. Becuase new artist Brent Anderson showed the inexplicably rare ability to draw Jessica Jones as something other than a generic comic-geek's fantasy boob-machine, I will give this book 1 star.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:20 AM | Comments (1)
November 17, 2004
What If Jessica Jones was Cindy Crawford?
I'm really glad Bendis and Michael Gaydos went to all that trouble to put a believable, realistic female character into the Marvel Universe. Because since Alias ended, it has been enormous fun to see how other creators are unable to draw anything but the same old generic barbie-doll women that they have been practicing since they were 12 years old.
See, for example, the cover to Bendis' upcoming "What If Jessica Jones Had Joined The Avengers?". I suppose this is a slightly younger Jessica Jones than we saw in Alias, so it is perfectly understandable that she has grown about a foot and a half taller, developed long twig-thin limbs, and gotten some sort of radical breast enlargement procedure. Her face, meanwhile, has sprouted high, prominent cheekbones, and the supple, pouty lips of a porn star. At least that poor, lonely Queens fanboy will have a new honey to bring back to his parents' basement.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 11:35 AM | Comments (3)
Subway Reading: Planetes
Planetes Vol. 1 - Last Wednesday was a monumental day in my comic-book buying history. For the first time, I bought a manga. (Is that the right way to say that? Bought some manga? Bought a manga book? See, it's all very new to me). I had seen a lot of positive buzz around Planetes, and I love a good science-fiction story. Besides, all the kids have been talking about this manga stuff, so I figured it was time for my curmudgeonly ass to see what all the hub-bub was about.
I was not disappointed by this book. It is set in the near-future, where space travel is much more common and man has established permanent outposts on the moon. The story follows the exploits of a small band of debris collectors, whose job is to collect the various defunct satellites, empty fuel canisters, and other bits of junk that man has cast off into space. I found myself very involved with the believable characters, each of whom gets a chance to show their flaws and to be heroic. My only quibble might be that the storytelling sometimes tends towards the dragged-out and repetitive, but that's a minor stylistic nit-pick. Overall this was one of the better-written tales I have come across in a while.
Art-wise, this book was equally impressive. The tech aspects of it - ships, spacesuits, etc - are well-researched, and meticulously rendered. Even if I hadn't read a word, I would recognize the near-future setting of the book from the art. The characters show great range of subtle and complex emotions, and the action sequences are handled expertly. The only visual aspect with which I took issue was the opening pages of some of the chapters - they seemed to be painted instead of line drawings, and the black and white reproduction was not kind to them. They had a washed-out quality; the range of values (lights and darks) was limited to light grays. I don't know if this was originally printed in color or not, or even if the original art was in color. If it has always been black and white then I would shift the blame from the production to the artist. But this is another minor complaint about an otherwise beautiful job.
My major complaint with this book has nothing to do with the story or art. It is with the format. I am a newcomer to the world of manga, so maybe there is something I am missing. But I can't come up with a good reason for these books to be printed in their original back-to-front, right-to-left format. The book has been translated and therefore re-lettered. Would it be too much to ask for them to also flop the art so that us western readers can read it in our customary format? It's one of the first rules of graphic design, typography, narrative art, etc, that you want to make the reader comfortable so that he or she can focus on the content rather than the medium. As it is, I find myself getting thrust out of the story by the unusual format. Yes, there are sound effects that are drawn onto the art rather than in word balloons, so these could not be flopped. But these effects are in Japanese characters anyway, so would it really matter to English readers if they appeared backwards?
The only explanation that I can imagine is that these books are printed right-to-left in a misguided attempt at authenticity. This effort is admirable, but ultimately it works against the enjoyment of the book. It seems that translating and re-lettering the book does more damage to the authenticity than flopping the art would. Maybe manga fans enjoy reading them right-to-left because it enhances the experience of reading it. In other words, it gives the books an exotic flavor. I would argue that this ultimately works against the enjoyment of the books, however. This reader is not judging the books on their merits, but on their ability to deliver the thrill of reading something that is alien and different. There is plenty of that to be found in the distinctive visual language that manga artists employ. An artificial adherence to format only distances the Western reader from the material.
So, right... Planetes Volume 1. Great human drama, taking place in a fully realized science-fiction setting. I will definitely be buying Volume 2. 4 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 09:53 AM | Comments (5)
November 16, 2004
To Buy Or Not To Buy...
Another sighting. Yesterday morning on the train I saw somebody readnig a comic book. Awesome! But then I looked more closely and saw that he was reading Avengers: Finale. Gah! Oh well, solidarity is solidarity. I made it a very Bendis subway car by cracking open the latest Ultimate Spider-Man trade. I was going to write a review of that book, and I still might, but... I don't really have much to say about it. It's more of the same, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Oh well, on to this week's installment of "To Buy Or Not To Buy..."
Ex Machina #6 - yes, yes, and yes! Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that the sales on this series are surprisingly high. Take a look at the numbers from October and you'll see that issue #5 cracks the top 100, coming in at 94. That seems like great news until you scan up the list and see things like Rob Liefeld's X-Force at 29. Never underestimate the bad taste of comic book buyers.
JLA #108 - As much as I like Kurt Busiek, I have to draw the lne somewhere. That last issue was pretty lame. I still don't understand the wisdom of starting off an arc - and a new creative team's run - with what seemed like a meaningless filler issue. The forgettable art seals the deal. This one stays on the rack.
Losers Vol 2 Double Down TP - It's TPB-o-rama this week, but with the amount of monthlies that I want, I don't see more than one trade making the cut. This one has the advantage of a $12.95 price point, but we'll see. This IS the point at which I stopped reading the monthlies, however, so it would be new material to me. Of course, the same can be said for another Vertigo trade...
Y The Last Man Vol 4 Safeword TP - Also $12.95. Also picks up right where I stopped buying the monthlies. This is going to be a tough decision.
Plastic Man Vol 1 On The Lam TP - Maybe I will win the lottery between now and tomorrow evening at the comic store. If not, I'm afraid this one won't make the cut. Ohhh, but I really liked those 2 Kyle Baker isues that I recently picked up...
Invincible Vol 3 Perfect Strangers TP - No, thanks. In her review of Marvel Team-Up #1, Johanna at Polite Dissent summed up my opinion about Robert Kirkman perfectly: "Robert Kirkman has clearly done a good job of learning to write comics by reading other comics, but I'd rather I saw a wider range of influence."
Fantastic Four #520 - In a way I'm sort of glad that Waid & Wieringo are leaving this series. It's on the bubble for me every month, but I always wind up buying it. When they leave after this arc, it will make my decision to leave it on the rack much easier.
Madrox #3 - I'm hanging in there on this series, but the art is really making it difficult for me to justify the $2.95 each month.
Pulse #6 - Let's see if Brent Anderson's art makes a difference with this title. That first arc was pretty mediocre, but it was hard to tell how much of that can be blamed on the inappropriate art style.
She-Hulk #9 - This title is doing so well that Marvel is going to reward it by taking it off the stands for 2 months and then "re-launching" it with a new #1. That's genius. I can't imagine a better strategy for nurturing a growing audience than putting the book on hiatus.
Conan #10 - Yes! (insert gushing praise here)
Grendel Devils Reign #6 - I am thoroughly enjoying this reprint of Matt Wagner & Tim Sale's limited series.
Stray Bullets #35 - Every few (or more than a few) months, David Lapham gives me a wonderful gift in the form of a new issue of Stray Bullets. I can't believe that #1 of this series was released 10 years ago. But it's always worth the wait. This may well have been the best comic series of the 1990's.
Para #5 - I'm digging this sci-fi series written by Steven Grant.
Freddy vs Jason Official Movie Novelization MMPB - No, I'm not buying this, but I saw it on the list and had to mention it. I think it's hilarious that there might be somebody out there who wants to read a NOVEL about Freddy vs. Jason. Because, you know, there just aren't any other good novels out there to read.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 11:43 AM
November 15, 2004
R.I.P., O.D.B.
I'm going to take a break from my regularly scheduled criticism of other people's hard work to note the passing of one of my favorite rappers of all time, Ol' Dirty Bastard, aka Drit McGirk, aka Big Baby Jesus. On the first Wu-Tang Clan album, Method Man explains why ODB has his name: "because there ain't no father to his style." I would argue that Dirt had some distant stylistic ancestors: Biz Markie and Flavor Flav come to mind. All 3 MC's were breaths of fresh air in an otherwise stale world of derivative flow and subject matter. Flavor and ODB filled the role of the clown, interrupting their groupmates' dour seriousness with welcome doses of comic relief. Rest in peace, Ol' Dirty. You will be missed.
The illustration below is courtesy of Mike Reddy, reprinted here with permission. It originally ran in The Lowbrow Reader, a small-press comedy magazine that includes what would be one of Ol' Dirty Bastard's last interviews. His vaguely frightening insanity has rarely been on better display; order a copy of issue #4 to see for yourself.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 12:59 PM
"It’s too easy to write stories about Spider-Man kicking the crap out of the Green Goblin."
Mark Millar was interviewed by the Scottish newspaper The Herald this Sunday. It would be too easy to pick on the writer of this article for his gross misrepresentations of comic book history. If somebody is not a comic book reader, I suppose they should be forgiven for believing that Millar "created the world’s first gay comic book stars." But I can - and will - take issue with the biggest doofus to come out of Scotland since Groundskeeper Willie for his "mission to reinvent [Marvel's] tired characters." He gives us this delightful little tidbit, for example:
"I like my stories to mean something and touch on current headlines. It’s too easy to write stories about Spider-Man kicking the crap out of the Green Goblin."
Ah, I see, Mark, that must be why your Marvel Knights Spider-Man involves a series of scarcely-tied together fights between the wallcrawler and members of his Rogue's Gallery. To your credit, I suppose that lineup of punching bags did not include the Green Goblin. Kudos for choosing the difficult road on that one.
And boy, were those Marvel characters "tired" before YOU showed up. Thank you so much for awakening them with your shallow, simple-minded shock value tactics. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for Mary Jane to start packing heat. Or a horny Hulk. Then there are your original storylines, such as The Avengers fighting invading aliens, Hank Pym beating his wife... man, where do you come up with this stuff?
Then we have Mark's expose of the US military's ongoing Super Soldier program: "The US military have already developed soldiers who can be on full alert for two weeks without sleep and are very close to creating the conditions where wounded troops can repair their injuries with a healing factor. Science fiction is always just 10 minutes into the future." It's called modafinil, Mark. It's a commercially-available prescription drug that keeps you awake for up to 30 hours without side effects. Not quite the same as "soldiers who can be on full alert for 2 weeks," but hey, what's a little hyperbole between shockmeister and gullible readers?
My favorite quote in the article is not from Millar. It comes courtesy of a Scottish comic retailer, who offers this almost-lukewarm endorsement of the writer's skills: "There has always been a market for political work: Captain America featured the attack on the World Trade Centre and Superman was sent to fight Hitler. But Mark Millar’s comics are always popular."
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:01 AM
November 12, 2004
Subway Reading: Cenozoic & Plastic Man
Cenozoic #1 - I love a good humor comic. The best ones will have me chuckling, snorting, and drawing looks of mild concern from my fellow subway riders (anybody audibly laughing to themselves is cause for concern on the subway: you never know if they are chuckling about the bodily function they are about to undertake or the machine gun they are about to whip out). Cenozoic #1, written and drawn by Mark Fearing and published by O-P-P, earned me some glances this morning. Not as many as, say, The Goon, but it wouldn't be fair to hold it up to a standard that high. Fearing knows a couple of the cardinal rules of humorous cartooning: buck teeth are funny; misaligned eyeballs that point in 2 directions are funny; feces-flinging monkeys are funny. Combine all that into a buck-toothed, cross-eyed caveman who goes through an entire story with a monkey-poo stain on his forehead and you're halfway home.
The stories in this book are the tales of animals and humans fighting for dominance in the era immediately following the Ice Age. The underlying joke is the question of how in god's name did the humans come out on top? The thing that makes this book click is that the cavemen are not just one-dimensional dummies. They are trying to cope with an increasingly complex world, armed only with their opposable thumbs and whatever inventions that Jerry the Caveman Inventor can provide them (these inventions include a great visual gag: the still-in-progress toilet paper that is represented by a mass of scribbly leaves). That undercurrent of pathos is what makes the cavemen endearing.
Fearing's art has an attractive loose-handed energy that complements the light tone of story. My only complaint would be that the character designs might be a shade too greeting-card cutesy, but that's a matter of taste and it didn't really bother me. All in all, a great effort and a worthwhile read. I am looking forward to more. 4 stars.
Plastic Man #12 - On the other end of the comedy scale we find Plastic Man #12. Scott Morse fills in for Kyle Baker this month and does a great job... of making me miss Kyle Baker. Morse shows off something new: decompressed humor comics. You're getting one joke every page or two, and by joke I mean unimaginative pun on the word "sticky." See, Plastic Man is fighting an enemy who shoots glue out of his fingers. So he wants to make sure that the guy doesn't "stick around" any more. Hardy har har har. Whereas Cenozoic's slapstick comedy was made more effective with a subtle injection of empathy for the characters, this book wears thin pretty quick because the characters are no more than one-half-dimensional pun spouters.
A lot of people like Morse's cartooning style, but for some reason it leaves me cold. He has a unique and beautiful touch with his colors, but his laboring on these colors and textures robs the finished product of immediacy, energy, and life. His characters are almost too stylized for me to accept them as people. This is a matter of personal taste; like I said, Morse has a lot of fans. I just don't think that I am one of them. 0.5 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 12:56 PM | Comments (1)
November 11, 2004
Subway Reading
Angeltown #1 - This limited series from Vertigo presents an old-fashioned murder mystery, complete with all the requisite noir elements: a wisecracking, world-weary P.I., bombshell dames, fistfights, dopey hired thugs, etc. With the subplot, which revolves around the unsolved murder of the P.I.'s father, writer Gary Phillips deftly adds an effective emotional hook. The resolution of that murder may have been telegraphed in this issue, but I will keep my suspicion to myself lest I ruin it for anybody, or, more importantly, in case I am wrong!
I was unsure about it at first, but Shawn Martinbrough's art quickly grew on me. I would compare his style to that of Sean Phillips, but with slightly more stylized, cartoonish characters a la Jim Mahfood. There were a handful of glaringly awkward anatomical moments that can't be chalked up to stylization. And I would have liked to have seen more emotional range in the characters' faces. But these are nit-picks; the storytelling was clear and his unique style was appealing.
All in all, this was a promising start and I am looking forward to the next chapter. 3.5 stars.
District X #7 - This series seems to be back on track after the meandering, unsatisfying conclusion to their last story arc. From the opening scene of a beat cop dealing with rowdy kids, to the art gallery sequence, this issue presents a welcome return to the New York City flavor that makes gives the series its unique appeal.
As for the art, Lan Median and Alejandro Sicat seem to be improving a little. the art is still a little stiff and over-rendered, but less so than I remember from earlier issues. I would refer the team to Sprouse & Story's work on Wildstorm's Ocean series, so that they could learn that less is usually more. Anatomy and prespective problems are disappearing rapidly, though, and that's a good sign. 3.5 stars.
Ocean #2 - I bought...
this comic...
book...
and read it...
It was...
OK...
but still...
way too padded. 3 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 09:56 AM
November 10, 2004
To buy or not to buy? (and some other random stuff)
After spending 15 minutes reading Mystique #20 yesterday, it's amazing that I could spend an hour writing about it. Especially since it was so mediocre. After that excess, I am going to try to keep it brief today.
Postmodernbarney is awesome. Today Dorian pointed me in the direction of Brian K. Vaughan's blog, where the writer has posted 4 preview pages of his upcoming GN, Pride. This book was inspired by the true story of animals who escaped the Baghdad zoo during the American invasion last year. I just think that's a great set-up, and the art looks very nice.
I would also like to mention The Incredibles, which I saw this past weekend. Other blogs have posted glowing reviews of the movie, and while I think it was definitely entertaining and fun, I felt that visually it was a step down from Finding Nemo or A Bug's Life. While the technical execution of the various textures and light were impeccable as usual, the cinematography was not up to Pixar's usually spectacular standards. Maybe this was a result of director Brad Bird's influence? My final thought about the movie was that they should at the very least send a thank-you card to Marvel & DC comics for the "inspiration" for almost every single character and story element.
OK, so on to this week's installment of "Will I Buy It?" The theme this week is "Brevity is the soul of wit."
Gotham Central #25 - Yes! It's sad that Michael Lark is leaving this book, but hopefully his 2-year deal with Marvel will lead to something good.
Identity Crisis #6 - No. My quota of lame heavily-promoted stunt comics has been met by Avengers Disassembled, thank you very much.
Ocean #2 - Chris Sprouse & Karl Story are a hell of an art team. And Ellis is more than willing to keep pesky things like dialogue or story progress out of their way.
Plastic Man #12 - Putting back Wolverine last week and picking up Plastic Man #11 instead was the best decision I have made in the comic shop in a long time.
Wild Girl #1 - written by Leah Moore, daughter of Alan. Does the apple fall far from the bushy black beard? Hmmm. A gametime decision.
Pro Oversized HC - I'm trying to think of a comic book that is less deserving of an oversized hardcover reprint, but I'm drawing a blank.
Avengers Finale #1 - Look down, Bendis. Look at what you're jumping over. I'll give you a clue: it's a big gray fish with a prominent dorsal fin and rows of razor-sharp teeth.
District X #7 - The first arc of this series started so well and ended so badly. I'll give it a stay of execution, if for no other reason than to provide me with cannon fodder.
Iron Man Vol 4 #1 - Ahhh, now I understand why Warren Ellis writes comics where nothing happens. This way he can knock out 10 or 12 each month! Genius! And what I've seen of the digitally-created art in this book... well, let's just say it didn't appeal to me.
Marvel Team-Up #1 - Walking Dead is OK, but I have not enjoyed a single Robert Kirkman super-hero book that I have read. I might buy this anyway out of my nostalgic fondness for the title. But hopefully I will be strong.
Cenozoic #1 - There was a preview of this book on the Newsarama site a few weeks ago, and it looked promising. I am going to give this one a try.
Yeesh, looks like a thin week. Only 4 comics that I am looking forward to. Sometimes that's a blessing in disguise; this way I can try out some other books and see if there's anything that I have been missing. I know you're on the edge of your seats to see how that goes, so stay tuned!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 09:54 AM | Comments (1)
November 09, 2004
Subway Reading: Mystique
Mystique #20 - There I was, Sunday afternoon, considering the prospect of making it to Wednesday with only two new comics left to read. That's 2 comics for 5 subway trips; I can read slowly but there's no way I can stretch them out that far. So I ducked into the comic book store in my Brooklyn neighborhood to pick up some filler. Usually I buy my comics at Midtown Comics in Manhattan; it's a clean, well-stocked store, with a lot of floor space and a professional, knowledgeable staff. Last but certainly not least, they give a 20% discount to regular customers. This Brooklyn store, on the other hand... I feel for them, I really do. My neighborhood has got to be a tough market for a comic store. It's lousy with yuppies who have fled Manhattan in order to birth and raise their spoiled little children. Not to mention a large lesbian population, possibly the largest in the city. (That's not some kind of homophobic hyperbole, it's the truth.) Neither demographic is very highly represented among comic book buyers. Anyhow, the store devotes maybe 40% of its floor space to comics, with the rest reserved for overpriced action figures, Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and the like. Shopping for comics there involves climbing over the old woman who sits on a chair in the middle of the tiny store, smoking cigarettes. Then you squeeze yourself into the narrow aisle between the back issue table and the wall and dig through the poorly-sorted, overstuffed racks of 2- and 3-month old comics. I would love to support my local retailer, but come on. Quite frankly this is one of the few independently-owned neighborhood stores that I wouldn't mind seeing gutted and turned into a Starbucks.
Back to the point of this so-called review. I walked out of the store with last month's Plastic Man (sometimes the poorly-maintained new shelf has its benefits) and the new issue of Mystique. I've seen some buzz here and there regarding Mystique, and I noticed that this was Part 1 of a new story arc, so I decided to check it out. It is, after all, my journalistic duty. Do you see what I endure for your sake, gentle readers?
As it turned out, this was an all-around mediocre affair. The story was sort of pat and unoriginal: Mystique is a double-agent, ostensibly working for Charles Xavier but actually plotting to kill him on behalf of The Quiet Man, a mysterious, hooded... I don't know what he is, some kind of evil mastermind. Now, you have to swallow the idea that the world's most powerful telepath has no idea about the intentions of the former mortal enemy who is currently in his employ. OK, fine. Once I got past that, I found that I kind of enjoyed the set-up: Mystique is in a bind because she has to either work for Xavier or The Quiet Man, because they both offer her a magic device that protects her from being found by the governments of the world from hunting her down and punishing her for her past crimes. This is the engine that pulls the story along; it sets up both an external conflict between characters and an internal conflict for the protagonist.
The art in this book did not grab me. The layouts, pacing, and storytelling were done well, with the exception of the jarringly gratuitous T&A shots. In a February 2001 interview on the excellent Sequential Tart web site, Bill Jemas (who was at the time President of Publishing at Marvel) described the rationale for this gratuity: "We have quite a few male readers who live in the basement of their parent's house in Queens. For them, an evening with Elektra is as good as it gets." So, OK, I forgive them.
While he draws a mean rack and caboose, Manuel Garcia has some trouble with other parts of the human anatomy, namely arms. Actually I think it's more of a foreshortening problem; arms are often grotesquely shortened rather than foreshortened. There is also a too much inconsistency with characters' appearances. If she didn't have blue skin and no irises, I would have a hard time understanding that we were looking at the same Mystique from panel to panel. I suppose one could get all No-Prizey and claim that it's because of here shape-shifting power, but how does that explain the 3 different Charles Xavier look-sort-of-alikes that appear in the course of his 2 page sequence? On the bright side, Raul Fernandez' inking is very pro and pleasing, and Digital Rainbow does a nice job with the coloring.
In summary, this comic delivers an intriguing plot, awkward but capable art, and a fair amount of boobs for the basement-ridden, Elektra-loving, Queens fanboys out there. I think I am going to continue with this arc to see where it goes. 3 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 12:00 PM
November 08, 2004
What is it about my money that Marvel doesn't like?
Three announcements came out of Wizardworld in Dallas this weekend, each one negatively affecting one of the dwindling number of Marvel books that I buy each month:
- Mark Waid & Mike Wieringo will be leaving the Fantastic Four at the end of the current Galactus story arc.
- Bendis & Alex Maleev will be leaving Daredevil in December 2005.
- She-Hulk will go on "hiatus" after issue 12, with plans for a sumemr re-launch.
So there you have it, Nine less dollars for me to spend on Marvel each month. No, wait, there is this one new title for me to look forward to: "Combat Zone: True Tales from GI's in Iraq." On the other hand... Take a look at Rich Johnston's story about it in his Lying From the Gutters column (scroll down to the first item, entitled, "From Our Embitterred Correspondent"). Yeah, you know what, I think I'll be passing on this one after all.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 01:29 PM
Subway Reading
It's not really comic-book related, but as a subway rider (and reader) I feel obliged to point out this story:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/249826p-213902c.html
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 11:18 AM
Subway Reading: Hard Time
Hard Time #10 - This issue moved the various plots and subplots forward. I wouldn't describe it as treading water or padding; there are about 6 times as many sub-plots running as there are in most other monthly comics, and they all need time to develop. Nonetheless, this read very much like what it is: a middle chapter of a bigger story.
Honestly, this series might read better in trade format than monthly. I can't wait that long, though, for my regular dose of Brian Hurtt's art! I gushed and gushed last month so I won't repeat myself. Suffice to say that Hurtt's cartoony yet naturalistic style and his masterful ink work set a standard that is rarely matched by his peers. This week I saved Hard Time and Guy Davis' BPRD until last, so that the art in both could serve as a delicious dessert after my weekly comic meal. Hurtt delivered as expected. Now let's see how Davis does when I dig in to BPRD on my ride home tonight. 4 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 09:47 AM
November 06, 2004
Get 'em While They're Lukewarm!
I am selling some recent comics on E-Bay, complete runs of books that I have either praised or trashed on this very blog. Wise? Probably not! But my bad business sense is your opportunity to get some cheap comics!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 04:26 PM
Subway Reading: JLA CLassified, Astonishing X-Men, Plastic Man
JLA Classified #1 - a healthy dose of old-fashioned super-hero action and thrills, courtesy of Grant Morrison, penciller Ed McGuiness, and inker Dexter Vines. This issue is writen with typically tacit Morrisonian exposition; blink and you'll miss out on what the heck is going on. I appreciate this; as I've said before, it's the anti-Claremont idea of forcing the reader to savor each word and every bit of art. There was one major issue that threatened to derail my enjoyment of this book. That was my unfamiliarity with The Ultramarines, whose battle with Super Gorilla Grodd makes up the majority of the action. For that matter, maybe somebody can help me with another question: is "Super Gorilla Grodd" the same character as Gorilla Grodd?
The art in this book is satisfying, if somewhat straightforward. Very tight, very pro, very slick. I might question some of the super-splashy layouts used in the first half because they tend to muddle the storytelling. Along with my unfamiliarity with the characters and Morrison's obtuse approach to exposition, the confusing staging contributes to the thin layer of inscrutability that keeps me from giving this book more than 3.5 stars.
Plastic Man #11 - This book was actually released two weeks ago, but I didn't pick it up until this past Wednesday. I had the 2nd issue of Millar's Wolverine in my hand, but the amount of Marvel mediocrity in my stack and my general disdain for Millar won out at the last minute. On a whim I picked up this Plastic Man instead and I'm glad I did. It's chock full of clever zings at comic book cliches and President Bush; yes, these are easy targets, but the cleverness of the material still made me chuckle. Combine that with slapstick action and candy-colored cartoon visuals, and you have 2 dollars and 95 cents worth of light-hearted comic entertainment. 4 stars.
Astonishing X-Men #6 - Frankly I'm astonished that I'm still reading this book. For the most part, John Cassady delivers his usual gaze-worthy art, but that's about all this title has going for it. This penultimate issue did help me put my finger on my problem with this series. Yes, the return of Colossus obliterated one of the main pillars of the X-Men's return to comic book greatness. But it also stands as a prime example of the main deficiency of Joss Whedon's scripting. These 6 issues have been Whedon's glowing love letter to the Claremont & Claremont-spawned X-Men of the 1980's. OK, yes, we all liked those characters and stories. An occasional homage or nod to that era is appreciated. But Whedon seems incapable or unwilling to give us anything else. The return of the costumes, Colossus, Kitty Pryde, and Lockheed the dragon. The groan-inducing two-page spread tribute to Wolverine & Colossus' "Cannonball Special." The list goes on and on. If you'll recall, this stubborn clinging to the past led to the X-Men's spiral into crappiness in the years following Claremont. Morrison had the guts (and more importantly, the authority) to break this cycle and nudge the characters forward, out of the status quo morass into which they had sunk. Unfortunately, creativity and original ideas have no place in the newly conservative Marvel. If I want 1980's nostalgia, I can read G.I. Joe or Thundercats. But you know what? I don't read those books. And I'm not reading this anymore. On the strength of Cassady's art: 2 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 11:42 AM
November 05, 2004
Subway Reading: The Question
Cars seem to operate in the rain. Airplanes don't have a problem. The New York City subway, on the other hand? Not so effective in the rain. You might think that a system that largely operates underground wouldn't be affected so much by precipitation, but you would be wrong. Long story short, last night's signal problems and the resulting delays gave me ample time to dig into this week's comics.
The Question #1 - I have to say it. This book was a good read, but it left me with a few too many questions. Sorry about that. My familiarity with The Question is close to nil; all I know is that Rorshach in The Watchmen was intended as an analogue to this Charlton Comics character. (DC acquired Charlton in the early 80's, and in fact The Watchmen was originally conceived with the intention of using the actual Charlton characters.) From this book, we learn that The Question's alter ego is popular news reporter Vic Sage. What we don't learn is exactly what his powers are, if any. They seem to involve traveling on some sort of astral plane, and releasing smoke from his belt buckle. We do get sort of an idea of his motivations, which seem to be the hook in this story. If his vigilante morals are a product of a somehwat deranged mind, are they still heroic? I could be way off base here; maybe he isn't supposed to be crazy at all and I am just thinking of Rorshach. I'm looking for a little more direction than this introductory issue offers.
Writer Rick Veitch uses some classic comic storytelling tricks to excellent effect. He goes back and forth in time, between "Yesterday" and "Today." The "Yesterday" sequences are split even further, between The Question's inner monologue and his external actions. These splits not only tell the story in an interesting way, they also reinforce the overall theme of duality. There is also a foray into first-person POV, which puts the reader inside the head of the protagonist. This technique works together with the previously mentioned internal dialogue to place the reader inside the mind of Vic Sage.
I was not familiar with Tommy Lee Edwards' art before picking up this book, but I am already a fan. He uses bold, confident lines to describe naturalistic figures and settings. He has a minimalist, reductive sort of drawing style with few superfluous marks. Sort of like Tony Harris, but much looser. The coloring, on the other hand, did not work for me. It has a watercolor feel, but often falls victim to that medium's pitfall: muddy washouts. The color often obscures the action. There is not enough contrast between light and dark or warm and cool; instead there is a general patina of subtle midtones. I know I am becoming a broken record on this subject, but DC's typically crummy paper stock does not help.
All in all, this first issue hooked me into the story, but it was a mixed bag. I liked the tone and the storytelling tricks, as well as the drawing style. On the negative side, there could have been a touch more information about the character, and the coloring needs work. Mildly recommended. Let's see where it goes. 3.5 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:49 AM
November 04, 2004
Subway Reading: Ultimate FF and The Avengers
Ultimate Fantastic Four #12 - I complain and moan and whine about Warren Ellis and his descent into decompression. After reading this issue, however, I have to give credit where credit is due. The climax of the slow-building first battle between Doom and the FF is worth the wait. The characterization is spot-on: from Doom's megalomania, to Reed's steely resolve, to Ben & Johnny's comic relief.
Stuart Immonen does a fantastic job (har, har) with the art. He has proven to be very versatile, altering his style to suit the project. While his work on Superman: Secret Identity veered towards the naturalistic, here he employs a stylized, cartoony look. Not many artists seem willing or able to pull off this kind of malleability.
All in all this issue rescued what had been a bit of a bloated arc. It will probably read best in the collected TPB format, and I'm starting to think that might be the way to buy this series form here on out. Anyway, kudos to Ellis & Immonen. 4 stars.
Avengers #503 - At this point, the story has become a bit of a train wreck for me. I'm fascinated by the bizarre chracterization and the clumsy plot. I'm mesmerized by the derivative art and the muddy colors. This is a low point for Marvel, which is saying a lot.
This issue was basically an info-dump where Dr. Strange shows up and expositorally explains why eveything has gone to heck in a handbasket for the Avengers. The throng of superheroes obliges this blather with lots of helpful interjections of "it can't be" and "then what happened?" That's about it. They could have saved a lot of paper by having Strange show up and tell the real reason why all of the drama-less death and destruction fell out of the sky. "What happened, Dr. Strange?" "What happened was that Bendis likes to write Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Luke Cage. Marvel knows Wolverine & Spider-Man sell books. Both parties needed to get these second-tier nobodies like the Vision and Hawkeye out of the way ASAP so that they could make room for the variant-covered re-launch event that will be the New Avengers #1. Now I must return to my own unseen corner of the Marvel Universe until I am needed to hastily resolve another muddled plot."
On the plus side, I liked the montage of old Scarlet Witch panels and the reprint of Wanda's joining of The Avengers from back in the day. Both reminded me of a time when this title told the story of unglamorous characters, making the Marvel Universe an imaginary world rich with a diversity of colorful heroes. Now this book is just one more cog in the machine of property-exploiting market saturation, continuing the downward spiral of quality in Marvel's books. On the strength of these happy memories, I will throw this book the bone of 1 star.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:22 AM
November 03, 2004
Subway Reading and Wallowing
Seems like the entire comic blogoshpere is alive with misery and woe about the election. I can't say that I feel any differently. But I am going to try to soldier on with a brief comic book review, hopefully taking my and everybody else's mind off of the revoltin' developments of the last 24 hours.
JLA #107 - As I've said before, Kurt Busiek has written an unprecedented string of amazing comic books this year. I kind of like reading JLA though I don't do it that often. I think it tickles some dim memory in my brain of the classic Superfriends TV cartoon. I watch that cartoon now and I'm stunned by the depths of its crappiness. But as a child, I didn't know any better, so I ate it up like a fiend. Anwyay, back to this comic book. Busiek and JLA seemed to be a can't-miss. Unfortunately, I think it did miss.
Many voters chose Bush because of his supposedly Christian values. This leads me to wonder: Where exactly in the Bible did Jesus declare that the rich should have their taxes reduced? Did I miss the chapter where he advises the faithful to slaughter 20,000 civilians in an unnecessary war? I guess I need to go back to Bible school.
Sorry about that. I intended to keep politics out of this review and by gosh I'm going to succeed from here on out. Comic books. That's what I want to think about today. Comic Books.
The cover of this book seemed to imply that this would be a story about the JLA fighting their extra-dimensional evil counterparts, the Crime Syndikate. Instead we got 21 pages about The Flash and Martian Manhunter on routine Monitor Duty aboard the Watchtower. Don't you hate it when you are lied to? I hate when a supposedly authoritative source leads me into a course of action by deceiving me. It's sort of like a president telling the country that we need to invade a sovereign nation for the first time in US history because this other country is about to attack us with nuclear, biological, and/or chemical weapons. Man, I would be PISSED if I later found out that there hadn't been any such weapons in that country for the last 12 years!
Ugh. There I go again. Well, all I have to do is make a couple of points about the art in this story and I will be finished. I will no longer be tempted to write something about the SICK feeling in my gut while I watched this lying fool stand up in my city and invoke the worst day in my city's history ad infinitum just to frighten a bunch of small-minded bigots into granting him the power to continue to trample human rights, destroy our environment, bankrupt our country, and fatten the wallets of his rich cronies at the expense of the very working men and women who put him in power in the first place.
The art in this book was lame. Unexciting. Uninspired. Isn't this supposed to be one of DC's flagship titles? If so, then why couldn't they get something more than a journeyman effort for the art? In the sequence where the electromagnetic avatars of Flash & MM enter into the electronic spectrum or whatever the heck that was, the special effects consisted of a handful of ink-drawn squares hovering in front of them. Whoopdie-do. All in all I was underwhelmed by this book. There are other comics out there that deserve my 3 dollars. Next month I think I am going to look for one of them instead. 1.5 stars.
Oh, and I give the election 0 stars! So there!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 12:47 PM
November 02, 2004
Spider-man. Organic Webs vs. Web-shooters. Discuss.
Newsarama reports that "Due to the changes Peter Parker underwent through the four-part “Changes” arc (#17-#20...), he now has organic webshooters in his wrists – just like his film counterpart."
My first reaction to this story was that I don't want to care. Having an opinion one way or the other on this topic is surely some kind of badge of dishonor, is it not? It would reduce me to the status of drooling fanboy, a description that is probably accurate, but one that I like to deny.
On the other hand, surely it is my journalistic duty to offer my opinion on the development that would be the hot topic of the day at the store tomorrow if anybody spoke to each other rather than climbing over one another to get to the latest issue of X-Crap-o-rama. Plus, I may as well face it: there is a shamefully large portion of my brain dedicated to opinions about subjects such as Spider-man.
The verdict is: I welcome this development. It is long-overdue. It never rang true to me that a 16-year old kid could have invented the web fluid and the web shooters that Spider-Man used. If he was such a friggin' genius at both chemistry and mechanical engineering, couldn't he have found a more lucrative profession than selling crummy photos of himself to the Daily Bugle? He could have at least spent a weekend inventing something equally incredible, then selling the rights and living off the royalties.
As for arguments about Marvel somehow "selling out" by sacrificing years of continuity in order to bring their properties in line with the movie versions: Eh. That doesn't ring very true to me. Why shouldn't Marvel do what they want with their characters? I have my doubts that this move is going to bring a swarm of movie fans into the comic stores now that they won't be utterly confused by the previous incomprehensible difference between the movie character's webs and the comic book character's webs. I don't think Marvel really expects that to happen either; heck, the direct market sales on Spider-Man books have actually decreased since 2002 when the first movie was released. I see it as cherry-picking an element of the movie that was actually an improvement for the character.
I will tell you this, though: this whole improved Spider-sense thing is a different story. That just sounds stupid. There's a reason why knuckleheads like Ant-Man and Aquaman get so little respect, and it starts with the fact that talking to animals is pretty low on the list of cool powers. Besides, his spider-sense already rubs up against the line between interesting character element and escape-hatch plot device.
My advice, which I know will go unheeded, is to vote with your wallet. If you think it's a dumb idea, stop buying Spider-Man books. Of course the whole argument is academic for me, since I only read Ultimate Spider-man, and presumably that title will be unaffected by this decision. But let it be known that I am NOT afraid to stand up and admit that I have opinions about this whole stupid inconsequential non-issue! Frankly, worrying about this is a lot easier than worrying about things like the U.S. being incapable of running fair elections. But that's a rant for another day...
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 11:06 AM | Comments (1)
November 01, 2004
To Buy or Not To Buy, That is the Question
Wednesday, November 3rd. Also known as the first day of a long stretch of lawsuits, recounts, and general ugliness as the country tries to decide who it might have elected President the day before. I say phooey to all of that! I'm going to the comic book store!
Hard Time #10 - Without question yes! A great book, which I am going to enjoy while it lasts. It's kind of fun to live on the edge with this book, wondering if each issue I buy may be the last. Because I know there are a ton of people buying 20 copies of the new Green Lantern series instead of buying 19 of that and 1 copy of this.
Intimates #1 - Am I the only person who has no interest whatsoever in this book? More teenage superheroes? Come on. I'm sure Joe Casey is a nice guy and all but I have been pretty underwhelmed by everything I've ever read by him. And if I never see Jim Lee draw ever again it will be too soon.
Fallen Angel #17 - A fun read. The last issue interested a big fat plot twist that promises to give the story a much-needed jump start. I'm there.
JLA Classified #1 - Is this the new Grant Morrison limited series? If so, then add it to my stack.
Question #1 - Rick Veitch can write the hell out of a comic book. See ABC's Greyshirt: Indigo for proof. I'm not familiar with the earlier Question books though, and this is looking like a full week, so this book might get bumped just like Veitch's Crypto Zoo trade did 2 weeks ago. A game-time decision.
Sleeper Season 2 #5 - Ahhh yeah!
Tom Strong Book 4 HC - Great. Only another 18 months before this gets reprinted in paperback and I buy it. I had better mark my calendar.
Astonishing X-Men #6 - I am still buying this because I am a mindless sheep. There is no other reason. Well, I suppose John Cassady's art is easy on the eyes. So there's that. Baaa-a-a-ah.
Avengers #503 (#88) - Further evidence that I am a brainless sheep. I may as well send Marvel a check every month and have them come to my home and poke me in the ribs with a sharp stick. Ow! Quit it!
Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes #1 - More Joe Casey, right? I could be wrong about that. If he is writing this, then the answer is no. if he's not writing it... well, the answer is still no.
Ultimate Fantastic Four #12 - Let me get this straight. 5 issues into Warren Ellis' arc and so far the FF has been attacked by Dr. Doom, flown in the Fantasticar, and begun a retaliatory attack on Dr. Doom. I will finish out this arc for eBay purposes, but I think that my personal backlash against Mr. Ellis' glacial pacing is going to begin with #13.
Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 11 Carnage TP - I want to buy it, but there are too many floppies this week. A future purchase for sure. Bendis' work on the Avengers may be head-scratchingly awful, but he is still doing great work with USM.
BPRD The Dead #1 - A new batch of monthly Guy Davis goodness begins. Prepare yourself for unrepentant gushing.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:19 AM