The Pickytarian

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November 23, 2004

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 November 23, 2004 10:49 AM

Comments

Posted by: DavidPW at November 23, 2004 11:28 AM