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May 27, 2005
Your Assistance Is Humbly Requested
Because I have the typical Marvel fan's shallow knowledge of DC characters, I sometimes have to ask for help with obscure yet bizarrely fascinating items like this. What the f*%k is a Composite Superman?
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:12 AM | Comments (6)
May 25, 2005
Subway Comic Reader Sighting
This morning I had another comic reader sighting on the subway. The train was crowded, and as I got packed into the middle of the car, I looked down and saw somebody reading a Starman trade. Short white guy, glasses, thin beard. It took me a second to confirm that it wasn't, in fact, me. Then I realized that no, that's one of the later trades, and I only have the first one. Whew!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:52 AM | Comments (1)
May 24, 2005
To Buy or Not to Buy, plus some Star Wars comments
Before I get into this week's comics, I'm going to break from tradition and indulge in some movie stuff. I have a few brief thoughts to share about Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. One, it was better than I expected. Two, I have no faculty for objectively criticizing it. The depth of my love for the first three and my hatred of the last two prevents me from establishing any kind of consistent perspective. Three, Darth Vader shouting "NOOOOOO!" at the end was possibly the lamest, corniest moment ever recorded on film. Up until then, I had never heard the sound of two hundred pairs of eyes rolling at once. Finally, I have a reminder for all the folks who have suggested that this film was better than Return of the Jedi: the first 45 minutes of Jedi, featuring the rescue of Han Solo from Jabba The Hutt. Say what you will about the Ewoks, but if you can show me one sequence in the new movie that is worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the Han Solo rescue, I will eat my hat.
With that off my chest, it's on to the comics...
It's not necessarily a slow week, but I wouldn't say that it's all that great either. There are a lot of books that I sort of want, but few that I am all that excited about.
Batman Broken City TP - I'm a huge fan of Azzarello and Risso's 100 Bullets, and hey, Batman is Batman. But was this run any good? Can anybody help me out here (and no, that doesn't mean that I want to hear from the Suckytarian about Killer Croc's unexplained change from a monster into a pimp)?
Catwoman #43 - Speaking of Killer Croc, he is featured in this fill-in issue that I assume bridges the gap between Ed Brubaker's and Will Pfeifer's runs. I will probably wait until Pfeifer starts before getting back into this title, but the cover of this issue is so well-designed that I will definitely give it a look.
City Of Tomorrow #2 - I bought #1 of this series, Howard Chaykin's 9,649th tale of a dystopian future. While Chaykin's art has never quite appealed to me, I enjoyed the story enough to give #2 a chance. The premise and the various plotlines were set up deftly and efficiently, which is more than I can say for...
Otherworld #3 - I read the first two issues of this book but I don't think that I am going to hang around for #3. The story is a little too stock (somebody somewhere accurately compared it to the 1980's Dungeons & Dragons cartoon) and slow to develop. The visuals are unappealing, not so much because of Phil Jimenez' heavily-detailed art, but because the coloring is so distractingly overdone that it obscures everything.
Gotham Central Vol 2 Half A Life TP - This story arc actually won an Eisner award in 2004. Glad to see DC capitalizing on that success by releasing a trade 10 months later. When this series gets the inevitable axe, it will be blamed on the market's resistance to halfway-intelligent comics. The absurdly slow releases of trade collections and the pathetic under-marketing, of course, will have had nothing to do with it.
Green Lantern #1 - Carlos Pacheco's art is consistently impressive, but I just don't think that I can get on board for this series. I anticipate that it will be full of the unexplained DCU references that drove me away from Adam Strange.
Losers #24 - It's like a 21st-century A-Team. I mean that in a good way.
Sleeper Season 2 #12 - A moment of silence, please, for the end of one of the best modern superhero titles. Much like Gotham Central, it's a superhero book for semi-adults, but without the sophomoric, melodramatic shock-value that usually passes for "mature." Instead, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips gave us moral ambiguity, richly textured characters, pathos, and intrigue and mystery that has been impossible to predict. I'm going to miss it.
Deep Sleeper TP - I read this series in monthly format and loved it. The art and the writing work together to create some impressively palpable tone and atmosphere. Check it out if you missed it the first time; you won't be disappointed.
Captain America Vol 5 #6 - This arc may have dragged a bit in the middle, but in issue #5 the story and the action got back on track in a big way. I am looking forward to this conclusion of Brubaker's first storyline.
Incredible Hulk #81 - Where is Peter David going with this story? I have no idea. There seem to have been clues dropped here and there, which I appreciate, but I'm still in the dark. It's a fun ride, though. I think I'm still on a high from Hulk vs. Fin Fang Foom three issues ago, but, hey, I'll take it. Also, I believe that this issue is finally the one with that awesome Frazetta tribute cover.
Machine Teen #1 - Know what I hate? Teenagers. Loud, hormonal, and eager to impress each other, teenagers can ruin a subway ride as fully as any bum coated in his own filth. So unless this is a book about a robot that infiltrates a high school just to deal out some sweet, sweet justice to the little twerps, I'm not interested. Bah. Where's my prunes, dammit? Nurse? Nuuuurse!
Runaways Vol 2 #4 - Yes, of course I'm enjoying this series. Why not? What? Who are you calling a hypocrite?
Stormbreaker Saga Of Beta Ray Bill #5 - This series showed some promise, and I suppose it has delivered exactly what it advertised... but really, it could have been 4 issues. The 20-page fight scenes shouldn't be as boring as they were in the last 2 issues.
Ultimates 2 #6 - The best Mark Millar books I've read. Take that for what it's worth.
The Hunger #1 - This Speakeasy book was brought to my attention by a positive review from Randy Lander on The Fourth Rail. I'll give it the old flip-through test at the store, but the main reason I bring it up is to belatedly further my point about the ever-increasing amount of zombie comics on the racks. Take that, Nevin! Heh heh...
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 02:30 PM | Comments (3)
May 17, 2005
To Buy or Not to Buy
It looks like spring has finally sprung. The sun is shining and the warm weather seems to have finally arrived. What better time to buy a stack of comic books and curl up with them in your dank, sunless hovel?
Ex Machina #11 - I have run out of good things to say about this title. This issue begins a new story arc, so it's a great opportunity for the uninitiated to try out one of the best superhero books on the racks.
Losers Vol 3 Trifecta TP - Some Vertigo titles, 100 Bullets for example, demand to be read in trade format. Otherwise it gets too hard for my small brain to follow the intrigue and plots. The Losers, on the other hand, seems to stand up better in the monthly format. It's built around action and cliffhangers, and the plot is usually clear (simple?) enough for my limited brain to recall from month to month. In other words, I think I'm sticking with the floppies on this title and forgoing this trade.
Manhunter #10 - Two things that I like about this series: One, the main character is your typically cynical, tough-talking vigilante, but unlike the other gritted-teeth loner types out there, she actually suffers from the real-world consequences of her grating personality. Two, the DCU guest stars are properly introduced, and their role in the stories is always in context. For a casual reader like myself, simple touches like that go a long way towards keeping me interested.
Seven Soldiers Guardian #2 - Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart are making a comic book about subway pirates who wear credit cards as earrings and tear off people's backs! This may be my favorite Seven Soldiers title so far. I can't wait!
Rex Mundi Vol 2 River Underground TP - I very much enjoyed the story in the first trade, though I didn't care much for the art. There's too much other stuff to buy this week, but I will probably pick this up at some point.
Walking Dead Vol 3 Safety Behind Bars TP - Here is an example of the "other stuff" that will preclude my purchase of the new Rex Mundi trade. The characterization tends to fall on the wrong side of the believability line, but I still think of this as the gold standard among the way-too-many zombie comics currently on the stands.
Black Panther #4 - Speaking of believability-straining characters, there's a new issue of Black Panther this week. I can't decide whether this story is a flawed gem or a spectacular failure. Either way, Klaus Janson's inks over John Romita Jr.'s pencils put me in a forgiving mood.
Daredevil #73 - I stopped buying this title after that last storyline and I haven't looked back once. I do miss Alex Maleev's art, though.
Livewires #4 - Each week I pick up #1 and consider it, but all the positive buzz around this book still can't get me past the manga-style teens. I know it's an irrational bias, but I just can't overcome it.
Spider-Man Human Torch #4 - This has got to be the best Spider-Man book out there. It's not hard to write super-hero parody; the thing that I like about Dan Slott's books is that he simultaneously pokes fun at and celebrates the genre.
Young Avengers #4 - Rather than recycle the tired semi-praise of "It's not the piece of crap for which I mistook it," I am going to provide you with links to The Comic Asylum, a comic commentary blog whose writer has been vocal about his distaste for the hints of homosexuality in the book. Start with this post and then check out his recent follow-up. I suggest reading the comment threads, too.
Conan #16 - From the preview pages on Dark Horse's web site, it looks like artist Cary Nord is working with some more clearly-delineated blacks than he has been on this series. I don't know if he is now using inks or if he has tweaked his straight-from-pencils process, but either way it's a welcome change.
Dark Horse Book Of The Dead HC - $14.95 for a hardcover is tempting, and so is the talent whose work appears in this anthology: Eric Powell, Guy Davis, Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson, and Mike Mignola, who contributes an all-new Hellboy story!
Goon #12 - This book is just so damned perfect. So exquisite and ideal. I do love it so.
Strange Eggs #1 - This anthology book follows the adventures of two kids who get a "Strange Egg" delivered to them every week. The eggs then hatch and something bizarre pops out, leading the kids on adventures with "aliens, dinosaurs, crazed ventriloquist dummies and several hobos," according to the preview on the Slave Labor Graphics web site. Featuring contributions by SLG artists like Fred The Clown's Roger Langridge and the magnificently-named Crab Scrambly, this looks like a pretty fun book.
What do you think? Did I miss anything?
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 11:44 AM | Comments (5)
May 09, 2005
To Buy or Not to Buy
Is it just me, or does it seem like every week has been a slow week lately? Hmmm. It's easier on the wallet, I suppose, but it's getting trickier to find reading material for my subway rides. Last week I even had to read a real book! (Of course it was A Gentleman's Game by Greg Rucka, which is a Queen and Country story. Fans of that comic series, by the way, really should read that book. Not just because it's a solidly entertaining action story featuring Tara Chace and the rest of the cast, but because there are events in there that seem to dramatically impact the status quo of the comic.)
With an eye towards filling my subway reading quota, I reserved two more comic-related books at the library: Men of Tomorrow by Gerard Jones and Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem. I'll be sure to check in with a one-sentence review of each, only about a year beyond being relevant, as soon as I read them. Anyway, let's get on to this week's "To Buy or Not to Buy," wherein I review books that I haven't even read:
Action Comics #827 - This issue kicks off the Gail Simone/John Byrne run on this title, and I'm cautiously optimistic about it. While Byrne seems to have the uncanny knack for making an ass of himself online, his art still conjures up warm and fuzzy feelings of nostalgia for me. Not that the cover looks so good. In fact, it kind of looks like Superman is trying to pass a Kryptonite kidney stone. Nonetheless, I think I'm going to check this one out.
Desolation Jones #1 - Warren Ellis + J.H. Williams III = Sold!
Gotham Central #31 - I'm really starting to miss Michael Lark's art, and my interest in this title is starting to diminish as a result.
Judge Anderson Vol 1 Anderson Psi Division TP - I don't know what this is, but when I saw it listed I immediately thought of Harry Anderson from Night Court. Which, if you made him psychic, would probably be a really cool comic book. Unfortunately now I've got that image in my mind, and this book has no hope of measuring up.
Mnemovore #2 - This horror mini-series features some fantastic artwork, including dynamic and attractive covers, from Mike Huddleston. The story, about an amnesiac teenage snowboarder and some kind of tentacled alien brain-eating monster, could go either way. I'm still on board but we'll see.
Preacher Vol 1 Gone To Texas TP New Edition
Preacher Vol 2 Until The End Of The World TP New Edition - On the off-chance that you've never read Ennis & Dillon's Preacher, DC seems to be reprinting the TPB's. Now is your chance to check out what may well have been the best comic series of the 90's.
Rann Thanagar War #1 - Must... resist... smart-aleck remark...
Astonishing X-Men #10 - The general tide of opinion seems to be turning against Whedon and Cassady's run on this title. I was not taken with the first arc, and while the second one started out with satisfyingly creepy feeling of portent, it has since devolved into a level of ridiculousness that even the most forgiving X-fans seem unwilling to accept. And now the Danger Room has morphed into an evil robot-woman? Ay-yi-yi. Whedon seems unwilling to do anything except mine the past for half-baked ideas whose quality verges on fan fiction. Luckily for him, John Cassady is providing the artwork. This book is a prime example of how far I will follow my favorite artists.
District X #13 - I've supported this series through its first two uneven story arcs, but honestly I think I've run out of patience with it. I am sort of morbidly curious to see what happens to it in the wake of the House of M stuff; I believe the title is changing along with who knows what else. I'm assuming they will be eliminating yet another one of the cool ideas that came out of Grant Morrison's X-Men run. I'm taking this as my opportunity for a jumping-off point.
Man With The Screaming Brain #1 - Written by actor Bruce Campbell with art by Rick Remender and Hillary Barta, this adaptation of Campbell's upcoming horror movie looks promising. I'm down.
Star Wars Tales #23 - I'm not going to buy this comic, but I wanted to take this opportunity to get something off my chest. My office building is next to the famous Ziegfeld theater, where the line has supposedly begun to form for the premiere of the latest Star Wars debacle. I say "supposedly" because the line is actually a charity event, where people pledge to spend x number of hours on the line over the next 2 weeks in order to benefit the Starlight Foundation. In return they receive tickets to the opening-night midnight showing of the film. I can't really bad-mouth the fact that they are raising money for charity, but there's something disingenuous about calling it a "line" when the people can come and go as they please. If you're not sleeping on the sidewalk, you're not waiting in line! And you call yourself a fan? It's hard to believe that I could have even less respect for the people who would wait in a days-long line to see this crappy movie, but somehow they found a way to make it happen. Except they are raising money for charity, which is a good thing, but... still.
Usagi Yojimbo #83 - Month after month, Stan Sakai schools everybody with his masterful drawing and his ability to craft a satisfying, self-contained 24-page comic story.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 11:23 AM | Comments (2)
May 05, 2005
Subway Reading: Concrete and Shining Knight
Concrete: Human Dilemma #5 - There were some very strong moments in this issue, including Concrete's meltdowns on his TV appearances, Larry's pathetic attempt to pick up women at a bar, and of course, the major status quo-changing event that we all knew was coming. Paul Chadwick's art continues to impress. I especially enjoyed the well-composed tiny panels that popped in from place to place. The layouts seemed generally denser in this issue; I suppose that there was a lot of story to get through, but everything still felt just a little cramped. That's just a minor complaint about an otherwise excellent book. I'll take tiny Paul Chadwick panels over most people's best stuff any day.
Shining Knight #2 - Of all the Seven Soldiers minis, this one is probably my least favorite. I think a lot of my negativity has to do with the uneven quality of Simone Bianchi's art. The color work is lush and top-notch throughout, but the drawing can be inconsistent. The proportions are sometimes out of whack and the 3-D space is often unconvincing. I wouldn't harp on stuff like that, but Bianchi seems to be striving for a realistic look. When that falls short, it does so resoundingly. Don't get me wrong, some panels are so rich and beautiful that they jump off the page. Unfortunately that makes the clunkers look that much worse by comparison.
I was also occasionally confused by some of the action in this book. Where did the bald guy sitting next to Justin on that bench come from? Who is he? Wha? And why was the knight suddenly wearing a tunic or T-shirt over his armor in the last few pages? Either I missed something in the story, or my book was missing some pages.
The story of an Arthurian knight who finds himself in present-day Los Angeles has also failed to grab me so far. I did like the introduction of Vincenzo, the Undying Don and his bizarre henchmen. Vincenzo struck me as the kind of eccentric character with unexpected and seemingly conflicting traits that works perfectly in an L.A. story. I just wish that there was the same kind of richness to the main character. All in all, this issue was more engaging than the first, but the series still has room for improvement.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 02:23 PM
May 01, 2005
Foul Play!
I'm sure you're familiar with the story: In 1954, Dr. Frederic Wertham wrote Seduction of the Innocent and set off a frenzy of anti-comics hysteria that culminated in Senate sub-committee hearings. This led to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority and arguably dealt a setback to American comics from which they have yet to recover. One of the biggest casualties of this event was Bill Gaines' E.C. Comics, whose wildly popular horror, crime, and science fiction anthologies were pulled off the stands, never to return.
While E.C.'s comics were indeed gory, brutal, and shocking, they also contained some of the most influential comics art of the century. Grant Geissman's Foul Play! The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950's E.C. Comics takes a long look at these comics and the artists who created them, including Johnny Craig, Wally Wood, Will Elder, Jack Davis (my personal favorite), and many more.
Each artist gets a brief biography, illustrated with a generous helping of samples of their art. Even better, each biography is followed by a complete story by the creator. These reproductions are the true highlight of this collection. Gaines was famous for his rejection of any house style, preferring to let his creators develop their own unique looks. The stories that are reproduced in this book present a great opportunity to compare and contrast the distinctive styles of the artists, from Graham Ingels' sketchy, heavily textured realism to Harvey Kurtzman's highly stylized, inky cartoons.
Geissman's histories of the artists are well-researched and fairly exhaustive. Personally, I might have enjoyed a little less history and a little more criticism. A look at the way that the artists and their comics have influenced present-day creators would have also been welcome. But the real value of this book is not to be found in the prose; it's in the gorgeous reproductions of the art and the comics. If you've always been curious about E.C. Comics but unsure of where to begin, this is the book you've been looking for.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 05:16 PM