Picks & Pans - November 29, 2007

Welcome back to PCS’ weekly rundown of the best and worst new releases. Since we took last week off for Thanksgiving, we’re combining two weeks worth of Picks & Pans this time out. Our contributors for this installment include AHR (Geekanerd) & David Brothers (4thletter) — who both, believe it or not, are here to sing the praises of this month’s All-Star Batman & Robin. Rounding out the crew are Erin F. (Ninja Consultant), Ernie Estrella and Katherine Dacey-Tsuei (Kate No Komento).

DOUBLE PICK!?! All-Star Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder #8

Ah, it’s a good time to be a Bat-Fan. A blockbuster movie is on the way, Bruce Wayne isn’t going to die, and whether you like Batman as an ass-kicking asshole or an honorable detective, DC has got you covered. If you’re looking for a Batman of the Goddamn variety, Frank Miller brings it with one of the first issues of All Star that didn’t make me throw up in my mouth a little. His jackhole Batman is still mean and highly sadistic, although in this ish we begin to see a bit of the paternal connection between the insane billionaire and his kidnapped ward that has made the Batman/Robin partnership such a big hit throughout the decades. Plus a great portrayal of the Joker, cause no one writes a violent psychopath like ol’ Frank M. Throw in a in-joke cameo for Dark Knight Returns fans and some flippant digs against Hal Jordan, and this ish has all the mean-spirited fun you’d expect from this title and bit of heart that you might not expect at all. Shock Value: B+ - AHR

This is the one that’s gonna get me in trouble. Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s little comic that could is, without a doubt, one of the best bangs for my three bucks. It’s one of the most consistently funny books I’ve ever read, and I don’t really find the depiction of Batman offensive, so this book tends to be right up my alley. This issue features a new twist on The Joker, who is “not very funny,” Batman’s opinion of Green Lantern, and the origin of Robin’s code-name and costume. It’s a fun issue that moves along at a quick pace. There isn’t really any fighting, either, barring a page-long scene early on. It’s a book that under a different writer would be talking heads, but Miller gives Lee plenty to draw to make it interesting. Between Batman tossing a thug off a pier, Robin emulating a childhood hero, and Joker meeting up with one of Batman’s classic villains to plan “mischief,” I’m hooked. Shock Value: A - David

PICK: Batman #671

Of course, if you’d rather see a clever, stoic, violence as-a-last-resort hero who regards one of his greatest foes with a measure of respect, Grant Morisson turns in a great story in Batman #671. Fans of Ra’s Al Ghul should be happy to see an all in the family team-up between Bats and the Demon’s Head, united against a common enemy who despite being several centuries old, mangages to beat the snot out of Batman for about three pages. Shock Value: B+ - AHR

PAN: Batman Confidential #11

Over the past four issues of this new take on The Joker’s origin story, writer Michael Green has created a unique, frightening villain; the man who would become the Joker. This character was portrayed as disturbed but not insane, wry but not wacky, and lucid enough to narrate his own exploits with chilling detachment. In this issue, however, the psycho-clown switch has finally been flipped, and unfortunately Green’s scripting for the now fully-realized Joker is a serious disappointment. His dialogue is full of goofy alliteration, non sequiturs and malapropisms, and it all feels like so much set dressing. In this case the man was far more frightening than the monster, and when the Joker isn’t coming across as scary in his own damn origin story I hesitate to even pick up next month’s conclusion issue. On the plus side, Denys Cowan’s art is high quality as always, and his scratched up, thinly lined style makes for some highly unsettling Joker-gas victims, and his monstrous rendering of the clown himself offers a new, disturbing look at a classic character. Shock Value: C- - AHR

PICK: Dan Dare #1

This review is excerpted from Ernie’s kick-butt Garth Ennis interview / Dan Dare review combo, which you can, and should, read in full here.

The first issue of Dan Dare doesn’t bog down the reader with any unnecessary recap of who the protagonist is, instead Ennis places us behind the wheel of a great adventure–but he’s steering. Whether you’ve read Dare as a child like Ennis, or you’re meeting him for the first time, you’re instantly comfortable and confident in Dare. Make no mistakes, these characters bear the familiar spit and spice of Ennis’ flavor, but without the over-the-top affair and brutality, which, after reading Punisher and the Boys on a monthly basis, both of which I enjoy–this is a good change of pace, especially from Ennis.

There is respect for all the Frank Hampson’s characters and Ennis’ knowledge of Dare’s history is vast but shown only through subtle drops; as is the sci-fi. But you can tell that this is not some childhood prance down memory lane. Instead, Dare’s world and the poignant and relevant political undertones will keep you page-turning as a larger story unfolds. Good science fiction is when you almost forget it’s science fiction and the same could be said about Dan Dare. Shock Value: A - Ernie

PICK: Genshiken, Volume 9

Genshiken comes to a close this week with volume nine. It’s a must-read series for all American manga/anime nerds, at least those serious enough to join a college or high school anime club (who are over the recommended age of 16). I plan to post a longer series over-view later here on PCS to pay tribute to this, one of my personal favorite series. In volume nine Sue the obnoxious American quotes anime at totally inappropriate times, Ogiue and Sasahara’s relationship is strained by their artist/editor career paths, and Madarame seriously considers telling Saki how he feels about her. It’s amazing how well the series captures the rhythm of college life, and the anxiety of seniors and nerds. Shock Value: A+ - Erin

PICK: Key To The Kingdom, Vol. 2

Excerpted from this week’s Weekly Recon

Let me be candid: The Key to the Kingdom has its share of truly silly characters and moments. A womanizing protagonist answers to the name Baddorious, or “Badd” for short. (And yes, he wants to sex you up.) All of the characters have perfect, just-stepped-out-of-a-salon hair, even after clashing with firewyrms (a.k.a. dragons) and knaves. And the dialogue tacks between Arthurian formality and 1950s hokum. (Sample: “So even in the face of death, you wouldn’t change your libidinous ways?” “To be honest with you, I really don’t have time to chew the fat with a dragon!” Right on, Daddy-O!) But if you can overlook—or, better yet, embrace—these cheesy touches, you may just realize that The Key to the Kingdom is a tightly plotted fantasy tale with an appealing cast and rich, detailed artwork that evokes such early CLAMP titles as RG Veda and Magic Knight Rayearth. Shock Value: B - Kate

PAN: Moon Knight Annual #1

I really wanted to like this book, but it didn’t quite take. It’s another “nearly-unseen hero affects the lives of the normals” tale, this time dealing with a rape support group sharing their experiences. It doesn’t click here, though. There’s a bit of a twist in that all of the women were raped by the same man, but it falls flat and more than a little hokey. Moon Knight inspires and saves one woman, frightens and saves another, and pretty much doesn’t interact with the others at all. The plot is a little too tenuous as written and doesn’t come together like it should. What we end up with is kind of a clipshow– we see the setup, we see Moon Knight do his thing, and we see the ending, but it just feels incomplete. The idea that all of these women would end up in the same room at the same time is a stretch, and the story never really managed to convince me of, well, anything, really. Shock Value: C - David

PAN: Nightmares For Sale, Vol. 1

Excerpted from this week’s Weekly Recon

Nightmares for Sale is yet another example of what John Jakala calls “comeuppance theater.” In exchange for having their dearest wishes granted—in this case, by the proprietors of Shadow’s Pawn Shop—foolish, vain, or mean people receive their just desserts. For this old-as-the-hills premise to succeed… the audience needs to understand the subject is unrepentantly cruel (or stupid, greedy, conceited, etc.) and not merely flawed or misguided… Not even the artwork can redeem this anthology. The awkwardly drawn characters are so nondescript as to be interchangeable, and the panels are a riot of clashing screentones and Photoshop patterns. The verdict: boycott this pawnshop and seek thrills elsewhere. Shock Value: D - Kate

PICK: Pumpkin Scissors, Vol. 1

Excerpted from this week’s Weekly Recon

Given the current situation in the Middle East, Pumpkin Scissors couldn’t be more timely. The story focuses on a military squadron tasked with restoring order to a war-torn country. Led by the headstrong Lt. Alice Malvin, Section III of the Imperial State Army goes head-to-head with rogue soldiers and noblemen-cum-warlords while trying to win the hearts and minds of civilians whose villages were decimated in the conflict—in short, performing the same kind of work as US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Timely as it may be, I have two reservations about this series: the goofy naming conventions and the lackluster artwork. (The Imperial State Army refers to Section III as “Pumpkin Scissors” for reasons satisfactorily explained, leaving the reader to wonder if the name honors Ryotaro Iwahara’s favorite vegetable…) That said, the three stories that comprise volume one are well-crafted and suspenseful, touching on such topical issues as chemical warfare and civilian casualties while offering action junkies what they crave most: combat and cool-looking military gadgets. Shock Value: B - Kate

PICK: The Umbrella Academy #3

To the discriminating comic fan who’s avoiding this series because of it’s Celebrity Writer Mark of Shame, I say to thee: get over it. Though Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance may sing of death and teenagers by night, by day he’s writing one of the most clever and surprising new comics around. An enthusiastic blend of dark humor, superpowers, and mad science, The Umbrella Academy is like what might happen if Jhonen Vasquez did a run on X-Men. At three issues in, the threads of the apocalypse-themed plot are coming together, but the centerpiece of this issue is an explosion-heavy battle that pits the Academy against a gang of robotic minions, the deadly yet adorable Terminauts. Looking like a weeble with the features of Galactus, they’re one of artist Gabriel Ba’s most simple yet distinctive creations in a series that’s already been full of spectacular design. Before the robo-carnage we also get a quick flashback that reveals yet another of the team’s bizarre villains, and it’s exciting to see the universe of this comic continue to expand. Shock Value: A+ - AHR