We’re getting going a little late this week, but we still have David Uzumeri of Funnybook Babylon, Ernie Estrella, Samantha of Neither Doormat Nor Prostitute, and Jason Michelitch of Jason Michelitch. Jason even hooked us up with a lengthy review of Ganges #2. Read on.

The line-up: David Uzumeri of Funnybook Babylon, Ernie Estrella, Gavin Jasper of 4thletter!, and AHR of Geekanerd.
The big winners: All-Star Superman #10, Blue Beetle #25
The reviews:

Whoops! We’re running a little behind schedule today, mostly because I got the great idea to try a new P&P design. It lists more info, but it’s also a little longer. Give us some feedback on it! Does it look good? Awful? Too much, too little, too late? Let us know.
However, our Picks & Pans gang is in full effect, with Samantha of Neither Doormat Nor Prostitute, Jason Michelitch, David Uzumeri of Funnybook Babylon, Ernie Estrella, and Gavin Jasper of 4thletter! talking about this past week’s comics. There were a number of big winners– Captain America #36 and Incredible Hercules #115 being particularly well-reviewed. Ernie even managed to say everything I wanted to say about 100 Bullets, too. Jason’s got a full review of War Is Hell #1 up here, if’n you’re interested.

Whoops! We’re running a little behind schedule today, mostly because I got the great idea to try a new P&P design. It lists more info, but it’s also a little longer. Give us some feedback on it! Does it look good? Awful? Too much, too little, too late? Let us know.
However, our Picks & Pans gang is in full effect, with Samantha of Neither Doormat Nor Prostitute, Jason Michelitch, David Uzumeri of Funnybook Babylon, Ernie Estrella, and Gavin Jasper of 4thletter! talking about this past week’s comics. There were a number of big winners– Captain America #36 and Incredible Hercules #115 being particularly well-reviewed. Ernie even managed to say everything I wanted to say about 100 Bullets, too. Jason’s got a full review of War Is Hell #1 up here, if’n you’re interested.

Let’s get right into it! We’ve got, in no particular order, Jumpin’ Jason Michelitch, Amazing AHR of Geekanerd, Snazzy Samantha of Neither Doormat Nor Prostitute, Groovy Gavin Jasper of 4thletter!, and, as always, Evergreen Ernie Estrella hitting you with Picks and Pans… check below for a few Scans, too.

PICK: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #12

Buffites or Scoobie Snacks of whatever they’re called need no recommendation to buy this book, but for those like myself who have only a passing acquaintance with the Buffyverse, this much talked-about issue represents a tempting chance to get on board. Spoiler alert if you don’t read the internet, but this of course is the issue where Buffy hooks up with one of the slayers, and by hooks up I mean lesbian sex, which, as a lesbian, I’m a fan of. But this shocking turn of events aside, writer Drew Goddard starts his run on this series by slipping into the ping-pong ball dialogue with ease and a light touch where relationship talk is involved. The nuts and bolts of the story’s exposition will be a little hard to grasp for the uninitiated, but that’s what Wikipedia is for. once the madcap comedy revs up, the grand design of the plot takes a backseat and the LOLs come free of context. It’s the funniest comic I’ve read in several months, bolstered by crisp artwork rich with personality. All this and some casual ruminations on the fluid nature of sexuality – book of the week, for sure. SHOCK VALUE: A+ -AHR

PAN: Countdown to Final Crisis #8

You know what would have made this storyline 500 times better? If the characterization was remotely consistent from week to week. Case in point, Jason has managed to go the entire trip and has only killed the Joker during that time. All of the sudden, now he’s back to being the blood thirsty psycho who kills first and asks questions later? Also, why are all these newbies acting like Ray Palmer has never been a hero (I mean, I know he was cowering and whining for the past two issues, but again, lousy and inconsistent characterization) when he’s been a member of the League? The best I can say about this story is that at least Kyle wasn’t a jerk this time around. SHOCK VALUE: D -Samantha

PICK: Detective Comics #842

When fighting alongside the other superheroes against their supervillain opponents on the Beyonder’s planet, Bruce Wayne tore up his Batman costume to the point that he needed to replace it with a living suit of armor that gave him extra strength and abilities at the cost of making him hunger for brains. Well, maybe not, but that’s what the story feels like. It feels like what the whole Venom symbiote story would have been like if the host wasn’t a humongous spaz like Spider-Man. I make fun, but it was quite good and one of the better things I can remember from Peter Milligan in a while.
SHOCK VALUE: B -Gavin

DOUBLE PICK: Echo #1

Excerpted from Jason’s full review… I was able to look at [Echo] on its own merits, and it’s pretty good. Not amazing, but solid work with an intriguing premise, sort of reminiscent of the kind of fun, smart adventure movie Hollywood used to produce when it remembered how. There’s a shadowy military project with a slightly crazy and ruthless leader, the female innocent bystander drawn into the mix by accident, and a charming park ranger who’s no doubt destined to become a helping hand or even a love interest (the female bystander/main character is shown to have something of a void in her romantic life). None of the characters really hint at any depth yet, but they seem perfectly likable in the ways their respective roles demand. … SHOCK VALUE: B+ -Jason

Woman on the cover pelted by silver rain? I’m game. It can’t be that deep. I think I can walk across. Woman in hypersonic flying suit… and jet behind her pointing missiles at her… Things go boom. That’s not rain… Yeah. I got sucked back in that easy, Terry, hope you enjoyed your break. SHOCK VALUE: A- -Ernie

SPLIT VERDICT: Justice League: The New Frontier Special

I consider New Frontier to be perhaps the best comic I have ever read, so I was fully prepared to enjoy this comic. But no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t because the complexity and characterizations that made New Frontier such a joy to read were completely missing this time around. There are three stories: Batman versus Superman, Kid Flash and Robin team up, and a completely bizarre and offensive Wonder Woman and Black Canary take on feminism story. The first story makes me wonder how Batman and Superman ever developed the deep friendship they supposedly had in New Frontier, the second story is being better
told in Teen Titans Year One, and the last one features Diana protesting against Playboy by stripping her top (because not wearing a bra and going topless are the same thing…I guess?) and calling men pigs every other panel, something she managed not to do during the original New Frontier storyline. In sum, the entire exercise felt like an insane and unfortunate parody in which the only thing that matched standard of quality set by New Frontier was the art. SHOCK VALUE: C- -Samantha

Yes! More tricks in Darwyn Cooke’s bag! He just couldn’t stay away and thankfully so, we get three short team-ups featuring the World’s Finest, Diana and Black Canary, and the beginning of a TITAN-ic friendship, get it? *ahem* Cooke, J. Bone, and David Bullock (storyboard artist for the New Frontier animated movie) pump out a nostalgic reminder of the great maxi-series that preceded it. There’s a lot of tongue and cheek–Cooke style–and just great chemistry on panel and behind. This is hot off the heels of the fantastic release (get the 2-disc DVD) of the animated film. A perfectly timed one-shot that will have you heading back to your Absolute New Frontier collection or single floppies. Cooke’s vision of the last heroic age are timeless and definitive imaginations that sometimes the modern age versions fail to recall. Supplements in the back show the storyboards which Cooke raves about in the audio-commentary that he and Bullock do for the film and a breakdown of the Saul Bass-inspired opening credits. SHOCK VALUE: A+ -Ernie

PICK: Justice League Unlimited #43

As much as the cartoon ruled, due to legal mumbo jumbo, we were cheated out of getting any appearances out of Blue Beetle and therefore no Blue & Gold episodes. Even though Beetle and Booster got to show up here and there in the JLU comic, they did very little in terms of interaction. Now with the current reunion going on in Johns’ Booster Gold series, they’ve allowed Keith Giffen to finally write the JLU Blue & Gold story some of us have been waiting for. Taking place before the team become “Unlimited”, our two superheroes attempt to wow the Justice League by helping stop the Demolition Team. This leads to wackiness and a nice little story, but certainly not one worth the wait. As funny as their banter was at times, Giffen’s story still pales in comparison to the excellent Beetle-centric issue in JLU #5. SHOCK VALUE: B -Gavin

PICK: Logan #1

Take the man out of the costume and place him in his element: Japan. That’s what Brian K. Vaughan and Eduardo Risso did in Logan before he became an X-Man. Just a mutant and just a Canuck soldier. Moderately standard action affair compared to Vaughan’s more complex and creative-owned work. No, folks this is all about seeing Risso’s draw Logan, soldiers, and sexy Japanese women, and does so in delicious fashion. Dean White’s the colorist for the series and while there’s a beautiful water-colored look, the mood’s not established as well as Patricia Mulvihill’s work over his 100 Bullets art. He adds texture but no soundtrack to the panels. Besides the last four pages, there’s a rather pedestrian paint-by-color feel, in fact, you’re lucky enough, stab the black and white variant with no ads. SHOCK VALUE: B- -Ernie

PICK: Nightwing #142

This issue continued the standard set by Tomasi in his previous issues in making Nightwing the well adjusted, sane, and fun hero he always should have been. We see him working with the JSA, looking out for his little brother, and joking with Bruce about Jimmy Olsen. We also see him moving forward into the romance department, signaling a welcome growing up and beyond his teenage crushes, finally. But most telling of all are the panels working in Bones Gym and his disgust at digging up graves, where he makes it very clear that while he may be an adopted Bat, he’s still a Flying Grayson at heart, something his previous writers tended to miss completely. It gives the title a sense of fun and enjoyment that it should have had from the very beginning, and it brings me great joy to see Nightwing getting the treatment he deserves.

Also, that he can converse with Mid-Nite scientifically is proof that Tomasi remembers that Bruce’s training had to include more than just strapping him into some green panties and throwing the kid in harm’s way. SHOCK VALUE: A+ -Samantha

PICK: Northlanders #4

His irrational impulses, brass decisions and natural instinct as a warrior have kept him alive, but he’s plotting and scheming. Something’s about to break the damn and flood the Orkney Islands. Sven’s crusade against his uncle’s men has gone into the winter. The temperature dips below freezing in this issue and the heat needs to be turned up, way up. This series is turning out to be like a savage cross between Rambo, Conan, and Die Hard but at a satisfying slow crawl. I’m intrigued at Brian Wood’s pacing and patience in Northlanders compared to the frenetic, almost rhythmic ride that dominates his much recommended body of work. He’s making us wait and get inside Sven’s head and the few emotions he chooses to show, and that uncertainty keeps me waiting in line for more. SHOCK VALUE: B+ -Ernie

PICK: Punisher: War Journal #17

The last couple issues of War Journal have shown us the real difference between Matt Fraction’s “gun that shoots swords” superhero world take on Frank Castle and Garth Ennis’ “once upon a time there was a bunch of evil fucks” down-to-earth take. Fraction is willing to – at least for the moment – develop Frank Castle. Ennis’ run on the MAX series is fantastic and all, but his Frank is a hollow robot. Put some kind of potential character development in that version of Frank’s way and it’s the same as suggesting he might get killed in the next issue: nothing will ultimately happen to him and he’ll just keep on keeping on. Fraction, on the other hand, treats Frank as a character.

Only Frank isn’t the central character here. Instead, it’s Stuart Clarke, formerly the supervillain Rampage. For most of the series, Stuart has been shown as a likeable sidekick and decent enough guy. Even as the successor of Microchip, Stuart’s history adds a very interesting wrinkle to Frank Castle’s being. Micro and Frank were friends, only for Micro to turn on him and die soon after. With Stuart, it’s in reverse. He and Frank are buddies, but Stuart’s done things in the past that will likely make Frank end his life when he feels the time is right. Except Frank’s also the one hiding his secrets, as by killing Stuart’s innocent girlfriend several issues back, he’s tossed a wrench into his own moral code and it’s straining his relationship with Stuart from another direction. It’s great stuff. SHOCK VALUE: A -Gavin

DOUBLE PAN: Raven #1

The cover to this comic claims, “Finally in her own emo series!” Man, why did I agree to read and review this? Goddamn it… So Raven lives in this world where everyone is made of shiny rubber and everything is so blindingly colorful that it makes you feel ill. At least it’s written by creator Marv Wolfman, so it can’t be too bad.

The story has to do with Raven seeing a vision of a school shooting several days before it’s set to happen. She somewhat casually deals with that while spending more of her time whining about how she’s too weird around boys, how she doesn’t know what a Nintendo Wii is and how she’s possibly losing control of her powers and making other students crazy. This ties into a sympathetic scientist and potential villain who prepares to experiment on something that’s reveal would have made for a good cliffhanger if the cover hadn’t already spoiled it. I feel almost guilty for panning this, but I do like Raven enough to have given this a chance. It’s just not going to work for me. (And in case you were wondering, New Earth apparently uncreated Raven’s tramp stamp). SHOCK VALUE: C- -Gavin

To put it simply, this storyline seems a desperate attempt to merge the best of the Wolfman Raven with the Geoff Johns Raven, and instead winds up missing both by miles. This Raven has all the memories and psychoses of the original Raven, but none of her charm so that when she complains about not being able to love, I have no compassion for her. This Raven also comes full of all the annoying teenager melodrama that seems to be the rage over at DC these days so that when she complains about day to day high school problems, I roll my eyes and wonder why in the world she’s in high school in the first place. This comic manages to combine the worst of both worlds of a character that deserves better.

But it’s worth the buy just so that in ten years, you can open it up, point to all the out of date pop culture references, and laugh.
So…in ten years, it might be worthy of a “C+?” SHOCK VALUE: F -Samantha

PICK: Scalped #15

Dead Mothers continues and now there are fifteen reasons to buy this comic. Bad Horse Dashiell starts to shed some of that leather-tough skin in this issue, and just may have a heart as helps a young boy deal with his dead mother, or is it the other way around? Other characters start to unfold and if you’ve been around from the start, thinking you had characters pegged just get you in trouble because Jason Aaron is proving every month that he steers characters filled with the real complexities right to home. Even though these flawed characters reside in a South Dakota Indian Reservation, readers will be familiar with them. There’s always a bit of vulnerability in the thickest of walls, you just have to find the weak spot. It’s a joy to try and find out where we think that weakness is and where it’s going. But seriously, we all know who’s behind the wheel. Scalped is a ballet of cold-hearted stabs and jabs of heavyweights, Aaron and artist, R.M. Guera. I’ve got the bruises and the wounds to show for it. Step in the ring already. SHOCK VALUE: A+ -Ernie

PICK: Supergirl #27

I appreciated the way that this story tried to give a Kryptonian influence on Earth that went beyond just hitting things. I think that it’s a very realistic problem for Kara to face. My only real complaint was that the storyline seemed pretty rushed, and would have benefited to stay in the future for at least one more issue. The story also does a great job in highlighting the differences between Kara and Superman, while still trying to give them a family bond, which is a nice combination. SHOCK VALUE: B -Samantha

PICK: Teen Titans: Year One #3

Honestly, it’s possible that 1/2 of my love for this storyline may be the art. I continue to be in love with it, even though poor Garth is stuck looking like a zombie. He’s an adorable zombie, though. But the other half of my love comes from the team dynamics portrayed here. These five team members form an instant bond with one another that is obvious. Also, Robin is portrayed as a natural leader, despite Kid Flash’s comments to the contrary. Even the flirting with Donna and Roy is handled well, and considering the disaster that they go on to become romance wise, that’s saying a lot.

It’s not perfect and does have a few flaws. Noticeably, this version of Batman needs to be smacked a lot, if he’s not still under the influence of Antithesis at the end of the story. Donna is a little too stereotypical at times, as well. But it still comes highly, highly recommended. SHOCK VALUE: A- -Samantha

DOUBLE PICK! Young Liars #1

David Lapham’s return to comic long form is a refreshing one in a new ongoing, color-rich, and offbeat series that should congregate the Stray Bullets fans to their local comic shop. Unfortunately like some debuts, this falls into the trap of numerous character introductions. Comparisons to SB are inevitable where each issue was a sprint you were trying to catch up and get your bearings straight before getting tangled in the downward spiral of violence. We meet five people brought together by Sadie Dawkins, all of whom have their own selfish reasons to be connected to her but Sadie’s a wild cannon and there’s no telling what she’ll do. Sadie’s the classic Lapham character that does as much revolving as the world around her and before you know it, you’re sucked up in the twister’s pull. Now that introductions are out of the way, I can’t wait for this train to leave the station. There’s even a suggested soundtrack, this is going to be a cool. Though this is a slightly different approach–linear, for one thing–the wacky, ink-black world of Lapham’s head is worth a lifetime membership of head-trips, devilish grins, mistrust, and oh shit moments served on a dish called violence. One ticket please. SHOCK VALUE: A- -Ernie

Excerpted from Jason’s full review… I’ve been a fan of David Lapham’s self-published comic series Stray Bullets for a very long time now, and the goodwill engendered by that series has carried me into any other project of his that comes down the pike. The latest of these is Young Liars, published by DC/Vertigo, released this week. Unlike his previous Vertigo release, Silverfish, which looks and reads much the same as his self-published work, Young Liars more closely resembles other Vertigo books than it does other David Lapham books. The story and characters are intriguing enough but the style and storytelling are more than a little bland…. …All in all, the story is interesting enough that I’ll be buying the second issue to see what happens. But there’s no guarantee that the formal and aesthetic problems won’t drive me away in the long run. SHOCK VALUE: B+ for story, but a C for execution -Jason

PICK: Zombies vs. Robots vs. Amazons #3

The Chris Ryall/Ashley Wood project Zombies vs. Robots can best be described as a story thought up by a hyper 8-year-old who happens to have a really rad imagination. That being said, it was still an action-packed and entertaining downer that didn’t seem to have much point to it. That pretend storytelling child from two sentences back has just grown old enough to hit puberty and came up with this sequel miniseries. In this, the final issue, the Warbot and a handful of surviving amazons decide to enter a cave and have a final showdown with the zombie horde.

It’s ridiculous and again action-packed, but doesn’t feel quite as pointless as the end of the first series. Maybe because we’ve actually gotten to see Warbot used as a protagonist for more than several pages and play off of human characters. Or maybe it’s because we actually have a feeling of an overarching storyline now, including the predictable, yet unexpected final page. Either way, at least it’s a far better way to end a zombie sequel than whatever the hell Kirkman was thinking with Marvel Zombies 2.

Ashley Wood’s sloppy art fits the bill so well here, always giving that look where it appears like he scribbled it with his left hand while righty, yet somehow you can easily tell what’s going on. It’s a strange kind of talent where a comic filled with naked amazon ladies doesn’t feel so gratuitous and cheesecakian (I just made the word up and it looks like I spelled it wrong), allowing us to instead focus on the craziness of a large robot and a little girl with a slingshot fighting off a horde of battle-skilled zombies. SHOCK VALUE: A- -Gavin

As promised last week, a very special edition of BLAAPAS, in which we eschew the possibility of snark and mean-spiritedness for the certainty of good comics. This is my last of these columns, at least for a good while, as I will be moving away to Hong Kong in less than two weeks. I wanted to end my tenure here on a good note, so Brendan and I decided to invite Laura back in for a special one-shot of comic reviewing goodness (we weren’t sure she’d agree what with being a hotshot magazine writer now). And we all decided to just focus on things we love, so that instead of telling you what new comics are crappy and should be avoided at all costs, we can tell you about the timeless comics that you should read as soon as possible because they’re just that great. So without further ado, BLAAPAS! – Adan

Age of Bronze by Eric Shanower

Adan: This is a book that should be taught in literature classes and art classes as well.

Eric Shanower takes the deep, layered story of the Trojan War and displays it in his lush pencils. It is a difficult thing to recount the entirety of the War, but Shanower is doing his best to do so. And in case you’re ever confused, the two trades currently out have lots and lots of back-up material to keep you straight. Things like a glossary of names, so you know how to pronounce these Greek and Trojan names as well as who all these people are. There are genealogical charts so you who everybody is related to. There’s even a bibliography with all the material he’s read and drawn from (you didn’t think he just used the Iliad did you?) so that the reader can go and find out more for himself.

Yes, there is a long time between issues, but Shanower does everything himself. He researches, he writes, he draws, he even letters. When all is done, this is supposed to be seven volumes long. This might take a decade or two, but it will be totally worth it.

We reviewed this but once back when it was just me and Laura (as that is about how often it comes out), and we disagreed on only one point: whether or not Helen was a right cunt. I still hold that she is, and I think the text agrees (Helen’s first scene in the book certainly portrays her as a selfish whore who will willingly give herself to a man to escape another man she willingly gave herself to years before).

Batman #667 and #668 by Grant Morrison and J.H. Williams III

Adan: Morrison got off to a bad start on Batman (I would throttle Damian until he dies, but you know what they say about ideas and genies; you can’t bottle them up once they’ve been released), but he’s recovered quite admirably, with this arc the seeming culmination of that recovery.

It is no secret that I love Grant Morrison’s work with the passion usually reserved for things like pants and Americone Dream ice cream, but he’s really outdone himself here. Morrison takes a forgotten idea and forgotten characters from the Silver Age (who are only give tiny sections in both Wikipedia and the Batman Encyclopedia) and makes something awesome out of them. The Club of Heroes, which amounts to basically a collection of international Batman knock-offs (yeah, I said it Wingman), has been invited to billionaire philanthropist John Mayhew’s island home to catch up. Unfortunately, Mayhew, who originally financed the Club of Heroes, has been killed by the Black Hand, and the island has become a locked room mystery. The body count rises and Batman must solve this before anymore of his acquaintances suffer grisly deaths.

Even more impressive than Morrison’s story is Williams’ art. Little things like black border panels instead of white whenever Batman is present, drawing each member of the Club of Heroes in a different artist’s style, and playing with panel layouts to form new and exciting reading experiences (for example, the Black Hand’s hand forming the borders in the panel depicting the destruction of assembled planes) are what makes Williams the most innovative sequential storyteller currently working in the field. This might his best work since Promethea.

The last issue of the arc is supposed to ship on the Wednesday before I depart for Hong Kong, so let’s hope DC is on time, eh?

Brendan: This arc is everything you’d hoped Grant Morrison’s Batman would be. It is as ambitious as it is beautiful, and as Adan says, that is saying something. Adan is putting a lot of faith in the payoff, though. Even the best story can be killed by a poor finale.

Eh, I’m not worried.

Casanova by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba

Laura: As Matt Fraction himself said in a recent issue of GQ, his inspiration for Casanova was simple: he wanted to give us all “the world we were promised from superspy films, where people can just jump out of airplanes with jet packs, and there are giant flying casinos that only the super-rich know about, and we can have lots of fabulous, near-anonymous sex without consequence.”

Haven’t we all had that dream, or some version of it? There’s a little part of all of us that still fantasizes about that world we were promised by so many blockbuster spy movies, where we would be beautiful and bad and effortless, and always, always have a jetpack waiting in the wings.

Casanova is that dream dismembered, and put back together as something stranger and more potent. It is the mutant cyborg love child of two James Bond movies fucking on acid. And it comes at you pretty goddamn fast, so do your best to keep up.

“What did I think when I met Casanova Quinn?” asks the obligatory hot nurse bedded by Casanova. “‘Surely this was the man who would burn the world.’ And I loved every second.”

So will you.

Adan: I can’t say that’s why I love this book, as frankly, it is just another version of that kind of superspy film that I’ll never get to live out, but it’s done so well and so cool, that it makes it all okay. Casanova Quinn is everything that a superspy should be, including a dick and great in the sack. Also, he has a alternate universe evil twin (does he have a goatee?) and he maybe sleeps with his sister.

What’s not to love?

Brendan: Nothing. There is nothing not to love. If you can’t get behind pseudo- science super action adventure, you really shouldn’t read comics. Never mind the ultra-packed paneling. Don’t worry about the subversive two-tone color scheme. Forget the Zach Morris like fourth wall breaks. Don’t read this book. It’s your loss. Jackass.

What were we talking about?

Demo by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan

Laura: “Hey, you ever get this weird feeling that you’re different somehow?” asks the girl in the opening story of Demo. The answer, of course, is that of course you have, and that’s always been a huge part of the appeal behind the superpowered hero with a secret identity. Unless you traversed adolescence via a magical temporal wormhole, you know what it means to feel misunderstood, alienated, and fundamentally out of place, even in your own body, with no idea what to do next.

Comic Book Resources described Demo as “what The X-Men would be if they were created today.” Which is not true at all, because there’s no way a modern-day recreation of the X-Men would be this good, this dark, or this fearless. Whether we’re walking through the aftermath of a suicide, watching a romantic relationship unravel from beginning to end, or plumbing the depths of various forms of regret, Demo doesn’t pull any punches. Rather than twisting the knife, Wood twists your stomach with the subtle, creeping ache that accompanies most of life’s mistakes—the feeling of things that cannot be undone.

That’s not to say there are no bright spots, that there isn’t any humor or redemption possible for the characters, just that none of it is promised, which makes for a far more interesting (if occasionally bleaker) read. Quite frankly, the end of the book disturbs me, but to paraphrase the words of one character, it’s not its job to make me feel good. It’s here to tell me the best stories that it can, and it does.

Adan: At this point, we all know that I do in fact love B-Wood and I no longer think he is a Communist. Like everything he writes (with the exception of the Couriers stuff, which are awesome for completely different reasons), Demo is the kind of book that can’t really be pigeon-holed into any one genre. You just read and you laugh, you cry, you get angry, and you end up feeling like you just read your life, only with more superpowers.

Brendan: This book captures the hopelessness of young adulthood. It is a painful read, but an important one. Thinking about this book makes me depressed, but in a positive way, I guess. Either that or it makes me want to hurt myself. I guess I shouldn’t reread this book too often.

Filler by Rick Spears and Rob G

Adan: I love Rick and Rob’s stuff a lot. I’ve never read anything by either one of them that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy. And Filler is the best of their collaborations.

Rick gives us one of the best conceits in comic books ever. John Dough (hilarious) is “the background in other people’s lives.” He’s not a main character. He gets paid to stand up in police line-ups as the filler so that the witness can pick out an actual criminal. But something goes wrong and he becomes the main character in somebody else’s story.

The twists and turns this noir tale takes makes me want Rick to write noir all the time. He’s really good at it, and what could’ve just been another Double Indemnity copy becomes a fully-realized take on the noir genre with an amazing conceit thrown in to make English majors like myself giddy with excitement.

Rob’s art, normally just black and white, gets some red thrown in to show off important plot elements, as well as the copious amounts of blood this sequence of events produces. I also like that most of his people are pretty ugly. There’s exactly one guy who’s decent looking, but there’s a very good reason for that. This is an ugly story filled with ugly people doing ugly things.

This is one of the few trades I’ll be bringing to Hong Kong with me, it’s that fucking good.

Finder by Carla Speed McNeil

Laura: I wish I had more volumes of Finder to choose from right now, but unfortunately, I’ve lent my two favorites out in my continuing mission to spread the gospel of McNeil across the comic-reading world. So I’ll post an excerpt from a trade that I haven’t heard too many people talk about—not that hardly anyone talks enough about this insanely underrated series–King of the Cats.

When the king of Nymian lion-women dies, our protaganist Jaeger says: “They wept no oily animal’s tears. They mourned in a great wickerwork of hard muscle and ragged breath. The hot smell of their coats; their black lips pulled back over their ivory teeth, stiff sprays of white whiskers; their heavy hair plaited with silver and faience. Their thick hides shivered, as cattle will shiver away flies.”

Yeah. She’s good.

A caveat about Finder, and the reason I do not recommend it to everyone: it is very smart, very subtle, and it does not hold your hand. I don’t throw the word “brilliant” around, but this series deserves it more than any comic book I’ve ever come across. I’ve read each volume roughly four times each, and I still pull new things out of every one, every time. The notes at the end of the book are indispensable in that regard; if you’re skipping over them, you’re condemning yourself to a surface understanding of the book. And there are a lot of readers that come to comic books precisely for surface—for a superficial escapist experience, preferably with bright colors and explosions.

This book is not for you.

What fascinates me is not so much McNeil’s storytelling—which is excellent—but the level of sociological and anthropological awareness that informs it. This is a book about people, about our tribes (whether they be ancient or ultra-modern), and how they bring us together and separate us from each other in fascinating ways. The first two trades are not the strongest ones, but there’s no harm in starting in the middle–I recommend Dream Sequence, Talisman, or King of the Cats.

To watch McNeil post her current pages online in real time go here.

Invisibles by Grant Morrison, et al.

Adan: Get ready to get your mind fucked.

I tried to read this once about two years ago, but stopped after only the first issue in the first trade because my head felt like it was going to explode (especially after that John Lennon as God thing). But I recently cowboy-ed up and read the whole series (thanks to Doug Wolk’s essay in Reading Comics), and I’m happy that I did.

After the initial shock of crazy, Invisibles settles down and is pretty easy to understand (up until halfway through the sixth trade anyway; I don’t know what the fuck is going on after that, but I plan to figure it out). There is a cell of anarchist commandos fighting a magical war against those who would lash humanity to a machine created only to serve the Archons. Look, don’t sweat the plot too much as I can’t really explain it without making it sound retarded. It’s not even the most important thing here. Morrison has long been very interested in metafiction and how a reader, a writer, and the fiction between them interact and influence each other. It’s no accident that Invisibles has about ten layers of fiction one on top of the other, and at least one of these layers interacts with real world people like Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and the Marquis de Sade. Throw in the facts that King Mob is a thinly-veiled stand-in for Morrison himself (KM’s writer alter ego is named Kirk Morrison) who’s had a few of the same experiences that Morrison himself has had, and that Invisibles is a book written by two different people within the framework of Invisibles the comic, and you’ve got so many layers of fiction and reality intermingling and influencing one another, you may start to wonder which layer you’re on (metaphorically speaking, of course; no one’s that crazy, except perhaps Morrison himself). The world the Invisibles inhabit could very well be the real Earth-Prime.

Since reality itself is but putty in Invisibles, it makes sense that the book has about twenty different artists, each one putting his own unique stamps on what the world could conceivably look like at any given moment. The second, third, and fourth-to-last issues, in which the climactic confrontation with the “enemies” takes place, is drawn by a total of fifteen different artists alone (including a page by Morrison himself). Is this a clue that reality is shifting with each blow, physical and metaphysical? And is Morrison’s one page how the world is supposed to look? You’ll have to read it and figure it out for yourself.

And make sure and stick it out. It’s a pretty rewarding experience (that said, you may have to read it multiple times to be able to process it all).

Last of the Independents by Matt Fraction and Kieron Dwyer

Adan: Take an aged ex-drunk, his hot, younger love, and their adopted, slow-witted man-child, mix in a bank robbery and the mob, and you’ve got one of the best pieces of crime fiction ever committed to four-color paper.

Matt Fraction, more famous for his work at Marvel and Image, started out in the minor leagues over at AiT/PlanetLar with Mantooth and this book. This is where he showed the world that he could write, and he could write well. Cole, Justine, and Billy are a strange family with strange habits. And one of those habits has landed them in hot water with a Las Vegas mob boss. They’ve stolen his money and he wants it back. What should have been a routine small town bank heist becomes an all-out war with the mob, full of Ferris wheels, land mines, and pissed off “cooze.” In between all this madness, you find out how they all met, and you get some genuinely heartfelt moments usually missing from crime stories.

Kieron Dwyer’s brown and white art of course fits perfectly for this kind of story. The detail is pretty amazing, down to Cole’s craggy face. Some of the mobsters are hard to tell apart, but who cares? You’re not supposed to be able to differentiate them, as they’re all just part of the same machine. Cole, Justine, and Billy are true independents, and they don’t take shit from any organized institution.

Brendan: This book is the perfect action story. It doesn’t overreach, but nor does it fail to satisfy. The widescreen format is utilized effectively, and proves to be more than a gimmick. LotI is a crazy adventure with honest human emotion, and that is what makes it great.

(And look, two All-Time great picks by Matt Fraction… and I didn’t nominate either of them! Who would have thought?)

Nextwave by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen

Adan: Probably Warren Ellis’ best distillation of the superhero genre is also his funniest.

Monica “Photon” Rambeau, Aaron “Machine Man” Stack, Elsa Bloodstone, Tabitha “Meltdown” Smith, and The Captain, previously known as every captain not America or Marvel, including Captain Fuck. This book is just hilarious and improbable situation after hilarious and improbable situation. Nextwave is a superhero team fighting H.A.T.E. (S.H.I.E.L.D. without the competence) and the Beyond Corporation that controls them. Dirk Anger, leader of H.A.T.E. and a much manlier, yet feminine Nick Fury with severe mental issues, is hunting down Nextwave as they attempt to stop the fiendish plans of the Beyond Corporation.

There is just non-stop madness and craziness in this series, ranging from a Fin Fang Foom with no junk to Broccoli Men to Ultra Samurai to baby M.O.D.O.K.s to a much more intelligent Devil Dinosaur than we’ve ever encountered before. Aaron calls humans fleshbags and Monica reminisces about the time she led the Avengers.

This is probably the most purely enjoyable comic book in ages. You don’t need to know anything except how to laugh. Hopefully, we’ll the promised series of minis soon, because I need more Nextwave and Aaron appearing in Ms. Marvel just isn’t enough.

Brendan: The most brilliant moment of this book was the cover to issue eleven, the non-Civil War Civil War tie-in. “Please Love Us, We Don’t Care,” were the messages on the Nextwaver’s picket signs, but the doom of cancellation was imminent. Ah well. Good things don’t last. Good things end too soon, and live on forever in our idealized memories.

Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday

Brendan: Warren Ellis, in an essay he once wrote, demanded that superheroes rescind their stranglehold on the comic medium and market. Planetary is Ellis and artist John Cassaday’s attempt to build something better. Taking cues from all forms of pulped popular culture and entertainment, Planetary explores the mysteries that make the world go ’round. It explores not only what is of interest to the common man, but why. Elijah Snow and his band of information bounty hunters comb the twentieth century for every mystery that ever inspired wonder. Each chapter takes its cue from a different area of disposable entertainment, from Godzilla monster movies to the classic Western. The primary villains, the Fantastic Four riffs known only as “The Four,” horde all the information they can, retarding societal progress. This serves as an apt metaphor for superheroes and comics; superheroes are so closely associated with comics that the genre can supersede, or even define, the medium. This sort of idealogical monopoly constrains the potential of the medium as a whole, and as such sacrifices long term literary value for short term market satisfaction. If the Planetary team fails, and the Four control the fate of the world, doom is all but assured. If boundary pushers like Ellis and Cassaday fail in their attempt to engender a diversified comic book market, the world of comics is doomed to a partially realized ghetto of fanboys and girls’ diminished expectations. With all the best aspects of genre present, it is good to know that in this story the good guys win. And so do we.

Adan: And top of all of that, Planetary is great commentary on the superhero comics it purports to be better than. It starts with the Victorian heroes and moves on to the actual heroes, as well as touching on “Mature Readers” movement of the eighties, exemplified by Vertigo, the “darkening” of heroes, of which Ellis took part in, and the pulp heroes, which were the stepping stones between the Victorian stuff and superhero comics.

Preacher by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, etc.

Brendan: God is dead, or he might as well be.

That is the pathos of what is clearly my favorite comic book series of all time. With a deliciously allegorical plot lines and killer action sequences, Preacher kicks ass. In fact, it is probably the series most designed to kick ass. Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon pull no punches in their assault on the American ideal, organized religion, manhood, friendship, hate and love. The extreme absurdity of both what happens and who it happens to perfectly contrasts the series’ positive moral spine. Ennis and Dillon do their best to shock and appall us, and in so doing show us what exactly it is we expect from this world, as opposed to what we receive. The characters remain honest and real in the face of a story that is as epic as they come. A hero’s journey, a love story, a conspiracy-laden thriller, a tale of redemption, and a series of events that leads to bad guys getting hurt a lot, Preacher is for everyone.

Adan: While I enjoy the hell out of this two-fisted tale of finding God, I do have on problem: Jesse Custer purports to be an honorable man, but every single time he gets into a fistfight, he kicks a dude in the junk. That’s not honorable!

Other than that, though, this thing is awesome. It’s so awesome, I read all nine trades in two nights (it’s important to note that I get out of work at 9pm).

Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Brendan: Sometimes a mere comic book can define a generation. Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim does so for anyone born after 1980. A perfect potion of equal parts ensemble romantic melodrama, coming of age (a little too late), ADD level kineticism, video-game culture and the subsequent effect on youth definitions of progress, and general awesimeotivity, Scott is the best friend comics ever made. Upon reading, his life will feel like your life, his friends will feel like your friends, his band will feel like your band, and before long you will find yourself battling evil ex-boyfriends to earn the right to be with the girl you sorta like, or are obssesed with, or whatever. While the series is founded on an intricately woven relationship web, it holds the reader’s attention with unexpected action sequences. Beyond that, this book is also a delightfully realized piece of comic-making. O’Malley’s visual style borrows heavily from the Japanese comic tradition, notably in regards to expression. While some comic readers are reluctant to venture into the strange world of imported and digest format comics, Pilgrim proves to be a perfect middle ground, with a cast as familiar as a nuclear family unit. The characters are simple yet emotive, and the frugality in regards to page layout and pacing are pitch perfect. Scott Pilgrim is more important than your next meal. Trust me.

Adan: What I enjoy most about this series of graphic novels are the video game bits. They’re not really references because no actual game is name-checked, but the save spots, the Mythril skateboards, and the coins certainly point to specific games. Ah, to have ridiculous amounts of free time again… Oh wait. I am. Sweet!

Ultimate Spider-Man #13 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley

Brendan: This was the issue that took me from a kid who loved comics to a person who appreciated comics. This story, that cemented Brian Bendis both as a trustworthy caretaker for Marvel’s most accessible version of Spider-man and as a creator who Marvel was willing to build around, did something I thought no comic, never mind a super-hero comic, could. This comic moved me. I was made to feel more mature having read it. It taught me, as a young and naïve reader, that comics could be moving without being grand or earth-shattering. It made a reader familiar with only the emotional range of standard superhero fare, believe that pictures and words on a page could actually bear reflection on the world around. All it did, all it took, was a boy sharing the biggest secret he had with a girl. Some people would deride this work, or the style it heralded, as slow or inconsequential. To me, it showed that “stuff happening” was something I had slightly overrated. I could connect with characters in a more personal way through a well executed scene between two characters. This book made me want more from my comics than fights and tights, and it whetted my pallet for more sophistication from the funnybooks I read. And just think, it’s just two kids sitting around talking. Comics can be great sometimes.

Adan: This is in fact my favorite single issue of this series. It’s sweet, it’s funny, it’s heartfelt, and it made me believe that Bendis could do anything. For a little while at least, before Bendis stretched himself out too thin. But we’re trying to be positive here, so, yes, this is my favorite issue of Ultimate Spider-Man. You know, before the “Hollywood” arc… or Venom… or Carnage. *shudder*

Brendan: So much for positivity.

And that’s that. I did this (almost) every week for about a year and it was fun. Laura is an ornery lady and Brendan is just plain wrong most of the time, but they’re good people and they’re fun people. And they’re family now.

Stay tuned for how Brendan keeps this column going.- Adan

Sorry we’re late kids. Brendan was house-hunting and thankfully found a place (otherwise he’d have to move back in with his parents!). Unfortunately, all that house-hunting meant he couldn’t do his thing this week, so I’m flying solo. Be gentle.

Also, I’m moving to Hong Kong very, very soon, so tune in next week for a very special BLAAPAS (and no, that acronym is not a mistake)– Adan

Batman Annual #26 Head of the Demon

Adan: I really hate that Damian “Son of the Bat” kid.

It just doesn’t matter what he’s doing, what time period he’s in, or who he’s written by, that kid is just bad news. Every time he shows up, you know you’re in for a subpar issue. And boy was this is ever subpar. Every plot twist is telegraphed about five pages before the “reveal” and the jumps back and forth in time are muddled and confusing. This is touted as the “Origin of Ra’s al-Ghul,” but we learn very little of consequence. So he fought in Waterloo against Napoleon. Who gives a damn? So he was in Whitechapel while Jack the Ripper was doing his thing. Oooh, spooky. None of this matters to the character of Ra’s. In fact, all this “origin” story really does is introduce the documents that contain Ra’s “origin” story. It’s a sort of self-perpetuating MacGuffin that does an awful job of motivating anybody to do anything. And hey, another albino bad guy. Way to be original. What happened to you, Milligan? You used to be awesome. You know what, I’m gonna say editorial got in your way, and fucked you on this. This can’t possibly be your fault.

And why is nobody all that afraid of Batman in the Outback? Why’s he even out there as Batman? You’re a little out of your jurisdiction, mate.

At least the art’s pretty cool. David and Alvaro Lopez have a style reminiscent of Darwyn Cooke body types with Gary Frank faces. Regardless, they do share the blame for timejumps as their transitions could have used work (but I did like the panel borders differentiating past from present).

You know, maybe it’s nobody’s fault that this issue sucked.

Maybe it’s just Damian.

Brit #1

Adan: Even though Kirkman isn’t writing this, it’s still pretty cool. There’s just something about watching an indestructible senior citizen beat the shit out of a bunch of Japanese midgets while two robots beat the shit out of each other right next to them that makes my day fifteen times better. I hadn’t read any Brit before this, but now I’m looking forward to the collected edition when it comes out. This book is quite awesome, so you should just keep reading it until I tell you otherwise.

Countdown to Adventure #1

Adan: A la Mystery in Space and Tales of the Unexpected, this anthology series features two completely different stories that may or may not intersect later on.

The first story features my favorite parts of 52: Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire. Adam is back on Rann with his family, enjoying life before he goes back to full-time duty as Rann’s defender. Meanwhile, Buddy has been reunited with his family, but they’ve got a houseguest in the unconscious form of Starfire. Now, that sounds like a sitcom (and maybe it is), but at least it’s a sitcom that sounds funny. C’mon, a smoking hot alien princess sleeping in your guest room while your wife tries to get you and your kids out of the house on time? That’s comedy gold!

Eddy Barrows pencils on this are just so damn gorgeous (check out the opening shot of Adam), I’m surprised I’ve never heard of this guy before. A quick search on Google reveals that he drew that Bloodhound series for DC that nobody bought. He’s also done some fill-in work for All-New Atom, Firestorm, and 52. Hurm… Either he changed his art style considerably, or I’ve just not been paying attention. Barrows is a guy to watch out for. This just might be his breakout work.

The second story features a really quite nifty origin story for the Forerunner character that was introduced in Countdown a while back. It’s way more interesting than anything that has occurred in Countdown thus far. I assume the rest of this story will deal with Monarch and his plans against the Monitors and what role the Forerunner will play.

The pencils on this story are handled by Fabrizio Fiorentino, and where Barrows in clean and crisp, Fiorentino is jagged and dark. The art doesn’t pop for me, but I will say that his character designs on the various alien races (those he created) are pretty sweet. The Mercurians are especially awesome.

Like most anthologies, one story will probably succeed while the other one crashes and burns. We’ll have to wait and see which is which on this one.

Also, note to Uncle Dan: stop tying everything in to Countdown. That book sucks and it’s just going to drag everything else down with it. You should have called this Sinestro Corps War to Adventure instead, if all you were trying to do was cash in. At least that storyarc is awesome (and don’t think I didn’t notice who the origin back-up in this week’s Countdown was).

Emily the Strange v2 Death Issue #1

Adan: This is less a comic book and more a collection of lists. Best ways to die lists. I guess there is one short story in here about re-animating a cat corpse but… Man, this is so not my scene. The art is hard to parse. I just can’t tell what’s going on most of the time.

The writing is difficult to deal with. I can’t tell if this is a book for mature kids or for immature adults. The jokes are pretty simple and would be funny only if you’re ten years old, but a lot of the subject matter is pretty adult (there is a brain on a spike for God’s sake!)

What I do know is that I don’t like it.

Ex Machina Masquerade Special

Adan: The Great Machine’s very first adventure!

The very first thing that struck me when I opened this issue of Ex Machina was: “Hey, this isn’t Tony Harris!” Now, I know he didn’t do the previous specials, but still. It’s been so long since the last issue of Ex Machina, I actually thought for a second that this was the next regular issue. I have no issues with John Paul Leon, as I actually like the dude’s art (especially that surprising last shot of Mitchell), but he’s not Tony Harris, and I need me some Tony Harris.

Well, Harris might be MIA, but BKV is still here making my heart all a-flutter. The story is set right after Mitchell gets out of the hospital after a certain explosion, pre-Great Machine. An origin story if you will. This where you find out how he came up with suit and you see him solve his first crime. You also get some hints as to what the junk in his face might be.

All in all, a solid issue of Ex Machina, although now I’m jonesing for a new storyarc.

Incredible Change-Bots GN

Adan: Oh man, this is hilarious. I’m sure there’s some kind of fable or moral or whathaveyou, but I’m too busy laughing my ass off. The Incredible Change-Bots are obvious Transfomers parodies, but Jeffrey Brown makes fun of all the little things we took for granted when we watched the show as kids: the robots’ bad aim, the fact that the Decepticons always escaped, and the nonsensical humanizing of robots. Again, I’m sure there’s a deeper message, but I’m too busy enjoying the hell out of this book.

Last Fantastic Four Story

Adan: Meh… It was alright. Stan Lee deserves a lot for all the awesome things he helped create back in the day, including the FF, but his writing is not so good, especially nowadays. Stan has this uncanny ability to describe exactly what is happening in each panel with caption boxes or characters’ speech. The first three or four pages are especially bad: “Bolts of Flame!” “Melting our weapons!” Yes, I know, terrorist guy. I can see it in the accompanying artwork. And I’m not a big fan of John Romita Jr., so this isn’t really my bag. Nonetheless, I’m sure old-school fans will get a big kick out of this, as it’s classic Stan Lee FF on a grand cosmic scale.

Mice Templar #1

Adan: So, is this just another Mouse Guard? Eh… sort of, but who cares? It’s pretty awesome too.

Imagine if the first Mouse Guard mini had ended in a much more grim fashion. Mice Templar is what could have happened a couple of generations down the line. The Templar were an order of mice pledged to defend mousedom from all threats big or small, external or internal. Unfortunately, the Templar had a disagreement over something and had a civil war, decimating them. And that’s just the back story.

The main story is about a little mouse named Karic who idolizes the memory of the Templar, even though most people think they no longer exist. He’s a believable child, playing at being Templar and getting into trouble all the time. Oeming and Bryan Glass have created a rich world with its own mythology, culture, and history.

As for Oeming’s much ballyhooed new art style, I guess it’s alright. However, there are a lot of confusing points in the text. A lot of the mice are difficult to tell apart, some characters appear and disappear with little warning, and it is difficult to tell who is talking sometimes. Hopefully, all these problems will be rectified soon, as I do enjoy the art style.

I’ll keep picking this up assuming those problems don’t get worse.

Punks the Comic Summer Special

Adan: What the fuck?

So there’s a dog-man, a Ghost Rider look-alike, a dude with a fist for a head, and Abraham Lincoln, and they all live in an apartment together while fighting off alien invasions and eating dead hookers. So, again, I ask: what the fuck?

This is too absurdist for me. I like Kody Chamberlain’s collage-style art, but even that gets really weird sometimes. Throw in the fact the comic is interrupted a few times by things like the thirteenth page missing, an interview with Rick Remender the fish, and an alien invasions PSA, and this thing is just too damn weird. Fans of The Young Ones will probably enjoy the hell out of this.

Teen Titans #50

Adan: This issue is hilarity wrapped in schmaltzy remembrance. But it’s the hilarity that will get you.

To “celebrate Kid Flash’s life,” the Titans get together and remember Bart Allen. Thankfully, this doesn’t turn into “remember when Bart did that awesome thing that time?” Instead, we’re treated to a Geoff Johns and Mike McKone tale of Bart flying the Batplane right through a “Welcome to Smallville” sign and Todd Dezago and Todd Nauck page about all the times Bart screwed up in Young Justice. Unfortunately, Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s short was a schmaltzy story about Wally as Kid Flash, and how he was insecure and blah blah blah. But hey, it’s still Wolfman and Perez, so whatever.

The only complaint I have is that the fight scene from last week’s Blue Beetle #18 was reproduced almost in toto (it may have even been the exact same art) for seven pages. Whoever bought that issue of Blue Beetle is going to feel pretty gypped.

Overall, a good anniversary issue of Teen Titans that, if nothing else, has inspired me to go find all those Young Justice back issues. How’s that for salesmanship? Dezago and Nauck do one page of story and art and I’m hooked on a series from ten years ago. Give me some trades, DC!

Hey all. We went up a bit late last week, and as a result missed our opportunity to hotlink off the PCS main page. We got it done, though, and if you missed it check it out at http://www.popcultureshock.com/brendan-adans-picks-pans-scans-august-16-2007/42461/ And now… this week.

Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero #1

Adan: This new Battlestar series that takes place before the Cylons attacked the Twelve Colonies feels like a harder edged Star Trek: The Original Series, and not in a good way..

There seem to be three different time periods vying for attention, and while one obviously happens before another, I’m not sure where the third one fits in. Storyline one is Adama and Tigh on the Galactica as Adama goes on a planet mission (thereby invoking TOS) to rescue his previous Commander, Julian Dimarco. Then we get a flashback to when Adama was serving under Dimarco as they did some black ops stuff out on the edge of Colonial space. There is third time period in which Tigh and Adama are with their wives and talking about how they’re done with black ops stuff, but I can’t figure out where that takes place.

But even if I wasn’t having temporal issues, this book still feels like Galactica-lite. Brandon Jerwa just doesn’t give it the same resonance that the show has (which isn’t that big a surprise, but still), and I’m not entirely sure that this book is even an adequate placeholder while the show is on hiatus (until 2008! why!?) Jackson Herbert’s pencils over Stephen Segovia’s layouts make it very difficult to figure out who is who, but colorist Adriano Lucas may be equally at fault, as everything is murky and indecipherable, especially on the planetside story and its accompanying flashback.

The regular Battlestar Galactica series by Dynamite hasn’t exactly wowed me, but it’s still much better than this. If you’re a hardcore fan, you’re not going to be able to help yourself, but everybody else: you can skip this. Just wait a little longer.

Brendan: This was very forgettable. I can’t even pretend to have a lot to say. The art was less than impressive, and the storyline was too scattered. I had a hard time telling one character apart from another, which is always a sign of doom. The action lacked, and the characters didn’t look or sound distinct enough to create any real drama. I sort of dig this show, but not enough to want to follow this obscure book.

Comic Foundry Magazine #1

Adan: Here is the new comics magazine that purports to be the happy medium between Wizard and The Comics Journal. So, is it any good?

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Yes and here’s why.

I got this magazine back when Editor-in-chief Tim Leong and my sister/erstwhile partner-in-reviewing Laura Hudson debuted it at the San Diego Comic-Con. They were obviously really excited about it, and when I bought it, I could only think, “I hope this doesn’t suck.” The next day, as I was waiting in line for a Warren Ellis signing, I read the magazine cover to cover. It is important to note two things here: I had a bunch of other comics in my bag (as well as a copy of Douglas Wolk’s excellent Reading Comics) and I hadn’t read a magazine cover to cover since the Wizard: X-men Special back when Grant Morrison was about to start New X-men. That right there is a huge endorsement.

As for the claim that Comic Foundry is a happy medium between Wizard and The Comics Journal? Well, it is and it isn’t. It certainly covers both mainstream comics and indy comics (though I think this issue skewed more toward the indy side), it doesn’t come off as either fratboyish (like Wizard) or snooty (like TCJ), but it also does some things neither magazine does, and that’s the Life+Style section that EIC Tim touts so much. Where else can you learn to Rasterbate, have Kieron Gillen teach you how to fake taste in music, have Matt Fraction teach you how to make love to Kieron Gillen, and learn Michel Kupperman’s favorite jokes? On top of that you get an interview with two of my favorite people: Kristen “Veronica Mars” Bell and Bryan Lee “Scott Pilgrim” O’Malley.

I know what you’re thinking: “Of course you love it, your sister’s writing for the magazine. You have to like it.” Untrue, dear reader. I don’t have to like shit (I didn’t even mention the two great articles she has in here). I like this magazine because it’s good, and I do have some problems with it. Two, to be exact: one, the Costume section of the magazine could really have used some color, especially the bit on the Voltron shoes (which one’s the green lion?); and two, the copy editing is really not good. I will let the copy editing slide for two reasons: it’s their first issue and they’ll fix it (and they will fix it) and my own copy editing is quite atrocious, so I really have no leg to stand on.

Final word: it’s good. Go buy it already, my sister writes for this thing, dammit!

Brendan: Who is this “Laura Hudson,” and what does she think she’s doing “writing?”

This was a very strong launch issue for the magazine that seeks to fill the void between Wizard‘s thinly veiled infomercial approach and The Comic Journal‘s “Everything you like is wrong, books haven’t been good in twenty years,” insular approach. Foundry takes a lot of different risks in regards to content, with features on comics-influenced adult beverages, LAAPPAS alum’s article “Sex and the Superhero,” (hey, I hear that stuff sells), and Matt Fraction’s tutorial on how to bag the dude that writes Phonogram. There is more traditional fare also, like the ever important “Now we interview a blonde,” article, this time concentrating on Veronica Mars‘ Kristen Bell, but even this seems thought-out and worthwhile. I thought there were issues with the structure of the magazine. The heavier content was weighted towards the back, and the “Life+Style” section could have been pushed further towards the end, if not shortened. These things will happen with a launch issue, though, and are hardly big enough hiccups to worry. The short story is a refreshing addition, and the piece on “The Judas Contract,” gives a sense of history and credibility.

There is tremendous potential in this mag. It feels like a regular, newsstand magazine, which is an accomplishment. The fashion section is original and ambitious, recreating some familiar pages with trendy new digs, and the interviews, notably the final piece with Scott Pilgrim‘s Bryan Lee O’Malley, are honest and fully realized.

And c’mon, it’s one cent cheaper than Wizard. At the very least, you gotta try it out.

Halo Uprising #1

Brendan: Comics like this are important. Books like this, Dark Tower and Buffy offer the unique opportunity to actively grow the comic book market. This book will be actively sought out by a crowd that may not be aware that books are released on Wednesday, or of who Brian Bendis is. This is a rare chance to grab someone who doesn’t care, and turn him or her into a reader.

That said, this issue is an accomplishment. The insanely talented creative team of Bendis and Maleev deliver a thoughtful, beautiful, action-driven story for hardcore Halo fans and n00bs alike. Matt Hollingsworth’s disturbing but consistent colors are hugely effective in solidifying the Halo world and look, while Chris Eliopoulos proves to be more than the guy that makes the Franklin Richards books go, and provides pitch perfect lettering.

The opening six page scene lays low any fear that this series would be the typical, dialogue driven storytelling that Bendis is loved and loathed for. This book is about fucking shit up. By the fourth page’s third panel we are reminded of why we’re reading this book, with a subtle “first person shooter cam” shot. The inclusion of Cleveland, Bendis’ hometown, feels like an ego-stroke, but is forgivable in that it is always refreshing to see somewhere other than New York or L.A. demolished. While the Master Chief story is obviously the driving force for this book, the common man storyline gives a much needed grounding to the world of Halo, and proves to interesting in its own right.

Licensed books, be they Halo, or the Transformers, GI Joe, and Star Wars books of yesteryear, are what get people into comics. While the comic inspired-movie boom has helped grant some mainstream credibility to the world of comics (read: money buys respect), the fact is that people who see the Spider-man movies tend to like the Spider-man movies. It doesn’t necessarily follow that they pursue the books. But, if you have an audience that clamors for more substance from their obsession of choice, (looking at you Buffy fans), then they will follow regardless of medium. They say comics can’t compete with video games. Maybe they can’t, but they can sure as hell help each other.

Adan: I don’t know about being an “accomplishment” or even “grow[ing] the comic book market,” but it was enjoyable, in a weird, awful watching-someone-else-masturbate kind of way.

Yes, Master Chief doesn’t say a single word (for two four-page stints, some kind of record for Bendis), but the hotel concierge guy who is in Cleveland when the Covenant attack is really just a better-looking, Indian Bendis. His mouth is potty and his mannerisms are that of a short, troll-looking mother, but the dude’s hawt. Which segues nicely into how awesome Maleev is. I think he could draw Brendan’s face and make it look good, that’s how good he is.

This book is kind of ridiculous, but Halo fans will buy it because whatever. That’ll probably the only thing they buy, but even only one Halo guy picks up a Daredevil trade, I guess it will have been worth it.

Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 #1

Brendan: I’ll be honest- the first volume of Mouse Guard didn’t blow me away the way it did some others. I thought it was solid and beautifully drawn, but the story felt a bit stretched. There were points of confusion in the storytelling, and at times it was hard to tell characters apart. Of course, I still think it deserved an Eisner and was eagerly awaiting the beginning of the second volume. I was pleased to see that David Petersen continued to evolve and improve with his work. The art continued to provide stunning portrayals of animal life while still giving insight into the characters and their world. I think Petersen has become more comfortable with his pacing, and has managed to find a story that suits the season in which it is set. These dudes are little heroes, and everyone should pay attention.

Plus, you get a bonus Geof Darrow pin-up.

Adan: More awesome mousy action from Eisner-winning David Petersen. It’s winter now, and Midnight’s attack in the fall has left the Guard with little food and medicine. The Guard Mice have to travel to the nearby cities and basically beg for food, medicine, and continued support of the Guard. It’s a hard life, being a Guard Mouse. It’s even harder trying to read Gwendolyn’s script. Good God, could you have chosen a more difficlut script. I mean thanks for not using Wingdings, but man.

Regardless, I love this book. I loved it the first time, and I’m gonna love it this time.

Also, I love Saxon.

Order of the Stick vol. -1: Start of Darkness TP

Adan: Another black and white prequel for Rich Burlew’s Dungeons & Dragons-themed online comic Order of the Stick, which is just as hilarious as his strip.

Where the last prequel focused on the heroes, this one focuses on the villains of the tale, Xykon the Lich and Redcloak, his goblin cleric. In his introduction, Burlew says that it is difficult to write a story where the villain is the main character without making him sympathetic. Fear not, for Xykon is an evil, evil jerk who can elicit no sympathy from anybody. Burlew does a good job of fleshing out Xykon’s character without giving him some kind of tortured past to explain away all his nefarious deeds. Xykon’s just an evil dick.

Redcloak, on the other hand… Well, you should read it.

Burlew packs this volume with a bunch of comics in-jokes, from a magical X-men team, to a slightly funnier rendition of that fateful night of Dick Grayson’s. Even with all the evil and smiting, Burlew makes sure you can yuk it up.

Like in his last prequel, Burlew chooses to tone the bulk of the story in grayscale and not add in color. While I can understand that printing costs would be much, much higher, Burlew’s stick figure representations of all that is Dungeons & Dragons look a lot better in color.

Regardless, I will be adding this to my collection because I do love OotS very much, and even though Burlew says you don’t need to read this book to follow the main story arc in his online strips, fans should still check it out. And if you’re not already a fan of OotS, then by all means, start now.

Brendan: What if Bone spent most of its energy making D&D jokes with Microsoft Paint graphics? It turns out, you’d have a lot of fun, and it would be a lot like this. This story was surprisingly serialized, with a plot that managed to move forward. It was generally funny, even to a reader not immersed in a “Vitality +9″ lifestyle. The balloon layout was confusing at points, and the page size was jarring. The best sequences were rendered in perfect Crayola bit graphics that accidentally carry into the main story. Oh, and cockroaches can breach the fourth wall, much how they can breach any other wall. I would probably not buy this without first being a fan of the web-work, but this does make the web publication more enticing and is a fine volume unto itself.

Stormbringers #1

Adan: First off, “womb energy?” Seriously?

Second off, five thousand women have been murdered and the cops have no leads? That there is the worst police force in the history of ever.

But back to the womb energy: apparently, there are women in the city of New Frontier (I think Darwyn Cooke and Peter David live there) who have manifested superpowers, “pregnant with … inexhaustible sums of energy.” This womb energy allows them to shoot laser beams, or run fast, or be an honest-to-God angel, apparently. Also, there are men who don’t have powers per se, but by exerting their wills real hard, they can be more than normal men. This isn’t the most ridiculous premise in the world, but it comes close. It’s not helped by the fact that the entire issue is exposition, and clunky exposition at that.

John Stinsman’s art is serviceable, but not great. Some of his forms are a little off, but overall okay. I really have beef with the colorist Megan Spence. She puts too much shadow on everything, even when it’s light out or people are in an office building with plenty of light. The area under someone’s chin should not be that dark in an office.

Also, I’m all for diversity, but making everyone in this book black is not diversity. I guess it’s possible that some of these people are Hispanic or something, but man, there’s like three pale-skinned people. Whatever, it’s not really a complaint; more of an observation.

The premise is too ridiculous to not keep reading this book, but it’s definitely not worth five bucks.

Brendan: This book sort of floored me. I thought the packaging was disappointing, and entered with low expectations. All of a sudden, there was womb energy and an Ultimate Nick Fury, modern Luke Cage, and Shaft 2000-era Sam Jackson protagonist. Oh, and after a passable first four pages artist John Stinsman leaps from passable to fucking superstar. It helps that his character work seems to echo that of Mike Mckone, an all time favorite of mine, but what Stinsman achieves is much more. His storytelling is fluid and natural. He is as good looking on the close shots as the full ones. His action is as visually interesting as his character interaction. Best of all, his inking is perfectly saturated to tell the story at hand. Usually, the best way to tell if an artist is ready for prime-time is to see how consistent their work is from page one to twenty-two. People inevitably mail it in on scenes they don’t love, and the result is so uneven an audience will tune out or put the book back down. I think his cover was a bad representation of his skill, and that he turned a corner during this project.

The story was incredibly charged and ambitious. The characters were well-written enough to keep me interested in turning the page. I worry that the allegory here may be laid on a bit thick but didn’t stray too close to feel like a book with an agenda. I don’t mind not seeing many light skinned folk in this book, because there are plenty of comics with exclusively light skinned casts. This book was a real surprise, and well worth hopping onboard early.

Adan: But why can’t I see anybody’s neck!? Even in a brightly lit room, that also has a huge window that lets in natural light, I can’t see people’s necks ‘cause there’s so much shadow. Did Stinsman just spill a bottle of ink or something?

Brendan: Necks are no longer necessary. They have been sacrificed in the name of mood.

Superman #666

Brendan: Welcome back to Superman‘s issue 666 Satanniversary, (the joke so nice I used it twice). Regular series writer Kurt Busiek teams with industry legend Walt Simonson to bring this tale of a Superman gone wrong. Simonson’s powerful portrayal of Krypton’s Last Son is a treat, but the meticulous hand lettering of John Workman is a huge standout. You will never enjoy a good “THOOM” as much as one by John Workman. Simonson’s Superman, like that of fabled studio-mate Howard Chaykin, is not always “pretty.” The line work may be jarring to readers with modern sensibilities, but the strength of the work lies in its ability to convey the emotional beats of the story. The composition and style is perfectly realized. There is real power in this Superman, and it feels a great deal like I imagine a Jack Kirby Superman story would feel.

The plot itself is an eerie negative to Kurt Busiek’s Astro City story, wherein the Superman analog, Samaritan, dreams about his freedom to fly without responsibility. Here, Superman acts without the burden of responsibility he must shoulder, and the results are frightening. The story itself reads like a dream, with jumps in logic and time, but an internal consistency to make it feel real. I thought this story employed interesting narrative tricks, as well as a neat twist to Kryptonian mythology. Timeless and original, this was maybe one of my all-time favorite Superman stories.

Adan: Of all-time? Lay off the hyperbole, buddy. I’m not saying you didn’t enjoy it, but all-time? C’mon now.

I didn’t like this issue at all. The story was forced and contrived, the art was dense and hard to parse, and the damn book cost $3.99, a full dollar more than a regular (and usually better) issue of Superman. I’m not gonna pay $3.99 for some story about a Kryptonian demon (who didn’t exist before this issue, by the way) who tries to take Superman’s soul and make him into the Beast of Revelation. It’s quite silly and I’m not down at all.

Tales from the Crypt #2

Brendan: Is the classic Tales from the Crypt cover layout simply the best layout because of the baggage it brings? I think it may be more; I think the composition of it may be the pinnacle of the standard sized comic. Or maybe I just think gross looking shit is cool.

This book is dedicated to all the right people, and I think it is great to have this title back in print. Imagine a world where Tales from the Crypt went on unimpeded. Why, it would be somewhere in the seven hundreds, had it stayed in print. It could have rivaled 2000 A.D. as a proving grounds for comics’ best talent. Who knows, maybe some of comics’ most accomplished writers would have been American!

This first of this book’s two tales of horror is the story of the landlord from Hell, or rather the landlord put through Hell. Although this is a Crypt revival, The Tenant is a full on Spirit homage. Everything from the street names, Iger, of Eisner and Iger Studios, and Colt of the Spirit’s alter-ego, Denny Colt, is in honor of the man who brought literature to comics. Even the headstone at the story’s finale gives the gag away with the name “Willis Rensie,” Eisner’s one-time pseudonym. The story echoes the parable-like nature of Eisner’s classic Spirit stories with a morale of social responsibility and compassion. The art is good enough, but suffer when the panels are closer up. In fact, the production value on this book was way off. The entire chapter looks like second rate scans, and really distract from art that has moments of real potential. Artist Steve Mannion provides a spectacularly rendered cover, but fails to carry that level of quality throughout his chapter.

The Garden is the issue’s second chapter, and is a chilling story delivered by Action Philosophers’ Fred Van Lente and artist Mr. Exes. The story is a strangely haunting one, with a true perversion of paradise.

Both stories prove to be good enough reads to warrant a look. They are neither children nor adults’ comics, a feat accomplished by telling topical stories with a meaning and a resonance without resorting to stupid fucking things like cursing.

Adan: Moreso than the individual stories, which were good in their own ways, I enjoyed the Hell out of the framing bits. The puns that Cryptkeeper throws down are hilarious and “What the Wertham–!” is the best exclamation ever and I have to start using it in my everyday speech.

Brendan is right in that “The Tenant” is just a love letter to Will Eisner, from the art style, to the plot points, to the themes, all the way down to the Easter eggs. Unfortunately, Brendan is also right in that the production value is just awful. “The Garden” was a much more interesting tale to me. It had a pretty sweet twist ending that I will not ruin because then it will cease to be pretty sweet.

Look, you just need to read this book. The Cryptkeeper is hilarious and these puns need to make out into the world.

Wolverine #56

Brendan: The creative team of Jason Aaron and Howard Chaykin on Wolverine packs so much testosterone you may need a pill to offset it. Grit itself would cower at the grit within these pages. A refreshing change of pace from the incoherent “Romulus,” storyline, this is a standalone story of how Logan can destroy a man without touching him. It is actually very reminiscent of Mark Millar and Kaare Andrews’ concentration camp issue (that’s issue 32 if you like editor’s notes). It is funny to see Aaron taking the reigns on the world’s most fearsome Canuck just a week after his pilot issue of Ripclaw, which, as Adan pointed out, is not a wholly *ahem,* original character template, but by delivering, all slings and arrows are left in their upright and locked position. The actual plot, with Logan trapped in a pit while a man guns at him for a full work day, echoes the story of Cassidy and Frankie the Eunuch in Preacher. While I won’t say the story isn’t original, it definitely wears its influences on its sleeve.

I’m not sure this is a logical follow up to Loeb and Bianchi’s previous story arc, nor do I understand how this would fit in any sort of current continuity, but I am sure that I do not give a shit. While Chaykin is not in top form, his jagged, bestial portrayal of Wolverine suits this one-and-done perfectly. The blood in this issue, (and oh, is there blood in this issue) practically sticks to your hands off of the page. It isn’t pretty, but nor should it be.

Adan: Yes, yes, Jason Aaron is a good writer and Howard Chaykin’s art makes my eyes bleed. And overall, I like the issue, but that’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about whether or not a mainstream superhero book can even have a done-in-one story anymore.

Obviously, this book begins a new story that then ends in twenty-eight pages. But is it a done-in-one, really? Most, if not all, mainstream superhero books are too hampered by continuity and a shared universe (not necessarily a bad thing) to be able to tell a done-in-one story. Taking this issue of Wolverine as an example (also because I am ostensibly reviewing it), at the end of the issue, you find out that the mastermind behind Logan’s imprisonment is that Romulus guy Loeb and Bianchi introduced in the last arc. Even the new and leathered Wild Child shows up. A reader completely unknown to comics could not pick this up and understand the whole story. He’d have to ask friends who the leather-boy is, who he is talking to, and why do they hate Wolverine so much? These are, of course, beyond the initial questions of who Wolverine is, why can he be shot a lot and not die, etc. which we don’t count because they fall in the purview of introductory questions (everybody asks these kinds of questions when about to consume new media, especially if they’re joining up in medias res).

And I don’t think even longtime readers can consider this a done-in-one. The entire time I was reading this issue, as narration boxes told me weeks were passing, that Logan was in the pit for about two months, give or take a week, all I could think was, “Where are the X-men or New Avengers? This guy belongs to about twenty teams, and none of them have noticed he’s missing? Maybe there was a scheduling conflict and all the teams think he’s currently with a different team?” I still half expect there to be a New Avengers or Astonishing X-men issue later on where Wolverine chastises Luke Cage or Cyclops for not coming to spring him from the pit.

The age of the one-and-done is long gone for mainstream superhero comics. There is too much continuity for this to be able to happen anymore. Throw in the fact that most mainstream superhero characters regularly appear in more than two monthly titles (Wolverine being the worst offender of the whole bunch), and you have the death of the done-in-one story.

But hey, Jason Aaron did write a good story, and I hope this gets you Wolverine readers out there to pick up his Other Side or his Scalped, both by Vertigo, as they are much, much better.

Hey all, Brendan here. We’ve hit a rough patch of lateness here at BAAPPAS Central, but we’re working hard to right the wrongs. I was out of town this week, so chalk the tardy post and the shortened list up to that. Fear not, children, next week we’ll be back to timely, lengthy normalcy.

Booster Gold #1

Adan: This was quite an enjoyable experience. Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz seem truly excited about writing this book.

It’s getting considerably harder to stay mad at Geoff Johns for the train wreck that was Green Lantern #4 (but I can hold on to my white hot rage as long as I need to). First he gave me the Sinestro Corps War, and now he’s giving me Booster as the greatest hero the multiverse has never known. Skeets, Rip Hunter, and Supernova are along for the ride, so we get a nice team dynamic going. I will say that this issue was pretty wordy, like Scrabble tournament wordy. For a guy who’s supposedly an egocentric moron, Booster sure does have a lot of thought captions. And I mean a lot.

I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed Dan Jurgens pencils. They just feel like classic superhero pencils (please keep in mind that I’m an old man born in 1983). And since he created Booster way back when, he’s probably the only guy qualified to draw his return (Kevin Maguire would also have been acceptable).

The use of the captions with the weeks and days (Week 60, Day 1) as well as the three characters we saw save the multiverse at the end make this feel like the true successor to 52, and I can only hope that fans see this and give this book the sales it deserves.

And can DC please put those four vertical bars previewing upcoming plot points at the end of all their books? It was awesome at the end of Justice Society of America #1 and it was awesome here.

Brendan: Booster Gold, you rock my world.

The greatest hero the world can never know about gets his much deserved new series here. Creators Dan Jurgens, Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz do the improbable, and find a purpose for Booster, both as a character and for a series. Booster has to fix the time stream, and no one can have any idea. Finally, we have a reason for this character to exist both as a sort of asshole, and as an honorable hero. He is a joke, and he isn’t. What’s more, there is no limit to the amount of stories that can be told in between continuity’s cracks. It could be a strong counter-point to Marvel’s Exiles, only character-driven. As long as the jokes stay funny, and the creators stay true to the series’ mission statement, this could be one of the most successful relaunches of a character ever. Jurgens’ work looks better than it has in years, which is a testament both to him and his inker, Norm Rapmund. When his work is off, it looks over-posed and dated. Here we can appreciate his strengths, with dynamic superhero work, expressive faces and an ability to draw damn near everything under the sun.

So here’s to you, you Buzz Cola-shilling, self-aggrandizing, super-suit stealing, time-jumping bastard. You may turn out to be the multiverse’s greatest hero yet. It’s a damn shame it’ll have to be such a secret; I mean, think of how many endorsements 52 universes have to offer!

And dude, that Green Lantern issue was like two years ago. Time to move on, buddy.

Adan: You just don’t know how much that book affected me. I nearly died (literally) because of that book.

Good as Lily GN

Adan: Could this be better than Mike Carey and Marc Hempel’s Re-Gifters? I think it just might be!

Grace Kwon has just turned eighteen years old, high school is about to end, and three versions of herself from different time periods come to visit her. Weird? Yes, but it nonetheless works here, and it works really well. Where Re-Gifters drew its drama from the real-life tribulations of a regular Korean girl in LA, Good as Lily draws its drama from the same kind of real-life tribulations, only there is some magic realism thrown in, which is something I usually abhor (magic realism is the easy way out, I’ve always said). But it felt natural (or as natural as magic gets, anyway) and unforced, unlike the fantasy element in Clubbing, which felt tacked on at the last second. Derek Kirk Kim knocked one out of the park with his first published work Same Difference and Other Stories. With Good as Lily, he showed us that he wasn’t just a one hit wonder.

I think I like Jesse Hamm’s art mostly because he reminded me of Kim’s art in Same Difference. However, he’s also a good cartoonist in his own right. His facial expressions are quite good (especially the super-cartoony ones when something goes horribly wrong) and his figures are just realistic enough to ground the story in the real world, but cartoony enough to allow the magic realism to happen without missing a beat.

If I had to say anything bad about this book, it’s that the end is too pat. Everything works out just fine with all the characters involved. Maybe this is a byproduct of magic realism. Regardless, this is fantastic and may beat out its sister Re-Gifters for comic of the year.

I wonder if it says something about something that the best comics so far both feature Korean protagonists in a comic specifically aimed at girls.

Brendan:It says something about you, at least.

And what do you want? A miserable ending chalk full of tragedy? Again, remember the target audience. This book was genuinely poignant, and very funny. The art wasn’t my favorite stylistically, but it suited and served the story. I don’t think all magic needs explanation, and if anything a forced explanation would have distracted from the story. Each iteration of Grace had a clear purpose in being there, and each one gave insight to Grace at eighteen.

If I had a complaint, it would be the title. “Good As Lily,” doesn’t really synch up with what this story seems to be about. Lily is Grace’s lost sister, and only seems to matter to the child version. Losing a sibling at a young age is a traumatic experience, and from a writing standpoint, should fundamentally change and shape the character. Including the plot point in the title implies importance also, but it doesn’t seem to come through in the story. The title is more than a little misleading, and if this book weren’t so damn enjoyable, I would be upset. I’m not.

Justice League of America #12

Adan: Well, it’s not the worst JLA book Brad Meltzer’s written, not by a damn sight, but it’s still not very good.

There are some nice character moments (the best one I thought was between Hawkgirl and Black Canary), and some nice set-up for Dwayne McDuffie’s upcoming “Injustice League Unlimited” arc, but overall it was still blah (which especially sucks since the last issue was so damn good). What was the point of Wally and Hal hanging out (especially since Hal was supposed to be on monitor duty)? Why were the secret watchers watching (this isn’t a plot point, really, I guess I just don’t want to ruin things if I don’t have too)? And you’ve had the Flash for a good two issues now, and have used him not at all.

What can I say about Ed Benes that hasn’t been said already? The guy draws some purty pictures, but his layouts are kind of bland. Compared to Gene Ha from last month, Benes is just composing the same old superhero layouts with very little deviation. Eric Wight comes along to at least give us something slightly different to look at, but given the choice between Benes’ stale layouts or Wight’s, I’m gonna go with Benes. He draws prettier.

I can’t say that I’m sorry to see Meltzer go, because I’m not. At all.

Dwayne McDuffie, come save us!

Brendan: This was supposed to be so much better. Brad Meltzer was supposed to give us a Justice League of America epic. It was supposed to challenge Identity Crisis as a JLA story for the ages. Meltzer, it was said, was waiting his entire life for this job. Maybe he was, but somehow I doubt that the eleven year old Meltzer was dreaming that someday he would write the most superfluous, deliberate, and verbose adventure the DCU had ever seen. This run was little more than a series of conversations about how great the Justice League is or was. First, the Big Three talked about who could be a Leaguer or not, then some villains talked about how doomed the League was, last issue Vixen and Red Arrow talked about how near they were to death, (despite relatively low stakes). Here, two mysterious figures talk about how much the team has gelled with their one and a half adventures over the last year. While the revelation of who is talking is almost a surprise, and the implications add a previously unseen layer to the team dynamic, the lump sum of this “era” is wholly underwhelming. This entire run has been obsessed with minutia and faux-character development. Hawkgirl is somehow new because she gets together with the biggest DC slut this side of Nightwing. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman have learned to let go of the League, evidenced by the fact that we rarely see them. Vixen is now more than just a filled out Animal-Man rip-off. The Red Tornado is somehow more clueless in regards to the human condition than when he was a robot. Though Meltzer clearly had specific goals as to how to develop each member of his team, the fact that each development had to be driven home so clumsily by unseen narrators seems to imply that either the change is not self-evident, or the audience lacks the sophistication to understand the vision. Meltzer quite obviously has a great affinity for these characters, and the world they inhabit. Even more, he seems to have extracted, from their history, the psychological angles that motivate each character. This series has been a study in those angles. And here I thought it was supposed to be a comicbook about the greatest superheroes of all time.

Eric Wight does provide deceptively sophisticated artwork that evokes the work of the past without blatantly copying any one style. Benes, though, again fails to live up to his potential. If there was one word for his artwork this entire run, it would be inconsistency. The line work jumps from page to page, and has since issue zero. There are times when two consecutive pages seem to have been produced by wholly different artists. This erraticism is forgivable for an issue, or maybe two, as deadlines can come fast in this business. But for the entire run to be plagued by that variation is jarring and unpleasant. The simplistic, straight line work is not the most visually pleasing, but acceptable. The hyper-detailed, ultra-rendered look works, too. But make up your goddamn mind.

The greatest disappointment of this series is the promise it held. I liked Identity Crisis, and loved The Archer’s Quest before that. I thought that Benes had made great strides in his work on Superman. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but this series felt like a step back for both creators, with the team they brought to life suffering because of it. Bring on Dwayne McDuffie and the Injustice League Unlimited.

Ripclaw: Pilot Season #1

Adan: There may be some life left in this shameless Wolverine clone.

This Pilot Season thing is an interesting concept. Top Cow is going to publish six one-shots, and then fans will vote on which two will continue as ongoing series. The inside front cover has the six books listed, and by creative team alone, I’d vote for Ripclaw by Jason Aaron and Jorge Lucas and Velocity by Joe Casey and Kevin Maguire. Luckily, we don’t have to go by only creative teams.

Ripclaw is a character from Marc Silvestri’s original Image offering Cyberforce. There is no question that Ripclaw is a thinly-veiled Wolverine clone: a loner who nonetheless joins a team for the betterment of mankind, he also has claws on his hands (in Ripclaw’s case they’re real claws, cybernetically implanted) and kills a lot of people. He even goes to Japan in this issue and fights yakuza and ninjas. But he’s also a Native American of undetermined specificity, and this is where I had hoped Jason Aaron would shine. His Scalped book, about a present day reservation, is a fantastic read, full of very interesting characters, most of them Native American. I had hoped some of that would bleed over and infuse Ripclaw, but unfortunately, it did not go beyond mentioning a sweat lodge. It’s in this sweat lodge that Ripclaw is contacted by many restless spirits to do their bidding so they can go the world beyond. It’s one of these spirits that tells him to go see Boss Yamamoto in Tokyo.

Every fight scene, every single act of violence without fail, happens off-panel. This is a very interesting thing to relegate to the background, as the issue is about Ripclaw trying to get to the head of the Yamamoto-gumi through many levels of security full of gun-toting Yak, sneaky ninjas, and a martial arts master. Relegating this to the background, though, does allow some pretty cool scenes to be spotlighted instead, including the fantastic conversation between Ripclaw and the aforementioned martial arts master, Number Nine.

Jorge Lucas, forced to draw talking heads for a good portion of the issue, nonetheless does a decent job. Ripclaw gets more and more fucked up after each (unseen) battle, so that at the end he’s wearing pants and a shredded shirt, having lost his hat, a coat, and a jacket. Ripclaw himself, though, still looks too much like Wolverine. I understand that the design of the character is set mostly in stone and can’t be changed too much, but maybe his civilian clothing could be altered so that he doesn’t look like a carbon copy of Logan in his civvies. Lose the cowboy hat, show off the ponytail, maybe put on a black jacket instead of a brown one. At least Ripclaw doesn’t smoke cigars. I will say that the aftermath of the battles we’re not privy to are so full of carnage, that my mind just starts racing with the possibilities of what occurred.

Overall, a good book and one that has a good shot at winning this contest. To be perfectly honest, though, I’d probably vote for this on the promise of things to come rather than the actual strengths of this issue. But who knows, maybe the other books will just blow it totally.

Brendan: If you’re going to rip someone off, make sure he’s the best there is at what he does.

I thought this was a very strong “pilot” issue. It was well paced, laid out a conflict and journey that can be extended indefinitely, and made me interested in a character I had no interest in prior. The Tokyo criminal underground can make for pretty cookie-cutter antagonists, but the clever dialogue and characterization manages to avoid tediousness. I did notice that the action went mostly unseen, but there was enough on panel drama to hold my interest.

This series, should it continue, will likely continue to give Ripclaw little face time. I would anticipate each issue, like this one, would delve mostly into the lives of his latest victims, illustrating their sin before penance is paid. Ripclaw himself will only develop as a character in terms of how he responds to the underbelly he avenges. Even if it is formulaic, it should be very interesting.

And with all this voting, I have a funny feeling Jason Todd is going to end up dead. Power to the people.

Terror Inc. #1

Adan: From the early 90s (and from Robert Kirkman’s underappreciated third arc of Marvel Team-Up), comes the basically forgotten character of Mr. Terror, an ageless zombie who just cannot die.

I wasn’t too keen on the series only because I remember Terror as a not so interesting character, but David Lapham has convinced me otherwise. The first half of this book is Terror’s origin story, dating all the way back to 455 AD and the sack of Rome and continuing for hundreds of years. The origin is pretty cool, full of swords and sorcery and a love that could not survive. Flash forward to Los Angeles, 2007, and Terror runs a problem-solving operation. He’s approached by a man from Homeland Security for some cloak-and-dagger stuff, strictly off the books.

I think the part I like best (and don’t judge me here) is that Terror has to take body parts from other dead people to keep himself together. He can also take heads and find out what the guy was thinking before his head got “re-appropriated.” That in itself presents some pretty cool ideas, never mind the fact that Lapham is a fantastic crime fiction writer. I stress caution, though; Mrs. Primo may steal the spotlight if you’re not too careful.

Patrick Zircher, who has experience drawing hamburger meat for heads in Cable/Deadpool, is an inspired choice for artist. He draws the barbarian/knight-filled origin portion like he was drawing an issue of Conan or Red Sonja (only with less lusty wenches) and the present day stuff like he was drawing an issue of Queen & Country. It’s not that his style changes or anything like that, but the atmospheres of each section are very pronounced in the artwork. Where olden times are kinetic and there’s movement in almost every panel, the present day has quieter moments where a panel could stretch for minutes in the same basic pose. The pace slows down as centuries are no longer flying by (not to say that the present day is completely devoid of action or anything like that). I would have liked to see some more backgrounds during the origin portion, though.

My only real problem is that nobody seems to notice that Terror is a zombie (or whatever). Either there are tons of zombies running around (there aren’t), Terror is really well known (then how can he do all that sensitive black bag stuff if he is?), or Lapham just didn’t want to deal with that (the most likely answer and the laziest).

Brendan: I think the fact that people aren’t constantly running from Terror is likely due to the hazy continuity in which the MAX titles take place. MAX titles, while outside of the Marvel Universe proper, are Marvel books, and so there is a precedent for the supernatural. Plus, it is all in Los Angeles, so people probably just think Terror is in between nose jobs.

This was much better than I’d expected. The exposition laden origin is handled beautifully by Lapham, with a narrative tone that both develops the character and illustrates the black sense of humor needed to survive the horrific tragedy that defines this man’s existence. Zircher, who has also done extensive work on Iron Man, delivers the work of his career. Moody, and just grotesque enough, every frame is fully realized and executed. I thought the second half of this issue dragged a little, but that be because I was more interested in how Terror operated in the chaotic lawlessness of the ancient world than in tame L.A. Then again, he did snap a dude’s neck just so he could replace his own degenerated skull, so maybe the world of today can be a little badass, also.

Only complaint: where are the obtuse tri-bars that extend from Terror’s face? They made absolutely no sense, and I demand to see them!

Alan Moore: The Complete Wildcats TPB

Adan: Back in 1995, Alan Moore was asked to write WildStorm’s flagship title. He accepted. Alan Moore: The Complete Wildcats TP is how it turned out.

The WildC.A.T.s, slightly modified X-Men knockoffs, had been floundering for a little while, and after twenty issues of rather bland stories buoyed only by Jim Lee’s fan-pleasing artwork, Alan Moore was the reins and started his fantastic run on the title. Savant and Majestic believed the rest of the team to be dead, so they built a new team from the ground up. In actuality, Spartan, Voodoo, Zealot, Maul, Void, Warblade, and Lord Emp had traveled to Khera where they saw it for what it really was: factionalized aristocrats that depended on slave labor and ghettoized the unwanted. An allegory, to be sure, but a good action story, too.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Moore introduced two of the best characters in the WildStorm universe: Ladytron and Tao. Tao, of course, was the driving force of Moore’s entire run. He was a genetically engineered super genius, able to manipulate anyone into doing anything for him. He plunged the entire city of New York into a gang war all so that he could unite all the super-heroes under him. Tao went on to star in Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips’ excellent series Sleeper.

Ladytron had a much shorter lifespan, unfortunately. She was this crazy cyborg who killed as often as she cursed (which was quite often) and was a nun in the Church of Gort. She showed up in a couple of issues of the second and third Wildcats series (most recently as little more than the Grifter’s ride, I believe). I hope Morrison brings her back in the fourth series (whenever that comes out again).

There were many artists during Moore’s run, but the one I most associate with it is Travis Charest, who is just phenomenal. I wish he did more stuff more often, but this guy is ridiculously slow. But just take a look at any of his work and tell me it’s not something you want to look at tall the time. Sure, he started like many artists before and after him: as a Jim Lee clone, but as he progressed on WildC.A.T.s, he came into his own style (especially the on the covers, where he’d always looked his least Jim Lee-like).

Even if you hate the Wildcats and everything they represent (which is a lot and you couldn’t possibly hate it all), you need to read this collection. Hey, it has Alan Moore’s name on it and when has he ever steered you wrong.

Brendan: This book made me happy that Alan Moore has, for the most part, sworn off work-for-hire. His take on WildC.A.T.S. is more intriguing than the average issue of the Image Jim Lee vehicle, but that don’t make it Shakespeare.

In fairness, it wasn’t that the book was bad. The problem I had was that Moore seemed too restrained by the characters and the story, when all I really wanted was to watch him jam out ideas. I thoroughly enjoyed his take on the Kheran homeworld, with their fully realized political scene and class structure, but felt hampered by the story at home. Look, it isn’t that this book wasn’t a well written, or well drawn. Moore’s bar is raised considerably higher than the average writer’s. I don’t need every piece to be Watchmen, but I like it when I find a Supreme. Moore didn’t do enough here to challenge to form, and so I was left unsatisfied. It doesn’t make it a bad WildC.A.T.S., but it isn’t up to par with other great Moore work. But shit, I’ll probably read it again someday. He’s Alan Moore.

As a side note, if Alan Moore was still accepting work from the big two, he would probably be writing Final Crisis. Personally, I’m glad he’s not.

Black Adam: The Dark Age #1

Adan: Hurm… I’m not sure what I think here. I have this guttural reaction to the book as pretty cool, actually, because it’s just Black Adam being all badass (the book opens with him ordering his followers to beat the shit out of him so that he can’t be recognized), but there are also some characterization issues that I have. Black Adam seems to act more like Vandal Savage than Black Adam in this book. Perhaps this is just desperation seeping into the character, what with his wife dead and his magic word forgotten, but still. Peter Tomasi still puts together an interesting story and I’m especially intrigued by the cliffhanger ending (which I shan’t spoil, so don’t worry).

I’ve always been a fan of Doug Mahnke’s art: I just love the way he draws the Superman-looking characters. They always look meaner and dirtier than they really are. While an interesting look for a Superman or a Captain Marvel, it fits like a glove on Black Adam, especially in this story, where he really is meaner and dirtier.

Brendan: Here he is, the breakout star of 52. This new miniseries picks up where World War Three left Adam, powerless and shamed. With his homeland in ruins, Adam is operating in secret in an attempt to reclaim his lost glory. Departed DC senior editor Peter Tomasi writes with Doug Manke providing pencils in this harshly portrayed adventure. Black Adam is an old character, but it has been Geoff Johns’ brutal anti-hero depiction that fans have responded to since the JSA: Black Reign arc, which Tomasi edited. In Reign, Adam acted as a liberator to his native country Kahndaq. With a touch of subtlety, Kahndaq serves as a metaphor for the Middle East, or at least the American perception of the Middle East in the post 9-11 world. This makes Black Adam an Arabian analog to the American Superman. His concepts of justice and honor differ drastically from the traditional American values, but his commitment to fighting for what he believes in makes him as valiant as any hero.

Although the subtext of the character has been evident in recent years, this issue seemed to posses a greater political bent than any of the stories prior. Adam is operating in secret as part of a zealous terrorist cell, attempting to infiltrate his homeland. He is a great character, but no Black Adam story would be complete without his naïve JSA teammate, Atom Smasher. Atom and Adam make up one of the most dynamic friendships in the DCU, as Adam’s sense of vigilante justice matches with Atom’s sense of proactive heroism. Doug Manke’s art has moments of greatness, but they all seem to occur early on in this uneven issue. I’m still undecided as to whether this issue was interestingly topical or overtly heavy-handed, but I will gladly finish the series to figure it out.

Black Metal v1

Adan: I kind of wish this book was regular-sized so that this would make more sense: “Too much metal for one hand!” As it stands, the manga format is small enough for one hand. Do not let that deter you, for this story is too much metal for one person.

Rick Spears writes another enjoyable story (in the interest of full disclosure, I talk to Rick almost every week at the LCS, but I give special preference to no man!) about twin brothers and their hunt for awesome metal, and what dark prophecy said awesome metal unleashes. Reading the twins’ speech patterns is like listening to a metal album, only without the screams and all that noise in the background, and I have to say, reading metal is a lot more fun that listening to metal (as may be apparent, I am not a big metal fan). The foster mother and brother in the twins’ lives, who are about as un-metal as one can get, are hilarious companions (foils?) for the twins, especially the brother, who seems to go nameless except for the many insults the twins hurl at him (their favorite seems to be ‘Toad’).

Chuck BB is someone I’ve never heard of before, but his art is super cool. It’s obviously very manga-inspired but still retains that western sensibility. A lot of the common manga markers are missing (things like speed lines and bloody noses to denote lust). They are eschewed for traditional western markers, but one can’t help but look at the big eyes and the somewhat chibi character design.

And if you like this, you should check out Vasilis Lolos’ The Last Call v1, also out this week and also from Oni Press. Lolos is Rick’s partner on their Pirates of Coney Island book from Image. That one’s a bit headier, but still super cool.

Brendan: Reagan Junior High?

“What are you, like twelve?”
“Yes, but it feels like millennia.”

I have seen the light in the darkness, and it resides within the pages of Black Metal. When the great Satan comes, I know he will ride to the tune of this book.

Metal is a state of mind, and no one knows it better than the Brothers Stronghand. Twelve-year-old Metal-fanatics, (not Goths, and woe to he who confuses the two) they were sent to Earth to fill the void in my soul that Scott Pilgrim‘s delayed schedule has left me. What Pilgrimis to video game nostalgia, Metal is to…metal. This, in turn, assures awesometivity. I would disagree with Adan’s assessment of the manga-influence, if only because to me it spoke to the work of Jhonen Vasquez. This story packs all the sick melodrama associated with metal and youth with a story with a crazy quest. The dialogue reads perfectly with the tone and story, with the twins’ repartee serving as a metronome throughout. This book had it all, but now I’m left waiting to hear the internet spawn a theme song.

Blade #12

Brendan: Why didn’t we all just buy this book? Look at this cover! It is so brilliant, I could cry. Look at Blade’s poor, cancelled face, and tell me you don’t feel bad. Don’t we all remember? This is the character that brought superhero movies BACK! We owe it to him, and to Wesley Snipes, to support a Blade book beyond twelve issues. C’mon, he fights vampires. Buffy fans, anyone?

Personally, I couldn’t get into this book, so I accept the consequences. Although traditional logic would dictate that going with an industry stalwart like Howard Chaykin for art chores would be a savvy move, I actually found that it kept me away from the series. I have liked the Marc Guggenheim work I’ve been exposed to, and I do think of Blade as at least a “C” level character. But Chaykin’s rough work kept me away. I offer no excuses. That said, this was a good farewell issue. It wrapped up the storylines that permeated the entire series, and offered closure to this story, even if it did open a big friggin’ casket full of stories for the future. It had cool revelations, ancient artifacts, Daywalking, and Dracula. If that isn’t enough, Gene Colan stops by to close out the series with a badass sequence and pin-up of the original Blade getup, complete with new justification. This was a good issue, if only a bit exposition-heavy, but you won’t be disappointed if you buy it just for the first image and the last one.

Adan: Alright, first of all, that cover is fantastic. Rarely do covers have a speech bubble anymore, never mind a speech bubble that breaks the fourth wall. That’s just awesome. The inside on the other hand…

I can see why this book is getting cancelled: it’s just not very good. Howard Chaykin’s art is very difficult to look at it without thinking how much better it could be if drawn by almost anybody else in the game (Rob Liefeld and clones need not apply). Guggenheim’s writing doesn’t make all that much sense here either. If Blade hates the guy so much, why does he keep calling him “Dad?” It’s not like this guy has been around all that much in your life, plus he’s a vampire and a dick.

Ugh. The whole thing is just ugh. Hopefully, the next time Blade gets a series (and if Blade on the cover is to be believed, there will be a next time) he’ll get a much better creative team so that he can stay around a little longer.

Casanova #8

Brendan: Only in this book could art chores be taken over by the original artist’s twin brother. And only here could it work so hauntingly. Fabio Moon takes over for Gabriel Ba, (are we sure these guys are real? They don’t sound real. They sound like porn stars from the future.) and though the work echoes the previous volume, it maintains a unique look unto itself. None of the stylistic choices take away from the tightly packed story, but the volume’s new hue is jarring. It seems to suit the story, but it will still take some getting used to.

As for the story itself, it is as enjoyable as any of the previous work. I’ll let Fraction dish the details himself, as he does in the issue’s backmatter, “[Teen Age Music International] Opening! Ridiculous Mission! Turnaround! Eliptical philosophy masquerading as character development! Exploding brainbirds! Touching moment where Cass reveals his humanity, beneath the hedonistic shell!.. Everybody talking like Cool Prick Catchphrase was their native tongue!”

C’mon, now. This shit sells itself.

Adan: These guys are totally real. I met the both of them at SDCC, along with Matt Fraction, and they’re all crazy cool. Crazy cool.

Fabio’s choice of dark blue over Gabriel’s olive green is somewhat jarring and it does take some getting used to, but overall it’s a good decision. Not only does it mark the difference between Fabio and Gabriel’s art style approach to Casanova, but it also marks the tonal difference in the book. Where the first album seemed to be all about the sex, violence, and rock & roll, and any deeper meaning had to be dug for, the second album seems to wear its deeper meaning on its sleeve. The first album opened with Cass kidnapping a half-naked sex robot. The second album opens with Cass in a hospital, dying, killing, and euthanizing. This isn’t the same fun-loving Casanova you’ve come to expect, but it is still the great Casanova read you’ve come to love.

Foxwood Falcons #1

Adan: I was hoping this had been better.

Darren Sanchez’s writing is clunky in this coming-of-age story of a twelve-year-old kid who is suddenly entrusted to be the keeper of a secret vault of secret things. There is a lot of middle school fiction cliches thrown in here: the main protagonist, Robert Wise, is picked on by the jocks, he has a group of mostly socially maladjusted kids, and his father is dead. The dialogue and captions (which are just Robbie’s thought balloons in disguise) are all stilted and forced. Kids don’t actually talk and think like this; adults only think they do.

Artist Matthew Tow and colorist Jeff Balke have that digital colors directly on the pencils thing going, or at least it looks that way. Tow may be inking as well as pencilling, but I don’t think it matter so much. Colors directly on pencils can sometimes look rushed, but Tow keeps the art simple enough that instead of looking rushed, the art looks planned (which is how all art, regardless of style or genre, should look).

There is an interesting premise here, but I don’t think it’s enough to hold my interest with such uninspired writing.

Brendan: After a harsh initial reaction, Foxwood Falcons won me over. The story centers on a family duty-bound to protect ancient treasures, and specifically shows us the story of a twelve year old and his ascent to his duty. Upon first glance, I thought this was going to be just another blasé youth-oriented superhero book. These types of stories are a dime a dozen, especially when coupled with the animation style art provided by Matthew Tow. Darren Sanchez’s writing also didn’t do much to impress in the early going, not helped by the choice to introduce the entire cast in one scene. The adversaries were quickly set, with a Cobra-Kai like squad of football players who wear “KK” on their chest, when my eyes hit their rolling pinnacle.

Then it turned around. The central concept to this series, once we explored it, felt refreshingly worthwhile. Many superhero stories are about legacy, and this story took that concept one step further. There may be too many stories about superheroes, but that doesn’t mean that there are too many stories about responsibility. The issue’s second half was far more enjoyable to me, although it was likely due in no small part to the “ancient plasma swords,” that looked familiar enough that Lucasfilms may get involved. There were some unacceptable grammatical errors towards the issue’s very end, but despite that and the slow beginning I will be interested to see whether or not this series fulfils its considerable potential.

Glister #1

Adan: Now this is the Andi Watson I know and love. Glister Butterworth is a British child who is a magnet for the unusual. In this, her first adventure, she comes into possession of a haunted teapot which contains a dead author who wants to finish his last book. This book is very kid-friendly. No violence, no sex, and the ghost isn’t even all that scary. It’s just a good story about a girl and a ghost. The supporting characters, Glister’s dad and Mr. Wilkes (a wrestler-cum-antiquarian), are hilarious, and Glister herself kind of reminds me of an older Yotsuba with a lot less energy. There is a Skeleton Key back-up that’s also pretty cute. It also deals with the supernatural.

Watson’s art is fantastic as usual. The art style is minimal and cartoony, which is apropos for a book of this kind. I especially enjoyed the gray lines he uses to draw the smoke, clouds, and ghost, instead of the black lines he uses for almost everything else. This helps to cement the ghost’s etherealness.

I’m always looking for new kids’ comics to get my cousins hooked on (as well as my own future children), and I think Glister will be joining those ranks

Brendan: I can’t say a bad thing. This book was a delight. Glister is the kind of neat and simple story that makes children’s literature so much fun. The simplicity of the world portrayed through the eyes of a child is a valuable experience, if only to step back from the multivalent imagery that is so constantly force fed into general life. With just enough magic to make the world interesting, but not too much to make it impossible, this story feels like childhood. I do wonder whether the targeted audience would make it through the lead story, as it is longer than most picture books but shorter than most early level chapter books, but I really hope they do.

I’m happier because I read this little thing. Unbelievable.

Powers #25

Brendan: At some point, when a work reaches a certain level of success, it becomes en vogue for fans to bail. They’ll chalk it up to “selling out,” or “not being what it used to be,” but nine times out of ten the complaints are baseless and boil down to counter-culture, holier than thou bullshit. Powers, especially since the move to Marvel’s Icon imprint, has been a victim of this sort of slander. Of course, the greatest irony of this sway of opinion is the fact that Powers has done nothing if not the opposite of sell out. The last two years of stories have taken more risks in the story than most books dare over a decade. Not content to sit on their laurels of super crime noir vignettes, Bendis and Oeming have pushed beyond their own parameters, taking Pilgrim and Walker to the very edge. Walker is still a cop, although he now works nights as an intergalactic patrolman. Deena is still fighting for justice, but she is relegated to street level vigilante justice, defending the innocent from the powers virus that has become the city’s newest blight. This has always been a book where anything can happen, and sixty two issues in, it still does.

Also, this issue kicks off a new format for the series. With a higher cardstock cover, and extra pages, the $1 hike is well worth it. Pay for quality, kids. Oh, and if you’re still reluctant, look at Oeming’s seventy panel sex scene. That is value.

Adan: I am convinced that Bendis and Oeming cannot go an issue of Powers without some titties being exposed. Sometimes, it’s Bendis telling Oeming to draw naked girls for the sake of the story (like the pervert he is), but sometimes Oeming just throws boobies in there for fun. Did we really need a two-page, seventy-panel sex scene with Walker fucking his girlfriend? Really? I think I know why they needed to up the page count: now, Bendis and Oeming can put in that many more cans into any given issue.

Alright, rant over.

This issue starts eight months after the last one (which is approriate, since that’s about how long ago the last issue came out) with the powers virus that Deena was exposed to running rampant across the city. Deena has gone AWOL and is handing out Heroes for Hire-style justice on the streets. Walker, meanwhile, is tasked to find patient zero and stop the powers virus from spreading. Bendis and Oeming are doing their thing, and they’re going to keep on doing it until people stop wanting it. Hopefully, that won’t come for awhile (though it would help if Bendis and Oeming put that hilarious coroner back into this series on a regular basis).

Now that I’ve spread the love, what the fuck is up with those covers? Oeming’s at least has some anatomy and a background (though Walker is mostly in shadow, as is the city), but Bendis? Did you just wake one morning, realize this thing was due, and xerox an ink blot sort of in the shape of a head to your editor? That is lame, son.

Un-Men #1

Adan: With such a strong first issue, this may be the new series Vertigo has been looking for to replace the soon-to-be over Y the Last Man.

Aberrance USA is a town somewhere in the American southwest which houses the world’s carnival freaks. But not just any carny freaks, Aberrance is home to the Un-Men, genetically engineered carny freaks. John Whalen begins to weave an intricate plot which pits Agent Kilcrop, an employee of the Department of Energy (and an albino), against Uncorp, the corporation that runs Aberrance, and is in turn run by Un-Men. So, if we’re talking high concept, then this is Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love meets X-Files meets Uncanny X-men, only without the spandex.

Mike Hawthorne must have had a tremendous amount of fun coming up with all the freaks that populate Aberrance, including an inside-out man named Mocoso, a three-boobed hooker, and a maintenance worker with a scorpion tail (blink and you’ll miss them) among many, many others. I hope Hawthorne continues to pepper inventive freaks into the backgrounds of Aberrance as the series continues.

I also hope this book finds its audience, and that that audience is huge, because this book is pretty awesome so far.

Brendan: “Un-Men #1 is out August eighth, Un-Men #1 is out August eighth, Un-Men #1 is out August eighth, Un-Men #1 is out August eighth.” These were the words of artist Mike Hawthorne at the Vertigo panel at the Wizard World Philadelphia convention. The panel was bereft of any real news, and as such Hawthorne’s mantra became a running gag and a remarkable reminder. Well, 8/8 is here, and so is Un-Men. Adan is right, this book totally rocks. Hawthorne and Whalen revive the Swamp Thing castoffs, utilizing Aberrance as brilliant and realized a backdrop as the world of Fables. With stirring visuals and a mysterious murder, this is why they make Vertigo comics. Hop on, kids, this is going to be a good one.

And Others…

Adan: A completely wordless book about a dog and his robot friend that he proceeds to immediately screw over is what Robot Dreams GN is all about.

A dog buys a robot and they become instand friends. They play, they watch Laputa together (an ingenious reference, by the way), and then they go to the beach. Then the dog leaves the robot on the beach after it turns out he can’t move anymore. A year passes through the book as the dog finds other friends and has tons of fun, and the robot dreams of what might have been if almost every character it encountered while stuck on the beach wasn’t a complete dick. I’m not sure what the overall lesson we’re supposed to learn is here, but the book looks great, and the story is quite humorous.

Sara Varon normally fills the entire page with panels and art, but marks scene changes with one-panel pages, and I don’t mean splash pages. The panels in question are the same size as other panels in her six-panel grids, and they occupy only one corner of the page, leaving a lot of blank space. Once in awhile, she’ll throw in a completely blank page. This serves to let a reader digest what has occurred. Granted, not a lot of digestion is needed, but it’s nice to have the time anyway. These one panel pages actually begin the story in a rather odd place. The first panel is before the title page, and the second panel is right after the copyright page. That is interesting placement for opening panels, and I have nothing really to add to that. This is just an observation, I guess.

This is another great book from First Second. They are quickly becoming my second favorite publisher (after Oni, of course, whose every book I seem to buy).

Brendan: New Avengers was a blast. I love how this series has become a showcase for the “new” Marvel universe, both by revitalizing characters with unexpected match ups, like Luke Cage and Spider-man, as well as making use of the characters created but left by the wayside, like the Sentry, Echo, and now, the Hood. For me, this is the book where the Marvel story happens.