hurting (for good) comics

Review Round Up

2006-02-23T20:19:00.000+01:00

Ok, I'm going to try something a little different here. I'm a little snowed under with work and I don't have time to write long winded reviews of any comics for the next few days. What I will do however, not to leave you all wanting, is in this one post have a few bite size reviews that should get ya by till I can get back to my usual mumbling self.

BATMAN #650
Strong issue that ties up the end of Winnicks run but not the epic issue I was hoping for. It's a nice, character driven story, as opposed to the action that is the norm for this title. Batman has a nice sequence where he explains why he hasn't killed Joker yet. Todd has a little bit of a character U-turn and its getting easier to see inside his head and see his motivations. Art is reasonably dynamic but there was a couple of panels that made me think "what the fuck is going on?" The movement 1 year later feels like its come to early here, there are alot of unanswered questions which, I fear, one year later will mean we don't get answered. Solid issue, just a little rushed and not as grand as it should have been.

SUPERGIRL #5
Ding Dong, Loeb has gone. Thank god. This issue was something of a shambles, and while DC admitted an entire issue was shrunk to the last 10 pages to get his run tied up before the OYL jump, this is pathetic. The resolution to the twin supergirls problem is rushed and poorly done. Again, a lot of unanswered questions here. What the hell happened to the "evil" supergirl? Are we expected to believe we wont see her again? Come on Loeb, that was pathetic. Churchil's art suffices, I just wish he would let Supergirl have a meal or two every once in a while. I know Loeb has had problems in his personal life and he has my sympathies, but this book was suffering and it is time he left it. I'm salivating at the prospect of Rucka tackling Kara however.

GREEN LANTERN #9
Pointless, let down of an issue. A Batman/Green Lantern confrontation is a fascinating prospect. Batman and Green Lantern uniting to take down a single foe? OK, not as good but it sounds intriguing. The practice in this issue? Pointless. The only thing this issue served was to make Bats and Hal make peace with each other, which they did at the end. It felt so forced though. They spent the entire issue at each others throat while tracing then fighting the least threatening villain ever, then all of a sudden Hal persuades Bruce to try on the ring and suddenly they are friends? It came out of nowhere. Filler, filler, all filler. I get the feeling that with the OYL jump next issue, Johns had a single issue that he had to fill with a story. And this was what he came up with. It'd have been much better if the last arc with Mongul and Green Arrow was strecthed out over another issue. And this is the first time I've felt let down by the man named Geoff Johns. Damn shame.

I still got another couple of comics to read and then review, mainly marvel stuff, so see ya in a while for part two...

Rash #2 (8/10)

2006-02-21T02:03:00.000+01:00

Writer: Didier Arpin
Artist: Patrick Boutin Gagne
$3.99, Narwain Publishing

Story:
The group is on the run and betrayed from within. Most of them die, Rash makes it out alive.

Evaluation:
Yeah! After last issue's slow pace I expected the group to investigate some, have a scare or two and the whole thing to last six issues. Arpin is having no such nonsense and dives right in. By page three Rash is busily dividing supays (mutant dogs) with his oversized sword and despite (or because) the silent page I can hear the ride of the valkyries playing in the background.
Throughout the issue Gagne does an excellent job. The story flows well, he gets extra good use out of almost repeating panels and most importantly, the fights are very dynamic and just the right kind of gory to convey that this is serious stuff without triggering a detailed examination no actioner could stand. Gagne also does a superb job colouring his own inks. For the night scenes, he hits just the right balance between obscuration through darkness and the details necessary for a fight.
Unfortunately, Arpin is dragging this one down a little. Despite the admirable display of stones when it comes to plotting, other stuff doesn't work so well. For instance, the reveal of the MacGuffin falls a little flat because the joke is just a little too cute and elaborate for this point of the comic. It might have worked if that reveal had been saved for the epilogue. Similarly, the betrayal doesn't make too much sense and Rash's pursuers from last issue turning up out of the blue is also a bit of a stretch. Plus, too much time was wasted last issue on what turns out to be cannon fodder (then again, without that setup this issue wouldn't have come across as ballsy as it does).
Despite these quibbles, there's still too much testosterone in this issue (and this reader) to give it anything less than 8/10.

7 days to fame #2 (6/10)

2006-02-21T02:02:00.000+01:00

Story: Buddy Scalera
Pencils: Dennis Budd
Inks: Joe Caramagna
Colours: Wilson Ramos
$3.99, After Hour Press
creator owned

Story:
Marc and Richelle are fired from the network after the suicide of their show's guest. They are hired by an internet startup which distributes the show on a pay per view basis and a few suicides later, they have a hit. The police try to nail them for assisted suicide and especially Richelle's doubts about their show increase.
In a subplot, racecar star Ray DeSimone is suspended for hitting another driver and eventually says he wants to be on the show.

Evaluation:
I had to readjust my expectations considerably with this issue, as I was expecting the book to ignore the repercussions of a suicide show and instead focus on the lives of those wanting to die. Instead, Scalera took it the other way.
The result is interesting and well thought out, but falls a bit short of a really thoughtful examination of the ramifications of such a show. It's not for lack of trying. Richelle's doubts are given considerable space, there's viewer reaction shots, there's the police trying to put pressure on them, but ultimately it's not enough. For instance, take the police scene: the policemen argue it's assisted suicide (nonsense), then claim people wouldn't be killing themselves without the cameras (nonsense) and finally go for the "how do you sleep" routine. The latter is nonsense in that this happens _after_ the rise to national fame, so it's not plausible at all that two policemen would be the first to try to guilt trip the host and producer. Which in turn means they'd have to have an answer for that crude tactic by then.
Moreover, during that scene Richelle says "Cops come when you're doing something bad." and "Just because we're making money doesn't make it right". That's a problem in that (a) the first statement is a textbook example of conventional morality (basically the law determines what's right and wrong) and it's not really credible that Richelle's morality would be so simple. She wasn't that naive before and thus also wouldn't utter the second, completely nonsensical statement. Second (b) before taking the job Richelle discusses her doubts with Marc at the museum, and in that scene the level of debate is considerably higher than in the later scene with the cops.

In short, the book is quite uneven when it comes to its chosen subject matter (i.e. the ramifications of such a show), and Scalera fails to provide sufficiently subtle points of view that illuminate the topic from different angles. In simpler words, it isn't Concrete.

Budd's art is serviceable, and for someone I've never heard of before, quite passable at facial expressions (which are necessarily the meat and potatoes of a comic like this). It's merely ok, as his strong outlines and minimal use of shading require very extreme facial contortions to make individual emotions stand out, and thus the subtler moments don't register. Again, the cop scene is a fine example where the pictures alone are insufficient to communicate the emotional states of the protagonists. A little later Budd tries his hand at postures, and again the scene relies too much on classic/extreme postures without being really bad.

Overall a solid comic, and an interesting attempt that falls just a little short of being truly excellent. A bit like the Luna Brothers in that respect.

Supermarket #1 (6/10)

2006-02-21T02:00:00.000+01:00

Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Kristian Donaldson
$3.99, IDW

Story:
In a slightly futuristic setting, a teenage child of rich parents first muses on life an consumer culture. She's analysed it a little bit and likes to play with that knowledge, but is a bit lax when applying her insights to herself. In other words, she's quite ordinary. At least until her parents are murdered by the Yakuza and she suddenly finds herself penniless and on the run.

Evaluation:
Donaldson's art is quite unusual, combining loose strong linework with oddball colours similar to e..g. Jock (The Losers). On top of that, he works in photographs for background details, which gives the book a very unique look. His storytelling is fine with some slight stumbling blocks, so that facial expressions are his only real weakness. It may be intentional (if questionable storytelling) that everyone looks slightly bored most of the time, but a slight lip curl and some added tears and smeared make-up make for a poor expression of grief, horror and shock upon finding one's parents murdered.
Similarly, Wood's writing is competent, but no better than that. The plotting is a rather odd, with the order for the hit shown in the beginning and in silence, as if to make sure the reader can't connect it to anything after coming to the Yakuza bit. Even then, it doesn't really add anything. Likewise, considerable space is wasted on the protagonist's job and car, both of which seem to be gone for good by the end of the first issue. Above all, there is absolutely nothing that tells me what this book is going to be about beyond the usual "teen investigates murder of parents" or why I should be interested in reading it. I have no idea who the heroine really is and she lacks the compelling eccentricism of a John Constantine that might make me want to find out. Judging from her interior monologue, her views are hardly insightful but instead a more up to date version of the leftist slogans plus hipster culture nonsense Wood served in Channel Zero.
Which is probably the best comparison, and if you liked Channel Zero, you'll like this one as well. I didn't.

Supermarket #1

2006-02-18T02:09:00.000+01:00

Written By Brian Wood
Art By Kristian

Brian Wood is an intriguing fellow. A man who seems to have serious issues with many aspects of the world we live in yet a man who seems perfectly in touch with reality and have a perfect grasp of what is truely important.

He has written some truely fantastic works, DEMO is, in fact one of my favourite Graphic Novels ever written. It featured stories that focused on the truely important things in life. Love, family, friends, ambition, potential and true happiness. It was a comic that made you think and a comic that made you feel. A rare thing these days.

When I saw a preview for Supermarket at Newsarama I think it was, I immediately had my interest piqued. Another thing that can be said about Woods books is that they are beautiful. Sure some of them are beautiful in a way in only a mother can love, but still beuatiful. They can never be described as bad. Still, Supermarket had looked great in the preview so I had a feeling I was on to a winner.

The first thing that hit me about the book was the paper. What, I hear you say. The paper? Yes. It's actually card, which is thicker and more textured than the cheap, thin paper that Marvel have used for so long. It's also matt, which means when you read it under a light you can actually see what the hell it is on the page and not just a light glare. Just from the paper alone this feels worth the money. IDW really did Wood a justice putting it out on this paper which surely must have cost shedloads more. I don't know who had the idea, but Kudos to them.

There story starts off in a way I expected it would, as a study of an aspect of society that Wood paints in a negative light. Sure this is a future world, but its close enough to still feel relevant. Making the rich seem idiotic is something which always raises a smile. The book has a twist towards the end however which makes it totally not the book I was expecting, further raising my like and respect for Wood. Just when I thought I had learn what to expect from the man he changes it. It's great. No other word could be used to describe it.

The art is quite something too. The design is refreshing and indivdiual, interesting and yet bright but painting a dull world. The art supports the narrative, helps it, not like in many comics these days where it simply shows the story as the text describes it.

I can't reccomend this book enough. Buy it. Support it. If any book from the last week deserves it, it is this.

Super Real #1 (4/10)

2006-02-18T00:57:00.000+01:00

Writer, Artist and Copyright: Jason Martin
$3.25, Super Real Graphics

Story:
Five walking stereotypes are cast for a survivor/real world type show. Except, they'll be given superpowers. They are introduced in the manner of that type of show on TV.

Evaluation:
The book does one thing very, very well: ape the style of similar reality TV shows when introducing the characters. Like their counterparts, these segments are supposedly revealing and intimate, but in actuality their protagonists are so bland and shallow that the segments merely reinforced the stereotype. For instance, the body-building simpleton is shown (a) loving his car a bit much and (b) bonding with his father over a beer. The blonde bimbo model is shallow and tactless. The rebel stands down her rich mom over her participation in the show. and. so. on.
Another moment of pure ugliness is 4 pages wasted on a producer explaining the show's concept to an executive. See, it doesn't make sense at all, so dwelling on it and sugar-coating the giant plot holes seems a poor strategy.
Dialogue and the what little passes for characterisation are ok though, at least next to the plotting. The premise is stupid, the characters are caricatures and so the book should be thundering along to make the reader forget all that by keeping her or him constantly entertained with more wackiness. Instead, it mimics actual reality shows, which is very well done in itself, but doesn't make a story and above all is inferior to the real thing. Plus, in all honesty, the elements the book borrows from these shows (and pretty much the shows themselves) are crap anyway. Sure, there have been some innovative variants and it takes considerable skill to cast and cut it right, but ultimately these shows come down to tickling the voyeuristic urge and getting people riled up with some engineered drama.
The art is very cartoony and - for want of a better word - angular. In some cases the characters lack depth or credible anatomy. While not as bad as that last sentence might have sounded, the art is (with few exceptions) not a pleasure to look at, but does the job well enough. Dodgy, but ok.

Overall, the expert mimicry of reality TV visuals suggests Martin knows his stuff and might have an interesting take on it. At the same time, there are so many things wrong with this issue as a story, that I don't believe Martin will be able to communicate his insights/ideas very well. In other words, reading afterwards what it has been about will probably more satisfying, because one can save oneself having to read the individual issues.

Testament #3 (4/10)

2006-02-18T00:56:00.001+01:00

Writer: Douglas Rushkoff
Artist: Liam Sharp
$2.99, DC/Vertigo

Story:
Jake follows the people zapping the protesters last issue and is swiped off the road by the abductors. He is saved from the fall by the blue goddess (connected to the underage girl). Back at the temple, the rebels try to pinpoint the missing students. With Tyrone's help they figure out the place. At that "abandoned" military facility Jake and the girl have sex, neglecting their duty to watch out, while the other's lower a camera into the complex and find that Miriam is about to undergo a "bloodless lobotomy". Jake and the girl are about to be surprised by a giant mecha-bug.
The sparse old testament backstory is about Lot's daughters having to have sex with him so the line can continue.

Evaluation:
In terms of the central concept, this issue is a remarkable step forward. The tedious one to one comparison of biblical and futuristic storylines is gone, replaced by the direct involvement of the blue goddess in Jake's rescue and sex life. Together with the biblical story (Lot's daughters were sacred prostitutes) I can see the seeds of some interesting commentary on the concept of "free will" from a religious perspective, an exploration of "freedom" in the face of powerful forces acting on one's life and in turn possibly even a commentary on the role of women then and now. It isn't there yet, but it's hitting some of the right buttons.
((If someone where to say these buttons are hit by an author trashing about wildly, I couldn't argue the contrary. Either way, it shouldn't have taken this long to get to this point.))
However, when he's boldly leaving behind the rails of the biblical story that propped up the plot in #1 and #2, the weaknesses in storytelling I noted last issue become glaringly obvious. It's like a laundry list of don'ts: huge plotholes (Jake starting a motorbike without anyone noticing, his pals having trouble finding him, military facilities infiltrated by endoscope), telling instead of showing ("they're trying to swipe me"), Tyrone again acting as deus ex machina (ok, this one is somewhat justified), to weird contrivances and connections to the biblical stuff that don't make a lot of sense yet. Admittedly, the latter might right itself, but that can only go so far. I'm confident there will remain inconsistencies which dilute the - yet to be revealed - point of the book.
Sharp has again improved a good deal. His style is a bit too rugged for my tastes and I could use some more freedom in page layout, but this issue flows very well and uses the page to great effect especially when going biblical/mystical. Despite the shades of Promethea it's still a far cry from Williams'/Moore's mastery, but it seems Sharp is trying and that's definitely good enough for me.

If this was a first issue, I'd certainly call it promising and give it 6/10. As it is, the improvement stands against the backdrop of two rather poor issues and most importantly, the narrative is too muddy (both concept-wise and event-to-event-wise) for a third issue that had it's background established already. Plus, the improvement is mostly in the form of potential conceptual relations, i.e. not actually realised within this issue and thus caution is appropriate.

Fury - Peacemaker #1 (4/10)

2006-02-18T00:56:00.000+01:00

Writer: Garth Ennis
Pencils: Darick Robertson
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Marvel Knights, $3.50

Story:
Fury's unit gets slaughtered in Tunesia during WW2.

Evaluation: Competent, but uninspired and lazy.
90% of the book is two pages of Fury's unit getting killed, juxtaposed with one page of flashback showing how they expected things to turn out. It's boring and more importantly, it's too extreme. Simply, if everything one believed going into a fight turns out 100% wrong, the story is no longer a cautionary tale about fickle luck in combat, or the decisive advantage to be gained by determination, caution etc. (i.e. heroic qualities than allow the "one man changing the war" story to work). Instead, the morale of the story is: if your intel is absolutely worthless, you're screwed. Believe it or not!
Just like the demonstrative dismantling, the final scene with the Wehrmacht officer imparting some wisdom ("If you want to be good at this?* Learn to enjoy it."; no idea why there's a question mark there.) feels forced and contrived and for all that, I'm not sure where this book wants to go, what version/take of Fury will be in the book or why I should care.
The art is serviceable. Flashbacks are not immediately recognisable as such, facial expression are rather limited and most importantly, part of the battle flows very poorly (e.g. no idea what happens to the guy Fury threatens on page 4; what's up with the ridge on page 6; how the guy to the right of the one with the rocket launcher fared in the machine gun salve that hit the rocket launcher guy). It's not bad, but it has too many problems to be ignored.
I for one would rather not "learn to enjoy" this one.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #27

2006-02-16T22:43:00.000+01:00

Written by Mark Millar
Art by Greg Land

I've followed UFF since it launched a couple of years ago and it has been consistantly brilliant. Every issue has been something to look forward to, the quality has just been that high.

Then Greg Land got on the book.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the crossover with the zombie Fantastic Four. Great arc indeed. Then came one of the worst stories in Comics that I've ever read. The Namor story was absolutely terrible.

So with this new arc I was hoping that it was just a bump in the road and this new story would be a return to the quality I have come to expect from it.

Is it?

Kind of. The story so far is a little unbelieveable, but then surely shouldn't all Fantastic Four stories be unbelieveable? Yes but this was unbelieveable even for them. Millar really seems to be dropping the ball on this title really and the editor deserves a slap for approving these scripts. Sure, there was some very nice moments this issue. Thing sat in the park talking about how he wants to commit suicide and how he felt that Reed had forgotten all about him, well, you can't help but feel for the guy. That little sequence was how good storytelling should be. Shame the rest of the issue didn't live up.

And for the art. Greg Land seems to me to be a perfectly capable artist. So exactly what does he feel makes it necessary for him to trace photographs of recognisable celebrities in his art. There was the famous net gif going around a while ago that had a stil from "Troy" with Brad Pitt then it superimposed a panel of Magneto from the Crossover arc that showed Land had traced that still almost exactly. Even costume detial was copied. And in this issue there is a panel of Thor looking out a window in the White House that is so recognisable as Brad Pitt again. Why, Land, why? You would be such a good artist if you didn't do that. But the fact that Land does do it shatters the illusion completely for me. It hinders my ability to enjoy the book.

All in all, this is an improvement over the last three issues, but still not a return to form. Millar and Land must try harder. Land must be replaced in all honesty.

DMZ #4 (6/10)

2006-02-14T01:58:00.000+01:00

Writer: Brian Wood
Art: Riccardo Burchielli (with an insert by B. Wood)
$2.99, Vertigo/DC

Story:
Looking for a mysterious group of soliders, the "ghosts" in central park, Matthew Roth encounters a group of people who have live in Central Park Zoo, grow bamboo and try to keep the trees in the park alive. Out on patrol, Matthew learns they're willing to kill to keep the trees around.

Evaluation:
Enjoyable despite its weaknesses. There's a lot of things wrong with this issue, first among them Matthew's sudden transformation from a bumbling newbie to a fairly level-headed journalist that does his job. He's still a liability in a firefight, but even there he now knows his job is to run away. Secondly, the dialogue is way too concerned with lecturing the reader about the amazing properties of bamboo and how the zookeepers made it all work, which on second thought comes across as the author showing off his clever idea for survival. There's some other stuff, like the sudden onset of winter, drones and ski-mobiles people have for no readily apparent reason, the initial introduction being a bit odd and so on, but I still enjoyed it a lot.
For one, there's not a single hippster in the issue, which alone improves the book considerably. Secondly, this issue dropped the act of being all meaningful about civil war and whatnot and simply tells an interesting story about people living in one. Reflecting on the morality of killing for trees is left to the reader, and the people who have decided to do so come across as real persons. Plus, there's some action, an almost genuine death scene and cool snow-mobiles invoking a memory of Akira.
There's still too much wrong with the book to truly recommend it to anyone and event his issue could have used considerably more polish, but four issues in I'm finally seeing a chance for the series to shine.

Jeremiah Harm #1 (3/10)

2006-02-14T01:33:00.000+01:00

Plot: Keith Giffen
Script: Alan Grant
Art: Rael Lyra
Inks: Joe Prado
$3.99, Boom! Studios

Story:
3 alien villains escape from a deep space prison. Earthman Jeremiah Harm who brought them in and was incarcerated for his troubles is released to bring them back. After trashing a bar, Harm learns the fugitives have gone to earth.

Evaluation:
The plot is simple and most of the dialogue is tough guy talk, so there's little to go wrong in that respect. Except making it painfully obvious how utterly generic the whole thing is, and in that Grant succeeds perfectly. From that perspective, crediting Keith Giffen with a plot that is eclipsed by virtually any sci-fi show in existence seems like a clear case of wanting to get a big name creator on the cover to sucker some people into buying this. I had no idea Giffen has sunken so low, but it's something to keep in mind.
What really kills it is the art. Lyra isn't bad at storytelling, there's only a few instances where the panels flow poorly. Likewise, the few places where there should be some emotion visible in faces are handled acceptably enough.
The problem is simpler and more basic: His style, thin, sketchy lines and loads of detail, is ugly. Especially when - as in this case - the inker, one Joe Prado, has the brilliant idea of covering almost everything in colours between brown and green. Is a mess, I've seen more colourful and visually interesting stuff come back out of people. The art in JH just forms an uniform mass of ugly.
Still, if you can stand the art, the story is a serviceable dumb actioner. Not worth $4 IMO, but if you're desperate for an action fix it might be worth it.

Bomb Queen #1 (4/10) [mature readers]

2006-02-14T00:50:00.000+01:00

Writer and Artist: Jimmie Robinson
copyright J. Robinson, published by Image, $3.50, mature readers
creator owned!!

Story:
Supervillain Bomb Queen rules New Port city. She runs around blowing stuff up, including a TV host and several walls. There used to be other villains and some heroes, but now it's just her. We also learn tha major Hilton, who is in BQ's pocket, is being challenged in the upcoming election. His rival Woods hires a mysterious "hero" to get rid of BQ.

Evaluation:
Acceptable. Some of the dialogue is inane and groan inducing (e.g. [ordering food]"Make it fast or I'll fuck you and give you a disease.") the rest is mostly function to get the exposition done. There's little characterisation of BQ, much less of anyone else and the attempts made (e.g. Woods being conflicted about financing the hero through back channels) are not too convincing. There is no plot worth speaking of, just setup.
The art is cartoony, but with surprisingly detailed backgrounds and flowing far more gracefully than the writing would suggest. The cheesecake is of course omnipresent, but it kind of fits the libertine character (what little there is). One nice detail is that BQ's nipples are obscured at all time, whereas those of other nude females are shown, thus setting apart BQ as superior and special.

In the back, Robinson talks some nonsense. First, he goes on about how daring he is to do a book about a supervillain, which is simply laughable after seeing the exact same thing done for nearly a decade. Image had it's fair share of highly questionable heroes, there's the Authority and of course old anti-hero stuff like the Punisher. Most importantly however, Millar did exactly the same thing (supervillains rule) in Wanted. I really wish I could make Robinson wear an asshat for calling himself a "maverick" for repeating the same stunt.
Even more worthy of ridicule is his suggestion that the book has a more substantial subtext beyond the tits and gore. In his hubris, he actually claims that BQ is working as a story because he's skillfully creating a world around her in which her position and actions are somewhat normal and that this in turn is meaningful commentary on real world politics and social commentary. Except, it isn't, because from that perspective his story doesn't contain a single human. Sure, the characters look human and go through similar motions, but there it ends.
For instance, I hope Robinson fails to find enough readers as daft as him who seriously accept the notion of a Survivor type show, where people who are voted out usually end up dead and everyone is fine with that. Just as the idea of designated lawless crime areas this works in the totally twisted world of e.g. Running Man, where most of the population is living at ghetto level, essential services and information are tightly controlled and the ruling class is heavily protected. Nothing about BQ suggests anything similar. On the contrary, there's lots of ordinary, seemingly well-adjusted citizens running around, and we know the people of New Port could move to a city protected by heroes. That they don't is what makes them aliens dressed up as humans and that in turn renders Robinson's claim to social commentary laughable.

Still, it's well drawn, dumb fun with tits and gore and anyone into that probably won't be bothered by the poor plotting and characterisation. Much like tentacle porn it's a monthly dose of excess and a niche taste. It's also about as meaningful.

Ares #2 (2/10)

2006-02-14T00:49:00.000+01:00

Writer: Mike Avon Oeming
Pencils: Travel Foreman
Ink: Derek Fridolfs
Colour: Len O'Grady

Story:
Ares fights the police. Achilles fights asian gods. Achilles tells Ares he kidnapped his son, but the boy was abducted by the asian gods. Zeus apologises and asks for Ares to help. The asian deities attempt to turn Ares's son against him.

Evaluation:
Lame. The plot around the boy was obvious, it doesn't make sense for Achilles to be alive and Ares hasn't made any progress worth speaking of. Far worse is the characterisation. Oeming totally drops the ball when Ares confronts the greek gods. All of a sudden Zeus apologises profusely, as if the stupidity and possible consequences of his plan hadn't been apparent from the outset or as if he hadn't been able to anticipate Ares's wrath. Moreover, being delivered in perfect sentences, he comes across as highly insincere. What makes matters worse is that Hercules has to play the dumb oaf accusing Ares of deserting his family and demanding respect for Zeus. Now, Hercules has always been a crude fellow, but even if there was a severe lobotomy in his continuity I'm unaware of, he should be able to grasp that Ares left in full agreement with the wishes of the other gods (see #1) and that either way they had no right to abduct his son. In short, Oeming is riding roughshod over both common sense and a previous character here just to get in some adversity and some more fighting.
Speaking of which, there's a lot of crappy fighting in this issue. Crappy because it ignores two cardinal aspects of a good fight. For one, there's no stakes worth speaking of. When Ares takes down the police and special forces, the outcome over 4.5 pages its just dull because it's so obvious they don't stand a chance. Later, when he fights some more on Achilles side again his superiority is too obvious and the supporting cast including Achilles don't matter enough to care about them. On top of that, for utterly incomprehensible reasons Foreman and Oeming decided to do most of the fighting on 12+ panel pages. Unsurprisingly, this makes even the biggest explosions seem unimportant. There's just no impact on a gut level to any of the copious fighting at all. It's just pages wasted on boring fights.
I have no idea why Oeming (and Foreman) drop the ball like this here. At least Oeming certainly can do better, and even if he's phoning it in, it's inexplicable that he's making mistakes in plotting, characterisation and storytelling one wouldn't even expect from a total newbie.

Soulfire: Dying Of The Light #1-5

2006-02-14T00:07:00.000+01:00

Written By J.T Krul
Pencils by Micah Gunnell

Well this is a first, a requested review!

I left a comment over on the website of Micah Gunnell, one of the best young artists today, never expecting in a million years that he would bother to respond! Well he did, he read this blog and he asked me to review something from Aspen. So here it is. But just cause Micah requested this doesn't mean I'm gonna lie... After all, saying he is one of the best young artists today is what I genuinely think, check out the guys site for proof. At the end of the day, I told him that on his site before he bothered to come check out our humble domain.

Now, some may think this to be quite sad, but I have every single comic published by Aspen. Not out of some misguided loyality to an individual publisher, but because everything they have put out has warranted my cash in some way shape or form. Admittedly some stuff is better than others, but everything has been good enough to buy. Soulfire: Dying of the Light is something I have, obviously and it is one of those Aspen titles that has both hits and misses.

Unlike it's parent title Soulfire, DOTL managed to stay more or less on schedule, which these days is a frickin' miracle. Not only that but it was a nice, enjoyable read. Soulfire, apart from its lateness, is one of Aspen's worse titles. The story didn't exactly get me hooked but Turners art is what got me into Aspen in the first place. I find that the art is what I buy most titles for anyway. Aspen seem to be a company that believe in style over substance, and this, fortunately for them, is one of the few times it really doesnt matter. Come on, I buy Aspen books cause they employ some of the best artists. Mike Turner. Micah Gunnell. Koi Turnbull. Talent Caldwell. Marcus To. They are all excellent. Don't even get me started on Steigerwald, Sotelo and Strain, those guys can colour any other colourist into next week.

And yes, DOTL is another Aspen title I buy simply for the pictures.

I'm not sure quite what it is about Soulfire, but I just find the story so unappealing. So uninteresting. But I can't quite pick a specific fault. It's kind of confusing like that. But visually, Mike Turner created one of the most beautifull worlds seen in comics. And Gunnell puts his own spin on it to fantastic effect in DOTL.

If I could recommend DOTL for one thing it would seriously be for the visuals. You have to see the visuals for the sheer awe of it all. I told Micah to convince the guys to put out more sketchbooks and Swimsuit issues etc. simply because the art is fantastic.

But if you want a riveting story from Aspen I gotta tell you to check out Fathom.

DOTL is really beuatiful however. Check out the dragons in issue 4 alone. Gob smacking. Grace is one of the most beautiful characters designed in recent memory and the world as a whole has this shining quality unlike anything in modern comics.

Unfortunately though, I could understand that alot of people need a story as well as art. Thats fine. Regardless, they should check the comic out, they may like the story. Personally I hate fantasy type stuff. Things like Lord Of The Rings just have no appeal to me whatsoever. But others might be different. But as long as the production quality is this high, Aspen have my custom no matter what the story.

I have to say though, Micah is only six years older than me. I'm pretty jealous of his talent and the fact he is working at the best "art book" publishers there is. But then I'm jealous of everyone who can draw, since I have trouble getting stick men right.

If there is one title I would like to see given the Aspen treatment by Gunnell, Turnbull, To and the rest it would have to be Nightwing. Or a good zombie comic. Can you imagine that? A zombie comic with colours done by Steigerwald? It gets me all happy just imagining them zombies...

All in all, I gotta say thank to Micah for checking us out here, and thanks to everyone else who reads these. Please leave some comments, it'd be nice to hear some peoples opinions of mine and Markus' reviews. Although the first feedback I received being from an industry professional? Can't be bad.

Ultimate Extinction #2 (5/10)

2006-02-13T22:09:00.000+01:00

Writer: Warren Ellis
Art: Brandon Peterson
Marvel, $2.99

Story:
Misty is trying to find her mysterious bald female assailant and it turns out that woman is supposed to have been dead for 24 years. Fury commissions Xavier to build a super-Cerebro that can contact Galactus telepathically. The Silver Surfer turns up in Misty's office. They fight some and Captain America and Falcon are sent to help her.

Evaluation:
This isn't it at all. True, there's some brilliant character moments when Reed Richards fullfills the ultimate nerd dream and stands down Fury, the ultimate bully or when Captain America confronts his inability to do anything about something the scope of Galactus*, but there's just no enough fire in there for something called Ultimate Extinction. Ellis is an fine craftsman and the details (e.g. the creative thinking Misty shows in her fight against the Surfer) are done very well, but for a big event it's just way too slow. The scope of things is implored time and again, but Ellis fails to make us feel it. Which in my opinion is inexcusable given that this event already has two miniseries and the Surfer one-shot leading up to it.
Wake me when stuff starts happening.

* Actually, the lack of momentum invites closer examination and under the microscope this stuff kind of falls apart. Fury is set up as the insensitive bully so he can be taken down a notch (to be fair, everyone using Ult. Fury so far does this to a degree) and Cpt. America fighting cosmic threats has always been a stretch. His role in those has always been a coordinating and inspiring one and there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to fill it here.

Perhapanauts #3 (5/10)

2006-02-13T17:40:00.001+01:00

Writer: Todd Dezago
Artist: Craig Rousseau
published by Dark Horse, copyright Dezago & Rousseau, $2.99
creator owned

Story:
There's 3 stories in this one. The first finished off the plot from #1 and #2, with MG getting back from the dimension they sent him to in order to get rid of the Chimera. The middle story is about Karl, a moth creature able to induce fear, which accidentally took out Hammerskold's team. The final story is a prologue to the next issue, wherein a Philippine man is chased by a female vampire creature.

Evaluation:
All three stories are ably told, but the result is still a bit of a mess. Especially since the first story wastes 2 pages on re-capping the events from last issue and nothing really happens in the bit from the final story. Plus, the plot of the middle story is rather dull: Karl, the moth creature paralyses everyone with fear, psychics go in and talk to it. Karl relaxes instantly, we're told how Hammerskold drove Karl to this point and that's it.
In short, the plotting sucks. Which in turn means the character comedy has to save the day. Unfortunately there's not a lot of comedy in the issue, and there's not a lot of characterisation beyond the usual "everybody doing their thing".
For me, this issue killed my interest in the series, as it now seems clear that things will continue in the same vein: Wacky adventures that don't make a lot of sense, comedy derived almost entirely from the characters being freaks and a token long-term subplot from MG's real identity and his love interest in Arisa. The execution is passable but unspectacular, and so the book does next to nothing for me. Which is a bit odd in that I quite enjoyed Buffy and Angel, which at first glance would seem to consist of much the same elements. However, Buffy always had some grounding in high-school stuff from real life and the monster stuff was mostly an exaggeration of these real issue (with some very crude metaphors) and the series was about the characters dealing with these warped versions of normal teenage life (and kicking ass). Perhapanauts lacks that grounding in real world matters, and with the characters being as excessively freakish as they are, it's not going to get it any time soon. And so, unconnected, it's just a bunch of weird stuff, weird for its own sake, but again not extreme enough to make it worthwhile on its own.
Sandman or Shade the Changing man did that latter very well. Even without the deeper stuff, some of the stories where interesting just because they were really strange and each page potentially held something entirely new. Compared to that, the Karl story this issue about a clumsy outcast striking out and being calmed by people telling him they like him is very dull.
Too dull to waste anymore time with this series.

The Exterminators #2 (6/10)

2006-02-13T03:35:00.000+01:00

Writer: Simon Oliver
Artist: Tony Moore

Story:
The asian scientist guy turns out to be Cambodian. He discovered something even stranger about the pesticide Drax and shares his findings with a research lab. Henry's girlfriend turns out to be working for Ocran Industries, the company producing Drax. Meanwhile, Henry and AJ are at work again. Henry gives his card to the woman with the little boy from last issue. Later, while AJ has sex with a customer, Henry finds a dead body. It's a bit much for AJ, so he shoots up some more Drax and later starts pucking until eventually his guts explode because of the Drax. As the scientist guy explained earlier, the narcotic component build up and eventually produces that result. Henry finds a box belonging to AJ with Nazi insignia on it.

Evaluation:
Better than the last issue, but still not that good enough. The plot progresses nicely, the exposition is handled well, dialogue is a bit goofy (e.g. when the scientist explains to Henry's boss what Drax really is, said boss merely provides cues and comes across as pretty unnatural or when we're told thrice the box "means something").
However, the plot is a bit stupid. The reliance on coincidence (Henry's girlfriend Laura working at Drax, the scientist and AJ being in the same war, Henry finding the body to get to exposition about post-mortem decomposition, scientist guy keeping a photo of himself with a rifle so we know he's Cambodian, scientist guy being able to break down the Draxx formula and analyse it without any laboratory worth speaking of etc.) is very noticeable. "Ocran" being "narco" in reverse is an odd name for a company producing a highly-addictive pesticide for an as yet undeterminable reason. Plus, this gets us a massively evil company the hero's girlfriend is working at, which is a bit cliche, just as the Scarab and the Nazi insignia. I don't know, but I don't see this going anywhere other than a repeat of stuff like Mimic or classical monster movies, this time using Draxx/Ocran instead of "The Atom". Which isn't bad in itself, but it's a bit campy and that doesn't sit well with the other stylistic choices.
One of these is the gross-outs. This issue there's a decomposed body and AJ exploding. I'm glad we're rid of the latter, but there's not enough energy/vibe to the book to make the gore effects fun as in most splatter films and I for one do not find them scary or nauseating. "Boring and unnecessary" describes them perfectly.
Further, the book is simply taking itself too seriously for the campy story it contains. Weird coincidence is no problem if the story is thundering along, but this issue is fairly slow. Time and again we're being reminded of the bigger picture (e.g. reference to Pol Pot) or the deepness of it all, e.g in the "means something"-box. The effect is a bit like the protagonist waxing philosophically in an Arnie movie. Fun if used once or twice for comic effect, otherwise groan inducing.

Tony Moore's art in this issue lovely as ever, but a little too detailed in places (might be an overenthusiastic inker). In some panels the important stuff just doesn't stand out as well as it should, further slowing down the issue and making it all feel a bit cramped. Which again doesn't work too well with the silly story being told.

Overall it's a marked improvement over last issue that increased my faith in Oliver's ability to tell a story, but decreased my faith in him having a worthwhile story to tell. Hopefully the third issue will provide enough information to determine where the series is heading.

Marvel Zombies #3

2006-02-09T18:53:00.000+01:00

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Sean Phillips

Anyone that read my Walking Dead #25 review would know my love for zombies. And my love for Robert Kirkman is almost as strong. The man knows how to write comics, and he knows how to make comics fun.

Except Marvel Zombies that is.

So the whole premise of another universe Earth that has been overrun by zombies and the Marvel Superheroes are zombies too. When this whole world was created in the Ultimate Fantastic Four arc it was pretty awesome. Apart from some lacklustre Greg Land art the story was, excuse the pun, fantastic. Then when Marvle Announce that they are going to do a miniseries set in that world and have Robert Kirkman write it... well, Marvel should have just withdrawn the money from my account there and then.

Marvel Zombies #1 (love the in-joke title too) was not bad at all. The second issue was kind of boring and this third issue is just a joke. An absolute farce. The entire issue features a battle with Silver Surfer and then the issue ends with Galactus turning up and Black Panther (who turns up near the end, still a Human, but missing a few limbs) finds some other Humans.

I have a few issues with the entire premise that aren't working well. Firstly, talking Zombies. I understand how necessary it was for the UFF arc to feature the talking zombies but in this series it just feels really forced and unnecessary. Surely they could have found some way to make the zombies lose the power of speech? There's something fundamentally wrong with a zombie that has a wider vocabulary than me, and it doesnt make good reading. Couldn't they just have said that the zombies have zombified further and now lost speech? See, it wasn't that hard to come up with a reason and I haven't thought about it.

Secondly, whereas in the UFF arc the zombies were genuinely menacing, genuinely scary, here they are just a bunch of bumbling, argumentative idiots. Kirkman has managed to make the zombies lose all sense of threat that they had. Well done. It must have taken some serious thought to make this zombies the dumbest I've ever seen.

Kirkman has written some of the worst dialogue in his life. This was quite astonishing to be perfectly honest, because in the Walking Dead and Invincible, he is masterful. Here, just dull and moronic. I really don't mean this as a comment on Kirkman's ability, he has proved many times that he is one of the best writers out there. I think the problem lies elsewhere, with the editors or other string-pullers above Kirkman. I just have this mental image of Quesada saying "wouldn't it be cool if we had a full issues where the zombies fought Silver Surfer, killed him then they all had his powers?!!!" Yet again I feel that outside influence has ruined a title. Kirkman is usually more conservative with action and stupid premises, sure he has had his off days, everyone does, so I find it very hard indeed to lay the blame at Kirkman's feet. Hell, if I'm ever half the writer he is, I'll be happy.

Now the art. The art is of a significantly poorer quality than the previous two issues. And consider that Sean Phillips has drawn all three, it leaves me to one conclusion: He was rushed. I honestly think that Phillips was rushed to make sure this title comes out on time rather than it be delayed. While I think that the issue of titles shipping late is a major one and one which Marvel and DC in particular are constantly failing to address, the fact that a title seems to be suffering like this just to keep it on time is a little aggravating. Hopefully the next issue will be some form of redemption for the artwork of Phillips, who, as a rule is a solid artist.

All in all, this title has some major issues that really should be addressed. I'd rather see this title be late than see the quality take another hit. Although, seeing as we are three issues into a five issue series, I will still get the next two issues just so I have a full set, but I hope to high hell that the quality improves.

Batman #649

2006-02-04T20:51:00.000+01:00

Written by Judd Winick
Pencils by Eric Battle

So now, a story arc that has been gently evolving since the Hush arc finally nears it's end. Back when clayface was posing as Jason Todd with the possibility that Todd was Hush, it wasn't obvious that Jason would be brought back. It was even more surprising that he was brought back in the way that he has. While this issue still doesn't reveal "how" he is back, he is back, and the build up has been fun if nothing else.

Judd Winick isn't, it's fair to say, widely revered in the comics industry. He is competent, but many find his work to be lacking. Green Arrow isn't magnificently popular at the moment and Outsiders swings from great to abysmal. But one constant, one title which Winick has been writing well is, to my relief, Batman. Jason Todd has been the major factor in Batman's life ever since War Games and it shows here just how he is manipulating those around him. Black Mask is always entertaining when written by Winick, his Joker is, well, Joker. Batman feels right and often has been a supporting character to the Todd/Mask battle. But despite being Batman-lite, this title never fails to be entertaining. While admittedly this arc won't be remembered as ground breaking it is solid storytelling. Only once did the dialogue feel clunky in this issue and that was the "if right were a country on Earth..." line. Exactly what the hell is that all about?

The pencilling is handled by Eric Battle, someone who I'm not familiar with, but his art is interesting and dynamic enough to keep me glued. Often times he is slightly reminiscent of Jim Lee, whether he always draws like this or he is merely keeping in line with Lee, who is undoubtedly one of the most popular artists to work on Batman recently, I don't Know. What I do know though is that he is a great artist and one I will look out for in the future. A slight minor concern is that Jason Todd in some panels seems to bear a close resemblence to David Hasselhoff, something which is worrying. Worrying more for the fact that I am familiar enough with the Hoff to remember what his face looks like though...

The issue finishes with a tie in to Infinite Crisis. The pages with Chemo dropping on Bludhaven has been shown already in Nightwing and Infinite Crisis, so it is a bit of a waste of a couple of pages here and I find it hard to believe that there are enough people that read Batman that haven't read either of those two titles to warrant it being told again but it does help to maintain this whole continuity and feeling of cohesiveness that has made Infinite Crisis work so far.

Overall, a solid issue, if not spectacular. Read it if you like Batman. If you dont then check it out if you get a chance to borrow a friends copy or something.

Land Of The Dead #1-5

2006-02-04T16:48:00.000+01:00

Adapted by Chris Ryall
Art By Gabriel Rodriguez
Based upon Land Of The Dead motion picture.

There seems to be something of a trend recently. Licenses seems to be something of a hot property. Now don't get me wrong, I know films, TV shows and games have always been put into the beautiful sequential artform, but never at this volume. A look around you local comic book store reveals Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, Species, Shaun Of The Dead, Angel, Spike, Star Wars, Underworld, Stargate and I could go on. Now anyone who has read my review of The Walking Dead #25 will know what a zombie fanatic I am. So naturally IDW's Land Of The Dead was a given title for me to purchase. A five issue miniseries, done by Chris Ryall who adapted Shaun Of The Dead competently and Gabriel Rodriguez on the art. Now a quick net search shows that the general reception of Land... the movie was luke warm at best. Still, it performed at the box office and a sequel is in the works. I enjoyed the film to the point where it was satisfying but not astounding. The non ending was something of an issue to me and the comic adaptation does little to correct this, but more of that in a minute.

As this is an adaptation of a film, Ryall isn't really to blame for any short falls in the narrative. In fact, the story is the same, no glaring changes. Ryall's job was to make this story work on the page and I feel he has done that reasonably well. I had a few problems. Over the course of the five issues there was, of course, cuts that had to be made to make this film work. It is these cuts that I feel was the stumbling block of the entire series. Pivotal scenes have been shortened and other scenes that were of less importance weren't touched. Confusing perhaps, but Ryall obviously made a judgement.

I feel that this series would have benefitted from another issue. An extra issue would have allowed some of the more interesting scenes to remain in the comic untouched. The fifth issue feels horribly rushed, the last twenty or thirty minutes of the film compressed into 22 pages just hasn't worked. Still, chopping of George Romero's story isn't much of a problem if you haven't seen the film. The comic still allows you to understand and appreciate the full story. So I guess at the base level, it achieves what it set out to do.

The art by Gabriel Rodriguez is simple but does the task. There is enough detail to keep interest but the art just lacks a certain life and wow factor. Dont get me wrong, he isn't a bad artist, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it just lacks that oomph you want from a comic. Pretty and sufficient then, but not a must have.

I enjoyed this series, but there is really nothing to make me reccomend it if you have seen the film. If you havent seen the film then get it and have a read in the sure to follow TPB, but if its just all round zombie goodness you want, then it has to be Walking Dead from Image.

Blackgas #1 (6/10)

2006-01-31T23:27:00.000+01:00

Writer; Warren Ellis
Artwork: Max Fiumara
Color: Andrew Dalhouse
copyright Warren Ellis, published by Avatar, $3.99
creator owned

Story:
A teenage couple (Tyler and Soo) goes to visit his parents on a remote island. They spend the night in a cabin in the woods when the volcano errupts and black gas turns people into zombies.

Evaluation:
This is your stock introductory issue and Ellis is a capable craftsman. Still, there are some things missing and some oddities.
Most glaringly, the issue provides no incentive at all to buy this book. There is as yet no unique spin on the teenage horror theme visible, and yet another one of those, however well executed, is hardly necessary. It's bland, and as one knows the book will feature zombies, there's no dramatic tension either. At this point, it seems very likely that Ellis is phoning this in, and we'll get the usual meet and loose fellow survivor issue, the zombified parents issue and that the protagonists will successfully reach the harbour only to find they can't use it to escape and will have to find another way.
What contributes to this problem is the slightly odd characterisation. The protagonists seem very average, with him being a country kind of guy and her tending towards city hipster, but there's nothing striking about them. Their relationship is handled very well though, and it is from this that empathy towards characters comes. In other words, I don't care about either of them, but I want them to stay (and survive) together. Odd, but neat.
The same goes for the other cast members. The chemistry professor who gives them a ride on his boat and offers some weed is just a little too good to be true, as are Tyler's parents who go so far as to encourage the couple to shag. In contrast, the historian/archeologist and the "strange guy" the couple encounter in the woods are a little too obviously on the creepy side. It seems, there's no average people with the usual good and bad bits on the island except for the two protagonists.

Fiumara's art is a bit uneven, but really gets to shine in some panels. Especially his backgrounds are amazingly detailed and a real treat. Postures are also very, very good and the framing has it's moments of greatness. Unfortunately, Fiumara too often goes for a dutch, i.e. tilted angle, and that doesn't always work out, giving the sequences an uneven feel. I also believe some of the perspectives are off. Also, despite the lavish attention to detail in backgrounds and clothing, IMO Fiumara relies too much on simply black spots to mark depth. It's done well, but a bit more shading could improve it considerably. Lastly, his facial expressions need some work and then some. Still, with his clear, clean style I can easily see Fiumara stepping up to guys like Frank Cho and Bryan Hitch in a few years.
Andrew Dalhouse also does a good job colouring the book. The initial pages are perhaps a bit too gaudy and a tad too reliant on primary colours, but it captures the mood well, and it's counterbalanced by the gloomy atmosphere after the volcano's eruption.

Overall it's a very well executed book that unfortunately doesn't offer enough of a WOW factor. Definitely a wait for the trade candidate.

Intimidators #1 (3/10)

2006-01-31T22:29:00.000+01:00

Writer: Neil Kleid
Pencils: Miguel Montenegro
Ink: Waki
Color: Angel Marin
Copyright Jim Valentino, Image/Shadowline, $3.50

Story:
A mob boss threatens to detonate a bomb in Chicago. The POTUS has no other choice but to call the Intimidators, a group of spoilt-brat superheroes on the government's payroll to keep them in line. The group apprehends the mobsters, but Crash, their big, strong, fast guy blacks out before they're finished. Limit, Fetish and Firepower drive them off, and Fetish comes up with a clever way to wake Crash again. crash throws the bomb into orbit, and down comes a superhero (Astroman) presumed dead since 1962.

Evaluation:
The best thing that can be said about this book is that it beats the Hyperactives #0 hands down. Considering that Hyperactives is already a strong contender for worst book of the year, that isn't saying much.
The second worst thing in the book is the plotting. Solicitations already revealed that the book would be about "bad" heroes paired with an idealistic guy from the past, and issue one doesn't even get to the point of revealing Astroman's idealism. It takes forever to introduce the cast and fight the token villain and none of it is exciting in any way.
The third worst thing in the book is the characterisation. Firepower is your stereotype angry Irishman, Fetish is misnamed as she's just a sadist, Limit is a blank slate. The only interesting active cast member are Crash, who at least has family and isn't as dumb as the stereotype going with his massive frame would suggest. There is another woman on the team who also seems interesting in that she opts to stay in her treehouse playing playstation, which is a nice contradiction and the high point in terms of characterisation. Everyone else is basically a self-indulgent, lazy, arrogant idiot.
The very worst thing is certainly the dialogue. It alternates between stupid posturing and "jokes" meant to show how badass the characters are. Like "You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to piss yourself." Needless to mention, it's dull, boring and lame, lame, lame. To be sure, there is a certain self-consciousness to it, and if all the characters were teenagers, it might work as a hyperbolic example of tough macho posturing among teens. As it stands, it doesn't work at all unless everyone is suffering from arrested development or plain retarded. My personal guess is that Neil Kleid realised it's crap and sought to put some distance between himself and his work. Like putting a smilie after a rude comment in the hope of being able to use it as an excuse.
The art is as crude as the writing. Backgrounds are almost non-existent and much the same goes for shading, so that it falls to the colourist to create a semblance of depth. Marin's good work in that department are unfortunately ruined by the decision to keep most things in the range from yellow to brown, producing a crappy, uniform mass on most panels. Still, it's not as bad as the absolute lack of "flow" from panel to panel, the stilted postures or the many shapes of Fetish's face. Amateurish describes it best.

Unless you can't get enough of badass heroes and/or are a person of very simple pleasures, do yourself a favour and skip this piece of crap.

Night Mary #5 (6/10)

2006-01-31T04:04:00.000+01:00

Story & Script: Rick Remender
Story & Art: Kieron Dwyer
copyright Remender and Dwyer, $3.99, IDW publishing.

Story:
The series ends with the FBI agent is chasing Mary's father, who is after the mysterious being appearing in Mary's dreams. It turns out to be connected to the professor's past and his wonder drug. Meanwhile, Mary fights her enemy in a dreamfight to the death.
Thankfully her mysterious antagonist turns out to have a day job as the expostion fairy, so we finally get to find out why the patient went mad in #3 and where the dream sequences from #4 came from.

Evaluation:
Dwyers art is very good at conveying the mood of scenes his faces are expressive. However, the pacing is choppy in places, disjointed and it often takes a moment to make sense of the current panel and the transition between panels.
The story is bit too exposition heavy for a single issue, but there's enough action and drama to counterbalance it somewhat. Still, it's a bit unsatisfying to have everything explained straight from the horse's mouth, especially after the disjointed narrative in issues 2, 3 and 4. Rereading them now, they do make a lot more sense, so the story should have been published as a graphic novel from the start. While it doesn't get anyone of the hook for issues 2-4, it recommends the TPB.
Another weak point of this issue is the dreamfight. Frankly, I've seen better in Sandman (both in the club fighting the demon for his mask and later against the freak with the ruby) and in an old X-Men book (early years stuff, Xavier killing someone in a mental battle). The weakness is admittedly partly due to the fact that real world events influence the match, which is nice as it gives all protagonists something to do, but in my opinion it takes too much away from the dreamfight. There isn't enough room in this book, but previous issues had enough non-essential material to allow for some cuts, and as the creative team clearly planned at least this much, it's just a case of poor plotting for the overall arc. The dreamfight also would have benefited from e.g. re-using Mary's girlfriend, who died for unclear reasons between issues 4 and 5.

Overall, I'm glad we finally got a satisfying explanation for everything and I'd recommend the TPB version on the strength of Dwyer's art alone. I have no idea whether Remender and Dwyer were forced to end the series prematurely because of low sales or whether this progression was indeed the initial plan. Either way, this is what was published and what folks are paying for and on that basis issues 2-5 left lots to be desired in terms of plotting, despite the partial redemption in #5.

Night Mary #2 (6/10)

2006-01-31T03:57:00.000+01:00

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist and Co-Writer: Kieron Dwyer
copyright Remender & Dwyer, published by IDW publishing, $3.99

Story:
Mary, the lucid dreamer is being questioned at the police station after finding a patient who had murdered her entire family last issue. Mary's Dad picks her up, they argue and in the following night Mary dreams of the car accident again that left her mother in coma. Worried, she goes to see her mother and enters her dreams. She's able to convince her mother to let go of another brick in the wall that separates her consciousness from the waking world.
Afterwards she has to do a session with the patient from last issue. His nightmares centre around being bullied in highschool, pictures of him in viking dress being passed around, and the girl who convinced him to wear the dress.

Evaluation:
It's a letdown after the first issue, but then again that one easily made 9/10. The dialogue is good, the exposition well hidden and Mary's characterisation makes some significant progress, most notably in her relationship with her father.
There is one slight gap in that Mary goes from waking from her mother's dream more or less directly to her session with the patient and as she goes to see her mother after waking from her own dream, it makes sense to assume that it's still night or early morning. Shifting just one panel to the next side would have solved the problem.
Anyway, the real weakness of this issue is lack of a plotline. The scenes could more or less happen in any order, and there's no "natural" progression between them. It almost seems like a collection of stuff that didn't make it into #1, which was super-streamlined.
The art is even more awesome than last time as Dwyer pulls two more styles from his hat. The sketchy, blue-toned style used for the real world is there again, as is the clear-line colourful dream-world. The accident with her mother is done in very heavy lines, extreme close-ups and two colours. This one comes closest to standard indy style in the vain of Cloonan et al. The fourth style used for the patient's dream is a variant of the real-world one, but with less dense panel layouts (i.e. more space) and more colour. Absolutely terrific, the book is worth reading for the art alone.

Check out these samples:

The real world

Mary's dream

Mary inside her mother's dream

patient's dream
all images copyright Remender & Dwyer, Night Mary #2 is $3.99 from all good comic shops!

Overall, the lack of a coherent plot sets this one back 3 points. I'll be around for the third instalment, and I have some hope it will all make sense after the next issue. Still, #1 I can recommend without reservation and as it works as a stand-alone story you could certainly do worse than have a look.

Planetary #24 (3/10)

2006-01-27T23:07:00.000+01:00

Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: John Cassaday
DC/Wildstorm, $2.99

Story
Elliah Snow explains it all. The four obliterate the Brazilian planetary offices with an orbital death ray.

Evaluation:
Anyone who's not already reading this likely won't start now. That said, this issue wasn't worth the money, the reading time and most of all not worth the wait.
There is some news, Tabitha is Lord Blackstocks daughter and the three of them are/represent life's safety systems. Drum represents the Afterlife, the informational underspace. Snow is a century baby and Jakita the child of a century baby (Blackstock) and that jungle tribe. The issue works nicely as a recap.
However, the characterisation leaves lots to be desired. Snow is a cold fish, but Jakita's reaction to finding out who her father is is basically "Oh! ... Ok, anything else?" and the vows of revenge after seeing a whole building with 500 people killed lack the passion one would expect. Perhaps this is intentional, showing grim determination or somesuch, but then one would have to critique the decision to pack that into a book where nothing happens anyway.
So, no plot, no dialogue beyond Ellis' stock "cool bastard" speech, no characterisation.

Cassaday does a good job on what little there is to do, but it really is precious little. The shading on the character's faces is nice though.

Nothing wrong with a slow issue, some major exposition, lots of talk every once in a while or a recap. But if they're all combined in one issue, with nothing whatsoever to provide a counterbalance, the result is crap.

DEMO - The Collection (6.5/10)

2006-01-27T23:06:00.000+01:00

Writer: Brian Wood
Art: Becky Cloonan
copyright Wood & Cloonan, published by AiT/Planet Lar, $19.95 ($13.57 from amazon.com), 328 pages
creator owned!!

The collection contains all 12 issues of Demo ever published. Apparently the series started out as a recycling bin for "NYX", a young mutants in NY series that was not realised by Marvel and the first few stories all revolve around superpowers. Over the course of the series the focus driftes towards general adolescent/early-twentysomethings stories without superpowers.
There is no connection between stories, but each follows the same basic layout. A young adult makes a CHOICE, often prompted by an EVENT and we see the CONSEQUENCES of that choice. Often, these choices made by people on the cusp of adulthood, will define what they or their adulthood will be like. In many cases, the protagonists could be said to chose an identity, chose who they are going to be or who they are not going to be. For instance, a guy who never misses with a gun originally signed up for the army to put his talent to use, but realises he can't shoot people and decides to quit, despite having to support a girlfriend and a baby.

The writing is a mixed blessing. All characters are introduced well, and the major strings pulling them towards this or that outcome of the decision are illustrated well, and above all flow naturally from the dialogue. The dialogues itself are excellent throughout, including poignant pauses, repetitions and the like.
The weakness in the writing is twofold. For one, it is often not immediately apparent why the decision is so important or whether the characters couldn't have just as well decided otherwise. This is mostly due to the fact that each decision's consequences play out pretty much as expected. On the one hand, this conserves protagonism, i.e. the choices the characters make remain meaningful and are not annulled at the whim of fate/the writer. On the other hand, by refusing to throw a wench into the best laid plans of his protagonists, Wood also refuses to test their resolve. It is one thing to swallow a bitter pill, i.e. make a decision in the knowledge that seeing it through will hurt, it is quite another to stick to it when it suddenly turns out this will hurt quite a bit more than anticipated. In Wood's stories the stakes are almost always clear and fixed. Further, we enter each story pretty much with a fixed state of things (i.e. the situation is as it is, we are not party to any prior decisions that would have influenced the stakes of this one). Finally almost all characters are pretty clear about the stakes in general. The combination of these the things hurts the book considerably. It makes identification and empathy difficult. Instead of getting to the point where the road not taken fills us with regret or where we pity the protagonist for the bad result of the decision we supported (/wanted them to make), it's people going about their decision making in a clear-eyed manner, and the decision and the consequences remain mostly their own: Acts of fictional people, strangers, who do as they do.
Second, the ambiguity of the situations presented requires considerable investment on the parts of the reader. There is not enough time (taken) to make us care for the protagonists or their decisions, and as a result the work relies heavily on the reader's willingness and ability to ponder the decision for themselves or relate it to similar experiences from their own life.
Again, this is certainly partly intentional, and the lifelike dialogue is probably meant to help this process along, but ultimately it is not enough. For one, because I believe it is the job of the artist and storyteller to tell a story instead of providing a do-it-yourself guide. As it is, this aspect of the book could just as well be replaced by short-short stories of about ten-lines each, and the instruction to meditate on a bunch of words such as "love", "friendship", "loneliness" etc. Second, Wood does not provide enough meat to guide the reader in that process and consequently the reflections are just as good as the reader's average reflections will be. In other words, there is not enough of a statement there to provide a new impetus, a new direction to one's usual musings on related topics. One might thus just as well start reflecting without the book.

Cloonan's art is awesome beyond words. Framing, pacing, expression etc. are top notch as expected, but what really made me gasp was the incredible range of styles in this book. If the story is about the slacker's pledge and the three signatories decisions how to deal with it now that they're 23, she goes for a cartoony Scott Pilgrim style with clear strong lines. If the story is about a funeral and family dynamics behind it, she goes for slightly frayed lines and lots of blacks. The soldier's story (see above) is illustrated in abstract forms and stark contrasts. The story of a teenager going off her meds and almost insane as a result is illustrated in thin, frayed and hazy lines that vividly show her world going apart. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Alas, there is a small weakness to the art as well: all protagonists are hip and hot. Granted, it is a very natural kind of hot, i.e. people of this kind do run around, we're not talking about impossible supermen and -women here. Still, it hurts the book in that it separates the protagonists from the reader (unless of course the reader happens to be hip and hot themselves). Again, granted, the problems of the hip and hot are very universal, but e.g. when dealing with a break-up it does make a difference how difficult it will be to find someone new and the hip and hot will very likely have different past experiences than the ugly and uncool. Which in turn influences the range of ressources, coping mechanisms and so on. Further, it simply does not help the story if every protagonist is of the sort one could easily have fallen for when single and at that age. It dulls the reflections the book intends to trigger simply in that imagined affection makes one more lenient and more ready to go along with whatever the protagonist decides.
(This aspect could admittedly be Wood's fault. However, from a review of the scriptbook over at thefourthrail.com, it seems Cloonan had far more liberty than usual and hence it seems reasonable to blame her for the character design. Anyway, the point remains the same regardless of who is responsible.)

Overall, an interesting indy. The art is awesome and the writing technically competent. However, I believe the book falls considerably short of its goals due to weaknesses in plotting and to a lesser extent in character design. As it is, it's an interesting diversion and a nice template for reflection, but in itself it does not say anything substantial nor provide significant new input to the reader's reflections. Still, there is enough variety there that chances of finding something that speaks to you are not bad, it's certainly worth a try.

Hyper-Actives #0 (0/10)

2006-01-27T23:04:00.000+01:00

Writer: Darin Wagner
Art: Clint Hilinski
Alias, 75 Cent

Story:
The Hyper-Actives fail to re-capture a recently escaped Iceman- Clone. A teenager is humiliated by jocks. A shrouded figure vows to end the world as we know it.

Evaluation: so awful it makes the baby Jesus cry

My worries about never finding a comic rating below a 3 of 10 have been put to rest by this book, which has no redeeming features whatsoever.
The team of superheroes too much in love with the camera to stop the bad guy has been done already and it doesn't help the book that no-one dies in the process. It also doesn't help that they all have the same vapid, shallow and overconfident personality and that they're generic speedster, generic strong guy, generic sharpshooter, generic beast plus clones of the Wasp and Supergirl. The cheesecake doesn't help either. People making speeches at each other passes for dialogue, the jokes all suck and despite the author's valiant attempts to have everyone suggest suckage is the new cool, it just isn't.

Unbelievable as it may seem, the art is even worse than the writing. It borrows the excessive musculature that doesn't connect properly from early nineties Image comics and adds in generic overlong faces with a generic overdeveloped chin. Hilinski also does away with such antiquated notions as shading for depth, relying exclusively on overlap or passing the buck to the colorist (whose palette is seriously limited). That Hilinski also does without backgrounds marks him either as a true visionary retiring two antiquated concepts at the same time or an inept hack. Given that I've seen far superior fanart, my money is on the latter.

I feel sad for anyone spending 75 cent on this steaming pile of crap, sad for whoever had to edit and or proofread this, sad for the trees that died in making it, sad for the ink that gave it's life for this and sad for the air that is breathed by the incompetents behind this turd.

I hope Alias folds before February. That might save us all from the first issue of this horrible shit being published.

The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics.

2006-01-25T22:52:00.000+01:00

Written By Dennis O'Neil

Well this is going to be a review of a slightly different nature. Whereas 99.9% of the time we'll look at comics and just comics on this blog (and by my definition I do mean Graphic Novels and Collected Editions are included) but sometimes, just sometimes, it is necessary for me to give my views on something comics related that just deserves your attention. Plain and simple.

Now Dennis O'Neil is a big name in the world of comics. To be fair, if you are reading this you probably know of the mans work anyway. A DC stalwart for most of his career, he will go down in history as one of the greatest and most prolific writers to date. So it makes sense that he is the guy that DC went to in order for him to write this tome. While they are talented guys, no denying it, having Geoff Johns or Greg Rucka to write this would seem just a little like they were in it for the cash. Them guys just cant hold a candle to someone of O'Neils work. There is a genuine sense throughout this book that O'Neil is telling you everything he knows not just because he is being paid to, but because he WANTS you to learn his craft.

The tone of the book is informal, humourous at times and always enlightening and interesting. It is a lightweight book, it has to be said, but I never had a doubt about what I was being told was everything I wanted to know. Not to mention that the book features script extracts from various writers such as Mark Waid, Grant Morrison and Doug Moench, giving a good impression of how the differing scribes go about thier scripts. Add to this comparison of script pages and the finished page of the corresponding comic, any fan, whether they have an interesting read here. It cant fail to make you understand your comics just that little bit more. And as I said before, it isnt a challenging read by any stretch of the imagination, this is no novel, a couple of hours is enough to read. Entertaining and educational, not something you get from many books these days.

The only grievance I have is the title of the book. The DC Comics guide to writing comics. Unfotunately, this seems to me like a lot of people are going to dismiss this book. There is a lot of uneccessary DC hate out there, which can aggravate me at times, but the only thing this about this book that is DC is the examples given. The information in this book applies to all the different publishers, old and new, and this book is worthy of the attention of fans of all.

So please, if you are sat there with your latest issue of "Super Smashing Great Fantastic X-Men" or whatever they are calling it these days, please, read this book. It really is worthwhile.

As for me, I'm going to Prague Film Festival, so I wont post until the 4th of February. Have fun with Markus' posts till then.

Hikaru no go (8/10)

2006-01-25T04:19:00.000+01:00

Writer: Yumi Hotta
Artist: Takeshi Obata

Story:
The ghost of Fujiwara-no-Sai, a historical Go master enters the mind of elementary school kid Hikaru Shindo. Initially Shindo hates Go, but gives in to Sai's nagging. After a while, Shindo discovers his loves for the game, starts to play and eventually starts chasing his chosen rival, Go prodigy Akira Toya.
For a complete plot description, see wikipedia's page.

Evaluation: awesome start, but gets weaker
First off, I should probably say I like Go, know the basic rules and occasionally play against the computer. Go knowledge is not necessary for the series, but I can't imagine anyone enjoying this who doesn't love "brainy" games to a certain extent. No matter whether your thing is chess, risk, stratego, poker, backgammon or computer adventure games, if you appreciate a battle of wits and will you can probably relate. If that kind of games always seemed boring or uninteresting to you, this series is likely not your cup of tea.
Second, I'm very careful with manga as I can't stand the excessive emoting which is fairly common and tend to find that they spend too much space with recaps. This series doesn't do either of those things. There's a little overdone emoting in the first volume, but that quickly ends.

What makes it so good, is that the creative team excels at conveying the thrill of the games, that along with the reader Shindo stumbles and blunders into the Go world with a contagious devil may care attitude and that we get to discover this strange world with him.
Part of what makes the games so exciting is that in the series Go is (AFAIK accurately) portrayed as being very much determined by attitude, which leaves lots of room for all kinds of mental weaknesses afflicting the players. That there is no "finishing move" like in chess and most games end by one side resigning helps in that respect, as it leaves room for lots of killer/looser moves in between and the author gets some good tension from people on the brink of resigning. The art helps a lot here, as it makes extensive use of eye and hand close-ups similar to spaghetti westerns or martial arts films. Together with the peculiar way of holding and placing stones in Go, this gives the matches a very physical quality, i.e. it almost seems as if the players are having a martial arts fight.
What I enjoyed about the character design was that the authors do not rely on any crutches. There are no walking stereotypes in the book and every character has his own motivations and charm. True, some, like Akira Toya act as plot devices (in this case to motivate Shindo), but I never had the feeling that the author needed something to happen and crafted the characters around that. If anything, it's the other way round, sometimes perhaps even too much so (see below) and that only changes a little towards the end of the series. One weakness is however quite unpleasant: there are next to no female characters worth mentioning.
Exposition and in this case introduction into the Go world is handled pretty well. Hotta cheats a little in that Shindo remains ignorant of basic stuff like keeping game records until the moment he actually has to write them, but as Shindo (and Sai) are pretty much wholly absorbed by their love for the game, it's somewhat plausible.

Unfortunately, the book loses somewhat towards the end and the last volumes feel a bit tacked on. This is partly due to some weaker volumnes (#17 and #18) in between, partly due to having passed a very natural ending point (see wikipedia spoiler), partly because the the book doesn't keep the aforementioned strengths and in my opinion mostly due to some real weaknesses revealing themselves over time.
The most glaring weakness is not addressing both subplots and connected themes decisively enough. For instance, there is a girl, Akari Fujisaki, who seems to have some love interest in Shindo. Their platonic relationship is brought up time and again, but nothing ever comes of it. Now, the book works fine without the romance, but bringing up the topic repeatedly and then dropping it again is very dissatisfying. Moreover, by doing so the book neglects to address another issue, namely the toll dedicated professional level Go play takes on relationships. Again, there are several times where it is hinted at that this might be a problem, but it never gets to the point where a character actually has to do or decide something about it.
Another such unresolved subplot is other people finding out about the Shindo-Sai relationship. At various points lots of people ponder the issue, but ultimately nothing ever comes of it. The same is true for a number of other subplots/themes.

Another problem that becomes evident as the series progresses the whole plot wasn't worked out fully in advance. Most notably, the "Shindo chasing Akira" theme becomes more and more nonsensical, as Akira always stays one step ahead whereas Shindo stumbles occasionally (despite Sai's help) yet the distance seems to remain the same. Moreover, Akira doesn't adjust at all to the fact that there is someone who is _always_ a step below, i.e. everyone always talks as if the race just began.

Since most of these problems only become apparent towards the end of the series, I'd recommend reading the books up to and including #16, going to wikipedia or browsing through 17-23 (#18 is just side stories) in the store and having a look at the last 10 pages or so of #23. More fun, and cheaper. Even then, the roughly $160 for #1-16 is still a considerable investment, but if you're like me, you'll be hooked after trying out the first issue.

Blankets (10/10)

2006-01-24T20:54:00.000+01:00

Story and Art: Craig Thompson
copyright Craig Thompson, published by Top Shelf Productions, $29.95 ($19.77 from amazon.com), 582 pages.
Creator owned!

Story:
In this semi-autobiographical work Thompson focusses on his conservative religious upringing and how he grew out of it. The major stations are his childhood spent with his brother, church camp and his first love, including a fortnight he spent at her home. Throughout this, one constant theme is his love of art and drawing in particular (i.e. the role of creativity and individual expression) and the other is the need for comfort, symbolised by the titular blankets.

Evaluation:
The book has its weak moments. There is some teenage angst and the time spent at his first girlfriend's home provides a lower per page yield of movement towards the central themes than previous sections (i.e. it drags a bit).
Everything else is wonderful. The dialogue is extremely life-like (or well remembered) and the book reads like a direct transcript from memory. In fact, it's hard to tell the difference from a friend telling you about his youth over a couple of beers. The early years are described in singular, highly memorable events that serve as indicator of that times in Thompson's youth, whereas the later events are more detailed and ambiguous, and not so much signs/symbols of their times.
Especially noteworthy is Thompson's skilled use of silences. There's lots of them, and Thompson should teach classes on show, don't tell. They're engaging, moving, almost sacred and I was at times so much under the spell that I longed for them to last just a little bit longer so as not to break the magic. (You might want to set aside some quiet times for this.)
That Thompson treats all his characters with respect is another huge plus. It's terribly tempting and easy at times to make fun of conservative Christians, and many who've had to fight to overcome such an upbringing turn bitter and hateful, but not Thompson. His faith just takes a different path, and that's no reason for disrespect towards anyone. He even manages to make odd beliefs about homosexuality and creation seem perfectly normal, just what that character happens to believe.

The fluid and slightly cartoony black and white art complements the story wonderfully. As one would expect from a book with lots of silent moments, facial expressions, body postures, panel design and page layout work together harmoniously to convey whatever necessary. At times, Thompson uses exaggerated features or surreal page splashes for extra effect, and these work wonderfully as well.
In all honesty though, the book is so damn good that I have trouble inspecting the artwork without being sucked into the story.

If you don't trust me, trust its 3 Harvey and 2 Eisner Awards (2004) and pick it up already.

Will you still love me if I wet the bed? (5/10)

2006-01-24T20:52:00.000+01:00

Story & Art: Liz Prince
copyright Liz Prince, published by Top Shelf Productions, $7
Creator owned

Story:
There isn't a story, the book is a loose collection of special moments from Liz's relationship. These special moments are almost all either one partner discovering or confronting some quirkiness in the other or telling each other in some special way how much they care for each other.

Evaluation:
Several little scenes are very cute, and one may find oneself in some of them. The lack of an overall storyline hurts the book in that the relationship is thus reduced to these cutesy little scenes and consequently seems a bit shallow. It's a like eating several lumps of sugar (some of which are tasteless) - after a while you just want to sink your teeth into something real for a change.

The art is very, very crude. To a degree this enhances the intimacy of the strips. It makes them seem like little snapshots of a private conversation, a series of doodles Liz did specially for her boyfriend.
However, in some cases that approach is taken too far. Some strips still contain the outlines Liz used for getting the faces right and that is neither cute nor personal but simply a sign of laziness. For $7 it wouldn't have hurt her to redraw those of the 70 strips she didn't get right the first time.

This has about as much meat as a single issue of most regular series. Still, it's cute and intimate, and if that's your cup of tea I can recommend it. It also makes for a good valentine present.

The author's webpage
Her blog
Joe Rice doesn't like it
Johanna Draper Carlson does like it.

Black Hole (6/10)

2006-01-24T20:50:00.000+01:00

Writer: Charles Burns
Artist: Charles Burns
copyright Charles Burns, published by Pantheon Books (Random House), $24.95 ($16.47 from amazon.com)
Creator owned

Plot:
It's the seventies, except their is a "bug" going round, a sexually transmitted disease that causes weird mutations in people. Some merely get a rash, others grow new body parts and there is no cure.
The book (368 pages!) tells the story of Keith Pearson, who is loved by Eliza but wants Chris Rhodes, who in turn falls for Rob Facincanni. At the outset, Eliza and Rob have the bug. The story is your average slice of life, teenage romance, reactions to the infection, the lives of those carrying the disease, dreams and coming of age.

Evaluation: average
The story is told well, but not very interesting. The characters are well rounded, the dialogue is good, but it's still just yet another teenage drama.
What keeps it chained to the ground is that most of the extra stuff does not work. The many, many Freudian symbols (well, vaginas) are annoying as it's obvious that the book is about how sex is both mysterious, terrifying and alluring to a teenage virgin. Likewise, the disease is an obvious AIDS metaphor, but it doesn't add anything AIDS itself wouldn't have added (except it's not lethal; neat for storytelling purposes, but with less impact than the real thing.) Most of all, it's not horrifying. Nobody acts horrified, except when confronted with extreme mutations and there's no reason anyone would. Everyone knows how one gets "the bug" (sex with a carrier) and everyone knows how to avoid it. At best, one might find it creepy, but it's far from scary.

The art is very precise, back and white with heavy inks, lot of black space and a sort of Pop Art style. It conveys a sense of oppression and being closed in very well, and I imagine it's awesome if one buys into the story. I found it monotonous and boring. The story flows well, but there's no creative panel use which might make it flow just that little bit more smoothly that makes one forget one is reading individual panels/pages. The placing within the panels is symmetrical whenever possible, which is neat for a while, but gets old quick as it's overused and pointless. The semiotics student's the Time.com critic (see below) talks about won't have a lot to do.

Overall, it's an interesting but not very effective story, and the same goes for the art.
No idea why this is Andrew Arnold's Time graphic novel of the year, take a look for yourselves.

Free Fall #1 (7.5/10)

2006-01-24T20:47:00.000+01:00

Writer: Gianluca Piredda
Pencils: Eric J
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Narwain Publishing, $ 3.99

Plot: SPOILER!
Gansters planning a heist realise they will need a diversion. Two of them meet suicidal Sean and save him, only to offer him a job - jump for them to create the diversion they need.

Evaluation: (SPOILER FREE)
The cheesecake on the cover and the recommendation by Jeph Loeb on the inside cover do a serious disservice to this book. Based on those I'd expect horrible trash, but the book is actually quite good.
The initial heist tale is done well, with the gangsters checking out the location and arguing about plans etc. It's a bit unfortunate that they lack the smarts and slickness usually seen in heist movies that make the viewer root for the criminal, but it's well done overall.
The introduction of Sean and his argument with his wife on the other hand are some of the most gripping characterisation I've seen all year. Love, hope, despair, it's all there in a few pages. The excellent dialogue and characterisation continues from there, but I must confess I was so enamoured of Sean and Emily at this point that it took a second reading to register because I wanted the book to continue to be about that couple's relationship.
From a distance Sean's decision and the criminals' quick response isn't too compelling and might seem forced to some readers, but for me the big twist and excellent dialogue cover those slight cracks well.
The art is also excellent. Most notable is the amazing range of facial expressions that is so essential to conveying character drama. Pacing and panel use are also first class. My favourite page is one in the middle where we see Sean's response to learning he's about to become a father. It's done in nine panels, each one with a grey background (backgrounds are otherwise very detailed throughout the book) and the whole range of emotions Sean and Emily go through is conveyed through posture only. Awesome.

Reader's looking for a heist tale in the style of Ocean's Elven might be disappointed by this book, as it eschews the usual incredibly clever plan focussing on technical details for one that is based on very down to earth character stuff. As mentioned, the characterisation reaches impressive heights at times and despite the excellent art, that's what I'll be coming back for in the hope Piredda will deliver.

Other review (with spoilers) here