Batman: Unseen #4 (of 5) ("Blur") by Doug Moench (writer), Kelley Jones (artist), Michelle Madsen (colorist), and Pat Brosseau (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC.

I always love when Batman actually does some detecting, and although he doesn't do a ton of it in this book, it's still fun to see. Bats finally figures out how to make an invisible man visible (in a totally lo-tech way), and of course, Nigel Glass's "translux" serum doesn't last forever, so by the end of the book he's semi-visible again, but he still escapes, setting up the big finale. Unlike the previous issues, Moench reins in the purple prose a bit and lets Jones cut loose, and it's glorious to see. On the first page, we get a panel of Batman, sans cape and cowl, in the Batcave, working a gargatuan machine like Dr. Frankenstein, with said machine peppered with different colored bulbs and parts of it hanging from chains (and why the hell not?). This entire machine is ... to make new lenses for his cowl. Now that's efficient! And then there's the stained-glass window in the city morgue (which itself has kind of an Egyptian city of the dead motif going on, exterior-wise), the corpse in the river casually chained to a big rock (which, needless to say, has nothing to do with the story and just shows the danger level, generally, in Gotham), and Batman's bat-shaped and portable heart-monitor. And, of course, Batman's glorious cape, which seems alive when Jones draws it. I know that certain crazy people hate Jones's Batman, but we should pity those people, not scorn them. Moench and Jones doing a Batman comic is such a weird, wild experience, and despite the darkness of the script and the art, it's usually a tremendously fun read. This series especially.

What line from "The Humpty Dance" best describes this? "It's supposed to look like a fit or a convulsion."*

* That sums up Jones's style, doesn't it? It's up to you if you like it or not.

One panel of awesome:

That contraption = awesome

The Black Coat: ... Or Give Me Death #3 (of 4) by Ben Lichius (story/writer/colorist), Adam Cogan (story), Dean Kotz (artist), and Chris Studabaker (letterer). $3.50, 22 pgs, FC, Ape Entertainment.

One week after the double-sized issue combining issues 1 and 2, we get the third issue, which is groovy with me. Lichius speeds things up in this issue, which is a tiny bit annoying, as our hero goes from freaking out at the end of issue #2 to Bellevue at the beginning of this issue, and then suddenly, he's all better! (Well, not suddenly, but he does recover rather quickly.) Also, Ursula gets the formula for the immortality serum rather quickly and easily, even though we have no idea how she does it. But that's okay. Lichius and Cogan continue to hurl all sorts of awesome stuff at us, from Ben Franklin guest-starring to the Gypsy assassin, and the Black Coat finally tumbles on the League's grand scheme, which is devious and dastardly, to say the least. And Kotz continues to be a decent replacement for Francavilla.

Even though the immortality serum makes this slightly more of a superhero book than the previous series (the Black Coat gets severely stabbed and shot, but nothing happens to him), it's still enough of a cool historical spy/supernatural story to balance that. The race is on next issue to start the Revolution yet thwart the League. I wonder if our heroes will succeed?

What line from "The Humpty Dance" best describes this? "I'm sick wit dis, straight gangsta mack."*

* The Black Coat is indeed "straight gangsta mack."

One panel of awesome:

Note to self: Never let a crazed, knife-wielding Gypsy woman near me!

Hellblazer #261 ("India Part One: White Man's Burden") by Peter Milligan (writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli (layouter), Stefano Landini (finisher), Trish Mulvihill (colorist), and Sal Cipriano (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

I've been a bit critical of Camuncoli's and Landini's art on Hellblazer, mainly because I don't think Camuncoli's superheroic style fits John Constantine's universe, not because I don't like Camuncoli (which I do). Interestingly enough, all Milligan had to do was move John to India, and Camuncoli's/Landini's art looks a lot better - it looks less muddled, John looks seedier set against the wider vistas of Mumbai (having never been to India, I doubt if Mumbai is less packed together than London, but Camuncoli makes it look that way), and his monster (that dude on the cover) looks keen. Of course, the coloring helps. I've been critical of Mulvihill's murky coloring, which seems to be the Vertigo "house style," but here she cranks up the reds and yellows and blues and gives the book a clearer and cleaner look, making the dark parts even creepier. As two characters discuss a Bollywood movie at one point, I have to think some of the more technicolory parts are deliberate. It works.

Milligan takes John to India because John believes that's where he'll find the means to resurrect Phoebe. He meets up with an old friend who is now bilking tourists as a guru but who's also involved in some other, even less savory business. And that dude on the cover is murdering young women - of course he is! The one murder we see is actually quite well done - Milligan and Camuncoli do a nice job with the fact that only she can see her attacker. Milligan continues to do a nice job showing how very immature John is - Charles basically says it, and in that moment, we're on his side ... until we learn what he's up to. It's a nifty trick to get us turned against John and on the side of a different character, and then Milligan deftly switches it back.

I'm reserving judgment on the colonialism aspect to the story, because I want to see where Milligan is going with it. But it's a solid beginning to the arc, and I'm glad Camuncoli's art fits better here (he did a nice job on that Bangkok Nights story a few years ago; maybe he likes Asia?). It's good to see!

What line from "The Humpty Dance" best describes this? "I'm the one who said 'Just grab 'em in the biscuits'."*

* Okay, so John doesn't do this, but he would, wouldn't he?

One panel of awesome:

Man, you don't ever want to see that darkening your door!

Phonogram: The Singles Club #5 (of 7) ("Lust, Etc." and "Ska Attack Squad") by Kieron Gillen (writer), Jamie McKelvie (artist/letterer, "Lust, Etc."), Dan Boultwood (artist, "Ska Attack Squad"), and Matthew Wilson (colorist). $3.50, 27 pgs, FC, Image.

After a long delay which had more to do with Image than Gillen and McKelvie being slackers, apparently (although I'm sure they've been busy eating Ring Dings, playing Donkey Kong, and violating the civil rights of several woodland creatures instead of, you know, working), Phonogram #5 comes out, a week after it showed up at some shops, therefore allowing those people who shop at those shops an extra week to soak in the Phonogram goodness while the rest of us went without. Where, I ask you, is the justice?!?!?!??!?!?!

As usual, an issue of Phonogram means I do less of a review than a paean to its greatness, and although I really, really want to savage an issue just so Gillen and McKelvie don't get swelled heads more than they are already swelled, I just can't. (Okay, I don't really want to savage an issue. It's only fun to do that when it's a Green Lantern gore-fest or an interminably dull Justice League story.) This would be the perfect issue to do it, because this issue focuses on Laura Heaven, the girl from the series whom everyone (the characters in the comic, I mean) seems to think is dull as dishwater. Not only that, she thinks and quotes large chunks of lyrics almost pathologically. Now, I suspect many, many people do that (long ago when I was in college, I could quote large segments of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, among other movies), but we usually do it when we're hanging around with friends who can also do it, and it's a bonding experience from a shared kind of gestalt. It's not done as a defensive maneuver to put people off and distance yourself from them, as Laura does it. (I could be wrong - maybe many people do that.) For instance, I never say, "The important thing here is that you ask me what kind of car it is" unless I'm 99% positive the response will be, "A BITCHIN' CAMARO!" (Or some variation thereof.) But Laura walls herself off with her quotes, and therefore she's the kind of person we should hate.

But we don't. Or at least I don't. Gillen and McKelvie make it so we can't hate her. We can't even pity her, which might be worse. I'm not sure we exactly like her, but we realize why she does what she does, which is almost as good. It starts early, when McKelvie shows Laura staring in at Penny, and the desire in her eye (we only see one, as she's peeping through a narrow aperture) is almost palpable. As she and Penny head to the club, we get the anger and longing from Laura when Penny goes off with her perfect boy, and her envy of the barmaid who seems to float above it all where she can't. Her encounter with Emily in the bathroom (which we've seen a few times in the series, always from a different perspective) is a sweet moment, even if Emily wouldn't think so, and then Laura's sadness at being Lloyd's second choice sums up the book perfectly. When she thinks of another quote and then crosses it out (a bit heavy-handed by Gillen, but still effective), we see her transformation into her own person completed. Gillen explains the issue in his end notes, which he didn't need to do (seriously, KG, we totally got it, and you need to trust your writing more), but if you just read the story and skip the end notes, you'll once again sit back, amazed at how the two creators can so sharply delineate these characters in such a short time. I mean, the tender touch of Emily's fingers on Laura's forehead or the second-to-last panel of the book, in which Laura is both beautiful and terrifying, have more emotion in them than most DC or Marvel books do in their entire issue ... and that's just the art. When you combine it with Gillen's brilliant dialogue, you get Phonogram. And once again, I can't just review it, I must sing its praises to the skies. That's just the way I am, man!

Oh, and the back-up story is cute, too. The cover promises the "most gratuitous double-page spread of all time." I'd have to agree!

Let us hope that Image has its production problems sorted out and issues #6 and 7 come quickly. Damn, I love this comic. But here's my savaging of it! In one panel (the one where Laura's at the bar, bored), I don't like how McKelvie draws her fingers. Ha! Take that, you smug Brits! Can you stand the withering criticism of how Laura's fingers look? I think not!!!!!

What line from "The Humpty Dance" best describes this? "I'll eat up all your crackers and your licorice."*

* You just know those freeloaders Gillen and McKelvie would do that if they came over to your house!

One panel of awesome:

I love McKelvie's art

Spider-Woman #3 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Alex Maleev (artist), and Cory Petit (letterer). $2.99, 20 pgs, FC, Marvel.

And then there's Spider-Woman, which I'm still trying to figure out. I really have no problem with Bendis's pacing, as long as the story is interesting. I think Alias and Daredevil are wonderful, for instance. And the story in this series, so far, isn't bad. I don't know where Bendis is going with it, which is okay, and although I'm not terribly jazzed by HYDRA, I don't have that big a problem with them. The issue I do have with it is the way Bendis writes the two female leads. I've come to grips with the fact that Bendis often writes his female leads in the same way (Rucka, the other man writing lots of comics these days who seems to write decent female leads, does this too). I don't mind it when that female is the only strong female in the book, but now that Viper is in this comic, it sounds like the exact same person is carrying on a conversation with herself. Viper is a bit more confident than Jessica, but they still sound the same. It's somewhat annoying. I know that Bendis doesn't necessarily have to do this - his Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy were sufficiently different, but perhaps that's because the book was more superheroic and not as focused on the characters - and that makes it more annoying. Jessica tells us that Viper believes that she's her (Jessica's) mother, but that doesn't explain it away. Oh well. I suppose I'll have to deal with it if I decide to keep buying the book.

As for Maleev ... I'm still not digging his art on this comic. I know he's done the photo-referencing thing for some time, and it never bugged me too much, but it seems like a few things are working against it here. First, Madripoor isn't a real place, and Maleev doesn't do much to make it feel real. The city is extremely vaguely-defined, and it hurts the general misc-en-scene. Second, as this book is a bit more superheroic than Daredevil, we get the various gadgets, and they don't fit together well in the book. The flying car looks really weird, for instance. Finally, Maleev seems to be taking some shortcuts in integrating the foreground in with the background. The flying car's battle with the helicopters looks like a badly-shot movie against a blue screen, with the background added later. I guess that could be how it was done, but with a comic, it seems like the foreground could be integrated better into the background. I like Maleev quite a bit, but this isn't working as well as it could.

Anyway, Bendis and Maleev have a couple of issues to win me over. This is still the kind of comic that Bendis seems to do well on, so I'm certainly willing to give him some leeway. We shall see what he does with it!

What line from "The Humpty Dance" best describes this? "I'm spunky; I like my oatmeal lumpy."*

* I like to think this is how Jessica Drew likes her oatmeal, and she sure is spunky!

One panel of awesome:

If only my mother had given me that advice, it could have saved me a whole lot of heartbreak!

Super Friends #21 ("Happily Never After") by Sholly Fisch (writer), Stewart McKenny (penciller), Dan Davis (inker), Sal Cipriano (letterer), and Heroic Age (colorist). $2.50, 20 pgs, FC, DC.

It's a bit sad that when I'm in the mood to read a good, old-fashioned, single-issue superhero comic, often the best place to go is Johnny DC's line and Super Friends (or the Brave and the Bold title they also publish). There's nothing complicated about this issue, and it could easily be a single issue of Justice League of America, if those guys weren't so busy wallowing in angst. I usually buy these issues based on the covers, and that one's pretty awesome, isn't it?

As for the story ... Remember Waid and Hitch's "Queen of Fables" story in JLA #47-49? Well, Fisch does it in one issue, and it's more entertaining than that entire story! I love the set-up: the Justice League finds a book on their satellite, Superman opens it, and they're whisked away to the Queen of Fables' realm! One page, no worry about "explaining" anything, and they're into the story. Good stuff! Anyway, the queen wants the Super Friends to stay in her land because they're so good for stories, and she splits them up (in classic JLA style), sends them each to a different part of her world, and challenges them to get back. Of course they do, and Fisch does an excellent job (in limited space, remember) of showing how each character tackles the challenges differently based on their personality. Superman uses his strength, Batman his brains, Flash his speed, Wonder Woman her compassion ('cause she's a weak woman, don't you know), Aquaman his ... well, his intelligence too, in a different way than Bats, and John Stewart his ... well, his wisdom too. Dang, those Justice Leaguers sure are smart! They all use their brains in one way or another, and even though it's a kid's book so Fisch doesn't want to show them punching things out, it's more refreshing to see them being, you know, heroic instead of just bashing things because they can. And, of course, they solve the problem of being trapped in the Queen's world using their heads, too.

It's really a wonderful little story about heroes being heroes, drawn very nicely by McKenny, who adds little touches in the gutters that evoke various fairy tales and nursery rhymes. It's quite funny. There's really nothing "childish" about this comic, and it's too bad that a lot of comics in the "regular" continuity can't seem to get this kind of story right. Oh well.

What line from "The Humpty Dance" best describes this? "Ya stare, ya glare, ya constantly try to compare me, but ya can't get near me."*

* Normal DC superhero books can't compare to this!

One panel of awesome:

I dig the Australian Rainbow Serpent - he looks so happy to be evil!

Underground #3 (of 5) by Jeff Parker (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), and Ron Chan (colorist). $3.50, 22 pgs, FC, Image.

I don't know how much credit Parker should get for this issue, as a lot of the dialogue deals with Wes and Seth getting attacked by the punks who were sabotaging the cave. If Parker had a lot to do with the layout of this issue, that's one thing, because Lieber does a fantastic job making this a very claustrophobic and even terrifying issue, as it takes place almost entirely inside the cave, even deeper than the principals have gone before, which means the characters have less knowledge of what's going on with the topography. Of course, there's no light, either, and Lieber does a wonderful job by bringing the "camera" in to focus on characters' faces, pulling out to show the emptiness that surrounds them, and it's quite disorienting, which is very keen. It feels like a movie, but because the images are static, we can concentrate on them a bit more and get a good feel for what's happening more than we can a movie, where the cuts come more quickly. The ending isn't quite as dramatic as Lieber's full-page drawing warrants, mainly because we don't care too much about the person in the drawing, but it does show the dangers of, you know, fucking around in a hole in the ground.

This continues to be a tense comic that looks great. If you've only read Parker's Marvel stuff, give it a look, because it does allow him to show some other strengths in his writing. And Lieber is always good!

What line from "The Humpty Dance" best describes this? "I'm the new fool in town and my sound's laid down by the Underground."*

* Duh.

One panel of awesome:

There are at least two things wrong with fighting in this way

Zorro #17 by Matt Wagner (writer), Francesco Francavilla (artist), and Simon Bowland (letterer). $3.50, 22 pgs, FC, Dynamite Entertainment.

I'm still loving this story arc, in which Wagner shows us all the reactions to Zorro from various people who have come across him. It makes Zorro a more mysterious figure - in the first two arcs, he was a large presence, and while they were very good, it made Zorro less of a figure of the night and more of a superhero. Wagner, in this arc, has lessened his presence and made him more dangerous, and it's neat. There's very little in these stories that surprise us - there's a bad guy, Zorro shows him what's what - but the way Wagner constructs them, we're on the edge of our seats as we wait for the inevitable moment when Zorro shows up. And the reveal of what Zorro does to Don Rafael - again, even though we anticipate what he's going to do - is excellent. A lot of this credit goes to Wagner, of course, but a lot goes to Francavilla, who is, as usual, marvelous. His pencil work is great, but his coloring (I assume he does it, as no one is credited) is as good, as he gives most of the book a rich yellow-brown color, evoking the windswept coast of California, until Zorro shows up, when the primary color switches to red, showing our hero's anger at Don Rafael's poor treatment of his workers. It's always nice to see artists thinking about more than just the pencils, and Francavilla (and the colorist, if he didn't do it) gives us that.

Anyway, it's another fine issue of Zorro. I'm completely unsurprised.

What line from "The Humpty Dance" best describes this? "And all the rappers in the top ten; please allow me to bump thee."*

* The "rappers" in this instance are the fat landowners exploiting the proletariat. It totally works, people!

One panel of awesome:

Batman best take his badassery elsewhere!

I mentioned a while back that I'm busy indoctrinating my daughter into the ways of comics. I'm not being as aggressive with my other daughter, mainly because she can't read, but my lovely wife bought her a cool T-shirt recently, and I thought I'd share it with you:

That's Iron Man, Captain America, and Spider-Man on a T-shirt that reads "I Love Superheroes." Remember when they were all friends? Good times! Once Mia starts reading (which may be quite some time), I'll have to give her some comics! She'll be sure to dig Tony Stark trying to put Steve Rogers in jail! That's what the United States is all about!!!!

Let's get some totally random lyrics:

"'Twas 1659 forgotten now for sure
They dragged us from our homeland
With the musket and their gun
Cromwell and his roundheads
Battered all we know
Shackled hopes of freedom
We're now but stolen goods
Darken the horizon
Blackened from the sun
This rotten cage of Bridgetown
Is where I now belong"

Cheery!

Fire away with your opinions, people, about comics or otherwise! What do you think of the new format? I'm just experimenting. Yay or nay?

26 Comments

• At November 19, 2009, Michael wrote:

  I like the bit with the covers up front. Easiest way to tell whether there's a book I'm interested in ...

• At November 19, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  That was my evil plan, Michael. I'm glad it works for you.

• At November 19, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  I've never heard the song or for that matter the band (though I know them by name), but I'll bet ...

• At November 19, 2009, torpor wrote:

  I'll take that "gratuitous double-page spread" of ONE STEP BEYOND! anyday over Millar's ridiculously stupid "SNIKT!" in Old Man Logan.

• At November 19, 2009, Alex From T. wrote:

  Nice T-shirt I want one for my daughter, good news to hear that finally I can pick up a new ...

• At November 19, 2009, Deco wrote:

  love that t-shirt; if I could find one w/all girls my 4-year-old daughter would probably wear it non-stop. oh and ...

• At November 19, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:

  The real question is, which comic once got busy in a Burger King bathroom?

• At November 19, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  Really liked the back cover of Zorro.

• At November 19, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Mike: I'm not sure, but I don't think it's one of these!

  Alan: Yeah, I liked the back cover too. ...

• At November 19, 2009, Steve Lieber wrote:

  Thanks for the coverage. For the record, Jeff Parker had a LOT of input into UNDERGROUND's layout. We're both part ...

• At November 19, 2009, Jack Norris wrote:

  I tried an issue of that Superfriends comic a while back, and the only thing that bugged me was that ...

• At November 19, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  Sure. To the new format.

  BUUUUUUUUUUUUT, you don't win the parenting award of the year for the "indoctrinating your daughter into ...

• At November 19, 2009, Chad Nevett wrote:

  I give the format a thumbs up...

  And you nailed my problem with Maleev's art here rather well (before I could ...

• At November 19, 2009, Francesco Francavilla wrote:

  Thank you for enjoying the book, Greg, and you are correct: I am coloring this arc in addition to pencilling ...

• At November 19, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  Is Batman back now? I heard he was dead. (I knew, of course, that any such death would ...

• At November 19, 2009, Bright-Raven wrote:

  Hey Greg:

  Suggestion for a comic for your girls: ELECTRIC GIRL by Mike Brennan through AIT/PlanetLar

  http://www.electricgirl.com/

  I can't say I bought any ...

• At November 20, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  You don't need to be able to read to enjoy pictures of superheroes - I loved superheroes as a kid ...

• At November 20, 2009, Random Stranger wrote:

  I believe those lyrics are 'Tobacco Island' by Flogging Molly. You don't need a B.A. in history to enjoy the ...

• At November 20, 2009, Jamie McKelvie wrote:

  :(

• At November 20, 2009, Kieron Gillen wrote:

  :)

• At November 20, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Jack: That's very weird. I don't have that issue, but that's still weird.

  Mary: Batman: Unseen is a "lost" tale ...

• At November 20, 2009, s1rude wrote:

  Amen to the new format. I love the "One panel of awesome"! Really great post all around this ...

• At November 20, 2009, Neal K wrote:

  If you are a fan of comics, not buying Phonogram should be a criminal offense. Or at the very ...

• At November 20, 2009, Rebis wrote:

  Chalk up another fan of this great new format. Good job, Greg.

• At November 21, 2009, Drew wrote:

  Wow, you covered Underground (and got a comment from Mr. Lieber!) this week, S.W.O.R.D. last week, and JLI in between—I ...

• At November 21, 2009, onion3000 wrote:

  I enjoyed "Whenever Kelley Jones makes Batman's ears even longer, T. loses a bit more of his soul!"

Crimson Shell by Jun Mochizuki.  Crimson Shell is a single volume release that tries to cram about 5 volumes of plot into one.  Ambition in storytelling isn't a bad thing but in this fantasy story -- about a girl who has a special power planted in her body in the form of a "red rose seed" -- the reader is bombarded with plot-twist after plot-twist.  The heroine, Claudia, is betrayed by the dark swordsman who once rescued her from an isolated existence and had helped her to draw on her powers to fight those who have been contaminated by the deadly Black Rose.  Her only thought after the betrayal is to save him, a task made more complicated by the fact she constantly finds herself among people who are always revealed to have hidden motivations for getting close to her.

In a way, Crimson Shell draws on fairy tale-esque imagery (red roses, girl "woken" from a kind of slumber by a knight), while not actually trying to reproduce any particular fairy tale.   One thing that surprised me is that in spite of feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of the plot in this manga, I never wanted to stop reading the volume.  The art -- while still in what I think of as a Square-Enix "house style" -- integrates the imagery of roses to offer a distinctive twist on that style.  It is hard to see a beautiful rose and not be reminded of the thorns lurking there, which is exactly the kind of tone Mochizuki manages to maintain throughout the volume.

This is a flawed comic but it should be noted it is also Jun Mochizuki's very first collected work.  As such, it actually bodes well that the book is overwhelming rather than underwhelming, which means I am looking forward to checking out the upcoming December release of Pandora Hearts (also by Mochizuki) to see how she develops as a creator.

Review Copy provided by Yen Press.

Jormungand volume 1, by Keitario Takahashi.  In many ways, Jormungand -- an action tale detailing the dangerous missions of a group of arms dealers -- feels unfinished.  It has sketchy art, somewhat shallow characterization, and plots that lack a certain level of coherence.  The book hangs on the figure of Jonah, a young West Asian boy who has lost his parents to a war (I don't believe any particular war is identified as the culprit) and as a result has become a child soldier.  The book opens when he joins the gung-ho Koko's crew of mercenaries (i.e. "M.O.D." or Merchants of Death).  Jonah, therefore, becomes a peddler of the very thing he claims to hate the most -- guns.  In other words, from the start his characterization is rather cloudy, but then there's a lot that doesn't make much sense in this book.  Admittedly, there is a purposeful sense of perversity instilled in book -- after all, a boy who hates guns decides to sell them and a group that sells weapons claims to be working "to promote world peace."

Koko -- the leader who is a bit reminiscent of Revy from Black Lagoon -- is clearly the figure (or should I use the more offensive, but descriptive, phrase "hot chick"?) in this book who has a thing for both madness and violence (and, of course, seems the most hyped when those things are all tangled up together) but she lacks the charismatic pull Revy has.   And as a whole that is what the book suffers from the most -- more than just a sense of consistent characterization, these characters lack the hook that makes us care about what happens to them and why they got in the weapons business in the first place.  In a violent action story it helps immensely if we care about whether or not the characters are going to live to see tomorrow, particularly in order to interest us in the dangerous games they are playing in each chapter, but this first volume wasn't able to inspire either emotion in me.

Review Copy provided by Viz.

2 Comments

• At November 18, 2009, 4thletter! » Blog Archive » Jormungand 1: Peace Through Superior Firepower wrote:

  [...] reading it. The second was the fact that Kate Dacey (review on MangaCritic) and Danielle Leigh (review on CSBG) ...

• At November 19, 2009, Astro Boy and some giveaways « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] Novel Reporter) Connie on vol. 3 of Arm of Kannon (Slightly Biased Manga) Danielle Leigh on Crimson Shell and ...

The Anchor #2 ("Five Furies Part Two: Bark and Hide, Bone and Root") by Phil Hester (writer), Brian Churilla (artist), Matthew Wilson (colorist), and Johnny Lowe (letterer). $3.99, 22 pgs, FC, Boom! Studios.

We continue the first arc, as we get a bit of backstory about "Clem" on the first two pages, hearkening back to when the Vikings roamed the seas and men lugging anchors crawled out of the ocean. Then we're back to the present, and our hero and his new pal, Hofi, head to Scotland to battle a half-man, half-elk, who, unfortunately, can't keep his mouth shut. Oh, and the ghost of a teenager joins the cast. And some mean United States government people show up, because the United States government just can't keep its grubby little paws out of things, can it? It's mostly plot-building, although Hester does a nice job with it, and Churilla does a great job with the fight between Clem and the Elkman. Churilla makes the Elkman really frightening and majestic - he's a formidable challenge for Clem. And Churilla has fun with the brief scene in Hell, too.

As always, I'll give this series an arc and see where we stand. It's still an intriguing idea, and Hester has a good idea of where he's going with it (or so it seems), even though I wish the United States government wasn't quite so sinister. But both the writing and art are strong in this book, and Hester has a lot going on here.

Batman and Robin #6 ("Revenge of the Red Hood Part Three: Flamingo is Here") by Grant "All right, you bastards, next issue you get Cameron Stewart - are you happy now?" Morrison (writer), Philip Tan (penciller), Jonathan Glapion (inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist), and Patrick Brosseau (letterer). $2.99, 24 pgs, FC, DC.

I've been defending Tan on this book, and I still don't think he's awful, but he screws up the Flamingo, and it's a shame. It doesn't help that Quitely draws him on the cover and Tan draws the interiors, because we can compare a good version with a not-so-good version. Quitely's Flamingo is suave and dangerous, while Tan's is just nutty. He's just another somewhat dull Batman villain, and it's too bad. Batman's villains are often as well-defined by their look as by their characterization, and Tan's Flamingo lacks the flair that makes him a truly great Batman villain (I guess technically he's a Red Hood villain, but you get my drift). He's just a wacko. Robin's line, "I was expecting scary, not gay," doesn't work too well, because Tan's Flamingo isn't as "gay" as Quitely's. Tan does a few things well - his Scarlet lying on the ground, beaten to a pulp, is a tragic panel - but his biggest problem when teamed with Morrison on Batman is that he lacks the slight cartoony edge that Morrison's scripts seem to demand. Quitely has that, and so does Stewart, while his collaborators on his earlier run are more like Tan (with the exception of the ever-changeable Williams III). If this issue weren't quite as "brutal" in the way Tan draws it, Flamingo's abilities might feel more brutal, if that makes sense.

Because, for a fight issue, it's pretty effective. Flamingo's lack of speaking makes him more creepy, and Damian's slow journey to non-bastardness reaches an important signpost in this issue. Morrison also does a nice job at the end, when Jason confronts Dick about his feelings toward Bruce, because it's accurate. The entire epilogue of the issue is well done, from that confrontation to the fate of Scarlet to the scene with Oberon Sexton. I'm sure smarter people than I am can delve into the "W" on the back of El Penitente (I'm going to assume that's El Penitente), but I am unsure why the final page is supposed to be dramatic. Can anyone help?

Anyway, everyone who couldn't stand Tan's art can relax now. It's certainly not great, but for the most part, it did its job. And Morrison continues to have his moments of brilliance in a solid story. I'm glad he's doing something with Damian, because I'm still annoyed that Bruce is "dead." It's frustrating reading his take on Dick and Damian, because we know Bruce is coming back, so Morrison can't do too much with establishing them as the true Batman and Robin. This doesn't bug me as much as it does Jog, but it's definitely hindering the God of All Comics, it seems. When Morrison focuses on the good guys versus the bad guys, he does a good job, but the world-building isn't as strong.

The Black Coat: ... Or Give Me Death #1 and 2 by Ben Lichius (writer/colorist), Adam Cogan (story), Francesco Francavilla (artist, part one), Dean Kotz (artist, part two), and Chris Studabaker (letterer). $4.50, 44 pgs, FC (mostly), Ape Entertainment.

Man, I've been waiting for The Black Coat to return, and here it is! Life is good! Now, if only the next two issues could come out in a timely fashion, I'll be a happy camper!

For those of you who don't know, The Black Coat tells the tale of a mysterious vigilante in 1775 New York who fights the "tyranny" of the British (who weren't all that tyrannical, after all) as the colonies gear up for war. The Black Coat fights weird supernatural beings in league with the British and an evil organization called the League, and at the end of the first series, he battled a scientist who had created an immortality serum. They both ended up in the harbor, seemingly dead, but they both had ingested the serum, so of course they're still alive! At the beginning of this comic, the Black Coat's lady friend, Ursula, finds his body in the harbor (she's wearing a diving suit and traveling in a submarine, don't you know) and manages to get him home, where he eventually revives. Of course, he needs to keep taking the serum or he'll go nutty, and there's very little serum left. So he has a problem - he needs to create more serum, or all will be lost!!!!!

Lichius and Cogan not only give us a story about the Black Coat's quest for the scientist's brother, who may be able to synthesize more serum, but also a larger story about the beginnings of the war and what the colonists are doing to rebel. Lichius places it in a larger framework of supernatural evil, which doesn't work perfectly (it always bugs me when writers attribute war to grand machinations of the few when men are perfectly willing to kill each other without any nudging in that direction), but I don't mind in the context of the story. It's a terrifically exciting comic, with a giant gargoyle menacing our hero, back alley dealings, a creepy bandaged dude, and the Black Coat going slowly insane, which adds nice tension to the proceedings.

Francavilla started on art, but the delays in the book meant he moved on, which is a shame (although I'm certainly glad to see him on Zorro; it just would have been nice if he could have finished this). However, Kotz is quite good (I don't like him as much as Francavilla, but he's still good), and he's a good fit to finish the series, because he has a similar style to Francavilla. He draws a mean-looking gargoyle, too.

I know this is going to sell about 200 copies, which really stinks. It's an exciting, interesting, nicely-drawn comic that remains grounded in historical reality (sort of) even though Lichius and Cogan take it into supernatural territory. They don't go overboard, however, which is nice. The build-up to the war is as interesting as the supernatural stuff. If you've missed The Black Coat until now, it's time to rectify that oversight!

Comic Book Comics #4 ("Leagelese!") by Fred van Lente (writer) and Ryan Dunlavey (artist). $3.99, 40 pgs, BW, Evil Twin Comics.

Speaking of long-delayed comics, it's the fourth issue of Comic Book Comics!!!! Yay!!!!

I have no problem with this taking so long, because of a few reasons. First, it's 40 pages for 4 dollars. Second, Dunlavey packs the issue with detailed panels full of wacky sight gags, so if takes him a while to draw it, that's cool. Third, van Lente has to, presumably, do a ton of meticulous detail for these (I imagine he doesn't know all this stuff off the top of his head), which takes a while but makes each issue a blast-and-a-half to read. Fourth, given the fickle comics-buying public, I'm sure van Lente and Dunlavey make no frickin' money at all on this, so they have to earn a living somewhere and fit this in when they can (like, one of those nights when you've eaten too many Doritos to sleep and your subscription to Skinemax has been cancelled and you figure it's time to work on an issue!). Van Lente and Dunlavey can take as long as they want with this, in my opinion.

This might be the best issue of the series yet, probably because the Fifties through Seventies are a bit more documented than the early days of comics, and several people involved are still alive, so it feels like van Lente gets deeper into the dirt behind the creators, which makes it more interesting. It's funnier, too, presumably for the same reason. Dunlavey is also able to cut loose a bit, which again might have to do with my familiarity with the material, so I get more of the jokes. Maybe. But the subject matter, from crime comics of the 1950s to the Marvel explosion of the 1960s to underground comix of the late '60s and 1970s, lends itself to satirizing and weirdness a bit more than the earlier stuff. This certainly feels the most joyous of the series so far. Plus, it features Metaa, The Thing That Walked Like a Man That Walked Like a Thing That Walked Like a Man! Of course it did!

If you haven't been buying Comic Book Comics, there's no reason to find the first three issues, because each issue is pretty much self-contained. Seek this one out, because it's a wildly fun comic. And I do hope van Lente and Dunlavey can finish this (buy the new Action Philosophers! trade when it shows up soon, so you can give them some funds!), but they can take as long as they need to. I'll be here when issue #5 comes out!

Fables #90 ("Witches Chapter Four: Ozma") by Bill Willingham (writer), Mark Buckingham (penciller), Steve Leialoha (inker), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Lee Loughridge (colorist), and Todd Klein (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

It's always so difficult to review an issue of Fables, especially when it's in the middle of a story arc. Willingham sets them up extremely well, often doesn't end them too strongly, but in between, he just lets the plot carry the characters along, and it's a pleasure to read. We get Bufkin figuring out how to defeat Baba Yaga, and it's quite nifty. We get the witches deciding that Ozma should take the leadership of the group because Totenkinder has disappeared, and for some reason, I don't trust Ozma. We get Geppetto plotting with an oak tree (come on, it's Fables - of course he can do that!). We get Totenkinder still helping the Fables even though she's ... elsewhere. We get the return of Dunster Happ! Yay! And it's all wonderfully drawn by Buckingham.

See? Willingham just turns the characters loose, and they do their thing. I love reading each issue. They make me happy.

Plus, there's a preview of Gabriel Bá's and Fábio Moon's Daytripper. Goddamn, it looks awesome.

Rapture #5 (of 6) by Taki Soma (writer/layouter), Michael Avon Oeming (writer/artist), Val Staples (colorist), and Thomas Mauer (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, Dark Horse.

I'm fearing the final issue of Rapture, because the way Soma and Oeming set it up, it feels like it's going to be a superhero fight, and I'm really hoping it's not. The early part of this issue is actually quite good, because Evelyn finds Gil under the absolute worst circumstances, and their reunion is definitely not what she was hoping it would be. Of course, she did tell Gil that she needed "space," so she has only herself to blame, but the pages on which they argue, with a young boy who has turned evil insensate at their feet, are gripping to read. The art shows Evelyn's isolation nicely, too, from one panel that has her in a long shot to another where her eyes are black holes of despair. Even Gil's decision about what to do with the boy is handled well. Then the weird dude who gave Evelyn the spear shows up, and it goes sideways a bit. The art still looks great, but the set-up to the final issue indicates that Evelyn and Gil are going to fight it out, and that would be disappointing.

I will, of course, read it, and hope that Soma and Oeming have something up their sleeve. That would be nice.

Starstruck #3 (of 13) ("Mirage à Troi" and "Buy, Buy, Birdy!") by Elaine Lee (writer), Michael Wm. Kaluta (artist), Charles Vess (inker, "Buy, Buy Birdy!"), Lee Moyer (painter), Todd Klein (letterer, "Mirage à Troi"), and John Workman (letterer, "Buy, Buy, Birdy!"). $3.99, 27 pgs, FC, IDW.

There's a nice post about the history of Starstruck here, in case you're interested. The author wonders why this latest incarnation isn't getting the love he feels it deserves. Well, I'm trying, man! I'm trying!

I think the problem with Starstruck is that it's so extremely dense that it's very hard to judge it based on the individual issues. I can rave about Kaluta's art all I want (and I will continue to do so, because it's amazing), but as interesting as Lee's story is, it's obvious that each issue is a tiny part of a much, MUCH bigger whole, and she's not really interesting in telling a shorter story in each issue that leads into a bigger story, she's just interested in telling the large story and the issue ends when IDW doesn't want to put any more pages in it. (I should point out that because of the ways this was originally released, I doubt if Lee had any intention of making it fit into a 22-page format, so I don't blame her in the least.) I'm not even sure if this is how the book was originally released - a few things I've read about it (including the link above) seem to indicate that some of the Epic Illustrated stuff is not here. So there's that.

I'm not going to go as far as the writer of that post, who compares this to Watchmen - at least not yet. It is refreshing reading something like this, however, because Lee is throwing all sorts of interesting stuff in here, from sexual politics to space opera to a fairly standard rebels-vs-establishment kind of fight, yet with plenty of twists, to a critique of objectification. Plus, both the main story and the Galactic Girl Guides are really funny. Lee has created this entire insane universe from scratch, and it shows on the page, because she confidently writes about this made-up world as if she's lived there her entire life.

I still like reading it, but I have a feeling I'll appreciate it a lot more when it's all done. Until then, I'll just revel in the artwork. It's so damned gorgeous!

And in the back of the book, there's an advertisement for J. Scott Campbell's "Fairytale Fantasies" calendar. You know, I don't know if I can watch my daughters' Disney DVDs ever again without thinking of stuff like this:

I know that Zenescope has been doing this for years, but Campbell is a bit higher-profile than they are, so this will get more pub, I expect. Sigh. The IDW link has Ariel, by the way. Sigh.

S.W.O.R.D. #1 ("No Time to Breathe" and "Not Yet") by Kieron Gillen (writer), Steven Sanders (penciler, "No Time to Breathe"), Jamie McKelvie (artist, "Not Yet"), Craig Yeung (inker, "No Time to Breathe"), Matt Wilson (colorist, "Not Yet"), and Dave Lanphear (letterer). $3.99, 30 pgs, FC, Marvel.

Let's consider S.W.O.R.D. #1. I have been on the Kieron Gillen bandwagon since Phonogram #1 came out, over three years ago. I told you to buy it. I ordered you to buy it. I begged you to buy it. I bribed you to buy it. I blackmailed you to buy it. I offered sex, booze, and video games if you bought it. And none of it worked. You didn't believe me when I told you that Gillen (and McKelvie, of course, but he's a different subject) was awesome. Then he started writing for Marvel, and far hipper people than I like Chris Sims told you to read his Beta Ray Bill stuff (to be fair to Sims, he also recognizes the awesomeness that is Phonogram). I've accepted that you're not going to listen to me, because I'm, you know, square. But if you don't believe Sims, then I just don't know what to tell you. There's just no hope.

Which is a roundabout way of saying that S.W.O.R.D. is pretty frickin' keen. I've been skipping Gillen's Marvel stuff, not because I don't think it would be good, but because I really don't have a lot of interest in Thor and Thor-related stories unless Walt Simonson is writing and drawing them. But I was jazzed about S.W.O.R.D., not because I have a fondness for Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men, but because it sounds like the kind of series that Gillen can just go nuts on, probably because (as I mentioned when it showed up in Previews), no one will read it and the PTB will ignore what he does until the sales figures come back. You know, kind of like The Order. I certainly hope that it smashes sales records and Gillen gets to write it for the next decade (even though, as I pointed out at his blog, that would mean he'd be too big a star to talk to me next year at San Diego), but it's always a tough go with new series that don't star one of Marvel's big guns, and when your biggest gun in this issue is Henry McCoy ... well, I think that speaks for itself. But hey! it's a Marvel book, and maybe someone who avoids indies like the plague will pick it up and think, "I wonder what else that Gillen bloke has written ... Phonogram, you say? The next issue of which comes out next week? I'll give that a whirl!" That happens all the time, right?

Of course, I should probably write a bit about the actual issue, shouldn't I? Well, it's mostly set-up, but a very entertaining set-up, as we get the internal tension between Henry Gyrich and Abigail Brand, co-commanders of S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department). Gyrich wants Abigail out, obviously, and Gillen sets up a nifty sub-plot in which Gyrich wants to kick all aliens - all of them - off the Earth so that something like "Secret Invasion" doesn't happen again. Of course, that was secret, so how would it stop that? But we'll run with it. We get a quick look at the inner workings of S.W.O.R.D. - some aliens want tribute or they'll steal North Carolina - before Abigail learns that her half-brother is running from a bounty hunter and has requested sanctuary. When she gives it to him, the bounty hunter simply takes him and skedaddles, leaving Abigail, Henry McCoy, and Lockheed - who's drinking himself into a stupor because Kitty Pryde is "lost" (not dead, as we learn in the second story) - to go fetch him. Oh, yes, the bounty hunter is Death's Head. Oh, those wacky British writers and their love of Marvel UK characters! Death's Head is, of course, goddamned awesome. And he has a big motherfucking gun.

In the second story, Abigail explains to Lockheed how they're trying to save Kitty. Lockheed doesn't think she's doing a good enough job, so he visits the robot in the basement. This is the same robot who helped Abigail in the first story, and Gillen is trying (and, to be fair, succeeding) in making him kind of creepy. I can't wait to see what he does when he (inevitably) gets out.

It's been some years since I read Five Fists of Science, which is the only place I've seen Sanders' art, but it's quite good - his Abigail looks slightly less repressed than McKelvie's, with hair out of place and stylin' sunglasses on. His Death's Head is quite menacing, and he draws some other keen aliens, too. The only problem I have with the art is Henry McCoy. Frankly, he looks like a goat. It's not a good look. The second story is not necessarily built to show off McKelvie's strengths - he does a fine job with the Kitty Bullet and what it's doing out there in the universe, but that doesn't give him much opportunity to show off - but the final page, where Lockheed speaks to the robot, is a nice page, on which the robot looks even creepier thanks to the way McKelvie draws him (that is, cheery as hell). I'm always happy to see McKelvie's art, but I'll be much happier to see it when the next issue of Phonogram comes out, which ought to be (if that lying Brit Gillen can be believed) next week.

So S.W.O.R.D. is pretty cool. Gillen doesn't go for the one-and-done big crazy issue, deciding instead on a longer arc, but with established characters, that's not necessarily a bad way to go. And it features Death's Head, for crying out loud! Can Motormouth be far behind?????

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #3 ("The Bushman Cometh") by Gregg Hurwitz (writer), Jerome Opeña (penciler), Paul Mounts (colorist), and Joe Caramagna (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, Marvel.

Man, Opeña is really good. I mean, I've known that for a while, but it's worth noting again. I just love his casual tiny Khonshu thing (whatever that thing is haunting MK these days) checking out the museum after our hero takes out the punks. On the same page, I love the panel showing enough of Marlene's face to let us know that Moonie's getting lucky tonight! This is just a beautiful issue, and the fact that Opeña switches easily from the big gaudy superheroics in issue #1 to the extremely dark invasion of Ravencroft Asylum in this issue is very cool.

As you might have heard, this is the beginning of "Knightfall," in which Bane breaks all of the inmates out of Arkham to soften up Batman before the coup de grace. Oh, wait a minute, no, this is where Bushman breaks all of the inmates out of Ravencroft to soften up Moon Knight before the coup de grace. You can see where I'd get things confused a bit! Seriously, Marvel and Gregg Hurwitz - you guys thought this would be a good idea? I realize "Knightfall" was almost two decades ago, but comics fans these days have really, really long memories, and when commentators for years have called your character a Batman rip-off (I've never been one of those people), it's probably not a good idea to mimic one of Batman's most famous stories from the past 30-40 years or so. I mean, it's just ... well, it's silly, even by the standards of comics, where stories get recycled all the time. It gets back to the tone of this series so far, where I'm not terribly sure if Hurwitz is satirizing superheroes in general. I mean, this reads perfectly straight, but I can't decide if Hurwitz is pointing out the idiocy of "Knightfall" and the revolving door policy of prisons and asylums in the Marvel and DCU or if he's not that subtle. I mean, this hews so closely to "Knightfall" that I can't believe Hurwitz isn't making some kind of comment on it. Bushman could easily get an army from any number of sources, but he deliberately breaks inmates out of an insane asylum. His freakin' face is tattooed like a luchador (despite the fact that he's an African mercenary), much like Bane's was, for crying out loud (yes, I know Bushman predates Bane, but work with me, people!). The Scarecrow is even in this issue! It's just ... odd. Hurwitz writes is fairly effectively, but it's still weird.

But damn, it's nice to look at. And it's an exciting issue, for all the ripping off of old Batman stories. So I'll stick with it and see what Hurwitz is doing with it, but that's just very strange, the way they've set up this story.

So there it is: the week in comics. Any thoughts?

And look! totally random lyrics!

"I'm gnawing on the knowledge
That I have been burned
And I'm learning things that I
Should've already learned
Everyone I ever knew
Was so kind and coy
I was with a girl
But it felt like I was with a boy"

Sing it loud! Sing it proud!

40 Comments

• At November 12, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  Re: "J. Scott Campbell's "Fairytale Fantasies" calendar"

  Yeah, someone's going to Hell. And, since I clicked on the link, I suppose ...

• At November 12, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:

  Yay! Comic Book Comics is my favorite comic.

  And yes, everything Kieron Gellen has done is pretty much gold. ...

• At November 12, 2009, Nitz the Bloody wrote:

  I don't know what the last page was supposed to signify either, but the password to open that case-- " ...

• At November 12, 2009, Matt K wrote:

  Good to hear about S.W.O.R.D. (and the last time I'll be using the acronym). I just got the Beta ...

• At November 12, 2009, bongoes wrote:

  I think the last page was Bruce's body. Zur Enh Arrh was just the password.

• At November 12, 2009, JP wrote:

  What, no The Unwritten #7? It was such an awesome issue!

• At November 12, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Yeah, I read somewhere that it's Bruce's body. I thought it might be, but then what the heck is ...

• At November 12, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  JP: I saw that The Unwritten was coming out, but I didn't see it at my comics shoppe. I ...

• At November 12, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  Anyway, everyone who couldn't stand Tan's art can relax now. It's certainly not great, but for the most part, it ...

• At November 12, 2009, Capper wrote:

  Nice "Heathers" reference. "How would he have felt about a limp wrist with a pulse?"

• At November 12, 2009, Reno wrote:

  Wasn't the Flamingo a Joker pastiche in the Big Bang universe? In fact, he's the arch-enemy of the Knight Watchman, ...

• At November 12, 2009, StrongWall wrote:

  Batman & Robin = dead in the water. All momentum for this book was killed the minute Phillip Tan's name ...

• At November 12, 2009, s1rude wrote:

  The Violent Femmes are A W E S O M E. My s.o. was recently commenting on how freakin' ...

• At November 12, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  not sure how that jives with what we saw in Final Crisis

  Well, as Dick is acting on words from Jason ...

• At November 12, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  Death's Head!? Why didn't anyone tell meeeeeee

• At November 12, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  I've only been reading Marvel lately. That's not on any weird principle or anything, it's just that my funds ...

• At November 12, 2009, Nitz the Bloody wrote:

  " Yeah, I read somewhere that it's Bruce's body. I thought it might be, but then what the heck is ...

• At November 12, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  Best case scenario; Zombie Batman. :)

  Which would make sense as #7 has to be held off until the next ...

• At November 13, 2009, Chris Jones wrote:

  Wait, is that story ACTUALLY called "The Bushman Cometh?"

  ACTUALLY?

• At November 13, 2009, Michael wrote:

  God dammit, J. Scott Campbell.

• At November 13, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  >>even though I wish the United States government wasn't quite so sinister.

  Same here, though at least it's not nearly as ...

• At November 13, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  s1rude: According to Gillen, some issue of Phonogram got out even though Diamond requested that they be pulped because ...

• At November 13, 2009, Rebis wrote:

  I agree, you're going easy on Tan. He's not a great artist to begin with, but his output has been ...

• At November 13, 2009, Neal K wrote:

  Violent Femmes!!! Yes!! Excellent to see one of my faves in that lyrics box every once in a while. ...

• At November 13, 2009, Tekende wrote:

  I really, really wish Tan hadn't been drawing B&R #6, because story-wise it's probably my favorite issue so far.

  I've ...

• At November 14, 2009, Anonymous wrote:

  Damn you J. Scott Campbell. Only Alan Moore is allowed to sexualize children books characters!

  Though I have to admit he's ...

• At November 14, 2009, Bright-Raven wrote:

  Burgas:

  I don't know which is sillier. The notion that you think Chris Sims is "hip", or that you're using him ...

• At November 14, 2009, Bright-Raven wrote:

  I should say it undermines the credibility of his blog to my mind's eye, not in general context.

• At November 14, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Bright-Raven: I was joking, for the most part. :) I just figure if I can't get people to ...

• At November 14, 2009, Pedro Bouça wrote:

  "If you haven't been buying Comic Book Comics, there's no reason to find the first three issues, because each issue ...

• At November 14, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Well, yeah, that goes without saying. But the first three might be hard to find!

• At November 14, 2009, Ed Buskirk wrote:

  I don't think you're succeeding in spreading the Starstruck gospel, Greg, as not one comment so much as mentions it. ...

• At November 14, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  I bought SWORD today, because you told me to. I hope you can deal with that sort of responsibility.

  Is ...

• At November 15, 2009, Kieron Gillen wrote:

  Mary: It's an ongoing, but we're using a pretty firm arc based format. In other words, you can totally treat ...

• At November 15, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  Wow. I've never had an actual author respond to my comments directly. (Except for two occasions with Peter David ...

• At November 15, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Mary: If you like Gillen, you should DEFINITELY check out Phonogram. It's his Image series, and it's great (don't ...

• At November 16, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  >>It features Jamie McKelvie on art (he drew the back-up story in SWORD)

  Damn. I wish you hadn't mentioned that, because ...

• At November 17, 2009, Kieron Gillen’s Workblog » S.W.O.R.D. 1 Out For Nearly A Week wrote:

  [...] O’Brien, House To Astonish: “The dialogue is great.” Greg Comics Should Be Good: “I certainly hope that it smashes ...

• At November 21, 2009, Drew wrote:

  Greg: Hey, thanks for your great review of S.W.O.R.D. #1—I'm glad I'm not the only one who loved the issue ...

• At November 21, 2009, Oeming wrote:

  Thanks for the review Greg- hope you also check out Powers next week!

  M!

Moyasimon follows the hilarious trials and often disgusting adventures of agriculture college freshmen Tadayasu.  The story opens on his first day of school, where his special talent -- the ability to see bacteria and other micro-organisms -- is exposed to an eccentric bacterial researcher when he accidentally uncovers the "corpse" of a dead seal by following the trail of "germs" he sees.  In fact, the Professor had buried the seal in order to induce fermentation of around 70-80 seagulls stuffed inside the dead rotting seal which is a "traditional fermented food of the Canadian Inuit."  Obviously, we have a more-than-slightly demented professor who is clearly down with the wacky -- his first, but not last, truly disturbing act in this volume is to rip open one of the birds and drink out its "insides."  Tadayasu's talent makes him a human scientific instrument without parallel according to the Professor, and therefore, means the poor boy is of special interest to this whack-job.

Tadayasu's strange "talent" really is extraordinary -- he can distinguish between different germs by sight and he can actually prove his ability by plucking a germ out of the air and placing it on a petree dish so that others can confirm its identification under a microscope.  However, he seems to lack even the most basic characteristics necessary to advance in the sciences -- an inquiring disposition.  Seeing little germs -- who are often shown as cute little circles comprised of only simplistic expressions and antennae of some form -- is simply a part of his everyday life.  While this vision can be useful -- such as his ability to recognize E. coli, saving the entire class from a case of food poisoning -- it is the Prof. and his snarky assistant Hasesgawa who have the grand (one might even say overblown) vision to imagine the possibilities of bacteria research.  (Let's just say, "Life on Mars" takes on an entirely new meaning in this manga).

Tadayasu struggles somewhat with the fact he can see the disgusting aspects of life that others can't -- such as two sophomore slacker's mold-infested dorm room, where the germs become an overwhelming cloud that blots out Tadayasu's vision.  Or athlete's foot on an otherwise attractive woman.  Or one of a million other ways bacteria finds its way into our daily lives.  It isn't just enough that Tadayasu can see these bacteria -- the creator also makes this story a kind of version of scientific!Oishinbo.  Instead of demonstrating how fish or vegetables should be prepared for maximum taste-awesomenss, these characters like to demonstrate to Tadayasu all the disgustingly significant ways bacteria informs so much of our lives, usually for the better (although the knowledge often isn't conducive to enjoying those aspects of our lives.  As Tadayasu seems to say, is his life really better for knowing that alcohol is really just "yeast poop"?).

The manga is full of quirky characters but the real stars of the show are the germs.  They are delightfully personable and love to communicate their cheerful, almost innocent, intentions with Tadayasu (basically they want reproduce.  Sometimes in your stomach!).  This manga manages to make practical science and modern (and even traditional) uses of bacteria novel and interesting.  More often than not, we are being educated right alongside Tadayasu but we get the pleasure and fun of seeing others wade through (and even ingest) bacteria in all its glorious forms.

Review copy provided by Del Rey.

3 Comments

• At November 11, 2009, Joe wrote:

  My first contact with Moyasimon was the internet, but I found a copy at Hastings and it was equally entertaining. ...

• At November 11, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  *nods* It takes a lot longer to read this series than your average volume of manga, but it is definitely ...

• At November 11, 2009, Tezuka goes to the Smithsonian « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] Shoujo Manga Page) Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Moyasimon (Prospero’s Manga) Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Moyasimon: ...

In volume 2, we get to see main character, Shouzo, finally figure out one of the simplest truths of all -- the only thing standing in the way of him having a fulfilling love life is himself.  Returning from the big city to his small hometown to manage his father's construction company, Shouzo is shocked when he realizes how his every move is fodder for town gossip (even whether or not he went into the dollar store when he was running errands is up for phone tag debate).  No wonder the poor guy is rather paranoid as he's fallen in love with a town's resident spaz, Nanami, who hasn't the good sense to figure out that he also wants to embark upon a romantic relationship with Shouzo.  He only knows that he's incredibly jealous when other people get close to Shouzo and that being close to him is the most important thing in his life.  That leaves it up to Shouzo to steer the relationship by taking his cues from the rather inarticulate Nanami, who in many ways may never become the kind of calm, reasoned adult who can sort through his own emotions without a little outside direction.

So much the better, because once Shouzo realizes that Nanami is in love with him, it is almost like a switch is flipped inside his heart.  He decides to go after the love he wants, no matter what the consequences.  Luckily, his resolve is needed because Nanami, while a very kind soul, hasn't got the first clue about how to deceive or protect his new and sudden relationship with his adored childhood friend.  Their attempts to move forward while maintaining secrecy becomes a comedy of errors, as their relationships only stays a secret for about three minutes thanks to Nanami's open and trusting nature.   The majority of this volume focuses upon the two of them coming to terms with their new status as lovers as well as the sudden exposure of their relationship to both their families and the town as a whole (which, thankfully, isn't as traumatic a revelation as Shouzo expected).

I could have read story after story about Shouzo and Nanami's developing relationship but fortunately the book offers not only a satisfying resolution to their growing affection as well as hope for their chances of survival as a couple in the boondocks.  In addition, this volumes offers a lovely side story, in which a new character is introduced that allows the reader to see these why these two characters are so beloved by their small town.

As a whole, Brilliant Blue is a warm, funny portrait of two very different individuals who somehow fit together just perfectly.  I ended up rooting for this couple against all the odds they encountered -- even if some of those odds were self-imposed obstacles that they had created.

Review copy provided by DMP.

1 Comments

• At November 9, 2009, Quick Monday roundup « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] Henderson on vol. 1 of 07-Ghost (Manga Xanadu) Danielle Leigh on vol. 2 of Brilliant Blue (Comics Should Be ...

Assault on New Olympus (Prologue) by Greg Pak (writer), Fred van Lente (writer), Rodney Buchemi (artist), Guillem Mari (colorist), and Simon Bowland (letterer). "Godmarked Part One: The Oldest One" by Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (artist), Elizabeth Breitweiser (colorist), and Tom Orzechowski (letterer). $3.99, 38 pgs, FC, Marvel.

I got the idea for this week's theme mainly from being obsessed with the bikini Aphrodite is wearing. I guess it's her goddessy powers that are actually keeping those things covered!

This is a fine "prologue" to the story that is coming up in the regular Incredible Hercules book, as it gets all the players into place, advances the story a little, but doesn't have anything too, too crucial that can't be covered quickly if you happen to skip this but read the regular title (but really, why would you do that?). If you haven't been reading the regular title (and really, what's up with that?) and just grabbed this because of that wallcrawler on the cover, Pak and van Lente do a fine job getting you up to speed. There's a nice fight between Hercules and Spider-Man (with more good sound effects), a funny reference to that Amazing Spider-Man issue where our hero was trapped under all that wreckage and the water was pouring in (you know the one!), another funny reference to when Spidey fought the Juggernaut, and some nice character moments, from Herc's reconciliation with Hebe to his reunion with Amadeus. Plus, we get an Agents of Atlas back-up (which is called "Godmarked," which is also what the second story in the X-Men/Agents of Atlas book is called), in which the Atlas gang fights a giant octopus god. You goddamn read that right - a motherfucking giant octopus god!!!!!

Damn, I love comics. I didn't even mention how frickin' terrifying Amatsu-Mikaboshi is.

Boobs? Of course!

There's also Jocasta, who's metallic but, well, naked (as young Zeus points out), a naked but demurely covered Gaea, Athena wearing battle armor that inexplicably doesn't cover her shoulders or upper torso, and Spider-Woman wearing her thing.

Atomika #11 (of 12) ("Relentless") by Andrew Dabb (writer), Sal Abbinanti (artist), Buzz (inker), Simone Peruzzi (colorist), and Dave Sharpe (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, Mercury Comics.

Speaking of reasons to love comics, Atomika is still out there, speeding toward its conclusion, and I'm still loving it. There have been certain issues where Dabb takes a bit of a back seat, and this is one of them, but it's still stunning. Basically, Arohnir tells all his minions that Atomika is coming to kill them all and they need to fight, and then we get, I kid you not, eight (8) double-page spreads showing the forces arrayed against our "hero." Abbinanti draws the hell out of the armies, from the huge spiked one-wheeled dreadnaughts to the flying Harpies of the KGB, from the ornate bombers to the horrific demi-gods. Abbinanti even gives us a single double-page spread showing the war between Atomika and all his enemies, as if it's so horrible it can only be represented symbolically. Of course, it leads to his final confrontation with Arohnir (and a special guest!), but that's for next issue.

I've written this whenever an issue has come out, but gazing on Abbinanti's stunning art is really fun. With Dabb simply along for the ride on this issue (Dabb is a fairly good writer, but this issue simply isn't focused on the writing too much), Abbinanti can go more nuts than he usually does, and the sense of oppression and terrible magnificence that he's brought to the comic all along threatens almost to overwhelm the pages themselves. Atomika continues to be unlike almost every other comic, not because of the story (it's a good story, but it's basically a superhero battle), but because of the way Dabb has made it feel like a Soviet comic (if that makes sense) and the way Abbinanti has truly created a weird and unique world. I have a feeling a lot of people have missed this, but I greatly encourage you to get the trade of the first six issues and, of course, get the trade of the second six when it shows up. It's a dynamite comic.

Boobs? Of course!

For some reason, the female demi-god, who has that big fur on because she lives in Russia and understands how cold it is, feels the need to wear a low-cut outfit and expose her midriff. How's that going to help her fight Atomika?

Batman: Unseen #3 (of 5) ("Ghost-Killer") by Doug Moench (writer), Kelley Jones (artist), Michelle Madsen (colorist), and Pat Brosseau (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC.

All right, so I skipped reviewing issue #2, because it came out two weeks ago, when I was really, really sick, so I missed that it came out and didn't get it until a few days ago. But I'm back with issue #3, and it's not like you don't know what you're getting from a Moench/Jones Batman comic, right? I mean, on the first page we see Batman working on some wacky, pseudo-scientific-but-also-slightly-Gothic machine in the cave, trying to figure out what's going on with the invisibility serum. Throughout the book, we see more and more weird contraptions, because that's the way Kelley Jones likes it, damn it!

Of course, Batman goes out and does stuff, beating up an invisible man (because he's the Goddamned Batman, man, so he doesn't need to actually see the bad guys like mere mortals!), making an appearance as Bruce Wayne (I always liked how Jones's Bruce Wayne was almost as scary as his Batman), and doing his Batman thing. Meanwhile, the invisible man kills again, Moench's favorite character Roman Sionis recounts his origin yet again, and it's another Moench/Jones instant classic. Don't listen to T.! Moench and Jones on Batman is always a blast of pure awesomeness! Come on - for one of the chapter breaks, Jones turns Batman's head into a candle! Who else would come up with something so wacky????

Boobs? Of course!

The invisible man tries to kill that dude, and of course his wife is sleeping in lingerie instead of sensible pajamas!

Black Widow: Deadly Origin #1 by Paul Cornell (writer), Tom Raney (penciler), John Paul Leon (artist/colorist), Scott Hanna (inker), Matt Milla (colorist), and Cory Petit (letterer). $3.99, 21 pgs, FC, Marvel.

I don't get this book at all. It's 4 dollars for 21 pages of story, which is a bad return. I know I said I wasn't going to fall for this from Marvel again, but it's Paul Cornell, and I really want to support his work, so there's that. But that's not what I don't get. The end of the book gives us a "Next," but which issue is "next"? Marvel's December solicits include Black Widow and the Marvel Girls #1 (God, what an awful title), which is a mini-series by a completely different creative team than this one (Paul Tobin and Salvador Espin, in case you're interested). Marvel then has issue #3 of this series up on their site for January, but I can't find where issue #2 is. Hmmm ... Then, issue #3 is still $3.99, presumably for the same amount of pages (21 or 22), so I think I will skip the rest of the series, even though I want to support Cornell. I'm sorry, Marvel, I'll pay 4 dollars for an indy book, but when you can slap a 4-dollar price tag on a 38-page book (see above) and on a 30-page comic (see below) but aren't able to sell a book featuring, let's face it, a middle-tier character in your stable for 3 dollars, why should I pay it? It will just come out in trade in a few months anyway.

It's kind of shame, because this is a decent comic. It's not quite as good as Rucka's work with the character at the beginning of the decade, but it's pretty good. Cornell does a good job jiving it with long-established "continuity" with regard to Logan and Natasha in World War II (Natasha seems a bit old during this section, based on what we discovered back in that great Uncanny X-Men issue, but I'll forgive it), and Leon, who is apparently the go-to artist when you need someone to draw something in Russia, does his usual fantastic job depicting the action. Raney's art is always good, even though I assume Milla "Marvelized" it by smoothing out the rough edges. There's plenty of action, a mystery to be solved, and Bucky Barnes! I didn't love this part too much, because Cornell falls back on simply listing who he is and what he means to Natasha instead of working it better into the story, but that's okay. It always seemed less intrusive when narrative boxes were more common. When they just show up occasionally and read "James Barnes, now a free man. And upgraded. Enough of a boyfriend to use her nickname," it's kind of jarring. Oh well.

I'd really like to get this mini-series, but I'm not gonna. I'd rather spend my four dollars on something like GrimJack. Come on, Marvel, you're flush with Mouse Cash - keep the prices on your regular-sized books at $2.99!!!!!

Boobs? Shockingly (in a book starring a character who often wears black latex), not really. On the credits page we get Natasha in her black latex, but it's surprisingly chaste. I guess that's a win for Cornell, Raney, and Leon!

Elephantmen #22 ("Dangerous Liaisons Part Seven of Eight: 7 Days of Smog Part One: Truth") by Richard Starkings (writer), Andre Szymanowicz (artist), and Gregory Wright (colorist). $3.50, 23 pgs, FC, Image.

As always, I have to thank Richard Starkings for sending this to me, and I hope it's not too late for you to still find it on the shelves if you're interested (it came out two weeks ago). Should you buy it? Of course you should! It's, what's the word ... oh yeah, excellent. I know I sound like a broken record and I really do tell Starkings that I would buy his comic if he didn't always send it to me for free, because it's so damned good! After last issue, when Ebony went a bit nutty thanks to the thing in his head (which allows humans to control the elephantmen), Hip and Miki show up at his place to find out what's going on, and of course he doesn't remember anything. His red eyes freak Hip out a bit, but he doesn't get a chance to explore that. Meanwhile, Vanity meets a man named Simm, who showed up a few issues ago and is a bit mysterious, and he tells her that Obadiah Horn is selling Elephantmen paraphenalia, which piques her curiosity. Of course, she shouldn't trust him, but he's so darned cute! What's a poor girl to do? (Remember the Golden Rule of Comics, kids: Never trust anyone who's attractive!)

Szymanowicz is another good choice for the art chores - his women are slightly different than we usually see, but Miki and Vanity are still, you know, smokin'. Szymanowicz has a nice indy style that seems to fit with the "Blade Runner" kind of world that Starkings has created - he throws in all sorts of nice touches in the street scenes that make Los Angeles two hundred years in the future feel like a foreign place even as Hip visits a normal neighborhood in Santa Monica. It's a really nice-looking comic, and the final page is gorgeous. It's nice to see Szymanowicz getting some higher profile work. Next for him: Selling out to Marvel!!!!

Elephantmen just keeps trucking along, with good issue after good issue. If Starkings didn't get new artists every few issues, I'd never have anything new to talk about with regard to it! I'd just write, "Ho hum, another brilliant issue. What else is new?" Thanks, Richard, for helping your poor reviewer out!

Boobs? Well, I guess, as Vanity and Miki are in the book, but they're wearing fairly normal clothing, so there's nothing too obnoxious about it.

The God Machine (preview book) by Chandra Free (writer/artist). $3.95, 36 pgs, FC, Archaia.

This is the first of three (3) Archaia books on the agenda this week, only one of which I bought on my own (this isn't it). It's always nice to get stuff in the mail, and I'd like to thank the fine folk at Archaia for sending these on to me. I'm also glad they're getting their books out a bit more regularly, and are doing new stuff (like this) as well as cleaning up their back catalog.

Of course, the problem with getting stuff in the mail is that sometimes you just don't like it. I can't really recommend The God Machine, not because it's a preview and doesn't tell a complete story, but because it's not really my thing. The art is very Johnny the Homicidal Maniac kind of stuff, which I'm not too keen on, although I appreciate the work Free put into it - this is very much a labor of love, and there's a lot of energy on the page, even though I don't really like the style. The story isn't my thing, either - seventeen-year-old Guy Salvatore is pining away for his (presumably) dead girlfriend, bitching about how his school sucks, and seeing things. He ends up in a cemetary, where two gods - the Good God and the Evil God - show up digging out a grave. Guy seems to know the Good God (she's a hot redhead, whereas the Evil God is a dude, natch), but before they can speak to each other, they disappear and Satan shows up. He tells Guy that his girlfriend is still alive in another dimension and only he can save her. And, of course, she's trapped because of the gods' messing around with reality. Guy, naturally, doesn't believe him. And thus the preview ends.

It's not a terribly bad plot, but Free sprinkles too much weird shit into it that drags it down, even though it's supposed to make things more manic. For instance, the book begins with Guy watching television late at night, and a show comes on starring "Everybody's favorite suicidal sock puppet, Mr. Insane Sock Puppet," who naturally tells kids to commit suicide. It's supposed to be funny (I guess), but I don't find it funny, and it sets the tone for the book, with Guy being kind of jerk to everyone (yes, I know his girlfriend just died, but it seems like he'd be a jerk even if she was alive) and everyone yelling a lot. Guy has a very keen creepy dream at one point, but that's about the only thing I really liked in the book. Maybe I'm just too old to enjoy something like this. I am pretty old, you know. It just never feels like Free does much to create interesting characters - she spins the clichés of Goth kids fairly well, but just because you twist those a bit doesn't mean you're creating an interesting character. I assume Guy's quest to find his girlfriend (whose nickname is "Sith") will be the crux of the book, and will intersect with the gods and what they're up to, but based on this preview, I don't really care if Guy succeeds or not.

I hate not liking this. Free writes in the beginning of the book that it's taken her ten years to get the book to publication, and you can certainly tell that she's put a lot of herself into it. You can check out her web site, her DeviantArt page, or The God Machine page to see more of her artwork, in case it's up your alley. It's just not up mine.

Boobs? Hmmm, the one book drawn by a woman features several attractive women, but none flashing a lot of cleavage. I'm stunned!

Greek Street #5 ("Book One: Blood Calls For Blood Part Five: The Anger of the Gods") by Peter Milligan (writer), Davide Gianfelice (artist), Patricia Mulvihill (colorist), and Clem Robins (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

I'm 90% certain I'm done with Greek Street, because this is the end of the first story arc, and it's just not doing it for me. The reason it's still only 90% is because in this issue, Milligan hints that the characters are actually the mythic characters themselves, not just people who happen to be living out lives that resemble characters from Greek myths. I'm not sure if he's hinted this before, but it's kind of interesting. Other than that, though, this is still a bit of a mess, and it's not really doing much for me. Milligan doesn't seem to have a clear idea about what he wants to do, even though I'm sure he has a long-term plan. The book just seems so all over the map, and it makes it very hard to get into it. Milligan has tightened the focus a bit as he's gone along, but not enough for me. I just find myself not caring very much about what happens next, which doesn't bode well.

I do like that Milligan seems to have a balls-to-the-wall kind of attitude about this book with regard to who lives and who dies, as it seems like nobody is safe in this book. That's always fun, because I get annoyed when a writer has a favorite character and obviously has no interest in harming that character. Suck it up, writers! Milligan doesn't seem to have that problem, and it makes reading this a bit jarring, which is actually kind of neat. But I don't think it's enough! We shall see, but I doubt if I will pick up the next issue. So sad!

Boobs? Of course!

This is the first panel in the book, and it's a boob. Greek Street features plenty of nudity, significantly none of it male frontal.

GrimJack: The Manx Cat #4 (of 6) by John Ostrander (writer), Timothy Truman (artist), Lovern Kindzierski (colorist), and John Workman (letterer). $3.99, 25 pgs, FC, IDW.

Speaking of why comics are great, Ostrander sends Gaunt back in time to discover the secret of the Manx Cat, and Gaunt inhabits the body of a vigilante monk who fights demons, is in love with a fellow monk (who doesn't know about it), visits the ruler of Cynosure's churches and has to get by three belligerent heads, and then fights ... battle cherubs. The fact that I can write that sentence and not have fellow blog readers think I'm snorting angel dust is why comics are goddamned awesome. It's not even that weird an issue! It is, however, brilliant as usual. Oh, and Gaunt/St. John of Knives ends up in a different dimension facing a mummified (but still sexy) cat goddess. Of fucking course.

Damn, I love comics. Yes, I already wrote that, but I don't care! It's still true!

Boobs? Of course!

You can't have a sexy mummified cat goddess without some boobs!

The Secret History #6 (of 7) ("The Eagle and the Sphinx") by Jean-Pierre Pécau (writer), Igor Kordey (artist), Carole Beau (colorist), Marshall Dillon (letterer), and Edward Gauvin (translator). $5.95, 46 pgs, FC, Archaia.

It's been quite some time since The Secret History saw the light of day, and while it might not be for everyone, I'm still loving it, mainly because (as I've written before) I'm a total sucker for history and alternate history, which we get in large doses in this book. Each issue moves the grand plot along (a plot, I'm sorry to say, that I'm extremely fuzzy on, mainly because it's been so long since I've read the previous issues, but it involves immortals manipulating humanity, to be as basic as possible), but each issue, because they're separated by hundreds of years, also tells a compelling story in its own right, which is a keen trick. In this issue, Napoleon goes to Egypt, but not for the reasons you might think. This gives Pécau the opportunity to give us some nice battle scenes, some nice creepy scenes in which sand creatures attack the French, and gives Kordey the opportunity to draw the mysterious Orient, and as usual, he draws the heck out of it. Whenever I read anything drawn by Kordey, I need to remind people who only know him from X-Men that he's very good and that his work on X-Men was compromised by the fact that he was churning out an issue a day (which may be exaggerated, but not by much). He does a wonderful job with a large cast of characters, a sprawling canvas of locations, from Toulon to Egypt to Syria, and some horrific violence. The book feels a bit crowded, with a lot of panels and a lot of narration and dialogue, but it flows very nicely due to Kordey's art.

I do hope the final issue isn't too late. I'm looking forward to the grand finale!

Boobs! Of course! It's European! Which means that the only boobs are naked ones, pretty much in the service of the story. There's nothing terribly gratuitous about it, which is nice. It's just there.

Secret Six #15 ("Control") by John Ostrander (writer), Jim Calafiore (artist), Jason Wright (colorist), and Travis Lanham (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC.

One of the things that's nice about the minor characters in the DC (and Marvel, of course) canon is that it's fairly easy to keep track of what's going on with them if you're so inclined. As they pop up not too often, they don't have years and years of backstory to incorporate. Of course, that's not always the case - I'm not sure what the hell is going on with Looker - but it does apply quite often, and if you happen to have read about the character a lot, you won't be too lost when someone like Ostrander writes about someone like Deadshot. Despite being in Suicide Squad for its entire run and being a fairly popular villain for 30 years, it's not too difficult for Ostrander to recount the major points in Floyd's life, and he even manages to update his origin for the hell of it. It's your typical excellent Ostrander tale, with Floyd feeling out of control (as he seems to be in Secret Six recently) and seeking the advice of John Ostrander himself, in the form of Reverend Richard Craemer, Ostrander's stand-in the DCU (and who, frankly, I'm surprised is still alive - why hasn't Geoff Johns slaughtered him yet?). He walks around with Craemer, explaining how he came to be and getting sound advice from the good reverend. Although there's not a lot of action and we are positive Floyd isn't going to kill Craemer like he claims he will, it's a gripping tale, because Ostrander gets Floyd better than anyone who's ever written him (including Steve Englehart, who brought him out of mothballs back in the Seventies), and Ostrander is also quite good at writing Richard Craemer. Calafiore, Bill Reed's favoritest artist EVAH, does his typical yeomanlike work on the book - if you hate Calafiore, you won't change your mind seeing this, but if you don't mind him (I kind of like him), this is more of the same.

As much as I dig this book, I really hate when Ostrander shows up in the DCU and starts writing stuff like this. It makes me miss Suicide Squad and The Spectre even more. Goddamn.

Boobs! Of course!

Bruce Wayne in his "Bruce Wayne" role? You know he'll have scantily-clad women near him!

Strange Tales #3 (of 3). "Cool Hand Uatu" by Nick Bertozzi (writer/artist) and Chris Sinderson (colorist); "Oni" by Stan Sakai (writer/artist) and Tom Luth (colorist); "The Fortune Full X-Man" by Corey Lewis (writer/artist) and Dylan McCrae (colorist); "Fantastic Fool's Day" by Jeffrey Brown (writer/artist) and Bill Crabtree (colorist); "La Querelle des Monstres" by Jay Stephens (writer/artist); "Cup Cake!" by Chris Chua (writer/artist); "The Abominable Peter Pepper!" by Max Cannon (writer/artist); "The Punisher" by Jonathan Jay Lee (writer/artist); "The Incorrigible Hulk" by Peter Bagge (writer/artist); "Let's Fight" by Michael Kupperman (writer/artist); "Nightcrawler Meets Molecule Man" by Paul Hornschemeier (writer/artist); "Look Out, Sub-Mariner! ... Here Comes the King Crab" by Becky Cloonan (writer/artist). $4.99, 48 pgs, FC, Marvel.

Ah, yes, Strange Tales. Has anyone - Joey Q, some other bigwig at Marvel - ever explained exactly why Peter Bagge's Hulk story was shelved? I kept waiting for Hulk to eat a kitten and rape General Ross - or, you know, the other way around - so that I could say, "Oh, so THAT'S why," but it never happened. It was a silly Hulk tale, but nothing terribly objectionable. Does anyone know what the backstory is?

Other than that, this remains a mixed bag. I still think the first issue was the best, and the second issue the worst, with this falling somewhere in between. I didn't get the feeling of mockery of Marvel's characters that I did from the stories in the second issue, but I also didn't get the feeling of revelry in the glorious goofiness of Marvel's characters that I did from the stories in the first issue. Sakai's Hulk story is fine, nicely drawn (not surprisingly), but kind of dull. Corey Lewis's Longshot story is dazzling to look at, but like The God Machine, it makes me feel old. Jeffrey Brown's Fantastic Four story cracked me the fuck up, I'll tell you that much. The Beast versus Morbius story was fun solely because of the odd juxtaposition of the two characters beating on each other while engaging in a philosophical debate. I don't know what the fuck is going on in Chris Chua's story, and I don't think I'm alone in that. Max Cannon's contribution was better than the one in the second issue, but still not too funny. Jonathan Jay Lee's Punisher story might actually get me to read a Punisher issue, if only for how different it looks. Michael Kupperman's Avengers story is funny until we get the worn-out Hostess Fruit Pies ending. Paul Hornschemeier's weird story also features philosophical musings, sans the punching. And while Becky Cloonan's story is ... strange, to say the least (fitting for the anthology, I guess), I can't not love her art, and Marvel should give her a Sub-Mariner mini-series, stat!

I'm probably always going to support this kind of thing from Marvel and DC, unless the quality is really, really bad. Unlike Brad Curran, I actually occasionally support these creators' independent stuff, and it's very neat to see them unleashed on iconic comic book characters. I mean, Uatu's comment about Kraven on the first page is almost worth the price of admission!

Boobs? There aren't a lot of women in this book, but the ones that are there are dressed normally and aren't showing anything.

Stumptown #1 ("The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo but Left her Mini Part One") by Greg Rucka (writer), Matthew Southworth (artist), and Lee Loughridge (colorist). $3.99, 35 pgs, FC, Oni Press.

There were two main reasons I purchased this comic:

1. Greg Rucka is writing it. I pick on Rucka when he's writing Detective because I just don't think the writing is that strong, but for the past decade, he's been one of the good writers in comics when he's able to do this kind of crime book, from Whiteout to Queen & Country to Gotham Central to Checkmate. So when I saw he was writing a private eye book, I was jazzed.

2. I fucking love Portland, where this book is set ("Stumptown" is a nickname for Portland). That may seem like a lame reason to buy a comic, and of course if the book sucks it won't matter where it's set, but I really would like to get across how much I fucking love Portland and wish I still lived there. There's absolutely nothing I don't fucking love about Portland, and that includes the crappy winter weather. Whenever goddamned Jeff Parker posts on his blog that he'll be signing his latest goddamned excellent comic at Clackamas Town Center or somewhere else in the greater Portland area, I leave a comment on his blog damning him for living in Portland. Damn you, Jeff Parker!!!!! So, needless to say, I was jazzed about Rucka writing a crime comic set in Portland. If someone told me I could move back to Portland and have a nice house in Alameda or by Mt. Tabor or down in Westmoreland or Oak Grove or up by the University or out in the Northwest or even a little further out in Lake Oswego or West Linn or even Tigard and all I had to do was kill Apodaca, I'm afraid he wouldn't be long for this world (sorry, Dan). Yes, I'd risk life imprisonment to live in Portland! (Although, let's be honest, who'd miss him? Oh, I kid, Dan, I kid!!!!!!)

Of course, now I have another reason to purchase Stumptown, and that's because Southworth's art, which I've never seen before, is very good, even when he's not drawing Portland landmarks. And, of course, Rucka's story is nice and twisty, as we're introduced to the unfortunately-named Dexedrine Callisto Parios (we learn that on the final page, and also that everyone - thankfully - calls her "Dex"), a private investigator with a big gambling problem. To get out of debt, she agrees to find the granddaughter of the casino owner (manager?). The girl disappeared, and it seems several people are looking for her. Of course, Dex is approached by someone else who's looking for, someone who scares the girl, apparently, because she calls Dex and says "he" wants to kill her. Dex arranges a meeting, it all goes pear-shaped, and she ends up in police custody. Just another day in the life of a seedy private eye!

Rucka keeps things moving along nicely, and he gives Dex a brother who has special needs (I'll guess Down syndrome, but it's not clear), which humanizes her a bit. There's also an implication about her relationship with Sue-Lynne, the casino owner (or manager), but we'll see where that goes. It's a solid first issue, with a dynamite beginning and a nifty little mystery.

And it makes me miss Portland even more. Damn you, Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth. And I wouldn't kill you, Dan. You're too neat a guy. Maybe I'd just have to maim you. We cool with that?

Boobs? There's one panel where a woman wearing a bikini steps from a pool, but it's not obnoxious at all.

Sweet Tooth #3 ("Out of the Deep Woods Part Three") by Jeff Lemire (writer/artist), José Villarrubia (colorist), and Pat Brosseau (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

Sweet Tooth remains an odd comic, one like Greek Street, in that I'm not sure if I'm really loving it or not (in pretty much every other way, it's unlike Greek Street). I dig Lemire's art, and he brings a true feel of the rural world to the book that you don't see too much in comics. It's a bleak world he's created, and when terrifying things happen, like Gus's dream, it's even more terrifying because of the setting, and when Gus and Mr. Jepperd show up in a town, we feel the tremendous emptiness, due mainly to Lemire's art. However, I'm not terribly sure if the story is all that compelling. I mean, there's nothing terribly original about a plague wiping out most of humanity, and Lemire hasn't done a lot yet with the fact that Gus is a human-animal hybrid (although the end of this issue might change that next time). I stuck with Wasteland, another post-apocalyptic story, as I waited to figure out what Antony Johnston was doing with it, and I was rewarded for my patience. From what I've read of Lemire so far, I think he knows what he's doing and will make this worthwhile, so I'm going to be patient for this too. But right now, I'm just not loving it. It hasn't grabbed me yet. I hope it will.

Boobs? There's only one panel with a female in this book, and she's wearing a simple dress. Does the Cinderella preview count?

Titanium Rain #1 and 2 by Josh Finney (writer/artist) and Kat Rocha (artist). $4.99, 48 pgs, FC, Archaia.

This is the third Archaia book I received in the mail, and like the first one, I'm not going to recommend it. I read about Titanium Rain when it was first solicited, but it didn't sound like something I'd like. In 2032, a civil war in China has brought in an international peacekeeping force. As there is a lack of good fighter pilot candidates, some of the wannabes have been injected with various nanomachines to make them better. So the story is about whether these people are still human. In the first two issues (which are combined here), it's a lot of fighting and not a lot of philosophical discussion, but Finney still brings it up nicely, all the while making sure the situation in China is fairly realistic. It's not a great story, but it's not a bad one, either.

However, I can't stand the art. It's done in that digital "realistic" style where the artists (both Finney and Rocha are credited) actually use models and somehow scan their faces into the computer. It's really, really creepy, because we get what looks like movie stills but in sequence, which makes this look like a movie that's not moving. Comics are a static medium, and trying to do this kind of thing never works. Using models is perfectly fine, but making the book look like it's a series of photographs robs it of any dynamism, and everything looks extremely plastic in this book. It takes me right out of the story, as I find myself staring at each face, wondering if the doctor in the book is the Bettie Page chick from NCIS, looking at the weirdly dead eyes of the characters, and it just doesn't work. With good art, this might be an interesting comic. With this, it's really unpleasant.

Of course, at the web site, you can check out some of the art and read some of the praise of the book. Don't let me stop you from buying it!

Boobs? It's a war comic! Everyone's in uniform! Although NCIS chick does have a tiny bit of cleavage going on, but not enough to be remotely egregious.

The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh #2 (of 4) by Mark Waid (writer), Minck Oosterveer (artist), Andres Lozano (colorist), Javier Suppa (colorist), and Marshall Dillon (letterer). $3.99, 22 pgs, FC, Boom! Studios.

Waid's weird detective saga continues, as Catherine and Adriana head to Alabama to investigate some murders that an amateur detective told her about. It turns out the "amateur detective" is a kid who suddenly got really smart, which is strange enough. But someone really doesn't want Catherine to be in Alabama, and things get violent at the end, as one bad guy is revealed and the other ... well, he has an axe. The mystery continues, and as usual, I have to wonder what's important and what's not. Are the gloves important? ARE THEY????? Oh, the drama!!!!! Plus, Waid delves a bit deeper into Catherine's brain problem and why she doesn't get it operated on. It's a nice character moment in the middle of a weird story.

Oosterveer, of course, continues to dazzle, especially now that he has two hot women to draw instead of one. But he also does a really good job with the creepiness of Mountain Oak, Alabama, and he gives the climax a nice tense feel to it. He's the kind of artist whose earlier work I want to track down, because he's so talented.

I honestly have no idea where Waid is going with this, but it's a very cool read. What about James, Mr. Waid? Is there more to his story?!?!?!?!???!?

Boobs? Of course! Check out that cover!

Two well-endowed women solving crimes? Where's the FOX television show????

X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas #2 (of 2) ("The X-Heist Part Two" and "Godmarked") by Jeff Parker (writer), Carlo Pagulayan (penciler), Gabriel Hardman (artist), Chris Samnee (artist), Carlos Rodriguez (penciler), Jason Paz (inker), Terry Pallot (inker), Wilfredo Quintana (colorist), Veronica Gandini (colorist), and Joe Caramagna (letterer). $3.99, 30 pgs, FC, Marvel.

Parker wraps up his nifty little crossover with more fighting, eventual reconciliation, and Namor not acting like a dick for once. Way to go, Namor! What's keen is that Parker does a nice job explaining just what the hell was going on with the Chris Samnee-drawn section of issue #1, which was, you know, kind of confusing. And although I'm not sure why Aphrodite gives Venus a tramp stamp, the endgame, drawn by Hardman, is pretty cool. Aphrodite even gets a joke in as the Agents of Atlas battle her!

This would have worked a lot better as part of the Agents of Atlas ongoing, because it's so obvious that the X-Men are here just to goose sales, but it won't help the ongoing now, will it? Unlike most crossovers, this is basically an Agents of Atlas story with the X-Men being there just because they're famous. I mean, it's commendable that Parker tries to make them important, but they're not, really. This is all part of the Agents getting involved in the Hercules world, and Parker does his usual fine job putting all the pieces in place and entertaining the hell out of us, but it doesn't feel like an important crossover, you know? I mean, like one where it's a story about both teams? Even though Parker tries to do this, it still feels like an Agents of Atlas story. That's not a complaint, by the way, because Parker's Agents of Atlas was better than pretty much every X-book, but it's a shame that Parker needed to bring in the X-Men to tell this story.

But it gets us to where we need to go, which is Assault on New Olympus, which directly follows this issue. See? This is the Möbius strip of comics reviewing! How's about that!

Boobs? Of course!

But not too much. I mean, Venus doesn't wear a lot in general, so of course there's going to be some. But there's nothing terribly gratuitous.

I don't really have a point with all the cleavage, but it's worthwhile pointing this stuff out occasionally. The last time I did this, it seemed a lot more gratuitous. That was a few years ago. Maybe we're making progress!

And hey, it's time for totally random lyrics!

"Once you take a hit of this
You won't ever wanna quit
You'll be so addicted
Said I'll have you spinning round and round
Crazy, making freaky sounds
You won't want to come down
And I'll have you seeing things and hallucinating
Even walking funny 'cause your legs are shaking
All night we'll be blazin'
I'll take you for a walk to the other side
We can get high and enjoy the ride
Hold tight we'll be all right"

We're still friends, Dan, right? Right?

21 Comments

• At November 5, 2009, stealthwise wrote:

  Question about the "Bruce Wayne" persona: has it always been around, or is it a more recent invention of the ...

• At November 5, 2009, Rebis wrote:

  This is a bit off-topic — sorry Greg — but you did review a Boom! Comics title, which reminds me ...

• At November 5, 2009, Aperture wrote:

  Irredeemable is a great book in my opinion so you should pick it up right away, Rebis. Then again, ...

• At November 5, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  Man, I didn't read any of those books.

• At November 5, 2009, Omar Karindu, with the power of SUPER-hypocrisy! wrote:

  The Bruce Wayne persona is pretty much there in Detective Comics #27, where he yawns through the Commissioner's story about ...

• At November 6, 2009, JackKing wrote:

  You know, if we pooled our money together, we could buy that house for Greg...

• At November 6, 2009, Johnny P wrote:

  The Faith No More line was much more interesting than John Legend lyrics.

• At November 6, 2009, Manglr wrote:

  The gratuitous guest stars is one of the things killing Agents of Atlas for me. I thought the ongoing ...

• At November 6, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Rebis: Irredeemable is one of those things that I may pick up eventually, but I feel no need to rush ...

• At November 6, 2009, Craig wrote:

  Regarding "Irredeemable": I started reading it, and was blindsided by how uncompromisingly violent and brutal it was. The first issue ...

• At November 6, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  I dropped The Secret History when I noticed that Igor Kordey wasn't drawing ALL of the series.

  I'm just of the ...

• At November 6, 2009, s1rude wrote:

  I think there is an Irredeemable trade out - 10 buck for four issues, which is a $6 savings over ...

• At November 6, 2009, Manglr wrote:

  @Greg

  You're right of course about trying to goose sales of Agents of Atlas, but at what point does oversaturation of ...

• At November 6, 2009, Chip Mosher wrote:

  Wow! What a bunch of IRREDEEMABLE haters. :P

  FWIW, this is our top selling book, with the latest issues outselling the ...

• At November 6, 2009, CW wrote:

  Writting this from the south waterfront downtown portland as we speak! Be thankful you're not up here this weekend, huge ...

• At November 6, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  I haven't read any of these.

  Did the Black Widow really fight in World War II? I never heard of ...

• At November 6, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  1990's Uncanny X-Men #268 established Black Widow being around during World War II.

• At November 6, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  Thanks. I stopped reading X-Men in 1989, so I guess I just missed it. How did they explain ...

• At November 6, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Mary: I'm not sure if they've explained it before, but Cornell explains it in this very issue! Bucky gives ...

• At November 7, 2009, MikeCr wrote:

  Irredeemable isn't bad but it could be better. Even at its best I feel like it'd only be considered ...

• At November 7, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  Widow probably takes the same stuff Nick Fury does, but she gets more beauty sleep.

A number of Japanese manga, such as Fushigi Yugi and Saiunkoku Monogatari, have previously made use of Chinese cultural history and legends.  Hero Tales does so as well, but puts an intelligent shonen spin on its story.  Unlike Fushigi Yugi, which uses a framing device of a modern girl falling into the past by accident, Hero Tales focuses upon the fulfillment of a legend in which seven heroes -- who represent the seven stars of the Big Dipper -- have the power to throw the Empire into complete chaos or to save it.

On first glance, the title's main character -- Taitou -- appears to be your average shonen hero who wants to become strong, but on closer inspection he is much more interesting than that.  He seems unconcerned about the fact he has yet to complete his coming-of-age-ceremony, which is an event where a young man completes a fight with an older, skilled warrior.  Taitou hasn't completed the ceremony because he is bad at fighting, but because he yet to come across a fighter skilled enough to make him accept defeat.   This twisted logic just makes me like him more, I think.  When a disciplined martial arts master comes to town -- called for the express purpose of defeating Taitou -- a series of complicated events are set in motion.  Taitou's status as one of the heroes of legend is revealed but he isn't just any hero.  He is one of the two heroes who are destined to fight each other and draw the world into a state of destruction.

After Taitou accepts his defeat like a "man," an ancient sword is bestowed upon him that can only be drawn by a true hero.  Which means Taitou can't use it just yet...however, his untapped and alarmingly out-of-control powers are awakened when a warrior-for-hire steals his sacred sword and threatens his sister's life.  With power rushing unchecked through his body, Taitou practically destroys himself with the force of his anger and his lack of control.  With the sword is successfully stolen, and Taitou's identity as a "hero" of legend revealed, the manga heads quickly into the shonen quest narrative path.  Taitou, the skilled warrior who defeated him, and Taitou's sister, Laila, set out to retrieve the sword and track down the other "heroes" of legend.

Unlike a lot of shonen titles, however, once the main story is set in motion, there's no sense of stagnation or of drawing out an epic quest for the sake of a quest.  Instead, progress happens immediately, as the group comes across another "hero" (each of the seven heroes are marked by a special tattoo on their bodies) and more of the legend starts to unfold before the group's very eyes.  Taitou is a likable shonen lead who is rather emphatic about his designs on power -- not only as fighter but as a countryman.  He likes to begin sentences with the phrase, "When I become Emperor...."  While others like to laugh at his audacity, it is clear there are some very dangerous people who take him seriously as a rival, and one rather scary badass who actually sees Taitou as his fated rival.

Hero Tales is a rather excellent configuration of shonen tropes -- it tends to take the best of them and excises many of the excesses (such as fights that last forever, the emo-ness of the hero).  The art, of course, is quite excellent and while Arakawa offers many familiar character types (the main antagonist reminds me very strongly of Bradley from FMA), she excels in both her character work and in her fully realized representation of a powerful and potentially corrupt Empire.

Review copy provided by Yen Press.

4 Comments

• At November 5, 2009, Nitz the Bloody wrote:

  Sounds interesting. I've enjoyed FMA quite a bit, so I'll try this in the hopes that it will have all ...

• At November 5, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  Definitely less wrist-splitting despair! This isn't a big investment because right now there are only 4 volumes and I ...

• At November 6, 2009, Reading Over Shoulders | Extremely Graphic wrote:

  [...] Danielle Leigh’s Reading Diary at Comics Should Be Good contains Hero Tales volume 1. [...]

• At November 7, 2009, Saturday sampler « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] Kyoshi (Animanga Nation) Lissa Pattillo on Exotic and Delicious Fate (Kuriousity) Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Hero Tales ...

Although the title and even the cover image imply a preoccupation with both traditional forms of gender dominance and their inverse, in reality I found this comic to be much less trashy than its cover implies.  The protagonist is Yuiko, a fairly average high school girl whose primary outstanding characteristic is that she is an "overzealous animal-lover" (i.e. she loves them practically to death).  When a dangerous looking boy named Leo, who behaves like a wild animal, transfers into the school, Yuiko is the perfect person to "tame" him.  The school goes into rumor overdrive when it becomes apparent that Leo goes nutso when he sees blood and will lash out like a cornered dog that hasn't been entirely domesticated.  As a result, the entire student body is terrified of him and suspects him of terrible crimes, but Yuiko decides not to take his rather angry vibe and image at face value and investigate further.

Although this sounds like a Tarzan / Jane parallel, I was quite pleased to note how much strength and fortitude Yuiko demonstrates.  She strikes up an unlikely friendship with Leo, and is actually first interested in him because he demonstrates an affinity with animals of all kinds (which makes her incredibly jealous since that is a quality she has always wanted).  It doesn't take her very long to notice that at certain times his eyes are quite kind while at other times, they seem sunken and wild reflecting the danger he poses to those who incite the wrath of the beast within.  Becoming an expert at managing his many moods, Yuiko begins the process of rehabilitating the animal into a human.  While Yuiko starts out thinking of Leo as an animal, it doesn't take her long to think of him as a person and a rather good one at that.  At different moments in the first volume Yuiko saves him and he in return saves her.  As a result, the wild "beast" learns how to value Yuiko as a friend and not just the "trainer" who can calm him down when he goes off the rails.

In general, this is an entertaining series that nicely balances between sweetness and just the right amount of tartness in its depiction of Leo and Yuiko's growing bond.  On first glance, Leo seems  a rather pitiable figure (he also has a fairly unfortunate past that explains his behavior) but becomes ever more human under the firm direction of Yuiko.  As a whole, one of the strongest points in favor of picking this book up is seeing a strong male hero matched up with a strong female lead.  Leo may be crazy strong, but Yuiko can keep up with him and even stand with him as an equal.

Review Copy provided by Viz.

3 Comments

• At November 3, 2009, The Ugly American wrote:

  Chevy Chase did it better on the Halloween episode of Community last week.

• At November 3, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  I assume Chevy Chase was Tarzan for Halloween? (It took me a second to figure out what that comment ...

• At November 16, 2009, Michelle Smith wrote:

  No, he was actually The Beast Master from the '80s film. :)

The set up to Boys Love is pretty much cookie cutter yaoi -- difficult, young and promiscuous male model with a troubled past makes trouble for older straight professional who gets sucked into his orbit.  Luckily the execution of this story avoids a lot of the problems that usually plagues these stories.  The story starts out with the chilly model Noeru being interviewed by straight-arrow magazine editor, Mamiya.  During their first meeting, poor, innocent Mamiya makes the mistake of commenting favorably upon a piece of Noeru's art-work, unintentionally causing difficult memories from Noeru's childhood, which had originally inspired the work, to surface.  Noeru is furious at Mamiya for blindly walking onto a very specific emotional landmine and decides to use his power of celebrity to punish the writer for having the misfortune to have accidentally seen into his heart.  Noeru who has shut his feelings away, while freely opening his body up to countless numbers of men, ends up fixated on Mamiya in his attempts to piss off, make trouble or just plain threaten the poor guy.

In most yaoi, Noeru would usually use his power of celebrity to blackmail Mamiya into sex and god knows what else, but here, Mamiya refuses to fall into these kinds of traps.  Instead, he asserts his own humanity as well as Noeru's by refusing to fall into the empty role of sexual conquest Noeru attempts to box him into.  In the end, Mamiya forces Noeru to get to know him and likewise, does his absolute best to get to know Noeru.  One of my favorite scenes in the book is the stubborn Mamiya forcing Noeru to teach him how to swim.  The most interesting part of this title is that the focus is not on the two developing a sexual relationship but instead how they come to develop a strong emotional bond in spite of their very different temperaments.

Noeru is a selfish prick for the most part, but Mamiya is one of those unbelievable "good guys" in manga who can somehow redeem anyone.  As the two grow closer, Kaim once again dives into the cliche bucket by having Noeru's classmate and childhood friend become possessive and dangerously protective of his bond with Noeru.  This classmate's intervention changes the two lovers' fates but not their strong bond, which does not end in spite of a sharp and unfortunate turn of the plot.

The art is attractive and clean, if a bit generic, particularly in the character work.  Mamiya and Noeru are both attractive types, although Mamiya looks too dewy and soft to be a fully-fledged adult (which is perhaps an intentional choice), while Noeru's sharp, cool look nicely reflects his character as a boy who seems to have grown up entirely too fast.

In the end, what I enjoyed most about this work was the focus upon the growing emotional bond between the main characters, and I ended up forgiving the over-use of yaoi tropes in order to position the characters so they can meet each other and develop a very strong bond that seemed to go beyond traditional notions of "romantic love."

Review copy provided by DMP.

4 Comments

• At November 1, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  On a funny note, when reading the "shipping next week" list on Diamond's web-site one day, I mistook Boys Love ...

• At November 1, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  *laughs* Oh dear. That would be one comic fan with very diverse tastes!

• At November 2, 2009, The Tyrant finds a home « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] of Aria (Comics Worth Reading) Clive Owen on vol. 28 of Bleach (Animanga Nation) Danielle Leigh on Boys Love ...

• At November 2, 2009, Manga reviews: Fake | upxy wrote:

  [...] Danielle Leigh’s Reading Diary — Boys Love (goodcomics.comicbookresources.com) [...]

Meh. It's a fun issue, as a reporter tries to figure out what the heck happened to issue #6 and Ambush Bug, but the fact that issue #6 actually existed but never saw the light of day seems like much more of an interesting story, but I guess we'll never learn what happened. It's fairly bizarre, and it gets back to the real insularity of the comics industry. I mean, we often hear about why movies don't get made - they may be bullshit reasons, but we often hear them - but in comics, books just disappear and we never learn why. There was obviously some reason DC pulped issue #6, but I doubt if we'll ever learn what it is. That's kind of disappointing.

Astro City Special: Astra #2 (of 2) ("The Gordian Knot") by Kurt Busiek (writer), Brent E. Anderson (artist), J. G. Roshell (letterer), Jimmy Betancourt (letterer), and Wendy Broome (colorist). $3.99, 24 pgs, FC, DC/Wildstorm.

This is kind of a strange issue, as Busiek channels his inner Warren Ellis or Alan Moore and gives us an issue of Astra simply wandering around with her boyfriend explaining things. It allows Anderson to show off a lot, and he's certainly up to the cosmic splendor that Busiek wants from him, but it's a weird issue, because we rarely get this kind of thing from Busiek. It's not bad, and Busiek always does a nice job with the throwaway concepts in Astro City, but it's also tough to care too much about Astra's problem, because she's way out on the other end of the universe and she's not dealing with a big threat or anything, just her future. The great thing about Astro City is always that Busiek keeps everything grounded, but in this issue, Matt isn't a strong enough personality to keep things from getting overwhelming. I don't mind the occasional misstep in this series, however, because it's a fun issue to look at, and in the grand scheme of things, it's always cool to check in on old characters. And that's a pretty cool cover, I must say.

Buck Rogers #5 ("Future Shock Part Five: The Caloric Standard") by Scott Beatty (writer), Carlos Rafael (artist), Carlos Lopez (colorist), and Simon Bowland (letterer). $3.50, 22 pgs, FC, Dynamite Entertainment.

The ending of the first arc is a bit anti-climactic, which is weird. It looks great, as Rafael gives us some nice space action as the humans battle the Pack, but it feels like Buck and his allies are simply going through their paces, and that there's no chance of defeat, which makes this a bit less exciting than it could be. There's a brief showdown with the mastermind, but it's over quickly and with little fuss. Even Ardala's scheme doesn't pan out terribly well. I understand that this initial arc was more about getting Buck introduced to the 25th century, but there could have been a bit more excitement to the bigger plot. Strange.

Days Missing #3 (of 5) ("September 19th, 2008") by Ian Edginton (writer), Lee Moder (artist), Imaginary Friends Studios (colorist), Troy Peteri (letterer). $3.99, 22 pgs, FC, Archaia/Roddenberry.

Edginton's contribution to this series deals with what happens when a person begins to figure out what the Steward is doing to time, and whether he will step in to stop that person from finding out his secrets. Of course the answer is yes, but Edginton does a nice job with how the drama plays out - the Steward tries to convince the physicist, Kate Prosper, that it would be better for all concerned if she stops her investigations on her own. He throws in a man whose son is dying of leukemia and who decides to destroy the Large Hadron Collider because he thinks it's a waste of money - money that could have gone to help his son. This becomes two nice love stories, as both Kate and Alain Maurais, the father, realize what's important in their lives.

Edginton is a good writer, and Moder, although drawing in a style I don't like as much as his older stuff, is a fine draughtsman. This continues to be an interesting, thought-provoking series, no matter which creators are working on it!

Detective Comics #858 ("Twenty Years Ago"/"Pipeline Chapter One Part Five") by Greg Rucka (writer), J. H. Williams III (artist, "Twenty Years Later"), Dave Stewart (colorist, "Twenty Years Later"), Todd Klein (letterer, "Twenty Years Later"), Cully Hamner (artist, "Pipeline"), Dave McCaig (colorist, "Pipeline"), and Jared K. Fletcher (letterer, "Pipeline"). $3.99, 30 pgs, FC, DC.

I'm still buying this for the art, because Rucka just isn't bringing his "A" game to this book. It's not that the stories have been lousy, but they've been kind of boring and predictable, and in this issue, we get Kate's "origin," which means people are going to get shot in the head. Williams is dynamite as usual, changing his style in the sequences when Kate is a kid to such a degree that it looks like a different artist - it's very John Paul Leon. It still looks wonderful, and the few pages set in the present offer a glorious contrast to the rest of the book. It's a shame he's not getting a better effort from Rucka. And I really like Rucka. But he's just painting by numbers on this book.

Dynamo 5 #25 by Jay Faerber (writer), Mahmud Asrar (artist), Ron Riley (colorist), Charles Pritchett (letterer). "Eye of the Beholder" by Andie Tong (penciler), Kris Justice (inker), James Offredi (colorist); "Strong Enough" by Joe Eisma (artist) and Paul Little (colorist); "Just Another Pretty Face" by Tim Seeley (artist) and Kieran Oats (colorist); "Sky High" by Fran Bueno (artist); "Mixed Blessing" by Anthony Castrillo (artist) and Paul Little (colorist). $4.99, 46 pgs, FC, Image.

This is Asrar's last issue as artist on Dynamo 5, which sucks. Asrar is a great superhero artist, and it's disappointing that he's going off to Marvel to toil in anonymity for a while until he gets his own comic. He drew Thunderbolts #137, and while it's not bad art, I fear he'll get lost in the shuffle for a time while he toils away. I'm glad he got the attention of the big guys, but this is the way things work - the artist has to wait to get a big book, and in the meantime, he wanders around without a home. I wish him well, but I'm still depressed that creators can't make a living on indy books like this.

So the book is going on hiatus while the new artist (Faerber isn't saying who it is) gets some issues under his (her?) belt, and it's a good place for a break. The Dynamo 5 kids defeat the bad guys and switch powers thanks to a weapon the bad guy used on them. So the back-up stories are about the kids learning a bit more about their powers and introducing their new code names. It's a typically exciting issue, and it will be interesting to see where Faerber goes with it. I do hope the book returns when he says it will - I already miss Noble Causes (speaking of which, Yildiray Cinar draws the latest issue of Teen Titans, in another example of a good artist without a home at the Big Two) and I don't want this to go away. It will be nice to see it back.

Hey, Marvel - give Asrar a book I want to read! Would that be so hard?

Fantastic Four #572 "Solve Everything Conclusion") by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Dale Eaglesham (artist), Paul Mounts (artist), and Rus Wooton (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, Marvel.

Hickman ends his first arc on the title kind of oddly, as basically these three issues were to show that Reed's not a dick. Well, we kind of already knew that, so I'm not sure what the point of this was. It's a pretty exciting story, and Eaglesham is marvelous on it, but it seems kind of pointless. It's not even that Reed realizes the cost of solving everything (as the cover proclaims, it's "everything") and makes the choice to reject the council. A member of the council tells him that he will give up everything to solve all the world's problems, and Reed says he won't. It's an odd way to get at the central tenet of the arc - another Reed lays it out for our Reed, and our Reed walks away. We don't really get a sense that our Reed was struggling with this at all. Shouldn't the choice have been more difficult for him?

Plus, Sue's speech to Reed when he's getting weapons together to fight the Celestials rubbed me the wrong way. She apologizes for what she said earlier, but she says it's not because she was wrong, but because she forgets what it's like to be Reed. Then she absolves him of being a dick and says she'll just wait for him. I don't know why it bugged me - probably because whenever I read a Fantastic Four comic (which, admittedly, isn't often), it seems like Sue's usually the one apologizing, and even when Reed does, he never seems to learn anything. Why is it that traumatic events are the only ones that seem to remind Reed that he has a family? Why does he take them for granted so much? I know it's "part of his character," but Sue is always making compromises for him, and he never seems to do so for her. This simpering Sue who stands outside Reed's lab and tells him she'll be waiting for him when he remembers he has a family bothers me. But that could be just me.

Anyway, although this wasn't the greatest arc, it's intriguing enough that I'm willing to stick around and see where Hickman is going with the book. I'm a tad disappointed Eaglesham could only do three issues and now needs a break, but that's the way it is, I guess.

Ignition City #5 (of 5) by Warren Ellis (writer), Gianluca Pagliarani (artist), Chris Dreier (inker), and Digikore Studios (colorist). $3.99, 22 pgs, FC, Avatar.

Ignition City finally concludes with the BIG SECRET coming out, and as far as secrets go, it's not bad. Ellis links the story to the true story of the Nazi scientists after World War II, which allows him to express some indignation about the way the real world works. Of course, this is an adventure comic, so we can ignore realpolitik and engage in some revenge fantasies, and so Mary gets a small measure of vengeance for her father's death.

There's a lot going on here, as usual for Ellis, and he pulls it off quite well. There's a tremendous sense of sadness in this book, because of the idea that mankind could reach the stars but doesn't, something Ellis seems to fret about quite often. This is also a bit of a western, as the inhabitants of Ignition City were promised brand new worlds but then the frontier closed and they don't know what to do with themselves. It's a nifty mini-series, drawn very well by Pagliarani, and I encourage you to check out the trade when it shows up. It's less horrifying than Ellis's Avatar superhero stuff, but it's definitely a bit more thoughtful.

The Incredible Hercules #137 ("Atonement") by Fred van Lente (writer), Greg Pak (writer), Rodney Buchemi (artist), Guillem Mari (colorist), and Simon Bowland (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, Marvel.

As usual with the recent issues focusing on Amadeus rather than Hercules, this is a bit less insane, but no less good. Pak and van Lente explain a lot about what's been going on, and it leads back to why Amadeus needs to find Hercules again. It's really nicely done, and shows how tightly plotted this book has been for 25 issues or so. And it's always nice to see someone outthinking the bad guy, as Amadeus does here.

I don't really have a lot to say about this comic. It's consistently entertaining and probably the best book Marvel publishes right now. But you already knew that!

Northlanders #21 ("The Plague Widow Part 1 of 8: Seven Hundred on the Volga") by Brian Wood (writer), Leandro Fernandez (artist), Dave McCaig (colorist), and Travis Lanham (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

Wood begins another long-term arc on this excellent comic, as a plague comes to a Viking settlement on the Volga river in 1020 and the inhabitants must figure out what to do. A priest, Boris, claims that the plague is spread by little organisms jumping from human to human (of course we know today that disease is spread when one is insufficiently patriotic), which makes a lot of the people angry. (Germ theory was in its infancy in the eleventh century, but Boris could have heard of it from the Arabs, who were futzing around with it at this time.) Meanwhile, Hilda, the plague widow of the title, loses her husband and decides to trust Boris when he calls for the infected people to be kicked out of the village. This leads to an unpleasant scene as the infected turn on each other.

Fernandez does an excellent job on the art, bringing the stark winter of Russia to chilly life. It's a harshly beautiful comic to look at, and Fernandez is also quite adept at showing the terror on the faces of the characters as they make horrible choices.

As usual, this is a very good comic. I always look forward to it!

Secret Warriors #9 by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Alessandro Vitti (artist), Sunny Gho (colorist), and Dave Lanphear (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, Marvel.

It's a big fight issue, with a bit of intrigue thrown in. Mostly it's Fury's Heroes fighting Osborn's Avengers, and Hickman does a good job showing that Fury's gang is a bit outclassed but are still able to hold their own. There's a really cool scene where Bullseye gets beaten up but enjoys it, and generally, Vitti does a good job with a lot of action. Then John Garrett has a confrontation with the Secretary of the Treasury, who turns out to be not very nice. It's somewhat annoying because that story is continued in Dark Reign: The List - Secret Warriors, which means I have to go buy it. Damn it, Marvel! (It came out three weeks ago, too, which is just ... well, moronic. Good move, Marvel.)

I'm still not jazzed by Fury's Heroes, but they're growing on me. We'll see how Hickman wraps this thing up next issue, as Ares looks for revenge!

Unknown Soldier #13 ("The Way Home Chapter One of Two") by Joshua Dysart (writer), Patrice Masioni (artist), José Villarrubia (colorist), and Clem Robins (letterer). $2.99, 23 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

This is a bit weaker an issue of Unknown Soldier, mainly because Dysart reverts to a completely polemical story, which ironically weakens his point. This is part one of two, so he sets up the story of a young boy trying to get back to his family and enlisting Moses to take him. Of course, the boy - Paul - has been recruited as a soldier in the guerrilla army, so he tells Moses about it as they travel, and it's typically horrifying. But it's so obviously horrible that it reads more like a press clipping, one we read, feel bad about, and then move on. Paul isn't real to us, and that blunts the horror he's gone through. Dysart has been quite good at making this book an action adventure that happens to take place in Uganda, and that has made the horrors of the war more real, but this issue doesn't really do that as well. It's notable for the presence of Masioni, a Congolese artist living in France. Dysart writes about trying to find an artist from the area to be a fill-in artist for when Ponticelli needed a break, and they found Masioni in France. Masioni writes about his life in the back of the book, and it's an affecting read. His art isn't great, but the fact that he has intimate knowledge of what's going on in central Africa helps make Paul's story a bit more powerful than it is from the script. It's what makes this an interesting comic even when the actual issue isn't as strong as the previous ones. We'll see how Dysart finishes this sucker next issue.

X-Factor #50 by Peter David (writer), Valentine de Landro (penciler), Pat Davidson (inker), Craig Yeung (inker), Jeromy Cox (colorist), and Cory Petit (letterer). $3.99, 32 pgs, FC, Marvel.

David wraps up his big storyline, and it's actually quite keen. I know that some reviewers have been frustrated with his sprawling tale, but I love that he does stuff like this. He takes a long view with regard to his titles, and while it's a bit annoying reading them in monthly installments (even though David is good enough to make the monthly installments fun to read), it's very nice to read them all at once, and this is no exception. David pulls everything together, explains Layla Miller's penchant for "knowing stuff" that fits in perfectly, explains the deal with Trevor Fitzroy (not that anyone was clamoring for it, but there it is), and while he tells and doesn't show what happens in the climax, it's still a nifty ending to the big epic. The art continues to be simply okay, but it's perfectly serviceable. It's always nice to read a story that sprawls over several issues and brings in so much from the history of these characters.

So next issue is issue #200, which makes not a lot of sense, but whatever. I don't know how long David plans on writing the book, but I'll keep reading as long as he's writing!

Well, that's the week. I apologize again for the lousiness of these reviews. I'm feeling much better but I'm still kind of in a funk. I just want to sit around and do nothing, which is driving my wife nuts, I'll tell you that much. I ought to be cleaning up the house, but I'm just sitting around watching The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and other shit movies (and yes, it's a shit movie, but it features Michelle Yeoh, so it's not completely worthless). Maybe next week I won't be in such a funk. Who knows? Until then, let's fire up some totally random lyrics!

"I just wanna live the life I please
I don't want no enemies
I don't want nothin' if I have to fake it
Never take nothin don't belong to me
Everything's paid for, nothing's free
If I give my heart will you promise not to break it?"

Have a great weekend, everyone! Enjoy that 70-degree weather! (Isn't it 70 degrees everywhere? It's 70 here in the AZ. Yes, the weather is finally getting nice!)

29 Comments

• At October 30, 2009, Frank Stallone wrote:

  So there was a real Ambush Bug #6?

  Because 6 total issues came out. I thought the "missing #6" was ...

• At October 30, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  Comments...

  Detective Comics #858: Every time someone buys this title "just for the art," God kills a kitten. Or gives it ...

• At October 30, 2009, Rebis wrote:

  Hey Greg. You still sound awfully cynical to me when it comes to Detective Comics. I've enjoyed it so far ...

• At October 30, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  I hope Dynamo5 comes back sooner rather than later. That book is a joy to read. It's straight-up superheroes done ...

• At October 30, 2009, Omar Karindu, with the power of SUPER-hypocrisy! wrote:

  Unsurprisingly most of The Lisdt one-shoits are essentialy just the next issue of whatever book's creative team is on them. ...

• At October 30, 2009, Joe wrote:

  Wraith:

  What's wrong with buying a book for the art? You don't really explain why you don't like it.

• At October 30, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Frank: I don't know how much of an issue #6 was finished, but Darwyn Cooke drew the cover (it's there ...

• At October 30, 2009, Adam Kirby wrote:

  The popular theory of Ambush Bug #6 seems to be that Giffen was told he'd have free reign on the ...

• At October 30, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  Greg: now there's a very good question.

  To be honest I don't know if I can come up with a good ...

• At October 30, 2009, Joe wrote:

  Wraith:

  One problem I have with the "bad story is validated" argument is that the opposite holds true with the same ...

• At October 30, 2009, Craig wrote:

  Random lyrics: Lucinda Williams' "I Lost It". "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" is a fantastic CD. I used to ...

• At October 31, 2009, JackKing wrote:

  Ambush Bug 7 was possibly the worst comic I've ever read. I'm not usually negative about comics but good gods ...

• At October 31, 2009, Ant wrote:

  Secret Warriors gave a big hint, more like a flashing neon sign, about who the dad of oe of their ...

• At October 31, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Craig: Yeah, Lucinda Williams is pretty freakin' awesome.

  JackKing: I wouldn't go that far, but it wasn't very good.

• At October 31, 2009, brian wrote:

  I might just be noticing this, but do you always do your reveiws in alphabetical order?

  Cheers,

  B

• At October 31, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Yes, I do, Brian.

• At October 31, 2009, Adam Tyner wrote:

  "There was obviously some reason DC pulped issue #6, but I doubt if we'll ever learn what it is. That's ...

• At October 31, 2009, MCGroupy wrote:

  Hey how come nobody is making a big deal about Sergio Aragones' work on Bart Simpson #50? Now that he's ...

• At October 31, 2009, JackKing wrote:

  Greg: Out of curiosity, what would be the worst comic you've ever read?

  I'm not stating that Ambush Bug 7 is ...

• At October 31, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Jack: Man, I've read a lot of crappy comics. I read an issue of Demonslayer, for instance. That ...

• At October 31, 2009, Brian D. wrote:

  Interesting point about the anti-climax of the Reed arc (although I think I enjoyed it a bit more than you). ...

• At November 1, 2009, JackKing wrote:

  I've got to admit, those comics you linked to look horrible. I'd certainly like to read the bottom 10 comics ...

• At November 1, 2009, lilacsigil wrote:

  I recently reduced my pull list by about 90%, because I was sick of reading through/looking at offensive bullshit (yes ...

• At November 1, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Thanks, Brian. It's always cool to hear that from readers.

• At November 1, 2009, TimCallahan wrote:

  I buy ALL comics for the art. I wouldn't buy any of these -- even the Morrison ones -- if ...

• At November 1, 2009, s1rude wrote:

  Man, am I tired of the piling on of Rucka's scripts in Detective.

  It's a shame he's not getting a better ...

• At November 1, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  s1rude: Sorry about that. I've been banging on Rucka's scripts since he started this run, and I've been giving ...

• At November 1, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  I don't really have a lot to say about this comic. It's consistently entertaining and probably the best book Marvel ...

• At November 1, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  FGJ: I wonder if the reason is twofold - Hercules has been around for a while, so "normal" Marvel readers ...

Jack Frost, vol 2, by JinHo Ko.  As per the first volume, the creepy, evocative art trumps the convoluted story.  There often seem to be two different narratives competing for dominance in this title.  The first is the most interesting -- we learn that Noh-A Joo, seemingly just a regular high school student, was purposefully killed and brought to the world of the un-dead because she has a special power as the "Mirror Image" to bring people back to life.   The second story, which I originally described in my review of volume 1 as "Undead!Battle Royale," where everyone wants to fight Jack Frost and claim the title of the most powerful fighter in Amityville, continues although it isn't clear yet to what end.

This two stories only appear to be connected right now because Jack and Noh-A are connected (he's the one who seems to have brought her forcibly into Amityville, i.e. he killed her), but Ko needs to figure out what story he's telling exactly, and try to develop the plot more coherently.  There's still a lot of potential here but too many obscure references to the history of this strange world end up detracting from the otherwise spectacularly creepy revelations concerning both Jack Frost and Noh-A's respective histories.

The most compelling aspect of this volume is watching Noh-A come face to face with some pretty ugly aspects of her existence.  It is possible that her special status as the "Mirror Image" not only caused her own death but might have also caused innocents around her to die simply because they were in proximity to her while she was still alive.  Haunted by a former friend who lost their life, Noh-A, starts to look less and less like your average high school girl and more and more like a disturbance that could set this particular underworld ablaze.

Rosario + Vampire, vol 10, by Akihisa Ikeda.  This is my first experience with the harem comedy but I found it to be mainly inoffensive and rather playful.  In spite of the silly and frequent excuses for one girl in particular to get naked and paw the "hero."  The shonen protagonist, Tsukune, attends Monster High as the lone human in a sea of well-disguised witches, vampires and other supernatural types.  While Tsukune is a rather average guy -- i.e. why are all these hot girls all over him? -- one supposes as an average human might be "exotic" to those on the other side.  In particular, I did like his relationship with the obvious queen of the harem, the vampire Moka, who has two personalities -- the shy, sweet girl whose powers are kept in check with a "rosario" and then the freed vampire whose affections run much less freely for her personal human blood bank, Tsukune.

Volume 10 is comprised of a few unrelated stories, my favorite being when all of Tsukune's new "monster" friends follow him home on vacation giving his mother the shock of her life.  Not because they're not human, but because she can't imagine her rather ordinary boy has inspired such devotion from one girl, much less a whole harem of them.  The supernatural factor is mainly used to spice up the shonen harem genre and as a whole the title is a nice diversion that gives fanservice a relatively good name.  (One again, I'm not sure why one girl in particular can't keep her shirt on but that seems to be her strange personality "quirk").

Volume 10 is the end of the first "season" of the manga, but basically that just means that the title moved manga magazines between volume 10 and 11.  Otherwise, there is nothing that particularly marks this as an "ending" and one assumes that the Monster High student body will be back in all their glory when season two (aka volume 11) returns next spring.

Zombie-Loan, volume 7, by Peach-Pit.  As per my experience with other Peach-Pit manga, I find the art far easier to follow than the writing.  The primary concept driving Zombie-Loan is fairly interesting -- people can voluntarily become created-zombies after they die by agreeing to hunt the other kind of Zombie (i.e. mindless, likes to munch on human flesh, etc).  These people are literally taking out a "loan" in order to remain on Earth in their original body.  The heroine of this story, Michiru, gets caught up in this arrangement because she can actually read people's "lifeline" by seeing a ring around their neck, that gradually grows darker until it becomes black (black = death).  Since she can see the undead up and walking around amongst the otherwise breathing student body she ends up as the side-kick of two attractive "Z-loan" zombies, who have both loaned out their bodies in order to remain alive.

By volume 7, things have gotten extraordinarily complicated -- this volume finds two groups of zombie-loaners trapped in a school environment which has become a kind of "closed space" in which they are cut off from reality and will probably starve / go mad / go zombie on each other (the threat of cannibalism can jump start any manga!).  In this environment one of the handsome Z-loaners starts to revert to his baser zombie instincts -- i.e. he tries to eat the heroine -- and in order to save him, Michiru uses her power to dive into his memories.  In doing so she learns exactly how and why he came to loan his body out.  However, Michiru finds that she isn't just in his memories...her power also means that she is actually intervening his past and any action she takes could forever alter his past, present and future.  I admit this isn't a new storytelling tactic but it is a compelling aspect to an otherwise overly-populated narrative which contains multiplicity of supernatural elements and mythologies (this story has zombies, shinigamis and god knows what else), not to mention a boatload of side characters, who are all featured for a short time in this volume.

Review copies provided by the publisher.

4 Comments

• At October 29, 2009, Joe wrote:

  One of the first anime I saw was Tenchi Muyo, so harem stories have a special place in my heart. ...

• At October 30, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  I've never read / watched Tenchi -- eventually I'm sure I should just to see one of the earlier versions ...

• At October 30, 2009, Halloween Eve blogging « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] Danielle Leigh discusses three Halloween-friendly manga at Comics Should Be Good. Kate Dacey checks out three more spooky titles ...

• At November 1, 2009, DenzelWS wrote:

  Hey , HAPPY HALOWEEN!

The upshot of this, of course, is that it's very late in the day, and although I thought about skipping a week, I did get a metric ton of comics, two of which I received for free and therefore ought to review, and many of which were very good. I can't say these will be the best reviews (keep your snide comments about how none of these posts are the "best" to yourself!), but I did want to point out some books that came out a week ago that you might have missed. Let's fire it up!

Beasts of Burden #2 (of 4) ("Lost") by Evan Dorkin (writer), Jill Thompson (artist), and Jason Arthur (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, Dark Horse.

This issue is even creepier than last issue, which is saying something. It's pretty terrifying, and Dorkin does a really nice job with two things: Making these animals truly animalistic (they do a pretty nasty thing) but also tapping into some universal emotions that make their nasty actions more understandable. It's a tense, action-filled issue, stunningly illustrated by Thompson. It's nice that Dorkin is doing these as one-and-done stories, because you don't need to have read the first issue to enjoy this. So if you see this lying around, pick it up. It's totally freaky!

Chew #5 ("Taster's Choice Part 5 of 5") by John Layman (writer/letterer), Rob Guillory (artist/colorist), and Lisa Gonzalez (color flats). $2.99, 24 pgs, FC, Image.

Speaking of freaky, the first arc of Chew comes to a close with Tony solving the central mystery and getting in a lot of trouble because of it. Layman experiments a little bit with the format, giving us a first page with snapshots of Tony getting into deeper and deeper trouble, then going back in time and filling in the spaces that led him to those dramatic moments. It's as gross as ever, of course, but Layman still manages to bring his black sense of humor to the proceedings, which alleviates the sickening central premise. And the solution and the fallout from it nicely sets up the rest of the series. Guillory, naturally, is phenomenal, with a two-page spread of such shocking violence (even more than the rest of the book) that we feel the pain of the character intensely. It's a stunning comic artistically.

This arc will be out soon in trade. Check it out, because this is a very interesting series that's getting better as it goes along. I'm looking forward to the direction Layman and Guillory are going with it.

Ex Machina #46 ("Pro-Life Part Two") by Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Tony Harris (artist), JD Mettler (colorist), and Jared K. Fletcher (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Wildstorm.

You know the drill. Flashback; some politics; some violence; a cliffhanger that ties back into the flashback. I know that some people don't like the formula, but I do. It's keen. Plus, it's getting to the end, so we are getting some answers about the series. Good to see. Only a few more issues to go!

FVZA: Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency #1 (of 3) by David Hine (writer), Roy Allan Martinez (artist), Kinsun Loh (painter), Jerry Choo (painter), Richard Starkings (letterer), and Jimmy Betancourt (letterer). $4.99, 44 pgs, FC, Radical Comics.

As usual, the fine folk at Radical sent this to me, and I'd like to thank them. It's always cool to get free comics, even if I don't love them completely. And I don't love this completely, but that might be because of the subject matter. I'm just not the biggest fan of vampires and zombies, so a book about a federal agency that destroys vampires and zombies isn't really in my wheelhouse. Hine does only one nifty thing with vampires, when he points out that vampires might not actually enjoy being vampires, which is a pretty good observation. Other than that, the vampires and zombies aren't that distinguishable from any other vampires and zombies.

That's not to say the comic is bad, because if there's one thing Hine knows, it's horror. He does a very nice job setting up this mileau, in which the United States government set up the FVZA in the 1860s and almost eradicated them from the country, to the point where the agency was disbanded. Of course, now they're back, and two young siblings, Landra and Vidal, whose grandfather was a big wheel in the earlier incarnation of the FVZA, are tasked to instruct new agents. Hine does a nice job with the set-up, as Landra stands over her grandfather with a gun, presumably because he's been turned somehow, and then tells the story in flashback. Hine does a good job building the horror of both the vampires and zombies, and even though we know what's coming, he's still effective. Martinez's art is better when it's not painted because it's rougher, but he does have a few truly horrifying scenes that complement Hine's story pretty well.

As with a lot of the Radical comics, FVZA has a lot of positives in it. The production values are stunning, and to go back to last week, their books often have good "hand," because this feels like a good chunk of comics. I wish Hine would do more with making the vampires and zombies more unique, because the idea of the federal agency (which isn't his, of course) is a pretty decent one.

Hellblazer #260 ("The Long Crap Friday") by Peter Milligan (writer), Simon Bisley (artist), Jamie Grant (colorist), and Sal Cipriano (letterer). $2.99, 20 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

What's cool about Milligan writing this series is that he didn't even make any pretense about John being noble. Most of the other times I've read the book, the writer tries to set up John as some kind of damaged yet somewhat decent fellow who eventually gets tempted too much to meddle and it all ends horribly. Milligan has simply shown us, from the beginning, that John is a scumbag, which makes all the crap that is happening to him in this run kind of fun, because we indulge in a little schadenfreude and never worry if maybe, this time, John has changed. Milligan is making this a different kind of Hellblazer run, because nothing John is doing is noble, even tangentially. His proclamations regarding Phoebe in this book don't even ring true, because we saw how he treated her, so we know it's bullshit. Perhaps Milligan is going this way so that John can actually earn some redemption. Perhaps not. Either way, Milligan is writing a nasty little comic, and it's pretty cool.

Incarnate #2 (of 3) by Nick Simmons (writer/artist), Matt Dalton (inker), Dami Digital (colorist), and Rob Steen (letterer). $4.99, 53 pgs, FC, Radical Comics.

I still feel the same way about issue #2 of this series that I felt about #1 - Simmons is an interesting artist, with a ton of energy in his pencils and glee in his horror that's somewhat refreshing. The fight scene at the end of the issue is fun to look at, with lots of blood and crazy monsters and wacky choreography. Simmons does give us a bit more about the characters and what the heck they are, and presumably we'll learn all in issue #3. But the problems are still there, and they come from Simmons's storytelling abilities, which are pretty raw. In issue #1, there was no reason to care about the characters, and as we knew very little about them, no other reason for us to be involved. In this issue, Mot is imprisoned by Sibyl, who forces him to be her bodyguard. It's obvious that Simmons is building a romance between these two, but it's mainly because that's what they'd do - Mot is a Goth dude who has a secret, while Sibyl is a blonde Catholic schoolgirl. Of course they're going to be attracted to each other! But just because their "types" would be attracted to each other doesn't mean Simmons can skip the actual relationship between them, and he does. The writing in the book is strangely enervating, with Simmons simply doling out information without spicing it up too much. It jars with the art, which crackles along.

It seems like this would work better if Simmons weren't trying to be "deep." As a strange mystery about demons who slaughter humans, it's not bad. Simmons seems to want to deepen the emotional resonance of the book, but he's not quite as good at that. But, like FVZA, this is a huge chunk of comics for not a ton of money, and it's nice that Radical is giving us our money's worth!

The Last Resort #3 (of 5) ("Part Three: Surf and Safari") by Jimmy Palmiotti (writer), Justin Gray (writer), Giancarlo Caracuzzo (artist), and Chris Mowry (letterer). $3.99, 20 pgs, FC, IDW.

Now that is a keen cover. Darwyn Cooke cracks me up (yes, Tom, I know a lot of things crack me up, but come on - check out that cover!).

Here's another reason why I would not be a good character in a horror movie: If I were on a plane that exploded on the runway and then, when I reached the terminal, there was no one around, I'd stay with the group. I know that most of the people in this comic don't know about the flesh-eating zombies running wild on the island yet, but two pairs of people break off from the group to wander around alone, and not surprisingly, one person pays a pretty horrible price. People in horror movies (and horror comics, I guess, as that's what this is) are unbelievably stupid. The victim I'm talking about here (there are others in the comic, but they're not stupid) deserves what she gets, because she's so obnoxious that we're cheering for her to get eaten. Now, I might still get killed in a horror movie, but it wouldn't be because I'm stupid.

There's a bit of a lull in this issue, as the characters regroup and try to figure out what the hell is going on, but it's still sheer bloody fun. And yes, that cover does depict something that happens in the book. Very stylistically, of course, but still.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto #3 ("Born and Made") by Brett Matthews (writer), Jonathan M. Abrams (writer), Vatche Mavlian (artist), Marcelo Pinto (colorist), and Simon Bowland (letterer). $4.99, 32 pgs, FC, Dynamite Entertainment.

We find our heroes at the circus, where the human cannonball has died under mysterious circumstances and the Lone Ranger and Tonto take it upon themselves to solve the crime. It's not a terribly good mystery, but that's okay, because Matthews and Abrams are more interested in examining the idea of outcasts and what binds them together, from the circus freaks who form the community to the Lone Ranger and Tonto themselves, who set themselves outside of society. It's not a terribly deep examination of this theme, but it's an interesting one, especially as our heroes peel back the layers of secrecy surrounding the carnival. Mavlian is fantastic, despite a few problems with clarity (which might be the fault of the colorist; I don't know). He has a nice rough style and the scenes where Tonto fights the bear are magnificently powerful.

I wish the regular series came out more often, but the specials are always pretty good. And they give you a nice single story, so there's no commitment to more!

Poe #4 (of 4) by J. Barton Mitchell (writer), Dean Kotz (artist), Digikore Studios (colorist), and James Dashiell (letterer). $3.99, 22 pgs, FC, Boom! Studios.

This turned out to be a pretty good mini-series, even if the idea of Poe-as-detective was abandoned quickly, mainly because he figured out the whole thing too easily. It turned into a spooky supernatural tale, much like one Poe himself would have written, which is somewhat interesting but a bit unfulfilling, because if we wanted a supernatural tale much like one Poe himself would have written, we'd probably read a supernatural tale that Poe did write. I would have liked Poe being more of detective, but oh well. What's best about this is the way Mitchell brings in aspects of Poe's life and fiction and uses them in the story, and he shows why Poe is not only a good writer, but a good man as well. Mitchell takes the tragedy in Poe's life and shows why it can be triumphant, and that's the interesting part of the tale. The action bits are fine, but not the best part of the book. Kotz, meanwhile, continues to do a good job on the art - this issue is far brighter than issue #3 (although it's still fairly dark), and we get some cool flaming skeletons and ghosts and whatnot.

Check out the trade when it shows up! It's worth a look.

Power Girl #6 ("Space Girls Gone Wild: Conclusion") by Justin Gray (writer), Jimmy Palmiotti (writer), Amanda Conner (artist), Paul Mounts (colorist), and John J. Hill (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC.

I usually give new series six issues to make a decision about whether to keep buying it or not, so we've reached the moment of truth with regard to Power Girl. I'm still torn, which means I'll probably drop it, because it's just not thrilling me. That pains me, because I simply adore the art, and it's almost - almost - worth the money. I do appreciate that Palmiotti and Gray aren't simply giving us dull hero-vs.-villain stories and that things get wrapped up in non-traditional ways, like the way PG takes care of the three alien hotties, and that the stories tend to blend into each other, but nothing is really wowing me. It's too bad.

Am I being too hard on the comic? I dunno. But damn, I love Amanda Conner's art. She needs to draw Grant Morrison's Adventures of Rogue and Psylocke. Now that would be a comic!

Robotika: For a Few Rubles More #3 and 4 by Alex Sheikman (writer/artist), David Moran (writer), Scott Keating (inker, issue #4), Joel Chua (colorist), and Norman Felchle (artist, "Dr. Agon"). $4.99, 60 pgs, FC, Archaia.

Boy, I really wish this series (and Archaia books in general) came out on a decent schedule. Sheikman's work deserves a much, much bigger audience, and it's not going to get it with the scheduling of the book. As always with Robotika, this is a visual feast, with beautiful individual panels and breathtaking choreography. In the second story, Sheikman divides the page into three long horizontal panels and tells two different stories that gradually converge, and it features stunning fight scenes. This is such a beautiful comic, and I would love to see Marvel throw a ton of money at Sheikman to draw a Dr. Strange mini-series. Or DC could let do some Jonah Hex. He'd kick ass at it.

The writing isn't great, although Sheikman and Moran do a good job wrapping up the story and setting up a new one. It gets the job done, and although it's still a bit messy, that's okay. Sheikman has such a strong visual sense that he's smart enough not to overwrite, allowing his art to tell the story. He needs to get better at writing, but he is getting there, so there's that.

Even without the best writing, this is totally worth the five dollars. Sheikman is that good. He's tremendous.

Spider-Woman #2 by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Alex Maleev (artist), and Cory Petit (letterer). $2.99, 21 pgs, FC, Marvel.

Another cool-looking decompressed mess. Come on, BMB, get moving!

As far as Jessica's abilities with secreting chemicals, remember when Gambit could do that? Sort of? Claremont brought it up in, I think, his first appearance, and I don't know if anyone's ever mentioned it again. It was kind of cool. Oh well.

Sugarshock by Joss Whedon (writer), Fábio Moon (artist), Dave Stewart (colorist), and Nate Piekos (letterer). $3.50, 24 pgs, FC, Dark Horse.

This is mostly impressive because of Moon's art, which is fantastic as usual. Whenever there's a chance to revel in Moon's art, I'm probably going to take it, unless he's drawing something by a writer I really hate, and I don't hate Whedon. Of course, I don't love Whedon either, and this is a good example why. It's a bunch of randon stuff strung together, some pretty good and some that doesn't work at all. I mean, the anti-Viking sentiment makes no sense and isn't funny. Dandelion ignoring Robot Phil's requests for his legs isn't all that funny. It's as if Whedon thinks he can make jokes by just saying the punchline, but yelling "Lemur!" in a crowded room isn't clever, and that's what a lot of this comic feels like. It's perfectly fine, and for the price you get a fairly packed story with a lot going on plus lots of sketches from Moon, but it's definitely not as clever as it thinks it is. That's an unfortunate by-product of a lot of Whedon's writing.

The saddest song in the world is kind of cool, though.

Underground #2 (of 5) by Jeff Parker (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), and Ron Chan (colorist). $3.50, 22 pgs, FC, Image.

What's interesting about this series so far is that Parker isn't taking the clicé-ridden route with regard to the story. Not that I thought he would, because he's too good, but it's kind of of cool that the bad guys aren't just gun-firing crazy people, and while they're not terribly concerned about Seth and Wes, they are concerned about doing their "job" correctly without killing anyone. And Parker shows that things aren't black-and-white even in little ways, which is always fun. And Lieber is great as usual, doing a tremendous job with the cave interiors and the claustrophobic atmosphere therein. When the characters confront each other, Lieber squeezes them into smaller and smaller panels, which is a neat effect. This continues to be a nifty series. Why wouldn't you buy it?

Zero Killer #6 (of 6) by Arvid Nelson (writer/letterer), Matt Camp (artist), and Dave Stewart (colorist). $2.99, 25 pgs, FC, Dark Horse.

I'll just link to my review of the entire series, okay?

I apologize again for the tardiness and brevity of these reviews. I'm feeling much better now! To prove it, let's check out some totally random lyrics!

"That's right here's where the talkin' ends
Well listen this night there'll be some action spent
Drive hard I'm callin' all the shots
I got an ace card comin' down on the rocks
If you think I'll sit around while you chip away my brain
Listen I ain't foolin' and you'd better think again"

Damn straight!

23 Comments

• At October 26, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  Now, I might still get killed in a horror movie, but it wouldn't be because I'm stupid.

  It'd be because everyone ...

• At October 26, 2009, Nitz the Bloody wrote:

  Oh my God, that Beasts of Burden issue was the saddest thing I've read in years. Marvelously written and illustrated, ...

• At October 26, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  Your weeklong illness perfectly summarizes my Sunday hangover. Awesome.

  Already ordered the Chew trade.

  You have to keep buying Power Girl! They're ...

• At October 26, 2009, buttler wrote:

  You have to keep buying Power Girl! They're bringing back Vartox! VARTOX!

  Bringing back Vartox???

  Sometimes I can't believe how beautiful this ...

• At October 26, 2009, Philip wrote:

  Greg, are you planning on doing any panel contests anytime soon. It doesn't even have to be for a prize ...

• At October 27, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  You lost thirteen pounds in a week?! Good lord, dude.

  That sounds like the worst crash diet ever.

• At October 27, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  "Come on, BMB, get moving!"*

  Mwa ha ha ha ha. Yeaaaahhhhhhhhhh no. Good one, though.

  (* Seriously, what's the tag in ...

• At October 27, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  < blockquote > < / blockquote >

  Without the spaces, of course.

• At October 27, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  Thank you.

• At October 27, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  Tomorrow I go to pick up more new comics, but I haven't started reading the ones from last week. Looking ...

• At October 27, 2009, stealthwise wrote:

  If you're on the fence about Power Girl I'd keep getting it. A lot of series that I've bought ...

• At October 27, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  FGJ: It probably will read better in trade. And you get a gigantic dose of Conner's art instead of ...

• At October 27, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  Hey Greg, that's why we're all here anyway, right? :-)

• At October 27, 2009, Neal K wrote:

  I have a bunch of those books waiting to be read as well. I have been ill, though nothing ...

• At October 27, 2009, Posts about Movie Reviews as of October 27, 2009 | Movie blog wrote:

  [...] was caught cheating on a test (he wasn’t really cheating but his dad doesn’t believe him). What ...

• At October 27, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  VARTOX!

• At October 27, 2009, JIMMY PALMIOTTI wrote:

  you should keep buying powergirl...I heard it's getting better.

• At October 27, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Who could have told you that, sir? :)

• At October 27, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  I'm glad you're feeling better, Greg.

  I figured that was the reason for the delay, so it's nice to see you ...

• At October 27, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Thanks, sir!

• At October 28, 2009, s1rude wrote:

  VARTOX?

• At October 30, 2009, ryan s wrote:

  You got another thing coming!

• At October 30, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  I'm glad someone got the lyrics, ryan!

These stories feature entirely too young drunks, orphaned teenagers, purposeless young adults, lonely sell outs, and those who even lack the wherewithal to sell out.  No one seems understands what it means to be happy or even how to wish for happiness.  Life, as we all know it, can kind of suck.  But Asano, in showing us the various whys and wherefores of that universal truth, also points out the small ways in which getting through the day -- no matter how horrible a day it was, no matter if it was only horrible because it was like every other day which is what makes it so horrible -- is its own kind of reward.   The only way to get one's head straight is finally being able to see this tiny victory of getting through the day as such.  Because the next day might not suck so much.  That might be a small consolation, but watching these characters overcome themselves in order to locate some aspect of their lives they can hold onto as good or even healthy gave most stories some much needed softening.  However, not every character gets that particular moment of consolation, but as a whole characters in these stories do find relief in the form of small moments of possibility we might simply recognize as "hope."

Perhaps I feel overly connected to Asano and his work considering he was born the same year I was and has similar preoccupations with the figure of the twenty-something slacker.  My life isn't half as bad as these folks, nor am I confused and directionless, but there is no doubt that these characters often express the kind of bewildered dissatisfaction with life we all share to some degree at some point.  In many ways, this feeling is part of what makes us all human, whether we struggle with it on a daily basis or only once in a season.  While yes, this means the subject of these stories may seem like kind of a "downer," I found I identified very strongly with the emotional-connective thread running through of these narratives and similarly found solace in the possibility for redemption the title (i.e. maybe it can be a "wonderful world" even if only for a brief moment) gives to the work and the individual stories' conclusions as a whole.  In spite of life often being a chore, or worse a burden, as long as one is alive there is hope that something "good is bound to happen."

What makes these short stories quite excellent is how well-constructed they are.  Asano gives us exactly the right amount of information -- through dialogue, internal monologue, and setting -- the reader will need to gain almost immediate footing within each individual story.   Yes, the topic of the stories may feel kind of "indie" -- the majority are about 20-something slackers whose lives are all kinds of messed up -- but Asano's handling of the material is accessible.  This is incredibly important, particularly in short stories, because it is too easy to fall out of pace with the flow of the narrative, considering the limitations of the form.  I almost never experienced that kind of disconnection while reading these volumes -- I found myself right there with the random convenience store worker who accidentally stalks his former girlfriend, or the former punk who traded his mohawk for the salaryman's uniform.  And while to some degree these figures are "types," allowing for easy reader recognition, they are also distinct characters who often find themselves pulled in unexpected (yet never completely random) directions.

Asano's art style also helps make these stories compulsively readable.  He balances extreme close-ups and fragmented glimpses of characters' expressions with full body views, often situated within detailed cityscapes, which consistently frame characters in real world settings.  As a whole, his art style is a nice twist on seinen style, as he incorporates a strong element of realism -- particularly in detail in city spaces, clothing, generally the "things" that place the characters so concretely in recognizably real spaces -- in order to ground the stories when they verve suddenly toward either the fantastic or the poetic.

Review copies provided by Viz.

3 Comments

• At October 26, 2009, Joe wrote:

  I've been super excited for this manga since I had heard about it, and will be receiving it in the ...

• At October 27, 2009, Food and monsters « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] (Soliloquy in Blue) Kris on Utahime – The Songstress (Manic About Manga) Danielle Leigh on vols. 1 and 2 ...

• At October 27, 2009, Journalista – the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » Oct. 27, 2009: Raw materials wrote:

  [...] [Review] What a Wonderful World Vol. 1-2 Link: Danielle Leigh [...]

Alex's sister has disappeared and she is forced to enroll in the "Nightschool," i.e. a training ground for those with supernatural powers, in order to gain access and opportunity she needs to investigate what happened to Sarah.  This is a very strong volume, particularly in Chmakova's portrait of the school as a fully-developed society entirely onto itself.  From the first moment she's detected on the grounds, Alex makes quite an impression upon both faculty and students.  Not necessarily a "good" impression, although she certainly is good at making waves.  There is a great sequence where Alex knocks the socks off a cranky professor with her surprisingly skilled use of her astral projection.  Equally important is her impressive ability at alienating the stuck-up student body through the power of snark.   (Her response to crossing paths with the "queen bee" of the school is hilariously mouthy and on point).  The further she wades into these waters, though, the more dangerous her mission becomes since she has become a person of interest to some very angry hungers (who she had a terrible run-in with in volume 1) who have connections inside the school.

The darker elements of the first volume have receded slightly to the background, along with the hunter storyline.  My one critique of this volume is that there a few too many characters to keep track of, particularly in the number of hunter characters.  I found my attention wandering when the focus is upon their various conflicts with other figures from this night-world that don't appear to directly involve Alex.  In general, their (small) part of this volume simply lacks the sheer entertainment factor of her story.   This problem will probably be solved when Alex comes face to face with the hunters once again, and come to terms with the possibly irreparable damage she caused three of their members back in the first volume.

In spite of my issues with the hunter aspect of the narrative, as a whole this is a particularly enjoyable take on the instruction for supernaturally-inclined teenagers.  One reason the book works so well is that Chmakova never seems to forget that her main characters are in fact teenagers and, therefore, act as such.  Witty dialogue, interesting characterization, and the creator's distinct take on shojo style all make this work an excellent example of how Japanese manga has inspired North-American comic book creators to develop compelling entertainment for teenage readers.

Review copy provided by Yen Press.

2 Comments

• At October 23, 2009, Takahashi interviewed, Dragon Ball books pulled « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] Bleach (Slightly Biased Manga) Erica Friedman on vol. 4 of Hayate x Blade (Okazu) Danielle Leigh on vol. 2 ...

• At November 2, 2009, Michelle Smith wrote:

  Great review! I agree about the hunter characters being both too plentiful and not as interesting as Alex. I ...

With this volume, creator Hino re-works the manga's original recipe by finally having Yuki's lost memories forcibly revealed to her through Kaname's intervention.  Her back-story is shocking enough in and of itself but now that the cat is out the bag, her major relationships in the manga -- specifically with Zero and Kaname -- are shaken to their core.  Now that she knows the truth about herself, how will she feel about the relationships she's formed and the person she has become in the past 10 years?  In many ways, the sweet, considerate Yuki is gone, replaced by a stranger who has much more insight into the nature of vampires, but this insight is only gained through a great sacrifice.

Significantly, with Yuki regaining her memories under the direction of Kaname, Hino also threads two unwieldy plots together -- Yuki's past and the current vampire society politics surrounding the resurrection of Rido, Kaname's uncle.  Just as Yuki isn't exactly who she thought she was, we learn that neither is the handsome, chilly prince of the vampire world exactly who we thought he was either.  Although a bit confusing, bringing these two plots together is an important move, as it brings the various machinations of outsiders (i.e. outside the character trinity of Zero-Yuki-Kaname) to bear upon the emotional center of the book.

Now it is Zero who stands on the outside, which only increases his isolation and rather pitiful attempt to inhabit the role of the tragic hero.  He's ready and willing to sacrifice everything -- his heart, his life, his truth -- to keep Yuki as the person he's always known but if he does so he may only appease himself.  Yuki may not need Zero's brand of heroics anymore, which may be his greatest tragedy.

As always, the manga's core relationships and its gothic, atmospheric art style make Vampire Knight a compelling read.  Now in its eighth volume, the story has started to clearly distinguish itself from the pack of supernatural stories with attractive, but morally dubious heroes.   Even if you've think you've seen it all, there are enough twists and turns in this title to make it a worthwhile addition to anyone's shojo library.

Review copy provided by Viz Media.

2 Comments

• At October 21, 2009, New shoujo mag in the works « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] Village) Danica Davidson on vols. 1-3 of Peach Fuzz (Graphic Novel Reporter) Danielle Leigh on vol. 8 of Vampire ...

• At November 2, 2009, Michelle Smith wrote:

  I've finally read this volume myself and have come to read your review! I think perhaps I didn't think ...

In the third volume, Darren, his mentor Mr. Crepsley and his friend Evra depart from the circus -- which is we learn Crepsley thinks of as just a convenient cover for their identities as vampires, while Darren has come to  think of it as "home" -- for a kind of "holiday."  Darren and Evra get a chance to goof off and enjoy activities that "normal" boys get to do, such as playing video games, watching tv, exploring the busy city, even developing a crush on a girl.  The primary difference between them and other people, as Evra points out, is that other people also have to go to a job or school....or in other words, those people have purpose.

With too much time on their hands Darren and Evra start to become suspicious about Crepsley's strange behavior, as their strange guardian goes out every night with a haunted look in his eye and returns at dawn, never giving any indication what he's been doing or why he's chosen this particular city for their vacation.  When Darren learns about a bunch of bodies -- drained of blood -- have been left for dead in the city he immediately suspects his mentor.

I'm a sucker for conflicted mentor-mentee relationships and this volume of Cirque du Freak tests the already stretched-thin bonds of trust between Darren and Crepsley.  Once Darren consciously breaks those bonds he is immediately regretful and he devises dangerous tests of trust and courage that he must pass in order to repair what has been broken.  This volume allows Darren (& the reader) to learn more about who his mentor really is, and, therefore, more about what it means to be a "vampire" in this particular version of the mythology.

Cirque du Freak avoids cliched representations of vampires and things that go bump in the night in favor of interesting characterization that drives the plot.  I always sense that these characters are people, even if they aren't necessarily "human" anymore.

Review copy provided by Yen Press.

2 Comments

• At October 15, 2009, Me wrote:

  Just pointing out that Cirque Du Freak is actually a series of books. I guess it was also adapted ...

• At October 16, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  yup I know, I'm just pointing out the synergy of the manga and film being released right now in the ...

I wasn't sure if I was going to pick this up, but I figured with Hester writing it and Churilla drawing it, I couldn't really go that wrong. I'm still not sure about it, but it's a solid first issue. It's a lot of set-up, as Hester introduces the Anchor, a dude who stands at the gate of Hell and fights demons that want to get out. Meanwhile, on earth, his actual body (in Hell it's his soul) wanders around, and in this issue ends up in Reykjavik fighting some kind of ice monster. The fact that whatever happens to his spiritual body manifests in his physical body helps him win. Yay! Plus, he meets a cute Icelandic chick and does something gross (not to her - ewwww - but in a different context - although, on second thought, something gross happens to her that is because of him, but not his fault). All in a day's work for "Clem," as the Icelandic chick - Hofi - dubs him, based on his wearing the cross of St. Clement on his belt (which just happens to look like an anchor - the traditional story is that Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown overboard into the Black Sea). As a set-up issue, it works perfectly fine - we get the basic premise of the story, two main characters, and a big fight. Hester is an underrated writer, and Churilla has a nice, cartoony-but-not-too-cartoony line that reminds me of Scott Wegener, and we get an ending that leads into next issue but doesn't change the one-and-done nature of the issue. As first issues go, this works fine. It doesn't dazzle me, but I'll probably check out the next issue, at least.

I did want to address something I read recently on The Savage Critics. Here's Retailer Extraordinaire Brian Hibbs:

As long as I'm talking about cover stocks, let me mention that last week's BOOM! titles also had a new stock that I liked very much -- one of the things that has REALLY hurt BOOM! sales, in my opinion, is that they've had lousy "hand" (that is to say, holding it in your hand, if you think "This feels flimsy, and not worth the cover price!", that's "hand").

I don't know if Hibbs has polled anyone about this, and I certainly can't compare to his expertise in the retailing arena. I have noticed the phenomenon with regard to Boom!'s comics, but I wonder if that's a reason for not buying their comics. I don't think it's a terribly good reason, but the reasons for not doing something, after you get past economic and taste, are often goofy ("It doesn't feature superheroes!" "I remain devoted to boycotting Mark Millar books!" "That movie doesn't star Rosamund Pike!"). So I wonder if you - yes, you! - have decided not to buy a Boom! comic because it wasn't "heavy" enough. Does that figure in your buying in any way? Consider: The Anchor has NO ads to break up the flow of the issue. The paper stock on Vertigo books is a bit heavier, but the glossy stock Boom! uses doesn't seem different than any other regular comic. In terms of pages, The Anchor has 14 (if we simply count the number of 8½-by-11 pieces of "paper" that make up the book, which includes the front and back cover) while a random Marvel book (this week's Incredible Hercules, for instance) has 18. Herc, of course, has eight (8) adverts in the course of the comic to break up one of the best superhero fights you're ever going to see (see below!), so there's that (in fact, I smell a theme!). I can't believe consumers would think a Boom! comic isn't worth the cover price because it's not heavy enough. Maybe because it's $3.99, people expect to get more for that extra dollar, and when the book "feels" thinner than a $2.99 comic even though the story is the same length, they feel cheated. That doesn't explain the 22-page comics that Marvel sells for $3.99, though, unless the presence of extra ads "fools" consumers into thinking the book is longer than it is. If you don't like Boom! comics because you don't like the stories, that's one thing. I hope Hibbs is wrong, though, because it would be depressing if he were right (in the comments, one person agrees with Hibbs, so I guess he's not completely crazy).

This issue: 22 story pages; Hester's introduction to the series (where a letters page will go); Boom!'s page about their current and upcoming comics.

Fables #89 ("Witches Chapter Three: Baba Yaga") by Bill Willingham (writer), Mark Buckingham (artist), Steve Leialoha (inker), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Lee Loughridge (colorist), and Todd Klein (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, DC/Vertigo.

Hey, it's another gorgeously illustrated issue of Fables! That's a shock. And hey, it's another interesting and intricate issue of Fables! That, too, is a shock. Willingham continues to use these characters in marvelous ways, from Bufkin figuring out his strengths (with some help from the magic mirror) to Frau Totenkinder divining what's going on with the Dark Man. And Buckingham, who entered this comics world as Chris Bachalo's inker, moved on to aping him in his pencils, has moved on from that and doesn't get enough credit for bringing this fabulous world to life. His detailed art, page designs, sense of humor, and ease with which he draws flying monkeys and giant genies and small birds make each issue of Fables (well, the ones he draws) a pleasure to look at. Frau Totenkinder's new look is eerily exotic in an indeterminate way (she's not exactly Romani, but she's close), Baba Yaga is horrific, and Buckingham does a fantastic job showing the way the genie slowly comes around to Bufkin's way of thinking (to his regret). It's a tremendous book to gaze at, and it's nice to see Buckingham continuing to grow as an artist.

Plus, that's a pretty excellent cover.

This issue: Six (6) story pages, then an ad. Two (2), then an ad. Five (5), then a double-page ad. Two (2), then an ad. One (1), then an ad. Six (6), then the end of the issue. Adverts: Two movies available on VOD (?); the new Fables novel (Peter and Max); a video game; Luna Park, the new graphic novel from Vertigo; Jack of Fables; a three-page preview for that Cinderella series at the end of the issue; the "On the Ledge" column on the final page.

Gødland #29 ("Iron Black Moses") by Joe Casey (writer), Tom Scioli (artist), Bill Crabtree (colorist), and Rus Wooton (letterer). $2.99, 20 pgs, FC, Image.

I always hope a new issue of Gødland means that the book is back on track for at least a semi-regular schedule, and then, after it shows up, we wait another 3-6 months for the next issue, and I spiral back into a Gødland-free depression zone. Don't Joe Casey and Tom Scioli know what they're doing to me????? I mean, not only do we get a cameo by President Obama in this issue, the creators suggest we "clip and save this collectible portrait" and dot the lines of the panel. And the joke gets even better from there. Plus, Adam's cosmic adventure with Neela gets even cosmicker in this issue, and Scioli goes absolutely nuts with the art, from a giant single-page panel of Leviticus and Vayikra smashing R@d-Ur Rezz to the wackiness of the planet at the "very edge of universal reason." Every issue I can't imagine how Casey and Scioli will up the ante, and every issue they do. Okay, so the Universal Decimator goes into a cocoon stage early on in the book and doesn't bring the awesome, but that's okay, as every one else steps up their game. I mean, R@d-Ur Rezz makes a cat's cradle to escape his pursuers. Bow down before the excellence of Gødland!

Dang, I love this comic. I'm so excited to read it when I buy it, I'm so excited to read it as I'm reading it, and I'm so excited to flip through it while I'm writing about it. Then the long, cold winter of my discontent begins anew, and I must wait until the day, far in the future, when another issue comes out. Oh, how long I must wait!!!!!

This issue: 20 story pages; one letters page (on the inside back cover).

The Incredible Hercules #136 ("Thorcules versus Hercuthor!") by Greg Pak (writer), Fred van Lente (writer), Reilly Brown (penciler), Nelson DeCastro (inker), Guillem Mari (colorist), Ulises Areola (colorist), A. Street (colorist), and Simon Bowland (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, Marvel.

Okay, so not only is the recap page of this comic often more entertaining than the actual stories in most other Marvel and DC books (I've mentioned this before; in this one, Thor narrates about some of their fights and wishes that Hercules would wear some underwear), but in this issue, my campaign to get Simon Bowland an Eisner for best letterer resumes in full force. Yes, I know the debate last time was whether the writers come up with the sound effects and Bowland just implements them, but in the absence of any creator coming by here and letting us know for certain that Bowland didn't come up with them, I'll keep pimping him for an Eisner. Last time, I simply wrote the sound effects. This time, if you'll forgive the SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!, I'll scan them:

This is in the middle of one of the best superhero fights I've seen in a long time, as Herc (pretending to be Thor) battles Thor (pretending to be Herc) in order to keep Queen Alflyse from rampaging across Asgard. Pak and van Lente keep it clever, as Thor tells Herc he needs to lose, which Herc certainly understands but also certainly doesn't want to do, because his pride is at stake. Of course, it all works out in the end (I won't tell you how, especially with the way they deal with Malekith), but the writers continue to make very nice points about the characters in the midst of all the mayhem, as they do when Zeus tries to figure out why a buffoon like Hercules is considered a hero. Plus, as you can see, Brown's art is fantastic as usual.

What a wonderful comic. Come on - a purple nurple!!!!! Who doesn't love that?

This issue: Recap page; three (3) story pages, then an ad. Three (3), then an ad. One (1), then an ad. Three (3), then an ad. Three (3), then an ad. One (1), then an ad. Two (2), then an ad. Five (5), then an ad. One (1), then the "next issue" page. Adverts: Milk (with some dude named Ryan Sheckler; Kia; a video game; a video game; a video game; Punisher #11; The Incredible Hulk #603; Realm of Kings.

Scalped #32 ("The Gnawing Part Three of Five") by Jason Aaron (writer), R. M. Guéra (artist), Giulia Brusco (colorist), and Steve Wands (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

It's been a while since an issue of Scalped came out, which is a shame. It's always a gripping read, even one like this, which seems to fly by. It's not that this isn't packed with stuff, but the set pieces in this issue - the witness escaping both police custody and Dash; Dash returning to Carol's house and getting kicked out; Red Crow showing up at Carol's place; Dash visiting his mother's grave and making a deal with the proverbial devil - are notable by the fact that Aaron lets Guéra draw the hell out of them, and Guéra, perhaps not surprisingly, does a wonderful job. There's just not a lot of words in this issue, which is fine, because it's always nice to see writers and artists have such a good synergy that the writer trusts the artist to tell the story, which Guéra does. The jailbreak could be completely wordless and we'd know exactly what's going on. The same could be said for Dash's visit to his mother's grave and subsequent deal. We see from Dash's face that he's about to go straight to hell, and then we see his disgust when he's forced into his alliance. Aaron has gotten some good fill-in artists for this series, but no one captures the grittiness of this world like Guéra does. You can just feel the despair oozing off the pages when you read an issue of Scalped, and that's at least half due to the art. Aaron rarely has to tell us the characters have no choice when they do things, because we see it all over their faces. As we hurtle toward the end of this story arc (and wherever the hell Aaron is going with it, because it just doesn't seem like Dash has many options left), it's due in a large part to Guéra's art that we're so emotionally invested in the book.

This issue: Fifteen (15!) story pages, then a double-page ad. Seven (7) story pages, then a seven-page preview of Peter and Max. Adverts: A video game; the "On the Ledge" column on the final page. I can't remember if the Vertigo books from the past few months had fewer ads when they ran the preview of the novel; I assume so, which may be why there's hardly any advertising in this issue, which is late.

Secret Six #14 ("Depths Part Five of Five: Early Release") by Gail Simone (writer), Nicola Scott (penciller), Carlos Rodriguez (penciller/inker), Doug Hazlewood (inker), Mark McKenna (inker), Jason Wright (colorist), and Pat Brosseau (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC.

As I always point out, I love the fact that this book makes me feel uncomfortable, as it's often really creepy, and Simone can do things in this comic that I wouldn't want to see in a more "straight-forward" superhero comic (even though costumed people abound in this book). Case in point: Grendel standing over a spread-eagle Wonder Woman and licking her palm with an extremely long and wet tongue (tentacle rape comes to mind, very deliberately, I'm sure) as he tells her he's going to "eat" her (he means it literally, but the sexual element is very strong). This is on the first three pages, mind you, so it's not like Simone eases us into it. I forgive it in this comic, even though if this thing took place in, say, Wonder Woman's own magazine, I might think it's excessive. It all gets back to tone and the "audience," I suppose, of the book - it's a standard DC comic, so theoretically it can be sold to kids, but Simone seems to understand the horror better than others writing for DC, and she addresses it head-on. It's an unpleasant comic, not in that it's not excellent (it is), but in that Simone is dealing with horror and, in a superhero way, she brings us the consequences of the actions. Wonder Woman is not a superhero in this book, she's a woman avenging as close a rape as we can see on the page, as well as the imprisonment of her sisters. Scandal does something in this book that makes the one person whose opinion she cares about lose respect for her. Deadshot shows, again, why he's such a cool guy, but his "betrayal" of the team has to have repercussions in the future, I'd imagine. This is about as intense a comic as you can get from the regular DC and Marvel universe, and Simone is brilliant at showing how depraved these people are without making them completely hateful. I mean, you have to love Ragdoll, right? But even someone as nasty as Lawton is a compelling character with a nice undertone of tragedy (this comes mainly from what I know about Lawton from when Ostrander wrote him back in the day - and I suppose I should mention that next issue is the one guest-written by The Man himself - but Simone has done a fine job building on that). Even Mister Smyth is oddly sympathetic, or at least comprehensible!

I love comics that keep getting better. This is one of them.

This issue: Four (4) story pages, then an ad. One (1), then an ad. Two (2), then an ad. Three (3), then an ad. One (1), then a double-page ad. Four (4), then an ad. Three (3), then an ad. Three (3), then an ad. One (1), then the end of the issue. Adverts: Kia; the movies available on VOD; Victorian Undead, the new Wildstorm mini-series by Ian Edginton and Davide Fabbri; The Great Ten, the new mini-series by Tony Bedard and Scott McDaniel; a video game; Lobo: Highway to Hell, the new mini-series by Scott Ian and Sam Kieth; Batman #692 (Tony Daniel's return to the title!); World's Finest, the new mini-series by Sterling Gates and Julian Lopez; DiDio's "DC Nation" column on the last page of the comic.

The Unwritten #6 ("Inside Man Part One") by Mike Carey (writer), Peter Gross (artist), Chris Chuckry (colorist), Jeanne McGee (colorist), and Todd Klein (letterer). $2.99, 22 pgs, FC, DC/Vertigo.

Carey and Gross get back to the main story, as Tom gets sent to prison while he awaits trial. Carey cleverly moves him from Switzerland to France by way of one of the victims of the massacre being French and the French wanting to try him, and this sets him down near where "The Song of Roland" is set, which apparently leads into the next section of the tale, as Tom suddenly begins acting very un-Tom-like but definitely more Roland-esque. Meanwhile, Lizzie is tasked to "undo the harm that's already been done," so we'll have to see what that entails. Oh, and Frankenstein's monster shows up. Well, of course he does!

To call this issue "efficient" might sound like an insult, but it's really not. Carey moves all the pieces into place for his next arc after the first one ended oddly, with Tom arrested for murders he didn't commit. Obviously, Carey is going for a slow burn on this title, which is fine (it might annoy people who buy the trade of the first arc, because its ending is so inconclusive, but fuck those assholes and their monthly-serial-killing ways, right?), so, much like Fables (with which this seems to share a sensibility), individual issues might have little cool moments, but in terms of advancing the plot, they might disappoint. A lot "happens" in this issue, but none of it pays off now, because that's not what Carey's going for. It's still an interesting comic, and as I happen to enjoy "The Song of Roland" a hell of a lot more than Shelley's band of whining Goths, I have high hopes for this section of Tom's journey.

Of course, even if the writing portion of the issue "disappoints" (to the extent that it does, which isn't much), we can still marvel at Gross's art. His style when he's drawing the portions of the book with Roland and Oliver is nicely different from his regular style, looking more "medieval," for lack of a better word, reminiscent not only of a manuscript but also of, say, Charles Vess's art when he was drawing Shakespeare for Gaiman back in the day. He also does a fine job with the dankness of the prison, and I don't know if he designed Lizzie's outfit when she goes into the police station, but it's pretty dang awesome (not as awesome as these outfits, but still pretty keen). And, of course, the image of the monster in the church at the end is chilling yet strangely tender. Gross is excellent on this book, and it mitigates Carey's desire to do a slow burn on the book a lot.

But I'm patient. And I do enjoy the cool conceit of the comic, so I don't mind that Carey is going slowly.

This issue: Two (2) pages of praise for the comic, with the second page adding a recap that also introduces the "Inside Man" of the title. Two (2) pages of story, then an ad. Two (2), then an ad. Three (3), then an ad. Three (3), then a double-page ad. Two (2), then an ad. Five (5), then an ad. Three (3), then the "On the Ledge" column. Two (2), then the end of the issue. Adverts: The two movies on VOD; Luna Park; The Dream Hunters adaptation by Gaiman and P. Craig Russell; a video game; Peter and Max; The Absolute Death.

The Veil #4 (of 4) ("Veil") by El Torres (writer) and Gabriel Hernandez (artist). $3.99, 24 pgs, FC, IDW.

As we come back around to the topic I was ruminating about in the first review, the commenter who agreed with Hibbs specifically mentioned IDW's titles, which cost the same as Boom!'s do but have more "hand" because their card stock is heavier. This comic is a good example - in terms of story, it's two pages more than The Anchor, but it feels substantially thicker. Is that enough to get people to buy it? I don't know. I do know that some IDW books that I buy might have better "hand," but the art is occasionally blurrier than on a Boom! comic - like this issue is. Some of the pages look less crisp than they could be, as if we're looking at a photograph of the art rather than the art itself (I'm well aware I'm never looking at original art in a comic, but I'm talking about the reproduction values of the actual original art). Therefore, even though I've been very pleasantly surprised by this series and I think Hernandez's art is a bit better than Churilla's (even though I think they're both good), The Anchor's interiors actually look better than the interiors of this issue do. I hope that people who think that the IDW book is worth the four dollars and the Boom! book isn't check out the interior work, too, rather than just making a snap judgment based on "hand." I wonder if IDW's commitment to heavier stock means that the art doesn't reproduce as well, because this isn't the first time I've noticed it.

That is, of course, a production issue, and it has nothing to do with the actual content, and The Veil is, for me, the most surprising comic of the year, because Torres took a fairly standard horror trope - a girl can see the dead - and crafted a truly terrifying comic that - and this is key - follows through on the premise. I don't want to give too much away, but too often in popular entertainment, creators rely on a deus ex machina to pull back from the edge just when things are about to get really unpleasant. This doesn't only happen in horror, of course, but in all forms. I've told the story of my experience with Dolph Lundgren's Punisher movie before, but it's worth repeating. As crappy as the movie is, it was goofily entertaining, and when the Asian villain takes those kids hostages, I told my friend, "This movie gets five stars if the kids die." It's not that I wanted to see kids get killed, even in a fictional setting, but if the director puts kids in jeopardy to elicit an emotional response from us ("Save them, Dolph!"), he should have the balls to acknowledge that the evil villain probably would kill at least one. I ought to have a name for this, in fine Cronin fashion - maybe I could call it the Independence Day Syndrome, because of that damned dog outrunning a fireball because whatever you do, you can't kill a poor dog! Torres sets up his story in such a fashion that his bad people really ought to follow through, and by God, they do! There are always casualties in horror, after all, and they shouldn't all be girls who had pre-marital sex. This is truly a horrifying comic, one of the better ones I've read recently, and I encourage you to go find the trade when it comes out. Hernandez's art is amazing and creepy, and Torres really gets under your skin with his story.

This issue: Twenty-four (24) pages of story, then eight (8) pages of ads, all for IDW products and including a three-page interview with the new creative team on Transformers.

Let's break down the advertising:
Video games: 7
Two movies available on VOD: 3
A Kia: 2
Milk: 1
House ads: 20

I don't know what that says about publishers' ability to sell advertising space, but that's the breakdown.

So that's the week. Quite excellent in terms of quality: A nice debut, a very good continuing series, a long-missed favorite, Marvel's best book, another great issue of Native Noir, DC's best book, a new arc of a promising series, and the terrifying conclusion of a very good horror comic. It's all about quality, not quantity here at the Burgas home! And now, it's time for totally random lyrics!

"Through all the cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
I love you now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hands
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights
Knock me down get back up again
You're in my blood I'm not a lonely man"

Once you get this song in your head, you'll never get it out! That's how insidious it is!

Oh, and GO PHILLIES!!!!! We can't let the damned Yankees win, can we?

36 Comments

• At October 15, 2009, Wraith wrote:

  Incredible Hercules - This was a great story. I don't remember exactly what led me to pick it up, actually... ...

• At October 15, 2009, Monica Dickey wrote:

  Nice. My friend lent me Secret Six after I enjoyed Watchmen and I gotta say it was pretty creepy. The ...

• At October 15, 2009, GarBut wrote:

  If you really want to piss off your Canadian readers, tell them that the song is by Rascal Flatts (not ...

• At October 15, 2009, patrick wrote:

  GO YANKEES!

  ALL THE WAY BABY!

• At October 15, 2009, Omar Karindu, with the power of SUPER-hypocrisy! wrote:

  Incredible Hercules and Invincible Iron Man are the two books right now that get past my Dark Reign embargo. ...

• At October 15, 2009, Rob Barrett wrote:

  Pak and Van Lente are having a Simonson-level run on Hercules, and in Brown they finally have a regular artist ...

• At October 15, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  I don't really care if my comics give good "hand" or not. I prefer it when they give good "head."

  If ...

• At October 15, 2009, Ralph wrote:

  the only reason I havent purchased a Boom! comic lately, is that their trades come out soon after the first ...

• At October 15, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  it might annoy people who buy the trade of the first arc, because its ending is so inconclusive, but fuck ...

• At October 15, 2009, Nick Rini wrote:

  I hate to admit that I've picked up a bunch of Boom titles and then put them back on the ...

• At October 15, 2009, Mike Blake wrote:

  It's a good thing you had some stuff between comics giving good hand,and the depravity in SECRET SIX or it ...

• At October 15, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  I understand that a lot of people love The Incredible Hercules, but what you have posted here is just stupid ...

• At October 15, 2009, Chad Nevett wrote:

  I was hoping you'd mention the appearance of the butterfly in GODLAND... after all, we've seen a butterfly like this ...

• At October 15, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  patrick: BOO!!!!!

  Ralph: That's a perfectly fine reason.

  Nick: That's interesting that you feel that way. I do agree with you ...

• At October 15, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  A bunch of supposedly funny scenes all strung together isn't writing. What horrid tripe.

  Yeah man, where's the gritted teeth, bulging ...

• At October 15, 2009, Mary Warner wrote:

  I've never read this Hercules series. I keep hearing about how great it is, but I've always hated Hercules ...

• At October 15, 2009, jazzbo wrote:

  Maybe I missed it, but where is the opening quote about homeless people from?

  And again, maybe I missed it ...

• At October 15, 2009, San wrote:

  Alan: That seems to be unfair criticism. "A string of scenes strung together" is what Greg scanned and posted. It's ...

• At October 16, 2009, Scavenger wrote:

  re: Hercules #136...After reading it, I'm not sure I will ever read another comic. Anything else is going to ...

• At October 16, 2009, And we’re done | The Veil wrote:

  [...] received a lot of good reviews. Greg Burgas, in “What I bought” has been reviewing every issue. Thanks a ...

• At October 16, 2009, BDaly wrote:

  Herc haters probably enjoy kicking kittens.

• At October 16, 2009, The Dude wrote:

  Stuff like Godland and Elephantmen are the reason why you're in my will, Greg! :-)

  I started buying them because of ...

• At October 16, 2009, The Dude wrote:

  By the way, you didn't buy Anna Mercury?

• At October 16, 2009, s1rude wrote:

  I have a distinct and indelible memory of listening to (and shout-singing along with) that song in my buddy's ...

• At October 16, 2009, brian wrote:

  I thought it was Tom Cochrane - Life is a highway?

  House ads I think are a sign of the economy ...

• At October 16, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Another installment of one of my fave GRAMMAR SHOULD BE GOOD columns! Even though roughly half the time I (a) ...

• At October 16, 2009, Pedro Bouça wrote:

  Greg,

  I read somewhere that the editor (Mark Paniccia, if I recall correctly) came up with the "sound effects". He apparently ...

• At October 16, 2009, Chad Nevett wrote:

  Ah, the butterfly reminded me of the one that guided Automatic Kafka from the Warrant's home to the comic shop ...

• At October 16, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  Mary and jazzbo: I was just pointing out that when you judge a book by "hand," you're often thinking it's ...

• At October 16, 2009, Michael M. wrote:

  The Thor/Hercules fight, and the two pages where "Hercules" schools "Thor" in the ways of dirty fighting made me laugh ...

• At October 16, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  >>As a friend put it, the ONLY way it could have been better would have been if they went out ...

• At October 16, 2009, joshschr wrote:

  One thing about the ads in Fables this week, in the last panel on the page before the Peter & ...

• At October 16, 2009, Scavenger wrote:

  Dan Bailey: I had the exact same reaction re: Hercules and PS238. PS238 is one of my favorite books, ...

• At October 16, 2009, The Cosh wrote:

  I've no idea what the problem is with UK distribution, but while I saw most of these titles in the ...

• At October 16, 2009, Michael Mayket wrote:

  I'm with Mary. I keep reading (especially here) how great Hercules is and think about trying it, but then ...

• At October 17, 2009, Fascination Place » This Week’s Haul wrote:

  [...] expressions (penciller Reilly Brown does a bang-up job on the art) and very silly sound effects (helpfully scanned by ...

In the Soul Eater universe, a pair of individuals work together to reap souls.  One individual is the "weapon meister," while the other is a "living scythe" that is wielded by the weapon meister.  The first three chapters of the book are prologues, each introducing a different master and scythe pair who are still in training (we later find out they all attend the "Death Weapon Meister Academy").  The pair introduced in the first chapter appear to be the title's main protagonists.   Maka (Meister) and Soul Eater (Scythe) are on the verge of turning Soul into a powerful death scythe by completing his mission of "eating" 99 human souls and the soul of 1 witch.

The second and third prologue each introduce a pair of reapers who appear to function primarily as comic relief.  The other two weapon meisters in these prologues are both boys -- the first a would be assassin who doesn't understand the concept of "stealth" (he sees himself as a "Star" and desires to be in the spotlight), and the second an OCD-son of Death...known as Death the Kid.  The very idea of an OCD-soul reaper is hilarious and Death the Kid was probably my favorite character in the manga.

In each chapter, the pair of soul reapers work together to vanquish a renegade soul, leading to expansive and humorous battle scenes.  However, returning to the first prologue, and Maka and Soul's mission to reap the soul of a witch, sends the manga to fanservice-overdrive with the perv-meter turned up to 11.  The witch is first introduced in the bath, with only a barest film of bubbles covering up...nothing.  The bubbles really cover up nothing. Unfortunately, the excessive nudity and emphasis on the witch's ridiculous figure took me right out of the story and this kind of distraction was not contained to that one character or chapter.  Each chapter has a similar moment when I find myself annoyed and offended by the sheer inappropriateness of the level of nudity and sexualization of a female characters.  (For example, Death the kid has a pair of very, urm, bouncy twins as his scythe and his OCD manifests when he freaks out because their breasts are different sizes).

This is a shame because the book is quite stylish and fun otherwise -- except for these absurdly-voluptuous figures, Ohkubo draws in an angular, flat style, reminiscent of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, which is paired quite well with references to Anglo-American spooks and horror legends (such as Jack the Ripper and Frankenstein).  Importantly, the end of the volume also kicks off an on-going plot development as the first official chapter finds Maka, Soul and another reaper pair, on a mission to reap the soul of their former teacher who has been turned into a zombie.  The question of who turned him into a zombie becomes an interesting cliffhanger that certainly made me want to keep reading.

My frustration with the fanservice is that it keeps a work that would otherwise be appropriate for younger teens out of their hands.  I also think the predominant art style -- pattern oriented, with very little depth -- clashes terribly with the fanservice presentation, which is very fleshy and round (which makes sense since the emphasis is literally flesh).  I admit, I'm not ready to give up on Soul Eater just yet, but hold hope that the humor, plot and general stylishness of the entire project can make up for the overdone t&a that otherwise can overwhelm the fun for me.

Review Copy provided by Yen Press.

11 Comments

• At October 13, 2009, Joe wrote:

  How are the backgrounds handled in this? One of my pet peeves in comics is a fantasy comic with very ...

• At October 13, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  Yup, the backgrounds are mainly "atmospheric." This is a very different kind of comic than FMA or BPRD -- ...

• At October 13, 2009, Fanboy wrote:

  It does get better, I assure you. The prologues and first few chapters are pretty fanservice-heavy, but once they get ...

• At October 13, 2009, Joe wrote:

  Hmmm. While I can appreciate the appeal of "atmospheric" I much prefer my comics to feel more grounded.

  The cover caught ...

• At October 14, 2009, Okman wrote:

  I don't think Soul Eater is as clever as Fanboy thinks it is. It's definitely step-up from most shounen manga, ...

• At October 14, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  Thanks, guys! I appreciate the input...I'll be sure to check out volume 2 when it is released early next ...

• At October 14, 2009, Tully wrote:

  Soul Eater gets better later, even toning down the fan service... But then it gets worse, IMO. It's a monthly ...

• At October 14, 2009, Michelle Smith wrote:

  I feel like such a manga failure, but... what on earth is BPRD?

  Black Panda's Racy Diary?

  Bishounen Prettyboy Receives Declarations?

  Or, my ...

• At October 14, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  heh. Don't worry -- It isn't manga. It is a spin-off of the Hellboy comic -- BPRD stands ...

• At October 14, 2009, Michelle Smith wrote:

  Ohhhhhh. Well, Hellboy, at least, I have heard of. :)

• At October 15, 2009, Joe wrote:

  I suppose I should have given another manga example but BPRD was one of the first that popped in my ...

I should note one of the things I enjoy most about RIN-NE is the two main characters' rather practical take on their "supernatural" abilities.  As a child, Sakura Mamiya was spirited away by a "bad" shinigami and upon her safe return to the human world she discovers she has gained the ability to see ghosts.  This doesn't seem to cause her much emotional stress, as she grows to become a rather easy-going teenager who tends to avoid the ghosts who like to strike up conversations with her.  Nor is she ostracized by her classmates for occasionally seeming to have a conversation with the air.

Her life changes when shes sees Rinne Rokudo -- a perpetually absent classmate -- in his role as a shinigami, as he's sending spirits off into the next world...and when regular humans shouldn't be able to see him at all.  Rinne is a rather serious and strange shinigami -- upon their first meeting he demands (well.  Extorts might be a better way to put it) a fairly cheap fee from Sakura, in order to follow through putting a difficult spirit's soul to rest.  Amusingly, he keeps trying to extract insanely paltry amounts for doing his job incrementally, which Sakura exasperatedly pays.

Since Sakura's a human she's not supposed to be involved in these kinds of supernatural activities but Rinne's attempts to hypnotize her into forgetting her trip back to the "wheel of reincarnation" -- which she first saw as a child -- fail.  His shock at this discovery -- and the realization one of his classmates has his number -- is rather muted as are almost all of his emotional responses.  There's a flatness to his affect that is probably influenced by the fact he really doesn't seem to belong entirely to the human world or the shinigami world.  He's only "sort of" a shinigami and throughout volume 1, Sakura learns more and more about his difficult personal circumstances and the reasons behind his odd behaviors (including blackmailing his classmates for small amounts of food and money in his shinigami guise so they won't be "cursed"....by him).

One of the things I particularly like about this series is that it is very character focused so far -- there isn't a sense that there is just a "spirit of the week" that they have to help out every chapter.  Instead, Sakura is slowly learning more and more about Rinne's world and, of course, getting drawn into his life and work.  Once again I return to the characters' absurd levels of practicality -- they accept their circumstances in life a little too easily, which considering Rinne's rather paltry existence in the human world seems rather sad.  I'm looking forward to seeing how these two continue to influence and change each other through their association...which perhaps one day will develop into a real friendship.

Review copy provided by Viz Media.

4 Comments

• At October 12, 2009, Dean wrote:

  Nor is she ostracized by her classmates for occasionally seeming to have a conversation with the air.

  In this age of ...

• At October 12, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  *snicker* Good point. Takahashi's settings always seem very technology-deficient though....

• At October 14, 2009, Hassler, Taniguchi, Miyazaki « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] Oh My Brother (About.com) Kinukitty on Prince Charming (The Hooded Utilitarian) Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Rin-ne (Comics ...

• At October 15, 2009, Danielle Leigh’s Reading Diary — Cirque du Freak vol 3 | Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources wrote:

  [...] to cover manga with "supernatural" themes as we start the countdown to Halloween (see reviews of RIN-NE and Soul ...

Now let's get this out of the way.  Ninja Girls is ridiculous.  And more fun than it should be.  The so-called "ninja girls" are wearing insanely anachronistic outfits even though the manga takes place during Japan's Warring States period and the protagonist is a boy with a horn on his head.  In spite of this, there is a steady thread of rather dumb, but almost sweetly goofy, humor running throughout the entire volume.

The basic plot is a young teenager with a horn on his head has been an outcast his entire life.  Alone and trying to make ends meet by doing services here and there for local townspeople, he only has his mother's funeral statue to keep him company.  But luckily she manages to communicate with him by falling off the mantle at curiously odd times....and often boinking him on the head whenever he's about to do something stupid (I honestly think this was both the funniest and strangest part of the book).

One day, horn-boy's loneliness comes to end when he discovers a voluptuous  girl drowning in the river.  Being the stand-up gentlemen that he is, he rescues her (which involves too many modern attempts at reviving her -- seriously, why would he know CPR for god's sake?).  This is all very cliche as clothes are removed, of course, and she wakes up thinking she's been violated (ur, not so hilarious), but the story moves past that pretty quickly.  Eventually they discover that she's actually been looking for him.  His horn is proof that he's the heir to some important household in Japan and there are some nasty ninjas who want to eliminate him.

So horn-boy needs protection and now he's got it in a surprisingly demure and innocent female ninja whose random power is great strength when the one she loves is looking at her (she turns to stone basically).  Now, that the basic story is set up the rest of the volume involves the collection of two other ninja "girls" (*cough* there's a reason I'm putting "girls" in quotation marks, but the fun is learning why) in his "harem."  Essentially they are there to protect him and help him take his rightful inheritance.  I'm pretty sure he's there to make sure they don't bitch slap each other into oblivion.

Each girl has a distinct personality and interacts with our young master quite differently.  If the first ninja girl is a stereotype of the willing young maiden, the second is pure Tsundere (& she's got an eye patch, which natch, makes her cool).  The third is a manipulative schemer, but the surprising part of this book is that the characterization is consistent and not willfully shallow.  The fanservice ends up being mainly backdrop and in spite of the fact the girls look like they've been put on earth to be leered at, nobody in the manga pays much mind to it.  Even the "horny" boy (god, what an awful pun) develops a crush on stone-girl, it isn't just because he's horny but because he does care for her.  Each individual chapter plays a bit with cliche situations we've probably seen in every shonen harem manga (example: horn-boy gets sick, has to be nursed to health...but then they go so crazy nursing him, he gets sicker), but I think the point is that the creator is having fun with tropes of the genre, not merely mindlessly reproducing them.

Review Copy provided by Del Rey.

7 Comments

• At October 10, 2009, Michelle Smith wrote:

  Huh. I'd been pretty sure I'd dislike Ninja Girls, too, but it doesn't sound bad. Certainly better than Samurai Harem ...

• At October 10, 2009, Okman wrote:

  Wow, they actually make a manga called Samurai Harem???

• At October 10, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  Yes, its even shrink-wrapped which indicates an even higher level of fanservice.

• At October 10, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  Michelle -- no one was more shocked than I. That's for sure!

• At October 10, 2009, Joe wrote:

  I find it suprising that the girls in this thread are more optimistic towards this series than me. Heaven knows ...

• At October 11, 2009, Danielle Leigh wrote:

  I don't know, Joe. I guess I was expecting pure stupidity and when I didn't get it I was ...

• At October 14, 2009, Hassler, Taniguchi, Miyazaki « MangaBlog wrote:

  [...] Random Shoujo Manga Page) David Welsh on Mail (Precocious Curmudgeon) Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Ninja Girls (Comics ...