[Graham Tedesco-Blair continues his issue by issue look at Garth Ennis's Punisher Max series. Read this one. You will learn something. Graham Tedesco-Blair is going to take you to school.]
It's possible to read the next story arc without knowing anything about Irish history, and it's possible to enjoy Garth Ennis without knowing anything about his upbringing (“blah blah the author is dead etc.”), but this arc makes a little more sense if you know a little bit about both.
In 1968, what's known colloquially (and with a great deal of understatement) as “The Troubles” began in earnest. It's difficult to give quick summary of this VERY complicated conflict, but the short version is that the Catholics hate the Protestants, and the Irish who want to be part of England hate the ones who want Ireland to be completely free, and of course vice versa. It's a traditional hatred that's been going on since the 1600s or so, and that a civil war was fought over in the 1920s. The Ulster Volunteer Force, the Irish Republican Army, the British security forces, and hundreds of other splinter factions were engaged in an extremely violent campaign of war and terrorism against one another. Bombings and assassinations were common. It was an unequivocally shitty time to live in Northern Ireland. And our Garth Ennis was born in 1970, smackdab in the middle of it all. He grew up in Holywood, just outside Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, the son of atheist parents. He has claimed an interview with the Comics Journal in 1998 that his childhood had very little effect on his writing, but, considering how often he writes about Ireland and its Troubles, about how stupid religion is and the terrible things it can make people do, and about how awesome the British SAS are, he's must be being incredibly facetious.
Showing posts with label Punisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Punisher. Show all posts
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Punisher Max issue 6 -- one more thing
[Graham Tedesco-Blair has been looking at Ennis's Punisher Max series. Last week he sent me a revision to one of the paragraphs in his last review, but I forgot to make the change for him. My bad. Here it is. The paragraph that begins "Pittsy and Frank keep smashing the tar out of one another" should look like this:]
Pittsy and Frank keep smashing the tar out of one another, when we get an odd call back to Morrison's Arkham Asylum, of all things. Morrison is about as un-Miller as you can get these days, though he had yet to start his attempted subversion of Millar's Batman, bear in mind. Pittsy stabs Castle through the hand with a shard of broken glass, recalling that famous scene in the aforementioned book, the one than snaps Batman out of his scared and tired trance, and the same thing happens here with Frank, who uses it as an opportunity to chuck Pittsy out of the window, where he's impaled onto the sharp spikes of the fence below. Even then, though, this isn't enough to kill him, so Frank jumps off after him, landing feet first on Pittsy's chest, and driving him further onto the spikes. That old school mafia archetype is hard to put down, after all, but perhaps it can be temporarily distracted by a crazy Scottish magician?
Pittsy and Frank keep smashing the tar out of one another, when we get an odd call back to Morrison's Arkham Asylum, of all things. Morrison is about as un-Miller as you can get these days, though he had yet to start his attempted subversion of Millar's Batman, bear in mind. Pittsy stabs Castle through the hand with a shard of broken glass, recalling that famous scene in the aforementioned book, the one than snaps Batman out of his scared and tired trance, and the same thing happens here with Frank, who uses it as an opportunity to chuck Pittsy out of the window, where he's impaled onto the sharp spikes of the fence below. Even then, though, this isn't enough to kill him, so Frank jumps off after him, landing feet first on Pittsy's chest, and driving him further onto the spikes. That old school mafia archetype is hard to put down, after all, but perhaps it can be temporarily distracted by a crazy Scottish magician?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Punisher MAX Issue 5 and 6
[Graham Tedesco-Blair continues his issue by issue look at the Punisher Max series. There is some very well observed stuff in here about various crime story influences working themselves out in the pages of the book. Smart stuff.]
Opening Remarks
Before I start the analysis, I wanted to address a question left in the comments for the preamble. Steven asked: “In that Boys storyline, I didn't catch where he disses Winick. How did you pick up on that? I didn't see it, but I'd be interested to see how you caught that.”
The story in question, “Get Some,” (The Boys, #7-10) is a murder mystery in which a young gay man is found murdered, tossed off the roof of his apartment, and examines in generous depth the reactions of a somewhat average straight guy to the homosexual community, as well as the sheer folly that comes in trying to label someone as gay or straight without bothering to try and get to know them. Issue 8 starts with Hughie reading a “Swingwing” comic, the titular character being a pastiche of DC's Nightwing. The comic's plot is almost exactly the same as Winick's famous “gay roommate” story arc in Green Lantern, and Hughie's dialog describing it seems directly pointed at the original author:
“An' then later on the kid gets queerbashed, right? An' Swingwing goes after the guys and knocks the fuck outta them... I mean, in what weird fuckin' parallel universe has anything like this ever happened to anyone, would you tell me? ... I just think this is really stupid. I mean gay fellas do get beaten up, there are these fuckers going around doing it – an' here's this shite sayin' not to worry, there's a superhero on the way...”
Opening Remarks
Before I start the analysis, I wanted to address a question left in the comments for the preamble. Steven asked: “In that Boys storyline, I didn't catch where he disses Winick. How did you pick up on that? I didn't see it, but I'd be interested to see how you caught that.”
The story in question, “Get Some,” (The Boys, #7-10) is a murder mystery in which a young gay man is found murdered, tossed off the roof of his apartment, and examines in generous depth the reactions of a somewhat average straight guy to the homosexual community, as well as the sheer folly that comes in trying to label someone as gay or straight without bothering to try and get to know them. Issue 8 starts with Hughie reading a “Swingwing” comic, the titular character being a pastiche of DC's Nightwing. The comic's plot is almost exactly the same as Winick's famous “gay roommate” story arc in Green Lantern, and Hughie's dialog describing it seems directly pointed at the original author:
“An' then later on the kid gets queerbashed, right? An' Swingwing goes after the guys and knocks the fuck outta them... I mean, in what weird fuckin' parallel universe has anything like this ever happened to anyone, would you tell me? ... I just think this is really stupid. I mean gay fellas do get beaten up, there are these fuckers going around doing it – an' here's this shite sayin' not to worry, there's a superhero on the way...”
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Punisher MAX Issue 4
[Graham Tedesco-Blair continues to look at every issue of Garth Ennis's Punisher Max run.]
“No one ever before dared defy THE MAFIA. . . but THE EXECUTIONER not only defies them, he kills, maims, and tries to destroy them piece by piece, with his Vietnam-trained tactics. . . using his knowledge of jungle warfare in his one-man crusade to wipe out the evil web of organized crime in America.” --Jacket copy for Don Pendleton's “The Executioner: War Against the Mafia!”
That sound like anyone we know?
One of the clearest predecessors to The Punisher is Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan, “The Executioner.” The parallels are abundant: a well trained Vietnam soldier who's family is killed takes his war to the mob. There are superficial differences, for example, Bolan lost his parents and sister to mafia loan sharks, and was a Green Beret, while Castle lost his wife and kids, and was part of a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, but the basic idea is clearly the same.
After spending 11 years worth of novels killing his way across the states (and coinciding with Pendleton's sale of the character franchise to Gold Eagle books), Bolan fakes his own death, and emerges as the leader of the top secret government strike force Stony Man, who fight Communists and such all over the world.
“No one ever before dared defy THE MAFIA. . . but THE EXECUTIONER not only defies them, he kills, maims, and tries to destroy them piece by piece, with his Vietnam-trained tactics. . . using his knowledge of jungle warfare in his one-man crusade to wipe out the evil web of organized crime in America.” --Jacket copy for Don Pendleton's “The Executioner: War Against the Mafia!”
That sound like anyone we know?
One of the clearest predecessors to The Punisher is Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan, “The Executioner.” The parallels are abundant: a well trained Vietnam soldier who's family is killed takes his war to the mob. There are superficial differences, for example, Bolan lost his parents and sister to mafia loan sharks, and was a Green Beret, while Castle lost his wife and kids, and was part of a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, but the basic idea is clearly the same.
After spending 11 years worth of novels killing his way across the states (and coinciding with Pendleton's sale of the character franchise to Gold Eagle books), Bolan fakes his own death, and emerges as the leader of the top secret government strike force Stony Man, who fight Communists and such all over the world.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Punisher MAX Issue 3
[Graham Tedesco-Blair continues to look issue by issue at Ennis's Punisher Max.]
One of the things that struck me while rereading this issue was how often these plots move along with little to no direct involvement from the Punisher. Frank has one line in the entire issue, and spends the duration tied to a chair while Micro lays out exactly what's wrong with him, while laying on the table three snapshots, one of his wife, and one each of his two children. And Mirco's analysis isn't bad at all: no rational person could have carried on a campaign like this for all those years, and while Frank doesn't seem to derive any pleasure from killing, he certainly seems to like it, as if there were some sort of darkness inside him looking for an excuse to get out. He is using his family's deaths to justify something horrible.
(We'll get the quasi-mystical/maybe-it's-all-in-his-head explanation for this in the Born miniseries, featuring just what happened to Frank during that 2nd tour of duty in Vietnam, but it's not important here. That story hadn't even been written yet.)
One of the things that struck me while rereading this issue was how often these plots move along with little to no direct involvement from the Punisher. Frank has one line in the entire issue, and spends the duration tied to a chair while Micro lays out exactly what's wrong with him, while laying on the table three snapshots, one of his wife, and one each of his two children. And Mirco's analysis isn't bad at all: no rational person could have carried on a campaign like this for all those years, and while Frank doesn't seem to derive any pleasure from killing, he certainly seems to like it, as if there were some sort of darkness inside him looking for an excuse to get out. He is using his family's deaths to justify something horrible.
(We'll get the quasi-mystical/maybe-it's-all-in-his-head explanation for this in the Born miniseries, featuring just what happened to Frank during that 2nd tour of duty in Vietnam, but it's not important here. That story hadn't even been written yet.)
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Punisher MAX Issue 2
[Graham Tedesco-Blair continues his issue by issue look at Ennis's Punisher MAX run.I read the first four issues. They were reasonably good.]
There's a very frustrating trope in Batman comics where some talking head on a news show starts babbling about how horrible Batman is because now that he's here, he attracts all the crazy fringe elements to himself, gives the villains permission to dress up, makes the Joker want to kill people, etc etc. It's overused simply because it's a cliché excuse to pin the blame on Batman, and because it's not very well thought out. And yet, when Ennis manages to tell that exact same story with good reasons and without some smarmy newscaster losing her head, it's quite effective.
In this issue, we meet the arc's bad guys, Nicky Cavella, Pittsy, and Ink. Cavella looks like a combination of Patrick Bateman and Jerry Seinfeld, and has been brought in because all the other mob bosses are dead. Pittsy is an ancient looking, short buff dude in a yellow tracksuit, one of Tony Soprano's thugs, and Ink is straight out of a Sin City comic. We don't see them in action this issue, but even their conversation over dinner is tense. Ennis even lets a joke through, when Ink asks how they could tell if Don Massimo was dead or alive, but it's cruel, with a flat delivery you can read from Ink's expression, designed to hurt Larry, the mobster who called them back to NYC.
There's a very frustrating trope in Batman comics where some talking head on a news show starts babbling about how horrible Batman is because now that he's here, he attracts all the crazy fringe elements to himself, gives the villains permission to dress up, makes the Joker want to kill people, etc etc. It's overused simply because it's a cliché excuse to pin the blame on Batman, and because it's not very well thought out. And yet, when Ennis manages to tell that exact same story with good reasons and without some smarmy newscaster losing her head, it's quite effective.
In this issue, we meet the arc's bad guys, Nicky Cavella, Pittsy, and Ink. Cavella looks like a combination of Patrick Bateman and Jerry Seinfeld, and has been brought in because all the other mob bosses are dead. Pittsy is an ancient looking, short buff dude in a yellow tracksuit, one of Tony Soprano's thugs, and Ink is straight out of a Sin City comic. We don't see them in action this issue, but even their conversation over dinner is tense. Ennis even lets a joke through, when Ink asks how they could tell if Don Massimo was dead or alive, but it's cruel, with a flat delivery you can read from Ink's expression, designed to hurt Larry, the mobster who called them back to NYC.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Punisher MAX Issue 1: In the Beginning...
[Graham Tedesco-Blair starts his issue by issue look at Ennis's Punisher MAX run. I wanted to comment but have not yet read the issue, though it is in my house. Soon. I make a brief comment below.]
We open with a single page splash panel depicting the gravestone of Frank Castle's family. There are very few other places one could start the series, as Castle is as tied to his origin story as heroes like Batman or Spider-Man are. And it is just that origin story we are treated to in the opening pages, depicted ably by penciler Lewis Larosa. Some panels look like they were inked by running them through a photocopier that was low on toner, but this adds a grittiness and atmosphere that help set the mood. “Gritty” and “Moody” are overused adjectives, but they describe these pages perfectly.
“They hated that old man so much that they shot him through my family,” Castle's narration begins. Like the aforementioned heroes, the Punisher had his origin in the death of his family by criminals, but unlike them, he was already a well trained soldier, a veteran the Vietnam war, rather than an impressionable young boy or teenager. While Bruce Wayne's parents being shot down in front of his young eyes gave him a life long aversion to guns and killing, and fueled his transformation into a child's idea of the perfect man, and teenage Peter Parker's uncle dying thanks to his inaction led him to have crippling guilt about ever not interfering if he thinks he could help, Frank Castle was already a trained killer with a wife and two children he loved dearly. Without them, he reverts to being a soldier, the only thing he knows how to do, the only thing which makes sense. His description of the incident is peppered with phrases like “Thompsons, like the kind our fathers carried” (presumably in World War II) and “the old man's soldiers” because this is the kind of mindset he now lives in. Rather than a traditional, reactionary vigilante book, we are being set up for a war comic that happens to take place in New York City between one well trained man against any and all criminals who cross his path. As his narration continues, Castle mentions almost as an aside that he's already killed the old man, all the shooters responsible, the ones who had ordered the hit, and “probably thousands more.” It hasn't given him any sense of closure, nor has it stopped his mission.
We open with a single page splash panel depicting the gravestone of Frank Castle's family. There are very few other places one could start the series, as Castle is as tied to his origin story as heroes like Batman or Spider-Man are. And it is just that origin story we are treated to in the opening pages, depicted ably by penciler Lewis Larosa. Some panels look like they were inked by running them through a photocopier that was low on toner, but this adds a grittiness and atmosphere that help set the mood. “Gritty” and “Moody” are overused adjectives, but they describe these pages perfectly.
“They hated that old man so much that they shot him through my family,” Castle's narration begins. Like the aforementioned heroes, the Punisher had his origin in the death of his family by criminals, but unlike them, he was already a well trained soldier, a veteran the Vietnam war, rather than an impressionable young boy or teenager. While Bruce Wayne's parents being shot down in front of his young eyes gave him a life long aversion to guns and killing, and fueled his transformation into a child's idea of the perfect man, and teenage Peter Parker's uncle dying thanks to his inaction led him to have crippling guilt about ever not interfering if he thinks he could help, Frank Castle was already a trained killer with a wife and two children he loved dearly. Without them, he reverts to being a soldier, the only thing he knows how to do, the only thing which makes sense. His description of the incident is peppered with phrases like “Thompsons, like the kind our fathers carried” (presumably in World War II) and “the old man's soldiers” because this is the kind of mindset he now lives in. Rather than a traditional, reactionary vigilante book, we are being set up for a war comic that happens to take place in New York City between one well trained man against any and all criminals who cross his path. As his narration continues, Castle mentions almost as an aside that he's already killed the old man, all the shooters responsible, the ones who had ordered the hit, and “probably thousands more.” It hasn't given him any sense of closure, nor has it stopped his mission.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Punisher MAX: Preamble [New Guest Blogger]
[Oh! What? Did someone say an issue by issue analysis of Garth Ennis's Punisher MAX run? Graham Tedesco-Blair is going to be covering that for us here on Thursdays. BAM. This is a good one for me. Jason's has taught me the virtues of Claremont, who I never disliked exactly (though I did foolishly and ignorantly consider bog standard at one point). But I kind of almost HATE Ennis, even on Punisher and Preacher, which I read at least more than 10 issues of. EXCEPT: Punisher: The End, which is on my list of favorite comics of all time because a friend put the comic in my hand and MADE me read it. I don't think I have ever seen a writer do a better job of taking a character, and thinking him all the way through to the end. So I am intrigued by this. Let's all welcome GTB.]
“[The Punisher] kills criminals because he hates them. It's not exactly brain surgery. It's his methods were interested in here.”
--Detective Soap, Marvel Knight's Punisher #3
When I was younger, I rented the film The Big Lebowski from the local video store. While watching it with my father that evening, my mother happened to walk in, and commented that she disliked how much swearing was in the film. I recall saying something about how the swearing isn't important, because it's a really great story and a very well made movie, but she just couldn't get over the word “fuck” being uttered about once a minute. And it seems that this is precisely the problem most people have with Garth Ennis.
Ennis is an often misunderstood author. Ever since his career in comics really took off with Hitman and Preacher in the mid-90s, his works have been regarded by most as a combination of Adam Sandler and Eli Roth, a coupling of scatological humor and extreme violence. While this is not at all an unfair or unfounded assessment, there's also a lot more going on in his comics than people saying the word “fuck” back and forth for 90 minutes.
With all the crazy things going on in his work, it's easy to miss that he's pretty clearly laying out a system of what's right and what's wrong. Ennis is a very moral writer, but one in the vein of writers like Bret Easton Ellis. Often, the judgment is implied by the consequences of the character's actions and our own reactions to the horrible things that they do to one another. If you need someone standing over your shoulder, reminding you that American Psycho's Patrick Bateman is an unequivocally horrible human being, then you miss the point entirely. As a result of this stylistic choice, Ennis is one of the few writers out there with the capacities to write completely reprehensible and unlikable villains who are none the less gripping and enthralling. You're not going to get any scenes of the villain playing the piano in an empty room, crying.
“[The Punisher] kills criminals because he hates them. It's not exactly brain surgery. It's his methods were interested in here.”
--Detective Soap, Marvel Knight's Punisher #3
When I was younger, I rented the film The Big Lebowski from the local video store. While watching it with my father that evening, my mother happened to walk in, and commented that she disliked how much swearing was in the film. I recall saying something about how the swearing isn't important, because it's a really great story and a very well made movie, but she just couldn't get over the word “fuck” being uttered about once a minute. And it seems that this is precisely the problem most people have with Garth Ennis.
Ennis is an often misunderstood author. Ever since his career in comics really took off with Hitman and Preacher in the mid-90s, his works have been regarded by most as a combination of Adam Sandler and Eli Roth, a coupling of scatological humor and extreme violence. While this is not at all an unfair or unfounded assessment, there's also a lot more going on in his comics than people saying the word “fuck” back and forth for 90 minutes.
With all the crazy things going on in his work, it's easy to miss that he's pretty clearly laying out a system of what's right and what's wrong. Ennis is a very moral writer, but one in the vein of writers like Bret Easton Ellis. Often, the judgment is implied by the consequences of the character's actions and our own reactions to the horrible things that they do to one another. If you need someone standing over your shoulder, reminding you that American Psycho's Patrick Bateman is an unequivocally horrible human being, then you miss the point entirely. As a result of this stylistic choice, Ennis is one of the few writers out there with the capacities to write completely reprehensible and unlikable villains who are none the less gripping and enthralling. You're not going to get any scenes of the villain playing the piano in an empty room, crying.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Comics Out Wednesday December 10, 2008
Final Crisis 5. Jog did an excellent review of this comic, I thought. His point that the issue is by no means great, especially on the art front, but that the second half has a lot of fun madness in it is how I feel about this issue exactly. I know that is completely a cop out as a review on this site so I will add a few thoughts of my own: the Rubik's cube thing was dumb, Mr Miracle popping back to life because he was wearing a vest after last issue's cliffhanger on that point was super weak (he cannot die, fine, that was established in Seven Soldiers, but make him "escape" death in a more interesting way), Darkseid is all talk -- all this stuff about never seeing a New God for REAL is all rhetoric: stop talking man and just fucking DO IT, ya know? Morrison needs J.G. Jones to sell this stuff: his pages here are great and I hope that Morrison will do some work, short but self-contained, with him again. The last page was kind of AWESOME, and I loved it. Overall I am still a little checked out in terms of the series as a whole because of the fill in artists, and the rumored editorial changes to the final issue, but I will keep getting it and basically liking it as a result of diminished expectations,
Punisher X-Mas Special. I read the first Scalped trade and I liked it OK; I thought this was very good too. It's a fun story that does a surprisingly good job being a solid self contained Punisher story and also a Christmas special without going off in a comic vein that would have been really easy given the topic. There is something really admirable about Aaron's ability to take the task of a holiday special seriously and deliver a GOOD STORY rather than an easy joke.
Punisher X-Mas Special. I read the first Scalped trade and I liked it OK; I thought this was very good too. It's a fun story that does a surprisingly good job being a solid self contained Punisher story and also a Christmas special without going off in a comic vein that would have been really easy given the topic. There is something really admirable about Aaron's ability to take the task of a holiday special seriously and deliver a GOOD STORY rather than an easy joke.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Comics Out May 7, 2008
Punisher War Journal 19. Jigsaw makes a big move against Frank. Jigsaw is a pretty disturbing and fascinating villain; I like how the evil version of the Punisher gets to have the family Frank lost, as if that tragedy is necessary to make Frank a good guy. How would a guy like Frank have channeled all his anger -- surely not all the product of revenge -- with a wife and kid. Chaykin, however -- HOW did Frank, surrounded, open a manhole cover silently with just his foot? Those things are heavy, scrape against the ground, and do not have anything for a foot to hold on to. I mean, Buggs Bunny could pull it off, but in this book?
Invincible Iron Man 1. Iron Man vs Ezekiel Stane: The Prologue. The Order, ended seven days ago, continues here. Nothing really dies, which is nice -- you do not feel all those good Order ideas are sitting in a drawer somewhere. I am interested in Stane.
Angel 7. Stories picking up immediately after the conclusion of the show contine: here we get Wesley and Kate. With Kate back I really felt how much of my enjoyment of the Whedon-verse was the actors, like Elizabeth Rohm. Unless you are going to give me great art to replace those actors, then this is always going to be a diminished thing. Does anyone know who the character in the frame story is?
Buffy 14. The Godzilla Dawn thing was funny, and I liked the box of flame, but again, see above. And check out the vaguely inappropriate Sam Keith style sound effect on the bottom of the second to last page. Really? That was the effect you wanted?
Newsarama's got Matt Fraction, more discussion of DCU 0, and I have decided to avoid the Final Crisis previews for some reason.
Invincible Iron Man 1. Iron Man vs Ezekiel Stane: The Prologue. The Order, ended seven days ago, continues here. Nothing really dies, which is nice -- you do not feel all those good Order ideas are sitting in a drawer somewhere. I am interested in Stane.
Angel 7. Stories picking up immediately after the conclusion of the show contine: here we get Wesley and Kate. With Kate back I really felt how much of my enjoyment of the Whedon-verse was the actors, like Elizabeth Rohm. Unless you are going to give me great art to replace those actors, then this is always going to be a diminished thing. Does anyone know who the character in the frame story is?
Buffy 14. The Godzilla Dawn thing was funny, and I liked the box of flame, but again, see above. And check out the vaguely inappropriate Sam Keith style sound effect on the bottom of the second to last page. Really? That was the effect you wanted?
Newsarama's got Matt Fraction, more discussion of DCU 0, and I have decided to avoid the Final Crisis previews for some reason.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Comics Out April 2, 2008
Casanova 13. I am busy putting together a list of my must read prestige books -- All Star Superman, WE3, Assault on Weapon Plus, Dark Knight Strikes Again (nothing that would surprise any of you) -- and this one is right on the top of the list. I love this book for the same reasons I love the others on that list -- at no point to I have to say things like "Oh, yeah, the Invisibles is great but the art is spotty in parts," or "Seven Soldiers is awesome but the end maybe leaves a little to be desired." I love the fluid line work and the colors -- like drawing with water. I love the crazy things the characters say: ""I'm a robot inside of a robot inside of another robot. I'm like a nesting doll that gives blowjobs steeped in existential ennui." And I love how Fraction thinks: I like how he balances the science fiction "cheat" -- not really a cheat since the existence of perfect replica robot people has been a core part of this book since early on --. Let me start that sentence again. I like how he balances the science fiction "cheat" to get out of the events of last issue (they were all robots) with the idea that even if you have a mad sci-fi escape maybe you should reject it for emotion and a blind faith in the power of the unique.
Punisher War Journal 18. Marvel with the product placement. Very disturbing. I have to believe it could be incorporated into the image more naturally. I mean I know they are in a guitar store, but the ad is to poorly incorporated it looks like a sticker has been placed over the art. I am not always against product placement -- people use products and GMC, for example, has some awesome product placement on 24. I don't even drive a car and now I associate the brand with the one thing that can save America. I am not saying Marvel should stop, but they should find a way to not make it so jarring. Cause it makes me hate comic books. Also, Chaykin continues to elude me.
Amazing Spiderman 555. Bachalo, on the other hand, I get. Bachalo I love. Bachalo would do a hell of a Casanova volume -- this is a guy who can do what that book needs: cute girls, and dense visual information. Check out the cover of this Spiderman issue to see how he has reached a compromise with people who say he is too cluttered: the image is a cluttered as he gets, but the colors isolate our heroes so we can see, nice and fast, what is going on. The same spare use of colors for the interior snow scenes is just beautiful and iconic. Bachalo draws a great Wolverine, though I suppose you could argue he is too cartoony. You can't argue such a thing for Spiderman. Bachalo is great for Spiderman, which is a character who needs to be a lot of fun, especially the Brand New Day version. The white borders are nice, especially with the snow, and cute girls Bachalo can draw like no man's business. Bachalo makes me want to date Betty. I know every time I write about Bachalo and cute girls -- and I write it a lot -- I sound shallow, but I think superhero comic books need cute girls and the ones that get all the attention are often no more than grotesque ... things. A note to the writer however -- grab a book on verse. There is more to writing poetry -- even Dr. Strange's speeches -- than the occasional rhyme. The use of rhythm was MAKING ME NUTS.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 13. Oh, fine. Whatever. It is not terrible. I will keep getting this book. But you cannot make me review it every month.
Angel 6. Same here.
I also picked up an AMAZING oversized Ashley Wood book -- and I love Ashley Wood -- called Zombies vs Robots vs Amazons (and Amazons is code for lesbians), but that will need its own post I think, to capture all the greatness. Hint: the genre-mash up -- and that is kind of my thing -- is good, but the ART is what makes it work.
Punisher War Journal 18. Marvel with the product placement. Very disturbing. I have to believe it could be incorporated into the image more naturally. I mean I know they are in a guitar store, but the ad is to poorly incorporated it looks like a sticker has been placed over the art. I am not always against product placement -- people use products and GMC, for example, has some awesome product placement on 24. I don't even drive a car and now I associate the brand with the one thing that can save America. I am not saying Marvel should stop, but they should find a way to not make it so jarring. Cause it makes me hate comic books. Also, Chaykin continues to elude me.
Amazing Spiderman 555. Bachalo, on the other hand, I get. Bachalo I love. Bachalo would do a hell of a Casanova volume -- this is a guy who can do what that book needs: cute girls, and dense visual information. Check out the cover of this Spiderman issue to see how he has reached a compromise with people who say he is too cluttered: the image is a cluttered as he gets, but the colors isolate our heroes so we can see, nice and fast, what is going on. The same spare use of colors for the interior snow scenes is just beautiful and iconic. Bachalo draws a great Wolverine, though I suppose you could argue he is too cartoony. You can't argue such a thing for Spiderman. Bachalo is great for Spiderman, which is a character who needs to be a lot of fun, especially the Brand New Day version. The white borders are nice, especially with the snow, and cute girls Bachalo can draw like no man's business. Bachalo makes me want to date Betty. I know every time I write about Bachalo and cute girls -- and I write it a lot -- I sound shallow, but I think superhero comic books need cute girls and the ones that get all the attention are often no more than grotesque ... things. A note to the writer however -- grab a book on verse. There is more to writing poetry -- even Dr. Strange's speeches -- than the occasional rhyme. The use of rhythm was MAKING ME NUTS.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 13. Oh, fine. Whatever. It is not terrible. I will keep getting this book. But you cannot make me review it every month.
Angel 6. Same here.
I also picked up an AMAZING oversized Ashley Wood book -- and I love Ashley Wood -- called Zombies vs Robots vs Amazons (and Amazons is code for lesbians), but that will need its own post I think, to capture all the greatness. Hint: the genre-mash up -- and that is kind of my thing -- is good, but the ART is what makes it work.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Comics Out March 5, 2008
[little rushed today. sorry.]
Punisher War Journal 17. Chaykin continues to elude my grasp (blood that looks like Ketchup? That’s good right? I will get it soon, probably). The story is a fun one-off. Captain America, Casanova and Punisher work if the main characters are barely there, or not there at all. This is an interesting little trend. It epitomizes the idea that we do not read comics for the characters but because of the creators, which I like. But maybe it is the worlds the creators have built that replace the characters. I am still thinking about it.
Casanova. I continue to love this book, obviously. Fraction’s swiftness is really refreshing to read – things just HAPPEN. Things MOVE FORWARD. None of Whedon’s little invincible clique – everyone is in danger. Fabio Moon is amazing, and he shines here with few word balloons. The real danger in the issue is the vacuum of space and Fabio really brings it home with a great use of empty space on most of the pages. And an axe. Inspiration. In the back-matter Fraction reveals his real last name I think. I do not know if that was a secret up until now, but I did not know what it was.
Buffy 12. Buffy has sex with a girl as a PR stunt, and a pretty good one: the story was carried by several newspapers, and Joss is doing interviews (including one on Newsarama), where he is making it clear that she is not now gay – sexuality is a spectrum. That’s a nice idea to put in a comic book, and I do not think the PR stunt overly cynical – I think they handled it pretty believably, and hey, are you really going to fault a book based on cute girls fighting monsters for pandering to an audience? More importantly the story here is fun – the jokes surrounding the reveal, and the ones at the end of the issue are great. We recently had a conversation about Buffy being too dark, and this looks like a little light, which is nice. I still have a hard time developing strong feelings about this book other than that I basically like it, in part because of the art. Coming up soon – Buffy vs Fray. So if you did not get that trade paperback, get it now (it is one of Whedon’s indispensable comics works).
On Newsarama they have a whole interview with Morrison – part three just came out. Apparently, we have never really seen a New God, only their manifestations. That’s the old Morrison genius – just go all the way behind the concept and rethink it.
Click the lables to read reviews of older issues of these titles.
Review, discuss and recommend in the comment thread.
Punisher War Journal 17. Chaykin continues to elude my grasp (blood that looks like Ketchup? That’s good right? I will get it soon, probably). The story is a fun one-off. Captain America, Casanova and Punisher work if the main characters are barely there, or not there at all. This is an interesting little trend. It epitomizes the idea that we do not read comics for the characters but because of the creators, which I like. But maybe it is the worlds the creators have built that replace the characters. I am still thinking about it.
Casanova. I continue to love this book, obviously. Fraction’s swiftness is really refreshing to read – things just HAPPEN. Things MOVE FORWARD. None of Whedon’s little invincible clique – everyone is in danger. Fabio Moon is amazing, and he shines here with few word balloons. The real danger in the issue is the vacuum of space and Fabio really brings it home with a great use of empty space on most of the pages. And an axe. Inspiration. In the back-matter Fraction reveals his real last name I think. I do not know if that was a secret up until now, but I did not know what it was.
Buffy 12. Buffy has sex with a girl as a PR stunt, and a pretty good one: the story was carried by several newspapers, and Joss is doing interviews (including one on Newsarama), where he is making it clear that she is not now gay – sexuality is a spectrum. That’s a nice idea to put in a comic book, and I do not think the PR stunt overly cynical – I think they handled it pretty believably, and hey, are you really going to fault a book based on cute girls fighting monsters for pandering to an audience? More importantly the story here is fun – the jokes surrounding the reveal, and the ones at the end of the issue are great. We recently had a conversation about Buffy being too dark, and this looks like a little light, which is nice. I still have a hard time developing strong feelings about this book other than that I basically like it, in part because of the art. Coming up soon – Buffy vs Fray. So if you did not get that trade paperback, get it now (it is one of Whedon’s indispensable comics works).
On Newsarama they have a whole interview with Morrison – part three just came out. Apparently, we have never really seen a New God, only their manifestations. That’s the old Morrison genius – just go all the way behind the concept and rethink it.
Click the lables to read reviews of older issues of these titles.
Review, discuss and recommend in the comment thread.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Comics Out February 13, 2008
Punisher 16. I am going to expose myself as a Philistine, in the hopes of getting an education. Because the only alternative is nodding my head and feeling like an idiot. I love Matt Fraction's stuff, and really trust him. So when he says Howard Chaykin, one of his big heroes, is a great artist, I believe him. Other comic book creators I trust tell me that Chaykin is great and I believe them too. I have faith. But I do not SEE. Can someone here explain the charms of Howard Chaykin to me? With examples, possibly images online? I have other Chaykin books in storage -- some American Flaggs, an Elseworld JLA story, some oversized thing with Wolverine, I cannot remember what else, and have not seen them in a while. My memory there is hazy, but I remember not getting it at the time. In the house I have Punisher 16 and the Iron Fist Annual. I have heard talk of his sexy women, but to me they all look too deranged to be properly sexy. I asked Sara, and she balked when she saw the art in Punisher 16 -- specifically at the hooker's left leg on page 8, panel 2, the wife's right leg on page 10 panel one, and the wife's fingers on page 15 panel 1. I BELIEVE and can also SEE that Chaykin is a better artist than Rob Liefeld, but I cannot help but notice that those three examples from Punisher 16 are similar to the kinds of anatomical mistakes Liefeld does with legs and fingers that we were all laughing at a few weeks ago here (compare the Punisher examples I mentioned to numbers 24 and 17 on that site). I have a hunch the difference is that Chaykin CAN draw, and is being mannered (like Frank Miller, who I love), while Liefeld is simply making errors. But still, I need help to appreciate this. I am open to learning. I do not hate the guy. I just do not get all the fuss.
Fantastic Four 554. Oh, did Ultimates vol 1 screw Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. If they deliver more of the same big action they are repeating themselves, as they did in the second half of Ultimates volume 2. Try and go the other direction, and you leave yourself with no real conflict, as in Fantastic Four 554. The cover is supposed to look like a magazine, but it does so in the dullest way posisble. The collar on Johnny Storm, and to a lesser extent Reed, make him look like a priest in a book where Millar wants to establish him as the Paris Hilton of the superhero set. The colors are washed out, a quality emphasized by the white gutters, which is an odd choice when doing BIG DUMB FUN. In the first panel they are being chased by indians; in the second, and again on that page, and again on the next, Sue is shielding them from a HAIL of bullets in spite of the fact that only three of the 25 or so indians have guns, and you have to assume they are, you know, muskets and not semi-automatics. And here is some subtle exposition:
SUE: I've got the girls coming over to talk about this new team I'm putting together.
REED: New Team?
SUE: Oh, I told you all about it Reed, BUT I AM GOING TO TELL YOU AGAIN BECAUSE READERS ARE ONLY JUST NOW TUNING IN!
(I have no patience for bad exposition; and no, I do not care that it is supposed to show us that Reed is so in his head he is forgetful -- we have a whole sequence devoted to that later this issue, so it is redundant anyway).
"How did she ever walk away from that?" says a teacher getting sexy to impress Reed: the page turn is supposed to reveal sexy, but Reed just looks dull, and haggard. We get a cliched joke about Reed being so in his head he talks to the kids like they are adults, and the Thing does his friendly Monster thing I have seen him do a thousand times. We set up a romantic conflict with Sue and this other woman, but it is all pretty dull. "Anyone we should know" Janet says when she shows up, to which Sue replies "SURE LET ME TELL OUR READERS ALL ABOUT HER." Sue's sexy rival by the way looks simply AWFUL, like a mutant white trash ELF in the panel where she hugs Reed and Sue looks back at the two of them jealously. The Thing says that "She's about ten time hotter than I remembered." I never met her before but I KNOW that cannot be true.
To end where I begun. I know why Millar does not want to end with something as crass as the murder that ends Ultimates 3 issue one. I see how that is a cheap ploy he wants to avoid. But in going the other direction we get something completely bloodless. The hook at the end of the issue is the plan to save everyone. WHO MAKES THE HOOK AT THE END OF A FIRST ISSUE THE SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM THAT HAS NOT BEEN INTRODUCED?!
"Oh, Buffy, you are the Vampire Slayer, gifted with special powers. That will be important if any vampires ever show up, or, you know, EXIST. SEE YOU NEXT TIME! [roll credits]."
In Comics News Newsarama has an interview with Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones about Final Crisis, but nothing really substantial is in it. It is more of an advertisement than anything else. X-Force came out, and I had it in my hand, but could not take the art, and so put it back.
Fantastic Four 554. Oh, did Ultimates vol 1 screw Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. If they deliver more of the same big action they are repeating themselves, as they did in the second half of Ultimates volume 2. Try and go the other direction, and you leave yourself with no real conflict, as in Fantastic Four 554. The cover is supposed to look like a magazine, but it does so in the dullest way posisble. The collar on Johnny Storm, and to a lesser extent Reed, make him look like a priest in a book where Millar wants to establish him as the Paris Hilton of the superhero set. The colors are washed out, a quality emphasized by the white gutters, which is an odd choice when doing BIG DUMB FUN. In the first panel they are being chased by indians; in the second, and again on that page, and again on the next, Sue is shielding them from a HAIL of bullets in spite of the fact that only three of the 25 or so indians have guns, and you have to assume they are, you know, muskets and not semi-automatics. And here is some subtle exposition:
SUE: I've got the girls coming over to talk about this new team I'm putting together.
REED: New Team?
SUE: Oh, I told you all about it Reed, BUT I AM GOING TO TELL YOU AGAIN BECAUSE READERS ARE ONLY JUST NOW TUNING IN!
(I have no patience for bad exposition; and no, I do not care that it is supposed to show us that Reed is so in his head he is forgetful -- we have a whole sequence devoted to that later this issue, so it is redundant anyway).
"How did she ever walk away from that?" says a teacher getting sexy to impress Reed: the page turn is supposed to reveal sexy, but Reed just looks dull, and haggard. We get a cliched joke about Reed being so in his head he talks to the kids like they are adults, and the Thing does his friendly Monster thing I have seen him do a thousand times. We set up a romantic conflict with Sue and this other woman, but it is all pretty dull. "Anyone we should know" Janet says when she shows up, to which Sue replies "SURE LET ME TELL OUR READERS ALL ABOUT HER." Sue's sexy rival by the way looks simply AWFUL, like a mutant white trash ELF in the panel where she hugs Reed and Sue looks back at the two of them jealously. The Thing says that "She's about ten time hotter than I remembered." I never met her before but I KNOW that cannot be true.
To end where I begun. I know why Millar does not want to end with something as crass as the murder that ends Ultimates 3 issue one. I see how that is a cheap ploy he wants to avoid. But in going the other direction we get something completely bloodless. The hook at the end of the issue is the plan to save everyone. WHO MAKES THE HOOK AT THE END OF A FIRST ISSUE THE SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM THAT HAS NOT BEEN INTRODUCED?!
"Oh, Buffy, you are the Vampire Slayer, gifted with special powers. That will be important if any vampires ever show up, or, you know, EXIST. SEE YOU NEXT TIME! [roll credits]."
In Comics News Newsarama has an interview with Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones about Final Crisis, but nothing really substantial is in it. It is more of an advertisement than anything else. X-Force came out, and I had it in my hand, but could not take the art, and so put it back.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Comics Out January 9, 2008
Punisher 15. This title continues to be goofy lightweight fun, and I really like Wegener on the art. Cartoon-y is the wrong word for him, because you don't think of this as ever being animated. He just does funny comic book images, if that is not a completely stupid thing to say. Anxiety of Influence is a funny thing on this title -- I bet this would not be half as lightweight, funny, and wonderful if Ennis was not doing serious work on his Punisher. Fraction's knowing he cannot do what Ennis does has made him completely himself here. This is my favorite arc so far.
Hulk 1. The number 1 here has less meaning that I have ever seen a number have. The normally un-flaggable Ed McGuinness is not doing it for me here, and he was the only reason I got it. It could be the inker. I like McGuinness at Maximum Cartoon-y, as he was on JLA Classified and Batman/Superman. There are some almost great images here, but too many dull, lifeless ones. Don't get the guy who makes old Saturday Mornings look like Sunday Afternoons draw a weak-ass superhero CSI thing that, really, good God, no one needed. Also I remembered to like Matt Fraction on the Order more -- I remember thinking that a Russian Bear Bad Guy was intrinsically awesome, but no, it is the writing of course. Jeph Loeb has no idea how to capture the brilliance of a Russian Bear Bad Guy (for example -- no jet-pack). But my biggest pet peeve? This sentence "Rick Jones, what've you gotten yourself into This time?!" There is only two people who talk like this. Douche-bags, and people who are trying really hard not to loose the audience that they are supposed to not be aware of. No. More. Of. This. Please.
EDIT: Also, what on earth is going on with his neck on the cover. I mean I am no anatomy expert, especially when it comes to monsters, but come on.
In comics news Spider-Man: One More Day: The Schadenfreude Saga continues. Schadenfreude, from the German, literally, "Damage Joy." Yeah, that's about right.
Hulk 1. The number 1 here has less meaning that I have ever seen a number have. The normally un-flaggable Ed McGuinness is not doing it for me here, and he was the only reason I got it. It could be the inker. I like McGuinness at Maximum Cartoon-y, as he was on JLA Classified and Batman/Superman. There are some almost great images here, but too many dull, lifeless ones. Don't get the guy who makes old Saturday Mornings look like Sunday Afternoons draw a weak-ass superhero CSI thing that, really, good God, no one needed. Also I remembered to like Matt Fraction on the Order more -- I remember thinking that a Russian Bear Bad Guy was intrinsically awesome, but no, it is the writing of course. Jeph Loeb has no idea how to capture the brilliance of a Russian Bear Bad Guy (for example -- no jet-pack). But my biggest pet peeve? This sentence "Rick Jones, what've you gotten yourself into This time?!" There is only two people who talk like this. Douche-bags, and people who are trying really hard not to loose the audience that they are supposed to not be aware of. No. More. Of. This. Please.
EDIT: Also, what on earth is going on with his neck on the cover. I mean I am no anatomy expert, especially when it comes to monsters, but come on.
In comics news Spider-Man: One More Day: The Schadenfreude Saga continues. Schadenfreude, from the German, literally, "Damage Joy." Yeah, that's about right.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Comics Out December 12, 2007
Punisher. I like the art here -- Wegener does comedy well, which is weirdly necessary in a Punisher book. The light touches -- Frank gritting his teeth behind the hot dog guy, Frank hearing someone getting his attention with little "attention" lines -- are great fun. And the whiplash vomit. Gotta love the whiplash vomit. The dialog between the Vulture and the Rhino is spot on as well. It is a light book, but light is a relief from self-serious comic events.
In comics news, Newsarama did an interview with Geoff Johns that almost makes me want to pick up his Green Lantern trades (Sinestro Corps War in particular), and the vile Ultimates 3 is being justly ripped apart on the message boards.
Recommend, discuss, and review this week's comics and comics news.
In comics news, Newsarama did an interview with Geoff Johns that almost makes me want to pick up his Green Lantern trades (Sinestro Corps War in particular), and the vile Ultimates 3 is being justly ripped apart on the message boards.
Recommend, discuss, and review this week's comics and comics news.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Comics Out November 14, 2007
[I want to makes these impressions shorter. I am also having a bad week, which may be effecting my reviews. As first quick impressions, you get what you get. Let me know if you think I am off base -- I may need some course-correcting this week.]
All Star Superman. Feeling kind of meh about this one. Quitely's characters are lovely, as are Grant's colors -- PINK for the cover is inspired! Yellow and purple for the Kryptonians is great as they of course wore dreary black for the film. But this issue seemed thin on plot, ideas and backgrounds. I was not really sure what going on with the reference to the "radioactive cloud." It just seemed like there was maybe going to be a problem, but then, no, wait, no there isn't, it resolved itself on its own. Maybe that is charming? I did not hate it. Maybe some of the surprise is gone as I think I know what to expect with this title now? Or, again, could just be my bad week.
World War Hulk. This issue is the emblem of the comics industry today. Guys, pretty well drawn guys, punch each other for 22 pages. It draws on an earlier "EVENT" stories like Planet Hulk and Civil War, and it leads into more EVENT stories like Son of Hulk and Red Hulk. I could make complaints, but what on earth did I expect?
Punisher. The segue to Turkey was a little odd, but Matt Fraction writes a hell of a Spider-Man, and the new artist has a good sense of humor -- plus Kool-Aid ad joke. Plus Domino! Who knew! I used to love Domino!
The Ultimates Saga. Did I really buy a summary of 25 issues I already have just for the four page frame story by Travis Charest in which Tony Stark wakes up next to two girls? Yes I did.
Buffy: Panel to Panel. Did I really buy a 20 dollar reprint of past Buffy art just for the best Bachalo cover EVER? No. I did not. But the week is not over yet, and I have to pass that comic book store every day on the way to the subway.
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman: The Black Dossier. Frank Miller writes a hell of a Batman, but he is also kind of a pseudo-fascist Republican crackpot. Alan Moore is one of the smartest guys in comics but he is also kind of a self-indulgent, rambling pseudo-Blakean hippie nostalgia-pastiche novelist in need of an editor with a hatchet. Basically, I prefer Miller. I loved the first League but did not actually read the prose pieces. I have not read this one yet but flipping through it I feel bombarded by the worst of Alan Moore -- the endless prose, the cheesy invocation of the IMAGINATION, and the meticulous recreation of genres I do not think I really care about. Hard work to be sure, but rewarding for the reader? I do not know. I have not read it yet. But my hunch? Exhausting. But again -- bad week for me.
In comics news Marvel is putting lots of stuff online, but since I have barely cracked the Claremont issues on my "40 Years of X-Men" disk, I feel like it is not for me, at least not yet.
All Star Superman. Feeling kind of meh about this one. Quitely's characters are lovely, as are Grant's colors -- PINK for the cover is inspired! Yellow and purple for the Kryptonians is great as they of course wore dreary black for the film. But this issue seemed thin on plot, ideas and backgrounds. I was not really sure what going on with the reference to the "radioactive cloud." It just seemed like there was maybe going to be a problem, but then, no, wait, no there isn't, it resolved itself on its own. Maybe that is charming? I did not hate it. Maybe some of the surprise is gone as I think I know what to expect with this title now? Or, again, could just be my bad week.
World War Hulk. This issue is the emblem of the comics industry today. Guys, pretty well drawn guys, punch each other for 22 pages. It draws on an earlier "EVENT" stories like Planet Hulk and Civil War, and it leads into more EVENT stories like Son of Hulk and Red Hulk. I could make complaints, but what on earth did I expect?
Punisher. The segue to Turkey was a little odd, but Matt Fraction writes a hell of a Spider-Man, and the new artist has a good sense of humor -- plus Kool-Aid ad joke. Plus Domino! Who knew! I used to love Domino!
The Ultimates Saga. Did I really buy a summary of 25 issues I already have just for the four page frame story by Travis Charest in which Tony Stark wakes up next to two girls? Yes I did.
Buffy: Panel to Panel. Did I really buy a 20 dollar reprint of past Buffy art just for the best Bachalo cover EVER? No. I did not. But the week is not over yet, and I have to pass that comic book store every day on the way to the subway.
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman: The Black Dossier. Frank Miller writes a hell of a Batman, but he is also kind of a pseudo-fascist Republican crackpot. Alan Moore is one of the smartest guys in comics but he is also kind of a self-indulgent, rambling pseudo-Blakean hippie nostalgia-pastiche novelist in need of an editor with a hatchet. Basically, I prefer Miller. I loved the first League but did not actually read the prose pieces. I have not read this one yet but flipping through it I feel bombarded by the worst of Alan Moore -- the endless prose, the cheesy invocation of the IMAGINATION, and the meticulous recreation of genres I do not think I really care about. Hard work to be sure, but rewarding for the reader? I do not know. I have not read it yet. But my hunch? Exhausting. But again -- bad week for me.
In comics news Marvel is putting lots of stuff online, but since I have barely cracked the Claremont issues on my "40 Years of X-Men" disk, I feel like it is not for me, at least not yet.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Comics Out October 10, 2007
Runaways 28. I count roughly 21 characters in play here: The Runaways (Molly, Victor, Nico, Karolina, Xavin, Chase), The Arabs (The Swell, Lillie, Tristan), The Upward Path (Nightstick, Daystick, the Difference Engine, Black Maria, and the Adjudicator), The Sinners (Maneater, Forget-me-not, Morphine, Kid Twist, and Mr. and Mrs. Yorke), plus little Klara (and Klara's dad who is quite minor). That's a lot of people to keep track of. The issue is kinda bitter-sweet (especially Molly's misunderstanding about Klara's "chores"), funny and smart (the "Difference Engine" is a great name for a character and his punch card was hilarious), and The Yorkes are wonderfully humanized. The art is even a step up in places. But maybe because there is so much going on it seems somehow to be less than the sum of its parts -- it does not come together for me the way Fray or even Sugar Shock does, though no one can call it bad, I think.
Punisher War Journal 12. Morrison's justifiably maligned metaphor comparing good comics writing to how the Beatles added in minor chords to the standard C F G set and changed rock and roll seems especially appropriate here (if it did not, you know, kinda suck as a metaphor, as has been demonstrated around here by people who know more about music than I do). Punisher 12 is just a dippy one-off story that is the most generic kind of throwaway crossover tie-in -- but Fraction tosses in just enough over-the-top ridiculousness to make it a lot of fun. After a deft sketch of the events of World War Hulk for people not following it -- and take note people, this is how to do exposition when you need it -- we know everything we need to know, and are set for Frank vs. the Creature from Outer Space. A lesser writer might have gone with a more Predator feel, but Fraction knows that the money is in grindhouse or even drive-in silliness -- "They Came from New Jersey!" "Guns that Shoot Swords!" "Jellyball eyes of the Skull Chest Meat Shell!" Olivetti is great fun here.
Two slightly more serious things to note about Fraction's work. First, his Spiderman loves his wife, his Punisher and Casanova love their jobs explicitly. Angst may be a great thing to draw on for creativity, but Fraction seems to be drawing on some surprisingly positive sources, or at least doing such a good job converting negative feelings that it looks that way.
Second, a ghostly Punisher stands over lower Manhattan on the last page, a Manhattan in ruins (from the Hulk who stands over the city in a ghostly way on the first page). Lower Manhattan is a photograph, and the Twin Towers are notably absent (especially noticeable because it is a photograph). Three questions: would the towers have been where Frank's legs are? Was there a picture of Captain America like this as a 9-11 tribute in a Marvel thing somewhere? And what are we to make of this, if anything.
Comics News at Newsarama did not excite this week.
Review, recommend, and discuss this week's comics and comics news. And I would love it of someone would spoil Spiderman: One More Day part 2 for us.
Punisher War Journal 12. Morrison's justifiably maligned metaphor comparing good comics writing to how the Beatles added in minor chords to the standard C F G set and changed rock and roll seems especially appropriate here (if it did not, you know, kinda suck as a metaphor, as has been demonstrated around here by people who know more about music than I do). Punisher 12 is just a dippy one-off story that is the most generic kind of throwaway crossover tie-in -- but Fraction tosses in just enough over-the-top ridiculousness to make it a lot of fun. After a deft sketch of the events of World War Hulk for people not following it -- and take note people, this is how to do exposition when you need it -- we know everything we need to know, and are set for Frank vs. the Creature from Outer Space. A lesser writer might have gone with a more Predator feel, but Fraction knows that the money is in grindhouse or even drive-in silliness -- "They Came from New Jersey!" "Guns that Shoot Swords!" "Jellyball eyes of the Skull Chest Meat Shell!" Olivetti is great fun here.
Two slightly more serious things to note about Fraction's work. First, his Spiderman loves his wife, his Punisher and Casanova love their jobs explicitly. Angst may be a great thing to draw on for creativity, but Fraction seems to be drawing on some surprisingly positive sources, or at least doing such a good job converting negative feelings that it looks that way.
Second, a ghostly Punisher stands over lower Manhattan on the last page, a Manhattan in ruins (from the Hulk who stands over the city in a ghostly way on the first page). Lower Manhattan is a photograph, and the Twin Towers are notably absent (especially noticeable because it is a photograph). Three questions: would the towers have been where Frank's legs are? Was there a picture of Captain America like this as a 9-11 tribute in a Marvel thing somewhere? And what are we to make of this, if anything.
Comics News at Newsarama did not excite this week.
Review, recommend, and discuss this week's comics and comics news. And I would love it of someone would spoil Spiderman: One More Day part 2 for us.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Comics Out September 12, 2007
Matt Fraction and Fabio Moon's Casanova #9. There is no one left who does not know I am obsessed with this book. I am rapidly running out of superlatives.
A great new character, Kubark Benday is introduced, a character Fabio refers to as "Dragonball Wolverine" in the back-matter. Sasa Lisi gets some development -- her "I came from tomorrow to save you from boring" could be the tag line for all of Casanova. I am just falling in love with Fabio Moon -- his image of Sasa Lisi is crazy fun. And all those little details. I am not going to list them all but the last panel encapsulates the tone that makes this book my favorite.
A side note: Kubark Benday talks about the awesomeness of "Sifers Valomilk, the Original 'Flowing Center' Candy Cup." At the back of the book Fraction tells you where you can order these online, but if you don't want to wait, and you live in New York City (as a lot of readers here do) just go to 108 Rivington Street (zip 10002) -- the awesome purveyors of old school candy, Economy Candy, has a bunch, plus stuff like Candy Cigarettes (can you believe those were ever legal?).
Matt Fraction and Leandro Fernandez's Punisher War Journal #11. This issue was my favorite so far. I do not think it was the lack of Ariel Olivetti's art -- I wonder what this issue would have been like if he had drawn it. This is a character study, but rather than being a high concept gimmick, it reads like a real story, because it is: it is the epilogue to the Captain America costume story, it introduces a change in the G.W. Bridge story, and it introduces a new villain in a plot that is very creepy. Fraction knows how to find the tension in each of the three stories. Fraction even gives Iron Man a line about enjoying change that makes you see how he sees Civil War, in just a few words. A solid piece of craftsmanship.
Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, and P Craig Russell's Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Other Stories. I have not yet had a chance to read this, but I did not know there was more Mignola drawn Hellboy for me -- this story collects several Hellboy shorts from Dark Horse Anthology things. This is cool.
In a related story, MATT FRACTION AND KELLY SUE HAD A BABY! Congrats! I would use exclamation marks after ALL OF THESE SENTENCES! Baby!
At Newsarama, I tried to read some interviews about the next Hulk thing, and Marvel's Skrull thing, but I got bored.
Recommend, review, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.
A great new character, Kubark Benday is introduced, a character Fabio refers to as "Dragonball Wolverine" in the back-matter. Sasa Lisi gets some development -- her "I came from tomorrow to save you from boring" could be the tag line for all of Casanova. I am just falling in love with Fabio Moon -- his image of Sasa Lisi is crazy fun. And all those little details. I am not going to list them all but the last panel encapsulates the tone that makes this book my favorite.
A side note: Kubark Benday talks about the awesomeness of "Sifers Valomilk, the Original 'Flowing Center' Candy Cup." At the back of the book Fraction tells you where you can order these online, but if you don't want to wait, and you live in New York City (as a lot of readers here do) just go to 108 Rivington Street (zip 10002) -- the awesome purveyors of old school candy, Economy Candy, has a bunch, plus stuff like Candy Cigarettes (can you believe those were ever legal?).
Matt Fraction and Leandro Fernandez's Punisher War Journal #11. This issue was my favorite so far. I do not think it was the lack of Ariel Olivetti's art -- I wonder what this issue would have been like if he had drawn it. This is a character study, but rather than being a high concept gimmick, it reads like a real story, because it is: it is the epilogue to the Captain America costume story, it introduces a change in the G.W. Bridge story, and it introduces a new villain in a plot that is very creepy. Fraction knows how to find the tension in each of the three stories. Fraction even gives Iron Man a line about enjoying change that makes you see how he sees Civil War, in just a few words. A solid piece of craftsmanship.
Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, and P Craig Russell's Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Other Stories. I have not yet had a chance to read this, but I did not know there was more Mignola drawn Hellboy for me -- this story collects several Hellboy shorts from Dark Horse Anthology things. This is cool.
In a related story, MATT FRACTION AND KELLY SUE HAD A BABY! Congrats! I would use exclamation marks after ALL OF THESE SENTENCES! Baby!
At Newsarama, I tried to read some interviews about the next Hulk thing, and Marvel's Skrull thing, but I got bored.
Recommend, review, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Comics Out August 8, 2007
Matt Fraction and Fabio Moon's Casanova #8.
The new issue of Casanova is out, and it is blue, shockingly blue. It was a shade of blue I was not expecting when Fraction sent me the black and whites and told me they would be blue. It is blue-tastic.
It is also the first, and probably last sight of a super-villain (well, not so super to tell the truth) whose name really was was inspired by my name, DOKKKTOR KLOCKHAMMER, appearing here less that two weeks after I finished at Oxford and officially became Doctor Klock. Nice timing Fraction.
Casanova 8 doubles as a great introduction for those that have never read Casanova before -- if you want to jump on, today's the day; Fraction does a great job re-establishing a lot of things without making you feel like he is re-establishing a lot of things. Cause in Casanova exposition, even review-exposition, is always fun. As Fraction himself says in the back-matter, the thing does a needle scratch through the album that is the first seven issues, remixing all of their great stuff in 16 pages. But be warned -- Casanova 8 will make you want to shell out the money for the hard-cover collection of Casanova 1-7.
As for the issue itself. It has a hilarious Dungeons and Dragons reference, a genuinely surprising ending on a couple of levels, and the art is amazing even though it is not by Gabriel Ba, which should not be possible (Fabio Moon is Gabriel Ba's twin brother if you can believe it; and I probably do sometimes) - it has a looseness that goes over well. Fraction (I think) has said that Moon brings the Pope while Ba had the Mignola in his pocket -- that's exactly right. You will love this issue.
Plus: I have seen upcoming issues and read upcoming scripts and I know stacks of secrets and I can promise you that this is going somewhere awesome, somewhere that will rival volume 1.
Buy this issue or something probably bad will happen to you.
Matt Fraction and Ariel Olivetti's Punisher War Journal #10. The White Supremacists Punisher arc comes to an end, white supremacists get the crap beaten out of them (and who does not love to see that -- that's what comics were make to to back when Hitler was setting everything on fire), little Clark really grows as a person and as a killer, and Fraction finds a hell of an ending, a hell of a thing to set between his two main characters. Also the bad guys here have an H-ray generator (hate-rays); what do the bad guys in Casanova have? An H-element generator. Interesting... (Ok, maybe not interesting, but kinda fun.... Remember when you noticed that the Philosopher's stone in Morrison's JLA was the Hand of Glory from the Invisibles -- kinda like that, but with more ... something).
Grant Morrison and J.H. Williams III's Batman #667. This is a lot like Seven Soldiers #0, but slower -- Morrison and J.H. Williams team up to show you a bunch of superhero-losers (including a fat guy), then let loose the killing. There is even an image reminiscent of The Whip on the second to last page of Seven Soldiers 0. It is also a bit like Identity Crisis, with the nostalgia and dire consequences. I loved the two page title spread, Batman's appearance to the group, the two images framed in the hand, and the cruelty of the death, but I am not really feeling on board with this story. I just get annoyed at loser superheroes. It is an easy shot to take? Or I don't care? Something.... Even Williams had as many snoozer images as knockouts. Morrison's Batman is just not doing it for me, even with one of the best artists around.
AND
Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon's Sugershock (Online, and for free) #1. Oh, this is a lot of fun, and Fabio Moon is just the right guy to draw this -- Cassaday is great, but I think Whedon benefits from someone more lose and energetic. You have to give Moon a lot of credit-- this guy knows how to pick who to work with. He is having a great week -- not long ago I did not know who he was and now I love him twice over. Girls, robots, rock bands, awesome. [I was told about this by a commenter a while ago, but was too busy to notice; then Alex Su reminded me today. Two quick questions -- what is the home-page for this and is there a way of being alerted when the new issue comes out so I don't miss it? I mean I know you guys will tell me, and please do, but still...]
Nothing in comics new jumped out at me.
Review, recommend, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.
The new issue of Casanova is out, and it is blue, shockingly blue. It was a shade of blue I was not expecting when Fraction sent me the black and whites and told me they would be blue. It is blue-tastic.
It is also the first, and probably last sight of a super-villain (well, not so super to tell the truth) whose name really was was inspired by my name, DOKKKTOR KLOCKHAMMER, appearing here less that two weeks after I finished at Oxford and officially became Doctor Klock. Nice timing Fraction.
Casanova 8 doubles as a great introduction for those that have never read Casanova before -- if you want to jump on, today's the day; Fraction does a great job re-establishing a lot of things without making you feel like he is re-establishing a lot of things. Cause in Casanova exposition, even review-exposition, is always fun. As Fraction himself says in the back-matter, the thing does a needle scratch through the album that is the first seven issues, remixing all of their great stuff in 16 pages. But be warned -- Casanova 8 will make you want to shell out the money for the hard-cover collection of Casanova 1-7.
As for the issue itself. It has a hilarious Dungeons and Dragons reference, a genuinely surprising ending on a couple of levels, and the art is amazing even though it is not by Gabriel Ba, which should not be possible (Fabio Moon is Gabriel Ba's twin brother if you can believe it; and I probably do sometimes) - it has a looseness that goes over well. Fraction (I think) has said that Moon brings the Pope while Ba had the Mignola in his pocket -- that's exactly right. You will love this issue.
Plus: I have seen upcoming issues and read upcoming scripts and I know stacks of secrets and I can promise you that this is going somewhere awesome, somewhere that will rival volume 1.
Buy this issue or something probably bad will happen to you.
Matt Fraction and Ariel Olivetti's Punisher War Journal #10. The White Supremacists Punisher arc comes to an end, white supremacists get the crap beaten out of them (and who does not love to see that -- that's what comics were make to to back when Hitler was setting everything on fire), little Clark really grows as a person and as a killer, and Fraction finds a hell of an ending, a hell of a thing to set between his two main characters. Also the bad guys here have an H-ray generator (hate-rays); what do the bad guys in Casanova have? An H-element generator. Interesting... (Ok, maybe not interesting, but kinda fun.... Remember when you noticed that the Philosopher's stone in Morrison's JLA was the Hand of Glory from the Invisibles -- kinda like that, but with more ... something).
Grant Morrison and J.H. Williams III's Batman #667. This is a lot like Seven Soldiers #0, but slower -- Morrison and J.H. Williams team up to show you a bunch of superhero-losers (including a fat guy), then let loose the killing. There is even an image reminiscent of The Whip on the second to last page of Seven Soldiers 0. It is also a bit like Identity Crisis, with the nostalgia and dire consequences. I loved the two page title spread, Batman's appearance to the group, the two images framed in the hand, and the cruelty of the death, but I am not really feeling on board with this story. I just get annoyed at loser superheroes. It is an easy shot to take? Or I don't care? Something.... Even Williams had as many snoozer images as knockouts. Morrison's Batman is just not doing it for me, even with one of the best artists around.
AND
Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon's Sugershock (Online, and for free) #1. Oh, this is a lot of fun, and Fabio Moon is just the right guy to draw this -- Cassaday is great, but I think Whedon benefits from someone more lose and energetic. You have to give Moon a lot of credit-- this guy knows how to pick who to work with. He is having a great week -- not long ago I did not know who he was and now I love him twice over. Girls, robots, rock bands, awesome. [I was told about this by a commenter a while ago, but was too busy to notice; then Alex Su reminded me today. Two quick questions -- what is the home-page for this and is there a way of being alerted when the new issue comes out so I don't miss it? I mean I know you guys will tell me, and please do, but still...]
Nothing in comics new jumped out at me.
Review, recommend, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Comics Out July 11, 2007
Matt Fraction and Ariel Olivetti's Punisher War Journal #9. This story has fun, ridiculous art and a really solid story structure. And there is a primal pleasure to watching Frank Castle beat on Nazis.
Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons's Martha Washington Dies. Let's talk stats. The original series by Miller and Gibbons came out 17 years ago. The most recent installment came out 10 years ago. This issue -- a stand alone epilogue to the whole thing -- is 17 pages long. 4 of those pages are single-page panels. 8 pages are double spread splash pages. That's not a lot of story. In fact this is not a story -- it is a speech. You do not need to know anything about the character to follow this issue. A dying Martha tells a group of soldiers in a foxhole in the ruins of New York City that we are all just dust in the big picture, dies, her warrior torch is passed to a younger woman and they all go out to fight the "Barbarians" (Miller's word). The end. I think this is Miller telling America to kill Arabs before NYC is in ruins. I know it fails for many reasons, not the least of which is how Martha Washington's "wisdom" sounds a lot like the parody of the wisdom of Socrates in Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure. Wreched stuff.
Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen's Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. vol 2. I am going to keep this brief as I think I would like to do a longer post about this series. The long and the short of it is Warren Ellis is not my favorite writer: he has written some amazing moments and stunningly good issues (the first half of Planetary, The Authority), but has written a huge number of things I have no patience for (Transmet, Fantastic Four, Ocean, that one about NASA, that one about the British space program). Nextwave has a lot of failed jokes, warmed over Monty Python stuff, but it also has some SPOT ON BRILLIANT WICKED FUNNY STUFF. And the core idea is wonderful -- a parody of a superhero book that is a parody only by virtue that it strips away anything not fundamental to the superhero genre, leaving us with poses, and explosions, and maddness. My favorite moments include a superhero team called "The Surgery" every one of whose members' names starts with "Doctor" and the tag-line: "NEXTWAVE: blatantly wasting your money since 2006."
Nothing at Newsarama jumped out at me.
Review, recommend, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.
Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons's Martha Washington Dies. Let's talk stats. The original series by Miller and Gibbons came out 17 years ago. The most recent installment came out 10 years ago. This issue -- a stand alone epilogue to the whole thing -- is 17 pages long. 4 of those pages are single-page panels. 8 pages are double spread splash pages. That's not a lot of story. In fact this is not a story -- it is a speech. You do not need to know anything about the character to follow this issue. A dying Martha tells a group of soldiers in a foxhole in the ruins of New York City that we are all just dust in the big picture, dies, her warrior torch is passed to a younger woman and they all go out to fight the "Barbarians" (Miller's word). The end. I think this is Miller telling America to kill Arabs before NYC is in ruins. I know it fails for many reasons, not the least of which is how Martha Washington's "wisdom" sounds a lot like the parody of the wisdom of Socrates in Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure. Wreched stuff.
Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen's Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. vol 2. I am going to keep this brief as I think I would like to do a longer post about this series. The long and the short of it is Warren Ellis is not my favorite writer: he has written some amazing moments and stunningly good issues (the first half of Planetary, The Authority), but has written a huge number of things I have no patience for (Transmet, Fantastic Four, Ocean, that one about NASA, that one about the British space program). Nextwave has a lot of failed jokes, warmed over Monty Python stuff, but it also has some SPOT ON BRILLIANT WICKED FUNNY STUFF. And the core idea is wonderful -- a parody of a superhero book that is a parody only by virtue that it strips away anything not fundamental to the superhero genre, leaving us with poses, and explosions, and maddness. My favorite moments include a superhero team called "The Surgery" every one of whose members' names starts with "Doctor" and the tag-line: "NEXTWAVE: blatantly wasting your money since 2006."
Nothing at Newsarama jumped out at me.
Review, recommend, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.
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