Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears # 1; Spider-Man Reign # 3; Wormwood Gentlemen Corpse # 5



Ghostrider: Trail of Tears # 1
Garth Ennis-Clayton Crain

Let's see...war, the west, vengence, what makes a hero--all by Garth Ennis, like you're not going to check this book out. For a book subtitled trail of tears, it really hits the mark of what you'd hope for. For a book about a flaming skull spirit of vengence, the cultural and political analysis is suprising and worth the dime.

The dialouge sometimes seems to be a tad overwrought for what it's going for, but the content of what the book is about makes you extremely forgiving.

Ghost Rider Trail of Tears starts off in the tail end of the american civil war, and examines race relations, who really profits from war, and a whole mess of issues which almost set you up perfectly for the haunting image on the final page of the book.

To say this book is in Ennis' wheelhouse would be a massive understatement. But it definitely has potential. For all the talk of The Boys being the new preacher, Ghost Rider seems to more closely hit those themes and I would definitely reccomend it to any fan of Preacher or Ennis.

The artwork is fantastic. It bounces between sepia colored paintings of horrific detail, to more impressionistic nightmares.

I was apprehensive about reading a Ghost Rider book, because I'm not really a fan of the character, but you really don't need to be to enjoy this book.

Definitely a worthwhile read.

Spider-man Reign
Kaare Andrews-Jose Villarrubia

This book is really starting to piss me off. It could be so good, and it just continues to be so overwrought, so derrivitive, so geriatric that three issues in I really wonder how the conclusion is going to redeem all the time I've already put into this book hoping it would get traction.

As it stands, this book one issue away from it's conclusion is still really not worth reading. If you always wanted to see an aged Peter Parker mope his way around with a bunch of other old men, then this is the book for you. I mean, it's like nobody in this book is middle aged. It's all little kids saving the day, and old men.

The art is pretty nice, but it is the same every issue. It's been raining(of course it would be raining) all book long. Maybe it's playing on seasonal depression everywhere by just having a complete air of gloom, but I would kill for something NOT drab.

The dialouge is crap. I actually find myself skipping much of it halfway through because it's so pretensious. The first person narrative is even worse.

Instead of reading this, read Dark Knight Returns, and past a picture of spider-man over all the images of batman in that book. Trust me, it will be a lot more fun.

Wormwood Gentlemen Corpse
Ben Templesmith

Now here is a book that's a real hoot. This issue is almost entirely self-contained, so far as I could understand, and it centers around going to watch drunken leprachauns fight in an arena. If you're at all a fan of deadpan but over the top zombie humor this book is for you. Just a really fun read, and a joy to let your eyes move over.

Did I mention drunken leprachauns fighting it out with busted beer bottles? Because surely I did. Coming off the dismal gloom of Spider-man Reign, this was a lovely book to come to. The sense of humor is spot on. Very dark humor.

The central character of a worm that inhabits decayed bodies is extremely charming and this is a book I will definitely be looking to pick up from here on out. I fully reccomend it to all of my friends.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

SHAZAM!: The Monster Society of Evil # 1; Fell # 7; The Dark Tower # 1

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil # 1
Jeff Smith

The one word to describe what I felt reading this book by Jeff Smith, creator of Bone, is giddy. This book which begins Jeff Smith's take on the character of Captain Marvel is just sublime. This should be current DC continuity, it's so good. This is a book that really brings out the magic and amazement of the superhero genre, as well as a lot of the humor. Watching Captain Marvel buy a hotdog is a great joy.

The book is rife with make-you-smile moments involving Billy Batson and Captain Marvel. Though at it's core it is about a homeless child coming from a tragic past, the mood is always two steps away from happiness. Shazam just makes you feel so good to be reading a comic.

Jeff Smith's artwork for the book matches the writing, and in many cases carries the day. This is a book you can enjoy without any of the words. Just a real capturing of the genre of superheroes--not an easy thing to do, and great talents have been far lesss enjoyable while doing so. This is a book that definitely reminds me why I still read superhero books and why I liked them so much as a kid. I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone that was even slightly interested in either Jeff Smith or the superhero genre.

I can only hope that this opening adventure that will eventually tally four issues will beget many more from Jeff Smith who is one of the truly great talents in the field today.

Fell # 7
Warren Ellis-Ben Templesmith


It seems like forever since I've reviewed Fell. It's been ages since an issue has come out of this terrifici book. And the question is whether it maintains the level of excellence it had previously set in the prior 6 issues. I have to say, this issue is terrific, and if it were any other book I'd probably be lavishing praise upon it. But as a new edition of Fell it's rather anti-climactic.

As an aside, if you're wondering what the hell Fell is, it's a book about a Detective Fell working in the morally bankrupt town of Snowtown, a town which is essentially been given over to people's worst vices, and essentially lives in a perpetual nightmare of existence. Every issue is selfcontained and priced at 1.99. It's attempting to give you a satisfying story, working within the pamphlet side of comics, to sort of disprove that 1, comics need be so expensive, and 2 that you can't tell a good self-contained story in a single issue. Paul Dini is doing this as well in Detective Comics it should be noted.

But anyways. What we have in issue 7 is another issue basically locked in an interrogation room while the events outstanding are rehashed by Detective Fell, and he attempts to play his little logic games to nab the criminal. The problem with this is, we've already done that in the series, and the town of Fell is interesting enough that I would have liked to had Detective Fell out roaming it a little more. The other problem to it is, that this issue doesn't really contain any sort of logical games. Just a kind of indictment on the legal system in a note we've heard before. All in all, considering the calibre of what came before, it's very blase. It almost feels like the book was just shoved out to shove one out after all this time, and there wasn't really any passion behind it's making from Ellis. Which is something that happens a lot to me when I start Ellis series. They usually start off very strong and full of a lot of great stuff, and then he seems to lose interest, and the book suffers. I hope that doesn't happen to Fell because it's a book I get legitimately excited about reading, but this issue is really nothing exceptional for the Fell team.




There is some cool art in here by Templesmith, but since 90 percent of the story happens in a gray four walled room, it does seem kind of boring even for him. I suppose he could have done a better job of playing with the space of that room. I mean, if Linklater can do it in Tape surely it can be done here.




All in all, if you've never read Fell you should start with the other issues. This isn't bad, but it's not what I'd use to convince people to read the book.

In fact the most exciting thing about this book, was Matt Fractions little short story staring match/promo for Casanova, a book I've been meaning to check out. The small three page story is better than the entirety of the Fell portion of the book, and has reminded me that I must go and get the trades for Casanova so I can figure out what the hell is going on enough to read the monthly.




The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born
Peter David-Jae Lee

Holy crap I had no idea what I was going to walk into. I had heard of the Dark Tower books and had some sort of vague notion about what they might be about, but after reading the new comic book story based on that world--wow. I will be getting myself to the bookstore. Fun stuff. Wizards, gunslingers, psychics, crazed apocolyptic vibe--so cool.

And without having access to the source material I can't really truly assess how good or bad Marvel did at translating this work over, but I have to bet good, because on it's own this is a fantastic book and one I look forward to following immensley.




The writing is like something a character from a Cormac McCarthy book might say, and the artwork is incredible. I mean, it's not suprising as Jae Lee is one of the real talents in comics, and Peter David has always been a pretty terrific story teller in the medium. It's books like this that will catch Marvel up to DC's Vertigo imprint.

Just fantastic stuff. Definitely reccomend the book to anyone whether they are familiar with the Stephen King work or not. This will appeal to you if you are into westerns on any level. Wizards on any level. Horror on any level. Fantastic opening salvo. Production values through the roof. There's even an added short story in the back of the book by Robin Furth.

EXCITING!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Criminal # 4; Punisher War Journal # 3; Fear Agent 10

Criminal # 4
Ed Brubaker-Sean Phillips

If you're into comics, you already know the score on this book. I always hesitate to even bother reviewing it because of that reason. But if you're not into comics and you're looking to read one of the best books out there, and enjoy Noir tales at all, then this is the book for you. Brubaker as he shows in most of the things he's writing these days, is a master storyteller who knows how to unfold a character on the side of your pool and make them the most captivating thing under the sun. Not because these are perfect statuesque models of humanity, but because these are flawed unadmirable people. Junkies and Cowards are your heros in this book.

But man does it sing. Sean Phillips artwork for the series is restrained and beautiful. It's mostly comprised of quiet scenes of people getting their morning coffee, jarred with very few, but very effective flourishes of blood drenched corpses as the body count continues to silently stack up.

Like I was saying, if you're into comics at all, you know about this book, you're reading it, and this review one way or the other will have no real effect on you. If you're not into comics though, go pick this up. It doesn't involve superheroes on any level. It's not overly violent. There isn't a lot of cursing. It's just tight tight storytelling of a dark noir tale.



Punisher War Journal # 3
Matt Fraction-Ariel Oliveti

Despite the fact that Fraction completely rewrites the portion of this that is in the main Civil War Book (I don't know if these errors might not be intentional, since the book is told from Frank's messed up vantage point, or if it's just sloppy editing) this is a good book that just needs patience from the readers. The talent working on this book is exceptional. And while Civil War is dragging the plot of the book down, the book works as chopped up bits that have been seemed together. The writing actually on each page is a lot of fun and I geniunely enjoy reading it.

The art of the book is the highpoint for me. I absolutely adore Ariel Olivetti's work, and will be very interested in seeing more work.

This book is far from perfect, and I feel like I have to appologize for it a lot both in reviews and when I talk to others about it. But I promise you if you give this one time, I am pretty sure given the evidence we already have, that it's going to be a terrific book. Not every book comes sprinting out of the gate. Punisher War Journal probably won't hit it's groove until the second arc or further. Which wouldn't even make it the first Punisher work in the last ten years that started off slowly.

And while it does seem a bit much to be picking up two punisher books per month, this one is so diffrent from Ennis's book that despite them both being about the same character, you really shouldn't hesitate. If you have room in your shopping bag, and some patience to wait through some early growing pains, pick this up. You'll seem so much more respectable when 6 months from now everyone is raving about how great this book is.



Fear Agent # 10
Rick Remender-Jerome Opena


Oh how I love my Fear Agent. I picked this book up only an issue ago, and have to say I am so not regretting it. Follwing the adventures of this drunken cowboy of an anti-hero through his bent up space adventures is a complete joy. I'm planning to go catch up on the rest of the series. But this is definitely a book I recommend.

It's a good thing to get away from the big two, because a lot of the independent publishers aren't as tied down by pandering to children. And so with Fear Agent we get a very adult book with lots of slime, grime, and boozing. The book is pretty funny, but definitely feels developed and multi-dimensional. There's a definite heart and soul to this book that even having only just jumped on is palpable. This is a book that for all the fun it is, feels very well thought out.

Rick Remender's essay defending the drug use of an earlier issue at the back of the book is a must read as well. A very interesting and provacative meditation on censorship and the need to show the very real effects that certian actions can have.

This is definitely a book to fill the hole leftover by some of the more mediocre books being put out by the big two, like in my opinion Green Lantern, The Flash(which is just bad), any book with the words Spider or man that doesn't also include the word Ultimate, and the now droning slodge through Planet Hulk.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Batman and the Mad Monk 5; Nightly News 3; Kabuki: The Alchemy 8

Batman and the Mad Monk # 5
Matt Wagner

The most straightforward yarn of the bunch this week, Matt Wagner's Batman and the Mad Monk trudges on. It still feels too quality a book to dislike, but too run of the mill to really lavish praise on. For my money it's a very "meh" Batman book, but considering Morrison is on sabbatical from Batman, it will have to do.

The artwork is still from that Year One era Batman, with a little bit of an upgrade. Batman gets very bloody in this issue, and it looks pretty cool all told. I would appreciate more in this book if the campiness of it were played up. It's kind of by the numbers anyways with respect to the story, so it would be nice if it played with that fact more. The most exciting flourishes in the book, are the ones that have their tongue poked firmly in Batman camplore.

A lot does have to be said for the nostalgiac feeling you get from entering this sort of Batman world which wasn't so highly developed. But I do think Morrison did what Wagner should be aiming for with this book, a lot better with his Son of the Demon/Ninja Man Bat arc.

So yeah if you are starved for some Batman, this or Detective Comics will tide you over till Morrison gets back on the case.

The Nightly News # 3
Jonathan Hickman

So glad I stayed with this book with all the potential is showed in the first two issues. Issue three is where the book has finally found it's stride. Between the story and the political essaying, everything is in balance this issue.

The book is subtitled "education. ritalin. porn. rehab. choice" and that's a very good guid for what this issue tackles. The opening salvo about the american education system is a fantastic read and has me excited for more. The dialouge in this issue has taken on a definite poetic bend, and is fantastic to read.

Oh yeah, if you didn't know...the book is about putting a bullet through Lou Dobbs forehead. And I'm not talking metaphorically. Frankly it's amazing a book like this is being put out, but I guess if it were being put out by DC instead of Image, it probably would have already been pulled off the shelves. If you're at all angry about american society and the role politics and media play in it, this is your book. If you're at all interested in really interesting non-linear art, this is your book. Definitely the most intense read that you can get off the shelves without having to hide it under your mattress when you get home.

Do yourself a favor...
Kabuki: The Alchemy
David Mack
If there was a capital "C" comics label out there, Kabuki: The Alchemy would fall right into it. This book is basically free license for magic funtime artist David Mack to let his imagination take a flying blue yonder into jaunts unknown. Whether it's paneling, the style he's drawing in, the cut outs he's using--he'll do anything to express the ideas in his head.
This book centers around a dream and a debate about the nature and compulsion to write. It's a manifesto it seems of what drives Mack to do what he does and how he does. I mean, you'll note that I'm not really referring to the characters of the book doing this, because...well frankly I don't remember them at this point anymore, and they really just seemed to be placeholders on the page for the text and design that went on around and through them.

All in all this is a fascinating work, even if the philosophy of it doesn't interest you. Mack's art is always interesting, and in this book you can kind of get behind the mask of the art and see how it ticks.
It's a beautifully naked work to be sure.