Attempting to kick off a new version of this as Ben’s one disappeared.
A MW tradition, and the cause of many an empty wallet!
The Trades Thread
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Got and read another Lemire book, the first trade of Family Tree. Jesus, that guy just keeps churning stuff out, and it’s always reliable good. This one seems a bit Swamp-Thing-like, really, with the premise being that members of a family have a tendency to turn into trees (I can spoil that much, it happens pretty much on the first page). There’s a psychedelic vibe to it, and there’s a doomsday cult trying to kill the tree girl and a grandpa who’s into violence. So it’s good. Also, Phil Hester art, which is always cool.
I tried the first issue and thought it had a very 90s Swamp Thing vibe (not a bad thing).
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OK, that post ain’t showing up so let’s do a shorter version.
The Paybacks
An early Cates work, this is an affectionate superhero parody that lacks the vicious edge of an Ennis or Ellis story.
It revolves around a ground of super-powered debt collectors, who go around repossessing superhero lairs and gadgets, then pressganging said failed superhero to work off the rest of their debt.
It’s an OK story, concludes well enough, but story execution never quite matches the smart concept.
The Ghost Fleet: The Whole Goddamned Thing
Once upon a time no one knew who Donny Cates and Daniel Warren Johnson were. So when they did this big rigs western demonic apocalypse story, pitched as 12 issues, sales killed the last four issues and then moved the middle quartet to digital only and the story was damned to obscurity.
…Then years later, both creators hit the big time and there was money in re-issuing it.
It is a gloriously enthusiastic and bonkers tale, wonderfully told by Johnson’s high-energy, kinetic art style. And do they manage to conclude it well, with four issues axed? Oh yeah. It involves some very creative solutions, but they work very effectively.
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Finally got around to reading Ennis’ and Eptings’ Sara.
Even if I kind of realized how it was going to end pretty early on I really fucking enjoyed the ending. It was truly perfect.
I really felt like this was the best possible outcome and a happy ending for Sara, forgoing her hate and forgiving those who wronged her. Going to rest doing her explosive little trick, returning the favour to her saviour.
Ennis is my favourite writer of non-superhero comic books. Damns. Eptings art was enjoyable too. Servicing and itself serviced by the story, I wouldn’t exactly frame any of the pages. I like how everyone had distinct faces and how Sara was so deeply desensitized and indifferent and that it was presented throughout and functionally conveyed by her (lack of) facial expressions. No “gritty” grinding of teeth or smiling menacingly. Just… absent.
Fantastic. 85/100 comrades in arms.
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I reread some Grant Morrison classics over the last month:
Batman/Batman & Robin/The Return of Bruce Wayne/Batman, Inc. – This is probably my favorite superhero book of the 2000s/2010s. Morrison’s most propulsive writing paired with mad genius artists like Chris Burnham, Frank Quitely, J.H. Williams III, & Frazer Irving? Yes please. This time I was struck by the simplicity of the three phases of the run. “Batman and Son” through “R.I.P.” shows Bruce Wayne’s belief that he can control everything, B&R & ROBW shows him accepting what’s outside his control, like death, and Inc. shows him putting that acceptance into practice.
I know killing off Damian isn’t a popular choice but I think it had to end that way (while also heavily foreshadowing his inevitable return). Bruce telling Jim Gordon that when he stared into the hole in things, he saw “nothing… and a space big enough to hold everything” is such an elegant and moving way to end the run.
Seven Soldiers – Probably Morrison’s most idea-packed series outside of The Invisibles. So much of it is original too, not just reinventions of old stuff: the Sheeda; the Seven Unknown Men of Slaughter Swamp; the subway pirates; subterranean Puritans; Baby Brain, Ali-Ka-Zoom, Kid Scarface, and the other Newsboys; Melmoth’s child gang; sentient genocidal water; Sally Sonic’s tragic backstory…
I just love this book, how each mini connects without the lead characters ever meeting. It’s very well done, aside from the Mr. Miracle mini which doesn’t really fit and has middling art (I don’t even like Pasqual Ferry’s issue). But at least the final issue of Miracle is really good.
The final issue features some of J.H. Williams’s strongest art ever. He switches between so many styles you get whiplash (Kirby, Prince Valiant, Little Nemo, plus the styles of all the others 7S artists) but it all hangs together beautifully. You couldn’t have asked for a better ending.
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After playing the first video game I got the first three “years” collections of Injustice. Great comics. Nips along at a breakneck speed and there are twists and cliffhangers aplenty. Punchy dialogue and free from any really continuity worries. Finished the third this evening and have I’ve got the remaining two complete collections ordered. Pretty sure I’ll get the Harley Quinn series and the Injustice 2 books too.
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I liked Injustice too. Tom Taylor is a really good writer, he takes what’s essentially a crazy premise but adds some really strong character moments. His DCeased book is in a similar vein.
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I wondered why Taylor has remained fairly quiet in comics despite all the good reviews he gets and saw he’s the creator of The Deep TV cartoon which my kids like watching. Since it’s aired all over the world I’d assume that brings him a bigger paycheck than his comics work. So maybe that’s why he isn’t thrust into heading a major event book.
He still does probably a couple of books a month but they all seem to be very self contained. Injustice and DCeased are Elseworlds ideas and his Spider-Man book is very closely focused on the ‘neighbourhood’ theme, they are all fairly low key character driven stories where Spidey stays near his home. That’s also recommended by the way.
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Dealer Alert
If the exchange rates don’t go to shit on 1 Jan 2021 – yeah, about that – this might be got a little cheaper from BooksEtc, but if it plays out as I expect, this could be quite the price to nab now – currently £62.62 for a $125 Omnibus:
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Yes there’s a lot of rubbish in there. After the Cross Time Caper ends the book really was a home for fill-in stuff, there’s a new writer and artist almost every other issue, not good ones either. Then it gets good again when Davis returns with #42 (and famously retcons a lot that came between his runs as a Bobby Ewing style dream).
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Even the Cross-Time Caper has some really bad art, which brings down an otherwise good story (although the issue that parodies manga and anime shows Claremont didn’t really know anything about them). Chris Wozniak puts in probably the worst art I’ve ever seen in a Big 2 comic:
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Just setting the poor guy up for failure…
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I agree Will, Wozniak was a really poor choice to follow Davis (although he comes back briefly to close off the arc).
The thing is too while I’m a really big Claremont fan the way he writes comics is very collaborative and gives the artist a lot of latitude and that hugely affects the end product. He does not like full script writing.
The biggest example ever of that can be seen in New Mutants where there’s a pretty terrible Team America story before Bill Sienkiewicz joins and everything just becomes better to match his artwork, the story becomes clever and more nuanced and challenging.
Uncanny X-Men had a series of fill-in artists between Silvestri and Lee (Bill Jaaska and Mike Collins) and while it’s still pretty interesting when Lee comes on full time you suddenly get that Wolverine and Black Widow issue in the past and then Magneto and Rogue in the Savage Land and it’s like wow, back to being the best book on the stands.
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Recent reads:
Postal: Deliverance Volume 2
Well, shit, when’s the next trade out? Unknown? Bollocks. Suffice to say this ends on one hell of an effective cliffhanger, but before it gets there it heads in an intriguing direction of generational conflict and parents being unwilling to let go of their children, or even resist growing themselves.
With Ienco having been hoovered up by Marvel for their newest Vader book, it might be a while until the next volume comes out or Hill finds a new artist. There’s a strong case for sticking with Ienco, his art is excellent, but if he gets buried in Marvel work it might have to change.
For anyone who likes the series, this is both exactly what you do and don’t expect.
Redneck – Volume 1
If the key to effective writing is to write what you know then clearly Cates knows Texas because it comes up all over his creator-owned books.
Here, it is based around the wonderfully lunatic concept of a vampire clan running a local Texas BBQ joint and existing on cow’s blood. Of course, this rather cosy status quo can’t last and that’s what kicks the story off.
Cates then takes it into more interesting territory by asking what happens generational conflicts when the older generation can’t die? The non-spoiler answer is that things can get very messy, very fast.
I really enjoyed this, have just ordered the next volume.
Die – Volumes 1-2
Hans’ art is fantastic but there was something that didn’t click first time around on this one, so took a gamble on second volume, read them both together and, somehow, it was different. This time I noticed aspects I hadn’t first time, subtleties of character or little observations that had more meaning.
Whatever it may be, it worked far, far better.
Analog – Volume 1
Here’s what this isn’t – it isn’t an opening, five-part arc that ends on a cliffhanger. It is five linked individual stories that ends on kind of a cliffhanger.
Reading this leads to one inescapable conclusion – it’s a damn shame Duggan isn’t doing more creator-owned work because this was fantastic.
It’s not the first story to contemplate a post-Internet crash world, but it’s one that I found far better than the likes of The Private Eye. In large part, this is because Duggan is excellent at combining strong characters with satirical potshots.
Now if I can just get the next volume at discounted rate….
Moonshine – Volume 3
It’s been so long that I considered the book to be dead and I’ve forgotten what happened before but, somehow, none of that matters. This is Azzarello and Risso doing what they do best – a dark, murky, fucked-up story involving numerous shady characters and nefarious goings-on.
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Once and Future – Volume 1
This is a whole lot of fun. Gillen and Mora make an excellent creative team for a very smart opening act.
In effect, what this story does is turn the question of ‘what is Britain?’ on its head and then starts spinning it for good measure. It opens with a bunch of nationalist bastards wanting “England back”, yeah, of course they do. But, what to the likes of people way, way back when, was “England”? One thing is certain, it ain’t what these bozos were thinking.
Then, to finish it off, Gillen throws in a very dysfunctional family.
Superb art, smart story – I’ll be back for Volume 2.
God Country
Hmm, a book set in Texas? What are the odds? Ah, yes, thought so, it’s a Cates tale.
And it’s maybe the kind of book that can only be written early on, a book that throws caution to the wind and just goes for it. An examination of family, both dysfunctional and not; of fathers and sons and loss. Cates’ packs a lot into these issues, demands a lot of Shaw, who keeps the imagery coming – it’s a hard story to summarise well so let’s not bother.
Is it worth reading? Yes it is, track down a copy.
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Glad you liked Once & Future, Ben. It was a great start I thought. Already looking forward to v.2.
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Hermes. Fucking Hermes.
A useless, utter bullshit company that….. words ain’t up to describing how crap they are.
Their site swears blind they delivered a package at 2.49 – bullshit. No van. no ring, no nothing and there were 3 other people in the house, I had line of sight on the road – no one turned up.
Of course their site swears they did deliver it, with a map image, which means nothing.
It’s likely a BooksEtc order so have dropped them a line so they can bomb the hell out of this shitbag company.
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Batman: Creature of the Night HC
This, for me, was an an odd misfire.
I think it was due to a number of factors – I never really latched onto Bruce Wainwright as a character, so the story drifts. But, at the same time, the story is taking time to establish it is not Batman’s world but then does this weird supernatural take on it. It just doesn’t work.
It’s well-executed, the art is good, but in the end? It keeps walking the line between its real and supernatural aspects, at the end it picks one of them, but it all lacked a sense of impact.
There’s some neat observations in here, but found the story too leaden.
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That “delivered” item? Was actually with the post office and has just arrived!
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I’ve had that happen quite a lot with the big books (omnibuses etc.) from Books Etc. That seems to be the service they favour – collection from the local post office.
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GERRY CONWAY’s LEGION to Get Hardcover Collection
Legion of Super-Heroes: Before the Darkness Vol. 1
Pivotal early-1980s Legion of Super-Heroes stories, set just before the epic “Great Darkness Saga,” are now available in the first volume of an all-new collection!
The greatest heroes of the 30th century star in these classic stories that set the stage for “The Great Darkness Saga,” one of the most beloved tales in Legion history!
First, the Legion–including Mon-El, Brainiac 5, and Phantom Girl–takes on a Circus of Death! Then, the villainous Dagon strikes, kidnapping several Legionnaires’ parents for ransom! And the Fatal Five return–now working for the Dark Man!
Plus, in Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes, find out startling new information from the past of the Legion and their ally R.J. Brande!
This volume collects Legion of Super-Heroes #260-271 and Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #1-3.
(of note: Superboy & the legion of Superheroes Vol.’s 1 & 2 end on LSH # 259, so this continues nicely…)
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And from DC’s October solicits there’s a Deadman Omnibus.
An omission got me right riled up, my introduction to him in DC Comics Presents # 24
Len Wein, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and an awesome story.WTF?
and then I realize it’s a typo when they say it includes DCCP # 94 (has to mean # 24)All right, crisis averted, and now I have to read that again…
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Amazon cancelled my order for the Cinema Purgatorio Collection, months after it was supposed to come out and didn’t. Has anyone seen any evidence of its existence?
No. I had that on order for a while but cancelled it once it was clear it wasn’t coming out. Glad I held on to the singles now.
Avatar really are an odd and amateurish outfit.
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referencing TKO’s (Sentient by Lemire & Walta) and Sara (by Ennis & Epting)
It’s the problem with the TKO model Sean. They want to operate outside the normal distribution channels, which is good for the bottom line and profit margin but it also means (often like Kickstarter) it makes everything unaffordable if you live in another country. Meaning only a digital offer can ever be value for money.
Unless they change their plan waiting probably won’t deliver a cheaper option.
Yeah, my LCS tried, but said I’m on my own for that.
If we could get a group of us together, then maybe they could negotiate a better price (& shipping).
The ones they asked said no (most never heard of them) and ownership is not currently looking to put things on the shelf that may not move (current conditions plus DC stupidity…).Well, I would like to boycott, but I do want them.
This gives me something to look for if I cross the border for Emerald City Comic-Con (Seattle).
(whenever travel opens up again) I do still want to go to that Con every couple of years, but shame on them for that being the only way.
Many are not financially able to do that, and that list got a lot bigger in the last 6 months.The TKO books do show up on US amazon occasionally, so could be worth looking out for that.
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It took a while for Sara to show on Amazon.com but it did eventually, so worth checking regularly.
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Recent reads:
Hellboy & the BPRD: Beast of Vargu
This was all-right, though I think the Mignolaverse is going to be winding down – it’s big stories are done, all that remains is incidental stuff.
Redneck – Volume 2
This was an excellent continuation. Cates isn’t telling this as a long-form story in the usual way, instead each volume has been its own epic: Start with status quo, nuke status quo, see how it plays out over 4-5 issues, get new status quo, build next arc on it. It’s a very effective MO.
Shadow Roads – Volume 1
Set in the same as The Sixth Gun, but set after that story concludes, this is a separate tale with a different art team, but which looks to be every bit as good as its predecessor,
Farmhand – Volume 3
This black comedy come small town political thriller just keeps spinning its fucked-up story of bad science and, worse, bad humans.
In no other story would you get lines like ‘we are into nightmare porn territory’ and ‘how am I? Well, turning into a house plant but fine’ ? It’s an insane book, but it’s also an awful lot of fun.
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Hellboy & the BPRD: Beast of Vargu
This was all-right, though I think the Mignolaverse is going to be winding down – it’s big stories are done, all that remains is incidental stuff.
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The third series in my Morrison reread was JLA, which I have to say hasn’t aged all that well. Howard Porter’s art is really clunky and the storytelling is often unclear; I have a feeling he was leaving things out of Morrison’s script. Morrison’s writing could be pretty clunky too, tbh. There are cool moments every now and then but almost no character development. It’s still interesting to read though because you can see the beginnings of the wide-screen action, extremely propulsive writing style he’d bring to later work. He got his mainstream style sorted out quickly because by 2000-2001 he was writing early 2000s masterpieces like JLA: Earth 2, Marvel Boy, and New X-Men.
I also read his JLA Classified arc from 2007 which introduced the Sheeda and fleshed out the Ultramarine Corps he introduced in the 90s. That’s a fun little book as well.
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Yeah, the Morrison JLA hardcovers collect the Earth 2 story and Ultramarine Corps in the fourth and final volume and it makes for a nice lead-in to his later stuff like Seven Soldiers and All-Star Superman.
Like you, I don’t really rate his JLA that highly and I think it’s one of the weakest of his mainstream works. The art doesn’t help, and nor does the constantly-shifting DC continuity (especially given all the electric Superman stuff) but there’s the kernel of a lot of his later, better stuff in there.
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I haven’t read it since it was originally published but I loved JLA at the time. I think the treatment of the cast as a pantheon of gods lead to the lack of any discernible characterisation, leaving the reader with blockbuster action and plenty of pithy one liners.
As a 1990’s DC fanboy, however, that was all I wanted from a Justice League book – an event book every issue – I got plenty of characterisation in the character’s individual monthlies instead.
Every subsequent writer on the book has stayed away from that model of storytelling, and with few exceptions I have never enjoyed the book as much as I did during Morrison’s tenure.
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It’s the speed that suggests it. Previous Hellboy & BPRD volumes were stories set in a single year, this one barrels through the 60s and 70s.
It is also over 50+ trades of material and 25+ years later.
If it does wind up, well, it had to at some point.
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If it does wind up, well, it had to at some point.
I’m sad, but not disappointed. From the beginning, Mignola always had an idea how the Hellboy saga would end and was committed to the fact that it would end. I’m happy that he was able to do it on his terms. Moving forward, it will be fun to plug all the subsequent one-shots and mini-series into the existing chronology and see what HB and Bruttelheim and Abe and the rest of the gang were doing in the decades between Hellboy’s birth and death.
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GERRY CONWAY’s LEGION to Get Hardcover Collection Legion of Super-Heroes: Before the Darkness Vol. 1 Pivotal early-1980s Legion of Super-Heroes stories, set just before the epic “Great Darkness Saga,” are now available in the first volume of an all-new collection!
Thanks. I’m completely perplexed by DC’s random rebranding and renaming of their Legion archives, but I suppose I should be grateful that they at least are continuing.
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A riotously random round-up of recommended recent reading.
Judge Dredd: The Art of Kenny Who?
A series of stories about a hapless Cal-Hab (Scottish) citizen, Kenny Who?, who travels to Mega City One to follow his dream to work as a comic artist for a big faceless corporation, only to fall victim to bad-faith contracts and see his characters stolen and copied, leaving him penniless. I’m sure there’s no relationship to any real American comic book companies at all, uh-uh, definitely not, move along citizen.
Judge Dredd is pretty much a supporting character to Kenny here, and the approach works really well. The stories are told in a humorous way and with typically biting satire, and writer John Wagner (Scottish) and artist Cam Kennedy (Scottish) make Kenny a likeable victim protagonist who even Dredd ends up feeling sorry for.
The Bronze Age Swamp Thing Omnibus
This collects all of the original Swamp Thing from the early 70s, plus the first few issues of the revived series from the 80s—basically, every up till Alan Moore took over.
While Moore’s run would end up overshadowing everything that came before, these issues are worth reading in their own right, not simply as a prequel to Moore’s storyline. Len Wein writes most of the original series, and he makes the concept interesting and different enough that you wonder why the series was cancelled. It’s not a pure horror comic as, for example, Tomb of Dracula was, it’s more of a super-hero comic with Alec Holland usually fighting the villain-of-the-month, but with weird elements and horror tropes mixed in, and the mix works, helped massively by Bernie Wrightson’s detailed and often nightmarish art.
The 80s’ series is written mostly by Martin Pasko, and it’s a shame that his work seems to be mostly forgotten about. He takes Wein’s premise and keeps the weird/horror mix, but concentrates much more on long sub-plots, story arcs, and a strong supporting cast. It’s all good stuff.
Rogue Trooper Volume 2
Although Rogue Trooper is superficially a great idea for a character, it soon becomes obvious that there is a limit to the stories you can tell with him. Rogue arrives in a new sector of Nu-Earth, Rogue is ambushed by Nort soldiers, Rogue kills Nort soldiers, Rogue moves on in his unending search for the traitor general. That’s pretty much it. So by the second volume of his stories the premise is already worn pretty thin. There is still creativity in the different Nu-Earth sectors, but the series as a whole isn’t going anywhere and maybe should have been gracefully retired.
Howard the Duck Omnibus
Steve Gerber wrote some of my favourite off-the-wall mainstream comics. His Guardians of the Galaxy issues are among my favourite comics. So for a long time I’ve wanted to read this series, which apparently was very close to his heart and where his sense of the absurd could really cut loose.
And now I’ve read it, my feelings are… mixed.
Gerber mostly uses the series to satirise everything wrong with American culture, and a lot of the time the satire does work. At other times, the humour tries a bit too hard and simply falls flat. Howard isn’t a particularly engaging protagonist, not surprising when his whole reason for existing is to be perpetually whining about how terrible humans are. And as the ‘villains’ he fights are one-dimensional caricatures designed solely to show Howard how terrible some particular aspect of society is … well, it leaves the storylines a bit thin.
I sort of … admired this comic more than enjoyed it. Gerber is a great ideas man, and I admire his ambition, and I enjoy the surrealness of his writing. But this series needed more good stories to anchor the surrealism.
Gerber is credited as editor as well as writer (which seemed to be quite common in the 70s), and maybe that was the problem. Maybe he needed somebody to give him a bit of direction.
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Extremity v.2: Warrior
I just finished reading the second volume of Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer’s Extremity and thought it was pretty incredible – a great read and a worthy conclusion after the great first collection.
There’s such wonderful artistry here, and it’s fitting for a story that’s partly about the value and importance of art – both personally and for society more widely. There are beautiful establishing shots like this…
…and also wonderful compositions like this – look at how that vertical panel accentuates the fall and really emphasises the gravity of the situation.
There are also occasional wonderful surprises like this, which cut loose from the normal confines of the page and demonstrate the scale of this world.
And throughout there are amazing action scenes that demonstrate the “infinite budget” advantages of comics. Epic battles like this feel like watching a $200m blockbuster.
And individual panels carry such tremendous energy and dynamism.
But more than all that, it’s a story that actually feels like it has Something To Say. It’s pretty moving and profound in places, and makes other revenge and retribution stories seem shallow and unfinished in comparison.
Seeking revenge is just the beginning of this story, but those ideas are taken much further and developed far more thoroughly by the end. It’s a hugely satisfying and resonant book and the whole series deserves the OHC treatment (this time with covers included, please!)
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The 80s’ series is written mostly by Martin Pasko, and it’s a shame that his work seems to be mostly forgotten about. He takes Wein’s premise and keeps the weird/horror mix, but concentrates much more on long sub-plots, story arcs, and a strong supporting cast. It’s all good stuff.
I agree. I mean Moore’s run was light years ahead of any other monthly book at the time but it’s sometimes portrayed that he took over a really bad book. In truth Pasko’s run is very good. I remember picking up issue 6 in a second hand bookshop, when they are on a cruise ship and it was genuinely scary at the cliffhanger. Great art by Steve Bissette and Tom Yeates too.
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Extremity v.2: Warrior
That looks amazing.
I wasn’t aware of this series; I’ll keep it in mind for the next visit to my local store.
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It really is well worth it. It’s one of the best series I’ve read in a long time and nicely self-contained at 12 issues.
I’ve become a huge fan of Johnson over the last year, he’s one of my favourite creators in comics at the moment.
Go read Ghost Fleet!
Any other recommendations on Johnson?
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I just bought Ghost Fleet so I’ll be reading that next.
So far I’ve read Space Mullet, Extremity, Murder Falcon and Wonder Woman: Dead Earth and they’ve all been great.
The Wonder Woman HC is definitely one to look out for later in the year.
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Just a reminder to those interested: PULP, the new hardcover from Brubaker and Phillips, comes out next Wednesday July 29th from Image Comics. I’ve already reserved my copy.
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Ditto. Can’t wait for that one.
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Dealer Alert
Move fast:
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Murder Falcon will be the next one for me, the concept sounds brilliant.
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It’s a lot of fun, and like Extremity the craziness is actually tied to a sincere point at the heart of it all.
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Decent pre-order price of £20.38 at Speedyhen for the Criminal: Cruel Summer HC.
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Decent pre-order price of £20.38 at Speedyhen for the Criminal: Cruel Summer HC.
The CRIMINAL DELUXE VOL 3 hardcover has been solicited by Image for October release; the only overlap in content appears to be the inclusion of CRIMINAL #1 in both volumes.
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DaveWallace wrote: Decent pre-order price of £20.38 at Speedyhen for the Criminal: Cruel Summer HC. The CRIMINAL DELUXE VOL 3 hardcover has been solicited by Image for October release; the only overlap in content appears to be the inclusion of CRIMINAL #1 in both volumes.
In that case I need all those Criminal Deluxes __AND__ Cruel Summer!
It’s a good job that I’ve nothing else to spend money on right now!
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Decent pre-order price of £20.38 at Speedyhen for the Criminal: Cruel Summer HC.
The CRIMINAL DELUXE VOL 3 hardcover has been solicited by Image for October release; the only overlap in content appears to be the inclusion of CRIMINAL #1 in both volumes.
Yep, looks like it. I’m glad #1 is included in the Cruel Summer HC as it’s something of a prelude to that later arc.
Incidentally, Brubaker and Phillips had previously said reprints of the first two deluxes would also be coming later this year too, alongside the third deluxe – but Phillips has now indicated that those have been shelved until next year. I’m hanging on to my original copies for now.
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I’ll have to look at what he did (recommendations were a good idea, Ben!). I see Space Mullet is a webcomic, so maybe I’ll start there.
Scratch that, I was at my LCS yesterday and bought Extremity V1. Yay!
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Doomsday Clock Parts 1-2
A story years in the making – literally, that’s not hyperbole, whoever at DC thought Gary Frank could make a regular schedule of 12 plus sized-issues was an idiot. For anyone who read this as it was coming out it would have been a frustrating experience. But read as a single piece in one go? Quite, quite different and one that justifies DC’s sticking with Frank on it. This is not your big, flashy, standard event, it’s something else that’s far more interesting.
Let’s address the other elephant in the room – Watchmen. By the time I got to that story I had probably read a few too many later stories that ran with what it did. As such, I can’t say I have that much attachment to it.
If DC knew where the story was going, then their minimal lead-up to it, with the DC Universe Rebirth and the Batman / Flash: The Button crossover, makes a lot of sense. This starts off as a story of a world destroyed by Veidt’s deceit, moves to megalomaniacal plots to save worlds, then morphs into a very meta tale of the very nature of DC comics.
At heart, this is a story of nihilism and despair versus hope and idealism, with Dr Manhattan and Superman embodying each side. And how it plays out? Not by a super brawl. Instead, Superman cracks Manhattan’s despair by being both who he is and who he always will be. The last quarter of the series heads into a quite crazy resolution that embraces the full range of DC’s ludicrously complicated continuity, its numerous crises and character resets. It takes all of that and pretty much sets that as the status quo for DC, but don’t stress it: Superman never loses permanently.
Frank’s art is excellent throughout. Johns’ script is OK, though the swearing doesn’t really contribute much – story would likely work as well without it, ditto the odd bit of torture – even if Johns feels he has to live up to his reputation for the odd gore sequence. Nor do the various potshots at the real world really do much for the story.
So, DC’s big Rebirth story? They didn’t execute as well as their marketing suggested, which was a rather different direction compared to what happened here, but they did pull it off.
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It seems like a huge amount changed behind the scenes as the book was coming out, and left it effectively without the ending it was trailed as building towards.
It’s probably a miracle that it wasn’t a total shambles in the end. At the very least the art was good, and I’ll always appreciate the novelty of seeing Stewart Lee in a DC comic.
(He got a poster advertising one of his shows in the background of a panel in an old Hulk comic once too, he gets everywhere!)
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Glad you liked Doomsday Clock, Ben. As a vocal supporter of it throughout its run, I still think it was a quality piece of work, and very much a love letter to the DCU (aren’t all Johns’ stories?).
The fact that it didn’t match up to the hype, the marketing, and really satisfy as the big resolution to the DC Rebirth era is disappointing. Several dangling plot threads that fandom hoped to see wrapped up were never even addressed, and left for other writers to pick up the pieces of (Bendis, Snyder, King and others). That’s the clearest sign of editorial interference behind the scenes.
But, ultimately, I think that was for the best. Johns and Clark produced something here that I think stands alone very well, and was clearly a labour of love for them. I think time and distance will be kind to it.
Sure, there will always be people who view it unfavourably due to comparisons with it’s more renown predecessor, whom it would never surpass creatively; or indeed for the politics behind its existence. But, as a story about the importance and significance of the DCU (and Superman especially) in modern fiction, I think it’s a wonderful piece of work.
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I found it a very conflicting read. I think the craft was excellent, not just Frank’s art but you could see the time and effort that Johns put into the structure and scripting. Easily technically the best thing I’ve ever read from him.
I think they handled Dr Manhattan’s role and motivation in the piece way better than I expected and way better than the TV show but I can’t help that it all felt a bit off. It’s actually very similar to when I watched Dark Knight Rises in the cinema and while individual bits kept impressing me the whole just felt not quite right, the tone didn’t match the subject matter and material. I really wanted to rejoice but my heart couldn’t go with it.
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Daredevil / Elektra: Love & War Gallery Edition
While I had read Love & War, it was a long, long time ago and this is quite the presentation of it.
Elektra: Assassin was wholly new and proved to be surprisingly timeless, despite its mid-80s setting. The script is as cynical as possible, with an incumbent over-compensating US President being up against a Kennedy-style challenger, who is Satan incarnate. Thrown into the mix is an out-of-control and literal body chop shop, technically part of SHIELD. And then in waltzes Elektra, out to kill said politician, but ends up tangling with said out of control black ops lot.
Taken seriously, it’s ludicrous crap, but as a gonzo ride? It works just fine and there’s some rather interesting visual techniques here used to spin the narrative. Clever page constructions, use of space, very varied imagery too – it sounds odd to say it, given how many new stories have been created since 1986 but there isn’t anything quite like how Miller and Sienkiwicz tell their story.
Utterly insane but in a really good way.
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Doctor Strange OHC
Collecting Cates’ run on the book, following Aaron, this sees the Doctor relocate to Texas where…. No, no, that doesn’t happen but it would be both funny and very much expected of Cates if it did. Because, let’s face it, Cates likes Texas.
No, instead he spins a story that builds neatly on Aaron’s run and then weaves in and out of the Damnation mini-event.
This isn’t Cates best Marvel work, so far that has been the Thanos and Cosmic Ghost Rider ones, but it’s a fun read and it concludes well.
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The Stringbags
It might be thought that Ennis can’t really keep telling war stories, yet in this case, these stories show he is far from done with WW2. And why would he be when stories like this are lurking in the archives and historical records?
Ennis’ has an afterword where he carefully lays out the differences between truth and fiction and the importance for why the differences are there. Don’t skip over it – it’s an essential part of the book.
The story is told by three stories, set across 1940. The idea of using utterly outmoded, obsolete, fatally slow aircraft in combat seems ludicrous, but it happened. To be done successfully required very strict conditions. When those conditions were finally ignored? Well, it didn’t go well.
One of the other things Ennis takes aim at here is the myth that the war saw common purpose triumphing over all. There was still department turf wars, military rivalries and politics; there were still errors and mistakes with awful consequences. Even in war, the left hand doesn’t always talk to the right hand.
And the stories themselves? Each works best if you know as little as possible going in, each tale will be an education unto itself and a very worthwhile one.
Holden’s art is superb for the trio of stories, being adept at covering the quieter, emotional scenes and the big, chaotic war sequences.
Superb work, read it.
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All-Star Batman: My Own Worst Enemy – Scott Snyder & John Romita, Jr.
This is the first Snyder Batman comic I’ve read since I bailed on his run after Court/City of Owls. “The Black Mirror,” which preceded that run, will always be a top ten Batman comic for me so I wanted to give Snyder another shot, hoping a standalone story would be a good place to start, as I thought the grandiosity of his Bruce Wayne stories didn’t suit his strengths.
Unfortunately the comic is pretty crap. Even JRJR’s art, which under different circumstances may have been among his best, is all but ruined by Dean White’s loud, busy coloring. I usually like White (especially paired with Jerome Opena) but he and JRJR don’t mesh well at all. He really overpowers JRJR’s linework.
For some reason, Snyder decides to chop up the timeline of what otherwise would be a pretty straightforward, though high-octane, story of Batman escorting Two-Face to a house in the countryside as part of a nebulous deal the two have made while trying to outrun an army of assassins. I guess there wasn’t much of a reason for Tarantino to chop up the narratives of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs either but he’s an extremely talented writer and uses the device to great effect. Snyder’s not anywhere near that level, and so he makes an otherwise decent and clever plot a frustrating slog to read.
There are some other choices I don’t really like either, like Batman cursing, Alfred calling Bruce his son (doesn’t need to be said out loud), and Bruce and Harvey being childhood friends, but those are more minor.
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Finished Murder Falcon last night and really enjoyed it.
As well as being goofy comicbook action involving larger-than life characters and a love of rock music, it’s also a really bittersweet read in places, with moments of real heartfelt pain and catharsis that I didn’t see coming, to go along with all the over-the-top heavy-metal monster-slaying craziness.
I don’t mind admitting I was quite choked up by the end.
DWJ is a cartoonist in the best sense of the word, exaggerating key moments in just the right way for maximum effect.
Pages like this really stood out for me, a real hairs-on-the-back-of-your-spine moment, although they only really work in that way with the full emotional context of the prior build-up.
There are lots of other wonderul moments – some funny, some crazy, some sad – that I won’t spoil too. As well as some great creature designs.
Fantastic, funny, imaginative, cathartic stuff.
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Ah, knew there was a trade I forgot to order.
Have just bagged a copy, as Extremity is out of stock cheaply.
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The way Avatar is going at the moment I wouldn’t even trust they’d be around by then.
I actually just ordered a load of their stuff that I wanted but still hadn’t picked up because I’m thinking they might not last much longer (including all three HC volumes of Providence – watch them now announce a complete collection).
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Two excellent little stories:
Pulp
Wait a second, front cover suggests a western, but the back cover says New York City, 1939 – what the fuck is going on here? Look, just read it, Ok? There’s only one thing you need to know about this book – it’s Brubaker and Phillips doing what they do best – spinning a damn fine story.
Mixing a world-gone-by tone with fear for the future and a clever paralleling of the current environment via a time 80 years before, this is best just picked up and read. The story tells you everything you need – it’s obvious when it should be and subtle on the same basis. It’s hugely effective and testimony to the idea that, if every single page is top-notch, then a short story is absolutely worth paying for.
Wyoming Doll
The latest from Cinebook’s Espresso range that unearths excellent but obscure European works, this is a clever examination on the western, of ideas of empire and the ugliness of the time.
Franz’ story is dense and is best read slowly because he uses space very economically. His art is excellent, but it’s the ambition of the story and his commitment on following through to the end that makes it work.
You might look at the RRP and consider it high, but there’s plenty of story and content, especially if you buy online.
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The book version of Pulp is a quality volume.
Thanks. I’ll have it on my list for after payday!
(7 days to go. Might order Cruel Summer too!)
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Oh, it’s funny that digitally Pulp is more £ than it would cost me to get the paper version delivered to me.
To be honest that’s pretty typical for new release digital comics, they go at full RRP with no discounts (or better exchange rates) some retailers give.
Image Comics typically drop to half price after 30 days though which is how I buy them.
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Pulp
Wait a second, front cover suggests a western, but the back cover says New York City, 1939 – what the fuck is going on here? Look, just read it, Ok? There’s only one thing you need to know about this book – it’s Brubaker and Phillips doing what they do best – spinning a damn fine story.I read Pulp last night and found some thematic similarities to their work on Fade Out and the “Bad Weekend” storyline in Criminal. Brubaker/Phillips are such an excellent team that I will automatically purchase any book they do together regardless of the genre. Great review, Ben.
And if you’re not already reading That Texas Blood with art by Jacob Phillips and words by Chris Condon, you’re missing out on another similarly-great book. Strongly recommended.
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I’m giving his new series Lost Soldiers a shot as I think it’s a more grounded, realistic story.
The two Ales Kot books that I supported and read (Zero and Wolf, both from Image) were both disappointing. If I hear good things about Lost Soldiers, I may buy the trade.
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Great! I’ll be interested to hear what you think once you’ve read it.
Loved it. Absolutely amazing art, obviously, and the world-building was great. And the price of revenge and how to get out of the cycle of violence is a well-examined motif, of course, but I thought it was extremely well done, with every scene build to maximum effect. It’s quite easy to get drawn into the lust for revenge the characters feel, until their acts become monstrous. Looking forward to the second part!
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