Comic Ribs ... or Reviews in Brief - March 2015
So I'm changing the name. Someone I respect and trust told me they found it off putting and I'm still desperately trying to get my Reviews in Brief (RIBs) acronymn over, so I'm going with Comic Ribs.
It's my blog, sue me.
For those who weren't here last month, this is a space to collect my thoughts on single issues as I read them in a short form that keeps me writing regularly (ahem) and uses some of the skills I learnt as a journalist (writing NiBs ... or News in Brief ... I'm labouring that, right?).
The format remains a single post per month, which I will edit with brief reviews (briefer than last time I hope) that I write as I read (and I'm fully aware how late I am reading some stuff).
So, with the scene set, the groundwork laid, and the rod for my back thoroughly created, welcome to Comic Ribs ... or Reviews in Brief - March 2015
Sex 20 is a tour de force of characterisation that delves deep into the psyches of two of the series most fascinating characters, pulling them apart and putting them back together again before our very eyes.
That the characters are analogues of Batman and Catwoman just gives this another layer of depth.
The studied and superbly realised dialogue and examination of what makes them tick now and in the past, where their motives clash and where they come together, and how shaky that common ground and connection between them really is, is developed expertly, Piotr Kowalski's fabulous work bringing new life to a really powerful scene.
Joe Casey is telling the story he wants to tell, stripping back the layers he finds fascinating, lifting up rocks and seeing what crawls underneath and inviting us all to be their with him as he makes each new discovery, and I want to be there every step of the way.
It's just a tragedy so few other people will be.
Interestingly this is probably his most accessible issue in a while and given the thinly veiled analogues it's one I would be pushing on a lot of mainstream Batman fans and saying, 'here, have a look, tell me what you think'.
I already have a friend I desperately want to read it, because I think what Casey is doing here is new and fresh and unique. It's deconstructing superheroes but not in the way we've all seen before.
In this thoughtful, measured way, that begs us to look deeper, to look again into the hearts and minds of the characters we think we know.
The climax of the issue is an absolute joy and the tension between Simon and Annabelle - who is rapidly becoming one of the most fascinating and complex characters in comics - is palpable.
Kowalski captures it all so elegantly and gives such gravitas and poise to his characters you wonder why anyone ever needed to throw on a costume in the first place.
As if that wasn't all enough, Casey continues to be one of the most honest, intelligent, interesting and inspiring guys in comics in his regular backmatter essay and letters column, here addressing the accusations of 'pornography' the book's detractors have made coherently and thoughtfully.
Buy this book, seriously, hunt it down and read it, and tell me at the end you don't wonder why more people aren't talking about Sex.
I was perhaps prepped not to. I'm not a fan of having artists fill in on books, I find it jarring and it takes me out of the world I've allowed myself to journey to.
And DeConnick has already declared the intention for Bitch Planet to rotate in a new artist for a fill in every three issues, exploring the back story of a new character each time.
That feels too often to me and issue three felt way to soon to be taking a break from regular programming.
And honestly, Robert Wilson IV's work isn't to my taste, even in those flashback scenes where he pulls out an awesome Screentone-style to reflect the past in a pulpy, fourth-wall-breaking bit of comics weirdness.
So there's me thinking I didn't like this, and then before I knew it, I found myself getting sucked into this creepy patriarchal dystopia Deconnick has created.
The wall of screens full of 'fathers' and their horrid condescending tones and dialogue, this briefly mentioned idea of 'the feed', the horrible refusal to allow women any name other than their husbands and the astonishingly ugly behaviour of the customers in Penny's cafe.
By the time the 'punchline' is delivered at the issues close I was there hook line and sinker, and the power of the story had crept up on me smacked me around the face like our heroine's own rolling pin-assisted haymaker.
Deconnick's assured confidence in her story and her characters means she is able to let her story build subtly, adding layers panel by panel, so that it took me all the way to that final scene for me to realise how invested I was in it.
And it doesn't end there, because as with last month, there is a lot more to Bitch Planet than just the comic.
Deconnick's editorial is a fascinating discussion about scenes confined to the cutting room floor which add another layer of depth to the character.
There's one more treat here too, another incredibly powerful essay, this time by Megan Carpentier, and again, it's worth the price of the comic all by itself.
If Bitch Planet can continue to offer this level of enjoyment it's a must by, and we've barely got started on the actual story, so I'm betting there's a lot more to come.
WORLDBUILDING is the order of the day in Spider-Gwen 1, the first issue of the new ongoing series born out of the internet's glamour for more of the awesome character bought to life by the same team in the now much sought after Edge of the Spider-Verse issue 2.
And we start in with a favourite of mine, The Vulture, a foil fit for any spider.
But that's not all, because Latour and Rodriguez play to the crowd magnificently here, realising the genre that bought them to the dance was 'alternate reality' and plying us with new alternate versions of Frank Castle and Robbie Robertson here.
All to sate the appetites of those addicted to the taste of the stories we love redrawn for a new day.
Except, that's not all this team has got. As they demonstrated admirably in Edge of Spider-Verse 2, they are well aware that their idea is surfing on the lip of a zeitgeist wave that wants things done differently.
And they are equal to that here as they were in their first outing with Gwen continuing to develop as a character and prove she is so much more than an alternate world Spider-Man.
Her struggles are her own and her rapidly evolving character is unique.
The Mary Janes is part of what makes that work, rather than taking the lazy route of making her a photographer or a budding reporter, Latour et al have taken a step to one side and chosen to allow Gwen her own passions and pursuits.
The dynamic within the band itself is an interesting one and one that will, I'm sure, bear fruit as the story develops, with MJ already turning into a likely future antagonist in her own right.
Another unique element here is the psychoanalytical approach Gwen takes to dealing with Toomes, a fascinating internal monologue describing her perceptions of his motives and his drive and following through to ways that she might exploit that to beat him.
Rodriguez is absolutely on point here throughout, his art is dynamic and full of personality, giving the book a feel of fresh modern and brimming with young life and enthusiasm.
I took the bait on Edge of Spider-Verse 2 and Spider-Gwen 1 and I couldn't be any more pleased that I did.
I have issue 2 to pick up and then I will be happily adding it to my sub. Everything is good here and I'm well and truly along for the ride.
A WILD step off the deep end into the deranged minds of our writers takes the penultimate issue of this current arc into some seriously wacky territory that only Hellboy could comfortably pull off.
The mind controlled experimented on monkeys should have been a warning sign. If not that at least the mysterious castle inhabited by an unpleasant, rich, recluse film-maker.
But nothing could have prepared me for this issue's revelation that the 'big bad' behind the events of the comic so far was none other than evil nazi scientist head-in-a-jar Herman Von Klempt, tying everything nearly up with Hellboy's own history and the Ragna Rok Project that brought him to earth in the first place.
It seems to me that Alex Maleev has less time here, and some of the artwork comes off as rushed, but he rises to the challenge of illustrating the monstrous Von Klempt and his army, and alongside Dave Stewart's colours embodies the spirit of those past stories in the flashback scenes.
I wondered briefly who deserved credit for the monkey smoking a cigarette on one of the earlier pages which made me smile and if that was of Maleev's volition, the artist deserves credit for having almost completely assimilated into the weird world of Hellboy and his companions already.
The standout in the writing is the relationship played out between Hellboy and Archie, as it has been for most of this series, and in that lies one of major successes of bringing Arcudi (better known as the regular writer of the BPRD series) and Mignola (more inclined to write Hellboy as a solo character) together as one team.
It's hard to remember at times that this is not the seasoned, grizzled, Hellboy we know and love, but a much younger more naive and inexperienced incarnation of the character out on his first mission.
In the friendship between the two agents, we see that reinforced and emphasised and with Archie assuming a mentor's role - additionally making me fearful he will make it out of this story alive.
For all Von Klempt's railing against 'half-wit astrologers and fortune tellers' and in favour of science, there is something deeper and darker happening here, the green ooze pouring from the idle onto the reanimated man, the other-worldly spirit guides from issue three, and a nagging memory, that things are never quite what they seem in Hellboy's world.
I can't shake my feeling that this all would be a notch better if Mike Mignola was drawing it, but I understand that's how I'm always going to feel and I'm resigned to it and this is good.
I'll be back for issue five and I will be waiting with baited breath to hear who picks up the art chores once Maleev moves on.
PEACEFUL and serene (mostly) Invincible 117 is an oddity of a comic and it's indicative of the talent of the creative team, and the rapport they have developed that it works as well as it does.
This is a goodbye issue. Mark and Eve have decided they can't live on an Earth under Robot's rule and are heading into space, so here they stop to tie up loose ends and bid farewell to the people they love.
Mark even stops to pick up his pull list, which gives us a fun little scene in a comic shop where Kirkman holds court a little (through the voice of the store owner) with a funny little diatribe on the state of the industry.
Beaulieu deserves some credit here, especially in the following pages, where the colours paint a picture of a beautiful spring day, and suggest new beginnings to the reader.
Kirkman's famous for big concepts, but it's issues like this where he does his best work for me, the relationships between his characters are what matter and we're carried along through a whistle stop tour of reactions to Mark and Eve's imminent departure, with the scene with Dupli Kate and The Immortal and then the scene with Mark's dad carrying some really emotional weight.
There's tension here too, with Mark still keeping his rape by Annissa from Eve, and the strain that is putting on the physical side of his relationship.
And in the encounter between Mark and Robot too, the inevitable conflict between the two bubbles under, it may be some time before we come back to that, but we can be assured when we do, Kirkman will give us the battle we deserve on a scale we hadn't even imagined possible.
Speaking of which, it's almost a running gag now that the fight between Battle Beast and Thragg is still raging on. Again, this is all part of the plan for Kirkman and lest be lulled into any sense of false security based on the events of this issue, the blood-soaked, knock-down, drag-out fight taking place light years away is a reminder that inside Invincible and underneath all this gentle calm, beats a violent, bloody heart.
If I wasn't clear, I loved this issue. Invincible boldly calls itself the only superhero comic you will ever need, and while I read several others, at this point I don't think any are as accomplished or consistently both absorbing and entertaining.
The internet exploded in love for Spider-Gwen late last year, and that love affair has shown no signs of dying down since.
I try to resist these things, and they're often dead in the water a few short months later, but try as I might, I never manager to resist it for long, and I found myself seeking out one of the increasingly hard to find back issues of Edge of Spider-Verse 2 to see what it was people were fawning over.
I get it. This is a good comic, and a great introduction to a character, who could, in less adept hands, have ended up a one note joke, forgotten soon after her introduction.
But this alternative Gwen Stacy has already eclipsed the multi-issue crossover she was created to help populate, and is two issues into her own ongoing series for good reason.
A lot of that is to do with the deft job Latour and Rodriguez do of imbuing their protagonist with buckets of character in such a short space of time.
From Gwen's dejected pose atop an advertising hoarding, to the visceral way we see her attack the drums, to the subtle facial expressions that seem to radiate the pain she's suffering, Rodriguez sets his stall here as an artist to watch.
And Latour is singing off the same hymn sheet, this is a hero he cares about and every word is aimed at making us care too. Gwen has worked her way into his heart and he wears that heart on his sleeve here.
There are neat story twists, like Matt Murdoch's appearance and The Mary Janes, that add colour and depth to the story and feed that need to know more.
But it's mostly the heart and soul of the lead that we are captivated by here, and I find myself closing the comic, firmly in the camp calling for more.
Luckily for me, I have two issues of Spider-Gwen to catch up on now.
Interestingly, I have no interest at all in finding out anymore about Edge of Spider-Verse ...
Big Man Plans is an extraordinary example of the powerful contrast that can result in the combination of strong cartooning alongside a more dark, brutal, vicious storytelling style.
Because, make no mistake about it, Big Man Plans is ferocious, relentless and remorseless and it's fixing to get a lot worse if the cliffhanger at the end of this first instalment is anything to go by.
From the opening (literally) explosive splash, it is hard-hitting, balls to the wall action throughout, with a vicious dark edge that under a different artist would probably be a step outside my comfort zone.
But Powell's art has a magic to it, creating something very different, a comic car-crash you simply can't look away from, and a lead character you find yourself rooting for despite his psychotic, deadly, almost feral nature.
The back matter tells the story of how Big Man Plans came to be and the revelation that a decent amount of liquor was consumed during the comic's conception won't surprise the reader catching their breath after the all out assault of issue one.
There's real tragedy here, and echoing the pathos that has been a hallmark of Powell's The Goon for some time, Big Man Plans presents a backstory - in beautifully realised sepia-tone pages, harking back to the EC comic's Powell's art is so clearly influenced by - that is heartbreaking and devastating.
Our hero has been hated, labelled a freak, abandoned, stripped from the family that did care for him and from the safety of home and generally used, abused and discarded by the world.
It's hard not to root for him, albeit with some reservations and perhaps a note of caution.
Because this blood-soaked tale of revenge is just getting started and our hero's plans have only just begun.
Whether we will still feel as able to cheer him on as things escalate is yet to be seen.
I have to admit, that makes me nervous.
This tale of revenge on the world that scorned can't help but feel nervous about that
EMOTIONAL hits come harder and faster than they do on the field of play as we work our way back through the past that made Euless Boss into the man that runs Craw County today.
At this point it's almost trite to talk about the master-stroke player by Aaron here that has turned Boss from one of the most unpleasant characters to walk the gutters of a comic since Robert Kirkman's The Governor, into a genuinely sympathetic character we can't help but find ourselves rooting for.
And yet, he keeps taking that to a new level, here laying Euless' anticlimactic football career out in only a few pages, clearly a force to be reckoned with on the field, yet tragically (and cruelly we find) never quite given his shot.
Latour is just getting better and better and a neat trick he pulls off here is dousing his pages in a subtle, faded white, like the weathered pages of an old newspaper, letting that rebel red be the only real colour we can see.
But it's in the people he draws that he is at his finest, the bold jagged lines telling us as much about the anger they feel, the tensions and struggles they face, and the lives they have lived than every line of dialogue Aaron writes.
Vulnerable and bruised from the events of last issue, Euless could be forgiven for falling into despair here, instead we see him growing stronger and stronger and more resolute, he gets knocked down but he gets up again, and it's hard how anyone could not be investing in him and backing him and therefore just as let down by every single new knock-back he faces.
The last two pages are heartbreaking, the coach's cruelty shocking and the final humiliation palpable.
Southern Bastards remains one of the best books on the shelf. It's accomplished and unique and every issue brings us deeper into the lives and the pain of the characters. Where it goes from here, when we finish this current arc, is anyone's guess, but Aaron and Latour have made me want to stand side-by-side with their cast and feel every hit, every humiliation, and every defeat, so I can feel that strength they represent every time they get back to their feet.
PLODDING and seeming only in place to fill time, the latest issue is the first disappointing note in the new volume of Thor.
Part of that is the absence of Russell Dauterman who has been such a strong voice in the success of the new book, creating a visual style that has felt as new and fresh as the central concept of a new female Thor taking up Mjolnir and the mantle of the Goddess of Thunder.
Of course, this is literally a fill in issue, with Jorge Molina picking up pencils in order to allow Dauterman the chance to catch back up and get a few issues in the can.
This seems like regular practice these days in mainstream comics and is aimed at keeping books monthly. You either love it or hate it, personally I'm in the camp where I'd rather sit and wait six weeks between issue than read something so obviously treading water.
It's not all bad and Molina does an adequate job while Aaron takes the opportunity to do some fun character development - the scene with Odinson and Sif is enjoyable, the scene on the moon between Thor and Freya and perhaps the highlight of the issue, the set piece at the beginning where Titania knocks out her husband and surrenders to Thor in a show of feminist solidarity.
That bit is worth talking about longer actually. The dialogue throughout, especially between Crusher Creel and Thor is pointedly aimed at the book's detractors and paints The Absorbing Man as a snarling mysognist so Aaron (in Thor's voice) can respond with the resounding 'fuck you' those critics deserve.
I'm all for it in principle, but it feels awkward and jarring here and reflects to me again, that this is just a fill in and there's space to pad out.
Even Odinson himself has time to kill here, telling us in one breath he has a lot of work to do - even rolling out his to do list - but then choosing to go and get wasted in the pub ... A metaphor for a his issue perhaps?
I'm aware that I'm being harsh here and I did like the book, I just didn't love it, and that's a huge fall off the pedestal for a comic I had a lot of time for up until now.
Maybe it's the nature of mainstream comics, and I daresay, by the time 30 days rolls around and in safely back in the hands of Aaron AND Dauterman, I suspect all will be right with the world again. I'll wait and see.
DEEPEST, darkest, unashamedly complex science fiction, in Black Science, Remender and crew are delivering a book on a monthly basis that plays perfectly to my own sensibilities.
With their intent stamped out straight away in its title alone, this was always going to be my type of book.
And they haven't let me down yet.
Each issue gets denser, the plot threading back and forth across time and parallel universes so imaginative each one could be a series on its own.
In fact, things are so dense here, the require a full page to catch us up on 'the story so far' despite it only being on issue 12.
Part of me is already worrying somehow that someone sees a film or a TV series in this too soon.
I want it to play out here first, because this is a story fit to its form perfectly.
Scalera is having the innings of his life here, growing issue by issue as an artist, and if publisher left, right and centre aren't already taking note of the man's obvious talents by now they're not doing their jobs correctly.
He has the ability to make the situations and the characters etched out by Remender genuinely frightening and at the same time carries action superbly.
People have already taken note of Remender of course, but for me, he's never better than writing characters he owns and can do with as he chooses.
The shackles cast off, the restraints gone, that imagination, sharp as a knife, slicing through ever dark twist and turn, with seemingly no end in site to the rollercoaster ride he's talked us into boarding.
After the revelations of issue 11, which gave the series its first real 'big bad', the direction of the story has been given new focus, and here stumbling around the latest world they've landed on, our travellers are confronted with yet more evidence of the carnage that has been wrought since they lifted the lid from Pandora's Box.
In Black Science though, there is one thing we can be sure of, nothing is ever as it seems.
So as we step out into this next chapter, I can only hope the crew have learnt as we have, to be cautious and watch their step.
It's probably to the benefit of us, as readers, if they haven't learnt a damn thing.
EXTENDED fight sequences are, to my mind, the bane of many modern movies and many comics, but here in Lazarus 15 Greg Rucka and Micheal Lark draw out one of the most beautiful, nuanced, graceful sequences I've ever had the pleasure to read.
Lark choreographs every single step perfectly like the finest ballet, using every trick in his ample book to keep us spellbound throughout and he deserves a standing ovation for what is one of the most gripping action sequences I've ever read.
The moment where the pair grapple over swords and come up both, holding the other's weapon left-handed, is an epic beat, perfectly weighted to move the confrontation onwards, and later, we learn, shifting the balance of power in Forever's favour.
The gambit Forever makes when she takes the blade of the sword in her open right hand to leave her left free to deliver an almighty haymaker is the moment the crowd would be rising to their feet.
But not here, because this is agonising, the tension almost unbearable, we love both of these characters.
In fact the cruel trick Hock plays in selecting Sonja as his champion is not just an act meant to hurt the Bittner family, whom he knows are set to betray him, or Forever, who he knows is friends with Sonja, but to hurt us, the readers.
Rucka and Lark know where our hearts lie and what they put us through here and that this comic has the power to make me care that much is credit to how powerful these first 15 issues have been.
And it's not just in the fight itself that this particular scene revels, but the behaviours of the observers.
From the moment we hear 'refreshments will be served' we are unable to ignore the onlookers and their place in what Forever, Sonja and the reader is going through.
We feel the pain in the casual glances between the other Lazari, and grit our teeth at Forever's sister, Joanna, still holding her cocktail glass, and finally anger as we realise Hock has other plans already in action, as if the two women fighting to their death in his name were not enough.
I don't want to say too much about the ending for fear of spoiling this for anyone yet to read it, but one again Lazarus proves itself one of the most sophisticated and consistently enjoyable books in my standing order.
Lark and Rucka are fashioning a masterpiece here, and if you're not already reading it you should be.
DISCOMFORTING but riveting, Grant Morrison's latest issue of Multiversity: Mastermen is the kind of comic I want to talk to other fans about.
I'm still trying to process exactly what it is about Mastermen that managed to make me feel simultaneously disturbed and spellbound and this is one of those occasions where I'm glad I started this blog because writing is proving to be one way to get my thoughts in order.
So what is it about Mastermen that made me so itchy?
Perhaps it was Jim Lee, doing what he does best, drawing larger-than-life heroes ... Except in this case they aren't ...
Perhaps it was the story itself, written from the point of view of characters we must not like, but that are strangely compelling throughout ...
Perhaps it's the determination of the story to turn out perspective on its head, to make us consider what is a hero and what is a 'terrorist' and how power dictates who decides those labels ...
For what it's worth, this is the most straight forward, stand alone, issue of Multiversity so far, and if it wasn't for the shadowy appearance later on of Doktor Sivana, I might have forgotten entirely that this is part of a wider series.
It's also Jim Lee on his best form in years. I have a problem with Lee that I struggle to explain ... He rarely wows me anymore. I feel like I know exactly what a Jim Lee page will look like before I've even seen it if that makes any sense at all.
But here, he's grabbing me, and I'm struggling to know what's different.
Possibly what is different is that the comic itself, which is one of the most absorbing mainstream 'big two' comic books (if you can call Multiversity that) I've read in some time.
However it's not without fault.
Overman is the only character here given any real sympathetic depth and if there's a criticism of the 'done-in-one nature' of this series it's that no one really gets a lot of time to be much more than an analogue for characters we already know.
So, all we can do is imbue them with what we know of their counterparts. That's harder here because of the nature of the New Reichsmen and the unpleasant edge they all get when they do show their colours.
It may be that that is the point. To present a series of faint shadows of the characters we know and love so well in snapshot and to allow us our preconceptions and prejudices only to subvert them with varying effects.
Like Red Son before it, I envisage this being a world the fans clamour for more of, but I doubt it will ever be as effectively, and disturbingly, presented as it is here.
I still like this series a lot, it defies convention, it regularly defies convention and is often thought provoking, and unlike a lot of comic books, compels me to re-read and look again.
Again, it makes me want to go talk about it, to deconstruct it, to pull it apart panel by panel and then put it back together again, hopefully with some deeper understanding of what has been achieved here.
That in itself, in a time where most mainstream books are fairly disposable, is a massive achievement.
BRANCHING out magnificently in terms of cast, events and the overall scope of the series as a whole, Saga 26 is probably my favourite issue to date of a comic I already loved.
Lumberjanes 11 - Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters and Carolyn Nowak - Boom Studios
Our happy family has been torn apart and if we're to believe Hazel's future narration from last issue, we should expect that to be resolved any time soon.
In retrospect I remember feeling some disappointment reading that, but the rewards are right here with our cast effectively split into three distinct groups with unique goals and with interesting new relationships, quests, antagonists and threats around every corner.
Fiona Staples is never better than when she's bringing life to some new character and the introduction of The Last Revolution to join up with Dengo, Klara, Hazel and Alana is captivating with the charismatic, enigmatic and deadly Captain Quane making a strong case as one to watch in an increasingly busy line up of characters.
Prince Robot IV, who I've found difficult to connect with as a character up until now; is breathing in new air as a member of the rag tag crew in pursuit of that group alongside Marko, Yuma and Ghüs.
While I can't deny my mind wandered to 'how does that work' during his (at least initially) erotic dream, he was made instantly more relatable for me when he woke up, suddenly vulnerable in his distress and discomfort.
The same goes for Marko himself, who receives several new layers of depth and complexity here, first as the peacemaker turned aggressor during the hold up in the shop.
Then as he turns aggressor, we see a violent brutal side of Marko that's new to us, and later as guilt and remorse well up in him over this incident and the one with Alana that split them up, his breaking spirit is palpable.
Saga has that unique ability to shine light on these dark soulful moments and it's genuinely funny when Yuma christens him 'beard of sorrows', but I found it hard not to reflect back on that levity when faced with the issue's closing moments, where we Marko broken, seemingly a man with nothing left to lose.
And I haven't even started on our third cohort, where of all people Sophie is beginning to stand out alongside Gwendolyn, The Brand and Lying Cat.
Saga just goes from strength to strength for me, but what I love here is that it is starting to earn its name. This is an epic tale taking shape, one that will span galaxies and lifetimes, where deep, complex characters will come and go and be replaced by others.
We all knew Saga was something special from the start, I just don't know that we knew how special it had the potential to be.
MADCAP off the wall adventure stories with poignant character arcs and well -studied relationships are not easy to do right, but Lumberjanes seems to have the balance down perfectly.
It's silly, fun, and has just about the right balance of Saturday morning cartoon to make it thoroughly addictive. But, at the same time, it's touching and heartfelt and allows its characters to develop and feel real and relatable to the reader.
Mal and Molly's conversation strikes that chord here, and when Molly says: "fighting monsters is the easy part. Back home is where the scary stuff is," I find myself reminded of Where The Wild Things Are and The Goonies and some of the other classic tales that have looked at the way children embrace escapism to train themselves to be brave enough to face the real world.
The way the characters are developing, it's hard to imagine most readers don't already have a favourite Lumberjane, so stories like the current arc, which separate them and allow each to blossom at their own pace and forge new dynamics are the key to the longevity of a series that has skyrocketed into comic readers hearts in less than a year.
It would be all to easy to suggest Wattters, Ellis, Stevenson and captured the zeitgeist by positioning themselves at the forefront of a gender-revolution that has seen the face of comic books change significantly in the last year, but that would be missing the point about Lumberjanes, and at least in my opinion the reason for its continuing success;
It's successful because it's good. Seriously good.
The writing is well-structured and the plotting sophisticated
The dialogue is smart and sharp and witty and the characters feel real and unique, each bringing something different and personal to each story.
At the same time, it IS zany, and it dares to tell stories in ways others would not, with old women who turn into bears, parallel worlds and marauding velociraptors that steal reading glasses are all in a day's work here.
Lumberjanes has been lumbered (pun unavoidable) with the 'all-ages' tag, which to a lot of people labels it a kids book, but I think that doesn't do it the credit it deserves.
It demands a place on my shelf amongst any other book, and labelling it because it's MORE accessible to MORE people than a lot of those other books seems crazy to me.
Lumberjanes shines a flashlight through the forest in the direction the comics industry should be headed. The way ahead maybe dark and treacherous and full of predators and pitfalls, but so long as I have Jo, April, Molly, Mal and Ripley to lead the way I'll keep moving forward bravely and joyfully.
BEAUTIFULLY realised watercolours soak the pages of Descender with character and the spirit of freedom of expression, but the characters and premise feel trite and uninspired.
Make no mistake about it, this is one of those books where an artist is having fun, shackles cast off from the limitations of other types of books, here Nguyen seems to draw and paint the way he wants to and the results are nothing short of stunning.
I have some reservations whether that style always works for the tone of this particular book, but it's visually gorgeous.
Descender has had a lot of good press which I've mostly avoided reading to try and judge this on its own merits and it's good, it just didn't knock my socks off.
The story is interesting but not enough to grip me and the characters for me feel trite and like they're treading ground I've seen walked before:
An endearingly innocent little boy robot with cute robot pet/ pal.
Robots hated and hunted by society after seemingly turning on their creators.
A highly intelligent young male robot expert/ scientist with a questionable moral compass.
A group of roguish bounty hunters who at first appear brutal and vicious but that I would bet turn into loveable good guys.
Perhaps I'm being unfair, but I feel like I've seen all this before.
That's not to say it won't be done well here and won't come together to be something new and different, but it left me just short of inspired and that's a shame, because this was a book I had high hopes for.
Actually, one of the most interesting things to me was the backmatter's description of the galactic council's nine worlds and their inhabitants and it may be in the exploration of the broader world that this book defines itself.
I may check back in with a trade, but for now, I don't think this is for me.
I found the introduction of the human character, The Great Warrior - initially rather jarring last issue, but here he seems to have integrated better.
Dusty continues to take a starring role and in this issue the characters innocence allows for some quite joyful moments in a plot that has otherwise been harsh and brutal.
It's also employed to cast an honest eye over the Bison Tribe, who have appeared only as aggressors in recent scenes, but here are revealed to be poor and thin.
The odd couple relationship between Dusty and The Great Warrior seems like it will carry the book forward, with Dusty's naïveté and youth and Learoyd's unfamiliarity with the world probably helping the reader to relate.
Benjamin Dewey's artwork is stronger here than it has been so far (and it's been good all along), with the artist seeming to let loose on some beautiful scenery in a few half splash panels.
Comiccraft deserve some credit for the lettering too, which so far easily could come across hokey in a book of this nature.
Similarly Jordie Bellaire's colours which are muted and subtle but powerful.
The story is one that plays to my sensibilities and I'm enjoying it a lot, but part of me does wonder whether it might read better in a collection. I'll continue to buy it in singles for now.
STIFF upper lips and good old fashioned British mettle carried our rag tag band to the culmination of what has been a wonderful unexpected highlight of my comic reading pleasure this last six months.
Wild's End by Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard was the sleeper hit on the shelves, an adventure story, part War of the Worlds, part Wind in the Willows and all personality.
A tour de force in simple effective character study, Wild's End's wonderful ensemble cast all got their chance to shine in this final issue, Ms Peardew with her withering glances and comments and a neatly placed Molotov cocktail, Fawkes with his unhinged bravery and choice turn of phrase, Alph muddling through his bravery and fear to help out, Mr Slipaway determined and then dogged in his efforts to defeat the menace they face, and then last but not least, Mr Minks, so meek and mild, and oh my god, that extraordinarily well-timed splash page.
I've loved this story from start to finish, a lot because of its very British flavour - a tone I search out and have enjoyed in the Wind in the Willows and PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster books amongst others.
But more because of the heart and soul Abnett and Culbard have put into making this special.
There's a hell of a lot of craft on show here for something that is deceptively simple looking on the surface.
I hope the imminent collection breathes a whole new life into this wonderful story and grabs a brand new audience ... And maybe, just maybe, there's more to come from the folk of The Riding
VIBRANT, exciting and fresh cartooning is all I need to sell me on a series, but luckily for Rumble it has a whole lot more going on too.
Let me get it out of the way, I can't rave enough about the artwork on this book. James Harren is a deeply talented cartoonist, with his own unique style, and so much love for what he's doing it screams at you.
I'm going to have to go back and reread just looking at the pictures though, because his partner in crime John Arcudi (the two are listed in the book only as co-creators) tells a great story that swept me up in the book too fast to linger as long as I wanted on some of Harren's superb comic creations (the two fishermen leap to mind).
Rumble is just brilliant. I think a lot of what I enjoyed here is that it's not a story like any other I've read.
It's early days and there's scant hints of plot to go on so far, but from the opening narration, through the bar scene and the mysterious hieroglyphics handed to our hero as payment for an overdue tab, through to the appearance of the hooded creature that graces the cover, to the scene on the fishing boat and the confrontation with the two demons (whose dialogue hints at a wry sense of humour that could carry the book over the edge if it plays out), the roller coaster ride or issue one had me hooked.
Once again, I'm late to the party, having picked up a couple of back issues here.
And this is a first issue and honestly who knows what's to come and whether that story can keep up its pace, but I'll be back for more on the basis that cartoonists like James Harren ought to be illustrating more comics and the only way to make that happen is to keeping buying them. I'm in.
SPACE westerns are less rate than they used to be, and I'm clearly their target audience, but still; there's something about Copperhead that piqued my interest.
Perhaps it's the faint hint of anthropomorphism in Deputy Budroxifinicus.
Perhaps it's that it defies gender stereotypes by placing a woman in the sheriff's role - and a woman who can handle herself in a fight no less.
Perhaps it's the interesting hints at class war evident in Deputy Boo's comments that 'his people' never seem to be in charge, or in Bronson's reaction to the 'arties' - artificial life-forms apparently left over from a war and given some form of rights.
I'm honestly not sure.
And I'm aware how late I'm coming to Copperhead. I found a reprint of issue 1 on the shelve at my LCS and grabbed it without really thinking, but I'm glad I did.
Faerber's writing is solid, his world feels real and his characters histories hang languidly over them like secrets in the shadows waiting for the sun to rise so they can be revealed.
Godlewski is a natural artist, he seems to render this new world effortlessly fill each of its inhabitants with something unique, delighting in filling his establishing shots with weird and wonderful alien things for us to squint at, and revelling in the grotesque murder scene that confronts our odd couple law enforcement team towards the end of the issue.
My one criticism would be the colouring, which comes off as flat and a little jarring to me in places, notably when Benjamin Hickory and his 'arties' are introduced.
But Copperhead has my attention. I don't know if I'll go looking for back issues, but I can see a day when a trade or two finds its way into my hands.
LOUD and proud, Bitch Planet is a book with a voice, and frankly, it's a voice I would like to listen and learn from on a monthly basis.
I want people to buy this book. Not in trades, in single issues. In the backmatter, Deconnick talks about an initial 30 issue plan, but mentions a get out clause if sales tank and the series needs wrapping up fast.
I really don't want that to happen, because this is a book with a whole lot to offer, and one that I wish I could convince a whole lot of people to add to their pull list.
But I'm getting distracted from a talking about the comic itself here, and that would be a shame because the story that's offered here in issue 2 is really quite good.
We're still in set up mode, so plots and plans are falling into place, characters are making themselves known, motives and allegiances are revealing themselves (at least on the surface), and actually, god, there's a lot of it for a single issue.
The dialogue is great and adds a lovely retro vibe to the action - the opening speech by Father Josephson and the machine voice on Bitch Planet both hitting different but interesting tonal notes.
Clayton Cowles deserves some credit here for the way he wraps our heroine in speech bubbles throughout the confessional scene, creating a masterful, claustrophobic, assault from all angles by a computer programmer to coerce her into confessing to a crime she didn't commit.
I like the art too; The characters all have their own distinctive face and shape, and there's a Michael Lark-esque use of flat black that creates a really moody vibe.
Bitch Planet is a great comic, but it elevates itself by recognising that it is in a position to be something much more.
I'm a huge fan of the use of backmatter to share intelligent thoughts about the comics process itself, which Deconnick does here, but I'm even more impressed when creators use this space to offer something unique.
What Deconnick promises is a revolving door of contributors, some backup strips that are currently being negotiated, but most interestingly to me, a series of guest essays with varying topics, but a recurring feminist theme.
In this issues we get a really thought-provoking piece titled In a Feminist Mirror, Darkly: Reflections on Cultural Misconceptions of Feminism by Black feminist writer Tasha Fierce, which honestly, is worth the price of admission on its own.
Deconnick is building something special here, and I very much want to be a part of it, even if I'm just sat in the audience taking notes and learning. I'll be back next month, for sure.
PATHOS oozes from the booze-soaked, blood-drenched, zombie-infested pores of The Goon these days as the masterful Eric Powell continues to ratchet up the intensity in a epic tragicomedy of near Shakespearean proportions.
At some point in the last few years Powell stepped up a gear - and believe me, I already loved The Goon - turning what was a fun, irreverent and frequently grotesque book into a truly absorbing read capable of dealing out heady, emotional moments all framed in its distinct noir voice.
The new format, which sees the story delivered in short mini series, lends itself neatly to the creator's new-found skill for dramatic storytelling, delivering each new arc in snippets that feel like chapters of a longer ongoing tale.
The Goon is still funny, but we've taken a serious turn as of late and the whispered promise from Powell that this current series would see the most significant change in status quo since the book began, is played out here from early on, with our titular character taking a decidedly vicious turn as he hands out vengeance for the metaphorical knife to the heart he was dealt at the climax of the last story.
That change is played out in the eyes of The Goon's closest companions and in particular Frankie, whose distress and anxiety over the change coming over his friend is palpable and shows just how much Powell's art has matured since the early days.
This is a comic rich in tension, tone and emotion, while at the same time a rare tour de force in humour and cartooning that puts it on a pedestal achieved by very few books. It will be on my pull list until the day Powell puts down his pen. And while I believe something dark and tragic is on the horizon, I dearly hope it isn't an ending to a story that snuck up on me and found a place in my heart.
SEX is the best book you're not currently reading.
I may be wrong, but I never hear anyone talking about this book and that is a downright travesty, because what Casey and Kowalski (and all the fill in guys) are doing here is crafting a modern, deconstructionist comics epic.
This is the next step in the thinking that brought us books like The Dark Knight, Watchmen, The Authority, The Ultimates ... All those books that asked us to look again at the superhero genre and see something different.
The thinly-veiled Batman analogues here are apparent for all to see, but what Casey is doing with them is truly ground-breaking, and the depth and pathos given to Annabelle, Keenan, the Alpha Brothers, The Prankster and the rest of the sprawling ensemble cast here is phenomenal.
There's more too, because Piotr Kowalski is breaking some molds of his own, not least adding deftly to that ensemble cast with his depiction of Saturn City and its denizens.
With a book called Sex you'd be crazy not to expect some graphic depiction, and true to its word here, this was another issue I read on the train with some trepidation.
One particular tableau had me looking all around to make sure I hadn't horrified one of my fellow commuters, but in that is a conundrum.
Because graphic as it is, and my God is it, Sex asks us to look past that and see something else, whether it's fear, madness or cruelty, vulnerability, naivety, disenchantment or malaise, Sex offers complex emotions in every avenue.
I mean it, if you're not reading this book, you should be. My money is on Casey and Kowlaski to keep on crafting a masterpiece and I will be proud to say I was on board from day one.
I SHOULD remember not to underestimate Mike Mignola, because every time I do he slaps me about the face and reminds me to pay attention.
When I first heard about the pairing of Mignola and Alex Maleev on this new series I was conflicted.
I'm one of those fans who really, deep in my heart, wished it were possible for Mignola to draw every book featuring Big Red, but damn if he doesn't keep proving that instinct to be utterly wrong.
This issue picks this story up with a bang, literally, two pages in, and from there it just doesn't let up, going at us full force pulp horror adventure.
The pairing of Hellboy and the soldiers of the BPRD creates a neat balance here and a contrast to many of Hellboy's only, quite lonely stories of the last few years. At the same time, the human characters fall expertly under the hands of Alex Maleev (and of course Mignola and Stewart), who honestly looks like he's having more fun than he has in years.
But where this book takes a step up from good to great is in two Classic Hellboy moments, one where the dark nature of what's really happening here is revealed in a vision (drenched beautifully in colour by John Arcudi) and in another where two spirit creatures step to the side of the action and talk about Hellboy's destiny.
Both moments strike notes which are familiar in Hellboy but quite different; the former recalling classics like Seeds of Destruction while the latter reminds me of Hellboy's journeys in Africa and stories like Makoma or The Third Wish.
And then that last page! I was sucked back in at this point anyway, but even if I hadn't been, wow, now I want to know what's going on badly. Bring on issue 4.
Here with one of his newest partners in crime Chris Burnham, Morrison strikes out with purpose, flooding us with ideas and images, effectively building a nightmare world in only a few pages before laying on the exposition, setting the scene for the quest to come.
Keeping track of what's going on here is likely to be next to impossible and this is another book from Morrison which will be adored by his fans, but is unlikely to change the mind of any of his critics.
I like it, but I like wild and hallucinatory and I don't necessarily need everything to fit together neatly.
I like Burnham too, but if I'm honest, I still see him as a poor man's Frank Quitely.
That's not to say he doesn't do good work here, he does, particularly his layouts, which are the perfect match for the script, echoing beautifully the questions posed about what is real and what is dream.
I'll stick around, I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, and I imagine when it's all said and done the master-plan will fall into place, but I do wonder more and more at the universal appeal of stories like this.
CRUSHING on a comic book character in series called Sex Criminals is probably the ultimate nerd cliche but in the end I can't help but think it's a compliment to the humanity imbued in the cast by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky.
As crazy a concept as they have cooked up here - and deep into the second arc things show no sign of cooling off - the one thing that constantly amazes me about this book is how real the protagonists feel.
Suzie and Jon's vulnerability are captured frequently by Fraction's sensitive and realistic dialogue, and in every panel Zdarsky pens, sometimes with as little as an arched eyebrow or a wrinkled nose.
The artist directs his cast as magnificently as I have seen, every movement expressive, never over emphatic, but always revealing something else to the reader.
And Sex Criminals is fun. It doesn't just serve to titilate, actually it makes sex so human an act that it takes a mature spot on a pedestal above the majority of mainstream entertainment.
The introduction of a number of new characters over recent issues and The notable efforts to develop them have broadened the book's scope at just the right time making the world feel bigger and more exciting.
In fact, my only criticism of Sex Criminals is that it continues to be one of the hardest books to whip out in public on a train or on a bus. But I'm going to continue to find a way.
Thor 004 - Aaron, Dauterman and Wilson - Marvel
I'm really enjoying this new series and I often have to stop and remind myself it's the same author of the (also wonderful) last run, albeit with the masterful Russell Dauterman an utter revelation between the panels.
Aaron shows a deft touch here, turning his hand to a number of distinct voices and allowing enough humour in to perfectly complement Matthew Wilson's excellent colours (another thing setting this series apart from the one that preceded it).
Where I often find myself skirting over battle scenes that are too blurry or poorly realised to follow, Dauterman has me lingering over every single panel, following each blow as it lands and between he and Aaron, the pacing here is perfect, almost cinematic.
I love Aaron's use of thought bubbles too, which can so often feel forced, but here reveal only just enough to fool us into thinking we know what is happening, before he neatly pulls the rug out from under us with that kiss!
This issue appears to mark the end of the first arc and if things are going to hot up from here I definitely want to be along for the ride.
I don't know how much I care exactly WHO Thor is, but I will be around when we find out. Keeper.
Casanova, Acedia 1 - Matt Fraction and Fabio Moon - Image
This fourth Casanova mini series - of an anticipated seven, with each named in latin after one of the seven deadly sins, and alternating art by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon - is the first I have read in single issues and therein lies my only complaint here.
While I enjoy the dense nature of the series - which often has me flicking back pages and rereading to properly understand what's happening - it helps when I can read through to a conclusion and get that closure, such as it is.
Without that, I found myself feeling a little more lost at sea than usual.
That's not to say I don't still love the book, I do, Matt Fraction is at his best here, weaving a complex, hallucinatory tale about memory, self-awareness, all wrapped up with a hint of James Bond and the occult.
And whether it's Gabriel Ba or Fabio Moon on pencils the series stands out on the shelves as a book with it's own very unique style.
I'll be back, but I wonder if I might hold off and read a few issues at the same time next time. Keeper.
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