100% TPB (DC Comics/Vertigo) - DAVE: Paul Pope's been a favorite artist since forever, but it's rare that I've been enraptured with his writing. That changed with 100%, an ensemble cast drama/romance set amidst the chaotic club scene of 2038 Manhatten. It's his most approachable story to date with its cast of artists, thugs, dancers, and busboys. They're all likeable scoundrels propelled forward by Pope's hip and sexy dialogue, but the art's just as much a part of the vibe as the characters. It's by turns claustrophobic (the club scenes) and very open (you'll taste the cool air in the snowy street scenes), but always gorgeously inky in and of itself. 100% isn't just my pick of the month - it's one of my favorite comics of the last few years. (page 113)
RANDY: Preach it. I'm right there with you, down to not usually being a huge fan of Pope's writing and 100% being a welcome exception. Beautiful to look at, imaginative, full of great characters and great moments, the only thing I'm not sure of is the ending because I missed the last couple of issues, but I'm very much looking forward to seeing how it ends in this collected edition.
DAVE: Spoiler warning. Everyone dies!
Anywhere But Here GN (Fantagraphics Books) - DAVE: Interesting sounding manga import here in the form of a collection of comic strips described as "Monty Python meets The Far Side meets Zen humor." Continues the solicit for this wordless comic: "Miki's unnamed lead character (modeled after himself) works as a bookstore owner, but somehow finds himself entangled with aliens, alternate realities, and other mysterious disturbances in the space-time continuum." Considering the dismal state of the American comic strip, I'm game for seeing what the East has to offer. (page 294)
Armor X #1 (Image Comics) - RANDY: To hear Keith Champagne talk about this in an interview, it seems like the high concept is Peter Parker in the trenchcoat mafia, using a suit of battle armor instead of guns. Could very easily go horribly wrong and be cheesy, offensive, dumb or all three. However, reflecting the modern societal problem of teen violence could also be seen as a parallel of the atomic age fears that drove Stan Lee's creations, and that intrigues me. The real question before us is, can long-time inker Keith Champagne really write? I'll be checking in to see, at least. (page 137)
DAVE: That's... actually somewhat interesting.
Atomika (Speakeasy Comics) - RANDY: Atomika is described in a lot of generalities that sound impressive but, when you really examine it, are kind of vague. However, the vagaries, about alternate pasts, a man-made god of the 21st century walking the Earth and killing the ancient gods and that kind of thing, sound interesting, and the preview artwork is pretty impressive as well. This is one of three offerings from Speakeasy Comics, one of the new publishers attempting to make a splash in a hostile market in 2005. All three offerings look interesting and well-capitalized, so we'll see how things turn out for them. (page 323)
DAVE: Getting an unpleasant "anime confusion" vibe off the premise, but that art sure does look nice. And it's a new company deserving of its shot, so sure, I'll give it to 'em.
Avengers Assemble Vol. 2 HC (Marvel Comics) - DAVE: Second hardcover collecting the well-loved Busiek and Perez run of several years ago. This one reprints Avengers 12-22, a zero issue and an annual. If you have the means – thirty bucks in this case – I recommend it. (page M72)
RANDY: I'm surprised and very pleased to see Marvel continuing with this line of hardcovers, as I thought the first one was just sort of a marketing tie-in to JLA/Avengers. This volume contains one of the best Ultron stories ever done, and though I was lukewarm on some of the Busiek/Perez Avengers at the time, in hindsight it was pretty much exactly what I was looking for from the book, and the last time I enjoyed it. This one will definitely be going on my bookshelf.
Barbarossa and the Lost Corsairs #1 (Kandora Publishing) - RANDY: Another of the publishers trying to make a splash in 2005 is Kandora. Launching with a full-color pirate comic makes it seem like they're aiming for the niche that Crossgen occupied, which is risky (it didn't do Crossgen any favors) but welcome (I miss the genre diversity Crossgen was starting to bring when they folded). I've never been wildly impressed by Brian Augustyn's writing abilities, but the preview pages look solid enough, and they have pretty impressive artwork. (page 312)
DAVE: I can't hear CrossGen's name without being bummed about the fact that the company keeled over right when it was getting interesting (Abadazad, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, El Cazador, etc.), so I approach this book with trepidation.
Batman Cover to Cover HC (DC Comics) - RANDY: I blame Dark Horse for giving me a taste for these expensive comic art books, and if Batman Cover to Cover is half as impressive as Dark Horse's "Art Of" series, it'll be well worth the money. This volume is 250 Batman covers done by everyone from Neal Adams to Darwyn Cooke, with commentary from well-known creators inside and outside the industry, generally those with ties to Batman. At 240 pages, that probably means most of these will be full-page reproductions, which is a good thing, and the inclusion of commentary means it might be a little deeper than just a flashy art book. Looking forward to seeing what DC can do with this, and hoping it might bring about something Dave and I have long been wishing for, cover art collections for guys like Adam Hughes and Brian Bolland. (page 64)
DAVE: I'm a little more iffy on it than you are, just because I'm more interested in interior art than covers. The sampling they show in Previews is admittedly cool-lookin', though. There's just something about Batman; you can tell artists love to draw him.
Batman Chronicles Vol. 1 TPB (DC Comics) - DAVE: Yes, Batman the gun-toting killer returns! Which is to say, DC's finally reprinting the earliest Batman stories in an affordable (read: non-archive) trade paperback format. This is pretty crude, nascent stuff (yes, Batman kills), but even in the old days there was something special about the character. I've got a fondness for the period, and for fifteen bucks there's a good chance I'll pick this up. (page 66)
RANDY: I have a tough time slogging through most Golden and Silver Age stuff, as it was aimed at an audience far different than the one that reads comics today (or even the one that read comics in the '80s, when I was growing up). However, I think this is a great initiative, reprinting this stuff so that it's affordable for the casual fan as well as the hardcore archives buyers, and I can definitely see myself going for this or similar volumes related to other characters at some point.
Batman: Year One Deluxe Edition HC (DC Comics) -
DAVE: I am all over this bad boy. I dropped my hundred bucks for the Dark Knight special edition some years ago (okay, I'm lying - birthday present) and it was pretty great. This edition's got promotional art, reproductions of original pencils, unseen Mazuchelli Batman art, script pages, and oh yeah...Batman: Year One is still the best Batman comic of the '80s. (page 66)
RANDY: I already have two copies of this story in trade, and I'm still tempted by this hardcover. $20 for a hardcover of arguably the best Batman story ever, which includes behind-the-scenes from the massive talents that created it? Yep, pretty tempted.
Blood of the Demon #1 (DC Comics) -
DAVE: John Byrne's yet to strike gold for me with his efforts in recent years, but I'm always seeing bits and pieces I enjoy, so this relaunch of Jack Kirby's Demon character at least earns a look-see. The interesting wrinkle is that it's plotted and drawn by Byrne but scripted by Will Pfeifer, recently of Aquaman and H-E-R-O. Since Byrne's dialogue tends to be too corny for me, I'm interested to see how this works out. (page 77)
RANDY: Eh. Don't care for the Demon, really don't care for John Byrne's ego and don't care much for his art anymore either. Pfeifer is a great talent just waiting for the right project to break out, though, so I wish this one well, even though I likely won't be reading it.
Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy #1 (IDW Publishing) - RANDY: I have never played a single game of Castlevania, although I know the general ideas behind it. Like Metal Gear: Solid, this doesn't really appeal to me, but I suspect it'll pay off for IDW, and I like the talent they've put on the book (Marc Andreyko and E.J. Su). (page 306)
Club 9 Volume 3 TPB (Dark Horse) - RANDY: This is a resolicit for a book originally scheduled for January 2004, so I'll just reproduce my comments from back then: After reading two trades, I've finally been won over to the merits of Kobayashi's cat comic What's Michael?, but Club 9 is still my favorite of his work. Volume two cemented my interest in the spunky if somewhat naive Haruo Hattori and her club-working friends, and Kobayashi piles on the charm and the funny with his exceptional artwork. This is a must-read for fans (current and former) of Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise. (page 42)
DAVE: This is a really fun series, wonky yet simultaneously more "grounded" than a lot of the relationship manga I see on the market. I'd also cite Kobayashi's visual humor and imaginatively caricatured faces among the series' assets, and here's something you'll rarely see in manga: like Francine in Strangers in Paradise, our lead's a good deal curvier than the stereotype of the stick-thin schoolgirl. Nice change of pace!
Comics Journal #267 (Fantagraphics Books) - DAVE: Comicdom's smartest magazine offer up a mega-interview with Blankets creator Craig Thompson, Flaming Carrot creator Bob Burden, and an essay on Tintin. Sounds like a good issue to me. (page 294)
The Crisis on Infinite Earths Novelization HC (Super-Heroes) - DAVE: I don't even like the original, convoluted Crisis, but this puppy's just odd enough that I have to mention it. Written by original Crisis scribe Marv Wolfman, supposedly this is an expansion of the story. I guess it's new? Maybe a thematic lead-in to the new shake-ups rumored to be in the pipeline for the DC Universe? (page 389)
RANDY: I'm just wondering if Wolfman will try to convey the scope of Crisis in Perez's pencils... will there be two-page long lists of who is in the backgrounds of the panels, ala the "begats" passages in the Bible?
DAVE: "And, yea, verily, Kamandi and Jonah Hex and Tawky Tawny did stave off the shadow demons, and lo the Anti-Monitor was pissed!"
Cromartie High School Vol. 1 (ADV Films) - DAVE: Oy, who can guess how any manga is gonna turn out until you see it, but this tale of an average student ending up at a notorious reform school sounds like fun. Purports to be the story of a kid learning the ABC's of juvenile delinquency from a pack of thugs, a gorilla, and a trashcan-shaped robot. Apparently it's a comedic hit in Japan. Whatever. I'm tryin' it. (page 212)
DC Countdown #1 (DC Comics) - DAVE: Warning! Event comic approaching! Collision imminent! But seriously, the buzz sez this one-shot by Geoff Johns, Judd Winick and Greg Rucka is the next universe-shaking Identity Crisis event, all set to "change the DC Universe forever." Maybe. DC does seem to be in change-making mode lately, but considering that Identity Crisis mostly made me want to stop reading their books, consider me disinterested. (page 79)
RANDY: I hated Identity Crisis, and this is the follow-up in plot and attitude, so I expect to hate this too. I enjoy work by everyone involved on this book, but the direction that the DC Universe is moving in is one that I have little to no interest in. However, at $1.00 for 80 pages with a stellar line-up of talent, following up on the much-beloved Identity Crisis, this book will probably do gangbusters business.
Deadworld #1 (Image Comics) - RANDY: One of the commonly mentioned comics in The Walking Dead letter columns is Deadworld, and now Image is bringing it back, courtesy of original creators Gary Reed and Vince Locke. Personally, I would have put out a trade paperback for the many potential fans like me who have never read Deadworld before, rather than just launching an all-new series, but at any rate, I'll check out these new tales. (page 141)
DAVE: Deadworld? Never hoid of it. I'll try it, though. Sucker for zombies and the post-apocalypse. That shit could happen.
A Distant Soil: Coda TP (Image Comics) - DAVE: Not a great deal to say about this other than, "Excellent installemt of the long-running sci-fi series by Colleen Doran." That marks nearly forty issues of ensemble-cast sci-fi from a single creator, so...
Respec', yo! And check out volume one if you've never read the series. Fans of prose sci-fi are likely to enjoy its richness. (page 143)
Elfquest Archives Vol. 2 HC (DC Comics) - DAVE: Hmm, weren't these supposed to be coming out on a somewhat quicker schedule? Not that I'm overly concerned. At fifty bucks they're a real bite and I've got the original collections anyway, BUT... I love this material. I'll absolutely be buying it and I think the new coloring and lettering in the first Elfquest Archives was terrific. This one also reprints a long-lost Elfquest story from Marvel's Epic Illustrated. Still the best fantasy comic of 'em all. No bookshelf should be without. (page 97)
RANDY: *cough* Elf lover *cough*
DAVE: Randy, it's time to just admit to yourself that reading the crappy Blood of Ten Chiefs prose anthology in junior high was a bogus entrance into the world of Elfquest. Try the real deal, my man – the original four graphic novels – and you too will become an Elf-believer.
Oh just drink the damn Kool-Aid already!
RANDY: There you go, you elf-lovers always trying to push your "alternative lifestyle" on the rest of us. OK, OK, I'll give in and try the graphic novels at some point in 2005. Promise.
Fables: The Mean Season TPB (DC Comics/Vertigo) -
DAVE: For me, these were some of the lesser stories in the series, but even a lesser Fables yarn is compelling and a happy purchase. Features a tale of Bigby Wolf in World War II and The Adversary's siege of Fabletown. Always a favorite series. (page 115)
RANDY: Actually, the siege of Fabletown was the last trade... this one has the single-issue Ichabod Crane as traitor story and the aftermath of the invasion, including the birth of Snow White and Bigby's children. In addition to a couple cool flashback stories, this trade contains some big status quo changes for the book that made it even more interesting.
DAVE: Aftermath, eh? Teach me to read those solicits in a hurry. In that case, I recommend this trade more than I did a paragraph or two back! The aftermath had some frickin' great stuff!
Fallen Angel #19 (DC Comics) - DAVE: Just a note to say that this highly imaginative, criminally overlooked title is back as of this issue, returned from its mini-hiatus. Can't wait to see what's in store. (page 80)
RANDY: Ditto. One of the best books on the stands, and it really is criminal how many people are either ignoring it or just don't know about it.
DAVE: They should totally be rounded up and shot in the streets. Or at least give the series a try.
Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 4 TPB - DAVE: Great to see Marvel continuing to reprint such a fine run... I just hope I don't see any of the printing errors like I did for the final story in volume three (the "Skrull milk" story). Lord, that printed horribly, and Marvel deserves serious heat for it. On the upside, great stories here including the trial of Reed Richards for saving Galactus and the justly famous "Small Loss." (page M73)
RANDY: Well, you know, they're only $25 a pop, about twice what a regular trade costs, so what's the big deal about a few printing errors? At any rate, while we might gripe about Marvel's shoddy quality control, I know both of us are really happy that Byrne's stuff is getting this comprehensive reprinting. This one even includes a couple of stories from other titles, like The Thing story that Dave mentions.
Filler GN (AIT/Planet Lar) - RANDY: Cliche-sounding crime fiction about a down-on-his-luck guy who gets caught up in something big after he gets involved with a hooker (presumably with a heart of gold.) What makes Filler intriguing, however, is that the creators clearly know they're playing with cliches here, and will probably do something that thrills fans of stories like these. AIT/Planet Lar has had good luck with '70s crime stories like this with books like Last of the Independents, and Rick Spears and Rob G. have done some good comics before as well. (page 223)
The Flash #220 (DC Comics) - RANDY: Of all the books I'm reading, this is the one that has been most negatively impacted by Identity Crisis for me. Johns is writing good stories, Porter is providing good art, but the ties into events that I downright loathe make it hard for me to enjoy them. "Rogue War," the story starting this issue, might face the same problem, as it relates to the mind-wiping of villains from Identity Crisis, but at the same time, it also features the Rogues, who are arguably the best part of Johns's Flash run. I'm cautiously optimistic, and will hold my nose and ignore the Identity Crisis-related story elements. Fans of Identity Crisis, however, will definitely want to give Johns's Flash a look, as he seems to be picking up a lot of the loose threads left over from Meltzer's series. (page 81)
DAVE: Where you are cautiously optimistic, I am cautiously pessimistic. Johns is still turning out some good moments and I respect his craftsmanship, but the Identity Crisis stuff is pretty much a deal-killer for me. Not wild about Porter's art, either.
Flight Volume 2 TPB (Image Comics) - RANDY: The first Flight anthology was a treat, definitely living up to all the hype it garnered during convention season. This new one features some familiar (and welcome, at least for me) faces like Becky Cloonan, Doug Tennapel, Sonny Liew and Jeff Smith alongside the host of animators and talents who created the first anthology. I expect this to be one of the best comics of 2005, and certainly one of the best anthologies. (page 146)
DAVE: I still need to check out Flight Volume 1. Gorgeous at a glance, but there's that whole anthology aspect... I just rarely find short stories in comics to be satisfying.
Gotham Central #29 (DC Comics) - DAVE: This should be fun: lead detectives Montoya and Allen pursuing a case that leads them to the Flash's stomping grounds of Keystone City. The last time a Gothamite mixed it up there was in the issue of Catwoman where Catwoman teamed with Captain Cold. That issue was a hoot - one of my favorites of the series - and I'm looking forward again to the clashing sensibilities of the two cities. (page 63)
RANDY: That Catwoman issue is the benchmark I'm thinking of and hoping for with this issue as well, because the notion of a bit of crossover between the psychotic weirdness of Batman's Rogues Gallery and the lighter, more fun weirdness of Flash's Rogues is a neat idea. I believe this is actually mid-story, but at any rate, the diversion into Keystone caught my eye as well.
The Grimoire #1 (Speakeasy Comics) - RANDY: The second of Speakeasy's comics offerings has the same vague but intriguing solicitation text as Atomika, and the same beautiful artwork that draws my eye. It's difficult to tell much from what we're given here, but the artwork has succeeded in piquing my interest, which is really all you can ask of solicitation text in general. (page 323)
DAVE: Art looks stunning, like a sort of dark Disney, and I'm sensing a sort of Harry Potter vibe. Definite maybe.
Hack/Slash: Comic Book Carnage (Devil's Due Publishing) - DAVE: I've enjoyed both Hack/Slash one-shots to date, so I can only assume I'll enjoy this one too. The concept is perfect for one-shots, really: a young lady had been trained to hunt down slashers of the Michael/Jason/Freddy supernatural variety, each encounter being some new twist on the genre. The knowingly exploitational elements are always balanced out with wit and some neat story ideas, the latest high concept being a slasher loose at a comic convention. (page 267)
RANDY: This is a fun concept well executed, and though parodying the industry always has the pitfalls of being too self-indulgent or overly familiar, I think that a serial killer at a comic-book convention hunted by Tim Seeley's unusual hero and heroine will make for another fun read.
Hedge Knight 2nd Edition TPB (Dabel Brothers Productions) -
DAVE: I fell in love with this trade on its initial release and I heartily recommend it to anyone. It's an adaptation of a short story by famed fantasy author George R. R. Martin staged in his Game of Thrones setting and manages to be both adventurous and darkly provocative. Concerns a jousting tournament with surprisingly high (and brutal) stakes. Trust me on this one: buy it. You don't even need to be a fantasy geek. (page 258)
Hipira: The Little Vampire HC (Dark Horse) - DAVE: A children's book by the creator of Akira?! Freaky as it sounds, the preview art looks astonishingly gorgeous (think Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas), and the tale of a young prankster in the vampire city of Saruta sounds like a charmer. (page 40)
RANDY: That is indeed gorgeous looking artwork. Strange yet compelling offering from Dark Horse.
Hopeless Savages B-Sides All-Flashback Special (Oni Press) - RANDY: Truthfully, it doesn't feel like Hopeless Savages to me without Christine Norrie, but I like these characters and I like Jen Van Meter's writing, and the art talent on this special is nothing to sneeze at. I'd rather have Norrie and Ross Campbell, but Becky Cloonan, Vera Brosgul from Flight and Mike Norton (who did a great job on the most recent Queen & Country arc) are certainly nothing to complain about. (page 319)
The Human Race #1 (DC Comics) -
DAVE: Weird concept behind this new outing from DC, so I'll just quote it: "The super-powered fraternity of Delta Chi Delta is charged with a mission: protect the genetic code of the human race from outside interference. But when a young man's entire hometown is invaded by an alien force, the threat of global mutation compels him to join the group – especially when he manifests strange powers of his own!" Wha? Hunh? No interest here, coming from middlin' writer Ben Raab as it does, but the preview art does look nice. Michael Golden-y. (page 82)
RANDY: Raab and Justiniano have worked together before on, of all things, a Beast Boy miniseries with Geoff Johns. I really enjoyed that mini, and though Raab is extremely hit and miss for me, that collaboration has me intrigued about this one. If nothing else, you've got to give DC credit for continually trying to launch new concepts in this market even though fans are downright hostile to new ideas right now. It might be tilting at windmills, but it needs doing if comics are going to remain interesting.
Hysteria Vol. 2: One Man Gang (Oni Press) - RANDY: Mike Hawthorne's one-man anthology of weird characters in the fictional town of Port Asteria returns for a second go-round, and it sounds for all the world like a '70s kung-fu/crime extravaganza brought to the comics page. Hawthorne is an art talent to reckon with, and Hysteria has a ton of energy to it, so I'm looking forward to this. (page 319)
The Imaginaries #1 (of 4) (Image Comics) -
DAVE: Shades of Toy Story in this all-ages fantasy about an imaginary land populated by heroes, imaginary friends and stuffed animals that kids have grown out of. This is from the guys who adapted George R.R. Martin's Hedge Knight, which I loved, so I'll give 'er a go. All-ages is hard to pull off.(page 149)
Inhumans Vol. 1: Culture Shock TPB (Marvel Comics) - RANDY: I loved the early issues of McKeever's Inhumans, which took a brand new group of characters, moved them to Earth and remained true to the themes of the characters while striking out in a new direction. I would be glad that Marvel is putting these stories out in digest format, except that the concept really needed further exploration beyond what McKeever and his collaborators were able to do, and so this becomes sort of an unfinished story with promise more than anything else. Still, nice art and good stories, combined with the cheap ($8.00) price tag, means it's at least worth consideration. (page M67)
DAVE: Old-school Inhumans fa life, yo! Where's my Karnak? Gorgan? Medusa?
Aw, I could never plug into this series, but I think McKeever's done underrated work for Marvel, so I'm glad fans are getting a chance to see some of his stuff collected.
Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death TP (DC Comics/2000 A.D.) - DAVE: Looking forward to this. A) It features rare sequential comic art by Brian Bolland, and B) It's written by series' creator John Wagner, and he's the guy who seems to write the Dredd material I like. (page 99)
Little Book of Horror: Frankenstein (IDW Publishing) - RANDY: Another case of sticker shock (48 pages for $16?), which is becoming all too prevalent in the comics industry, but my love of Scott Morse's artwork is drawing me to this book anyway. I'm no fan of the illustrated novel format, but I do have a fondness for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and the promise of seeing that story spelled out through excerpts of the novel with Morse's illustrations sounds kinda neat. (page 309)
DAVE: Wow, this sounds pretty great to me. I've never been a big fan of Niles' stuff, but I can't really bust his chops over excerpting a novel I love, right? That plus color Morse art means I'll have no trouble plunking down my sixteen smackers. This also sounds like a collection that'd be great to see beside the Frankenstein novel in hipper bookstores everywhere.
Madrox: Multiple Choice TPB (Marvel Comics) - DAVE: Collecting the superhero-noir miniseries that took everyone by surprise, this trade comes highly recommended. I don't think I've ever read a story featuring Madrox, the Multiple Man, in my life, but Peter David proved that both the character and his powers could be fascinating. Don't miss it. (page M76)
RANDY: One of the best things that Marvel published in 2004, and again, criminally overlooked. I'll definitely be putting this trade on my bookshelf and hoping that Marvel will acknowledge the buzz (instead of the sales) and give this one a chance as another mini or as an ongoing series.
Mage Vol. 1: The Hero Discovered TP -
DAVE: Hunh. I guess I thought this would only be available in the fiddy dollar hardcover I bought a month or two ago. Great fun, but a trade for twenty bucks less can only depress me. (page 153)
RANDY: Yeah, me too. I mean, I love the hardcover format, but it was riddled (as many Image books are these days) with typos, which made the $50 price tag sting all the more, and to find out it's available $20 cheaper a couple months later makes me feel like a class-A chump for buying it. Of course, the hardcover was months late, so who knows how long the trade will actually take?
Marvel Milestone: Iron Man (Marvel Comics) -
DAVE: This 'pears to be little more than a reprint book of stories from Marvel's seminal years, but for four bucks you get a reprint of first appearance stories for Iron Man, Captain America, and beloved miniaturizing hero, Ant-Man. Always good to have this stuff around to keep the history alive. (page M38)
Mary Jane: Homecoming #1 (Marvel Comics) - DAVE: Yay, internet buzz! You've revived a worthy title! Yes, even manly men can admit to liking this very cute teen relationship comic with its witty writing from Sean McKeever and its subtly great art from Takeshi Miyazawa. (page M20)
RANDY: I love this book, and I don't care if that makes me an 11-year-old girl with pigtails. Glad to see it returning, I'd be even happier if it were returning in straight-to-digest format, which would seem its best bet at making sales equal to its buzz. Really, does anyone actually believe that the comics market is where Mary Jane is going to succeed?
DAVE: Good point. Make with the digest exclusives, Marvel!
Minisulk GN (Top Shelf Productions) - RANDY: Jeffrey Brown is best known for his autobiographical Clumsy and Unlikely, but I picked up a collection of his comedy shorts in San Diego and found them hilarious. This is a similar collection, and the title given for one of them in the solicit is "My Brother Knows Kung Fu," which should give you some idea of what to expect if you know Brown's work. (page 352)
Negative Burn Winter 2005 (Image Comics) - RANDY: What I know about Negative Burn is that it was a well-respected indie anthology that featured work by a ton of huge names. Following up on January's "Best Of" trade paperback, this new prestige format offering features so many cool names I can't spotlight them all. For a sampling, though, it includes "Milk and Cheese" by Evan Dorkin, "Hawaiian Dick" by B. Clay Moore, plus work by Steve Lieber, Jim Mahfood, Brian Bolland and on and on. (page 154)
The New West #1 (Black Bull Entertainment) - RANDY: Man with sword on horseback tries to rescue the Mayor of Los Angeles in a near-future apocalyptic setting. The concept alone is only mildly interesting, but when it's a fully-painted series by Phil Noto and writing by Jimmy Palmiotti (who did a pretty good job on Beautiful Killer with Noto), I'm much more interested. I'd be even more interested if it was an original graphic novel instead of a two-issue mini-series, but with any luck, there will be a trade collection later. (page 190)
Otherworld #1 (DC Comics/Vertigo) -
DAVE: This 12-part maxiseries is probably Phil Jimenez's most ambitious project to date and as a sci-fi/fantasy fan (if not a Jimenez fan), I'm sure to at least try it. Story tells the tale of a land where mythological beings war with a nation of high technology. Enter the ubiquitous x-factor of some young humans from Earth and... well, I guess some heavy shit goes down. We shall see. Jimenez's art looks terrific. (page 116)
RANDY: Jimenez's writing, especially on Wonder Woman, has seemed a tad overcomplicated to me, and overcomplicated can mean death in a big fantasy epic. However, his Tempest miniseries, which he always wrote and drew, was terrific. At any rate, art will be beautiful, the genre is relatively untapped in big budget comics and the concept sounds interesting. I'm actually looking forward to this quite a bit.
The Pact #1 (Image Comics) - RANDY: Despite the buzz around Invincible and the undeniable goodness of Firebreather, you would think Image would have learned its lesson with the spectacular crash and burn of their new "superhero" line. Fans just don't seem to really want a shared universe from Image, and I know you can count me among those fans. So The Pact, a recycled '90s name featuring a loose team from Noble Causes, Firebreather, Invincible and Shadowhawk, seems like a misreading of the market. However, having each character's creator write a self-contained adventure of the team means that the writing line-up (Faerber, Hester, Kirkman, Valentino) is pretty solid. Not my cup of tea, but it might just be fun, lightweight superheroics, and God knows we could use more of those these days. (page 156)
DAVE: As we like to say in the South...
"A'yep."
Process Recess: The Art of James Jean HC (Adhouse Books) - RANDY: James Jean's unusual and beautiful covers have been staring out at us from Fables, Batgirl and other places, and though I wouldn't categorize him as one of my favorite artists, I certainly recognize the talent. Especially when I check out his website and see more of what he's done. The snippets of artwork from Process Recess, Adhouse's first deluxe hardcover, have me chomping at the bit to see more, and given that Adhouse books always look beautiful, I can't wait to see what they'll do with my beloved hardcover format. Go ahead, Dave, call me a format whore, I deserve it. (page 209)
DAVE: Hell, I'm partial to hardcovers when I can afford 'em, too – no stones to sling here – and besides, I don't want to bring any negativity to a write-up on such a talented artist as James Jean. This looks like a gorgeous collection.
For real, though, you're such a format whore.
RANDY: And you're a dirty elf lover.
Random Encounter #1 (Viper Comics) - RANDY: I don't know anything about Niccolo Balce, the writer/artist of this 4-issue mini from Viper Comics, but I do know that the art style displayed on the cover intrigues, and the weird concept (three girls discover a dead girl and become involved in all sorts of weirdness) doesn't drive me away. (page 354)
The Razor's Edge: Redbird #1 (DC Comics/Wildstorm) - RANDY: So, does anyone care about this "Razor's Edge" imprint, or even know what it is? I thought not. How about Redbird? Anybody know who this character is? Yeah, me neither. Normally wouldn't even raise an eyebrow, except that the creative team on this book is Ed Brubaker and Jason Pearson, both talents to be reckoned with. The story, about a former black ops soldier managing an apartment complex in a crime-ridden area of L.A. is... well, kind of weird, actually, and I'd honestly rather see these creators on something else, but this is either a new character or a character few have heard of (practically the same thing), so I guess I'll view it as a blank canvas with potential. (page 104)
DAVE: I try to ignore imprints and focus on individual titles, and as such Redbird sounds pretty interesting. Creators I like on a non-superhero book? I'll bite.
Rex Mundi Vol. 2: The River Underground TPB (Image Comics) - RANDY: The complexity of the story and sporadic publishing schedule of the comic means that I prefer to read Rex Mundi in trade format, so I'm pleased to see a second collection of Arvid Nelson and Eric J.'s tale of alternate history, religious conspiracy and murder. The last trade was packed with extras and was truly a sight to behold, and this one probably will be too. (page 159)
Seamonsters & Superheroes Vol. 1 TPB (Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics) - RANDY: Scott Mills's distinctive art style and quirky sensibilities have led me to collect a lot of his work, but I've read only a couple issues of his Seamonsters & Superheroes (see, I told you it was quirky) series. Slave Labor gives me a second chance to check in with this trade paperback collection, and I think I might take it. (page 227)
Sea of Red #1 (Image Comics) - RANDY: El Cazador proved that there was life left in the pirate genre (before dying due to publisher-related problems), and now Rick Remender, Kieron Dwyer and Salgood Sam are taking aim at a cross-genre pirate tale. The other genre? Horror, specifically vampires. The notion of a cursed pirate ship isn't a new one, but it's a good one, and vampires are pretty played out these days, but the pirate genre is still pretty fresh, so I have high hopes for this one. I especially like the black, white and red approach seen in the preview artwork. (page 160)
DAVE: Er, isn't this pretty close in concept to Ed Brubaker's pending vampire/pirate comic from IDW? Ah well, wouldn't be the first case of parallel thinking in the biz (Doom Patrol/X-Men, anyone?). Preview art is very sharp.
Sharknife Vol. 1 (Oni Press) - RANDY: Sharknife is the first Oni graphic novel from Corey Lewis, whose Appleton Sunday comics strips on the Oni Press website have been hilarious and strange. I don't actually know what Sharknife is going to be, but the solicitation mentions rock and roll, the wildest restaurant on Earth, Popeye and mecha anime action, which sounds fun. If I had to guess based on what I've read, I'd say this one will appeal to fans of James Kochalka, Bryan O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim and Michael Allred, and if you happen to be a fan of all three, it's definitely worth a look. (page 318)
DAVE: Mmhmm. Sounds fun!
Sleeper Book 3: A Crooked Line TPB (DC Comics/Wildstorm) - RANDY: Glad to see Sleeper getting such a quick collection as Brubaker and Phillips move towards bringing "Season Two" to a close. Book Three is where the book got even darker, but it remained interesting and beautifully drawn, and is definitely some of the best noir in comics. (page 108)
DAVE: Agreed. Crime and noir fans of all stripes are advised to seek this inventive, hardboiled series out.
Spellbinders #1 (Marvel Comics) - RANDY: Without Mike Carey onboard, I doubt I would be at all optimistic about this series. Seriously, rival teen witches at a Salem high school sounds like a potentially dire high concept, but I have enough faith in Carey's work that he'll make this miniseries an interesting read, and certainly art by Mike (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) Perkins is a good thing. Always glad to see Marvel exploring some wholly new characters and properties, too, so let's call me guardedly optimistic about this one. (page M4)
DAVE: Sounds interesting if it can avoid the temptation of teen T&A. Preview art: excellent.
Star Wars: General Grievous #1 (Dark Horse) - DAVE: General Grievous? Saw this Episode III bruiser previewed on the Cartoon Network's excellent Clone Wars shorts and not only was he a pretty goofy visual, but his name might as well be Count Kitten-Killer for all its subtlety. Still...Chuck Dixon's writing and he's pretty a'ight, and the preview art by Rick Leonardi actually reminds me of Walt Simonson's nice work on the Star Wars comics of the '80s. So who knows? Might be a fun mini if you're getting prequel-fever in a few months. (page 24)
RANDY: Certainly I've got no real love for Marquis Orphan-Starver either, but the Dark Horse Star Wars comics have generally been better than Lucas's lameass new creations, and the Dixon/Leonardi team is indeed sort of an '80s comics dream team. Not dying for it or anything, but I'll certainly give it a read.
DAVE: One more for Lucas, free of charge: "Burgermeister Satanpants."
Star Wars: Visionaries TPB (Dark Horse) - DAVE: Whatever you might think of the Star Wars prequels, you have to admit a collection of short stories by the talented ILM artists who created their visuals has possibilities. As far as I can tell, this is a 136-page collection of wholly original Star Wars comics by these guys. I'm betting on lightweight storylines (sorry artists, you know it's true), but great visuals for fans of the setting. (page 23)
Starman: Sins of the Father TP (DC Comics) - DAVE: It took awhile, but congrats to DC for finishing up the trade collections of the phenomenal cult series. It really did start to lag toward the end, but Robinson went out on a high note with the last few issues. The series remains highly recommended. (page 90)
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies TP (DC Comics) - DAVE: Yeah, like this book needs more publicity! Still, this is a series that's intermittently fun and opens with strong artwork from Ed (JLA: Classified) McGuinness. It's also dopey as sin when it's not fun, but if you're feeling like a little "Silver Age" in your heroes... not bad. (page 71)
Top Cow Bible (Image Comics/Top Cow) - DAVE: It's a sourcebook thingee for the likes of Witchblade, Tomb Raider and Magdalena, mentioned only for being one of the all-time most perverse uses of the word "Bible."
RANDY: I was actually hoping this was the Top Cow writers and artists adapting The Bible. Man, and you thought The Last Temptation of Christ raised a stink. This would have been awesome!
Ultimate Iron Man #1 (Marvel Comics) -
DAVE: Big-shot sci-fi writer Orson Scott Card teams with Andy Kubert to launch this latest Ultimate title and having never read any of Card's stuff, I can only say... "Maybe?" The internet buzz is that Card's got some homophobic beliefs, but I've heard the same of Mike Miller of this month's recommended Hedge Knight trade, and I can honestly say that unless these guys are calling for a Holy War or some bullshit, all I really care about is whether they can produce a good story. (page M3)
RANDY: Whereas I tend to think that homophobes are dinks, and that affects whether I want to throw any money their way or not. Fortunately, I couldn't give a rat's ass about Ultimate Iron Man anyway. From an objective standpoint, though, I've gotta be impressed with Marvel getting a big-name science-fiction author to write an Iron Man miniseries for them.
Will Eisner Sketchbook HC (Dark Horse) -
DAVE: At fifty dollars, this one's a bit steep for me, but Eisner fans are sure to dig this 200 page sketchbook from one of the true grandmasters of comics. (page 31)
Wolverine Classic Vol. 1 TPB (Marvel Comics) - DAVE: I've occasionally heard that the early years of Wolverine's own series – the undercover Madripoor stuff – were pretty fun. This reprints the first five issues of the run, so I guess I'll know soon enough. Original Spider-Woman Jessica Drew is in it? Hey, that's kinda cool.(page M70)
RANDY: I've got this stuff, and it's perfectly readable, and deserving of collection if only for the Buscema artwork. But... seriously, this would have been way further down the list than a lot of stuff that remains uncollected at Marvel, like most of Stern's work, Gruenwald's Cap, hell even Quasar, Thunderbolts and New Warriors if you want to start digging into the '90s stuff. But then, it does seem that Marvel's goal is to put a half-dozen Wolverine books on the shelves every week in 2005, and this is another step toward that.
The X-Files Vol. 1 TPB (Checker Books) - RANDY: I became a diehard X-Files fan around the end of season two, scrounged up the early episodes from an online buddy and everything. I now own exactly zero DVDs of the X-Files and have exactly zero interest in re-watching any of it, thanks to how badly Chris Carter and the rest botched the over-arcing story. That said, there are still some fun standalone episodes worth watching, and those episodes are what the X-Files comic most closely represents. With nice art by Charlie Adlard and interesting stories from Stefan Petrucha and John Rozum, this is stuff that is probably worth reprinting. I'm not certain there's any audience left for the property, but the stories are certainly worthwhile. (page 250)
DAVE: I read a few of these. They were pretty okay, so if you've got the bug for a supernatural procedural, hey... maybe.
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse (Marvel Comics) - RANDY: Mercifully, I had stopped reading the X-books when "Age of Apocalypse" came out, but in a fit of extreme masochism, I borrowed a friends' copies at one point when I was jonesing for some X-Men stories. Though "Age of Apocalypse" had some interesting ideas, ultimately it was as disjointed, ugly and gimmicky as most everything else put out by Marvel in the '90s, and it boggles my mind that there are people out there who not only fondly remember the story but who are anxiously awaiting a new miniseries that returns to the "Age of Apocalypse." Give Marvel credit for fan service and giving the fans what they want, but the fact that this is what so many fans seem to want makes me sad. (pages M8-M11)
DAVE: Never read this stuff, but I've got a certain interest in alt-universe stories so I'll cop to some minor interest. I also like Chris Bachalo's art in small doses, and a five-issue mini sounds about right.
And yet: Braced for suckage.
Yoshitaka Amano's Hero Vol. 1 GN (Speakeasy Comics) - RANDY: On a slightly brighter note, this is the third of Speakeasy Comics's offerings this month, and the one that most convinces me they're a publisher to keep my eye on. Yoshitaka Amano is one of those guys who I kind of enjoy but who has a diehard fan following in some circles, so he has a built-in audience that Speakeasy will be able to tap into. This is illustrated prose, not my favorite genre, but Amano's previous illustrated prose has been the excellent Wolverine/Elektra by Greg Rucka and Sandman: Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman, so his work has been the exception. Jessie Horsting isn't exactly a name with that kind of authorial clout, but the crazy concept of Hero sounds like fun, and Amano's artwork is sure to be gorgeous. (page 328)
DAVE: I'm a big fan of Amano's wispy, painterly style, and ten dollars for 99 pages seems a fair price to me. Bring it on. Then get the guy to quit lazing around with illustrations and try his hand at sequential work!
Email Randy Lander and Dave Farabee comments about this review.
While my Snap Judgments reviews cover books as they are released, I'm as avid a follower of "what's next" as anyone else. Thus these Previews reviews, covering the Diamond Previews that allow fans to preorder comics from their local retailer. This installment covers the January Previews for comics due to ship out in March 2005.
Seven Soldiers: Guardian #1 (DC Comics) - RANDY: As I expressed last month, I'm very much looking forward to Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers project, but this might be the one I'm looking forward to the most. For one thing, the concept, about a superhero who is sort of the "living masthead" for a crusading newspaper, is one that I really like. For another, it's a re-teaming of Seaguy creators Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart, so you know it's going to be gorgeous to look at. I'm usually wary of "re-inventions" of characters, because it sometimes speaks to a lack of original ideas, but with Morrison, you know that's never going to be a problem. (page 88)
100% TPB (DC Comics/Vertigo) - DAVE: Paul Pope's been a favorite artist since forever, but it's rare that I've been enraptured with his writing. That changed with 100%, an ensemble cast drama/romance set amidst the chaotic club scene of 2038 Manhatten. It's his most approachable story to date with its cast of artists, thugs, dancers, and busboys. They're all likeable scoundrels propelled forward by Pope's hip and sexy dialogue, but the art's just as much a part of the vibe as the characters. It's by turns claustrophobic (the club scenes) and very open (you'll taste the cool air in the snowy street scenes), but always gorgeously inky in and of itself. 100% isn't just my pick of the month - it's one of my favorite comics of the last few years. (page 113)
