Two-in-One: Anomaly #3 Lander and MacPherson sample the efforts of rookie comics creators and the third issue of their independently published anthology, Anomaly. Randy: About a year or so ago, Don and I took a look at Anomaly #2, an anthology book by a variety of up-and-coming creators that served as a showcase for their ideas and their talents. This week, we're reviewing Anomaly #3, which features some of the same creators and some new ones, together for a 56-page anthology book. Don: It's always impressive to see new creators who are so passionate about comics that they have to publish their own books. Anomaly #3 Brass Ring Productions written by Caleb Gerard, Dennis Shumate, Raymond E. Brown, Johnny Lowe, Dan Hoagland, Ellen Topkis & Daniel R. Wickline illustrated by Bobby Breed, Jay Leisten, Julio "Nar" Naran, Seaward Tuthill, Jacob Bear, Richard Garcia, Corey Peery, Fabian Chow & Mikel Whelan Randy: As with the first issue of Anomaly that we reviewed, I'd have to say that I found this to be a pretty nice product, better than I have often come to expect from these types of "let's put on a show" productions. In most cases, there's more enthusiasm than polish evident, but while Anomaly still has its rough edges, every one of these creators has talent, and some of the work, particularly the artwork, would not look out-of-place on a more prominent book. Don: I don't know about that. Some of the artwork needs a fair bit more in the way of development, but the potential for professional, mainstream comics work is there. What worked most often for me were the ideas that served as the foundation of the stories. Sometimes the execution was a shade off, but ideas like Wickline's "Lapse" and Shumate's "Along the Foggy Trail" really clicked for me. Randy: The writers this time out are the same, and some of them are even using the same characters or settings. My favorite piece this time was a humorous piece by Raymond E. Brown, "Sworn Enemies," which almost crosses the line from homage to outright copyright infringement of Marvel's Thor, but gets by largely on being laugh-out-loud funny in several places and having a suitably ludicrous base concept of putting a god of thunder in the mundane setting of making a deposition. "Year of the Boar" by Hoagland and Peery was also a treat, a wonderful example of how martial arts can actually work in comics and be almost as exciting as it is in film. Don: "Sworn Enemies" is a perfect example of a great idea but some awkward application. The gag was quite funny, but it was played out too long. Bear's depiction of the Norse God Donar was impressive, but his human characters were inconsistently rendered. "Year of the Boar" didn't work for me, mainly because of the heavy-handed ending, which reveals the symbolism of the kung-fu duel. Randy: I thought the last page reveal of the "Year of the Boar" was a bit disappointing as well, and I will admit that I had my problems with some of the other stories. "Lapse" was based on an interesting concept, but the assassin's clever plan seems contrived when we're asked to swallow the lax security of the Secret Service. And many of the stories seemed to strain to fit into the format, resulting in some confusion, particularly "Champion" and "The Fire Brand," both of which could have used a lot more room to expand on their premises and characters. Don: Yeah, though "Lapse" was a great concept, Wickline does trip over the details. However, Whelan's art for the short story struck me as the strongest in the book. "Champion," again, has a great idea as its base -- a super-hero that has been elected mayor of a metropolis -- but it's lost in holograms and crossword puzzles. The most distracting thing about "Fire Brand" was the lettering. There was no flow to it, and it really got in the way of the art. Randy: There were several new faces amongst the artists this time out, as well as some returning talent. I was stunned by the detailed backgrounds and anatomy on "Champion," by Bobby Breed and inkers Leisten and Naran. I'd love to see these guys on a Tarzan book. Also, while Seaward Tuthill could still use a little more detail on his faces, he's improved considerably from an impressive performance in the last issue and turns in a beautiful job in the setting of a western town, nailing the suspense/horror tone of "Along the Foggy Trail." Don: Though the title of "Foggy Trail" didn't really fit, the concept was a winner. It struck me as a Will Eisner-esque Western short. Randy: All in all, while some of the features didn't resonate as well with me as others, I thought this was a solid offering from a group of up-and-comers, and I have to respect both their drive to put this together and publish it and the talent that went into its creation. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.