Now, I suspect sales on this anthology series aren't exactly setting DC's financial charts ablaze, but this series is about the craft and the modern masters readers have at their disposal. This issue stands out as the strongest in the series to date, shining the spotlight on Darwyn Cooke. He demonstrates here that there's more much to his work than a fondness for Silver Age super-heroes and noir crime drama. He tackles comedy, espionage, political commentary, slice-of-life and yes, traditional super-heroics in this wonderful collection of story and art that stands out as being among his best work. And when one is talking about Darwyn Cooke, that's really saying something.
Slam Bradley makes his way to an unusual little bar he knows about that never closes, and what makes it unusual is its clientele. As he waits for a ladt friend to arrive, he shares stories with the other patrons, such as King Faraday's undercover mission in pre-communist Cuba, the Batman's pursuit of murderous thieves and a faceless soldier who decides to even the score with terrorists. We also learn of a little boy whose interest in golf is transformed into a different passion altogether, and of a lonely little man whose dementia and paranoia lead him to end an important relationship in a most violent fashion.
Cooke shows range not only in subject matter but in style as well. For his childhood reminiscence and a comedy piece about a man and his vacuum cleaner, he employs a simpler, more cartoony approach that captures the child's innocence and the goofiness of the man-versus-machine conflict. Those lighter segments remind me of the styles of such artists as J. (Alison Dare) Bone and Scott (Scandalous) Chantler, both Canadian artists working in the Toronto area as well, so that's probably not a coincidence. Cooke experiments with graphics and computer fonts as a combination of art and commentary, and the noise of those elements combined with the simplicity and silence of the main, traditional comics storytelling makes for an interesting end result.
Cooke's love for traditional super-heroes -- especially DC's stable of classic characters -- shines through, but new ideas do as well. His reinterpretation of the Question as something of a covert military operative is a natural one. He also combines a 1950s sensibility in the King Faraday story with more contemporary plot elements, and the pastel colors really convey the tropical, exotic nature of the backdrop while instilling a slightly surreal tone to the tale of danger.
My favorite piece was the most personal one in the issue. In "World's Window," Cooke shares a childhood experience that transformed him from a kid who enjoyed doodling once in a while into someone who aspire to become a professional artist. Everything about the piece rings incredibly true, from his father's visit with a friend to the child's curious, prodding questions to the kind, nurturing woman he discovers out back. The yellow color palette gives one a sense of the past nicely as well. 10/10
