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DOUBLE TAKE #6
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Funk-O-Tron
Rex Mantooth, Kung-Fu Gorilla: "Kick; Splode; Robot"
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Andy Kuhn
Greys: Tim Fisher
Codeflesh
Writer: Joe Casey
Artist: Charlie Adlard
Greys: Ben Templesmith
Letters: Comicraft
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
Rex Mantooth: Internet comics columnist, co-founder of Savant and general madman Matt Fraction is writing comics now.
Beware.
Rex Mantooth is a world-class super spy. He's a sex machine. He's a master of the martial arts. And he's a gorilla. Along with his lover, Honey Hamptonwick, Rex is on the trail of the man whose robots stole a nuclear power source, and that man is the Fu manchu-esque Dr. Robot Maker Woo.
Inside Matt Fraction's head, nothing is sacred. His inside-cover essay is even more insane and hilarious than his Rex Mantooth story, and given the madness and humor he's instilled in the character and script, that's saying something. Rex Mantooth is the bastard son of Sky Ape, though raised in a slightless less surreal womb.
I have to admit... the strength of Kuhn's art is surprising. His name is new to me, but the focus and energy of his art is that of a seasoned pro. He's obviously heavily influence by Mike (Hellboy) Mignola, but there are other influences at play as well, notably John (Conan) Buscema. Fisher's grey tones bring an added depth to the visuals, and offset what could have been a far too dark look.
Hear that sound... it's the slaughterhouse Fraction has set up for sacred cows. Mantooth is a wonderful parody of James Bond/espionage adventure story cliches, but there's more to it as well. Fraction mocks the North American fascination with other cultures that just don't quite translate that well.
I want a Rex Mantooth regular series, and I want it now.
Codeflesh: Recently, in Spider-Man's Tangled Web, Peter Milligan told us the story of a super-villain who regretted taking the radical path he had chosen. Casey does the same here, but his story is even more compelling. He focuses in on the connection between the extreme physical scars these odd men have subjected themselves to and the emotional ones that arise as a result.
Rotor, a walking flamethrower, has been on a rampage, and Codeflesh has to take him down. The two brutalize one another, and when the dust settles, the bounty-hunter hero learns the reason for the pyromaniac's rage.
Adlard's art here reminds me a great deal of the work of legendary artist Gene Colan. The same kind of texture and film-noir feel one gets from Colan's work can be found in this story. Not surprisingly, the dark world of Codeflesh works just as well in black-and-white as it did in color... it might even be stronger as a result.
The real payoff in Casey's script comes after the fight ends, when Rotor bares his body and soul. His anguish, crudely expressed, struck me as genuine and thoroughly believable, despite his unreal circumstances. Again, Casey's "Codeflesh" strikes me as a dark reflection of Kurt Busiek's Astro City, a realistic portrayal of super-heroes and villains.
Email Don MacPherson comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.
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