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Snapshots for 9/7/05
There's no way that Don and I can cover all of the material we have for review in full reviews, so these capsule reviews will offer some brief comments on other recent releases.
THE BAKERS #1
by Kyle Baker (Kyle Baker Publishing)
 The Bakers #1 is another collection of autobiographical comic stories about the lives of Kyle Baker and his wife and kids. In the hands of most, stories about wife and kids means deadly boring home videos and slide shows, but when it comes to Baker, what it means is laugh-out-loud (yet sweet) stories of family harmony and disharmony. In these pages, Baker captures everything from that terrifying feeling of the baby escalating the level of upset cries in a very public place to the ironic "reward" that a baby gets from learning to the many minor battles that make up the war that is trying to take kids out shopping with you. It's all true to life, but exaggerated just perfectly for comedic effect, and all the more impressive given that most of it is done with silent storytelling, Baker's expressive artwork and note-perfect panel designs telling the tales. I laughed out loud several times reading this book, was impressed as always with Baker's artwork and came away with a smile on my face. Easily one of the funniest and best single-issue comics that I've read this year. I want more!
BANANA SUNDAY #2
by Root Nibot & Colleen Coover (Oni Press)
 At the heart of Banana Sunday is an intriguing mystery: What's the deal with the talking monkeys? It's clear that there's a secret, and Go-Go's unusual strength and durability, demonstrated in this issue, is another clue to that mystery. But honestly, it's not just the big question that has me proclaiming Banana Sunday one of my favorite comic reads of the year. It's not even just the art, even though Coover has a super-cute style perfect for the material or storytelling that has excellent comedic timing (especially when it comes to the enthusiastic Go-Go.) It's the characters. Nibot and Coover have created a great cast here, as each of the three main humans has as much of a distinctive and fun personality as the three monkeys. I love that I'm as wrapped up in the burgeoning and innocent romance between Kirby and Martin as in the amusing antics of Knobby, Chuck and Go-Go or in Nickels' determination to find out what the deal is with the monkeys. Banana Sunday is a fun and funny read from cover to cover.
BATTLE POPE COLOR #2
by Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore (Image Comics)
 The Pope and Jesus battle a pair of zombified cyborgs on a rooftop, the dead rise into a big 'ol zombie giant and Lucifer tries to make a sandwich. Really, it's Battle Pope, what more can be said? If you're wondering if this is as good as the work done by Kirkman and Moore on Walking Dead, I'd have to say no, if only because Walking Dead is them with a lot more polish and a concept that has a little more potential depth. If, however, you're wondering if Battle Pope looks good, provides plenty of laughs and goes beyond the easy gag of the premise, then the answer is yes. Battle Pope has a childlike sense of glee about it, and it's just too much fun to really consider sacreligious.
DEATH JR. #3
by Gary Whitta & Ted Naifeh (Image Comics)
 The three-issue Death Jr. miniseries concludes in fine style, with humor, action, a Star Wars reference, a lesson on the meaning of friendship and even a heartwarming ending! Whitta's story is a classic in the "young adventure" vein (think The Goonies, but with undead), and the color artwork by Ted Naifeh looks terrific. Really, there's not much I can say about this book now that I haven't said in talking about the previous two issues, so I just want to reiterate that the story of Death's young son and his misadventures as he tries to get out from under his father's shadow has a lot to offer. My initial thoughts were to expect something more in a goth, dark humor vein ala Johnny the Homicidal Maniac or Lenore, but Death Jr. is actually more fun and less snarky than that, with genuinely likable (and genuinely weird) characters and a time-honored story structure.
THE EXPATRIATE #3
by B. Clay Moore & Jason Latour (Image Comics)
 I promised Moore that I'd give Expatriate another look, even though so far the book just hadn't done much for me. I'm still not entirely sure about it, but with issue three, the premise of the book is revealed to be something a bit wider than the somewhat cliched "man on the run from the CIA." Which leads me to wonder why you'd do a fakeout that leads people to believe that you're doing a cliched book when you've got something more interesting up your sleeve, as you might never get to your big reveal, but that's neither here nor there. At any rate, the massive delays make it hard to invest as much in The Expatriate as I do in the ongoing stories and cliffhangers of, say, Y: The Last Man, but this issue's revelation of a science-fiction element and a shocking finale certainly have me interested in seeing the next issue of The Expatriate, something I wouldn't have said after the last couple of issues. This issue is made up of several scenes, and it feels like Moore has packed more information and action into issue three than into the entirety of one and two put together. This leads to a sense of being rushed at times, but it also kept me turning pages until the end, as things grow weirder and weirder and then... the reader is presented with a cliffhanger that would have been impossible to predict. The Expatriate is not what it appeared to be at first, and it seems that the book that actually exists under the cliched veneer may be much more interesting.
G.I. JOE: AMERICA'S ELITE #0
by Joe Casey, Stefano Caselli & Andrew Pepoy (Devil's Due)
 My interest in new G.I. Joe stories is pretty low, but I can't deny that the characters still have enough of a nostalgic hold on me that I'll give the occasional book a read. G.I. Joe: America's Elite #0 is the latest attempt by Devil's Due to relaunch, and it tips its hat to continuity from their previous story while remaining pretty accessible to Joe fans who haven't been keeping up. Joe Casey is clearly writing something of a cross between a Michael Bay event movie and the occasionally goofy but enjoyable military/superhero fiction blend that the G.I. Joe comics originally were, and at this point, at least, it works. Sure, some of the dialogue is hokey or cliched (Shipwreck's reaction to Chicago rings false in a world where 9/11 has taken place, and Flint's anger at Lady Jaye's death is just this side of cartoonishly overwrought, for example), but I like the way that Casey is moving the pieces around on the board to set up a new status quo, a new head General for the Joes and a new (well, sort of) foe, revealed on the last page. It's not up to the same standards as Casey's more personal work, and it doesn't work for me on the same level as Hama's G.I. Joe, but given that those books got their hooks in me early, that's probably not an entirely fair comparison.
The artwork on America's Elite #0, by Caselli, Pepoy and colorist Sunder Raj, is pretty solid. The splashdown of the satellite in Chicago looks like the opening of an action movie, a nice bit of staging, and the off-panel Snake Eyes slashing through on-panel bad guys with his sword is a nice effect as well. Caselli's characters are also nicely expressive, maybe a tad on the exaggerated side but better that than the stiff and uncommunicative facial expressions that have oftentimes been found in G.I. Joe artwork.
At any rate, there's some nice art, some good moments and a good setup here. I'll definitely check in and see what happens from this point on.
HERO CAMP #4
by Greg Thompson & Robbi Rodriguez (Image Comics)
 And so concludes one of the most fun superhero miniseries I've read all year, with parents' day at the camp, a giant mind-controlled ape and resolution of a couple of the light subplots that have been going on in the book. There's some mention of a second series in the letter column, and I hope that comes to pass, because it feels like Thompson and Rodriguez have barely scratched the surface with these characters. The actual setup of a superhero summer camp is more or less window dressing, what makes Hero Camp fun are the imaginative characters (I want to see more of the story of Tex, who was raised by a horse, a great twist on the Mowgli/Tarzan legends), relaxed pace and sense of humor (the climax of the story between Dropkick Mary and Bloody Mary is just delightfully normal and even sweet) and, of course, Rodriguez's artwork. I was particularly happy this issue with Rodriguez's over-the-top rendition of the giant ape (gotta love the look on its face when the mind control goes out), but really the book just looks great throughout. More, please!
KARMA INCORPORATED #1
by David Hopkins & Tom Kurzanski (Viper Comics)
 The high concept for Karma, Incorporated, about a team of professional mischief-makers, is somewhat intriguing, but I have to admit that the execution went a bit awry. The concept seems to call for either dark comedy or a clear focus that the people who Karma, Incorporated are targeting for life ruination are deserving of it in general, but Hopkins does neither, instead sketching out the members of the Karma, Incorporated team and then immediately putting them on a job where it becomes difficult not to dislike all of them. The interpersonal secrets between the cast are of little consequence if all you can think is that these people are about as likable as your average telemarketer or paparazzi. Basically, it reads to me like Hopkins miscalculated, expecting the reader to invest in the characters and find them sympathetic while creating situations that makes them anything but. It might have helped if the humor had been stronger, or the way that Karma, Incorporated did its job was more clever, but instead their bag of tricks is like a high school hacker, restricted to low-level pranks carried out in rapid succession to give a "ruined day" experience. The artwork is decent enough in terms of storytelling and reminiscent of some of the early work that I saw from Dave Crosland, although not as polished as that work and somewhat garishly colored by Marlena Hall. Karma, Incorporated has promise in almost every department, from concept to writing to art, but the first issue misses the mark.
LITTLE STAR #4
by Andi Watson (Oni Press)
 Ah, the balance. Work so that you can support your family, or less work so that you can spend time with them? It's an age-old problem, and it's the focus of issue four of Little Star, as well as a continuing theme of the entire series. Little Star has a lot in common with Watson's other work, including a couple that seems to bicker so much as to occasionally make the reader wonder why they're still together and a focus on the seemingly mundane decisions in life that can in fact be life-altering. Which is not to say that it's a repetition of Breakfast After Noon or anything, but it's definitely a close cousin at least. Truthfully, I sort of zone out on the pages where Watson is laboring to create a metaphor of space exploration with Simon's difficulty adjusting to being a dad, but the rest of the day-to-day stuff is engaging, despite being basically focused on the same sort of daily minutia that we all deal with in one way or another. Little Star is about the trials of fatherhood in a way, but the focus is definitely not on how it affects the child or mother, but instead on how it affects the father and his transition from a lifestyle that is now irrevocably gone for him. In this issue, we see the difficult choice between family responsibilities and a job that would have been a no-brainer previously, and while I still don't really feel a connection between Simon and his daughter in the book, the choices he makes and the reasons why show the connection nonetheless.
NOBLE CAUSES #13
by Jay Faerber & Fran Bueno (Image Comics)
 It's easy to be skeptical when someone says that a random issue of a book is a jumping-on point, especially when the book has several years under its belt, but Noble Causes #13 really is a great jumping-on point for the book. Faerber and Bueno introduce the Blackthornes, a sort of evil flipside to the Nobles, a wealthy clan of supervillains, and it's a simple, good idea very well executed. On top of introducing the clan and laying out their powers and general personalities, Faerber introduces a conflict from the past that has come back to haunt the present and even delivers a stunner of a cliffhanger. It's a good example of tight, economical writing that nevertheless succeeds in making all of the new characters seem interesting and layered, each with their own personal demons driving them to go along with the considerable power that they possess. Bueno also does a nice job here, especially on the sequence in the park and the robbery sequence, but I must give special mention to the work of Freddie Williams and colorist Ryan Vera on the sepia-toned flashbacks, which blend nicely with the style of Bueno's work but stand out just as they should. Noble Causes seems to be gaining steam with each issue, and now is a good time to jump on-board, because Faerber is blending superhero and soap opera genre elements in a way that is reminiscent of classic superhero team books but has a slight twist on the formula.
PVP #18
by Scott Kurtz (Image Comics)
 In my opinion, PVP is at its best when Kurtz sort of blends the comic strip style with the comic book style. Basically, I like when he does ongoing stories in comic strip format, and PVP #18 features a lot of that. The two main stories in this book involve Robbie and Jase, sports geeks extraordinaire, actually writing a review and getting PVP sued and, as an offshoot of that, Skull's cat developing super-intelligence and a desire to rule the planet. Which is to say, business as usual for the surreal blend of geek humor, office humor and a brand of humor I can only call '70s sitcom. There's a certain inevitability to some of the jokes, but the humor being predictable at times rarely lessens its amusement value, and indeed speaks to Kurtz's ability to structure a joke effectively. In addition, there's a nice backlog of characterization built up for character humor, and Max in particular gets some funny moments because of his affable, friendly demeanor that hides his role as nemesis of the lead characters a lot of the time. Also in the "familiar but still funny" category is Scratch the cat gaining super-intelligence, and it reads kind of like Family Guy's Stewie, except that instead of mapping a world conqueror onto a baby, Kurtz has mapped it onto a cat, and gets plenty of mileage out of the dichotomy. Chances are at this point that you already know whether or not you're a PVP fan, but for my money, the book is currently as funny as it's ever been.
RUNES OF RAGNAN #1
by Ty Gorton, Josh Medors & Ryan Ottley (Silent Devil Productions)
 Lots of names I know and like attached to this book, from Medors (of Fused) to Ottley (of Invincible) to Silent Devil (of Dracula vs. King Arthur). In reading Runes of Ragnan, though, especially in light of the intro from Steve Niles, what I'm most struck by is that it seems like the kind of thing I'd more expect to see from Todd McFarlane Productions. The look is similar to that of Greg Capullo or Angel Medina on their Spawn-related work, a sort of puffy, exaggerated style inspired by McFarlane, and the gothic tendencies mapped onto violent fantasies certainly seem like the kind of thing you'd find in a Spawn: The Dark Ages book. Which is to say, Runes of Ragnan, about a lone badass warrior trying to track down his evil brother before a wicked ritual can be performed, is a solid enough book, but it's just not my cup of tea in general. It reads in some ways like Conan created through a Spawn filter, with plenty of violent combat rendered with all viscera and blood intact and a brooding, dour warrior who doesn't seem to have joy but instead a warrior's honor in place of it. I was surprised, given the look and name of the book, that the Viking/Norse elements aren't more prominent, but it may be that I'm just not as familiar with the culture as Gorton and he's tapping into parts of the mythology I was unaware of. Runes of Ragnan is professionally executed, but it's kind of bleak for my tastes. However, I suspect it would find favor with those readers for whom "metal" is an adjective, especially those with a fondness for the gothic/fantasy/horror aspects of, say, Ghost Rider or Spawn, but who want that kind of tone with a fantasy twist.
TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN #22
by various (TMCM)
 OK, so this has been on my review pile awhile, and editor (and my former coworker) Patrick Keller has no doubt been doing voodoo hexes on me and Don since we haven't gotten around to it yet. The trouble is, TMCM (TMCMM? I'm not sure if magazine is still part of the title officially or not) is always funny, always well-written and damned hard to review. It's all sort of going to be the same review, so if you go back to my review of, say, issue #21 and just mentally change the column names and issue number as you read it.
What? No, you're lazy! Oh, alright. TMCM #22 is, as always, a welcome dose of satire, dry humor and absurdity in both comic strip and article formats. All of the Shannon Wheeler cartoons in here are in the recent How to Be Happy collection (see, told you I was running late on this one) and I've talked about them in that review. I was quite amused by the "Thingpart" strip, made up of four-panel gag strips, by Joe Sayers (jsayers.com) and I also very much enjoyed "Reasons Bush isn't like Hitler" by Ted Rall, but all of the cartoons in here are entertaining, although some (like J.W. Cotter's "Fruits of Your Labors") are depressing at the same time. The focus this issue is on the war, and on how stupid so much of the planning and execution of it has been. This includes a hilariously apropos address of the United Nations by Darth Vader that parallels Star Wars and the Iraq war, Mike McInnis's amusing "How to" guide on surviving National Guard deployment and Fafnir's rundown of the treason of being insensitive to America's feelings. Off the "war" theme but still continually entertaining are the opening editorial and lettercol by Patrick Keller (still as funny as ever), Mark Russell's delightfully mundane vision of Superman in "The Superman Stories" (even funnier now that Superman is being written this dull and boring in many of the actual Superman comics) and Drew Winchester's rundown of movie franchises and where they went wrong (and right).
That's not a comprehensive list of all that this magazine has to offer, but it's a rundown of some of the highlights and I'm tired. If I haven't made it clear yet, Too Much Coffee Man is always entertaining and well worth the price of admission.
THE WALKING DEAD #21
by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn (Image Comics)
 Truthfully, I have a little wariness about Kirkman's oft-stated maxim in the lettercol that he wants to write this book forever. I tend to prefer comics that have an ending at least somewhere down the line. But issues like this one make me understand that this book could literally go for years without getting tired, exploring the different facets of a post-zombie world. The way that the group deals with Allen's bite is something I haven't seen in any previous zombie stories, and it's part of the unique twist that Kirkman put on how folks turn into zombies in this world. Michonne's last page revelation is just creeepy, especially in light of the unsurprising (hell, maybe inevitable) moves on Tyreese in this issue. Throw in a couple of flavor scenes like the one between Glenn and Maggie or the sobering realization that the younger kids have gotten used to the zombies and you've got another solid issue of The Walking Dead by Kirkman, Adlard and Rathburn. Still not sure that "forever" is the best goal for this series (or any series), but I can see being a faithful reader for years to come.
Email Randy Lander comments about these reviews. |
