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Snapshots for 10/25/04
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.
BREAKDOWN #1
by Chuck Dixon & Dave Ross (Devil's Due Publishing)
 Breakdown is a decent, by-the-numbers comic about a corporate superhero driven by tragic loss to a more violent vigilante role, and it features solid artwork by Dave Ross. Unfortunately, in this market, "solid" and "decent" aren't enough for a new superhero universe, especially one that is (in a spectacular misreading of the market) going to be a "no trades" line. I like the notion of a corporate superhero, and I also like the bait and switch that Dixon serves up in this first issue, promising one type of hero and then delivering another, but the whole thing just doesn't have the punch that a new book needs in this market. The dialogue is serviceable but not really fun or distinctive, there's nothing really unconventional or surprising about the plot and none of the characters really gets enough time to stand out. It reads like a first issue in these "paced for the trade" days, except that this is being marketed as purposefully not for the trade, it's supposed to stand as an issue on its own, and there's not enough story here for that approach to work. Dave Ross's work is nice, reminiscent of Barry Kitson's Empire stuff, but it's not as strong as I've seen Ross look, and there are no stunning visual moments that really stand out in my mind, just solid storytelling in service to the script. It's a decent collaboration, and worth a look for those with the patience for a long haul and an interest in new characters, but I just don't know that there's a big market out there with those two traits. 6/10
THE LOSERS #17
by Andy Diggle & Jock (DC Comics/Vertigo)
 The second part of "The Pass," revealing how the Losers went rogue, highlights what makes this book so enjoyable to me. The characters are military badasses, yes, but they live by a code that more resembles the idealistic superhero/action hero than you expect to find in a ruthless black ops unit. It's a lot of fun to see Diggle and Jock depicting these guys sneaking into a heavily guarded encampment and taking out the bad guys, but it's even better when they're doing it for the right reasons, and there's some cathartic joy to be had in seeing evil men meet their deaths in brutal ways, something that just doesn't happen that often in the real world. Each member of the team gets a cool moment this issue, but the highlights probably belong to Cougar, who is slowly transforming from the more open and optimistic guy we see here into the laconic man we see in the modern Losers, and Pooch, who gets a great moment with a grenade that speaks of his confidence, courage and compassion simultaneously. I'm still not loving the weird stylized colors that Loughridge is using here, but in every other respect "The Pass" is the kind of thing I read The Losers for. 9/10
PINK SKETCHBOOK VOL. 2: CHEESE
by Rob Ullman & Jay Geldhof (AdHouse Books)
 I love these Pink sketchbooks so far, but they're damned hard to review. I mean, really, you either like this sort of thing or you don't, and the best review is really to check out the website where both of these artists hang their hat, see if you dig their style and decide whether you want a really well-produced sketchbook of the two of them drawing sexy girls. I love the work I've seen from both of these guys and I love sexy girl artwork in this style (as opposed to the anorexic freaks that pass for hot in so much of the comics industry), and I loved the first Pink sketchbook, so buying this one was a no-brainer. Ullman and Geldhof serve up a surprising variety of sexy girls, from the obvious nude and half-nude to those that are based more on sensuality and longing (I particularly loved Ullman's "Coffee Girl" and the sexy girls with glasses that Geldhof favors), and it's all done in a slick, cartoony style that fits right in with my love of the artwork of guys like Cameron Stewart, Bruce Timm and Darwyn Cooke. It seems odd that a guy like me, drawn slightly more to strong writing than strong art, would be so ga-ga over a $10 book with no story and spot illustrations, but this is a terrific presentation and some great artwork, and I think AdHouse has a lifelong fan of these Pink sketchbooks if they're all going to be of this quality. 9/10
WE3 #2
by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely (DC Comics/Vertigo)
 It took me two of the three issues to realize it, but We3 isn't really the sci-fi adventure that Morrison made it out to be in the promo materials, especially not for someone who has pets and loves animals. It's a horror story, a brutal examination of what mankind does to animals because we feel superior to them, a criticism of the scientific use of lab animals couched in bloody, violent chaos. While the message is one I can get behind, though, the experimental storytelling still leaves me a bit distanced from the book, even as I'm horrified and entranced by the implications of the story. In capturing the bestial nature of his protagonists, Morrison has made reading the book a deliberately alien experience, and Quitely's scattershot panel approach, also emulating the viewpoint of the animal leads, is equally off-putting. The book is undeniably beautiful, and is also undeniably doing what its creators set out for it to do, but I can't help but think it would have been more approachable and more enjoyable had they introduced a little more convention into an already unconventional idea. That said, I remain amazed by the characterization we get from almost non-verbal characters, such as the dog's extreme loyalty to man, the cat's contentious personality and the rabbit's general confusion, and I am suitably blown away by Quitely's artwork as well. We3 is not what I had hoped it would be, but it is a fascinating experiment, and there's enough to like here that I might be swayed if the trade paperback comes out. 7/10
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