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Snapshots for 11/10/04
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.
A1 SKETCHBOOK
by various artists (Atomeka Press)
 Though I picked this one up in San Diego, it is now becoming available to the direct market, and it's definitely worth a look for the art fiends in the audience. The sketchbook is made up largely of teasers for future Atomeka projects, and some of the pieces here have actually seen life as covers for new projects (such as the Mr. Monster painting by Alex Horley or the Bricktop cover by Glenn Fabry), but there are also plenty of design concepts and general sketches to be found from the likes of Jamie Hewlett, Ted McKeever, Charles Vess, Kevin Maguire and Ray Lago. Some of the stuff in here is downright naughty, from the nudie, suggestive and hilarious sketches by Dave Johnson to the borderline pornographic suggestive (and also hilarious) sketches of Madame Zomba & Zirk by Garry Leach. Other stuff is detailed and impressive, like the pages of design work for The Wasted Lands by Dave Dorman or the look at cover roughs and finished pieces like Brian Bolland. My favorite pieces are "Pirate Girl," showing off Bob Burden's sense of the bizarre (and again, a little bit of the naughty) and some gorgeous, black and white and yet painted looking pieces by Steve Pugh. It's a fun glimpse into the future of Atomeka, as well as a nice showcase for a bunch of talented artists. 8/10
DISTRICT X #7
by David Hine, Lan Medina & Alejandro Sicat (Marvel Comics)
 Like many of the other reviewers, I was a little disappointed with the end of the previous arc, but it's clear that Hine is working on a less fixed arc structure, as some of the stories blend quite clearly in with the end of that story. I'm a little disappointed in the change in Izzy and Armena's relationship, but I can't deny it makes for good drama, and I also quite like the direction that the relationships with Bishop and Gus, Izzy's new and old partners respectively, have gone. Hine might be spreading his net a little wide here, showing us a lot of people in mutant town and lacking a focused story as a result, but it's still a compelling tale with some really striking moments and neat ideas, like the cliffhanger at the end which raises all sorts of questions or the notion of a painter who uses his precognitive gift to decide what to paint. Medina and Sicat's art doesn't look as detailed as the usual work by Yardin or even as strong as the work Medina and Sicat did on an earlier issue, but I think that might be down to some less polished and occasionally garish color by Digital Rainbow rather than the usual work by Avalon Studios. All in all, District X is looking a little shakier for me than it did early on, but it's still one of the most compelling books in the entire 20-some book line-up. 7/10
HUMAN TARGET: LIVING IN AMERIKA TPB
by Peter Milligan & Cliff Chiang (DC Comics/Vertigo)
 This really deserves a full review, but I'm short on time and energy, so it's just a capsule. This, for me, is where the Human Target series kicked into high gear. All of the art is by Cliff Chiang, who is on my short list along with Cameron Stewart and Guy Davis as someone I will follow onto almost any project with almost any writer. Gorgeous backdrops, believable people and action sequences to die for, Chiang is the equivalent of the perfect cinematographer to Milligan's movie-like tone for this book. The stories in this volume are also the high points of the series thus far, with two "one off" tales of a priest and a crook that both have twist endings and a more long-form story about a radical leftist underground group and the fallout that follows some of them into the modern era. Milligan's stories rarely end happily, and if Human Target has a message, it seems to be that corruption is everywhere, and no one is left untouched by it. In some ways, I realize that this is the modern-day heir apparent of Matt Wagner's Sandman Mystery Theatre, exploring social ills in a very dark and unflinching way. While Sandman Mystery Theatre explored the social ills of the past using a pulp veneer, however, Human Target explores the social ills of the present using an action-movie style. Fantastic reading, and one of the highlights of a pretty exceptional week. 10/10
IRON MAN #1
by Warren Ellis & Adi Granov (Marvel Comics)
 This is a new first issue for Iron Man, and in many ways it's a pretty active revamp of the character. Ellis focuses much of his attention on how Tony Stark became Iron Man (now he was trying to contain Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, which seems far too recent for the character) and on Stark's past as a weapons designer. Much of the issue is given over to a brutal interview with an honest-to-God intimidating and intelligent investigative reporter which paints Stark as a corporate weaponeer in his early days, again a little too hardcore and real for my tastes when it comes to the character. In Ellis's mind, what drives Iron Man isn't a desire to do good, but guilt over the bad he's done, and it's interesting but just not consistent with what we've seen in the past. In fact, that's pretty much my take on the whole issue: Interesting, but not consistent with what we've seen in the past, with a side of "pretty clearly not for me." Granov's artwork is also something quite different, computer-assisted painted work that is beautiful but a touch too sterile, and even in a book about technology, that lifelessness just sort of drains the energy out of the book. To be fair, this is probably the best Iron Man has been in many years, but it doesn't really feel like Iron Man so much as Ellis packing his usual sci-fi and characterization touches onto a character who bears a passing resemblance to the armored Avenger. 6/10
OCEAN #2
by Warren Ellis, Chris Sprouse & Karl Story (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
 I was intrigued by the first issue of Ocean, but worried that the slow pacing might kill my interest down the road. Well, two issues in and I'm still equally interested. Ellis has always had a love for space travel and exploration that equals the love most comics fans have for superheroes, and he's pretty adept as capturing the mystique and pure cool factor of outer space, which is what he's doing in Ocean, with the help of Sprouse, Story and colorist Randy Mayor. To be sure, there's the trademark Ellis wit, with quirky characters and funny, snarky dialogue, but the heart of the story is really about someone finding weapons under the ice of Europa, and what these characters are going to do about it. Ocean is a quiet story so far, less about blowing stuff up or even the epic majesty of space and more about what humanity would do, given a wider canvas on which to paint, and it really does have the feeling of classic science-fiction by masters like Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke. 8/10
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