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Snapshots for 11/24/04
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.
ADAM STRANGE #3
by Andy Diggle & Pascal Ferry (DC Comics)
 Adam Strange's tour of the space of the DC Universe continues in this issue with a run-in with the Thanagarians. I have no small fondness for Thanagar thanks to the role their people played in Invasion! and Hawkworld, more of a corrupt, authoritarian and villainous force in the cosmos than the birthplace of two of Earth's heroes. Diggle plays them just this way, although the wing commander that Strange meets up with has more integrity and honor than your average Thanagarian, and provides an interesting and dangerous foil even as she seems like she might be an ally. This issue is less action-packed than the previous ones, although there is a pretty nifty (if brief) flying showdown between Adam Strange and some Thanagarians in the middle of their battle cruiser and a nice old school cliffhanger ending that fits nicely with the tone of the book, established right on the cover with the in-jokey "Misery in Space!" blurb. The highlight is definitely Ferry and colorist Dave McCaig on art, as they really give a sense of the burning danger of the supernova in the beginning, the sleek and yet sinister and dark interior of the Thanagarian cruiser or ostentatious designs of the Thanagarian homeworld. 8/10
THE AUTHORITY: REVOLUTION #2
by Ed Brubaker, Dustin Nguyen & Richard Friend (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
 I have to admit, the second issue of Authority: Revolution gives me pause. I enjoyed the first issue more than I've enjoyed any Authority project in a while, but Brubaker takes the story down an all-too-familiar path for superheroes who have taken over the world, where the central conflict is the predictable free will versus safe world argument. It's a particularly apropos topic for today's America, but it's something that's been done plenty of times in comics, and since things tend to veer more toward the status quo, the ending of the series becomes a little too easy to guess at. While the overall direction doesn't thrill me, however, Brubaker's stylistic touches still make it very much worth reading. The rundown of the "Sons of Liberty," complete with Apollo's crack about "Super Charisma," is a fun bit of business, and Brubaker generally seems to get the level of power and creativity that this team should operate on. In addition, while I'm unsure that this familiar struggle of ethics will lead down a different path than the routine, there is some nice tension in Midnighter having a crisis of conscience that nobody else knows about at this point. 7/10
GHOULY BOYS #2
by Christopher (Slave Labor Graphics)
 One of the themes that we've seen in the monster genre of late is to reverse the story, so that the monster becomes the protagonist and the distrustful, fearful humans become the monsters. Actually, I guess that you could argue that to go all the way back to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and maybe further than that, so maybe it's not so recent. At any rate, the second issue of Christopher's entertaining Ghouly Boys explores this notion by introducing a werewolf pup whose parents are killed by a bloodthirsty mob. This maintains the Ghouly Boys tradition of being a melancholy story that is nonetheless kind of uplifting thanks to the good-hearted characters who contrast with the monsters, such as the zombie boy and his vampire bat, or the kindly couple that has taken them in. Christopher's writing style is a mix of fable and parable with a touch of the goth sensibility, while his art style is crisp and cartoony, familiar and beautiful but hard to pin down or compare to a specific artist. It's a light but entertaining read, another undiscovered gem in the comics realm. 8/10
MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2004 #1
by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Tom DeFalco, Takeshi Miyazawa, Roger Cruz, Victor Olazaba, Duncan Rouleau & Aaron Sowd (Marvel Comics)
 I would have skipped this entirely, because I'm no huge fan of either of the writers or most of the artists, except that one name stood out for me: Takeshi Miyazawa, of Sidekicks, Runaways and Mary Jane. Miyazawa is a truly underappreciated talent, and the lead story in Marvel Holiday Special is another example of why I believe that. He's got a simple, clean manga style but without all the perjoratives that usually implies, being also very approachable for the average superhero fan. Miyazawa's art is disinctive, and you can easily tell his verison of Thor or Captain America or even Jonah Jameson apart from everyone else's, although you certainly wouldn't say that all of his characters look alike either. Instead, Miyazawa's characters are familiar and recognizable but with a light and often youthful look that gives them fresh energy. I'd almost buy this issue for the splash pages and guest stars alone. Which is good, because every single story in this book is otherwise unremarkable. DeFalco's script for Miyazawa is a harmless but inconsequential retelling of "A Christmas Carol" featuring J. Jonah Jameson, Aguirre-Sacasa turns in a tale of a young man suffering loneliness during the holidays and another boy suffering a crisis of faith. They're all basically inoffensive, but you wouldn't be far wrong in calling them cliche, and I felt about the same about the artwork on the other two stories, which is solid but unremarkable. I can't in good conscience really recommend the special to all, but if you are one of those few fans who has recognized the exceptional work of Miyazawa on his short-lived, underappreciated projects, this is another one to snap up while we wait for fandom at large to recognize his skill and reward it with better sales. 5/10
MR. MONSTER VERSUS THE NAZI FROM MARS
by Michael T. Gilbert & George Freeman (Atomeka Press)
 This is my first Mr. Monster story, but it certainly won't be my last. Gilbert's story of a martian/Nazi invasion in the late '60s and how it was foiled by a tough-talking, square-jawed hero reads like a cross between Doc Savage and Mars Attacks! The depraved and inhuman science of the martians is brought to giddy, grotesque life by Freeman and colorist Laurie Smith, and the violent attacks both by the martians and against the martians reminds me of the demented carnage that characterized John McCrea's work on Hitman. Given how frequently we've seen martians and Nazis, even this deliberately idiosyncratic script doesn't offer up a lot of surprises, but it does offer up predictable fun in a pulp meets Silver Age kind of way. Vivid action sequences and a tongue-in-cheek style make this another winner for Atomeka, and a fun read even for those who have no idea who or what the indie comics hero Mr. Monster is supposed to be all about. 8/10
THE SYMBIOTES #2
by Davis R. Vaughn, George Lippert & Matt Metzker (Drive Comics)
 To some extent, I feel like Vaughn has bitten off a little more than he can chew with Symbiotes, because this second issue is jam-packed with characters and subplots, and the resulting feeling is more dizzying confusion than a sense of epic scope. However, while the specifics of the plots aren't easy to nail down and could use a tighter focus, the overall style of The Symbiotes continues to impress. There are some very memorable moments here, including the police fighting a losing battle against demonic invaders, the cavalry coming in the form of an even more dangerous set of allies and some interesting interplay between a couple of "talented" individuals aboard a spaceship. By far the biggest achievement of The Symbiotes, however, is in the visuals. Lippert and Metzker have a few of the stiff moments that are common to CGI style artwork, but they're rare, and for the most part, the visual results are just breathtaking. This is especially true on the splash pages that reveal the Raiders, but I also quite loved the in-helmet viewpoint of the Raiders or the gorgeous, expansive look at Atarah, first planet of the Human Empire. 7/10
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #13
by Warren Ellis, Adam Kubert & John Dell (Marvel Comics)
 I gotta be honest, I thought Ellis missed the point of Dr. Doom pretty badly, and killed a lot of my interest in Ultimate Fantastic Four as a result. However, this issue, the first in the "N-Zone" story, reminds me of why I was so interested in his take on the team in the first place, as it has the same great pseudo-science, genuine energy and enthusiasm and terrific character interaction, as well as an "Ultimate" style examination of what happens after you're turned into superheroes, rather than the more Stan Lee-esque "and then you go fight crime in tights." Certainly Ellis's Reed Richards is a hell of a lot more fun than his staid Marvel Universe counterpart, reminding us that super-intelligent scientists tend to be quirky and entertaining rather as often as they are science geek shut-ins, and I love the slow building relationship between the Human Torch and the Thing as well. I was also quite pleased by the return of Adam Kubert to art chores, as he combines nicely with Dell and coloring maestro Dave Stewart to present a magical vision of the N-Zone, a fantastically-rendered version of the Thing and the sense of wonder, humanity and humor that is present in Ellis's script. 8/10
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