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SPOTLIGHT ON SPEAKEASY COMICS
In March of this year, a new publisher made its debut with two books, the Russian flavored superhero epic Atomika and Grimoire, the tale of a young mage. They soon expanded with several new titles and original graphic novels, calling to mind the rapid expansion of recent publishers like Crossgen and matching the size of Image and new publisher Alias. The question in my mind was, are these guys a new Image or Dark Horse, or are they going to burn out fast due to an overextended line too early in the game?
With the news of a partnership with L.A.-based Ardustry Entertainment for movies, a handful of buzz books and a little more insight into the business model they're using, it seems more than likely that Speakeasy is going to be around for a while. Their profile has changed since they launched, and indeed seems to shift a bit every few months or so, but that's more or less a good sign, a sign that the company is flexible enough to adapt to the changing market. And the terms of their business seem pretty good as well, offering many creators a creator-owned deal on terms similar to those of Image. With licensed titles on the way as well as a handful of titles owned by and created by those in-house at Speakeasy, and more changes on the way, Speakeasy seems like a company worth watching.
In this column, I'll take a look at some of where they've been, which might give some indication of where they're going. Mixed in this review column I've got a number of already-published first issues and graphic novels as well as a preview of an upcoming first issue. More information on all of these properties and on Speakeasy can be found at http://www.speakeasycomics.com/index.asp.
 Chaos. Mayhem. And the funny. Those are the three big ingredients in The Adventures of Bio Boy, a raucous action romp that reminds me in a lot of good ways of the bizarre superhero spoof Sky Ape from AIT/Planet Lar. Bio Boy is a cybernetic superhero whose cyborg arm is actually a robot with a mind of its own and a mean streak, and his adventures are bet upon and watched by an arena full of beings, including a jetpack-wearing chimp, an alien bug and an old lady. If you guessed that Adventures of Bio Boy is weeeeiird, that's 150 points for you.
Actually, Adventures of Bio Boy is like Saturday morning cartoons crossed with video games and put into motion in comic book format. Cipriano delivers strange ideas on every page, and his artists, whether it's MacDonald or Brimacombe and Dileonardo, deliver on the promise of those ideas. All the artists provide exciting, detail-packed artwork with a touch of animation style that conveys the craziness of the scripts just perfectly and offers pretty solid storytelling, a tricky business when you've got this much going on.
Cipriano doesn't provide a lot of detail about the characters or the setting in this first issue. There's enough to get the sense of what's going on (massive betting spectacle based on superhero romp), but there's no context to it to give it depth. Adventures of Bio Boy is light fun with beautiful artwork, recommended for those who are seeking the comic book equivalent of a good sugar rush.
 Originally, the material in this bumper edition was issues #1-3 of Elk's Run, and I reviewed each of those issues as they came out. The book didn't grab me at all at first, but by issue three, I was hooked. I expected that in reading it all together, I'd be hooked earlier, but in fact, my reaction is exactly the same as I first read it, and while I may be in the minority amongst readers of Elk's Run, I stand by my opinion that the book got off to a rough start but really started rolling once the third issue clicked everything into place.
Elk's Run is the story of an isolated town with a dark secret, and what happens when a couple of shocking events bring that secret into the light. It is a fictionalized version of the kind of stories that took place in Waco or Ruby Ridge, as a group of extremists matched up with a federal government as well as dissenters within their own faction, which makes it a look at an ugly but undeniably fascinating side of humanity. Fialkov shows us the town of Elk's Ridge from the point of view of three people in these first three issues, one of them unaware of the true nature and the other two very much a part of that nature. There's mention in the extras at the back that this shifting point of view might go away as the series go on, and I hope I'm misreading that, because the changing point-of-view is really one of the strong aspects of the book, giving us a well-rounded look at a complicated subject.
Early on, Fialkov is establishing characters and mood, and as a result, Elk's Run opens kind of slow. It's clear that something is going on, but it's not entirely clear what, and it's really not until things start to escalate in issue three that I was hooked into the story. This kind of delayed payoff is crucial to suspense, but I feel like the build-up early on could have been stronger, and maybe that is an argument for a multiple point-of-view earlier and consistently, allowing readers to view the story from several angles right away instead of down the line. At any rate, the insight into the viewpoint of a wife and mother who is actually tough as nails and legitimately dangerous is fascinating, and it doesn't hurt that the events she is viewing are the most compelling of the series up to that point.
Noel Tuazon and Scott Keating are working in a style that is a bit abstract, reminiscent of guys like Bill Sienkiewicz and Kent Williams. It's undeniably powerful and good art, but I'm not entirely certain I like it, as this type of art style is very hit and miss for me. Tuazon and Keating do a great job with mood, really giving the feel of a more nebulous yet enclosed space, which serves to heighten the claustrophobia of the town, but I can't always read what the characters are supposed to be doing or feeling, and I can't help but feel that a little more specificity of expression and storytelling would help nail down the taut suspense vibe of the story a bit more. It's a tradeoff, because that specificity would cut down on the vague uneasiness that comes with the tone of Tuazon and Keating's current art, but I think that currently it's a bit too nebulous.
The Elk's Run Bumper Edition is more than just a collection, it also has a couple of features that make it a "special edition" of sorts as well. There's a "plot to page" feature by editor Jason Rodriguez, sketches by Noel Tuazon, a coloring tutorial by Keating and an afterword by Fialkov, so all of the creative team get to sound off on their part of the process. The reader sees what Elk's Run is when reading the three issues, but the behind the scenes features provide a different perspective and a creative team's insight, and that's a nice little bonus.
 While Speakeasy publishes a variety of genres, they do have more than a few superhero comics in their lineup as well. Helios, like Elk's Run, is a pickup from another company, and In With The New #1 is the first issue of what is essentially the second volume of Helios. Or at least, in theory, because really In With The New #1 picks up as if it were issue #5 of Helios, literally right from the cliffhanger of issue #4. Fortunately, a well-written "what has gone before" page will clue in new readers, so Helios: In With The New #1 is pretty accessible.
Unfortunately, most of the issues I had with the earlier issues of Helios continue with this new series. Rand has proven his skills on the underrated Small Gods, and Helios in theory has a lot in common with that book, taking a familiar concept (in this case superpowers) and giving it a twist (in this case, a government team). However, Helios doesn't really make that much use of the more distinctive elements of its concept, so what we get this issue is some stale banter, a "danger room" sequence and a bank robbery takedown. If there were a Superhero Comics Writing 101 class, this is what you'd learn in it. We've seen it all before, and Rand's dialogue and characters are solid but not memorable or distinctive enough to overcome the familiarity of the plot. There are some glimmers of potential in the political intrigue and double-dealing, but these elements are very much in the background, and they need to be more emphasized for Helios to break from the rest of the superhero pack.
Pena and Transparency Digital provide artwork that is also mostly adequate to the task, but not notably exciting. Pena's characters have a stylized look to their faces that reminds me of artists like Terry Dodson or Chriscross, but there's a lack of consistency in that stylization, and so the characters often look distorted or just ugly to my eyes. The art, like the writing, has strong potential but has some ways to go. In addition, Pena falls down on storytelling when it comes to the action sequences, with the danger room sequence being fairly difficult to follow and, as a result, kind of boring, a shame given how much of the story is given over to it.
Helios: In With The New is not a bad book, but to me, at this point, it reads like just an average book, and you've got to offer more in the crowded superhero genre these days. There's potential for something different, and absolutely potential for Pena's art to grow (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see him working for DC or Marvel in the next few years), but right now that potential is hidden behind a fairly run-of-the-mill superhero comic.
 It's a little tricky to review The Living and the Dead without giving away some of the surprises that make the book as enjoyable as it is. So I'll start by saying that if you have enjoyed The Black Forest or Wicked West, previous projects written by Livingston and Tinnell, I think that Living and the Dead is in many ways a superior comic to those, which I quite liked, and would recommend it. If you want to go in completely fresh, skip the rest of the review.
OK, everybody still here can consider themselves warned about mild spoilers. The Living and The Dead is, more or less, a sequel to Frankenstein. Except it's not a sequel to the story of the monster, it's a sequel to the story of the doctor. Livingston and Tinnell envision Dr. Frankenstein as not mad but tormented, driven to acts of charity and kindness and a rededication to medicine in the wake of his failed attempt to create life. He's a fairly timid man with quiet strength of character, a husband and father. He's an unusual choice for a hero, but as the circumstances of the story begin to call for it, we can see the wellspring of intelligence and cunning that he used to create his original monster, and his newfound need for penance drives him to use these abilities in a more heroic manner.
The Living and The Dead is a horror story, but it's a quiet, gothic horror very similar to the work that Livingston and Tinnell have done on Black Forest or Wicked West. There's an element of mystery and slow realization of what is going wrong as what appears to be a successful, even redeeming, operation turns into a nightmare, and Dr. Hans Schmidt (Frankenstein's new identity) faces an adversary who is in many ways as intelligent as he is, and certainly has a frightening streak of cruelty to go with that intelligence. Call it the "Hannibal Lecter" factor with a touch of supernatural power thrown in to back up that level of psychosis and intellect. The way that Livingston and Tinnell weave the story is spellbinding, drawing the reader into the characters and the stories and then twisting the knife with the revelation of the horrific flipside of the tale, casually revealing excesses of violence and sadism and giving the sense of a protagonist in over his head and an antagonist who may be unbeatable. The final battle between protagonist and antagonist comes with a surprising twist, one I didn't see coming but which makes obvious sense upon rereading, and it's a satisfying closer to a well-constructed tale.
In terms of art, The Living and the Dead offers a beautiful inkwashed style by Micah Farritor that is somewhere between black and white and full color. Closer in tone to a sepia wash, I suppose. At any rate, it's a perfect match for the gothic sensibilities of the tale, and Farritor does an excellent job coneying both the civilized veneer of the story and the more brutal, deadly realities that lurk beneath the surface. It calls to mind the work of Teddy Kristiansen on Vertigo's House of Secrets, with a similar air of mystery blended with perfect, clear storytelling and mood.
MUTATION #1-2
by George T. Singley, Ethen Beavers & Jaime Jones
SUPER CRAZY TNT BLAST #1
by George T. Singley, Jim Mitchel, Tim Kane & Mark Englert
 I'm lumping these two books together because they represent a certain philosophy of superhero storytelling from writer (or co-writer) Singley, a throwback to the old school in some ways with a focus on action that is somewhat more modern in others. I have issues with both books, more with Mutation than with Super Crazy TNT Blast, but there are also things I like about both of them. Basically, both books seem to view the superhero genre as pretty much ideal for action-oriented storytelling, and given the tendency of many at the big two to turn superheroes into talking heads or pure soap opera, it's kind of refreshing to see superhero books that are more focused on that jolt of action that a good superhero slugfest can offer. On the other hand, both Super Crazy TNT Blast and Mutation are somewhat lacking in terms of connection to the characters, so there's definitely a balancing act, and these two books may fall a little too close to the pure action and not close enough to the compelling characters side, erring almost as far as an overly talky superhero book but on the opposite side of the spectrum.
On specifics, I'll start with Mutation. When it comes to superhero punch-ups, this book delivers the good like few others can. Beavers turns in work that is quite simply stupendous, very reminiscent of classic Bruce Timm work, and the slugfests are exciting, larger-than-life and easy to follow. If you're a fan who isn't all that picky about why the fights are taking place and you just want to see the superhero brawl elevated to pure artform, Mutation is definitely worth a look. Unfortunately, the actual story of the book is more than a little unclear. The characters, especially Mutation's girlfriend, have mood swings that could only be explained if Mutation has a secret mind control power, and if that is what Singley and Beavers are hinting at, they should be more blatant about it given how few pages are given over to that subplot. Whenever the fighting isn't going on in Mutation, my interest level drops to about zero, as Singley isn't really offering up a clearly defined character in Mutation or much of a clear plot or setting, either. Mutation is as good as superhero fights (and superhero art) gets, but that crucial third leg of the tripod, character and plot, is short and stumpy by comparison.
 Super Crazy TNT Blast, despite what sounds like a parody title, has slightly more in the way of plot. The high concept is about an extradimensional supervillain so powerful that he's come in and destroyed most of the heroes already, leading the few remaining heroes and villains to gang up for a last desperate gambit. Good concept, kind of like a big crossover except that Singley and Mitchel don't have to press the reset button at the end since they're not working in an established superhero universe, which gives the book a nice freedom and energy. Their characters are fairly shameless knockoffs of familiar icons, but they're icons I like (Captain America, Hawkeye, etc.) and original powers would really cut down on the time to tell the actual new parts of the story, so it's easy to forgive. The dialogue is very often a big over-the-top and cheesy, even for superhero books, but that is in keeping with the general approach of the story and that's fairly easy to forgive as well.
The art on Super Crazy TNT Blast is not as strong as Beavers' work on Mutation, but Tim Kane and Mark Englert certainly don't offer a disappointing performance. Their work reminds me of Cory Walker's early work on Invincible, and there's some especially nice background work on the flood of the bad guy's minions or on the double-page splash that represents the heroes' last stand in the early going of the book.
 Parting Ways was a relatively early offering from Speakeasy, out in June of this year. It is also one of the strongest Speakeasy offerings so far, and fortunately is still in print and available for order from Diamond. I wasn't sure what to expect from Parting Ways, and the black and white cover (a rarity) had me expecting something more akin to a minicomic or ashcan than what I got. What I got was a funny, clever and thought-provoking look at a corporatized afterlife, the nature of suicide and life expectations and the world of art, all with the general theme of "what's the best way to live your life?" Foley raises some interesting questions, creates an interesting setting in which to explore them and basically provides one of the most satisfying comics experiences I've had this year.
Parting Ways follows two parallel story tracks, exploring the life and afterlife of Peter Orbach, a man who commits suicide in the opening pages. While his soul explores the nature of corporate hell (literally), his soulless body explores the nature of corporate hell (figuratively) in his job at a brokerage. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, who rescued him at the last possible moment of his attempted (and mostly successful) suicide, suffers for her art and from her art dealer, whose own commerce over creativity nature is another aspect of corporate criticism. Basically, Foley's story explores the corrupting nature of business, more from a mundane desire to do what's easiest and traditional than any deliberately sinister motives, through a variety of lenses.
In the course of this story, Foley introduces plenty of neat ideas, from the corporate organization of the afterlife to the greed-based inner workings of the brokerage house, and a lot of good characters as well. Peter Orbach, both the soulless version on Earth and the soul itself in Hell, makes for a fascinating protagonist, as does Jennie, whose relationship with Peter as well as her struggles with her artwork frustrate and disappoint her throughout. The supporting cast in Hell is great too, particularly Peter's "torturer" Agatha and the urbane, ever-so-slightly judgmental Hissrich, a demon who walks the line between protagonist and antagonist nicely and believably. Parting Ways has a fully realized world, a good plot, interesting themes and plenty of character-driven arcs... story-wise, it is the complete package.
Artwise, Parting Ways is not as perfect in my mind, but that's not to say that Mooney and Craine bring the production down in any way. In fact, I quite like their style in general, which reminds me at times of Terry Moore and Charles Burns, expressive but with a darker, inky quality. However, while Mooney and Craine put plenty of work into making the settings and characters come to life, they do have an uneven quality when it comes to depicting those characters. Jennie varies between attractive woman and someone who looks like an ugly man. Peter's soul and his body don't always resemble each other as much as they should have. And the design for Hissrich, clearly meant to be sort of a shifting, disturbing look, is instead fairly mundane. Mooney and Craine capture the emotion of the piece and never falter in the storytelling, but the art isn't quite as polished and consistent as I'd like in terms of style.
Overall, though, Parting Ways was a delight, and I'm very happy that I got the chance to read it. It really is one of my favorite graphic novels of the year, and I would recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed afterlife-focused stories, especially the work of Neil Gaiman on certain aspects of Sandman and Mike Carey on certain story arcs of Lucifer.
 With that Darwyn Cooke cover, I figured there was a good chance that the interior art of Spellgame would disappoint me by comparison. It didn't. Ramon Perez's artwork is terrific, with a stylized look similar to that of Cooke combined with some exaggeration for the magical effects and a coloring process reminiscent of the bright, saturated palette used by Steven Griffin on Hawaiian Dick. It's a vividly colorful and evocative look at a magic-infused Las Vegas, and Perez serves up a number of memorable visuals, from the first appearance of the Suicide Jack to the battle with mysterious foes on an astral plane later in the book.
Spellgame's visual style is accompanied by an interesting premise and a likable scoundrel of a lead character in ex-magician and conman John Dodge. Mishkin drops the readers right into Dodge's life as it is, starting in the midst of a street con and the first reappearance of real magic and going from there. The first issue offers more questions than answers, but it does it in such a way to be tantalizing instead of confusing, the story equivalent of the climb of a rollercoaster before you drop down the first hill and the story really gets rolling. I have my minor complaints (chief among them being that there is no Suicide Jack, just a Suicide King, which seems like a weird mistake to make), but in general I found this a pretty compelling opener.
Unfortunately, further issues of Spellgame #2 have yet to materialize, leading me to wonder if we'll ever see the actual ride start. This is a not uncommon problem with indy books these days, the failure to deliver on a strong first issue with a timely series, and it can be the death of interest for otherwise promising indy stories (witness the delays unto disappearance of the second Hawaiian Dick miniseries, for example). After this strong a start, it would be a shame if Spellgame more or less disappeared into the ether.
 Strangeways #1 isn't out yet, but should be hitting store shelves soon. Maxwell and Guarana offer up a horror/western blend that focuses on the driver and guard on an isolated stagecoach run who encounter something terrible and deadly on their run: a werewolf. Maxwell and Guarana play up the horror of the unknown, keeping the werewolf mostly out of sight, felt rather than seen, and the way the creature tears apart victims or even vanishes them when the heroes are turned away for just a minute is spooky and effective. Those looking for gunfights, bank robberies and other tropes of the western genre will be disappointed, as this is more about the more universal horror elements of isolation and the unknown, but there's a definite western flavor to the work, with the protagonist's Civil War background being the most notable element.
Luis Guarana has an art style that fits the classic horror style of the writing quite well. There's a lot of detail in the woods surrounding the coach, giving the setting a life of its own, and I'm reminded of the shading and style of horror master Bernie Wrightson in some of the work. The characters themselves aren't as polished and perfected as Wrightson would offer up, but they're solid enough, and Guarana does an excellent job delivering on mood.
It's difficult to provide real scares in comics, because the reader controls the pacing, and Strangeways isn't as scary as a good horror movie can be. However, Maxwell and Guarana emulate the elements of style that make up a good horror story, and Strangeways has the feel of a good, classic (think '70s era) western and horror story simultaneously.
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