Art what I like: Fiona Staples is a hell of an "actor"

There's a panel in the second issue of the new Brian K. Vaughan-written series Saga that kind of blew me away in how effectively the artist, Fiona Staples, conveyed emotion in a character's face. It's a key moment in which one of the main characters threatens to kill her own newborn child to keep it from falling into the hands of an enemy (oh yeah, spoilers, I guess), and while that might be a bit melodramatic, Staples sells it by somehow capturing the complex tangle of unbearable sadness and angry defiance that must be going through the character's head:

It's a pretty amazing feat, something that would be near-impossible for a flesh-and-blood actress to believably pull off, but there's something about the set of the mouth and the lines around the eyes that lets us know exactly what's going through her head, sucking us right into the scene as if we're there on the alien planet, caught up in the high-stakes drama.

Staples isn't limited to subtle emotion either, which is good when it comes to a crazy interplanetary adventure like this one. There's some great world-building scenery and exciting action, but the other thing that I found particularly striking about this issue is something that I won't share here, since it's so much more effective on the page: a character design that's creepy, disturbing, and threatening, something alien that combines human sexiness with insectile nastiness in a way that's truly memorable. It's another great example of the well-thought-out quality of this series, and a sign that it will continue to be a comic to enjoy for some time to come.

Ex Machina: God is dead. Or maybe he's just, like, a big computer, dude

Other stuff from me: I've got a review of Pax Romana #4 up at Comics Bulletin.  That's the final issue of Jonathan Hickman's latest series, and I thought it was pretty good.

Links:  The Fortress of Fortitude posted scans of this cool issue of an old Harvey horror anthology called Alarming Tales, in which all the stories within were done by Jack Kirby.  It's not at the level of his later awesomeness, but it's still some pretty neat stuff.  Check it out.

I'll also recommend Lucy Knisley's blog, in which she posts regular comics she drew.  I especially dug this one, in which she and her boyfriend go to an incredibly expensive Chicago restaurant and have their minds blown by the crazy, delicious food.  She has been getting some attention lately for her book French Milk, and it definitely looks like she's a talent to watch.

Ex Machina, volume 7: Ex Cathedra

Written by Brian K. Vaughan

Art by Tony Harris

I've been reading this series since the beginning, but I decided to switch to waiting for the trade collections at the end of the storyline before the one collected here.  Maybe my tastes have changed, because while I have been curious about the series, I haven't missed it as much as I thought I would, considering that it used to be one of my favorite ongoing series.  Maybe it's my ever-increasing antipathy toward superheroics, or maybe the lack of a regular dose of Brian K. Vaughan-written comics (now that Y: The Last Man has ended and he's not writing Runaways anymore) has decreased my affection for his style, but apparently I'm not chomping at the bit to read more about everybody's favorite superhero mayor.  Still, I did enjoy this volume quite a bit, but the distance from the material does allow me to take a more clear-headed look at it, seeing some flaws and prompting examination of what I do or don't like about the series.

Really, if there is anything that I might find myself liking less, it's Tony Harris's artwork.  He's not a bad artist, but as I focus on more non-mainstream comics, it seems closer to superhero standards than to the stuff I'm liking more these days, like the Hernandez brothers, Eddie Campbell, or Sean Phillips.  It might be the kind-of-garish coloring that does it, or maybe just the poses that characters often take, but it's a bit stiff-looking and not as nice as I used to think it was.  I do like that Harris makes some idiosyncratic choices though; he often seems to capture characters in mid-motion, with their lips curling into odd configurations, and their hands making odd gestures:

For a dialogue-heavy book, it adds some interest to scenes that could easily end up being little more than talking heads.  The expressions and body language aren't unrealistic, but rather like photographs of people having a conversation, capturing non-posed, unglamorous movements that do a good job of conveying the emotions they are experiencing.  It's a good match for the series, since so much of the best material sees characters discussing politics and such, rather than big action scenes.  But when the action does show up, Harris definitely doesn't disappoint, making it exciting and often brutal.  One climactic bit of nastiness had me cringing; it's pretty effective stuff.

Harris also delivers some great imagery in the form of the trippy visions that Mitchell Hundred experiences, including one in which he envisions decaying, zombie versions of all the people near him who have died, and another that sees him have some sort of possible divine contact.  And this storyline sees some of his niftiest covers, too (although the cover of the trade collection itself is kind of bland, if you ask me).  So really, any complaint about the art is kind of silly, now that I think about it.

I guess that means complaints should be leveled at the writing.  The story here is an interesting one, although it does seem a bit slight.  It might be the switch to reading a whole arc at once rather than in monthly installments, but Vaughan's technique of jumping around in time leads to some nice moments and a bit of an unsatisfying whole.  Some of that is by design, intended to leave the reader with questions about where everything is going, but intentionally unsatisfying is still unsatisfying, isn't it?  

So, mayor Hundred gets summoned to Rome to meet with the Pope (that would be John Paul II, since this takes place in 2003).  What exactly is the purpose of the visit?  Is it a good political move?  What does the Pope stand to gain?  Will being on foreign soil open Hundred up to an attack of some sort?  And heck, why not throw some discussion of the existence of God into the mix?  It ends up being pretty compelling, with plenty of Vaughan's sharp, engaging dialogue and quick plotting.  In the flashback scenes that open each issue, we see how belief in God has informed some of the events in The Great Machine's superhero career, but now that Hundred has left that behind, what is he going to gain from this brush with "holiness"?

Again, it's interesting, but having experienced much of the series in single-issue format, I'm starting to think that that might be a superior way of reading it.  Vaughan does a great job of structuring each issue for maximum effect, with flashbacks to Hundred's pre-mayoral days that inform the current story, and scene transitions that comment upon each other, as if characters in one scene are continuing a conversation from the previous scene, even though they are often not connected by time, space, or relationship.  But while this works great as a 22-page story, it can get maddening when read all in a row, ending up as a bunch of references to unseen scenes, foreshadowing of events that we might or might not get to witness, and cliffhangers that are less compelling when they get resolved on the following page.  In an age of stories "written for the trade", it's nice that Vaughan is going in the opposite direction, but when that hinders the enjoyability of the trade that gets collected anyway, it's not necessarily a virtue.

But enough complaining; I feel like I'm nitpicking here, when I actually liked the story quite a bit.  The frustration comes from seeing all these hints and prophecies about the future of the series while knowing that it will probably be at least six months before I read any more of it.  I'm sure Vaughan has a plan for where things are going, but the constant raising of more questions can get aggravating.  I want to learn more about Pherson, Hundred's arch-nemesis.  I want to know what happens to eventually cause Hundred to fall, as we saw would happen in a flash-forward in the first issue (or was that misdirection?).  I want to know more about the origin of Hundred's powers, and how this is going to help or hinder him in the future.  I find the cliffhanger prophecy at the end of this storyline hard to believe, but it's still kind of maddening, because I want to know how it will pan out now!  

Luckily, there's a bit of a respite from all these questions in the final issue collected here, which tells the story of police commissioner Angotti in a series of flashbacks.  Vaughan has done this before with other supporting characters, and it's a good breather, offering some nice character development in between the major plot disruptions.  It's a good example of his writing skill, and a probable reason as to why the series remains bearable when the plotting gets tiresome.  Nicely done.

So, while I still like the series, I'm not feeling that it's one of my big favorites anymore, for various reasons.  It seems to be a rare case in which reading the issues as they come out is actually preferable to picking up the collections; I'll have to consider whether I want to switch back to that more-frequent format.  But I don't plan to stop reading anytime soon; even with some minor frustrations, this is still an incredibly enjoyable, entertaining series, and barring a disastrous turn in the storytelling, I don't plan to give it up before finding out how it ends.

Some new comics this week. Yes.

Also, I contributed to a Sunday Slugfest of the final issue of Y: The Last Man at Comics Bulletin. I might do another post of some sort about the series here on the blog as well, since that was one of my favorite series of all time. I'm sad to see it go, but it was great while it lasted. So now let's see something new and exciting, BKV!

New comics this week (Wednesday, 2/6/08):

Boys #15

I'm still enjoying this book. After a four-issue excursion to Russia, it looks like the guys will be back to their usual shenanigans. I expect sex jokes.

Countdown Special OMAC

Here's a sampler if you're curious about why Chris Sims is always so excited about this character. Unfortunately, it only contains the first issue of Jack Kirby's series, and then some other specials that probably tried to tie him into the DC universe in some lame fashion. It'll probably be better to wait for that omnibus that's coming out soon.

Doktor Sleepless #5

Um, more Warren Ellis technofetishism. I expect violence and computer-talk.

Maintenance #8

Hey, this is coming out pretty soon after the last issue. Is it going to be more than bimonthly now? If so, great! This issue, our heroes go to space to fight aliens. I predict that hilarity will ensue.

Northlanders #3

Brian Wood's viking story continues. I predict that I will read it.

Ubu Bubu #1

This sounds silly. Apparently, it's about an alien invader trapped in the body of a cute kitty. Here's a one-page preview. Due to my embarrassing affection for cats, I may be powerless to resist.

Wasteland #14

Ah, here's the point where I can jump on to the monthly series. This one is another one-shot (which I expect will turn out to be essential reading) about Michael's past, illustrated by Joe Infurnari. Don't make me regret my decision, Antony! Oh, and anybody who wants to see what I'm talking about, you can read my review of the second volume of the series here.

Amulet vol. 1

This has been out for a few weeks in bookstores already, but it looks like it's finally going make its way to comics stores. Here's my review; it's pretty good (the book, I mean; the quality of my writing is up for discussion).

Bakers, Babies & Kittens HC

Hey, this is kind of late coming out, isn't it? It's Kyle Baker's new book about the cute antics of his family. I love Baker's stuff, but I don't know if I want to spend $18.99 on it. We'll see; maybe I'll wait for a cheaper softcover version or something.

Batman False Faces HC

I probably won't get this, but it's notable for collecting some of Brian K. Vaughan's early stories. Myself, I don't especially like most of his pre-Y work, but if you're curious about his roots, here you go.

Contraband GN

I've been getting press releases about this book in my email for the last week or two, so I guess that ensures I'll at least take a look at this book if I see it. It's from Slave Labor, and it has to do with covert cell-phone-camera journalism, or something.

Gyakushu Vol 2 GN

Even though this is from Tokyopop, I don't consider it manga, per se. It's cool martial arts action from Dan Hipp, co-creator of The Amazing Joy Buzzards. Here's my review of the first volume; I'm pretty excited to read this one.

Hotwire Comics Vol 2 GN

Fantagraphics' anthology of transgressive comics, or something like that. It looks interesting, so I suppose I could check it out. A bit expensive for my tastes though. Here's a good review of the volume, by my man Jog.

Incognegro HC

Vertigo's big offering of the week, a graphic novel about a light-skinned black journalist in the early 20th century who goes undercover as a white man to investigate his brother's arrest. It sounds like it could be really good, but I think I'll read a few reviews before I shell out cash for it.

Jumper: Jumpscars

This is a tie-in to the upcoming movie starring Hayden Christensen about a teleporting teenager (which looks pretty good, in my opinion). I wouldn't normally be too interested, but it's illustrated by Brian Hurtt, the artist on books like Hard Time and The Damned. I haven't decided if I'll buy it, but his presence definitely makes it worth a look for me.

Krazy & Ignatz 1941-1942 Ragout of Raspberries

I haven't read much Krazy Kat, but I did get two volumes of this series for Christmas. Who knows, after I get around to reading them, maybe I'll be frantically searching out the rest of them. If so, I'm sure I'll be all over this one.

Scalped vol. 2

I haven't even read the first volume of this series yet; I'm getting behind. I do hear good things though, so I'm sure I'll get to this one eventually.

Smoke And Mirrors TP PS Edition

Not comics! This is a new version of the Neil Gaiman short story collection. For some reason, I've never read it, so I guess this is my chance to pick it up. He's pretty good with the short stories, if you ask me.

Super Villain team-Up Modok's 11

I was interested in this book, but I didn't know if I wanted to spend money on it. Well, I managed to read it without paying for it, and it was okay, but not all that amazing or anything. Maybe if I was still primarily into superhero comics, but since my interests now lie elsewhere, this isn't really my thing anymore. But if you love MODOK, go for it.

Aqua Vol 2 GN

Ah, another volume of a manga that I wouldn't mind checking out someday! I'm behind, of course. Maybe I'll get to it at some point. Maybe.

Blood Plus Vol 1 TP

Here's one I'm not sure about. I've watched a tiny bit of the cartoon, and I liked the original "movie" it was based on. I don't know if this will be worth reading though. Probably not, what with all the other manga out there I'm more interested in, but I guess it's there if I ever really want to read it.

Dark Wars The Tale Of Meiji Dracula TP

What is this? Dracula seems like a strange combination with medieval Japan. The title alone grabs my interest. So I guess they succeeded there. Dunno if I'll ever even see it in a store, but they did occupy a few of my brain cells for a brief amount of time.

King Of Thorn Vol 3 GN

Hey, here's one I'm sure I'll get though; I dug the first two volumes(reviews here and here). I'll be on the lookout for this one.

Swan Vol 12 TP

And here's another series I would like to check out at some point. 70's ballet-based shojo manga; why not? But for now I'm perpetually behind.

Train Plus Train Vol 5 GN

And finally, another series that I've heard is good, but haven't read. Each week, there are more manga series released that I might someday read. It's an age of riches!
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And that's it for the week. Looks like it could be an expensive one, depending on what I end up getting. Damn. Oh well, I should have some sort of content up sometime in the future, so keep an eye out. Bye!

Brian K. Vaughan is a cruel, cruel man

I just finished reading Y: The Last Man #58, and I had to blog about it, if only just to say "AAAARGH!" in a manner that will avoid waking up my wife. I won't spoil anything for anybody who hasn't read it, but the ending literally left me aghast. I can't believe he would do something so drastic, so mean, so...upsetting. Damn you, Vaughan!

Really, it's a testament to his skill at building characters and making readers like me like them so much. When something like this happens, it has a real emotional impact. But still...damn. I think I'll go cry myself to sleep now.
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And that's enough emo from me, I think. I'll be out of town this weekend, so no blogging until Sunday night, I expect. See you then!

Comics ketchup

I mean "catch-up". Whoops. I've got two weeks' worth of pamphlet-format comics to go over, and wow, it was a hell of a batch of comics. There's some really good stuff here, starting with:

All-Star Superman #8
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frank Quitely



This is part two of the Bizarro/Zibarro story, and it's one of my favorite issues of the series so far, right up there with the Clark Kent/Lex Luthor prison issue and the original trip to the sun. Strangely, it seemed to get somewhat poor reviews on a few comics blogs, but I absolutely loved it. Maybe people were put off by the Bizarro-speak that fills the issue; it does get difficult to decipher in places. But there are just so many crazy ideas here, and Zibarro is such a good character. He's so sad and forlorn, stuck on a planet of imbeciles who despise him. I love the way Morrison has thought this through. Superman is different from everyone on earth, and they love him. But on Bizarro World, Zibarro is different from everyone, and they hate him. And all the other crazy Bizarro ideas, like Bizarro Jor-El (El-Roj!), the Bizarro Justice League (featuring, among others, Bizarro Flash, whose top speed is two inches per hour, and Bizarro Green Lantern, who can't think of anything for his ring to create), or the hilarious Bizarro national anthem (I thought that was an amazing bit of writing on Morrison's part; the lyrics are the opposite of "The Star-Spangled Banner", but they still rhyme and even have the same rhythm!).

And Quitely turns in his usual excellent art, dazzling with the crazy designs. I love how Zibarro's hair has a Z-shaped curl on his forehead, like the S-curl on Superman's:



And the Bizarro Flash design is hilarious, with chains on his suit instead of lightning bolts:



He even sneaks in fun little details like the Bizarro version of the Daily Planet staff:



Beautiful stuff, as always. I can't wait until the next issue (don't I say that every month?).

Oh, by the way, I should point to Valerie D'Orazio's interpretation of the issue, viewing it as Grant Morrison trying to escape from the messed up world of mainstream comics (although I don't understand what Stephen Colbert has to do with it). That's a fun way to look at it.
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Chronicles of Wormwood #5 (of 6)
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Jacen Burrows



Man, there were some images in this book that were downright stomach-churning in their gore. I guess that's what you get when you send Ennis to Avatar. Well, that and meticulously-rendered sex toys. The plot is heating up and coming to a big climax, and I'm really enjoying it, especially the sacreligious aspects. I mean, that last page (which I would love to spoil, but won't) was laugh-out-loud funny, but anyone with positive feelings toward Christianity would probably be horribly offended. There were other details I liked, like Satan showing up on his throne, being carried by the dead kings of earth: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Boris Yeltsin, Saddam Hussein, Yassir Arafat, Moe Tse-Tung, and others. And a good character moment between Wormwood and his ex-fiancee, in which we see how he's (kind of) trying to be a good guy, but he can't help being a bastard; He's the anti-christ, for god's sake! Anyway, it's another good issue, and I'm excited to see the ending. I'm sure Ennis will pull out all the stops and make it hilarious and insane.
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Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular
Written by Fabian Nicieza and Dan Slott
Art by Kieron Dwyer, Nelson DeCastro, Paul Pelletier, and Clio Chiang



Well, not everything gets praise this post. Man, this was disappointing. While I liked the other GLA/X/I series, I was worried about this one, due to the presence of Deadpool, a character I've never liked, and Fabian Nicieza, a writer that I don't have much respect for. And my fears were justified; Deadpool is annoying rather than funny (which I assume he is supposed to be), and many of the jokes ring of forced attempts at humor rather than Dan Slott's usual deft touch. Ha ha, Deadpool keeps stabbing Mr. Immortal or cutting off his head! Ho ho, Deadpool likes Bertha, but only when she's fat, because he's a chubby chaser! There is a fight between Deadpool and Flatman that's somewhat amusing due to Flatman's use of different origami fighting techniques (and Clio Chiang's nice art), but it's pretty much the only Deadpool-related part of the book that didn't have me rolling my eyes and/or yawning (I'm very expressive when reading my comics). Really, the best parts of the issue are the ones that involve Squirrel Girl trying to rescue her boyfriend, Speedball, from his current emo/goth incarnation, Penance. It's a goofy bit of self-criticism toward the post-Civil War forced seriousness of the Marvel Universe. And it has this hilarious bit:



There you are, the only bit of the issue that made me laugh. Now you don't need to bother buying it.
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DMZ #21
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli



Oh, man, this book never stops, does it? This one features some comments and questions about war that really get one thinking, along with some truly excellent artwork. Riccardo Burchielli has gotten even better over the last 20 issues, turning in what may be the best artwork of the series so far, whether in flashback scenes of urban warfare:



Or simple scenes of conversation:



But the content of said conversation was what really had me catching my breath. It's a perfect example of what I think is the theme of the series: how different war would seem if it's happening next door rather than on the other side of the world. The military commander that Matty talks to this issue makes statements about living with bad calls, or men following orders and doing their job, and it's the kind of thing you hear all the time from military people or members of the Bush administration. But in this case, the "trash" that he's talking about fighting are Americans, and that changes everything about how we look at the war. It becomes horrific to even contemplate, and it's what we need to start thinking about war anywhere it happens. This is an important comic, one that should be put into the hands of pro-war people (I mean people who are for any war, not just the conflict in Iraq). Who knows, it might just change some minds.

Anyway, this storyline wraps up next issue, as the city looks like it's going to fall into a riot following the verdict in the trial of the soldiers involved in the Day 204 Massacre. I'm sure it will be exciting and thought-provoking. I hate to ruin the mood, but here's where I talk about buying policies. I'm thinking I'll switch to trades at the next storyline, so that means figuring out where the break between trades is going to be and dropping the series at that point. While I don't mind reading the book monthly, I figure it will read a bit better in collected form. Here's to saving money!
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Madman Atomic Comics #3
By Mike Allred



Now here's the big one in this post. I thought about separating discussion of this issue into its own post, but I figure I should keep it here in order to try to not just scan the whole thing and post every page. The reason I would do that is because this issue consists almost entirely of Mike Allred copying the art styles (or possibly tracing, or "swiping" their art; I'm not sure what his exact process was) of influential creators throughout the history of comics. It's an amazing feat, with a new (yet recognizable) art style in nearly every panel. We get to see Allred's version of nearly every "name" in comics, from the likes of Winsor McCay:



And George Herriman:



Up to present stars like Paul Pope:



Or Frank Quitely:



Wow. The in-story reason for this is that Mr. Excitement, Frank/Madman's favorite childhood superhero, is taking him on a tour through his subconscious, sorting through all the influences he's had in order to get to his present, true state. Of course, these are really Mike Allred's influences, and like his character, he's throwing them all on the page, experiencing them one by one in order to show both himself and us what has led him to the current point in his life and career. It's an incredible experience, and I had a blast trying to identify the various artists being copied (the list/dedication on the title page certainly helped). I thought I recognized most of the artists, but some were hard to tell. I would love it if somebody put up some annotations explaining which artist was being referenced (maybe someone already has; if so, please let me know in the comments). The story itself is also good, full of the usual Madman philosophizing, and hopefully leading to the "Madman in space" storyline that Allred has talked about for years. But the real delight is the comics history lesson we get throughout the issue. Allred continues to astonish me and demonstrate why he's one of my favorite artists. Keep it up, Mike!

Oh, hell, I can't help myself; I have to show some other panels I thought were awesome. Here's Charles Schulz:



Mike Mignola:



And Chris Ware:



Okay, I better stop before I get in trouble for infringing copyright.
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The Punisher Presents: Barracuda #5 (of 5)
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov



Man, this is a Garth Ennis comic to a T, featuring stuff like psychotic CIA agents shouting Bush slogans in the middle of a firefight:



A porn star getting shot nonfatally:



A pedophile getting impaled on a statue of Ronald Reagan, or a corrupt businessman being run over by a tank (multiple times). Nice. And that's not even mentioning the general gory violence or the implied cannibalism. It's tons of fun, even if you don't usually follow Ennis's Punisher book. I probably should have waited for a collection, but it was definitely worth reading. Good times.
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Runaways #27
Written by Joss Whedon
Art by Michael Ryan



I guess I shouldn't have doubted Joss Whedon; I had some problems with the previous issue, but this one turned out excellent. The kids are stuck in the past (late 19th century, it seems) and trying to get home. There are some pretty good ideas, like them being able to use their powers in public because there will be no photographic evidence. Or them meeting a group of Victorian-era superheroes who call themselves "Wonders" and count The Yellow Kid among their number:



I thought that was pretty cool. But the highlight of the issue for me was a scene in which the Leapfrog played back a holographic recording for the kids of its creators (Chase's parents and Gert's parents) working on it. The recording ends with Gert (who, for those who don't know, died around 10 issues ago) wandering into the room, and it's a surprising and poignant moment:



Check out Old Lace's sad eye in that panel. Nice work there by Michael Ryan. It's an excellent, sad scene, and it made the issue for me. But pretty much everything else was great too, from the kids' clothes to their mixed excitement and fear about being in an unfamiliar era. There's a bunch of dialogue that is hard to decipher, but it's one of those plots where it will surely all make sense in future issues. It looks like the kids are going to get mixed up in a war between factions of 19th-century superheroes (involving some familiar villains!), and that's pretty cool.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: we also get a glimpse of a Victorian-era Punisher equivalent called the Adjudicator:



That's pretty damn funny. Good job, Whedon.
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Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #20
Written by Sean McKeever
Art by David Hahn and Christina Strain



So this is the end of the Sean McKeever era of Mary Jane comics, and he certainly goes out on a high note. It's a really nice issue, with Peter/Spider-Man sort of breaking things off with Gwen and Firestar while Mary Jane also breaks up with Harry. There are several references to past comics (or related media), with Spidey and Firestar meeting up with Iceman to create a reunion of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, or Harry showing some anger issues, which we know points toward his eventual role as Green Goblin. But that's all window-dressing, with the relationships of the characters being the main course here (there's some mixed metaphors for you). I love the work that McKeever has done building these characters' personalities, and he brings his run to a satisfying close, with a beautiful hint of ambiguity on the last page.

The art continues to be pretty nice; I think the real star on that side of things is Christina Strain, who does the coloring. Check out how she depicts the characters' visible breath in cold weather:



That's a cool effect, and I don't think I've seen it before. I should also mention that I like David Hahn's depiction of Peter Parker; it reminds me of Steve Ditko's version of the character.

As for the book's future, Terry Moore (of Strangers in Paradise fame) is slated to be the new writer, but there has been no word as to when the next issue is coming out, who the artist will be, or whether it will be restarted with a new #1. I might use this chance to switch to trades, which have been printed in inexpensive manga-style digests for this series in the past. That is, if I keep reading the book at all...
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Y: The Last Man #57
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Pia Guerra



Damn. Brian K. Vaughan is a hell of a writer. This issue, we see Yorick and Beth together for the first time in the series (unless you count the phone conversation in the first issue), and their relationship is depicted perfectly. They're slightly awkward with each other, since they haven't seen each other for about five years, but we can still tell how close they are, and their reactions to news about each other is spot-on. Vaughan has a bit of a difficult place to get out of here, since while Yorick has been searching for Beth for the entire series, we don't really want them to be together; he's obviously meant to be with 355. But he still needs some closure on that relationship, and Vaughan is depicting the circumstances and his reactions perfectly. I'm sure he's had this all planned out from the beginning, but I'm really enjoying watching it all fall into place. And I'm sure there will be other complications, including but not limited to the arrival of Other Beth with Yorick's daughter.

Pia Guerra's art is as excellent as ever, and I love that she doesn't shy away from depicting (full-frontal) nudity, both male and female. Most of this issue takes place in a dim apartment, and I love her depiction of light and shadow:



Nicely done.

So there's only three issues left in the series. Man, it's killing me to wait for this story to wrap up. Keep up the good writing, Vaughan!
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Wow, I think that's everything for now. I decided to skip talking about The Dark Tower and Superman Confidential, but they were both pretty good. I might have another review up this evening, or a look at solicitations, but right now I need to rest my mind. Later.

Quick-ish reviews of new-ish comics

Sorry for the overuse of "-ish". Anyway, I thought there were some good comics this week, but I don't have too much to say about many of them. So some of these reviews will probably be kind of short.

Runaways #26
Written by Joss Whedon
Art by Michael Ryan



Well, this was kind of disappointing. The characters seem a bit...off. Which I suppose is to be expected when written by a different person, but it was bad enough in this case that it bugged me. Examples: The Punisher provides some narration, which is started with the heading "Punisher's War Journal: ...". Does the Punisher actually keep a "war journal"? Later, he gets punched, and a caption reads "Punisher's War Journal: Hhhhhhhhh...". Yes, that's a joke, but it's not a very good one, since it makes me think the Punisher is recording his actual thoughts. Another silly caption gag is when the Kingpin is thinking about the whole situation while he's eating a chocolate bar, and he stops in mid-thought to think "mmmm, chocolate". I almost get the feeling Whedon is "talking down" to his audience, which he seems to think are children.

Back on the topic of the Punisher, he confronts the team at one point, and says he attacked them because they were commiting a crime: theft. So, does that mean he goes around firing rocket launchers at whoever he sees staging a break-in? Even if they're children? Oy. Luckily, we do get this panel:



Which is probably the highlight of the book. There's also this gag, which made me laugh:



And there was a good line by Molly, when she was amazed that she predicted exactly how Chase was able to save himself from dying: "Why aren't you awesomed by me?"

One other complaint: wonky anatomy. Look at these panels:





In the first one, I don't know what is going on with Nico's legs, and in the second one, Karolina seems to have bent her spine sideways at an impossible angle. I realize weird spinal contortions are commonplace in superhero art, but that's usually for the sake of cheesecake, and I don't think that's the intention here. Huh.

Anyway, there were some okay moments in the issue, but it's becoming apparent that it's all a setup to get to the events of the next issue, which can be guessed by looking at the cover. That could be entertaining, and we'll see next month, but I don't like some of what was done to get there. I really wanted to like Whedon's run on the book; we'll see if it ends up getting better or not.
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Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #18
Written by Sean McKeever
Art by David Hahn



I do love this book, but there was a quirk of the art in this issue that bugged me. I'll get that out of the way first; Hahn changes the way he draws lips halfway through the issue. In the first half, he continues what he had done in the previous two issues, drawing a line for the mouth, with colorist Christina Strain adding color to define the lips:



But later, he draws the outline of the lips, which I think changes the look of the characters' faces, almost making them look like different people:



Weird. I prefer the former style, but I would have been okay with the latter. But switching between the two styles in the middle of an issue is a bit jarring. One thing that Hahn has done since he came on to the title was to sort of "transition" between Takeshi Miyazawa's art style and his own. But a change as drastic as this one should have been done between issues, in my opinion.

Okay, now that I've got that nitpick out of the way, let me say that the writing continues to be excellent. In this issue, I like the way McKeever draws a parallel between the relationships of Mary Jane and Peter/Spider-Man. M.J. is dating Harry, but doesn't want it to get too serious, presumably because she really wants to date Peter. But she is still friends with Harry, and helping him deal with his relationship with his father is bringing them closer. At the same time, Spider-Man is dating Firestar, and she wants to get closer, going so far as bringing him to her house and revealing her secret identity to him. That's too much for him, because he really wants to be with Mary Jane. It's nicely done. Good old teen soap opera.

So, does anybody know what is going to happen to the title when McKeever leaves to write for DC? I haven't heard any news. Whatever they do, I hope they don't give the title to Jeph Loeb.
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Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Salvador Larroca



This is a pretty nice story. I think I read on Matt Fraction's blog that he wanted to write a superhero love story, and he did a good job, affirming that Peter and Mary Jane's marriage is a good thing. I like the way the two of them ponder memories of their relationship (with really cool flashback art in which Larroca apes the styles of John Romita, Sr. and Ross Andru) and reveal how much they love each other. It's all mushy emotional stuff, and it's great. We get one action scene, and it was slightly hard to follow, but I got the gist of it well enough. I think it's a pretty damn nice story. Well done, Fraction.
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Midnighter #7
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Darick Robertson



Well, I decided to drop this book after this issue, and it's a good one to go out on. In an effort to evoke the Midnighter's power of knowing how things will turn out, Vaughan structures this issue in reverse, with the first page of the comic being the last page of the story, the preceding page following it, and so on. It could have been gimmicky (and it still is, really), but it's executed very well, and Vaughan even throws in a few clever jokes, like Midnighter making a reference to a criminal organization collapsing like a house of cards, when we've already seen the collapse of a literal house of cards on the first/last couple pages of the story. I don't think the story would flow very well if put in the "proper" order, but that doesn't really matter. It's a nice single issue, and probably a good place to stop reading the series.
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Astonishing X-Men #21
Written by Joss Whedon
Art by John Cassaday



I like that cover. Unfortunately, Armor (which is kind of a "blah" codename) doesn't get much time in this issue, but whatever. It's a pretty good issue, although it suffers from being in the middle of the story arc; it mostly takes up time moving characters into place for big future showdowns. However, we do get some good character moments (I especially like Scott and Emma having an argument in the middle of an airship firefight), including this one:



Wow, Kitty Pryde naked and making "bedroom eyes"? That'll have 80's X-Men fans in a tizzy! I also liked the bit about the "Breakworldian" rebels that are ostracized because they actually experience empathy and compassion; their leader thinks this might be a mutation. That's a nice way to tie this story into the general theme of the X-Men, rather than just being an "X-Men in space" tale. Well done, Whedon. Now just bring this type of writing to Runaways!
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The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #4 (of 7)
Written by Robin Furth and Peter David
Art by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove



This is a decent issue, but it also suffers from "middle-of-arc-itis". The art is very nice, of course, but there's not really anything in the issue that jumped out at me as something that I should mention. I guess I'll wait until next issue comes around. Sorry for wasting everyone's time.
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Hellboy: Darkness Calls #1 (of 6)
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo



I dug this issue quite a bit, even though I'm not sure what happened, exactly. Like I've been saying, I really need to pick up the various collections and get caught up on Hellboy. But I still liked this one, especially the art. Fegredo does a great job of aping Mignola's style (Dave Stewart's colors help a lot) while still keeping some of his own flavor. Very nicely done. If you're interested, check out the preview on Dark Horse's site; I especially liked the scene with the cats.
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Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil #3 (of 4)
By Jeff Smith



Ah, another fun issue. It's yet another case of a slightly-below-average middle-of-the-story issue, but there are still some great moments, like Captain Marvel punching out monsters:



And plenty of other stuff. But again, it's mostly maneuvering characters and story elements into position for the final issue. I can't wait for that one to come out, and I'll probably have more to say about it. Again, sorry if I'm wasting your time.
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Okay, I think that's finally it for this week's comics. I've got other stuff to talk about, so expect more content soon!

Comics not on the web; these are on paper!

Reviews of new comics:

Ashley Wood's D'arain Aventure #1
By Ashley Wood, with T.P. Louise and Chris Ryall



This is an odd comic. I believe it was Jog who compared it with Barry Windsor-Smith: Storyteller, although I've never read that comic, so I can't say if it's apt. This one is a collection of short stories, mostly with a horror bent. Wood provides all the art, including the front and back covers (inside and out), which have fold-out flaps. There are not ads, which is probably the cause of the $4.95 price point. There are also some pinups which are, well, pornographic. But the real meat of the comic is in the stories, which are written by Wood and his collaborators (I'm not sure what the extent of their role is) and lavishly illustrated by Wood. First is "Les Mort", which begins with two kids surveying what seems to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland (although I could be wrong about that) and reminiscing about a magician/escape artist they used to watch on TV. They also dare each other to go into the nearby houses which are rumored to be haunted or cursed. Then we shift to the POV of the aforementioned magician, a circus performer who wears a skull mask and kills himself in each performance, yet somehow manages to survive:



Actually, I think this is meant to be a flashback, since he seems to be wandering the wasteland as well. We see a shot of him saying "Revenge," and then To Be Continued. Huh.

The next story is called "Black Magick", and it's about a quiet suburban neighborhood in which a haunted house appears. I think. It's also To Be Continued, so we'll see.

Finally, we have "Zombies vs. Robots: Which Came First?" It's a prequel to the recent two-issue miniseries that Wood and Ryall did, and it's about some scientists who are testing a transporter, although they do not know what is on the other side. The experiment ends badly, although it's hart to tell exactly what happens, and it's also To Be Continued.

In all the stories, the art is beautiful, full of Wood's incredible style. I like the panel borders in the first story; they're drawn all rough and scratchy rather than clean and defined. It gives the page a dirtier feel, which is appropriate for the wasteland-like setting. The other stories have panels that are more cleanly defined, whether with lines or gaps between "tones". It suits them, as they both take place in ordered locations. I imagine future parts, in which the order will presumably break down, will feature rougher borders. Wow, I can't believe I chose to talk about panel borders when discussing the art. I dunno, that's something that really struck me.

So anyway, I'll definitely be back for future issues. I had never even heard of this project before this week, so I didn't know if it was supposed to be ongoing or what, but I checked IDW's website, and their solicitations for May include issue #4, so it will run at least that long. The inside back cover promises a future story called "World's Best Robots". Sounds cool.

Bonus: Popbot pinup!


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Eternals #7 (of 7)
Written by Neil Gaiman
Art by John Romita, Jr.



Well, this was kind of disappointing. Maybe it will read better when it's collected, but stretched out over seven issues, it seems like not very much happened [Spoilers ahead, by the way]. Last issue ended rather abruptly, with Zuras, leader of the Eternals, telling Tony Stark that they would not participate in the Civil War event on either side, but were above it. We get a sort of resolution to that discussion here, but it's in the middle of the issue as a flashback rather than at the beginning. Weird. So the Eternals are setting up base in the Antarctic, and the Deviants attack. That kind of came out of nowhere. It seemed like there were a couple Deviants messing around in previous issues, but suddenly there's a whole army of thousands ready to wage war on the Eternals. Again, weird. So Makkari manages to convince them not to attack, and then the series ends, seemingly as a setup for a possible ongoing series. There's not a whole lot of conclusion. I guess Makkari is the "envoy" of the golden (formerly black) Celestial, who has decided not to destroy the Earth, and is now just standing in Golden Gate Park, San Fransisco. Druig is still in charge of the country he took over, and seems to have evil plans. Zuras is hanging out doing his thing. Sprite is dead, so I guess that's some sort of conclusion for him. Sersi is hanging out in New York; she has her Eternal powers but no memories. Ikaris and Makkari are on a quest to "wake" all of the other Eternals on Earth. Who knows what Ajak is doing, since he no longer has the distinction of being the guy who can talk to Celestials [End spoilers]. It seems like the series ended and hoped somebody else would continue the story, which is pretty much the exact same thing that happened with Gaiman's other Marvel miniseries, 1602. I like Gaiman, but it seems I should avoid any future Marvel stuff he does, if this is how it's going to turn out. Bummer.
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Dr. Strange: The Oath #5 (of 5)
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Marcos Martin



Now, this is the way to end a miniseries! Wrap up the damn story, but leave it open to continuation. As Greg Burgas at Comics Should Be Good said, you can pretty much see the ending coming from the first issue, but in my opinion, Vaughan makes the journey worth it. Martin's beautiful art doesn't hurt, either.



The Night Nurse is a good addition to Doc's posse, and it's awesome to see he knows the martial arts as well as the dark ones. So please, Marvel, let Vaughan and Martin do this on a monthly basis! I want more of this!


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Runaways #24
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Adrian Alphona



And now we come to the send-off of the week. Well one of them anyway; we've also got Takeshi Miyazawa's last issue of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane (mini-review: good as always. The love triangle (rectangle?) is set up plausibly, without making anyone look bad. Great art; I hope David Hahn will be able to replace Miyazawa without looking terrible). But this issue of Runaways is the final one by the comic's creators, Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. They end it very well, setting the story for Joss Whedon to take over (although I hear he will only do six issues. Bummer). It seems I'm not the only one who loves Molly; all the creators express their love of her in the letter page in the back of the book. Plus, she gets some of the best lines of the issue:





So, I'm sad to see the creative team go, but I'm glad the book will live on. They're great additions to the Marvel universe, and I hope they stick around for years to come.
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Jack of Fables #8
Written by Bill Willinham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Tony Akins and Andrew Pepoy



I don't really have a lot to say about this book; it's a lot of fun, as always. I will mention that I love the humorous self-centered tone of the narration, which is by Jack himself. You can see an example of it on the cover, with the text saying "Admit it: When you grow up, you wish you could be..." before the title. Inside, he fills most of the captions with self-aggrandization and acknowledgement that he's in a comic book (he even breaks the fourth wall in this issue). It's great fun. Plus, there's a good bit of nerd-baiting, as a character is introduced who is a chubby comics nerd who loves Star Wars, lives with his mom, and plays a lot of Dungeons & Dragons. Way to hit all the stereotypes, guys! I'm sure he'll be back next month, along with the wacky villainess, who seems to be the embodiment of luck (and what better place for her than Vegas?). I can't wait!
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I also wanted to show off a couple other things I bought but haven't had the time to read yet:



That's right, the new Love & Rockets digest editions. Actually, they seem kind of big to be called digests, but at $15 each, they're a great deal. I can't wait to read them. And I also picked up Ode to Kirihito, by Osamu Tezuka, which I'm also stoked to read. It's got a really cool cover, with a band around it that obscures half of the picture. So if you slide it to one side or the other, it's like you have two variant covers in one!


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Looks like that's it for me for today. Will I be back with more content tomorrow? Who knows!