Fables: Happily ever after?

Fables, Volume 21-22
Written by Bill Willingham (with Matt Sturges)
Art by Mark Buckingham, et al.
Published by DC Comics/Vertigo



These two volumes form the finale of Vertigo's long-running Fables series, and I'm happy to say that they ended up being rather satisfying. The series struggled for direction at times, especially after resolving the main plot which had been driving it from the beginning, in which a terrible threat known as the Adversary had driven a number of characters from fairy tales and nursery rhymes from their magical homeland, leading them to take up residence in the "mundane" world, where they hid among regular, non-magical humans and planned to fight back against the conqueror of their homelands. From what I understand, creator Bill Willingham had originally intended to end the series with the big battle against the Adversary, but due to the success of the series, and probably some affection for the characters and the world he had created, he decided to go ahead and end that story, but keep the series going and see what happened next. The results were definitely interesting, but there were times that Willingham seemed to be struggling to come up with what to do next or how to keep things moving.

Luckily, he seems to have figured out how to give the series more of a focus and drive: go ahead and end it after all. With an ending in sight, the last volumes of the series finally seemed to give him a purpose, and after shifting the pieces into place, he sets about building to a pretty momentous final conflict with literally world-shaking stakes. He sells the idea that nobody is safe by unceremoniously killing off several fairly major characters, and as he builds up to a final battle, the scale of the players involved increases to barely-comprehensible levels, until one wonders whether the pages will be able to contain the bounds of the conflict.

And then he takes a sort of sidestep, the details of which I won't spoil, but suffice to say that the characters seem to find a way to break out of their set patterns and long-lasting personality conflicts to find a way to resolve things for the greater good. Is that a cop-out? Perhaps, but Willingham seems to find a way to keep from killing all of these beloved characters that seems satisfying and in-character. And it helps that he doesn't stop there, but spends several dozen more pages skipping forward in time to see what happens to nearly every character in the series over the ensuing years, decades, and centuries. It's a great way to offer some closure, but still leave things open-ended, allowing readers to imagine an infinite number of possible stories that could have happened, or may happen someday.

I shouldn't have taken so many paragraphs to get to it, but a special shout-out must be given to Mark Buckingham's art, which seemed to get better and better over the course of the series and reaches another level in the final volume, where he uses some gorgeous watercolor shading to give everything a magical sheen that emphasizes the fairy tale quality of the stories while still keeping things grounded in a semblance of reality. I especially love the Jack Kirby influence he brings to the crazy monsters that are all assembled for the final battle, but he's just as good at drawing out the tension in confrontations between characters, selling the horrible violence that gets visited on some old favorites, or playing up the menace that comes from some characters seeming to embrace horrible destinies. It's beautiful stuff, and I'm kind of sad that I won't get to see him do it any more. I'm sure he'll find something to fall back on, though.

So: is this the best ever Fables story? No, I don't think so, but it's still lovely, heartfelt, and enjoyable, a satisfying finale that makes me happy I read the series through to its conclusion. Coming up with an ending to any long-running series is hard, since everyone has their own expectations, theories, and hopes for their favorite characters, but Willingham and company (some great artists get to contribute to the various short pieces explaining what happened to all the major and minor characters, and it's a treat, as always, to see them put their own spin on the familiar figures and surroundings of the series) manage to finish things off about as well as could be hoped for, and that's saying something.
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A word about the elephant in the room (with some hints at spoilers, maybe?): Bill Willingham is known for his conservative politics, but I often find it difficult to find them reflected in Fables, even though some seem to have no trouble reading some right-wing message or other into various stories. In fact, I often find it fascinating to try to find a viewpoint that Willingham might be expressing through these stories, since what I do find tends to be pretty progressive (which probably stems from me placing my own biases on what I read). The big conflict in this final issue seems to be representative of cultural forces that have been at each other's throats for ages, but the final resolution looks for a way to avoid bloodshed, to put away past curses and move on. I don't know if you want to read Israel/Palestine, Republican/Democrat, or some other conflict into that, but whatever you choose, it's clear that both sides are represented fairly equally (although Rose Red seems to be the aggressor, but also the one who makes the conciliatory gesture that brings about peace), with neither one meant to be completely at fault. Instead, they're caught up in conflicts that extended so far into the past that the reasons behind them were almost completely forgotten, and only by recognizing their mutually assured destruction can they leave their grudges behind. Of course, the solution is to completely break contact and stay as far away from each other as they can, in order to ensure the safety of not only themselves, but anyone else who might get caught in the collateral damage. I'm not sure what that says about Willingham's take on any real-world situation, since we don't have multiple universes in which to distance ourselves from our enemies...

There's also an interesting bit in which Rose Red, who has been acting as a servant of the universal force of Hope, decides that Hope is actually a force for evil, leeching off everyone who has ever labored under the delusion that things will get better. This could well be a dig at Barack Obama's presidential campaign and what Sarah Palin has called "hopey changey stuff", and while I don't necessarily agree with the idea that hope is a negative concept, it's an interesting approach, looking at how what many perceive as a force for good might not be all that beneficial. This kind of stuff is what makes me enjoy this series, even if its worldview can be interpreted in a way that I find disagreeable. It's not didactic, forcing readers to accept a certain philosophy in order to understand what the story is about (like, say, Ayn Rand or Starship Troopers). Instead, it leaves things open to interpretation and debate, and it's all the richer for it.

Fables: I Think I See Where This Is Going

Fables, volume 20: Camelot
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Mark Buckingham, Russ Braun, Steve Leialoha, Barry Kitson, et al.
Published by DC Comics/Vertigo



Over the past year, I took something of a hiatus from blogging, but I didn't remain completely silent. I guess I can't let my thoughts go unrecorded, so I regularly posted little "here's what I thought" blurbs on Goodreads about most of the books I read, including the last few volumes of Fables, a series that I used to like quite a bit but felt had been kind of floundering for the past couple years. I was especially down on the 19th volume, so I'll go ahead and repost what I wrote about it here (and if you want to see what I thought was a dumb comment and my somewhat-obnoxious reply, go check it out):

I think this volume confirms that I'm ready to stop buying this series (which means I'll still read it, of course, just to find out what happens to the various characters). It's just not really doing it for me, even though its events should be intriguing. There's just something about the nature of the threats that the characters face that seem kind of contrived, as if Bill Willingham is casting about for new stuff to cause them problems, but then also wrapping them up too quickly. Snow White having a secret "husband" that predated Prince Charming and Bigby Wolf should be a big deal, but we learn so little about the guy (except that he's a sexist jerk, so we can boo and hiss at him), how he got his magical powers, and what exactly he wants (to rape Snow, apparently; did I mention the booing and hissing?), that he seems more like a device to get the characters where Willingham wants them to be by the end of the volume. The early years of the series were characterized by a massive threat hanging over the characters, one that we only slowly learned about, so when the big confrontations came, they seemed epic. And even after that was over, other events took time to play out, rather than appearing, being confronted, and ending before we fully understand what is going on. At this point, Willingham seems like he's casting about for something to do with the world he's created, which doesn't bode well for its continued existence (which isn't lasting that much longer anyway, but this sort of thing makes me think that, like happens so often with long-running TV series, it's limping to a close rather than reaching anything resembling a planned conclusion).

Well, as of the next volume, I can see that there does seem to be a plan for the series' end, and an interesting one at that, but I'm not ready for a complete mea culpa; I still think that volume is pretty clunky, abruptly introducing a powerful threat, shuffling a major character off to the edges of the story until he can show up at the end for a big battle, and then killing him off in a way that all but guarantees a later return.

This next volume, however, makes some of that story make sense, at least as an awkward way of hammering the series into shape for the final few volumes. It's obvious in retrospect that it was meant to accomplish two things: remove Bigby Wolf from the series for the time being, and introduce something to drive a wedge between Snow White and Rose Red. It seems that Willingham has a big finale in mind for the series, but had to get some pieces into place in order to kick it off, and rather than spend a while building to it organically, he found a way to unceremoniously shove the characters into the spots he needed them.

So, it was kind of an ugly way of getting to this 20th volume, but now that we're here, I like where it's going. Rose Red has decided to take her place as an agent of the avatar of Hope, specifically as the Paladin of Second Chances. In order to do so, she decides to reestablish Camelot, recruiting knights in need of redemption who can go on quests for the betterment of Fables everywhere. But what she doesn't realize (or thinks she can control) is that establishing this paradigm will repeat the full story of Camelot, including its horrible fall.

That's pretty interesting stuff, especially seeing how the different characters fall into different roles (Rose as King Arthur, Morgan Le Fey as Merlin, and even Lancelot as Guinevere). But what I find especially intriguing is that Snow White is being set up as the new Morgan Le Fey, due to Rose's decision to give the evil Prince Brandish a chance at redemption. That's a really interesting conflict, and Willingham sells it pretty well, giving Snow a sort of villain speech in which she describes how cold and hard she can be when defending herself from threats. I'm really curious to see how this plays out over what I believe are the remaining two volumes of the series.

There's also a single-issue interlude that's one of the best stories the series has done in a long time, in which Bigby meets Boy Blue in the afterlife, and they discuss the new perspective that being dead brings, as well as contemplate the meaning of life and the afterlife. It's an interesting look at some of the grander themes of the series, and even gives a touch of humanity to the crazy, mystical world of the series, providing a nice bit of character exploration and ending on one of the more poignant scenes of the entire series. Bigby is certain to come back to life before the series is over, but this would work well as a last hurrah, even though we know it won't be.

The volume isn't all wine and roses; there are a few one- or two-issue stories that look at some of the series' minor characters that aren't very good (the Geppetto story is interesting, indicating that he's going to become a threat again, but I can't imagine he'll play into the finale too much, considering how the series has moved past him), and some moments are kind of distasteful, such as Dr. Swineheart's sexual advances toward the now-beautiful former Nurse Spratt. But overall, this installment is a definite improvement, and one that makes me hopeful for the upcoming end of the series. For now, at least, it looks like this is going to come to a satisfying conclusion rather than an indecisive close. We'll see if Willingham can stick the landing, but even though it's not going to be as good as the series' glory days (I would mark volumes such as March of the Wooden Soldiers and The Good Prince as high points), it looks like it's going to be better than I had been expected for the last few volumes. That's a pleasant surprise.

Collection catchup: Gods and suicides and lesbians, oh my

Elsewhere: I reviewed the second volume of Demo at IndiePulp; it's really good (and hopefully the review isn't bad either).

Links:  This Sophia Wiedeman (The Deformitory) comic at Top Shelf 2.0 is quite good.

This partly animated comic by Vincent Giard is also pretty great, a cool example of the way animation can be used effectively in comics rather than as a distraction.  I've got to check out more of this guy's work.

I'm also curious about this new Japanese comics anthology which is available in English for the Kindle (or really any platform, since Kindle books can be read on Iphone, PC, etc.).  It got attention because Shintaro Kago has some comics in it, which makes it his first officially available English work, but from what I understand, it's only a few gag strips, but he'll have a longer-format story in the second issue.  I dunno, maybe I'll get a subscription or something.

So, here's my latest collection of (probably) shorter looks at stuff I've read recently:

Godland, volume 5: Far Beyond the Bang!
Written by Joe Casey
Art by Tom Scioli

Some comics hit my buttons just right that I love them intensely while having trouble expressing the reasons for doing so beyond "Wow, that's awesome!"  The Jack Kirby riff that Joe Casey and Tom Scioli do here is a perpetual winner, and they manage to nail the feel of the King's cosmic bombast perfectly, with the shouted proclamations and the world/galaxy/universe-shaking implications of the fights made perfectly clear.  They keep things going at a breakneck pace, with hero Adam Archer dragged into interstellar cosmic battle with forces he barely understands, while back on Earth the villainous Friedrich Nickelhead launches a political takeover for the super-criminal set.  There's some weird social/political commentary going on, but Casey never sits still long enough to make it seem didactic, and the gigantic action and bizarre character designs by Scioli constantly dazzle the eye and grab hold of the mind.  It's the almost-too-big-to-comprehend Kirby-style godly morality that I dig most though, as in a scene in which an evil being prepares to influence the evolution of two warring species on some distant planet, declaring "Eventualism now!", before being attacked by two other baroquely attired space-farers who declare, "We bring forth the anti-pillage! Prepare to defend your religion!" before being sent 12,000 years into the future (taking them to our present) to face the results of the evolutionary shepherding that was inflicted on the winners of the species war.  It's totally nuts, and also totally awesome.  I can't get enough of this madness; it's the closest anyone has come to recreating Kirby, and it comes from understanding that you can't just keep trotting out the New Gods or the Fantastic Four and running them through the same old adventures; you've got to push the limits, explore new frontiers, come up with your own exciting ideas.  That's exactly what Casey and Scioli are doing here, and it's glorious to behold.  I wish it would never end.
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Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, volume 2
By Koji Kumeta

The second volume of a manga series is often the place where the series really gels, and that seems to be the case here.  The first book was mostly focused on introducing the cast, including the ostensible main character, a suicidal teacher who exudes despair and hopelessness, trying to convince everyone he meets of the pointlessness of life.  The focus often turns to his wacky students though, who include his opposite number, a girl who is so optimistic that she can find a bright side to everything, as well as an ultra-precise neat freak, a shut-in, a boyfriend-obsessed stalker, a panty-flashing immigrant who threatens to sue everyone for sexual harassment, a refugee who barely speaks Japanese, and a girl who tries to stand out, but ends up being completely ordinary.  Having spent the first volume introducing all these goofballs, mangaka Koji Kumeta, who is apparently well-known as a satirist, can now just have goofy stuff happen and see how everyone reacts.  Sometimes a theme is established early on, like when Zetsubou-Sensei refuses to list grades on students' report cards, since life is better when you're ignorant of bad news, or when the Tanabata Festival, in which people write down wishes and hang them from trees, sees everyone sharing their wishes (and culminating in the teacher hanging himself from a tree).  This lets Kumeta riff on a theme, throwing out jokes left and right, having each character do something goofy that fits their personality, and always filling at least one panel with a list of examples of whatever the topic of the day is, usually making obscure references to Japanese culture that have to be explained in the footnotes.  Other times, something bizarre happens, making for a bunch of strange jokes, like a chapter in which a character claiming to be Admiral Matthew Perry (who forcibly opened Japan up to trade with the United States in 1854) shows up and goes around opening everything he sees, including a boy's zipper, the school's pool, and (in a failed attempt) Zetsubou-Sensei's heart.  Another story sees everyone travel back to the teacher's hometown, where his family apparently has an arranged-marriage custom in which anyone who looks into someone else's eyes has to marry them, which leads to all sorts of hijinx.  It's a totally ridiculous comic, but it's frequently really funny, even in the comedy that actually translates.  And that's a qualifier that must be made, since so many of the jokes are based on obscurities of Japanese language and culture, or pop culture and events that nobody on this side of the Pacific knows much about.  The extensive translator's notes do their best to explain things, but even with that resource, one gets the feeling that a lot of material is going right over their head.  But that's okay, since it just seems surreal and strange, and what does work, like the running jokes about things like a line of stalkers or a balding student that everyone ignores, is often laugh-out-loud funny.  It's that brand of odd, deadpan Japanese humor that you see in four-panel strips and the like, mixed with the loud proclamations and elaborate setups of other manga, ending up being a delightfully quirky collection of goofiness that makes just enough sense to be enjoyable. 
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Batwoman: Elegy
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by J.H. Williams III

I'm just about the last person on the internet to say this, but this is a pretty damn good comic.  If more superhero books were like this one, the genre wouldn't be a tiresome slog of soap opera plot developments and gratuitous violence.  This is a pretty simple deal about a crime fighter who stops a city-threatening scheme while balancing a private life and discovering a connection to a villain, while making some nods to a larger continuity that seems interesting enough to seek out more information or ignore as suits your purposes.  There's also an origin flashback and hints toward future plots that may or may not get around to happening, but that doesn't matter, because as an introduction to the character, this collected version works really well, telling a rousing story and quickly and memorably defining the characters.  It's really solid storytelling, although I must say that my favorite moment is when a fight between Batwoman and her arch-nemesis, a crazy lady who only speaks in quotes from Alice in Wonderland, is interrupted by a bunch of beast-men that just come rampaging through and start tearing into everybody.  It ends up being explained, but when it happens, it's a crazy "what the fuck?" moment, the kind of thing that can only happen in superhero comics.

But of course, the thing to talk about here is the art, by best-of-his-generation artist J.H. Williams III.  Without him, this would be an above-average exercise in Batman emulation, but he raises it to the level of the sublime, giving people realistic human motions and expressions and filling pages with dazzling layouts that propel the action excitingly across the page while highlighting the heightened-reality nature of superheroics with an art deco flair.  The great thing about it is that he does all this, encapsulating small actions in lightning-bolt-shaped panels, tilting frames and enclosing them in bat-themed shapes, turning panel borders into curlicued swirls of psychedelia when Batwoman is dosed with a hallucinogen, while still making all the action and movement perfectly clear.  During the flashback/origin story, he manages to transform his art into an imitation of David Mazzuchielli's work on Batman: Year One, but as the story progresses toward the present, it subtly metamorphoses into Williams' style, with a bit of Tim Sale or Sean Phillips.  It's pretty gorgeous work, worth all the acclaim it's received.  If the story ever gets finished, I'll try to read it as well, which is more than I can say for most Batman-related nonsense.
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Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Shawn McManus

The Fables franchise must be a tough one to get right, since what seems like a fairly easy story to handle (Cinderella as a spy, working with Aladdin to uncover a magical threat to the "mundane" world) comes off as fairly rote here, with little in the way of suspense or surprise, no real action to write home about, and some especially tiresome attempts to smoosh together fairy tale stuff with the real world.  Maybe it's the first-person narration, which constantly hangs over the proceedings, working in as many fairy tale references as possible, without much wit or humor.  It could be the fast-moving plot, which never sits still long enough to gather any sense of import, or the occasional shoehorning of a dumb moral into things.  The tiresome subplot about Cinderella's shoe-store employee screwing things up by selling magical shoes (like the ones from that fairy tale, you know, the one with the shoes that never stopped dancing) certainly doesn't help.  Whatever the case, writer Chris Roberson just doesn't have the feel for the Fables world that Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges do, as if he's managing to take things both too seriously and not seriously enough.  Artist Shawn McManus does his best to make it work though, turning his style into a reasonable facsimile of Mark Buckingham's distinctive work on the main Fables title, with some nice, thick lines, big expressions, and nicely anthropomorphic animals and monsters.  If it wasn't for him, this would probably be eminently skippable, but as it is, it's worth a look for Fables completists, but far, far from essential.

Collection catchup: Vertigo plus one

Links: Have I pointed out Kevin Church's new projects? He's got a weekly strip called The Loneliest Astronauts with Ming Doyle, and it looks pretty damn enjoyable. And there's also what appears to be more of a serialized crime story called She Died in Terrebone: A Sam Kimimura Mystery, with art by TJ Kirsch. They both look quite good; that Church fellow is going places.

This Paul Pope strip of a scene from Dune is pretty nice-looking.

Hey, let's make this a regular thing (which probably dooms it to obscurity): short(er) takes on collections of ongoing series, what those in the publishing world (and, inexplicably, the comics community) call trade paperbacks. Go!

Fables, volume 12: The Dark Ages

Written by Bill Willingham

Art by Mark Buckingham, Mike Allred, and David Hahn

There were a couple possible ways to go with Fables after ending the long-running war plot, with the more difficult one seeming to be seeing how things work out in Fabletown and the Homelands after defeating the Empire. What would happen in all the liberated worlds, and how would the new leadership (such as it is) cope? Bill Willingham hints that this might be what is going on in the first issue of this collection, but then he immediately upsets the new status quo in a pretty surprising way, knocking the victorious Fables back on their heels and leaving them scrambling to not only survive against a new threat, but trying to figure out what has happened and who has done it to them. It's pretty canny storytelling, jumping back into the pattern of downtrodden heroes fighting a powerful enemy, but in a much different way than they had been before, and with a lot of new wrinkles to the setup. Yes, the title continues to be as gripping as ever, and I couldn't be happier, even with the tragedy that befalls the beloved characters here.

And that's the other thing that Willingham does: focus on characters, rather than just hitting plot points. The big event here (aside from the main plot developments, that is) has to be the worsening condition of Boy Blue; watching him slowly deteriorate while fighting his war injury until he looks like little more than a desiccated corpse is tough, and the moments he has with friends and loved ones are pretty great, especially his eye-opening confrontation with Rose Red, who also looks to be growing into a major character who is full of fascinating flaws. But even the little stuff is neat to see here, like Fables who were born after the evacuation to the mundane world wanting to gain a birthright by taking over some of the newly-freed worlds, or the way the animal Fables bristle at the way they get brushed aside from being included in big decisions. And the new bad guy, the ominous Mr. Dark, is one hell of a creepy fellow; I'm very interested to spend more time with him.

On the art front, Mark Buckingham is as good as ever, filling pages with tons of gorgeous detail that combines a realistic setting with fantastical characters and still seems like something out of a storybook. His art definitely fits the title of the arc, as it gets increasingly dark over the course of the story, using some interesting toning patterns and lots of inky shadows. Mike Allred also turns in some nice guest art on that aforementioned filler issue, which sees Pinocchio giving Gepetto, the deposed Emperor, a tour of Fabletown while dodging the various angry protesters, shopkeepers who refuse him service, and people who march up to give him a piece of their minds. I'm especially struck by Allred's depiction of Pinocchio as an innocent-seeming, dot-eyed young boy, which stands in contrast to Buckingham's usual cynical-faced miniature adult.

Yes, it's another good volume, and I'm as excited as ever to get to the next one. Interestingly, there is a bit of metafictional exploration here, as characters wonder about the power that mundane storytelling has over them. It hints at the contents of the next arc, "The Great Fables Crossover", which sees Jack of Fables, which usually goes much further in that metafictional direction, and a miniseries about an even more metafictional type of Fable, The Literals, meet up with the main title. I have no idea where it's going, but I can't wait to find out.

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Unknown Soldier, volume 1: Haunted House

Written by Joshua Dysart

Art by Alberto Ponticelli

This is one hell of an intense book, and not in a good way. That is, it's full of action and violence, but it's the type of thing that happens in the real world, and it's stomach-turning in its (only slightly exaggerated, I imagine) nastiness. Joshua Dysart famously made a research trip to Uganda to gather material for the story, and it shows, with lots of details that come straight from real life, and a sense of moral outrage at the awful way people can treat each other (both face-to-face and through willful ignorance and unseen advantage-taking). It's the kind of thing that's designed to make one angry at the inhumane acts being perpetrated on people, and mind-boggling to consider that it's only focusing on a small portion of the violence and horror that's going on in the world.

But all that detail is in service to an interesting story about a heroic African-American doctor who has pledged his life in service to the downtrodden refugees (or "internally displaced persons", to use a less headline-grabbing term that keeps them off the world's radar) of northern Uganda, along with his loving and equally-medically-talented wife. But the anger he feels at what he sees seems to be welling up inside of him, assisted by horrifically violent dreams, and one day he snaps after being caught in a standoff with a rebel soldier, with a strange, ominous internal voice urging him to commit his own acts of violence. He complies all too easily, sending him into what seems to be madness, and he ends up taking up a one-man war against the people who would casually rape and murder innocents, sporting the telltale bandaged face of the long-time war-comics character after he mutilates himself in despair at his actions.

There are hints at a story there about how he gained such deadly prowess with weapons and strategy, something about CIA brainwashing, but it's not really necessary; the real focus here is on the actions that spur him to take up arms, including the recruitment of children as soldiers, the rape and kidnapping of girls, and the casual murder of civilians just because they are in the way. There's some gut-wrenching stuff here, and its understandable to see the character want to painfully murder the perpetrators, but the actions he takes are just as horrible. And pointedly, they seem to make matters worse. He does his best to make things right, to stop those who are laying waste to the people and destroying lives left and right, but in doing so, he murders children himself, and only spurs them to retaliate in ever-more-awful fashion. Before his "conversion", he gives a speech about how violence only begets violence, and he just proves it later, turning into more and more of a monster and taking good people like his wife down with him. That seems to be the real message here, that peace needs to be achieved through something other than killing, and Dysart is doing his best to show why that is, and making sure we know it's not just artful speculation, but a very real issue that is killing more and more people each day.

Italian artist Alberto Ponticelli provides the art here, and it's often quite gorgeous, capturing the landscape really well and filling plenty of pages with the dirty details of medical camps and battlefields. The people, on the other hand, can sometimes be awkward, and maybe even a bit cartoony, but his exaggeration really brings out the lost innocence of the child soldiers, as their big heads, spindly limbs, and extreme difference in size from the adults really make them seem tiny and frail, especially when they are carrying huge guns that they seem barely able to lift. Some of the action is a bit hard to follow at times, but the gist is always clear; we understand who is being gutted and decapitated, or just shot, and even when it's a rah-rah action movie moment, there's a real feeling of disgust at what we see. Maybe a more "realistic" artist would have been more appropriate, but Ponticelli still does a good job of filling in all the nasty details, and he makes some of the more surreal touches and dream sequences really work. And who knows, maybe he'll get even better as the series goes on. That's something to hope for.

Ultimately, one wonders why Dysart chose to tell this story in this way. If you're going to do such extensive, dangerous research, why make an action story starring a version of a long-lived

war comics character? But maybe flying something like this under the radar as if it was just another bit of Vertigo violence is sort of the point. I suppose something like Joe Sacco's journalistic comics would have been more "acceptable", but maybe a release from a mainstream publisher will attract the attention of those who don't normally read about what's going on outside of their lives of Western comfort. Those of us who stick to what's comfortable occasionally need something to jolt us out of our complacence and realize the reality lurking beneath our entertainments, and maybe this will be enough to get us off our seats and actually do something, anything, to help make the world a better place. Sure, it might be kind of far-fetched, but it's a nice idea. Maybe Dysart can actually do something to help it happen.

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Wasteland, volume 4: Dog Tribe and Wasteland #25

Written by Antony Johnston

Art by Christopher Mitten

By this point, you're probably either on board this post-apocalyptic series or not, but it's still a comic worth discussing, considering the thought and work that Antony Johnston has put into the world-building here. It's much more than just a dusty adventure story; Johnston has crafted several different cultural traditions (so far), and much of the interest comes in seeing them crash together in different ways. And it's fascinating to watch, whether you're trying to understand the nuances of the slang that the people use or the different relationships between people. There's a continuing plot featuring some well-drawn characters and a lot of action and intrigue, but seeing the world they move through continue to be defined is the big treat for me.

The fourth volume sees some continuing development on that front, as Michael and Abi, on their quest to find the fabled A-Ree-Yass-I, almost immediately stumble across and get captured by a couple of "dog tribes" of people who live in close association with packs of dogs that have become much more than just pets. The main characters kind of just sit in the background while an intense drama plays out around them, involving a conflict between the tribes that is now being resolved via a marriage between the chiefs' families. It's another example of the way Johnston defines these characters and cultures so well; we get involved in their conflict very quickly, although we don't necessarily understand what they're talking about or the way they relate to each other right away; flashbacks work to get us caught up in the tragic story.

It's very effective work, with the alien society really coming to life. Johnston does a lot of the work, but Christopher Mitten's art is what really sells it, from the vaguely African tribal fashions of the people to the way they interact with their dogs, and the deference that lower-ranking people show to the chiefs is palpable. It's gorgeous work as always, in Mitten's signature scratchy style that hides a surprising amount of detail.

And then in the twenty-fifth issue of the series, Johnston and Mitten give us one of the regular interstitial stories that doesn't directly affect the main narrative, this time being a flashback to an encounter between Michael and the nomadic trader Sultan Ameer, explaining some of the animosity that we've seen. It's a nice little story, mostly focusing on one of Ameer's wives as she tries to visit her family, who she hasn't seen since she was forced to leave them as a teenager. It's sad stuff, effectively told as always. And the big highlight is Mitten's art, which for this special occasion is in full, painted color, looking quite beautiful, with lots of deep blues and purples and searingly bright oranges. Hopefully this won't just be a one-time treat.

I don't know if the series is still gaining any readers, but hopefully if anybody hasn't kept up with it, they'll give it a second look, because as the series progresses, the creative team's talent for crafting a fascinating world for their tale to play out in becomes more and more apparent. I hope they'll be able to continue to wow readers for as long as they need to finish telling their tale.

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DMZ, volume 7: War Powers

Written by Brian Wood

Art by Ricardo Burchielli, Kristian Donaldson, and Nikki Cook

It seems like the intensity never lets up in this series, but it's morphed into intensity of a different type in these later volumes, going from characters trying to survive in a war zone to protagonist Matty Roth trying to navigate the complex world of politics, barely able to understand the forces pulling him in different directions, with dire results not just for himself but for all of Manhattan if he makes the wrong decision. It's hard to watch, and while we can sympathize with his plight, he still seems to be letting others push him around and manipulate him too easily. He does finally take some steps to remedy that trend, but even that seems to be a selfish act, rather than the "right" one. But that shows him to be realistic, acting as a normal person would, which isn't always likable.

The title story of the volume is sort of the main event here, but the volume starts with a two-parter in which Matty travels to a U.S. Army base on Staten Island, where he finds a sort of bacchanal in which the base commander negotiated an unauthorized truce with the rebel army to facilitate some mutual partying. It resembles Rick Veitch's Army@Love, although toned down quite a bit, and with less of a satirical intent. But it's the kind of thing that one can see happening in a war zone, especially when the enemy shares your own culture and values. And when it all inevitably falls apart, it's as hard to watch as anything else in the series, considering that it all seems like it's taking place in the real world, in an alternate universe where these kids are next door rather than on the other side of the world.

And then the main event starts, as Parco Delgado takes power as the provisional governor of the DMZ, immediately making some controversial moves, declaring the region to be a sovereign nation and kicking out both combating armies and severing all military contracts, especially any involving the Blackwater-esque Trustwell Corporation. This leads to plenty of chaos, and Matty is kind of left in the lurch, with nobody telling him what's going on. It turns out that he's an important part of Parco's plans, since he has contacts to Wilson, the Chinese gangster who might have a source of funds for the administration. And after securing those funds, Matty finds that Parco's got a lot of plans that don't necessarily seem to line up with his idealistic campaign promises, and at least one action that seems reprehensible in its "ends justify the means" cynicalness. It's hard to watch, as Matty's dreams of peace seem to get further and further away, but as with everything else in the series, it seems all too real, the stuff of real-world backroom deals and compromises in morality to achieve political goals. And the thing is, Delgado is enough of a charismatic talker that you almost believe him when he explains his actions. And who knows, it might all work out for the best, but given the real-world-imitating nature of this series, that certainly seems unlikely.

The volume wraps up with a single-issue story that follows Matty's (ex-?)girlfriend Zee, who left him and went off on her own into the unpoliced, dangerous area of the city after getting disgusted with the compromises that he was making. But even she can't escape the tough decisions, as she ends up forced to choose between helping out a wounded mercenary or letting her die. She's dragged right back into the conflict, or at least its periphery, as is her nature. As much as she might protest, she's in this for the long haul, like everybody else.

Yes, the quality of this series keeps going at the same level, and it's admirable that Wood is continuing to develop the conflict in new directions, and not take any easy shortcuts. If you can handle the depressing levels of violence and the despair that comes from realizing that the real world is just like this (or worse), the series continues to be required reading. I'm confident that Wood can continue to keep it up, and I only hope I can do the same.

This week, Marvel's releases impress me for once

Links: Anders Nilsen has organized an auction to benefit advertising in favor of healthcare reform, and there are some really cool items up for bid, including various paintings and original art by people like Ivan Brunetti, Chris Ware, Jeffrey Brown, Souther Salazar, Lilli Carre, Daniel Clowes, and others. I can't afford most of it, but I might see if I can snag one of the lower-priced items. If nothing else, give them a look; there's some great stuff there.

I like this post on the official Vertigo blog that shows Brian Bolland's process creating a cover for Jack of Fables.

I wanted to point out this post by Tim O'Neil about the Ann Nocenti/David Aja story in Daredevil #500. It's a really good piece of criticism, and it spotlights a really good story that might get passed over in favor of flashier stuff. Check it out.

And here's the weekly roundup; it's a busy one this week. Yikes.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 9/2/09):

Agents of Atlas #10

Jeff Parker, still going strong (for now). Word is, this series is getting cancelled, or going on a sort of hiatus as it gets relegated to backups in Incredible Hercules or X-Men crossover series. Hopefully it'll be back soon enough though; it's just about the best thing Marvel's publishing right now. This issue sees more fighting with Jimmy Woo's ex, with art by Gabriel Hardman, the best of the rotating creative team, and Paul Rivoche. Read it!

Boys #34

Ennis and McCrea (or whoever) keep things rolling. As I always say, I'm waiting for this story to end so I can read the collected version, and I'm even more eager after digging the previous volume.

Daring Mystery Comics #1

This is getting monotonous, but here's Marvel's latest anniversary celebration book, although they seem to have run through the well of recognizable creative talent, not to mention characters. This one is by David Liss and Jason Armstrong, and it stars some character named the Phantom Reporter. Still, it looks like it could be all right. Maybe give it a look?

Fall Out Toy Works #1

Ooh, it's the Fall Out Boy comic! Apparently Pete Wentz got jealous of Gerard Way's success with Umbrella Academy and decided to do his own. Of course, he didn't actually write it, and rather than trying to do something unique, he just did some thing related to his band. Sounds lame, but it is written by The Wintermen's Brett Lewis, so maybe something interesting will come out of it.

From The Ashes #4

Bob Fingerman continues to wander the post-apocalyptic landscape. Fun times?

Greek Street #3

Peter Milligan continues to take the names of mythological characters and do something or other with them. Dunno if I'll bother keeping up with this one. Maybe it'll be worth some bargain bin searching in a few months.

I Am Legion #5

The Humanoids thing with John Cassaday art is still going. I do want to read the collected version of this, so let's get it done already.

Immortal Weapons #2

Part two of the Iron Fist spin-off, with this issue focusing on Bride of Nine Spiders. It's written by my man Cullen Bunn (The Damned), with art by Dan Brereton, and I expect it will be good. Apparently, it's the only installment of the miniseries that isn't an origin issue. Interesting.

Incognito #6

Brubaker and Phillips finish off their superhero noir (for now; I think they've announced a follow-up for sometime next year), so they can finally get back to doing Criminal. I've been waiting; not that this has been bad or anything, but I prefer my crime stories to be spandex-free.

Invincible Iron Man #17

Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca keep going with the deconstruction of Tony Stark; this has turned into a very interesting story arc. This issue is a good one; I love how Fraction is showing Tony's mind crumbling as more and more of it gets erased and he gets dumber and more forgetful. It's actually painful to read. It should be cool to see how he manages to come out on top here; this is definitely bringing a character to his lowest before (presumably) building him back up again.

Irredeemable #6

Mark Waid keeps doing the evil Superman bit, and it's still not bad. If you refuse to stray away from the superhero genre, this is worth checking out.

Mystic Comics #1

And hey, Marvel has another anniversary book coming out this week. This one is a bit more high-profile, I guess; David Lapham is writing and drawing it. It stars the golden age version of the Vision, who was a supernatural, ghostly character or something. Also, a couple of backup reprints by Jack Kirby from 1940 and 1941! Neat!

Northlanders #20

Brian Wood and the Vikings, go! This starts a storyline that is actually a sequel to the first story, bringing us up on what happened to Sven after he moved away from Orkney. Davide Gianfelice is back on art, and I bet it'll be good, as this book seems to continue to be. I'll read it eventually.

Rawbone #4

Jamie Delano keeps going with the nasty piratical action. I don't know if I'll bother to read this once it's collected, but it's tempting.

Strange Tales #1

Ah, here's the big release for the week, the long-awaited Marvel indie book, featuring tons and tons of cool creators, including Nick Bertozzi, Paul Pope, Molly Crabapple, Junko Mizuno, Dash Shaw, James Kochalka, Johnny Ryan, Michael Kupperman, Peter Bagge (with his long-shelved "Incorrigible Hulk" story), Nicholas Gurewitch, and motherfucking Jason. Holy shit, that a lot of awesomeness to cram into 48 pages; it's totally worth the five dollar price tag. I've already taken a peek, and I love it; I'll pay money for it even though I have an electronic review copy. Don't miss out on this, people!

Sweet Tooth #1

It's the debut of Jeff Lemire's ongoing Vertigo series about a guy with antlers trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic American landscape. Sounds like kind of a departure for Lemire, but I bet it will still be good, and it should be interesting to see his work in color. Don't let me down, Lemire!

Torch #1

In less-interesting Marvel releases, here's the thing that apparently revives the golden age Human Torch and brings him into the modern Marvel universe, or some crap like that. Yawn. Alex Ross is apparently spearheading the project, which means lots of overly-reverent worshipfulness of the character and blah blah blah. I advise ignoring it, but I doubt many will actually do so.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2

Bendis and Lafuente continue with their relaunch (of sorts) of this book, and it will probably continue to be decent. Maybe people will still read it, even.

Wednesday Comics #9

Weekly newspaper reading appears, but it's almost over. Superman is threatening to become interesting, but I bet he'll go back to whining soon enough. Batman is still cool, Kamandi is still gorgeous, Metamorpho is silly fun, Hawkman is still awesome, Metal Men are increasingly lame, Teen Titans still suck, Sergeant Rock needs to kill some Nazis, Supergirl is still cute, Wonder Woman is still adventurous, Deadman is still neat, Flash is still not bad, and Green Lantern still bores me. Oh, and Paul Pope is still super-cool. I like this series a bunch.

Young Liars #18

I think this is the final issue of David Lapham's acclaimed-yet-unread Vertigo series; I've heard it's weird and cool and batshit insane, so maybe I'll try to check out the collections or something. Maybe.

Absolute V for Vendetta HC

Ah, absolute editions, you continue to be overpriced and unnecessary, and yet you still continue to come out, and people continue to buy you. I guess the draw here is that the books are really big, so the art looks nice all blown up? And there are usually some extras of some sort, but for something like this, is there really all that much to add? I dunno, I'm probably just cheap, but why spend 100 dollars on an oversized version of something you can get for less than $20 in paperback, and probably not that much more if you must have a hardcover? You people have too much money to spend, dammit.

Absurd Adventures Of Archibald Aardvark Vol 1 Bullets Booze And Beelzebub TP

I've seen issues of this series here and there, and it looks interesting, but I've never actually read it. It appears to star an old-timey cartoon character (literally; he's a washed-up old actor who used to star in cartoons) as he has violent adventures saving various holidays like Christmas and Easter. It might be all right, but I haven't heard all that much about it, so maybe it's not really worth the attention. Anyway, it's written by Dara Naraghi, Dwight L. MacPherson, and Grant Bond, with art by Bond. Here's the character's Myspace page, if you want more info.

Amulet Vol 2 The Stonekeepers Curse

Kazu Kibuishi! I really liked the first volume of this series, and here's part two, featuring more kiddie adventure, monsters, and robots. I bet it's good, and if nothing else, it will look amazing.

Batman Gotham After Midnight TPB

I don't know how good this 12-issue series was as a story (it was written by Steve Niles, and I for one can take him or leave him), but the art by Kelley Jones was pretty awesome, judging by all the samples I've seen. It's at least worth a look, if only to see what sort of craziness Jones came up with, like the Bat-Unicycle, the pipe-organ-like Bat-Computer, or a giant Bat-Robot used to fight Clayface. Good times.

Cars Rookie TPB

This is the collection of the first Boom! miniseries tying into the Pixar movie, giving readers a look at Lightning McQueen's early days racing on dirt tracks. I haven't read it, but it certainly looks nice, and I bet kids who are fans of the movies will enjoy it. Yes, supply your brats with endless licensed product! That's the American way!

Cat Burglar Black GN

Richard Sala! Here's his new book from First Second, and it looks really nice. A cute girl doing thiefy stuff; what's not to like?

Cosmic Odyssey TPB New Printing

I've never read this story by Jim Starlin featuring Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters (and probably other DC people), but I think it's supposed to be pretty good? On the scale of people trying to live up to Kirby, anyway. It's got some early art by Mike Mignola, so that's probably interesting to look at.

Dead Irons HC

This supernatural western series from Dynamite looked like it could be good, but I haven't really heard anything about it. It's written by James Kuhoric (have I read anything by him? I have no idea), and the art by Jason Shawn Alexander is probably the strongest selling point. Maybe I'll check it out, given the chance?

DMZ Volume 7 War Powers TPB

And here's another volume of a series that I like a lot, just in time for me to get further behind on my reading. I sure dug the previous one; I'll get right on this.

Hulk Gray HC

This is one of those color-coded miniseries by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale that oh-so-tiresomely explores the past of various Marvel characters; at least, that's my impression; the only one that I've actually read was Daredevil: Yellow. I think Loeb is a pretty terrible writer, but Tim Sale tends to bring out the best in him, and even if he doesn't, the art is always pretty stellar. I'm sure there have been earlier editions of this collection, but this one seems to be the fancy hardcover style that Marvel likes to overuse. If you want to spend the money on it, go ahead, but I'll glare at you behind your back.

Incredibles Family Matters TPB

Another Boom!/Pixar book, this one written by Mark Waid, since he knows about superheroes or something. It's supposed to be pretty good, I think? It's a perfect series for comics, so I'm sure Boom! will have more coming soon.

Katman TP

A kids' (young adults'?) graphic novel from Kevin C. Pyle, the creator of Blindspot, this one seems to be one of those teenage coming-of-age things about a kid hanging out over a summer and forming a relationship with an artistic girl. Probably pretty good? Pyle is a good cartoonist, and I imagine he can capture the emotions of a young relationship pretty well. This will be one to look out for.

Lords Of Misrule HC

This was apparently a fantasy graphic novel and miniseries from the early 90s, written by Dan Abnett and John Tomlinson, with art by Peter Snejbjerg and Gary Erskine. Radical is collecting it and adding painted color by a French artist named Jean. Sounds interesting; maybe worth a look?

Magic Pickle And The Creature From The Black Legume TP

Scott Morse! I haven't read any of this kids' series, but it's supposed to be quite enjoyable. Plus, the pun in the title makes me laugh. Another one to watch for.

Nocturnals HC Vol 02 Dark Forever and Other Tales

Another volume of Dan Brereton's series. I've never read any of it; I should try to remedy that.

Rebel GN

IDW is publishing this translation of an 80s graphic novel from Spanish artist Pepe Moreno, who is probably best known for Batman: Digital Justice. It appears to be one of those Heavy Metal-style nasty urban future stories; I haven't read enough of those, so this might be one to check out.

Secret Science Alliance And The Copycat Crook HC

Wow, lots of notable kids' books this week; this one is by Eleanor Davis, which automatically makes it worth seeking out. It's about three kid inventors who have to stop an evil scientist who has stolen their designs. I like Davis a bunch and I'm always interested in more of her work, so yes, I'll have to look for this one too.

Stitches HC

This autobiographical graphic novel by David Small has been getting a lot of attention, so it's one that I'm definitely going to have to try to read. I guess it's all about his terrible childhood, so it sounds nice and depressing. Good times.

Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics HC

Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly put together this collection of a bunch of old kids' comics, and I bet it's pretty good reading, containing artists like Carl Barks, John Stanley, Sheldon Mayer, Walt Kelly, and Basil Wolverton. One to check out if you see it.

Trouble With Katie Rogers Vol 1 GN

Hey, this looks like it could be one of those vaunted "comics for girls"! It's about a young woman living in New York and working in the fashion industry, and it's got a nice design and art style and everything. Of course, it's still written and drawn by a guy, but that doesn't automatically preclude it from being decent. Like just about everything else I mention this week, it could be worth a look. Here's the official site for more information.

Wind Raider TP

Like the last entry, this book is from Ape Entertainment, and I haven't read it. I might be inclined to check it out though, since even though I don't know the writers, I like the work of the artists, Micah Farritor (White Picket Fences) and Gabriel Hardman (Agents of Atlas). It's about some martial artist types that can control wind, I guess. Yeah, I might give it a look.

Wonderful Wizard of OZ HC

Marvel has this collection of their adaptation of the original novel (rather than the movie) by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young, and it might be one to read. I glanced at the original issues when they came out, and damn, they look nice. Gorgeous art; hopefully it reads well too.

Zomnibus GN Vol 01

This is a weird sort of themed collection from IDW, containing several zombie comics that aren't really related to each other. They include Feast!, Eclipse of the Undead, and the complete Zombies Vs. Robots. The latter is by Ashley Wood, and what I've read of it is quite enjoyable, but I don't know about the other two. Still, it's a decent amount of content for $25; if you're not completely sick of zombies, you might consider it.

Honey And Clover Vol 7

On the manga front, Viz has the latest volume of this excellent series, which contains the last of the material that was serialized in Shojo Beat. Or maybe not the last of it; new material starts in volume 8, but with the magazine being cancelled, that volume might have the last chapter or two that they ran. Anyway, I love this comic, so I recommend people read it. That is all.

NANA Vol 18

I love this comic too, but I am very very behind on it. I'll get to this volume eventually. I hope.

Ninja Girls Vol 1

It's a new series from Del Rey, about a lost prince aided by, well, ninja girls and hoping to regain his kingdom. Probably not very historically accurate.

Pumpkin Scissors Vol 5

This military-themed series is supposed to be good, but I've never read it. Maybe someday, but if volumes keep coming out, who knows when I'll get the chance to start.

Sand Chronicles Vol 6

Another Shojo Beat series that I really like, and it's the same situation as Honey and Clover; new material starts next volume. Catch up while you can!

Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei The Power Of Negative Thinking Vol 3

I keep hearing that this book is hilarious (if also loaded with impenetrable cultural references), so I've gotta try to read it. Someday.

Silent Mobius Complete Edition Vol 1

I haven't read this sci-fi manga from Kia Asamiya, but it's kind of one of the classics of translated manga, isn't it? Maybe I should check it out sometime.

Tegami Bachi Letter Bee Vol 1

People seem to be talking about this series, but from what I've read in Shonen Jump, it doesn't really grab me. It's kind of interesting, I guess, with some detailed art and a bizarre premise, but I'm not all that impressed. But if it's your thing, I won't judge you.

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And that's all, for this staggeringly busy week. Oy. More posting to come, I expect.

Series collection catchup

Here are some shorter looks at various trade collections that I recently got around to reading:

The Boys, volume 4: We Gotta Go Now

Written by Garth Ennis

Art by Darick Robertson and John Higgins

I'm not sure why I like this series so much when I tend to get annoyed by the regular attempts to make superhero comics all "realistic" and "edgy". Maybe it's that Garth Ennis doesn't hold anything back; his heroes are exactly what we would expect from celebrities who are not only rich and famous but also have massive power and no consequences for their actions. Ennis seems to enjoy coming up with as much sick and twisted shit as he can, but he still grounds it in humanity, and while the violence and sex can be over the top, when it comes time for real horror, he pushes it right in our face. The dirty secret behind the series' stand-in for the X-Men is pretty damn awful, and while the consequence is horrifying, it still feels deserved, both for the perpetrators and those who aided them by not saying anything. Damn.

I also am enjoying the relationship between Hughie and his girlfriend. That's another way that Ennis grounds this over-the-top story: by developing realistic characters and relationships among all the nastiness and carnage. He's as good at writing tender romance as he is at coming up with funny sex and violence, which is surprising, but also quite nice.

And despite complaints I've heard that this storyline went on too long, I thought it worked rather well. It looks like I made the right decision when I switched to trades on this series.

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DMZ, volume 6: Blood in the Game

Written by Brian Wood

Art by Ricardo Burchielli

Reading this collection, I'm left wondering who equates Matty Roth with Brian Wood, since Matty comes off as a naive, easily-influenced doofus, even if he is well-meaning. He does seem to fight for what he thinks is right, but this story sees him get involved with a candidate in the election for a "provisional governor" of New York City, and while the guy seems charismatic, he doesn't appear to have much substance below the surface, riding mainly on the message of "giving a voice to the people". That's nice, but who knows what he's actually going to be able to accomplish, if anything. The series does seem to have taken a turn here, and maybe future stories will see Matty learning about the twisted politics and red tape that have to be dealt with in a tangled situation like this one, not to mention the fact that it's a dangerous war zone.

It's very interesting to see what Wood is doing here; as I've said from the beginning, the real power behind this series is that it takes the real-life violence of war and plops it down in our backyard, where American's don't have that distancing barrier of the TV screen to make it easy to think it doesn't matter because it's happening on the other side of the world. The obvious analogy is Iraq, but there are many more similar areas of conflict, and all of them are full of complex issues like we see here. The plot sees an election for a "provisional government", but what does that even mean? Is Manhattan going to become a new country, separate from the split nations of the U.S.A. and the Free States? Will this government have any power, or is it just listening to the "occupiers"? Does all the fighting and death that springs up around the election have any value at all, or are the people just pawns being fought over by powerful governments and corporations? Sure, this is all fiction, but these exact sorts of questions are very real in conflict zones all over the world, and Wood brings it home for readers and makes us realize how lucky we are that we don't have to face them. Yet.

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Powers, volume 12: The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time

Written by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming

Art by Michael Avon Oeming

And so ends the current "volume" of the series. Not volume 12, like it says on the spine, but the volume that has been published by Marvel starting in 2004. Those issues constituted pretty much one long story, and it was pretty damn interesting, seeing major changes for the series' characters and some pretty dramatic events taking place. Even so, I'm not feeling this series like I once was; Bendis' dialogue, which once seemed refreshing, different, and funny, has become much more commonplace now that he has slathered his sub-Mamet-isms across the Marvel universe. It is still good to see him really cut loose though, pumping nasty sex and violence into his stories of superpowered crime and often making things quite disturbing. There's a sort of super-drug-addiction thing going on here that's really gross, and affecting since it's totally based in reality, with people willing to do anything for that next hit.

I dunno, I might be continuing to read this series out of momentum; it's certainly had its moments over the last decade, but it doesn't seem all that unique anymore. Oeming's art, which does do its job pretty well, can grate a little bit, with men mostly conforming to the broad-shouldered, square-jawed look, and women being short and wasp-waisted. I do appreciate the ever-changing nature of the characters though, and the sense of time moving forward and real change taking place. At the end of the volume (which is a natural endpoint and an understandable reason for the forthcoming relaunch and new #1 issue), Walker and Pilgrim are definitely in different places than they were at the beginning of the Icon series, and Pilgrim especially should make for a character to watch. She's stuck with some real guilt about what she has done, and all her relationships have been pretty much destroyed. I don't see her being written out of the series though, so maybe she'll become a PI or something. And Walker's burgeoning relationship with his new partner should be interesting as well, as long as Bendis can keep coming up with interesting cases. So will I keep reading? Yeah, probably. I hope I don't regret it.

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Jack of Fables, volume 5: Turning Pages

Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges

Art by Tony Akins and Russ Braun

It took me long enough to get around to reading this volume, but I'm glad I finally did. This really is a very entertaining series, one that takes the "fairy tales come alive" concept of its parent series and gives it a humorous spin, exploring the limits of the concept and even beginning to introduce some metafictional ideas. It's also slowly moving back toward the main Fables title, just in time to crash right into it for the "Great Fables Crossover", I assume.

Interestingly, the humor gets downplayed in the first of the two stories in this volume, which is a flashback story about Jack in the Old West, when he was a murderous outlaw named Jack Candle. He's always been kind of a lovable bastard, but here he pretty much drops the "lovable" part, and his mayhem spurs Fabletown to send Bigby Wolf to hunt him down and bring him in. It's a striking change for the series, as Jack is seen as kind of a nihilistic misanthrope while still remaining the basically cowardly doofus who mostly gets by on luck that we're used to seeing. When the showdown between him and Bigby finally occurs, he has a sort of breakdown that explains his murderous turn, confessing that after all the death he witnessed in the Civil War, he feels like human life is worthless. It's striking stuff, and a nice bit of characterization and unexpected use of real-world events.

And then it's back to the normal shenanigans, in a three-part story that gives details about the three Page sisters, explains a little bit about the Literals (who will be important in the crossover, getting their own tie-in miniseries), and sees Jack return to the Golden Boughs Retirement Home for what will presumably be a big battle in the next volume. There's some interesting stuff here, including a scary transformation for Humpty Dumpty, a bunch of imaginative "forgotten" Fables, narration directly to the reader by one Eliza Wall (she has three brothers), and some really tumultuous plot developments. It's enough to make me really interested in where things are going next.

I dunno, I really dig the main Fables book, but this one is fun as well, in a different sort of way. It's got kind of a tongue in cheeck attitude, and since it focuses mostly on one protagonist, it's a bit more focused. It's really a different style of storytelling, less epic and more adventurous, but still quite enjoyable all the same. I had been wondering if I wanted to continue to stick with it, but apparently that was just fading memory due to lack of exposure. No, I'm in for the long haul now.

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Northlanders, book 2: The Cross and the Hammer

Written by Brian Wood

Art by Ryan Kelly

Wow, here's another book to really get behind. Brian Wood is really stretching and trying to tell different sorts of stories with this series, and if you ask me, he's succeeding wonderfully. This second collection of his series of Viking stories takes place in an occupied Ireland in 1014 AD, splitting between the viewpoint of a self-styled freedom fighter named Magnus, and his pursuer, an educated Norseman named Ragnar. It's a fascinating, intense, and violent story of the latter chasing the former as he carves a swathe of violence across the kingdom in a one-man crusade to rid his country of its occupiers. And while it's just a minor subplot, an actual fight for the freedom of the country is taking place in the background, as an army of Irishmen have risen up to confront the Norse king and drive him out of their land. This might seem distracting from the main confrontation, but as the story hurtles toward its end, we see that it works as a counterpoint toward Magnus, who seems like an unstoppable badass carrying out his principles but is eventually revealed to be a broken, delusional murderer. It's a great conclusion, one that brings new light on everything that occurred over the course of the story.

Ryan Kelly's art is pretty great too, surprisingly full of blood and gore coming from the artist of Local. He rises to the occasion here beautifully, really bringing Wood's script to life through gorgeous landscapes (which, due to the contribution of colorist Dave McCaig, really match the harsh, forbidding vistas of the other artists who have worked on the series) and clearly-read emotions from the characters.

The story ends up being an excellent examination of the mentality of the nationalistic zealot and what constant violence can do to the mind. Wood has outdone himself here, and aside from one apparent error (SPOILER: Ragnar specifically states that Magnus has a companion, but we later find that Magnus' daughter was imaginary. END SPOILER), the whole thing holds together wonderfully, setting up what seems to be a straightforward story and then yanking the rug out from under readers at the end. This series has quickly become one of the best books that Vertigo is publishing.

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House of Mystery, volume 2: Love Stories for Dead People

Written by Matthew Sturges, Bill Willingham, and Bethany & Peter Keele

Art by Luca Rossi, Tony Akins, David Petersen, Henry Flint, Berni Wrightson, and Kyle Baker

The best thing about this Vertigo series is probably the various short stories that appear in each issues, usually sold as stories told by patrons of the bar in the titular house. The first story arc saw several of these, and they provided a nice break from the confusing main storyline, often leading to some funny and/or horrific images by a string of excellent guest artists. Unfortunately, they seem to be downplayed in this second volume, with the focus returned to the regular cast and their strange encouters with the weirness of the house in which they are trapped. Sure, the shorts pop up in each issue, but with only one exception, they all focus on backstories of the cast; they're still entertaining (with the Tony Akins-illustrated story of Ann the pirate probably being the best, although Berni Wrightson's art on the story about the hapless maiden in all the monster movies is also pretty good), but they all seem to be in service of the increasingly tiresome main storyline, which is a disappointment. And that story is getting more annoying; weird shit happens, nothing gets explained, characters complain. I think I've had enough of that. It's just not clever or interesting enough, despite all the effort from Matthew Sturges writing and Luca Rossi's moody art.

I dunno; I guess it's just not doing it for me, which is a shame, since it started out well. I could also mention Kyle Baker's story about one character's magical childhood adventures, and David Petersen's fairy tale about a war between the cats and the birds; those were also decent. But I'm just not feeling it anymore; I think I'm done with this.

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And there's a dent in my reading pile! Not enough of one though, so I better keep reading.

This week, content is overwhelming

San Diego news: Jeff Smith has more information about the new Bone books, including a sort of correction to the assumption that they would be comics. Nope, they (the "Quest for the Spark" trilogy, that is) will be novels, written by Tom Sniegoski will illustrations by Smith. Those suddenly got a bit less interesting, although I'll probably still want to read them. The Tall Tales volume will reprint Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, now in color, along with a story that originally ran in Disney Adventures that has never been reprinted, and a couple new Big Johnson Bone stories. So, not as exciting as I originally thought, but still pretty cool.

The other big news out of San Diego seems to be Marvel's announcement that they've acquired the rights to Marvelman, which is a pretty big deal, since it's been caught up in legal entanglements for years (decades?) now. Of course, I don't know if this means that they'll be able to reprint the Alan Moore series (which, for anybody who doesn't know, was called Miracleman here in the U.S.), or just tell new stories with the character. I'm sure we'll be hearing lots more about this.

And here's some less-impactful news, but something I still found interesting. Vertigo announced a couple new graphic novels, and the one I'm most interested in is Revolver, by Matt Kindt. It's apparently about a guy bouncing back and forth between two realities. The other one is Dark Rain (not to be confused with Marvel's Dark Reign, ha ha), by Mat "Incognegro" Johnson and Simon "Paris" Gane. And check out that link to see Mike Allred's cover to I, Zombie, along with covers for Grant Morrison's upcoming Joe the Barbarian and a Fables miniseries (or is it a graphic novel? I dunno) called Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love. And hey, since we're talking Fables, you can read a one-page story that was apparently a free handout at a panel here, and also see the news that Bill Willingham and Jim Fern are going to be doing a graphic novel starring Bigby Wolf called Fables: Werewolves in the Heartland. Man, that franchise just keeps on expanding.

Wow, lots of stuff this week, but probably not all that much that I'll actually buy:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 7/29/09):

Complete Dracula #2

I haven't heard much about this adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel by Leah Moore and John Reppion, but I'm curious as to how it compares to Boom!'s adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. I bet Dynamite doesn't get pissy about it being called an adaptation, at least.

Dark Reign The Hood #3

Jeff Parker and Kyle Hotz keep attempting to do something interesting with this hood-wearing guy. Didn't all his powers get taken away in New Avengers? Why is he still around? I didn't read the second issue, so who knows what is actually going on here.

Dark Reign The Sinister Spider-Man #2

The first issue of this miniseries wasn't bad, but most all of the positives can be directed toward Chris Bachalo, who is as awesome as ever. Brian Reed does try to have fun with an unrepentant bad guy as the lead though. We'll see more about what I think tomorrow; I should have a review up at Comics Bulletin.

Detective Comics #855

More pretty Batwoman action from Dini Rucka (duh!) and Williams III. I'm still not all that interested in actually reading this, but any chance I get to look at the amazing artwork, I'll take it.

Fantastic Four #569

It's the big final issue of the Mark Millar/Bryan Hitch run on Marvel's flagship series, only without Millar and Hitch, oddly enough. Well, that's not entirely true; Millar plotted the issue, but Joe Ahearne is picking up the slack on the script, and Stuart Immonen is doing his best Hitch impression on the art. We've got double-sized action, the big finale to the Master of Doom story, and probably a disappointment that it all seems to be trying to hard to feel large-scale and important. Also, a wedding. Eh, now I'm ready to see what Jonathan Hickman is going to do when he takes over next next month.

Fearless Dawn #1

This first issue of Steve Mannion's new series seems interesting, at least judging by Caleb Mozzocco's description. I haven't read Mannion's previous book, The Bomb, but I certainly woudn't mind checking it out. Hot girls and monsters, that's kind of cool, right?

Garth Ennis Battlefields Tankies #3

Oh, man, I've been loving these war comics by Garth Ennis. I finally got around to reading Night Witches and Dear Billy, and now that this one is going to be finished, I'll read the issues all in one go and probably be blown away. This is good stuff, full of violence and awful heroism and acknowledgment of the psychological toll that war can take on people. Man, I love me some Ennis war comics.

Glamourpuss #8

Oh, Dave Sim, always with the narrow-focused interests. Does this title actually meet the Diamond minimums that seems to kill every other indie book these days? If so, crazy; I wouldn't think there would be enough Sim fans/old comics enthusiasts to keep it going. This issue apparently is about the romance strip The Heart of Juliet Jones, which might or might not have been written by Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell. And probably some of Sim's usual fashion-related misogyny, but that's par for the course.

History of the Wildstorm Universe

Ha ha ha, who would pay to read this? Oh, that's right, nobody, so DC is giving it away for free. Here you go, if you're really interested in the various Wolverine clones and hot chicks that Jim Lee and pals dreamed up. Sure, there might be a few others that Warren Ellis or Ed Brubaker or Adam Warren threw in at some point, but it's all pretty lame stuff that can be intermittently made interesting by a decent writer. Enjoy, nerds.

Ignition City #4

I've heard that this Warren Ellis series isn't all that good, but I can still hope that I heard wrong. Maybe I'll read it someday.

King Of Pop Michael Jackson The Comic Book #1

Already? Comics usually take some time to get produced, what with all the scripting and layouts and drawing and trying to make shit readable. For something like this to get rushed out to capitalize on the media frenzy since MJ's death means this will most likely be terrible, and haven't we all learned every detail anybody would want to know from the media frenzy of the last month or so? If you buy this, you're probably an asshole.

Muppet Show Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #1

Hoo man, Roger Langridge don't quit! It's another four-issue miniseries, this time with a little bit more issue-to-issue continuity, but still staying nicely within the confines of the old TV show. I predict awesomeness and hilarity. Boom! is really on the rise as a company, and quality books like this one are the reason why. Go Animal!

New Avengers #55

As if one giant-sized issue of Stuart Immonen art wasn't enough for the week, here's a second comic that he drew. This marks his debut as the new regular artist on what might be Marvel's biggest book, and it's a welcome departure from the ugliness of Billy Tan. Of course, whether you want to read it depends on how much you like Brian Michael Bendis's tiresome dialogue and villain-centric antics, but at least there's something good about the book now.

Northlanders #19

Vikings! Fighting ladies! Danijel Zezelj! I gotta read this, so hopefully it will be collected before too long. It's the second and final issue of a story about Valkyries (or their inspiration, or something like that), and I bet it's a good read, as this series pretty much always is.

Rawbone #3

Jamie Delano! Pirates! Perversity! I hear that this series is hilarious in its over-the-topness; I'll have to look for it when it gets collected.

Secret Warriors #6

And so marks the end of the first arc on this series, and I believe the last one that Brian Bendis was involved with. After this, it's all Jonathan Hickman (writing, that is) all the time. Unfortunately, I haven't been too impressed with the title, but it hasn't been terrible or anything. I think it's pretty much just a big fight, with Nick Fury, his super-team, and a bunch of ex-SHIELD guys trying to steal a helicarrier or something. Fun is where you make it.

Stuff of Legend #1

This series from some company called Th3rd World Studios has to do with a bunch of toys fighting an evil boogeyman to save a little boy, which could be either overly cutesy or kind of cool. Judging by the art samples, I'm leaning toward the latter. It's certainly something I would check out if I saw it. Apparently there was a Free Comic Book Day issue that came out, and you can read it for free here. Looks neat.

Ultimatum #5

Oh my, here's the train wreck of the week. While I'm probably wrong about this, I can't believe anyone is seriously excited about or interested in the developments of this series; everything I've read of or about it is just awful beyond belief. Why would Marvel publish something like this, that gleefully dismembers (versions of) their beloved characters to no visible purpose? It's baffling. I'm curious to look inside, just to see what sort of nastiness Jeph Loeb came up with and passed off as a real comic book, but that's not a recommendation. Don't actually buy this, I implore you.

Ultimatum Spider-Man Requiem #2

Speaking of which, here's more of that boo-hoo sad stuff about Ultimate Spider-Man dying and people remembering how awesome he was. I think it might be Stuart Immonen's last work on the character? Plus, there's some Mark Bagley in here; it might be readable, but that doesn't mean I condone it.

Unknown Soldier #10

Vertigo, Africa, violence, real-world political commentary. When is the first collection of this series coming out? I want to read it.

Wednesday Comics #4

And more of the really nice-looking large-size visuals. I suppose I could try to review this each week, but I'll just say that I'm enjoying it, for the most part. Superman is still dumb though, Teen Titans is near-unreadable, Metal Men is kind of silly, Wonder Woman is interestingly ambitious but a bit confusing, and not much has happened for two weeks in Metamorpho. Everything else has been pretty good though, at least on an art level. I like the week-to-week storytelling in Batman, Hawkman has taken a cool turn, as has Demon/Catwoman, Supergirl continues to be fun, Strange Tales rocks your face off, Kamandi is gorgeous and involving, and even Green Lantern and Flash aren't bad. Is that everything? This week: more of the same, I'm guessing.

A Drifting Life TP New Printing

Oh man, I still haven't read this. I'll get to it soon, I hope, but I'm desperately trying to catch up with all the stuff on my to-read pile. Soon, man, soon (I'm probably lying).

Al Williamson's Flash Gordon A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic HC

This looks like a cool book, collecting all the "major" stuff that the great illustrator did on the character from the 60s all the way up through 1994. I bet it will be a gorgeous collection of artwork, and it might even be a good read too.

Beanworld Book 2 Gift Comes HC

More strange, flat adventures of weird little oblong creatures. I still don't really get this comic, but I haven't read enough of it to really do so, I think. I'll have to find volume one and try to dive in and see if I can get into the right frame of mind. I believe this volume collects all the previously-released material, in anticipation of the all-new volume 3 that comes out this fall.

Cell Block Z TP

I had not previously been aware of this, but apparently it's a semi-autobiographical comic from rapper Ghostface Killah? It seems pretty fictionalized, being about a boxer who gets framed for murder and thrown into prison, where he is experimented on like Luke Cage or something. Maybe it's the autobio of the Ghostface persona. Interesting?

Evil & Malice Save The World TP

This is a collection of a sort of kids' book from Bomb Queen creator Jimmie Robinson, originally published in 1998. Something about a supervillain's kids, well, saving the world. Maybe fun? I dunno, Robinson's claim to fame at the moment is a sex-and-nudity-filled supervillain book, so who knows if he can do kid-friendly. It might be all right.

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 The Authorized Adaptation

It's a good thing this is official; you don't want to cross Ray Bradbury. Just ask Michael Moore. Anyway, this book is one of the great ones, so here's your chance to check it out if you haven't read it, because doesn't everybody try to get either the movie or comic version of a classic book when they have to read it for school? Tim Hamilton is the artist doing the adaptation here, and it looks really nice; you can see some samples at the Amazon page for the book. I love that cover.

Festering Romance GN

This is a new graphic novel from Oni Press by Renee Lott, about a two young people forming a relationship and trying to get over the wounds of their past, hence the "festering" part of the title. That sounds interesting; I'm always glad to see comics about subjects that don't get used very often (at least not in the U.S. comics industry). There might be a supernatural element to this too, but who knows. I'd check it out, given the chance.

Fire And Brimstone Vol 1 TP

This is from Antarctic Press, who are usually ignorable purveyors of faux manga, but this one might be worth a look, since it's by Richard Moore, creator of Boneyard. He's got a nice style and can write some entertaining stories, so this comic about an angel and a demon teaming up to fight evil or something might be good. Maybe. Here's a preview.

Gauze TP

This appears to be a sort of horror comic from Arcana Studios, with three interweaving storylines involving a drug-addicted divorcee, one of those obsessed detectives, and a computer nerd all coming into contact with a serial killer. It's by Gerrin Tramis and Dave Hamann; here's an interview with what appear to be some unfinished art samples.

Ghost Rider Last Stand TPB

I keep hearing that Jason Aaron's run on this series has been tons of fun, with lots of exploitation cinema-style touches. I guess this would be as good a place to check it out as any, especially since Tan Eng Huat does the art, and it's supposed to be quite good. Maybe the library will have it?

Invincible Iron Man Vol 2 HC

Here's the beginning of the second arc on Matt Fraction's Iron Man run, in which Tony Stark decides to erase his brain while on the run from the bad guys. It's all right, I guess, although it seemed to go through some fairly boring bits before picking up in the last few issues, which won't be included here. I can't really recommend it, but it's a decent read, I suppose. As long as you can stomach Salvador Larocca's photoref-style artwork, that is.

Jersey Gods Vol 1 I'd Live and I'd Die For You

This comic seems to have gotten some acclaim, with a story about Jack Kirby-esque cosmic gods getting involved in the life of a girl who lives in New Jersey. I really need to check it out, and now here's the volume where I might try to do so. For anybody like me, who still hasn't read any of the series, you can read the full first issue here. They always try to hook you with the free taste.

Jesus Christ In The Name Of The Gun Vol 1 Hollow Cost TP

I don't think I was aware of this before, and it doesn't sound like the type of thing that would slip from my mind (unless my mind is going in my old age). It's about Jesus, who has been resurrected to fight Nazis in World War II, or something. Sounds fairly funny and sacreligious. Apparently, it's a webcomic, and this is the first collection, but you can read it online starting here. Enjoy, blasphemers!

Leo Pulp TP

IDW has this translation of an Italian series that seems to be a humorous riff on the noir stories of Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett. Cool. I can't find a whole lot of information about it online, but I'm always happy to see European stuff get translated. Hopefully this is one of the good ones.

Lobster Johnson Novel Book 1 Satan Factory

Not a comic, but a novel based in Mike Mignola's Hellboy-verse by Tom Sniegoski. It looks to have a WWII-era pulp feel, and the cover is pretty cool. I really should try to get caught up on all the Hellboy/BPRD stuff.

Marvel 1985 TPB

I didn't like this comic, but I seem to keep mentioning it every time a new version of it comes out. How silly of me. Anyway, it's Mark Millar writing about supervillains invading the "real world", and Tommy Lee Edwards doing a bang-up job on the art. Read it if you must.

MOME Vol 15 Spring 2009 TP

Another installment of the respected Fantagraphics anthology which I feel like I should be reading but never do. This one has T. Edward Bak, Gilbert Shelton, Dash Shaw, Andrice Arp, Sara Edward-Corbett, Robert Goodin, and Paul Hornschemeier, among others. I bet it's good. Here, have an excerpt/slideshow.

Northlanders TP Vol 2

I mentioned the new issue of this series above, but for those of us who read in collected format, here's the second volume, containing Brian Wood's latest collaboration with Ryan Kelly, which I'm very excited to see. "The Cross and the Hammer", faith and violence, awesome Viking shit. I'm all over this.

Sabre 30th Anniversary HC Signed & Numbered Edition

I was not aware of this book's existence; apparently it's a classic graphic novely by Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy, about some guy with a sword in an evil future. It was probably quite ambitious at the time, but who knows if it holds up today. This version is a fancy one, but there's also a simple hardcover version for $14.99, which seems like a lot for 48 pages, but whatever. I guess there's going to be a new GN continuing the series, so this probably gets everybody up to speed.

Scourge of the Gods Prem HC Vol 1

This is one of those French comics that Marvel is publishing, about some futuristic intergalactic Roman empire. I have no idea if it is any good. Anybody wanna weigh in? Or is there anybody who has actually read it? I was excited about the deal Marvel did with Soleil, but I'm wondering how long it's going to last, when I never hear anything about any of the books. I blame myself; I should make more money so I can buy all of these things.

Skin Deep GN

Fantagraphics has this new version of Charles Burns' graphic novel. It's one of his earlier, pre-Black Hole books, featuring some of his weird stories. I should read it; I have not experienced enough of Burns to satiate my hunger. You can see a couple preview pages here.

Skull & Bones TP

This was apparently a three-issue miniseries that DC published back in 1991; it's being collected in one volume now by Moonstone. From what I can tell, it's about espionage, computer hackers, and biological weapons in 90s Russia. Maybe decent?

Surrogates Vol 2 Flesh And Bone TP

I still haven't read the first volume of this futuristic series from Top Shelf, even though I've been meaning to for a couple years now. And now it's getting made into a movie, and a sequel is out, and I'm behind on everything else, so who knows if I'll ever read it. Hopefully, it will come into my possession at some point, and I won't be disappointed.

Suspended In Language Niels Bohrs Life GN New Printing

Jim Ottaviani seems to really be pumping out these science comics lately; I really ought to check some of them out. This one is about the father of quantum mechanics. I like science, reading about it makes me feel smart, except when I don't understand it and feel dumb. I hope this does the former.

Tasty Bullet GN

I don't know if this is a collection of some previously-published comic, but Image has this book by Jonathan Vankin and Arnold Pander, and it looks sufficiently crazy, about an advertisement come to life in a future world who fights against the evil energy drink company that created her. Weird.

War Stories A Graphic History TP

This is one of those classy reprint-type books, full of classic war comics that span several eras. Good, informative reading, hopefully.

Werewolf by Night TP Blood in the Moon

I never read the recent Marvel MAX series; was it any good? They've done a couple things like this recently, doing a more "adult" (that is, violent, maybe with some swears) take on some of their old horror properties. Duane Swierczynski and Mico Suayan did this one; if anybody has read it, give me a verdict.

Will Eisners Life on Another Planet TP WW Norton Edition

And another Eisner book in a nice package. I haven't read this one, but I would sure like to.

Black Bird Vol 1 TP

Manga! Lots this week, starting with the first volume of this shojo series from Viz about a girl pursued by demons. I talked about the first chapter when it was previewed in Shojo Beat a few months ago, and it seemed interesting. I wouldn't mind giving it a try.

Cirque Du Freak Vol 2 GN

It's the second (manga) volume of Darren Shan's multimedia thing about vampires at a circus. I heard the first one was decent; I could see myself giving this series a look, given the chance.

Crimson Hero Vol 11 TP

Volleyball! I liked this series in Shojo Beat, although probably not quite enough to seek it out now that the magazine has ended. Does this volume have the whole "attempted rape" subplot?

Hayao Miyazaki Starting Point 1979-1996 TP

Viz is putting out several of these books focusing on Miyazaki's career, and I bet they're quite nice-looking. I do love Miyazaki's films, and this is probably a nice resource, full of pictures, sketches, essays, and interviews. Yeah, I could read it.

Kimi Ni Todoke -From Me To You- Vol 1 GN

This is another one that was previewed in Shojo Beat, and I liked it well enough. It's about a girl who is unpopular due to her resemblance to a ghost in a The Ring-style Japanese horror movie. But she meets a nice boy and falls in love, as is the way things work in shojo manga. I bet it's a cute, nice read. Awwww.

Magic Touch Vol 3 TP

Oddly, this series about massage seems to have met a fairly cold critical reception, or so it seems from the reviews I've read online. I liked the first chapter when it ran in SB, but maybe the rest of the series doesn't live up to its promise. Oh well.

Otomen Vol 3 TP

On the other hand, this series (which was also excerpted in that same issue) about a girly-boy seems to be doing well, at least in terms of online reviewage. I liked it too; it goes to show that you never know what's going to turn out well.

Pluto Urasawa x Tezuka Vol 4 TP

Oh man, I'm getting behind on this series already. I've only read the first volume, so I've got three more to go, and I should do it sooner rather than later. Gritty Astro Boy FTW!

Slam Dunk Vol 5 GN Viz Edition

And here's another one on which I've fallen behind, dammit. I love this series; Takehiko Inoue is just amazing. Read it.

Tena On S-String Vol 1 GN

One of the only non-Viz manga that I found notable this week, this one appears to be about a boy who can see invisible musical strings connecting everyone, and also a Gothic Lolita girl who recruits him to do something or other. Sounds weird, but, hey, I like weirdness. I hope this isn't the skeevy kind.

Vampire Knight Vol 7 TP

More Shojo Beat manga! I don't know if I'll bother trying to follow this one too closely now that the magazine has ended, but it is kind of a guilty pleasure, so I could see myself checking out a volume or two somewhere down the road. This one is still catching up on stuff that I've already read though; I don't know if it will get to the big game-changing reveal, or if they're saving that for next volume. Be prepared to freak out, fangirls.

WaqWaq Vol 1 TP

And finally, here's a strange shonen series about robots hunting humans in a post-apocalyptic future. I read the first chapter in last month's Shonen Jump, and it was interesting enough to at least pay attention to. I might go on and read this volume as well, since Viz did send me a review copy. Weird and wild stuff, man. Manga!

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Is that everything. Wow, lots of stuff. I've turned back into a weekly regular at the comic shop; looks like I'll be there once again. It's a good thing I love comics.