Athletic Monster Mash interlude #2: Slam Dunk lightens the mood a little

Hey, it looks like Eric Powell is going to be doing a crossover between The Goon and Metalocalypse sometime this summer.  That's pretty awesome.  Here's the trailer.

And I don't know if I've linked this before, but the late, great Seth Fisher's mom is continuing to post on his blog, analyzing his work and posting some of his short stories.  Good stuff, including this one that originally appeared in Heavy Metal.

Slam Dunk, volume 3

By Takehiko Inoue

Wow, this manga is about as enjoyable as comics get.  As we've seen in previous volumes, Takehiko Inoue has a real flair for goofy comedy, exciting sports action, and appealing characters, and that's as true here as ever.  He gets a lot of mileage out of just bouncing his obnoxious lug of a main character off of the rest of the cast, and at times, it seems like he's walking right up to the limits of likeability while still remaining on readers' good sides.

This volume sees Hanamichi, that doofus of a protagonist, constantly goofing around, bickering with his rival Rukawa, and refusing to cooperate when the team captain tries to get him to practice and actually learn how to play.  He just wants to do slam dunks all the time, so when he is forced to learn to do a simple lay-up, he struggles hilariously:

He also can't stand to see Rukawa get any attention, so he keeps throwing balls at him:

This leads to at least one laugh-out-loud moment; Hanamichi is a boundless source of slapstick comedy, since he's completely external.  Other than occasional pinings for his crush Haruko, nothing crosses his mind that he doesn't shout out to everyone nearby.  He's also constantly bragging about how good he is, even though he barely knows anything about basketball.  He's only interested in self-glorification, so learning about such basics as rebounding is beneath him:

The only reason anybody even puts up with him is due to his excellent natural athletic ability.  With some training, he could be a great addition to the team, but he's such a force of nature, it's near-impossible to get him to do anything constructive.  Hilariously, the other characters are already learning how to manipulate him into actually following instructions, as when the coach infoms him that the reason he's not in the starting lineup is because he's the team's secret weapon.

This all makes for some great reading, and you can see some canny moves on Inoue's part as he introduces his readers to the sport along with his protagonist.  It's easy to see why this manga made the sport so popular in Japan; things start out simple, rather than barraging the reader with rules and technicalities.  So far, Hanamichi has learned about the slam dunk, basic dribbling and ball-handling, the lay-up, and rebounding.  He's got a long way to go, with much, much more to learn; topics like man-on-man defense, full-court press, and blocking out are sure to pop up on the curriculum, with Hanamichi probably complaining about them all the way.

That's another thing that works so well about the series: while Hanamichi is self-centered and obnoxious, he doesn't get away with acting like a jerk.  He's constantly reprimanded by Akagi, the gorilla-like captain of the team:

And he makes himself look ridiculous more often than not; it's hilarious to watch him try to look cool and completely screw up nearly every time.  Hopefully, Inoue will continue to develop him as a character and actually have him learn some teamwork and respect for his fellow players.  In the meantime, we'll get plenty of great moments, with many more sure to come next volume when the team plays an exhibition game against a rival school.  I can imagine all sorts of hilarity stemming from the situation, and expecting Inoue to exceed my expectations is a pretty sure bet.

Rip-Off Theater presents: The Even Less Content Than Usual Setting

Eh, just because I'm immersed in a really long book and too lazy to finish reading and writing about various comics doesn't mean that I can't post anything.  Plus, I actually went to the comics store and bought some books, so I'll go the easy route and just post panels from the latest issue of The Goon.  Enjoy!

And I just love the artwork in this one.  Check out those beautiful shadows:

Expect more of this sort of thing until I get back on track with the reading of actual bloggable material.

This week might also be slow?

Man, nothing new this weekend, for some reason. And I'm about to go on vacation again, so there will probably be little of note around here for the next few days either. Ah, lazy summer!

For your reading enjoyment, I've got a review of The Goon #26 up over at Comics Bulletin.

In other news, the newest installment of Smith Magazine's Next-Door Neighbor is by Harvey Pekar and Rick Veitch, which is a good combination. Check it out.

Brandon Graham is apparently having trouble getting Tokyopop to actually publish the second volume of King City (bastards!), so he has posted the first twelve pages on his blog (you have to scroll down a little bit to get to them), and might continue posting chapters if it never gets printed. So, uh, check that out, I guess, since that might be the only way we ever get to read it. Too bad; I loved the first volume of that book.

Anyway, I won't be picking these up until next week, but here they are:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 7/16/08):

Charlatan Ball #2

Man, I totally dug the first issue of this Joe Casey/Andy Suriano series. I should have written a review or something. Maybe when I get back, I can do something about these first two issues. Watch for it!

Godland #24

Speaking of Joe Casey, this issue should make enough for a fourth collection, right? Then I'll be able to catch up on the story. It's good; I've been missing the cosmic craziness of the series.

Gwaii #1

Is the title of this book supposed to be a play on "kawaii", the Japanese word for cute? It's a kids' book about a little sasquatch trying to find his lost mother. Could be fun. You can see some preview pages here.

Lois #1

Lois Gilbert, an acquaintance of Harvey Pekar, does her own American Splendor-style book here, telling about her experiences as a stand-up comedian, exotic dancer, and other adventures. Pekar co-writes some stories, and Gary Dumm and Greg Budgett, two regular Splendor contributors, provide the art. Could be worth a look.

Normal #1

An interesting project in which writer Stephen Orlando wrote a one-page story and had a bunch of different artists illustrate it, showing the differences in people's interpretations. I don't recognize the names of any of the artists apart from Matt Silady (The Homeless Channel), but it still looks like something I wouldn't mind reading. Here's a page with some information and some preview pages.

Paradise Lost #1

Also from Stephen Orlando's House Spirit Press, we've got an adaptation of the classic poem by John Milton. I have no idea if it will be any good, but the cover looks nice.

Sky Doll #3

Ending the Marvel translation of the extant issues of the French sci-fi/political-religious satire/sexploitation comic. I liked the first issue well enough, but I didn't read the second one. Maybe I'll pick up the collected version.

Universal War One #1

And then we've got the next addition to Marvel's Soleil lineup. This one appears to be a sci-fi story about a big war and a weird space anomaly that appears in the solar system. I should have a review up at Comics Bulletin tomorrow, but so far, I would say it's kind of interesting, and pretty nice-looking, but fairly sterile. I'll see what else I have to say when I finish reading it.

War is Hell: First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #5

Concluding the Garth Ennis/Howard Chaykin WWI miniseries. This has been an excellent read, and I can't wait to see how Ennis finishes it. Don't let me down, Garth!

Blue GN

From Desperado Publishing (that's a division of Image, right?), it's a reworked/modernized/whatever version of the Bluebeard fairytale by Elizabeth Genco and Sami Makkonen. The art looks cool (here's a preview), with sort of an Ashley Wood style. I might have to check it out.

Dock Walloper Vol 1 TP

So did this turn out to be any good? From what I remember, it was a story about a dockworker with a big hand, "created by" the actor Ed Burns. Virgin Comics' stuff seems to miss more often than hit, but you never know when they might put out something pretty good. Did anybody bother to read this and find out?

Dominion TPB

From Boom! Studios, it's some sort of alien-invasion tale "created by" Keith Giffen, but actually written by Michael Alan Nelson and drawn by Tim Hamilton. I've got an electronic review copy, so I'll let you know if it's any good whenever I get around to looking at it.

Fatal Faux Pas TP

A collection of gag comics from Samuel C. Gaskin, previously published as minicomics. It looks pretty good, and Nina Stone over at The Factual Opinion reviewed it recently. I'll have to try to obtain a copy. Here's the official page on publisher Secret Acres' site.

Goddess Of War #1

This new series by Lauren Weinstein has been getting some really good buzz on the comics inter-blags, so it's another one I'll have to try to pick up sometime. It follows the adventures of a valkyrie named Valerie, and it's kind of expensive for a 32-page pamphlet ($12.95), but it's huge at 14.5" x 10". Sounds neat; here's Jog's review; he can tell you why it's interesting much better than I can.

Houdini Handcuff King TPB

I don't know if this is a new version of the book or what, but maybe it means I'll actually read it now. It's about one of Houdini's famous escapes, and it's written by Jason Lutes and drawn by Nick Bertozzi. I've heard it's not bad. I may even one day be able to judge it for myself rather than just parroting what I've heard from others.

Howard the Duck Omnibus Vol. 1 HC

Marvel puts out a huge collection of Steve Gerber's creation, containing over 30 issues of the series and some other appearances (including some issues of Giant-Size Man-Thing, hee hee). A hundred bucks seems pricey, but that's a lot of material. I wish I could afford it.

Jeff Smith Bone & Beyond HC

I guess this is the portable version of the Jeff Smith museum exhibit that people have been talking about for a while now. Sounds like it's got some interviews with Smith, original art from the series, and other artwork from people who have influenced him. Probably would look nice on a coffee table, but I'm fine just reading the actual comics rather than spend money on a book celebrating how awesome they are.

Method Man GN

Hahahaha, this looks hilariously, stupidly silly. It's about a private investigator who is a member of a secret order of Cain's descendants that has to fight evil, or something. And hilariously, the rapper who co-wrote it named it after himself. I guess that's a selling point, but it kind of brands the whole thing as an ego-trip vanity project, doesn't it? Eh, it might be funny to look at, but I doubt it would really be worth reading, even with art by Sanford Greene. Here's an article about the thing on CBR, if you care.

Sparrow Boxed Set

75 bucks gets you a slip-cased set of all those artbooks that IDW has put out, featuring people like Ashley Wood, Phil Hale, and others. Probably good stuff, but too rich for my blood.

Tiki Joe Mysteries Vol 1 High Stakes Patsy TPB

This could be fun. It's an Ocean's 11-style crime story set in 1959 Las Vegas, about a guy who gathers his friends to pull a job against the mafia, who have been pressuring him for protection money. It's by Mike Murphy, from Slave Labor Graphics. I'll see if I can check it out. Here's the official site, which contains a preview.

Who Can Save Us Now TP

I don't think I would normally even bother mentioning this collection of superhero-themed short stories (because god knows we need more superhero stories; that well hasn't been plumbed already or anything), especially since I don't recognize any of the contributing writers, but I see that it contains illustrations by Chris Burnham, artist of Nixon's Pals. So I wouldn't mind opening it up and looking at it, I guess.

Wormdye TP

Also from Secret Acres, this is a collection of Eamon Espey's comics, and it also looks interesting, in that odd, artcomixy way. Maybe I'll check it out sometime? Here's the publisher's page.

ZOT TP VOL 01

I think this is the collection of the black and white issues of Scott McCloud's comic. I've read a little of the color version (I think), and it's pretty good stuff. McCloud is more famous these days for his non-fiction books, but this series is very well-regarded. I should try to read more of it. Here's an article that Tom Spurgeon wrote about the book.

Oh My God Vol 1 GN

From Aurora Manga, this is a shojo/shonen-ai comic about a guy who makes friends with an amnesiac deity that takes the guise of a high school student. Could be enjoyable?

Real Vol 1 GN

Takehiko Inoue's wheelchair basketball manga hits stores. I totally dug this first volume, so I highly recommend that you check it out. Yes, I mean you!

Star Trek Manga Vol. 3

I often hear that this series is hilarious, but I've never read it. I should try to do so sometime. Library?

Vassalord Vol 1 GN

From Tokyopop, this is about a cyborg vampire who works for the Vatican. What? Hey, sometimes when you throw a bunch of genre elements into a blender, it can come out pretty tasty. I don't know if that's the case here, but it's got my interest at least. We'll see if I ever bother reading it.
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And I think that's everything for the week. As I said, I'm going on vacation, so while I'm hoping to have something up tonight, I might not be around until next week. But please don't forget me in my absence! I'll be back!

The Goon: Powell's back, baby!

Not that he ever left. Along with the thing below (still stalling until I can get to longer stuff, and don't expect anything tomorrow either), I've got a bunch of stuff up at Comics Bulletin: Bat Lash #2, Maintenance #7, and Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now #4. Have fun readin'. And then there's this:

The Goon #20
By Eric Powell



Well, this was nice to see. Eric Powell went for a more serious take on the Goon and his world in the recent Chinatown graphic novel, and while that was quite good, it was also great to see him back in hilarious form on a new issue of the (now monthly!) ongoing series. And sure enough, I started laughing out loud on the first page, with it's description of one of the series typical hillbilly morons, who blamed a sickness on "the dead Mongolian fish monger he believed lived in his bowels." I guess that's funnier in context, but trust me, it's pretty laugh-inducing. And that's just the first page. Later on, we also get a crazy, one-armed, ham-obsessed homeless guy:



Or the Goon and Franky having a discussion about women and their various merits:



Yup, Powell's back in his regular form. The plot this issue involves some harpy bird-women terrorizing the customers of a burlesque house. Apparently, our heroes have fought them before, but I forget when. In any case, they end up fighting them, and (more) hilarity predictably ensues. Good times as always, and luckily we won't need to wait too long until the next chapter.

Powell's art is still looking mighty fine; he's joined for the foreseeable future by Dave Stewart on colors, but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. That Mr. Stewart is a talented fellow. And for added value, Powell contributes an extra-long letter column, cheekily answering questions from readers (including spammers) and interviewing/harassing burlesque performers for art reference. Ah, comedy.

So it's not like you need me to tell you this, but check out this book. It's damn funny, and very well drawn. And don't discount stuff like gorilla-punching, whining undead magicians, and illegitimate cat-babies. There's something for everyone!

The Goon: Chinatown: That gargoyle wasn't lying

Wow, two reviews in one night! However, I'll still keep reminding people about my contest. I'm still waiting for entries, people!

The Goon: Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker
By Eric Powell



The regular Goon comic is one of the funniest comics being published, but this "origin" graphic novel is different, as proclaimed by a post-title page illustration of a gargoyle and "This Ain't Funny" in giant, page-filling letters. It's an indication that we're in for a different sort of story, one of tragedy, sorrow, betrayal, and despair. Sure, the series has trafficked in these elements before, but it still lightened the dark spots with some of its trademark humor; Eric Powell has purposefully omitted any levity here, letting us focus on the tragedy of the Goon's past (and, occasionally, his present).

The story here is twofold, with part of it taking place in the present as a strange adversary calling himself Mr. Wicker (so named because his body is covered in thorny twigs) shows up, beats the Goon and Franky to a pulp, and starts taking over all the rackets in town. We also get flashbacks to the Goon's past, in another incident where he almost lost control of the city's criminal element, this time due to love. But since that dame isn't around in the present, and we've seen that the Goon seems to feel that nobody can love his ugly mug, we know it's not going to end well. Sure enough, his heart gets scarred as much as his face does.

It's pretty effective stuff; at first I wasn't feeling it, being too used to the series' regular humor and regretting its loss. But soon enough, I was caught up in the story, wondering where it would be going next, who the mysterious Mr. Wicker was, and what happened to the Goon in the past. The atmosphere becomes more like a noir film, full of shadowy villains, femmes fatale, and criminal struggles (and a prevalent magical element, as befits the series regular story).

Powell's art is as excellent as always; he shades everything with watercolor-like hues that give the story a somber mood, and the scenes in the past are sepia-colored. The whole book has a dark, grey tone that fits the world of moral compromise; with the excision of the comedy elements, the occasional bright, fantastical colors have disappeared as well. The character art is beautiful as well; Powell draws wonderful old-world faces on all the gangsters and tough guys that fill the background scenes, and his work on the Goon is incredible. When he's happy and in love, we see a smile on his face and a bright spark in his eyes; it lends an understanding to his constant grim face in the present. And one scene still sticks with me: a bit where, after the Goon has been rejected, he stares in the mirror looking at his ugly mug. Powell depicts it as a series of full-page illustrations of his face, with each one looking more anguished than the last. It's hard to watch; you can see his heart breaking right in front of your eyes:



So, it's a really good book, although it's probably geared toward fans of the series rather than casual readers. I don't know what someone who had never heard of The Goon would think of it, but hopefully it would still hang together and make a nice noir tale even divorced of familiarity with the characters. But for me, it's a really good addition to the background of the book, and I'm hoping it will add to future installments. Now, hopefully Powell will be able to put out more than a couple issues a year...

One word about new comics: SHAZAM!

But I'll get to that one later. Here's what I thought about what I bought this week:

Army@Love #5
By Rick Veitch



Man, this book is seriously nuts. I love it. I'm wondering if Veitch is going to be able to keep up the crazy satire (this issue, the army sponsors a concert in the middle of the war zone, and a mullah declares a fatwa against the band due to pressure from a rival record label; also, the "hot zone club" becomes official, with patches being handed out to soldiers who have sex in a battle zone, and an officer's personal problems are dealt with by having his wife sent to a secret prison) while keeping up with his large cast. I imagine he has plenty more planned, but I bet it would be easy to start shifting the focus to the characters rather than the satire. Here's hoping he can keep up the balance, giving us plenty of character moments while going all out with the corporate sponsorship jokes and stuff like that.
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Blackgas 2 #3 (of 3)
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Ryan Waterhouse



I only just noticed when checking the credits that the artwork in this issue was done by Ryan Waterhouse rather than Max Fiumara. That's probably not a very good sign, that I didn't even notice the change. Unfortunately, this is really not a very good comic. I liked the first miniseries, with a slightly different take on zombies, in that the disease brought out people's worst inner impulses, turning them into murderous, sex-crazed maniacs. This sequel miniseries mostly ignored that aspect, focusing on your standard zombie carnage. This issue ends up with the last surviving character wandering through New York, killing zombies or witnessing their nasty acts (like one zombie fucking a headless corpse) before the army drops a nuke on the city, which causes an earthquake and releases more of the titular black gas into the atmosphere, presumably dooming mankind. The end. Yawn. I dunno, maybe I'm just getting sick of zombies, so this sort of thing just doesn't interest me anymore, but this series seemed especially depressing and boring. Maybe, in the typical commentary that zombie stories inspire, Ellis is trying to say that there is no hope for humanity, and our worst impulses will doom us all. Did I mention that it was depressing?
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Cover Girl #3 (of 5)
Written by Andrew Cosby and Kevin Church
Art by Mateus Santolouco



Ah, now this is more like it; sexy girls, movie stars, and car chases! I'm really enjoying this series, although I have a few questions. First, was it an error when we get a page with the caption "three weeks ago", followed by a page captioned "two weeks ago", and then no caption on the next page? There's a shift in scene, and I was expecting a "now" caption or something. It was slightly confusing. Also, we get a scene of the bad guy threatening his girlfriend, the girl that Alex rescued in the first issue. I know we need a plot for the series, but wouldn't it make more sense for him to just kill the girlfriend and be done with the whole thing, rather than continue to make attempts on Alex's life? There does seem to be a terrorism plot afoot, so I'm sure more dastardly plans will ensue, but it seems he is unnecessarily risking men and resources trying to kill a guy that has probably forgotten about the incident. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't question the plot points of what is trying to be an action-movie-style story. And I don't want to make it sound like I'm not liking it; there's some great stuff, like Rachel threatening Alex with a gun whenever she wants to win an argument, Alex learning real fighting skills from his supposed "girlfriend", rather than the showy fighting that looks good on camera, and a fun car chase, with Alex stuck in the driver's seat as he and Rachel are being slammed from all sides by evil SUV's. There's plenty of good dialogue too, like Alex saying to the car, "Come on, baby, hold together!", with Rachel replying, "Don't call me baby!" I know, that's an old joke, but I liked it. I'm also liking Santolouco's art, which still isn't as good as Rafael Albuquerque's cover art, but it's getting close. So, it might be late to start reading the miniseries, but I definitely recommend reading the eventual collection. Unless the last two issues suck. Don't let me down, Church!
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Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears #6 (of 6)
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Clayton Crain



Wow, two miniseries by two of my favorite writers ended this week, and I disliked both of them. Of course, I kind of hate Ghost Rider anyway, but I liked the Western premise of this series, and the first two or three issues were just interesting enough to make me want to get the next one, until I got to the point where I felt like I had to finish the story. But now that it's over, I'm left with a big shrug and a feeling of disappointment. Of course, Clayton Crain's murky art doesn't help win me over, but the story just wasn't worth the time (or money) I spent reading it. This final installment did have some interesting discussion of the nature of revenge (and the odd notion that Ghost Rider was some sort of African spirit, rather than a minion of the Christian devil), but really, not worth it. So anybody that was curious, unless you're a big Ghost Rider fan, or love Clayton Crain's art, steer clear of this comic.
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The Goon #19
By Eric Powell



Looks like Eric Powell is finally getting back to his regular story, after a sort of filler issue, the Goon Noir miniseries, and the Satan's Sodomy Baby one-shot. That might explain the "summarize the plot" nature of this issue, with its captions featuring the Goon's inner monologue, as he goes into a swamp to fight an octopus monster, leading to this awesome splash page:



Oh, hell yeah. That's some beautiful stuff there. We also get one of the comedy intros that Powell does every so often, this time lampooning Oprah's hawking of that bullshit The Secret (which I won't link to, because it offends me; you can Google it (or just read this issue) if you don't know about it and really must find out). Unfortunately, it's not as funny as these bits usually are, possibly because it goes on for a bit longer than necessary, but I'll get behind any attack on that idiocy. Anyway, it's a decent issue, and hopefully it signals a return to this book coming out on a regular basis. We do have the Chinatown graphic novel coming out in a couple months, so there's plenty of Powell madness to look forward to.
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The Programme #1 (of 12)
Written by Peter Milligan
Art by C.P. Smith



Wow, this book is crazy. I'm wondering if I should have waited for the trade, but oh well, I don't mind reading something this good on a monthly basis. The story has to do with a superhuman attack on U.S. troops in the Middle East (in a fictional country called Talibstan), which seems to awaken a man (probably also a superhuman) that originated from a Nazi genetics experiment. There are some jarring shifts in time and location, and some really cool art by C.P. Smith, who is helped immensely by colorist Jonny Rench:



I love the gritty texture the colors add to the art. The book has a really interesting, shadow-filled look, with occasional splashes of color, like the greenish explosion when the troops are attacked:



And I'm digging the political atmosphere Milligan is establishing here, with the United States caught in a stupid war in the Middle East, an overly religious and out-of-it President, and tons of state secrets and scandals. I'll be back for more next issue, and the ten after that. Don't let me down, Milligan!

By the way, I thought Jog described the symbolism much more elegantly than I ever could, so I wanted to link to his review.
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Repo #2 (of 5)
Written by Rick Spears
Art by Rob G.



Well, I gave this book one more issue to keep me reading, but I probably should have gone with me gut and dropped it after the first. Sure, some interesting concepts are introduced, like clones that are created for the purpose of harvesting their organs and the army of clones that has risen up to fight this practice, but the art continues to be bad and the humor continues to be stupid. Oddly, the cover looks nice, probably due to the nice coloring, but a version on that picture on the inside cover shows a good example of the ugly art and garish coloring in the interiors:



The story contains plenty of action and violence and such, but I'm still finding myself bored. So, Repo, consider yourself dropped.
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Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil #4 (of 4)
By Jeff Smith



Well, this is one that I probably should have waited for a collection on, but it's still a super-fun story that I loved reading. This issue has the climactic fight, with Billy turning into a 100-foot-tall Captain Marvel and fighting Mr. Mind's giant robots:



And there's also this:



It's pretty awesome, and it even hints at a sequel, which I hope Jeff Smith gets to do someday. It's probably the best comic that came out last week, and I really encourage anyone and everyone to read a collected edition when it comes out. I feel like I should have more to say, but I guess "It's awesome; read it!" will have to suffice.
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The Spirit # 8
By Darwyn Cooke



And then we have Darwyn Cooke's regular dose of coolness, with the Spirit and Silk Satin stuck in a water tower trying to defuse a nuclear bomb. I love how Cooke gets to the meat of the plot by giving some exposition in the form of a news report which is finished in just a few panels on the first page. We get some good scenes, especially when Satin gets amnesia and the Spirit has to try to snap her out of it:



That plot actually sounds lame, but Cooke makes it fun. I think that's the appeal of the book for me: it's a good dose of fun comics each month, without being overly serious or dragging out an overly long story. And the nice art certainly doesn't hurt. If you haven't been reading it, I encourage you to give it a try. Each issue is self-contained, so you can pick any of them up and read them. Hopefully, Cooke will be able to keep this up for quite some time.
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Texas Strangers #2
Written by Antony Johnston and Dan Evans III
Art by Mario Boon



Well, I really wanted to like this series, but it's just not doing anything for me. Being aimed at kids, it's full of cartoony action and larger-than-life characters, but I dunno, I'm just not drawn in. Perhaps a good comparison would be cartoons like Ben 10, which are full of the adventure that kids like but don't really interest me.

Anyway, this issue continues where the last left off, with the Texas Strangers and our heroes fighting some bad guys atop a dynamite-filled chain of wagons, trying to stop it from blowing up a camp of Native Americans (who are elves in this series). It's some pretty good action that I thought was clear and easy to follow. Like I said, kids will probably enjoy this, and hopefully the people at Image will be able to get it into their hands, because I don't think many of the comic shop regulars will be too interested. We'll see what happens, but while I might watch the sales of the series with interest, I don't think I'll be buying it.
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And that's the week in comics. I've got more reviews to write (as always), so we'll see when I can get around to that. See you then!

Not too much to talk about with this week's comics

Maybe I'll mention a few others in more depth tomorrow or whenever, but for now, here's some (probably) short thoughts on comics that came out this week:

Left On Mission #1 (of 5)
Written by Chip Mosher
Art by Francesco Francavilla



I wasn't sure if I was going to get this one, but the 99-cent price for the first issue made it hard to pass up. And it was definitely worth it; it's quite possible that I'll buy the rest of the series. It's a spy story about a couple of agents out to take down a former agent in Cuba. They get ambushed by a couple goons and have a chase/firefight through the streets of Havana. It's nicely-done action movie stuff. The art works, but it's nothing to write home about. At the end of the issue, the rogue agent is still at large, and one of the other agents is going after her on his own; the two of them used to be an item. Will he bring her in or join her and make a run for it? I just might follow the miniseries and find out.
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Satan's Sodomy Baby
By Eric Powell



That's the jokey cover, by the way; here's the "real" cover, which is inside the first one:



I love Eric Powell's art, and his writing is quite hilarious, but this is certainly not his best work. His jokes work best when centered around a plot, and really, all the plot of this book is right there in the title. From what I've heard, this whole thing came about because Powell was going to use the title for a regular Goon story, or at least as text on the cover of an issue. But Dark Horse wouldn't let him use the word "sodomy" on the cover, so he turned it into a joke in the issue, saying that a religious woman named Margaret Snodgrass had caught wind of the comic and campaigned to Dark Horse against it. He exhorted readers to write in and demand that the book be published. I guess lots of readers took the whole thing seriously, judging by the letters printed in the back of the book. Some of them even quote legal precedents and go on long screeds against censorship. It's quite odd to see this much energy expended over butt-sex jokes. And to tell the truth, I think Powell's playing the whole thing for laughs, but like I said, his stuff is funnier when it has more of a "point" (if zombie-killin' counts as one). The plot is simple: a hillbilly gets raped by Satan, then delivers a buck-tooth, red, horned baby that has a disproportionately large, fire-spewing penis. The Goon and Franky want to get rid of the baby, so a priest decides that abortion is the answer, and you can probably figure out where it goes from there. The whole thing is almost calculatedly offensive (Bestiality? Check. Pedophelia? Check. Abortion? Check. Obligatory Exorcist reference? Check.). It's enjoyable enough if you like that sort of thing, but I for one will be glad when Powell gets back to doing regular issues of the series. But what the hell, here's a sample image, from a scene in which Franky goes to try to find religion:



That does make me laugh.
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Blackgas 2 #2 (of 3)
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Max Fiumara

Actually, I'm not going to do a full review of this one. It's Warren Ellis, zombies, action, violence, etc., etc. If that sounds like something you like, go for it. I just wanted to share this image:



One more issue to go in the series. It's all right, but it probably won't knock your socks off.
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Okay, that's all. More tomorrow.

Non-reviews!

I don't feel like reviewing new comics this week, so I'm just posting some cool images from comics that came out:



From Dwight T. Albatross's The Goon Noir #3 (of 3). It took me a second to figure out what these characters were (I'm slow, okay?), but then my reaction was, "Oh, gross! Humorously gross, but gross nonetheless." I'm very articulate in my visceral reactions. Writer Brian Posehn and artist Tony Moore are disturbingly ruthless in their treatment of these poor fellas; in their brief appearance, they get punched, stepped on, kicked, impaled, and flattened by a car. Ouch.
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From The Eternals #6 (of 7). That's just freaky.
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Hey, Dr. Strange! What's a good philosophy to live by?



Thanks! (From Dr. Strange: The Oath #4 (of 5))
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Man, I don't know what it is with Crossing Midnight. It seems like a book I should like, with stuff like this (From issue #3) happening:





But for some reason I'm not feeling it. I might or might not buy the next issue.
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From Mouse Guard #6 (of 6). Man, this was the highlight of the week for me. Badass fighting mice. What else can you ask for? I can't wait for the second Mouse Guard miniseries!
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So there's my comments for this week. Stay tuned for more content!