Jamilti: The past indicates the future

That review of Punisher War Zone #5 I mentioned yesterday: here it is.

Other links:  Check out this Jack Kirby/Sigmund Freud mashup by Hans Rickheit.  Crazy.

Also crazy -- crazy awesome, that is: here are two Kirby-inspired comics by Roger Langridge that originally ran in some convention booklets: a one-page comic featuring a bunch of Kirby characters, and a "Kirby alphabet".  Fun!

Not Kirby, but still awesome: a Jim Rugg-illustrated Afrodesiac comic that originally ran in Popgun volume 2.  Sexy!

And finally, check out these variant manga covers that make for an odd crossover: Honey and Clover's Chica Umino illustrates Kentarou Miura's Berserk, and vice versa for Umino's March Comes in Like a Lion.  Odd!

Okay, to business.  Finally!

Jamilti and Other Stories

By Rutu Modan

Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds was one of the best comics of 2007 (see my review here), but she didn't spring directly to that book fully formed.  Luckily, we have the chance to see some of her earlier stuff and watch her development with this new short story collection, featuring works that were originally published in the Israeli Actus Tragicus anthology.  It's really interesting to track Modan's artistic and storytelling development over the course of her career (although the stories are not presented chronologically, so a final-page author's note and some deduction are required to determine where each story falls on the timeline), but the stories still work wonderfully on their own, providing some nice examples of Modan's wit and grasp of character, along with a few good street-level looks at life in Israel.

The first story, which shares the book's title, is a great example of that, telling the story of a nurse who is preparing for her wedding but isn't getting much help from her fiance, who would rather be playing soccer with his friends.  He comes off as quite a jerk, especially when he starts trading ugly anti-Palestinian rhetoric with a taxi driver who shares his political views, prompting her to leave the cab and walk straight into a bombing.  She ends up making a connection with what appears to be a victim but turns out to be the bomber himself, and the story ends sort of abruptly, leaving us wondering if the experience will prompt her to make any changes in her life (like leaving her bastard of a boyfriend).  It's a good look at the day-to-day life of people in Israel, and their attitudes about the situation they live in.

Another similar story is "Homecoming", which sees a community get caught up in a flurry of hope when a Lebanese plane starts circling their village.  Is it the pilot son of an elderly couple who was shot down, having escaped from a prison and stolen a Lebanese plane?  Or is it a terrorist intending to take out a bunch of civilians?  Either way, it's a sad event, especially when the air force shows up to take care of things.  Modan presents this story in a series of full-page images, and it makes the characters seem almost larger than life as the horrible events play out.

But as interesting as those stories are, some of the other tales in the book are even better, especially when they create and illuminate some interesting characters or play out a bit of charming (and oddly skewed) fantasy.  The latter comes into play especially in two earlier stories, "King of the Lillies" and "The Panty Killer".  The former is an odd little story about a plastic surgeon who tries to shape every woman he treats into the image of his lost love, creating a tragic, yet kind of beautiful commentary on several topics, including confusing desires and memories with reality and the alluring nature of conformity.  "The Panty Killer" is much darker, looking at a serial killer who appears to be targeting people who were in a nightclub on a certain evening.  It unfolds as a mystery, but most of the fun is just watching Modan bring everything together and seeing her enhance the skeeviness of everything with her artwork.  I especially liked this scene, in which the police show up to question the nightclub's owner:

The details there really stand out, from the grittiness that the coloring adds to the setting, to the weird strap on/French tickler that the owner wears, to the way the janitor just picks up her mop and continues with her work, sans pants.  Nice.  And the rest of the story works great too, playing on the themes of family that Modan seems to like.

Speaking of which, she hits the emotional aspect of familial relationships quite hard in several stories.  "Energy Blockage" is a good example, seeing two sisters who work with their mom, a woman who claims to have electrical healing powers, which she supposedly gained after OD-ing on some pills after her husband left her.  One daughter thinks it's all a sham, but she goes along with it so they can make enough money to get by, and when she sees the opportunity to use her mom's abilities to get in touch with her father, she takes it, only to see that he has deserted them to start a new family.  It's heartbreaking to watch, but really well-realized.  

"Bygone" works on different thematic lines, but it also looks at families who aren't quite whole and who can't seem to be truthful with one another.  It follows some sisters who run a theme hotel that simulates Parisian experiences.  The middle sister, who is in the midst of adolescence and is exploring both her family's past and her burgeoning sexuality, starts discovering that her relationship with her older sister isn't what she thought it was all these years.  It's another bit of heartbreak, but Modan brings it all together expertly, forgoing color in this instance to present a simple, evocative tale.

Finally, the most recent story closes out the book: "Your Number One Fan".  It's about a musician who travels to England to play a show, excited to finally gain some acclaim after failing to make any sort of impact in Israel.  But when he gets there, he finds that the "promoter" is actually a divorced middle-aged woman who just wants him to play at the local Jewish cultural center.  It's embarrassing, and we can feel his dreams evaporating right along with him.  Presented in landscape format, this story really shows how far Modan's art has come, especially in terms of space, depth, and color:

Compared to some of the rough, early work here (which does still have its charms), it's an impressive development of talent, and it's a great example of how good an artist Modan has become, even though she has been producing nice work for years.  Her storytelling has developed as well, and at this point, she combines the writing and art to bring some wonderful stories to life.  I can't wait to see what she does next.

This week sees more of nothing much

Yup, nothing that I'm too excited about this week.  Not yet, at least.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 1/14/09):

Army@Love Art of War #6

I think this is the final issue of the miniseries follow-up to Rick Veitch's hilarious war satire.  I'll be jumping right on it, once it's collected.  Here's my review of the second volume of the original series, if you're interested.

BPRD The Black Goddess #1

Another installment in this series, and yet another for me to catch up on someday.  At some point in that unforseeable future, I'll read this and all the other series that I would like to get to.

DMZ #38

Part two of the current storyline.  When's the next collection?  It's always too long to wait.

Fables #80

More of that Fableicious content.  Have I whined about waiting for the next collection of this series lately?

Final Crisis #6

Hey, we'll finally get to find out how Batman "dies"!  Not that I'm waiting on tenterhooks or anything.  I stopped getting this series when I did my great comics-buying purge, but I'm still curious about how it turns out, especially given reviews like Jog's of the last issue, which seemed to indicate that it's finally going in the direction of general craziness that has been promised (by my subconscious desires) since the beginning.  Let's hope my library gets the collection.

Gravel #8

I haven't been following this series from Warren Ellis and Mike Wolfer about their character from the Strange Kisses series; has it been any good?  Maybe I'm just Ellis-ed out.

Punisher War Zone #5

Ennis and Dillon near the end of this latest story.  I missed reviewing the last issue because I was sick, but I should have a piece up on this one tomorrow at Comics Bulletin.  Wait for it!

Wasteland #23

The latest storyline continues, and I have no idea what's currently happening.  I'll be there for the collection; can't wait.

Bone Color Ed SC Vol 9 Crown Of Horns HC
Bone Color Ed SC Vol 9 Crown Of Horns TPB

The final colorized installment of the series, and if you haven't read it, go out and grab it, in soft or hard versions.  My brother read the entire one-volume edition when he was here, but I didn't bug him about it.  Could have been interesting.  He loved it, by the way, and for good reason.  This finale is great stuff.  I'm curious about how the color looks in the big climax, even though I prefer the black and white, from what I've seen.  Still, it's worth a look, and did I mention you should get it if you haven't before?

Daredevil Born Again Prem HC

Hey, I was just saying that this is probably a better example of Frank Miller's Daredevil than the volume that was recently released, and here it shows up.  $25 is a bit steep for a six-issue story, even if it's in a nice cover, but it's worth reading if you haven't before.  Kind of the ultimate DD story from Miller, with some great art from David Mazuchelli.  Yup, there you go.

End League Vol 1 Ballad Of Big Nothing TPB

I read the first issue of this post-apocalyptic superhero series from Rick Remender and Mat Broome when it came out, but I haven't checked it out since.  Does anybody know if it's been good?  I remember thinking it was not terrible, but not something I wanted to bother keeping up with.  Has that changed?  Should I check it out?  I call on my crack team of readers to give me the info!

House of Mystery Vol 1 Room And Boredom TPB

I've enjoyed what I've read of this series, so if you are at all interested and/or influenced by me, here's the first storyline to read.  Good stuff, with an interesting and mysterious framing story and strange stories in each issue with art by the likes of Ross Campbell and Jill Thompson.  Don't let it get cancelled (yet)!

Miss Dont Touch Me TP

From NBM, this is a European comic by some guys who go by the names Hubert and Kerascoet, about a girl in 30s Paris trying to find her sister's murderer.  It sounds pretty neat, and the preview on NBM's site looks pretty nice.  Maybe I'll read it someday.

Parade, With Fireworks TP

Another collection of a series that I thought was really good.  It's about a conflict between political factions in pre-WWII Italy, featuring relatives of the cartoonist, Mike Cavallaro.  Good stuff.  Here's my review of the second and final issue.

Pigeons from Hell TPB

And another collection of a good miniseries.  Joe R. Landsdale wrote the adaptation of this Robert E. Howard horror story, but the real star is Nathan Fox on the art.  He provides some really spooky, gory visuals, really bringing the story to life.  I highly recommend it.  Here's my review of the first issue, but I'll note that the second one is where it really picked up.

Slum Nation Vol 2 Crazy Of Love HC

Slum Nation Vol 3 Like A Rolling Stone HC

I've never heard of this comic before, but it's apparently a post-apocalyptic series from Uruguayan creator Zalozabal (a translation of his blog can be seen here).  It looks interesting, with some nice art.  I certainly wouldn't mind checking it out, given the chance.

Walking Dead Vol 2 Omnibus HC

I stopped reading this series after the 25th issue, I think, but every so often I see somebody talking about how much they love the series, so maybe it got good again after I quit.  Here's the chance to catch up, with a big book containing issue #25-48.  Should I bother (by which I mean try to find it at the library; I can't afford to pay for it).

Captive Hearts Vol 2 TP

Volume 2 of Matsuri Hino's weird shojo series about control and submissiveness.  I reviewed volume 1 here.

Dr Slump Vol 17 TP

Akira Toriyama!  I have the first volume of this series, but I haven't read it yet.  I've heard it's hilarious, so I've got to try to get to it soon.

Fushigi Yugi VIZBIG Edition Vol 1 TP

Yuu Watase!  Here's the VIZBIG version of what's probably her best-regarded series, about modern schoolgirls who get transported to medieval Japan and get in adventures.  I like Watase's work pretty well, so I would certainly love to check this out at some point.  

Gin Tama Vol 10 TP

I should have asked my brother about this series too; I got him the first two volumes for Christmas.  I've heard it's quite good, and he did say that it was really funny.  Anyway, here's the latest installment in the "aliens vs. samurai" wackiness.  I might try this out someday (he said, for the 100th time this week).

Heavens Will TP

Speaking of my brother, this was one of the titles I talked with him about yesterday, so you can see what he thought about it here if you missed it.  It's about a girl who can see ghosts and is assisted in dispatching them by a cross-dressing guy.  It's a one-volume story, and apparently it's kind of truncated, ending without sufficiently completing the story.  I might read it sometime and give it a more complete review, but there's a simple opinion for you.  I also mentioned the first chapter when it was previewed in Shojo Beat, so there's another thing to read if you want.

High School Debut Vol 7 GN

Here's another series that gets some acclaim, although maybe it mostly appeals to the girls, since I only thought the second volume was decent when I read it.  Maybe I'll read more someday.

Love Com Vol 10 TP

Another one that people like, but I've never read more than the first chapter.  I'm not trying to get monotonous here, but I might read it someday.

NANA Vol 14 TP

Man, just when I manage to get caught up on ownership (if not readership) of this series, another volume appears.  I expect I'll be blazing through volumes 11-13 soon, and then I'll have to get this one ASAP.  I love this series.

Sand Chronicles Vol 4 GN

And here's another one that I like.  I've already read the contents of this one, but if you haven't, I would recommend reading it.  It's a very mature look at a relationship that doesn't get caught up in the usual shojo manga cliches.  Check it out if you haven't already.

We Were There Vol 2 TP

I reviewed this at the same time as Captive Hearts, and while I didn't hate it, it didn't really grab me.  I've heard that this second volume hits hard with the drama though, so I could see myself giving it a try.

-----

And I think that's everything.  Lots of manga, little else.  That's fine; I've got a lot to catch up on.  More tomorrow, I hope.

Rip-Off Theatre presents: Special Guest Star: Enjoyment of manga apparently runs in the family

I always enjoy when bloggers interview people who either don't normally read comics or aren't really into the blogging and the criticism and the hey hey. So here's my stab at it.

The test subject: My brother Noah Brady, a teenager from the wilds of Oregon.

The review material: My stack of manga volumes that I've received for review (including a few other books from my shelf), many of which I haven't had a chance to read yet.

MJB: What's your experience with manga and anime? Have you read/watched much of it? What are your favorite series?

Noah: I wouldn't say I've read/watched a lot, but I have read a fair amount, and I'd have to say I guess some of my favorites would be anything by Osamu Tezuka.

MJB: How much of Tezuka's work have you read or are familiar with?

Noah: I've read some of Dororo as well as the first two volumes of Black Jack, and I've seen a fair deal of Astro Boy episodes.

MJB: And those would be the black and white cartoon from back in the 60s (I think)?

Noah: No. It was colored and animated and happy and joyful. [Editor's Note: It appears to be the 1980 remake]

MJB: So it seems to mostly be the stuff I've given you to read.

Noah: Yeah.

MJB: Cool, I love that stuff. Tezuka is one of my favorites as well. Let's talk about Black Jack. I've read a little bit of the series, but not these two volumes yet. What would you say you like about them so much?

Noah: Well, I'd have to say that I like the character Tezuka created; he's very mysterious, and he doesn't reveal al lot about his feelings, but thorugh the course of the volumes, you kind of see his character come out and develop, and a lot of different things happen and it just shows you a depth to his character.

MJB: Yeah, Tezuka is good at defining characters through their actions. And he also comes up with some really off-the-wall stories. There are some pretty goofy examples of crazy medicine and surgery here, wouldn't you say?

Noah: Yeah.

MJB: Any that you liked in particular?

Noah: I lked a certains tory about how he operated on a killer whale multiple times, and they became friends, because it seemed kind of really random.

MJB: In what way? Because he just randomly happened upon a whale that needed surgery, or because it's weird that he became friends with a whale?

Noah: Well, it was kjust kind of odd because you have a bunch of stories about him saving rich people who gave him a bunch of money and then out of the blue it's like, "Oh, look, it's a whale, and I'll save his life, and we'll become friends, yay!"

MJB: So it was kind of an odd departure from the formula of the other stories.

Noah: Yeah.

MJB: So, how about the artwork? I like the way Tezuka uses a really cartoony style, but manages to do some serious stuff with it. And he's pretty dynamic too, coming up with really cool action, don't you think? [Editor's Note: This was a poor question. Objection, Your Honor, the interviewer is leading the witness!]

Noah: Yes, I would have to agree with that.

MJB: Did you see any examples of that sort of thing in this series?

Noah: Multiple times. In fact, all the time. I mean, for every one frame of peaceful, not-action-intense situations, he has about 32 frames of dramatic action-packed, um, drama.

MJB: Yeah, I love that sort of thing. How about the surgery scenes? Did you find them suitably grotesque?

Noah: Yes, in fact there's quite a few moments of intense gut-ripping found throughout.

MJB: What did you think about the sidekick/wife character? Was she a good addition, or just an annoyance?

Noah: Well, she was kind of pointless, because every once in a while she would come in and actually be part of the story, but for the most part it was, Black Jack, go save somebody; Black Jack, go defuse this bomb; Black Jack, go stop the army of invading aliens, and then she would show up and it was like, "Oh, hey, let's talk about me going to school!"

MJB: So you thought she detracted from the action?

Noah: Pretty much.

MJB: Do you think she helped develop his character, since you mentioned that he was kind of mysterious?

Noah: She did a little bit, because multiple stories that she's in she'll ask a simple question that leads to a humongous story about his past, and it'll be like oh, geez, she's actually worth something! Good thing she asks questions.

MJB: What about her origin story? That was pretty weird, right?

Noah: Yeah, it was.

MJB: But the series might have been better without her?

Noah: It probably could have been.

MJB: Anything else you want to mention about Black Jack before we move on?

Noah: Not really.

MJB: Okay, how about Dororo? I myself really like the series, but what did you think about the volume that you read?

Noah: I thought it was good.

MJB: Compared to Black Jack, did you like the action and adventure?

Noah: Yeah, I did. Where Black Jack offers kind of a suspenseful, "oh my god, what's going to happen?" outlook, Dororo puts more of a, I don't know, I just feel it's more fun to kill people with swords than scalpels (although Black Jack doesn't really kill anybody, but whatever).

MJB: Yeah, swords are cool. Speaking of weird origin stories, what did you think about Hyakkimaru's? [Editor's Note: See more about said origin here]

Noah: Craziness.

MJB: Yeah, it's pretty crazy. Tezuka was great at coming up with insane ideas and making them work to tell cool stories. Did you like the idea of the guy hunting demons to regain his body parts?

Noah: Yeah, it was pretty cool.

MJB: And how about the goofy prosthetics that he had?

Noah: They were pretty goofy, but there's nothing much cooler than watching a guy throw off his arms to reveal swords and slash people. I mean, come on, how's that not fun?

MJB: I certainly agree. And on another similar note to Black Jack, how did you like the sidekick in this series?

Noah: Um, he was much more helpful, instead of being just the character that kind of just illuminated the past of the main character. Even thosugh he did that as well, he added his own conflict into the story and gave it some depth, while the sideckik in Black Jack was just "Oh well, my background's pretty lame."

MJB: I liked the relationship between Hyakkimaru and Dororo as well, the way they were kind of antaogonistic, but still seemed to like having each other around.

Noah: Yeah. They seemed to be like foils for each other.

MJB: And how about the action in this one? Even cooler, right?

Noah: Yeah, definitely. Demons are much more fun to kill than tumors.

MJB: And the demons were all weird and strange too.

Noah: Yep.

MJB: One thing I like about Tezuka is the way he puts some goofy jokes and gags into the manga, like having characters make funny faces, or talk to the reader, or make anachronistic references. Did you like that sort of thing, or did you think that it detracted from the story?

Noah: I enjoy when he does that kind of thing. For example, in the front couple pages of the second volume of Dororo, they encounter a mysterious wall, and the sideckik is like, "It's the back side of a medicine billboard", and the main guy says "What?!", and he responds, "I'm just kidding, it's blank."

MJB: Maybe you have a similar sense of humor to mine, because I love that sort of thing, but I've read reviews where people complain about it. I think it's a good way to balance out the heavy drama. Plus, it's just something Tezuka liked to do, and it makes his personality shine through.

Noah: Yeah, it'd have to agree with you; I can see where some people would be more into the book for the action and would want to read it for the samurai, not for the jokes and fun. Some of us just need a little comic relief once in a while.

MJB: Well said. Anything else you want to mention about Dororo?

Noah: Not so much.

MJB: Okay, I saw that you read volumes 33 and 34 of Naruto. How familiar are you with the series?

Noah: I haven't read very much of the manga series, but I've watched a crap ton of the anime. I mean, I've watched the whole thing and all the filler season, and I started watching the new series and got bored with it, and I noticed that you had these two that seemed to jump in right were I left off, so I thought, what the hell, might as well.

MJB: Now, I have very little experience with the series, having read only the first chapter of the manga and watched a couple episodes of the anime. Would I have any idea what is going on in these if I tried to read them?

Noah: Only barely. The common premise of these two is that the main group of characters are trying to rescue their friend, who doesn't really want to be rescued from the bad guys, having gone to join them. That's basically been the premise for a lot of the series.

MJB: But given a brief summary, like the two-paragraph one that is on an early page of volume 33, would I be able to jump in and give it a go? Or would it be better to go to Wikipedia and read the entire plotline up to this point?

Noah: You probably could get by from where it's at reading just the summary, but if you really want to know what's happened, you should probably wiki it.

MJB: All right, I was curious if I should try it out. But how about you, did you dig the story here?

Noah: It's a pretty all right story. It's just it seems kind of repetitive after a while. The first 100 or so chapters do show character developments as all the people learn new skills and become stronger, but by the time you've gone through all of them they just seem to do the same thing over and over, but the main character never changes, and he always seems to do the same things, and it's like come on, really?

MJB: So the series seems to have stretched past the breaking point. That seems to happen with some of the really successful series, since the creators (or editors) try to keep them going. Do you think this series could have ended at some point, or should it have gone onto a different type of storyline or something?

Noah: I think that there wasn't really much of a point in the story where you could have just cut it off and be done, but I feel that the way that they've taken it is just boring. They don't add much new content. They add new characters every once in w a while, but once they do their new stuff, they all just pull the same moves over and over again, and it gets old.

MJB: Is the action still dynamic and exciting, or is it just more of what you've seen before?

Noah: It can be pretty deynamic and exciting, some of the time. Other times, it's just, once again, he seems to follow the same sequence of events.

MJB: So it sounds like the earlier volumes of the series (or anime) might be worth checking out, but it does suffer a drop-off in quality.

Noah: Yeah.

MJB: Anything else to add about Naruto?

Noah: No.

MJB: I guess I shouldn't bother asking that question. Here's one that I haven't read, although I did read the first chapter at some point: Heaven's Will. Can you explain what that one's about?

Noah: It's about a girl who can see ghosts, and she's afraid of everything that she doesn't understand, so she freaks out and runs away, and she meets this cross-dresser guy who can exorcise ghosts, and they go on adventures, and she finds out that he cross-dresses so his sister's spirit can come back and enter his body, because she died because of him and he feels really bad about it.

MJB: Weird. So was it worth reading?

Noah: I didn't really think so.

MJB: This is in the shojo genre, aimed at girls. Do you think that's why you didn't like it that much?

Noah: Probably.

MJB: Shojo is usually about drama and emotion, with lots of panels of characters faces and less in the way of dynamic action. Would you say that description fits this volume?

Noah: Yeah, pretty much.

MJB: It's only one volume long; do you think it could have lasted longer, or did it tell it's story and end at the right time?

Noah: It didn't tell it's story. It had a letter from the author saying, "Sorry I couldn't finish this, nothing I really wanted to happen happened, my bad." It kind of dropped off in the middle of the story.

MJB: Oh, huh. I was going to ask if you thought girls might like it, but given an ending like that, it might not be worth recommending to anyone. Do you think the sudden ending was the major fault, or did you just not like the story anyway?

Noah: I think the sudden ending was the major fault. There was a lot of character development that needed doing.

MJB: Okay, well that's probably all we needed to know about that one. Next : Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom. This one might be more up your alley. Is it any good?

Noah: It's all right. I mean, it's kind of dorky. It's about this demon guy who ends up being forced into a contract with a human guy, and they have to fight off rebel demons and outcast demons, and all this stuff.

MJB: It looks like an action series; is that the case?

Noah: Yeah.

MJB: Cool action?

Noah: Kind of cool action.

MJB: So what's the dorky part?

Noah: It's just, I don't know, I suppose it kind of reminds me of Inuyasha, just lamer.

MJB: What's lame about it?

Noah: Well, where Inuyasha was kind of, the character developed along the line and became stronger and more powerful, and over time he grew, this one just seems like, Mr. Demon Guy says I want to get into a fight, now I'll just turn into a humongous monster and just kill everybody, yeah, that was really hard.

MJB: So it starts out at too high a level, and there's probably no room to develop.

Noah: Yeah, pretty much.

MJB: Is it funny, or are the characters interesting? Or is it just kind of bland?

Noah: Kind of bland.

MJB: I see that the rating is "Older Teen". Do you think that's because it's violent, or is there some naughtiness or something?

Noah: Probably violence. There's a supreme lack of naughtiness.

MJB: Maybe some panty shots would have livened it up or something.

Noah: Perhaps.

MJB: So it sounds kind of generic, at least judging by this first volume.

Noah: Yeah, pretty much.

MJB: Okay, I guess that's enough for that one. One final book: Death Note. How did you like this one?

Noah: I enjoyed this.

MJB: It's a series that I really dig, although it reaches a peak around volume 7, and the rest of the series is only okay. Did the first volume make you want to read more?

Noah: Yeah, it did.

MJB: What did you like about it?

Noah: Um, I liked that it made you think. It wasn't just, here, let's go bash everything in sight.

MJB: So the plot conflict was interesting and unique. How did you like the characters?

Noah: They're pretty cool. Everyone seems to be slightly eccentric. And by eccentric I mean crazy.

MJB: So do you mean just Light, or other characters too?

Noah: No, pretty much all of the main characters. For example, Light is crazy, Ryuk is crazy, L is crazy. Most of the other charaecters are not as crazy, but everyone seems to have delusions of righteousness. Well, almost everybody.

MJB: Who doesn't?

Noah: Ryuk is crazy in that instead of trying to be righteous, he's causing chaos for the hell of it.

MJB: I like that the plots and schemes are so dense and convoluted, even in this first volume.

Noah: Yep.

MJB: Just wait until you read more of the series. I also thought that it was exciting, even though so much of it was just characters talking or thinking to themselves. Do you think that was mostly due to the art?

Noah: No, I think I was more interested in the plot itself than the art. I'm trying to think of a movie that would be similar, but I can't think of anything. The manga is just so unique.

MJB: Yeah, it is. Me, I think the art helps, and the panel-to-panel pacing really amps up the tension.

Noah: [nods]

MJB: So, yeah, it's pretty cool. Anything else you liked about it?

Noah: The artwork was good.

MJB: Okay, I guess that's the last book. Any other comments on manga, or comics in general, or what you want to read next?

Noah: I think I want to read the rest of the Dororo series next.

MJB: All right, I'll let you get to it. Enjoy.

Love and Rockets: New Stories: I'm still way behind on the old ones

New webcomic for the sidebar:  Shrub Monkeys.  Great cartooning there, and pretty funny too.  Noticed via Scans_Daily and Journalista.

Love and Rockets: New Stories #1

Written by Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez

Art by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez

The Hernandez brothers have switched their series to an annual format, and it's a nice move, since it's great to get such a big chunk of their work all at once.  And they seem to be moving in some interesting directions, especially Gilbert, as he continues to demonstrate his storytelling skill and tell creepy surreal stories along the lines of Grip, Sloth, and Chance in Hell.  

In fact, Gilbert has some fantastic stuff here, with the standout probably being "The New Adventures of Duke and Sammy", a goofy sci-fi story starring two comedians based on Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.  It's a hilarious romp that sees them show up on alien planets and either massacre or dominate the natives, gaining and losing super-powers in the process.  Why?  Hey, why not?

Actually, that one is fun, but "Victory Dance" is probably the most compelling and assured, demonstrating Gilbert's knack for conveying a story that makes sense but requires some work on the reader's part.  In just six pages, one of which is wordless, we learn the backstory of a character named Julio who has recently suffered a tragedy.  But while the nature of said tragedy is never explicitly explained, it is discernable from the characters' dialogue and actions, with scenes jumping abruptly in time and space, reminiscent of Gilbert's masterpiece "Poison River".  It's wonderfully done, the kind of work that only a confident master cartoonist like Gilbert can manage.

Gilbert's other stories in the volume work mostly on a visceral, subconscious level.  "Papa" is a sort of prequel to "Victory Dance", but it's mostly unrelated, following a man as he wanders a strange landscape and ends up swelling up gruesomely after eating a poisonous-worm-infested taco:

There's also "?", which is a silent succession of surreal imagery, and "Never Say Never", which follows an anthropomorphic kangaroo who gambles in a casino and pals around with giant hot dogs.  Yeah, I don't know either.

And then there's "Chiro El Indio", which is written by Mario, the third Hernandez brother who occasionally shows up in the series.  It's a comedic tale about a moronic Indian man named Chiro and his equally dumb wife Preciosa, who both get manipulated by scheming land-grabbers working with the Catholic church.  It's pretty silly, but still enjoyable, and it features some nice, cartoony art by Gilbert:

For the other half of the book, Jaime provides an update to his long-running "Locas" universe, this time focusing on the superhero content that has lurked in the background while he was spinning realistic drama.  He seems to be interested in going wild with goofy action and crazy plots, and more power to him, because he's incredible at it.  He's always been great at dynamic storytelling and action, and that benefits this type of story well, along with his sense of humor, which keeps things lighthearted and fun.  The story involves the search for Penny Century, who has finally succeeded in her series-long quest to gain super-powers, but lost her children in the process and is on an intergalactic rampage of grief.  Maggie's friend Angel, who turns out to be a superhero named Boot Angel, teams up with several other superheroines to try to stop her.  It's pretty wild, but it's tons of fun, with lots of action, like this scene of Angel and another hero named Alarma fighting some robots:

In fact, Jaime is so good at motion and anatomy, that you can't help but stop and marvel at how well he does this sort of thing.  I love the way the bodies get realistically tangled in the second panel of the following sequence, and the flowing hair, speed lines, and other signifiers of motion are incredible to behold:

I certainly would like Jaime to get back to his other characters at some point (although I don't mind waiting, since I still haven't read volume 2 of the series), but if he wants to keep going with this superhero stuff, I don't mind, because he makes it incredibly enjoyable.

So it looks like Los Bros are still far from hitting a peak and going downhill; it's pretty astonishing that they've kept up such a consistent level of storytelling for nearly thirty years and are still going strong.  Let's hope they don't stop anytime soon.

Empowered: Just when I think I'm out...

Links: James Jean's replacement for cover art on Fables has been named, and it's a guy named Joao Ruas.  Never heard of him, but the two covers shown in this article look nice.  We'll see how he does; he's got some big shoes to fill.  Also, he's coming on just as the series is doing a crossover between the main book, Jack of Fables, and a limited series called The Literals.  I don't know if it's that good of an idea to do that sort of crossover with the series (especially if parts of the story will take place in a limited series; what's the point of that?), but we'll see how it goes.

Also, Kyle Baker's "review" of Frank Miller's Spirit movie is pretty hilarious.

Finally, I dug these images of world leaders as portrayed in the manga series The Legend of Koizumi, in which geopolitical decisions are based on the outcome of mahjong matches.

Empowered, volume 4

By Adam Warren

About one fourth of the way into this latest volume of Adam Warren's "sexy superhero comedy", I was about ready to check out and give up on the series.  After the exciting conclusion to the last volume, Warren apparently sees fit to spend some time allowing the characters to calm down and reflect on the situation, which leads to a seemingly endless chapter of whininess and sex talk (Ninjette is too scared to be by herself, so she sleeps in bed with Emp and Thugboy, prompting plenty of commentary from the Caged Demonwolf).  Looking back at those pages, it's really not that bad, but it was really tiresome when I first read it.  I've enjoyed the frank discussions of sex that Warren has inserted into the series, but this stuff seemed to tip over the line into gratuitous tittilation without enough humor to redeem it.

Luckily, Warren quickly turns things around, starting a volume-long plot about Emp being nominated for a "Capey" award for Suprahuman Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.  But while she is initially really excited, she is informed that the nomination was probably done in jest, with the intent to mock her when she goes on stage to accept the award (if she wins).  So it's another example of the constant battle for self-esteem that is one of the main themes of the series.  But while Warren seems to enjoy heaping misery on his characters, he does so with purpose, developing characters and fleshing out their personalities.  He even manages to humanize Sistah Spooky, Emp's main antagonist, by showing how wracked with insecurity she is even though she's such a good superhero.

While the award plot is the main undercurrent of the book, plenty of other enjoyable events occur, including the introduction of Maid-Man, a superhero so assured in his sexuality that he wears a frilly French Maid outfit, complete with stockings, garters, and high heels.  There's also a sick young boy who Emp agrees to help as part of the "Grant-A-Wish" program, and it turns out he's an aspiring supervillain whose greatest desire is to tie her up.  But at the same time, he probably treats her more respectfully than anybody outside of her boyfriend and best pal.  It's an interesting wrinkle, and it leads into surprising directions, especially when Warren introduces some of his signature crazy sci-fi ideas, like a disease called Mayfly that destroys the brain with cancerous tumors but has a chance to grant amazing intelligence to those it strikes, or a superhero hospital that traffics in giant cloned alien organs.

And it's all leading up to the awards ceremony, which turns out to be one of Warren's signature action setpieces.  He's been building Emp up over the course of the series, allowing her some actual victories amid the near-constant string of failures and humiliations.  Does he manage it here?  Well, read the book and see, but I'll just say that it ends up being a sweet climax, full of innovative uses of powers (such as Emp's suit's seemingly-useless invisibility that just makes its wearer appear naked) and dynamic action.  It's excellently done, and enough to make me excited for the next volume.

I haven't mentioned the artwork, but that's because it's as nice as always, filling each page with its expressive characters and fast-moving, yet easy-to-follow action.  It's a full package, even given the slow start to the volume.  I should have known better than to doubt Warren; he hasn't disappointed me yet.

This week's releases continue to bore me

I appear to be in a sort of non-posting holding pattern here, even though I have a few books piling up.  Luckily I have these weekly things to keep me from turning into Jones.  And if anybody is interested, I started what I initially thought would be a fun thing and then gave up on it, but rather than throw away what I finished, I posted it here.  Enjoy, or don't.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 1/7/09):

Anna Mercury #5

Warren Ellis continues to roll on with this sort of thing.  This issue finishes the miniseries, but apparently it's going to continue at some point.  I only read the first two or three issues, and they were decent, but apparently fairly unremarkable.  Somebody let me know if it is imperative that I finish the series.

Blue Monday Thieves Like Us #1

Hey, new Blue Monday!  I don't think I'm fully caught up on this series, having only read the first two miniseries, but I still recommend it.  Chynna Clugston writes some funny, dirty teen comedies, and she's good with the manga-style art too.  Check it out if you haven't read her stuff before.  If you have, you'll probably be planning to do so anyway.

Boys #26

Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson keep keeping this thing going.  I'm regretting that I have to wait for a collection to catch up, because it's one of the most entertaining and well-done books currently coming out.  But I'll jump right on it when I get the chance.

Doktor Sleepless #11

Did I mention that Warren Ellis is still doing his thing?  Because that's the case here as well.  Like before, I stopped reading the series, but I was kind of enjoying it before I dropped it.  Maybe I'll catch up at some point.

Haunted Tank #2

The first issue of this Vertigo series kind of got mixed reviews, but it seems like it could turn into something pretty interesting.  Or it could go into the crapper.  Let's hope it's the former and that I'll have to seek out a collection, because I always like to cheer for comics to be good.

Hellboy The Wild Hunt #2

Part two of the latest Mignola/Fegredo thing.  I'll probably be jumping on this as soon as it's collected; I know the art I saw from the first issue was gorgeous.

Hexed #1

Some sort of witchy comic from Boom! Studios.  I really should read the preview PDFs they send me more often; the glance I took at this one looked neat, if only because of the crazy-colorful artwork.  Uh, it's by Michael Alan Nelson and Emma Rios.  Take a look?

House of Mystery #9

Another Vertigo series that I might try to catch up on at some point.  This issue is supposed to have a story illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, but hasn't he been advertised in something like three issues already?  Maybe he'll actually be in this one.

Invincible Iron Man #9

Fraction and Larocca, trying to work with the hand that Marvel dealt them.  They get my sympathies, and maybe they'll even turn out a decent comic.  I'm tiring of Larocca's art style though; just draw some lines, man!

No Hero #3

Warren Ellis does his thing, part three.  I only read the preview #0 issue of this series (which is illustrated by Juan Jose Ryp), and it seemed pretty good, although I've heard that the next two issues were only so-so.  Maybe it gets better here, and I'll have to pick up a collection at some point.  Maybes are my stock in trade these days.

Sandman Dream Hunters #3

P. Craig Russell continues the unnecessary adaptation.  Cover by Paul Pope!

Shrapnel #1

The latest new series from Radical, about a solar-system-wide civil war.  Created (but not written) by science fiction author Nick Sagan (who?).  Radical's books often look pretty nice, but I've never read more than an issue or so of any of them, so who knows how worthwhile they are.  But here's another one, for your consideration.

Sub-Mariner The Depths #4

Peter Milligan and Esad Ribic continue their weird book about undersea paranoia, and maybe Namor.  It's been an interesting one, but not all that memorable, at least not yet.  Only one or two more issues to go though, so maybe Milligan will end it well.

Agents of Atlas TPB

For anybody who missed the original Jeff Parker/Leonard Kirk miniseries and want to catch up on the new ongoing series, here's the paperback version of the collection of that story.  It's pretty good stuff, gathering a bunch of forgotten characters from the 50s and sending them on a neat adventure.  Hopefully the new series will be as good.  Like the original hardcover collection, this also includes reprints of the characters first appearances, which is a nifty extra.  Check it out.

American Splendor Another Dollar TP

The collection of the second Vertigo miniseries of Harvey Pekar stories.  As always with Harvey, it's good stuff, with art by lots of great collaborators, including Dean Haspiel, Darwyn Cooke, Darick Robertson, and many others.  I forget, was Gilbert Hernandez in this volume?

Daredevil by Frank Miller Vol 3 TPB

Respected earlier work by Miller; I think this finishes off his run on the title, containing the post-death-of-Elektra material.  I read the whole thing a few years ago, and it's pretty good, for superhero action and such.  I've kind of soured on Miller in recent years, but this stuff is pretty classic, so it's worth a look if you want to see why people hold him in such high esteem.  But if you're looking for his best stuff, you should probably check out Daredevil: Born Again or something, rather than the post-climactic tail end of a long story.

DC Universe Illustrated By Neal Adams Vol 1 HC

Looks like DC is putting together volumes of all of the less-famous Adams work (meaning, the non-Batman, non-Green Lantern/Green Arrow, non-Deadman stuff).  This volume features war comics and other miscellany.  I've only read a little bit of Adams' stuff, so this might be something to look at if I see it at the library.

Fantastic Four Worlds Greatest HC

The first collection of the Mark Millar/Bryan Hitch run on the title, which doesn't seem to be burning up the charts like some of their other stuff has.  I've read some of the run here and there, and it's entertaining enough, but it's no Ultimates.  Maybe writing everyone in their snarky, self-obsessed style works in the postmodern Ultimate universe, but not so much with the classic FF.  Or maybe Millar does better with straight-up action rather than the crazy cosmic stuff that he seems to be going for here.  Or maybe he's out of ideas altogether.  Whatever the case, I would venture the guess that this isn't going to be as fondly remembered (or vehemently hated) as Millar's best work.  So if that sounds like your bag, then buy buy buy!

Groo Hell On Earth TP

Aw yeah, I love me some Groo.  This was a good return to form for Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier, combining the funny violence and satirical commentary on current events without tipping into heavy-handedness.  So when is the next one coming?

Gunnerkrigg Court Vol. 1 Orientation HC

A print version of a webcomic about a girl attending the titular school and encountering various magical, mythical creatures and events.  I haven't read it, but it seems to have some nice artwork.  As always with this sort of book, you can forego paying for dead trees and read it for free online.  Take that, economy!

Him & Hers Smuggling Vacation GN

This European comic was apparently banned in prisons in England to avoid copycat crimes or something.  It's about a British couple on vacation in Spain who end up becoming drug smugglers; some if it is supposedly based on real events?  You can read the first 38 pages online at the book's website, if you so wish.  I wouldn't mind checking it out, given the chance.

Myth Of 8-Opus Doomed Battalion GN New Printing

I thought this just had a new printing recently.  I guess Tom Scioli is determined to get me to read this.  Someday, Tom.

Rasl Vol 1 Drift TPB

Collecting the first four three issues of Jeff Smith's series about interdimensional violence, theft, and murder.  I've been reading it, and it's pretty damn good (I can say "damn" because this series is for adults, not kids).  Give it a try if you haven't already; I can't wait to see where he's going with this.

Runaways Pride And Joy HC

I guess Marvel is doing new versions of collections of this series; this hardcover contains the first six issues of the first volume for $20.  Not an especially good deal, when you can get a digest collection of those issues for $8, or a copy of the hardcover collecting the entire first volume for around the same price (although that hardcover is apparently out of print, which probably prompted this new version).  But whatever format or price you go with, I love the series, so give it a try if you haven't before.  Brian K. Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, good Marvel-based adventure that's fun to read.  Read it.

Secret Invasion TPB

In my opinion, the only reason to bother with this is if you want to follow along with Abhay Khosla's reviews of the series.  Except I didn't bother to read the series and enjoyed the hell out of the reviews, so it looks like that's not necessary.  I guess what I'm saying is, don't buy this.

Showcase Presents Strange Adventures Vol 1 TPB

Silly DC sci-fi books from the 50s!  Hopefully it will contain stuff like this.  Or this.  Or this.  Damn, that stuff is awesome, at least on the covers.  The insides are probably much less interesting.  Okay, forget buying the book, just surf around comics.org for a while to get your fill.

Spider-Man Blue Prem HC

One of the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale collaborations, getting a new printing, I guess.  I think the only one of these that I've read (at Marvel, anyway) is Daredevil: Yellow, which wasn't terrible.  Maybe this is similar?  At the least, it probably looks really nice; Tim Sale is pretty great.

Tales Of The Batman Tim Sale TPB

And speaking of Sale, DC also has a new print of a collection of his comics.  This has stories from Legends of the Dark Knight, Shadow of the Bat, Batman: Black and White, Solo, etc.  Decent stuff, I imagine; I think I've only read a small amount of it.

Universal War One Vol 1 HC

The collection of Marvel's version of this French series.  I read the first issue back when it came out, and thought it was pretty decent.  Given the chance, I could see myself also reading this.  If that ever happens, I'm sure you'll know (because I'll write about it).

Walking Dead Vol 9 Here we remain TP

I gave up on this series back around issue #25, but I keep hearing people talk about it, so maybe it's gotten better since then.  Perhaps I should gather all the collections and devour them in one sitting.  Tear apart their entrails, if you will.  Ah, one day that feast will be had.  Or maybe not.

XOXO Hugs and Kisses Postcard Book 

Not comics, but this is a sort of small, cheap artbook by James Jean.  Ten bucks for 30 of his nice images.  He's pretty awesome, so maybe this is worth it?

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol 8 TP

This is one of those series that I keep meaning to read more of but also keep getting farther behind on.  I'll catch up someday; what I've read of it is quite good.

Manga Sutra -Futari H- Vol 4 GN

Wow, this manga sex manual is still coming out.  I haven't heard many good things (although Caleb Mozzocco seems to like it), but it looks like that hasn't stopped Tokyopop from putting more volumes on shelves.  They've got plenty of source material; I think there are 20 or so volumes out in Japan.  That's a lot of awkward, unfulfilling intercourse.

Manzai Comics Vol 1 GN

Brigid Alverson reviewed this the other day, and while she didn't make it sound like the greatest thing ever, she did at least picque my interest, since I read about the manzai tradition of Japanese comedy a while back in Shojo Beat (it was a tie-in with the series Love Com).  I might have to check this series out sometime.  Just like the 50 other series that I should also check out.

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And that's the week, in which I expect to buy none of these items.  Hopefully I'll have some reviews up soon though, and I'm working on getting to my best-of-2008 list.  I still have two books on order (Speak of the Devil and Three Shadows) that I want to read before posting a final list, and there are a couple others that might also be in contention.  So maybe next week or so?  Stay tuned, I guess.

Red Colored Elegy: I found it to be gray-colored drudgery

This was on my "to read" list for 2008, but it won't be making the "best of" list.  Here's why:

Red Colored Elegy

By Seiichi Hayashi

I usually try (and also usually fail) to stick to an objective, third-person tone in my reviews because it fits the style of the serious-minded, no-nonsense critic, but occasionally I feel that I have to take a more subjective, first-persone tone.  This is one of those cases, mostly because I feel that my response to this book is personal, and mostly a matter of taste.  Does that instantly invalidate whatever I have to say?  Maybe!  But people still might be interested in my opinions, and what else is a blog for, if not shouting those sentiments into the ether?

Anyway, Seiichi Hayashi's Red Colored Elegy is a Japanese comic from the early 1970s that fits quite well in the paradigm of the "boring autobio comic" that often gets slapped upon the "artcomix" genre as a whole.  It might not be autobiographical, but it's at least informed by very real emotions, and that's one of its saving graces.  A story about two young lovers who seem stuck in a perpetual holding pattern, it spends page after page seeing its characters writhe about in personal agony over their romantic and professional ambitions, or lack thereof.  It has been compared by at least one person to Inio Asano's more recent Solanin, but I personally found the latter work to be much more engaging, featuring characters which I felt I could relate to, or at least recognize.  Hayashi's book, on the other hand, is much more elliptical; his characters are less grounded in a time or place (although the back cover text describes them as "uninvolved with the political movements of the time", which may have grounded them by picturing them as adrift, and thus different from others of that era), literally left floating in empty space and unable to escape the emotions swirling around inside their heads:

In fact, much of the book seems to be scene after scene similar to that page.  The two main characters, Ichiro and Sachiko, converse with each other while hunched over, minimal expressions on their faces, tormented by unexplained (or implied) emotions.  It's like a French film in which nothing is discussed directly; everything is left to the reader to suss out, and we only see the outward actions and words.  They seem to be tormented by their feelings, but they never tell us (or each other) what those feelings are.

And that's where I disconnect from the book, while understanding why others may find it compelling.  I can get behind that sort of thing on film, because it's a gold mine for good actors to demonstrate emotion without using words.  But here, the drawings are so minimal that all this inner torment seems to take place underneath near-expressionless faces.  It's rare for a character's face to show any more emotion than you can get from this silhouette:

That profile view is near-omnipresent in all the character art, and only slight variations on it ever pop up; we might get a slanted eyebrow or a widened eye, but nearly every scene sees that same minimally-expressive side view.  Instead, emotion is shown through cartoon shorthand like flying sweat drops and tears, or "overacted" body language:

The percentage of pages in the book containing contorted bodies like that must be at least 75; it seems like Ichiro and Sachiko can't have a conversation without one or both of them twisting into anatomically improbably positions, curling up into their bedsheets, or pressing their bodies together, sometimes sexually.  It's tiring to watch, especially when most of the time you aren't even sure what they're so upset about.

Not to belabor the Solanin comparison, but the emotional angst in that book was understandable and relatable.  Here, it all seems to be about job- and relationship-related expectations.  Ichiro works as an animator, but he wants to quit and draw comics.  Sachiko is facing pressure from her parents to get married, but Ichiro isn't ready.  They love each other, but they aren't happy.  That all makes sense, but the lack of communication (both between each other and between them and the reader) makes them seem like emotionally-crippled depressives, unable to have a conversation without curling up in a ball and crying for a few hours.  Maybe that's the case; maybe Hayashi meant to show them that way, presenting the story of mentally-unhealthy people trying to have a relationship and function in society.  I really can't tell if that was the intention or if this is just an emotionally-heightened style of drama.

But like I said, obviously that worked for some, including many in Hayashi's homeland, since the book was very popular and influential.  It just didn't for me.  But while I found the plot and characters inscrutable, I did enjoy much of the art, which (inexpressive faces aside) is often quite gorgeous.  As mentioned, those contorted bodies can be quite expressive, especially in the thick, slashing lines of ink that define the wrinkles in their clothes and other fabric, like crumpled bedsheets.  There's one full-page splash image of a sex scene that is amazingly physical:

And the background shots that Hayashi often pauses to depict are quite gorgeous, displaying mountains, oceans, landscapes, and buildings in beautiful detail:

And some of the repeating imagery is haunting, like a scene of a lamp swinging from a cord that seems to keep reappearing throughout the book; I don't know what it means, but it and other visual motifs add to the layers of imagery very effectively.

Really, as I said, it's a matter of taste.  I didn't find the book satisfying, but I'm sure others have and will.  There's definitely plenty here to chew on; it's not a simple work by any means.  That's the case with so many of those works that naysayers dismiss as "boring, pointless autobio comics", and that's what rankles those of us who like to experience mature, thoughtful work so much.  So don't think that I'm pooh-pooh-ing this book; I'm just saying that it didn't connect with me on the level that I wish it did.  As it is, it's an interesting work that contains some incredible imagery, but I wanted it to be more.  Oh well; I'll always have Solanin.