Solicitationary Blatherings: Image, January 2008

Before I get into the post, I'll go ahead and repeat what I said last post, so it doesn't get pushed off the top of the page: I'm going to be going to this event with Rutu Modan, the author of Exit Wounds, in Chicago tomorrow, so anyone reading this that will be there, let me know and I'll try to say hi.

Okay, here's what's coming from Image Comics in January. They jumped the gun and got their solicits out early this month, for whatever reason. You can see the full list here, but here's what I'm interested in:



'76 #1 - This appears to be some sort of blaxploitation/70s riff, from writer B. Clay Moore (Hawaiian Dick) and a bunch of other people I've never heard of. Could be worth a look.



CAPTAIN STONEHEART & THE TRUTH FAIRY HC - This looked really cool to me at first; I don't read Elephantmen, but I like Joe Kelly and love Chris Bachalo (their series Steampunk is super-cool, and tragically unfinished), so I thought this might be a fun takeoff of the story they did on one issue. But on closer inspection of the solicitation text, it seems to be little more than a glorified repackaging of that story, with scripts, pencil art, and an audio CD. It's 80 pages for $19.99, and that's more than I want to pay, especially if I can get the original issue for $3.00.



CASANOVA #12 - Oh yeah, looks like E.M.P.I.R.E.'s going up (down?) in flames! I love this book.



CEMETERY BLUES #1 - Something about monster hunters who have wacky hijinx. Written by Ryan Rubio, with whom I'm not familiar, and art by Thomas Boatwright, who recently did The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allen Poo. I haven't read that either, but it looked nice, and so does this. I might check it out. By the way, is it just me, or is that guy in the back totally based on Terrence Stamp? And is this a monthly or a limited series? That kind of information might be nice.



INFINITE HORIZON #2 - More of the modern-day Odyssey retelling. Not much to say about it until it starts coming out, but this is one really nice cover. It always freaks me out when a piece of art makes me think my eyes can't focus.



JACK STAFF SPECIAL #1 - I always hear that Jack Staff is awesome, but I've never read it. This special is hailed as a jumping-on point, so maybe I'll jump on. Also, I heard the book is going monthly, which seems like a good idea; more material means people like me are more likely to check it out.



LUCHA LIBRE #3 - I liked the first issue of this series well enough, but it didn't blow my mind or anything. I'll probably try to pick up future issues, like this one. That's all.



MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #8 - Looks like more epilogue to the "Madman in space" story arc, and the solicitation says it's a great jumping-on point, I guess for the readers that got lost in all the metaphysical hoo-hah. I'm there every step of the way though! Go Mike Allred!



MICE TEMPLAR #3 - I don't think I ever reviewed the first issue of this series, but it was all right. Most other reviews I read expressed my feelings well enough: it looked good, generic fantasy, why do these characters have to be mice, etc. But it had its moments, and Oeming's art is really neat, especially with the watercolors. I'll probably continue to check it out, unless the second issue is just terrible.



MR. UNIVERSE - I don't know what to make of this book; the solicitation makes me think it will be some sort of superhero deconstruction/metafictional exercise, but it's hard to tell. The art looks interesting; sort of a Michael Gaydos or Jason Shawn Alexander style. It's a one-shot for $3.50, so it might be worth getting.



PAX ROMANA #3 - It's the second-to-last issue of this miniseries, and I don't have much to say, other than that I'm there for whatever Jonathan Hickman is delivering.



A RED MASS FOR MARS #2 - Um, ditto.
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And I guess that's it. I might get to DC's solicits tonight, if I feel like it, or maybe I'll wait until tomorrow. Marvel's come out tomorrow, and lately they've had very little that interests me, so maybe I'll group them together like I always say I'm going to. And then later in the week, there will be others, including Dark Horse, who already dropped their offerings. We'll see how it goes. As for reviews, nothing tonight, buy maybe something tomorrow. But probably not, since I'm going to the Rutu Modan thing. Whatever. See you later!

The comics, they keep being published

Before I get into what's coming out this week (which I don't think is very much anyway), I'll mention that I'm going to be going to this event with Rutu Modan, the author of Exit Wounds, in Chicago tomorrow, so anyone reading this that will be there, let me know and I'll try to say hi. I'm hoping one or more of the IndiePulp guys will be there, at least.

Oh, and I also have a review of Runaways #28 up at SBC, and a repost of my Narcoleptic Sunday review at the aforementioned IndiePulp. Enjoy!

So, on to:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 10/17/07):

Army @ Love #8
DMZ #24
Fables #66
Ex Machina #31

Four Vertigo/Wildstorm series that I'm waiting for the trade on. I hope that doesn't mean any of them get canceled due to low sales of the monthly issues...

The Programme #4

I'm reading this one monthly though, just because I don't know when or if it will ever get collected. It's been pretty good so far; Peter Milligan is awesome when he's not phoning it in.

The 99 #1

I don't plan to get this, but it's worth pointing out. It's a new superhero series with Muslim characters. I'll probably read a review or two, if I see any. Here's the official site.

Abyss #1

Another book from Red 5. I never did find any copies of Atomic Robo, so I'm probably going to have to special order the first issue. This one is a comedy of sorts about an heir to a supervillain's legacy. Looks nice, especially the cover, with its logo that evokes Action Comics and an image that homages the famous "Death of Superman" cover. Again, I'll probably get it if I see it, but I bet I'll have to special order it (and I'll only do that if I read good reviews). Anyway, here's the page on Red 5's site.

The Boys #11

I didn't drop this series, so it looks like I'll be on board at least through this next arc, unless Ennis does something to completely drive me away. It's kind of on the fence, not quite good enough that I feel like I should keep buying it every month, but just good enough to keep me from dropping it. Damn you, Ennis, for keeping me intrigued!

Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales Then and Now #1

I should probably just add this series to my pull list. I've read most (if not all) of the original stories, so I had thought I might or might not get certain issues, depending on whether I liked the art. But I expect I won't be able to pass them up, especially after writer Dara Naraghi dropped by in the comments here with some links to art samples (hear that, creators? Commenting here is a good way to get me to buy your comic!).

Suburban Glamour #1

I'll probably wait for the trade on Jamie McKelvie's new miniseries (dammit, I still need to pick up Phonogram!), but it certainly looks nice, so I recommend checking it out if you see it.

Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite #2

I really dug the first issue of this series (although I never reviewed it, for some reason), so I'm sure the second will also be good. Don't let me down, Mr. punk-rocker-turned-Morrison/Fraction-wannabe! (and Gabriel Ba, too!)

Wonderland #5

I'm not especially interested in Disney comics, but this one has some lovely Sonny Liew artwork, so I would consider getting a collection of some sort.

Zig Zag #2

I'm not familiar with this book, but one of my IndiePulp cohorts recommended it, so I'll check it out if I see it.

Army @ Love vol. 1

Did I mention I like this series? Rick Veitch is awesome, so if you like his comics (or if you like funny satire of current events), I encourage you to check this out.

Gear School

A manga-esque graphic novel from Dark Horse, with giant robot alien wars, or something like that. It looks nice, as judging by the preview on the book's site. It seems like a pretty good package: 96 full-color pages for $7.95. Kid-appropriate and everything.

Eduardo Risso's Tales of Terror

I love me some Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets), so it's cool to see some of his Argentinian (or is it Spanish?) comics get imported. I'll probably get it at some point, if not right away.

Shazam Monster Society of Evil HC

One of the best books so far this year gets collected into a really nice-looking hardcover. A little pricey ($29.99), but probably worth it. The unpopular-in-indie-circles Jeff Smith (sorry, inside joke) delivered a super-fun story, and I highly recommend it.

Awesome Indie Spinner Rack Anthology Vol 1 TP

This looks like a, well, awesome anthology that's "presented by" the "Indie Spinner Rack" podcast and Evil Twin Comics, the self-publishing company of Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey (Action Philosophers). It's got quite the list of contributors: Al Columbia, Renee French, Nick Bertozzi, Bernie Mireault, Kazimir Strzepek, Matt Kindt, Roger Langridge, Sam Hiti, and many others, including "the debut episode of the next Evil Twin Comics series Comic Book Comics by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey". I will definitely pick this one up if I see it. Here's the book's page, with a preview.

Whiteout Vol 2 Melt TP Definitive Edition

I enjoyed the first volume of Whiteout, so I'll probably try to get this one as well.

Bookhunter GN

This looks interesting. It's based on a true story about a book being stolen from the Oakland Public Library in 1973, following the detectives who are trying to track it down. But it looks pretty fictionalized, adding lots of cartoony action to the story. You can check out a preview at the book's site.

Drifting Classroom Vol 8 TP

I'm still behind on this. Someday I'll catch up. Someday...

Naoki Urasawas Monster Vol 11 TP

Ditto. I'm still trying to get to volume 3...

Fall In Love Like A Comic Vol 1 TP

A shojo series that I wouldn't normally bother mentioning, but I wrote a review of it that should be up on MangaLife sometime soon. I also talked about the preview chapter that was published in Shojo Beat a few months ago...

Shojo Beat Vol 3 #11 Nov 07

And finally, the latest issue of my manga anthology of choice (between two options, really, but maybe those will expand someday...). I already received this issue, and I'm reading it now, so expect a review soon. I will say one thing: yakuza/gangster stories don't seem like an obvious choice for a shojo series, and this issue kind of supports that theory.
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And that's all for this week, I think. Maybe there's more there than I thought there would be. I might have more reviews up soon, and I should get to solicitations sometime, so keep an eye out for content. I'll stop the slacking off, really!

Brawl: I think Haspiel could take me too

Slow weekend, huh? I should have some stuff up on the soon-to-be-renamed Silver Bullet Comics and MangaLife soon though. But for now:

Brawl #1 (of 3)
By Dean Haspiel and Michel Fiffe



This three-issue series from Image features two serialized stories, one each from creators Dean Haspiel and Michel Fiffe. Both stories were originally serialized on the comics anthology site Act-I-Vate, and they're getting printed here. Act-I-Vate seems like a good forum for indie comics creators to get their work out there where people can read it, any maybe serve as a precursor to an eventual printing. Another Act-I-Vate contributor, Mike Cavallaro, recently published his Parade (With Fireworks), also through Image, so they certainly seem to be getting their work noticed.

Of the two contributors to Brawl, Haspiel is the more famous, having contributed art to books like The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist or The Thing: Night Falls on Yancy Street. But he's probably most recognized for his work with Harvey Pekar, providing the art for the graphic novel The Quitter and each of the four issues of Vertigo's recent American Splendor miniseries. His style is very appealing, providing an animated look to his backgrounds and characters, with a good feeling of motion.

Haspiel's story here, "Immortal", is the first in a promised trilogy featuring the character Billy Dogma (the second part, entitled "Fear, My Dear" is already being serialized online), and it's a riot. Billy and his girlfriend apparently both have super-powers, and their hard-boiled romance keeps getting interrupted by Billy being dragged off to jail. Then their love awakens some sort of monster, and havoc ensues. That would be an entertaining enough story by itself, but Haspiel gives everything a noir sort of feel, drenching them in shadows and having everyone deliver staccato-rhythmed dialogue, with bystanders joining in the narration. It's crazy, and absolutely charming. I love the tough-guy language, with lines like, "They know they can't do jack. So, they slap my writs and hold me for a night...to teach me a lesson I ain't never gonna learn." Or panels like this one:



I also love the artwork, with its heavy shadows and what seems to be charcoal-drawn shading. Haspiel puts in some nice touches, like the heart-shaped holes that result when Billy is thrown through walls (which happens surprisingly regularly), or the equally heart-shaped pieces of rubble that result. I'm loving the story, and while it's over quickly, I can't wait to read future installments.

With such a strong first half, Michel Fiffe has a lot to live up to in his story, "Panorama". He doesn't quite get there, but that's no slight against him. My admittedly lax research hasn't turned up any information about him, so I assume he's not as experienced. He certainly shows some promise here, and future installments of this story might be really good.

Said story involves a young man named Augustus wandering through the back alleys of an unnamed city, getting in a fight with a gang of homeless kids, and beating the shit out of them with his freaky powers, which seem to involve his skin coming alive, stretching off his face, and doing unnatural things to people. It's pretty nasty, and the results lead him to the bathroom of a woman who lives nearby, where he goes to be sick before being confronted once again by the thugs, who seem to have had a negative reaction to his beating. It's all rather grotesque, and I'm not sure where Fiffe is going with the story, but it should be interesting to find out.

The problem here is that it's hard to tell what is going on, although I'm sure we'll find out more in future chapters. But we mostly get a barrage of nasty images that don't make a lot of sense. Unfortunately, Fiffe's characters are pretty stiff, without much life to their expressions; where he excels is the nasty depictions of Augustus' abilities:



He throws a lot of detail into these images, and that's part of what makes things confusing. In this sequence, I can't tell if Augustus is puking, or if skin is stretching from the side of his mouth:



Later panels seem to indicate the former possibility, but it's still kind of vague.

But it's still an interesting story, and maybe more will be made clear in the future. Overall, I really dig the book, with it's cool presentation of stories from indie creators. I hope more stuff like this gets published, whether from Act-I-Vate or elsewhere.
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Bonus! Dean Haspiel beefcake, from the aforementioned American Splendor series:

In which my good taste is confirmed

I doubt many people come here for news, but I wanted to mention that the excellent children's book/comic The Invention of Hugo Cabret has been nominated for a National Book Award (caught it: Tom Spurgeon). I reviewed the book way back in March, before anybody knew I existed, and I loved it, so it's cool to see it get some recognition. Good luck, Brian Selznick!
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Since I'm probably not going to get to any reviews tonight, I'll go ahead and point out my review of Drafted #2 over at SBC. It was better than the first issue, but still not great. At this rate, issue #15 should be awesome.

MPD Psycho: A world like this would make anyone psychotic

Quickly: Over at IndiePulp, I've got a review of Jeremy Tinder's Black Ghost Apple Factory. Also, a repost of my look at Good As Lily. But for now, let's look at some good old Japanese weirdness:

MPD Psycho, volume 1
Written by Eiji Otsuka
Art by Shou-U Tajima



Does anyone outside of Japan come up with material this twisted and fucked-up? Not in comics, certainly. I can't think of any American comic (outside of some fetish porn, maybe) that made me look away in revulsion or inadvertently utter an "ugh!" like this one did. I've seen some others that are pretty nasty, and I'm sure what's been translated into English is only the tip of the iceberg. That country is crazy, man.

Maybe writer Eiji Otsuka just has a twisted mind and a flair for pushing my buttons. He also wrote Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, another series featuring plenty of dismembered naked women. That sort of gory detail, combining the erotic with the grotesque (which comprises an entire genre of manga) really leaves an impression on me.

Of course, all the nasty imagery in the world amounts to nothing if there isn't a story to string it together, so how well does MPD Psycho accomplish that? I would say pretty well, although it takes a while to get started. In the first few chronologically fractured chapters, we are introduced to our protagonist, Yosuke Kobayashi. He is a violent crimes investigator, and seemingly very good at profiling criminals. However, he also suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder (also known as Multiple Personality Disorder, the "MPD" of the title), and at least one of his personalities has a murderous attitude. This affliction leads to him being thrown in jail, and after he gets out, a former police detective recruits him to work in a private crime lab, solving the violent murders that continue to plague the city. Oh, and his previous identity has been suppressed, so now he's going by the name Kazuhiko Amamiya.

It's an interesting setup, and it leads to some pretty arresting stories, with Amamiya and his crew (which includes the woman who bailed him out, and eyepatch-wearing reporter, and an incompetent, comic-relief-providing police detective) getting involved in investigations of disgusting murders and him using his skills to find the culprits. There are also some hints at a conspiracy of some sort, since all the killers are discovered to be clients of an eye bank, and they all have a barcode somehow printed on their left eyeball. And we get some tension about Amamiya; how stable is he, and what happens if (when?) a murderous personality takes over? These questions are left for future volumes to answer, a good reason to keep reading the series.

Shou-U Tajima's artwork does a great job of delivering the gory details of Otsuka's script; every severed limb or arterial spray is rendered in horrific detail:



But he also captures some good nuances of facial details, making obvious the shifts in personality that Kobayashi/Amamiya/? experiences. It's some nice work, although his mind is probably permanently warped after slaving over these gruesome images for so long.

So, it's a good book, if you've got the stomach for it. I'll be ready to see what horrors Otsuka and Tajima can deliver in future volumes. I just hope I don't end up ruining any books with projectile vomit.

Empowered: I'm waiting for more empowerment

Before I get started on this, I wanted to announce that I've been asked to write reviews (and possibly other content) for IndiePulp.com, a site that's based right here in Chicago. I'm pretty stoked about it, since they're some really cool guys, and they've got a lot of exciting ideas and plans for future content. I'll be doing original stuff for them, but they've also asked to repost some of the reviews I've done here, starting with my review of Killing Girl #2, which went up there yesterday. I'll have more up over there soon! But for now:

Empowered, volume 2
By Adam Warren



I really dug the first volume of this manga-style graphic novel series; I thought it was a good look at a character with realistic self-esteem issues and a mature sexual relationship. Plus, good art, cool action, and plenty of funny jokes. It was fascinating to see Adam Warren build a character, supporting cast, and whole universe from what began as a series of bondage-themed pinup drawings. I was pretty excited for future volumes, wanting to see more of this story that he was telling. So now that it's here, does it live up to expectations? Well, yes and no. The second volume delivers more silly jokes, plenty of action, and lots of near-nudity, but seems to limit the character development, choosing to hint at future subplots involving supporting characters rather than focus on the titular heroine and her continued growth.

Part of the problem here might be the length of the stories. The first volume had a barrage of short tales, many only a few pages long. While the ones early in the book served mostly as jokes about Emp being easily defeated and tied up provocatively, they eventually gave way to stories about her taking strength from the encouragement of her boyfriend, Thugboy, and her best friend, Ninjette. Here, we get a few shorter stories about topics like Emp being embarrassed by a video of her looking stupid in a fight, Ninjette playing video games, or Emp going undercover as a sexy librarian to capture a supervillain. There are also some longer stories, including one about Emp making her rival superheroine Sistah Spooky jealous by being "the Aryan ideal of shoulder-candy". And it's nice to see some bits where Emp seems to be gaining experience and using her abilities to actually win some battles.

But the largest section of the book is taken up by a chronological series of stories, starting with one in which Emp is so despondent after being defeated that she contemplates quitting the superhero game. Help comes from an unlikely place when the Caged Demonwolf (a supervillain that she defeated in the first volume who now resides in a containment belt on her coffee table) talks some self-esteem into her, tough-love style. It's a pretty amusing bit, with plenty of his verbose dialogue:



That leads into a story in which Ninjette impersonates Empowered in order to go beat the shit out of the villains that humiliated her, not realizing that this might cause her more danger in the future if bad guys view her as a deadly threat. Then, we get two stories in which the Demonwolf interrogates Ninjette about her personal grooming habits (which become obvious when she wears Emp's costume) and Thugboy about his and Emp's sex life. While this was all amusing, by this point, I was ready to move on and see more superheroics, or at least something involving the main character directly. It's not a terrible series of stories, and it does give a hint that Emp's unreliable powers might sprout from her fragile self-esteem, indicating that with more confidence, she might be able to master her abilities and become a true force to be reckoned with in the future. There's also a hell of a fight scene during the bit when Ninjette decides to go kick some ass:



But I shouldn't make it sound like this was a complete disappointment. In fact, it was really only a minor one; I liked the volume quite a bit, but it fell slightly short of expectations (which were probably too lofty anyway). There's still some excellent stuff here, including hints at future plots coming from Ninjette and Thugboy's troubled pasts. There are also a few really good character moments, like the final story, which features Emp performing a real, satisfying act of heroism. Adam Warren's wacky humor and endless stream of ideas are intact, and his art is mindblowingly good, full of dynamic, exciting action; perfectly-realized expressions; and just plain fun designs. And I'm still happy to see a realistically-portrayed relationship, with scenes like this:



I can't get get enough of Adam Warren's comics; I wish the wait wasn't so long between volumes. Here's hoping the plot/character progression picks up a bit in the next installment. I'll be waiting eagerly to find out.

Bonus! Schrödinger's Catgirl!

Out with the old, in with this week's new

Ah, I couldn't really throw out The Old. I love The Old! Really, The New has a lot to live up to.

External plug time! New reviews up at SBC: I Killed Adolf Hitler (Jason's new, excellent book) and Parade (With Fireworks) #2. The latter is a collaborative review with Martijn Form, which was a lot of fun to do.

New comics this week (Wednesday, 10/10/07):

Runaways #28

The latest issue of Joss Whedon's behind-schedule run on the book. I'm starting to lose interest, Marvel, and I was a big fan of this series. You're losing readers here! Last issue saw some neat time-travel hijinx, so I hope that sort of thing keeps going. I predict that I'll drop the book after issue 30 (I think that's Whedon's last one).

Atomic Robo #1

I think this is the first title from Red 5 Comics, a new publisher that looks to be putting out some interesting stuff. This looks pretty sweet, a "retro-future" story about, well, you can guess by the title. Nice artwork; I will probably buy the first issue if my shop gets it.

Black Summer #3

More violence among murderous, assassination-minded superheroes. I hope it stays good. Or gets better, even!

Brawl #1

Dean Haspiel and Michael Fiffe face off, pitting their Act-I-Vate comics against each other in this "creature romance double feature". It looks to be a really good series, and it's only three issues long, so it should be short and sweet. Here's a preview.

Clockwork Girl #1

Another series with nice-looking art (preview here). This issue is only 99 cents (according to the release list at Midtown Comics), so it should be a good sampler to help me (and others) decide whether it'll be worth reading.

Yearbook Stories 1976-1978

I read a little bit of this in Top Shelf's sampler that they recently put out, and it looks pretty good. It contains two autobiographical stories by Top Shelf's publisher and editor, Chris Staros, with art by Bo Hampton and Rich Tomasso. Only $4.00! Here's the book's page, with an eight-page preview.

Powers vol. 10

I think this collection goes right up through the point when I dropped the book. I might get the next one, but it comes out so irregularly, that might not drop until 2009 or so. It's still a pretty good series (the only Bendis material I'm interested in these days), but I just can't keep the plot in my memory when I'm only getting a chunk of it every five months. Anyway, this one is still worth getting if you're a fan. That's all.

Spider-Man Fantastic Four TPB

Good, old-school superhero comics, and also Mike Wieringo's last work, I think. It's a fun story, so if you enjoy angst-free action; cool, cartoony art; or Jeff Parker's jaunty stories (yeah, check out my alliteration!), read it! Here's my review of the fourth issue.

Absolute Sandman vol. 2

I have many of the issues of the series, but I'm tempted to shell out the bucks for this oversized, super-fancy remastering of the series. It looks pretty awesome. I could get a lot of other comics for $100 though...

Garth Ennis Chronicles of Wormwood TPB

Also a good series, especially if you like sacrilege and Garth Ennis-style gross-out humor. Good times. My review of the final issue of the series can be found here, in the same post as the Spider-Man/Fantastic Four review I already linked to. Redundancy ahoy!

James Sturm’s America HC

Collecting several of Sturm's books: The Revival, Hundreds of Feet Below Daylight, and The Golem's Mighty Swing. I haven't read any of them, but excerpts I've seen look really good, and Sturm is pretty well-regarded. I might have to check it out. Here's the page for the book on publisher Drawn & Quarterly's site, where you can find a preview.

Eating Steve GN

A horror/comedy thing from Slave Labor Graphics, I think. The description sounds interesting: "Jill tried to eat her boyfriend's brain. That's the kind of thing that just kills a relationship, so Jill is left on her own to try to understand what happened. Why was she so overcome with the urge to eat Steve's brain? A move to the countryside means Jill is able to re-assess her life and start anew. It also means that, without the television that was once ever-present in her life, Jill doesn't see the news reports about what seems to be a spreading zombie plague." But it's by J. Marc Schmidt, who did Egg Story, which I heard was good, but I've never read since the simplistic art kind of turned me off. But, hell, it might be worth a look. Here's a preview.

Town Boy TP

Ooh, the new book by Lat! It's a sequel to Kampung Boy, which I really liked. I will have to read it as soon as I can.

Yotsuba Manga Vol 5 TP

This is a series about which I hear nothing but praise. Still, I've never read it. Someday I might get into it, but right now I'm woefully behind the times.

King Of Thorn Vol 2 GN

What? A manga series that I'm actually caught up on?!? Well, that ends as soon as this volume comes out. But I'll probably get it pretty soon, so I can be caught up on something.

Gyo Vol 1 GN 2nd Edition

Last week saw a reissue of Uzumaki, and now here's Gyo. I gotta get these; my shelves long for their creepy weirdness!

Manga Messiah GN

I guess this comes out in the direct market (I've already seen it in bookstores) this week. I don't actually recommend it, but I'll take the opportunity to point to my review (at MangaLife). Yeah, I'm lame that way.
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And I think that's everything for the week! Probably not too much money to spend, unless I get some of those manga volumes. Anyway, more review(s) should be up tonight, along with an announcement of sorts about my continued notoriety. Be there!

Last of the Independents: I sure hope it's not

I.e., I hope it's not the last "independent" comic by Matt Fraction. Anyway:

Last of the Independents
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Kieron Dwyer



With this graphic novel, which came out a few years ago from AiT/PlanetLar, Matt Fraction proved that he's got more in him than zany science fiction stories (well, I think Casanova proves that already, since while it's crazy, it has a lot of heart, but that's beside the point). Here, he teams with Kieron Dwyer to give us a Sam Peckinpah/Sergio Leone-styled action/crime story (he thanks both of them, along with other role models, in the acknowledgments) about a bank robbery with unintended (and violent) consequences.

The heist is masterminded by Cole, a character cast in the Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson mold as a middle-aged badass looking to make a big score and settle down. Joining him are his girlfriend Justine (or "Juicy") and Billy, a big man-child who isn't too bright but has a way with mechanical stuff (especially explosives). It seems like a "routine" robbery, but they get more than they bargained for when they find a huge amount of cash in the bank's vault; this was the spoils of a money-laundering job perpetrated by some gangsters who own a Las Vegas casino. Soon enough, scores of mafia goons are descending on Cole's small theme park, which shares a name with the book itself. Lots of action, violence, and gore result, in good crime-movie fashion. It's a satisfying ride, with some incredible action scenes involving horses, shotguns, planes, gasoline, dynamite, and plenty of swearing.

It's really nicely done, with well-drawn characters and nice, sepia-toned art. Fraction includes plenty of little touches, like Cole and Justine's relationship, or Billy's love of words (he insists on calling the place they ditch their car the "rendezvous", even though they're not meeting anybody). The matter-of-fact captions are great, introducing or underlining scenes with simple statements like "Cole and Justine in love" or "Justine thinks about meeting Cole". It's all part of the effective presentation of the gritty atmosphere.

There are some great action scenes too, with Dwyer providing dynamic layouts, like this page from a horse/car chase:



That lower-right panel, of Justine swinging up onto her horse, is wonderful. Dwyer knew the exact moment to capture for the maximum feeling of motion and speed. The whole book is like this, and the non-action scenes are just as dynamic, with faces that convey the characters' personalities as much as the dialogue does:



So it a good book, short and sweet (96 pages for $12.95), nice story, nice art, a look at the development of Matt Fraction's writing; what's not to like? Check it out, if you missed it the first time around.
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Bonus! Tangents and speculation about symbolism and stuff [with SPOILERS]:

One thing that struck me about the book was some of what seemed like symbolism for the comics industry. The book's title, for one thing, seems like it might be referring to its publisher, a well-known independent purveyor of comics. Larry Young has a bit of a reputation as a maverick publisher, so he seems somewhat analogous to Cole. Billy is good at mechanics and explosives, like the mainstream superhero publishers, with their slick production values and violent stories, but he's not too smart. He remarks that his favorite place is the corporate theme park that put Cole's establishment out of business, and he wants to use his share of the money to buy it and have it all for himself. Maybe he's a self-critical analogue of Fraction, who likes words, is good at constructing a story, and wants to work on the big icons of comics. Of course, at the end, Billy dies, and the "corporate" mafia thugs are all defeated, so maybe that's a triumph of the independent over the mainstream. Despite the title, this book and this company are far from the end of independent comics.

Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it. I've been known to do that too.

Thanks to Larry Young for the complimentary copy.