Jupiter's Legacy - It's Hard to Live Up to a Legacy

Jupiter's Legacy 4
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated by Frank Quitely and Peter Doherty
Image Comics

Jupiter's Legacy is an ambitious superhero comic involving two of the biggest names in superhero comics. Mark Millar and Frank Quitely previously worked together on the groundbreaking series "The Authority", and each has been associated with some of the most high-profile and commercially successful superhero comic books of the past dozen years.  So when they get together to work on a project, you take notice. 

The story of Jupiter's Legacy is one of generations, of (you guessed it) legacies, and destiny and inheritance. In the world of Jupiter's Legacy, Sheldon Sampson was a businessman whose family had lost its fortune in the Great Depression, and he was scared for what he saw in America - would it be destroyed by some bad loans and reckless bankers (a cyclical problem, it seems)? Sheldon had a vision in 1932 of a mysterious island which held secrets, and promise. So Sheldon, his brother Walter, and a group of friends set out to find this island.  Not only did they find the it, but they come back with superpowers and became heroes.  It appears that after they returned from this island, they ushered in a golden age of heroism, optimism and prosperity.

However, as the series shifts to the modern day, we see that the children and grandchildren of those great heroes have fallen somewhat far from the tree. These progeny are far more concerned with marketing,  partying, sex and drugs than with trying to make the world a better place. There's also significant tension between Sheldon and his brother Walter. Sheldon warns them to maintain the status quo (fighting villains and saving lives, but leaving politics to the politicians), but Walter is a super genius who thinks they should be more actively involved, and clearly aches to get out from the shadow of his older brother. 

Sheldon (fittingly known as the Utopian) and his wife Grace have two children, Brandon and Chloe, who are typical Millar characters, doing bad things at the drop of a hat. Over the course of the first three issues, Brandon becomes more and more frustrated with his father's disapproval, and his uncle Walter takes advantage of that by convincing Brandon and all of the other heroes that it's time to get rid of Sheldon and Grace and take bigger actions to save humanity. At the end of this, Chloe makes a break for it, and we know that the status quo is going to change significantly.

Issue 4 begins with a flashback featuring a beautiful splash page of the mysterious island (which, as it turns out is not exactly an island), gorgeously rendered with great detail by Quitely. The creators show us more of what happened when Sheldon and his crew got to the island. Sheldon's visions have taken him and his group to someplace pretty remarkable, and there's some nice interaction between Sheldon, Walter, and Sheldon's good friend George, whose life will take a different path. 

From the Island, the story nicely moves ahead to 2022 (as the story on the island was actually a bedtime story being told by Chloe to her son). Eight years have passed in the story, and Chloe, Hutch (a villain, natch) and their son Jason have been laying low, living in Australia. In some amusing scenes reminiscent of The Incredibles, we see that Jason and his family have to work hard to hide his abilities (including his athleticism, strength and intelligence). However, he also has been running off, unbeknownst to them, and engaging in some superheroic activities. 

The story lastly turns to Brandon and his uncle Walter, who are celebrating nine years in power in the White House. However, they may have overestimated their ability to solve all of society's problems, as there seems to be massive poverty and social unrest. Brandon is taking all of this quite personally, and doesn't have his uncle's sense of detachment. As the story ends, Brandon and Walter discuss Chloe, and we see that Chloe and her family may not be safe for too much longer.

This was a strong return for the series, and this has been an entertaining, intriguing series overall. It's clear that Millar is shooting for something more lofty and ambitious here than in some of the other recent stories he's told. Unlike something like Kick-Ass or Nemesis, the violence here is not gratuitous, and the story generally has a more serious, weighty tone, and the thrills are not quite as visceral. 

That's not to say that this is a dark series; on the contrary, there are some real moments of humor and fun, and the emotions between the characters feel genuine. Just as in earlier issues you could feel Brandon's resentment and hatred for his father, in the current issue the love in Chloe's family feels authentic, as it's clear she and Hutch trying to do their best to mitigate a difficult situation.  Millar has something to say in this series; it feels like a commentary on how our society has fallen from the days of the "Greatest Generation". It also feels like a commentary on superhero stories such as The Authority where the superheroes eventually take over the government (or the delusional ideas of someone like Lex Luthor who think they out to be in change of everything). It seems to be turning out just as Sheldon predicted; just because you're telekinetic or really strong or good at complex schemes, doesn't mean you know how to fix the national debt or solve social problems.

The overall tone of the series is strongly felt in Frank Quitely's art. Quitely is a great sequential/visual storyteller. From the lush, weird scenes on the island, to the grim depictions of the present (such as when Brandon screams at a group of protesters, you feel his power) to the dynamic superhero scenes (as when Jason flies to save the day, it's pretty inspiring), he sets a scene and gives you everything you need to understand the emotion and action in the story. In this series, he's using a slightly more realistic, less cartoony style than (by comparison) All-Star Superman, and his line work in this series also has a slightly rougher quality. Similarly, the coloring in this series has been more muted than something like The Authority or All-Star Superman. The world in which this story takes place, while significantly different, is meant to be seen as being several steps closer to our world than the typical comic superhero story.

Chances are you might have strong feelings about Mark Millar one way or another. Regardless of those feelings, if you enjoy interesting, thoughtful takes on superheroes from two masters of the genre, Jupiter's Legacy is definitely worth a look.

More Subscription Comics via Yeah Dude Kickstarter

I've been wanting to talk about this one for awhile, but unfortunately timing got away from me a bit. However, I am very pleased to be able to at least give a last-day push to Pat Aulisio's Yeah Dude Comics 2014 Subscription Kickstarter.

One of the many cool Philadelphia area creators, Aulisio has been creating mini-comics of his own for several years now. For this project, he's working in the same model as Box Brown's Retrofit Comics, offering a series of minis to subscribers (but in print only) who want to sample a wide variety of creative influences delivered to their door.

Long time Panel Patter readers know I love the concept of comics subscriptions. The ability to pick up new works from old favorites and investigate new writers and artists at the same time is almost always a winning combination for me.

In this project, Aulisio has opted to go with more of an anthology format. Each issue will be 16-24 pages long, with 1-3 artists per issue. Artists include several favorites of mine, new and old, highlighted by Box Brown and Josh Bayer. Other creators whose work I've enjoyed in the past include Sean T. Collins and Laura Knetzger.

Iron Skull by Skuds Mckinley from Issue 2

Pat has a ton of previews for the comics on the Kickstarter page, which gives you a solid indicator if this is the type of comic you'd like to receive or not. You can also click on links to the creators' pages. From the previews and based on my knowledge of Aulisio's work, you are likely to get more comics that are on the raw edge of the spectrum. That means this isn't going to be something for everyone. However, after Josh Bayer opened my eyes a bit to the potential of this genre of minis, I am really looking forward to this opportunity to have some more in that style sent to me to see what I think. I trust Pat's editorial eye to give me only the best in his option.

The reward tiers start at $10 for one issue and a bonus tabloid from Aulisio. There are also four and eight issue subscription options, along with varying bonuses.

As I write this, Pat is almost funded but the deadline is only a day away. If you like mini-comics and want to receive work from some great artists who do everything from making fun of the Ninja Turtles to intricate black and white art, go fund this one right now, before the campaign is over. Especially if you are already a fan of Retrofit, you'll be glad you did.

The Yeah Dude 2014 Subscription Kickstarter is here. Go fund it!

Mask of the Red Panda

Written by Greg Taylor 
Illustrated by Dean Kotz
Pubished by Monkeybrain (digital)/IDW (print)

A masked adventurer with a thing about magic teams with his driver to investigate a series of supernatural attacks in a story that’s a homage to the age of pulps but comes up a bit short in execution.

I’m a big fan of the classic characters like the Phantom or the Spirit and so I figured this one would work well for me, given the premise. Greg Taylor not only writes this story, he also created an entire line of pulp-style podcasts, of which The Red Panda is one of them. He’s clearly a fan, but the problem here is that he’s hewing just a bit too close to what already exists, leading to problematic storytelling and dialogue that feels really tin-eared on a modern reader.

The first and biggest issue I couldn’t get over was that the visual design for the Red Panda is basically “Here’s the Spirit, only Red.” (See the cover.) I don’t know if that was intentional by Kotz or Taylor or both, but from the very first time we see the character, it screams Eisner to me, and not in a good way. His gloves, tie, and domino mask are all crimson red, just as Danny Colt’s are bright blue. He wears the same fedora and trenchcoat, too. So whenever he’s in action, no matter how well Kotz illustrates the scene, I found myself comparing it at every moment to the iconic character. It felt more like it was fan fiction about a licensed character instead of its own thing to me.

That’s probably unfair, and I tried hard to get past that, but it was impossible for me. While the menace that the pair face is different from the more pedestrian crimes of Eisner’s world, there just wasn’t enough going on to move the needle for me. It didn’t help that Kit, the Panda’s partner, has some of the worst dialogue I’ve read in a comic recently. Her constant refrain of “boss” every time she talks to Panda is annoying and her slang, while well-intentioned, just grates over time. Not every line from the comic relief has to be an attempt at humor. A little colloquial reference goes a long way, even when reading or listening to classic creations. In a modern book, it’s frankly annoying.

A lot of the panels are structured like this.

The other issue was the overall plot. While it takes the pair awhile to get to the solution of the caper, they really face no adversity along the way. Every time this mortal pair encounters magic, they have a solution for it, whether it’s special clothing, goggles, or devices. They win just about every fight, except for one in which Kit is “hurt” but shows no signs of injury. I never got a sense that there was any danger for the protagonists at all, just a lot of capering and showing off. When we get to the big reveal, Red Panda tells Kit to be ready in case his plan doesn’t work, but by that point, I was pretty sure it would: Everything else had, so why not that, too?

The visuals from Kotz do a pretty good job with the material, telling the story as its plotted out by Taylor, but there’s a lot less life here than in, say, Krampus, which I read a little bit after this one. We get some good close-up facial work and the same kind of angular appearances, and he does keep the characters and panels off-kilter to indicate movement. But there’s a lot less variety in the style of the pages and the characters seem to be captured just after they did something, rather than in the moment of action. Most of the pages feature static, four or five panel pages, and it just fails to interest me visually over time, especially by the third act of the story.

An example of the changing colors.

The one notable thing about the art here, though is the use of color. Despite being generally unimpressed with the linework, I did stand up and take notice of the way Kotz varies the color palette from page to page and even panel to panel. He’s not afraid to use bright and dull shades of green, yellow, red, and blue, regardless of what the realistic shading might normally be. Because of this, objects and characters do stand out in ways you hardly see in a comic these days. I appreciated that Kotz took the idea of golden age comics coloring and updated it like this. It’s a nice touch, one that I’ve been seeing more of lately, and I hope that it continues. Anything that move us out of Drabville in terms of comics coloring is a good thing.

No disrespect to colorists everywhere, but when the coloring of the comic is the only part of a story you can recommend, it’s a problem. Despite my shared love of the time period and characters Taylor is looking to re-create, his efforts here just don’t match up to those he wants to emulate. The characters aren’t distinctive, the plot is too facile, and the art (coloring aside) isn’t notable enough to make this one I’d recommend. Hopefully, in a future effort, the adventures of the Red Panda will come to life in a way that’s more original. For now, this one is a rare miss from the folks at Monkeybrain.

Tall Tales from the Badlands 3

Written by Mark Wheaton, Sean Fahey, Robert Napton, and Matt Dembicki
Illustrated by Jerry Decaire, John Fortune, Franco Cespedes, Ezequiel Rosingana, and Ruben Rojas
Published by Black Jack Press

A series of Weird West tales of varying quality make up this third issue of the anthology series, ranging from a hanging judge who gets his just deserts to an interesting time travel paradox as a variety of writers and artists give their take on the genre.

Leading off is “The Judgment of the People” by Wheaton and Decaire. Playing off the idea of the unfairness of the Western judicial system, Wheaton takes us down a few tales of a Judge’s general incompetence. When he asks for a monument worthy of his greatness, there’s a twist waiting for a person who sat in judgment of the innocent. I liked the story well enough, but while Decaire’s art was extremely detailed, giving us the little notches on a printing press or every terrified tooth in a character’s head, his ability to portray the flow of the story was lacking. I had to keep reading back and forth to figure out the ending, which wrecks the power of the vengeance theme.

“Apologies” by Sean Fahey and John Fortune is a gotcha story about a party lost in the West and completely out of options. When the father prepares for a violent end, a rescue party comes to the rescue, except, well, you can guess what they’re thinking about the people they just found, given they are out of food and supplies themselves. A tale fit for an old EC book, with about the same measure of implied violence, this one was fun. Fortune’s art is hamstrung a bit by not showing any of the actual violence, but his characters emote well.

Faley has another short in this one, “Where the Heart is,” this time featuring Ruben Rojas on art duties. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the art on this one at all, as it felt flat and lifeless. The characters look bland and generic, as though they could be plugged into just about any story, anywhere. There are almost no details in the backgrounds, either, which is a killer on a story set in the West. The premise of going back in time to “rough it” had potential, but it left me cold because the art couldn’t carry the plot.

“Rustlers” by Robert Napton and Franco Cespedes features a train robbery gone wrong when the bandits realize they’ve attacked a cargo with a zombie payload. It’s really hard to get me to like a zombie story, but I thought the premise on this one was pretty cool, as a wealthy cattle rancher tries to use this new weapon to increase his profits. Cespedes’ art helps a ton, making good use of heavy blacks to draw out the characters or obscure them in shadow. His character designs are top notch and well-details and it was easy to feel caught in the time period. The story goes as you’d expect, but it’s a lot of fun and was probably the highlight of the collection for me.

I agreed to review this one because it featured Matt Dembicki, who is one of my favorite mini-comics creators and I wanted to see him take on a Western theme. Working with artist Ezequiel Rosingana on “All Mine,” it features all the things I’d expect from a Dembecki historical piece. We have a Native American character treated with respect, an analogue to nature, and deep historical accuracy. Despite its short size, Matt packs a lot into the plot, seeding the climax in off-hand lines if you’re reading carefully. There’s only a small speculative piece, but this is a strong one-and done, even if Rosingana’s art is basic and standard, and heavily layered in effects, using greytones rather than working in black and white, which dulls the shading a bit, for me.

Tall Tales from the Badlands 3 is, like any indie anthology, going to work for some and not for others. Based on similar books I’ve read, I thought it was better than average, but it was helped a lot by having a familiar writer and a theme (the West) that I’m partial to in the first place. If you grew up on John Wayne and company and want to see Westerns with a horror blend, give this one a shot and see what you think. I’d definitely read another issue of the series, even without knowing any of the creators.

Don't Be a Naughty Child: Read Krampus

Written by Brian Joines
Illustrated by Dean Kotz and Ron Riley
Published by Image Comics

When the relic that holds all of the power for the Secret Society of Santa Clauses is stolen, they have no choice but to turn to their European ally turned adversary, Krampus, in order to restore the balance. The being that punished children is the only hope for those who want to bring cheer into the world in an comic that’s extremely fun and keeps a tight plot in amongst the jokes and puns.

Total honesty time here: I almost didn’t give this one a shot. Any comic about Krampus not written by Benito Cereno* seemed wrong to me somehow. But I figured I’d see what it was about, and wow, I came away extremely impressed. While I’m unfamiliar with Joines, Kotz, and Riley, they come together here to show that we may be seeing the torch passed a bit when it comes to writing good comics that can make the reader laugh.

Krampus starts off with an errand boy for the Santa Clauses trying to protect the remains of St. Nicholas and failing badly, attacked by a legion of Sugar Plumb Fairies. Later, we’re introduced to a hired gun who is zapped from the Old West because of a clerical error due to his name into the world of holidays. There’s also a killer Nutcracker and the very elements themselves jump into play. Each of these introductions are cleverly timed by Joines for maximum effect, combining the joke factor with a bit of menace in a story where the terror of children is turned into an unlikely gumshoe to gain his freedom.

Comedy in comics is very hard to pull off, but Joines does a great job here, whether it’s working with the artists to create a variety of Santa Claus models that match their backgrounds or putting Krampus in ridiculous situations, like landing in the middle of a nightclub and watching him drolly comment on the bad behavior around him. The verbal gags are solid (more on that in a moment) but they wouldn’t work nearly as well if Kotz and Riley weren’t able to give them visuals to take them to the next level.

A perfect example of this are the Sugar Plum Fairies, who are dressed like Tinkerbell met a 1950s street gang, all shaded pinkish purple by Riley and wearing sneers and menacing looks from Kotz. These terrifying but cute creatures banter about skinning Krampus while striking poses that are cut abruptly short when their first attempt at killing him fails badly. Krampus himself is done up like a gamma-irradiated Satyr with chains and a face that never seems happy. He talks a bit like Batroc ze Leaper from Marvel, which adds to the fun when he’s arguing with someone.

There’s a ton of emotion on the faces of Kotz’ characters, with a lot of angular line work and expression. He reminds me a bit of Dan Jurgens mixed just a bit with the Buscemas due to the extra shading and linework. I love how his panels always feature action or implied movement. There’s never a dull moment in the panels, even when Santas are scheming or a minor character is helping to move the mystery along. Every once in a while, Kotz lets Krampus mug to the reader but it’s not annoying because it’s done sparingly, Looney Tunes style. He has a great sense of just what to focus on, moving the reader’s eye across the page. Meanwhile Riley’s colors change depending on the scene, giving us a strong sense of place. It’s a great artistic combo that does a better job with this lighthearted story than a lot of creators are doing on more high profile books.

I can’t leave this review without mentioning Joines’ dialogue again, though. The way that he gives each Santa we meet a personality. The small moments of seriousness, such as when Krampus questions Old Man Winter’s son and he talks about wanting to be free, hitting on a theme of Krampus’ quest. It’s just so well done, taking this beyond a joke a minute book and giving it depth. There’s great timing on the jokes (“get ahead” when referencing stealing the corpse of St. Nicholas, for example, or the insults Krampus hurls at the unlikely cowboy hitman) but Joines also can take a moment and really register the pain behind a character’s eyes.

Krampus is an irreverent detective story playing in legend and myth with amazing jokes and art that’s top notch. It doesn’t get much better for me than that, making this one my sleeper hit so far in 2014. If you overlooked it so far, don’t keep making that mistake. Give this one a try. I’m betting if you match at all with my taste, you’ll dig it. Now it just needs a Cereno-based backup story, and we’d really be in business. No matter what, though, I’m looking forward to seeing the story of Krampus unfold. You should be, too.

*For those not in the know, comics writer Benito Cereno is a fountain of mythological knowledge and often expounds upon the various stories and legends behind our favorite holidays on Twitter and Tumblr.

Single Minded for 2/19/14: Adventure with 3 Great Boom! Studios Books

It’s been a rather Adventurous Time for me as well, as I wrap up my road trip to Portland and begin making plans for the next part of my life. So my readings right now are only  few things here and there. Since I have a few minutes, here’s some thoughts on comics that came out last week, starting with an all-star cast of creators working with Finn and Jake…

Adventure Time 25
Written by Ryan North
Illustrated by Dustin Nguyen, Jess Fink, Jeffrey Brown, Jim Rugg, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb, and Chris O’Neill
Published by Boom! Studios

The story of two special gems takes us back to the pre-history of Ooo and the friendship of four special people in a tale that’s a strong capstone on North’s run on the title.

I’m pretty sure North isn’t going anywhere, but if this was his last issue, it was a really strong one, combining an unusually tight plot with the kids of gags we’ve come to expect from the writer of Dinosaur Comics. It gets a bit too cute at the opening, as a T-Rex banters with a raptor, but overall the visual and verbal gags work well.

North has a pre-Princess Bubblegum paired with Marceline as a pair of adventurers who fall out and then back together, as friends can sometimes do. When Finn and Jake uncover the secrets of their friends’ past, the results are an epic battle against an old foe and a realization that the four of them together make for the best Adventure Time.

Pulling the pieces of the story together are some of my favorite creators. Nguyen’s striking lines make the dinosaurs look real, even as they speak in ridiculous words. Fink opens with a Dig Dug homage and her smiling pair of Marceline and Bubblegum just exude fun from every panel. Brown gets the angsty reflection scene, which fits his style perfectly. Meanwhile, Jim Rugg apes Paroline and Lamb so well that I’m not sure where one ends and the other begins. Despite the differences, the story holds together well thanks to each taking a particular scene.

If you ever wanted to see what Adventure Time the comic was all about, this is your issue. It was a lot of fun to read, and no matter where the series goes from here, this run has been great and #25 is no exception.

Kings Watch 4
Written by Jeff Parker
Illustrated by Marc Laming and Jordan Boyd
Published by Dynamite Entertainment

It’s good to be Ming, if just for a day, as the intergalactic ruler sets his eyes (and army) on Earth with only a small band of heroes to stop him as this series continues to keep its foot on the gas pedal.

Jeff Parker upped the stakes to such a high level at the end of the third issue that I was unsure how he’d be able to follow up, as I’m always leery of the “plucky adventurers against unstoppable Empire” plot. However, he does a good job of making the heroes’ counter-attack plausible while upping the ante by the end of the  issue, which is a nice master stroke of plotting. Meanwhile, Marc Laming gets to draw pages upon pages of destruction and weird creatures--and the Phantom looking bad-ass.

As with the past issues, Marc’s page layouts do a lot to aid Jeff’s storyline, allowing them to cover a ton of ground simply by showing what’s happening combined with some well-timed captions. My favorite scenes will always be the ones with the Phantom, who always controls whatever scenes he appears in and gets just the right look for Parker’s lines. Meanwhile, Laming’s Ming looks like a ruler who feels he’s already won, looking almost bored as he deals with what he perceives is an inferior threat. The coloring this time felt a bit dark to me, but that could just be a digital issue.

This one is coming to a head, and while I’ll be sorry to see it finish soon, I can’t wait to see what Parker and Laming have in store for us. If you haven’t tried this one yet and have *any* love for pulp adventure, go back and catch up. Trust me on this one.

Loki Ragnarok and Roll 1
Written by Eric M. Esquivel
Illustrated by Jerry Gaylord and Gabriel Cassata
Published by Boom! Studios

An ill-used Loki is banished to Earth, except that modern Midgard is exactly the kind of place for a witty outsider with charm and great hair in an opening issue that’s got some promise.

It’s really difficult to use the Norse characters in comics because honestly, Stan and Jack set the bar for Odin, Thor, and the rest of the gang. Most tend, as this one does, to avoid that scene by making Thor as boorish as possible. Esquivel takes it one step further, moving this one as far away from Asgard as possible as soon as he can and making Loki as sympathetic a character as possible. He does this by having Odin set him up for a fall with the Frost Giants, and that’s my only real beef, as that’s hewing awfully close to the first Thor movie.

Once we get to Earth, though, this one really shines. Putting Loki in the underground scene makes perfect sense, and Gaylord’s character designs are comically exaggerated. Everything we see in the club is totally stereotypical (bad nuns, punishment, etc.) but you can’t take it seriously because the linework of Gaylord is so squiggly and the dialogue (and internal monologue) as written by Esquivel is very much over the top. When Loki takes down a guy looking for pain or agrees to go to a vegan bar, it’s just silly enough to hold together.

Gaylord’s Thor is the most amusing thing here, though. His God of Thunder is insanely huge (think Bane as drawn by Kelley Jones), brutish, and cruel. I’m glad to see we’ll get more of him, especially in a modern setting. While I love the heroic god affirmed by Silver Age Marvel, the non-jock in me is looking forward to how the witty Loki pulls one over on the family who spurned him. If you like light-hearted comics, definitely make sure you check this one out.

Godzilla Rulers of Earth 9
Story by Chris Mowry and Matt Frank
Written by Chris Mowry
Illustrated by Jeff Zornow and Priscilla Tramontano
Published by IDW

Monsters clash and Mothra’s keepers give a main character a history lesson in another issue that’s mostly punches and exposition but maintains a sense of fun.

After a battle at sea that leaves many humans dead (off-panel) but none of the main characters, Mowry takes Lucy to the hidden location of Mothra’s people, where a cosmology for the giant beasts is given that completely flies in the face of the idea of atomic testing causing Godzilla and the others to roam the Earth. I liked the idea of them fitting their own table of the elements and having a place in the world, but the dead stop from action to talk about all this is pretty typical of the troubled nature of the overall storyline.

Jeff Zornow clearly has fun drawing giant creatures beating the crap out of each other, and I actually prefer his monster sense to that of Frank, the regular artist. It was much easier to follow the blocking of the battle, as Zornow pans out a bit more to give readers a better view of the proceedings. His King Ceasar is absolutely awesome, and the backgrounds on which the ancient monsters fight is well done. But his people look too much alike, requiring a coloring trick on the dialogue balloons to keep them straight.

Caught between a desire to have a plot and just being lots of things getting destroyed, this one is still not all it could be. But if you like kaiju and don’t care too much about the details, it’s another romp with a few intriguing ideas. I’m still reading, but I admit, it’s only because I like seeing who Godzilla beats up next.

Curse 2
Written by Michael Moreci and Tim Daniel
Illustrated by Riley Rossmo, Colin Lorimer, and Tamra Bonvillain
Published by Boom! Studios

Griffin learns the origin of his captive creature while his sister-in-law builds a case to back her grudge in a second issue heavy on the flashbacks.

This issue didn’t land the punch of the opening, but it gave us a lot of little details that are needed to better understand what’s coming. We learn just why Griffin doesn’t get along with the Sheriff Sister, for example, and that the no-good drifter Philips is likely to cause a problem for everyone involved. The historical connection to the werewolf was pretty cool as well, picking a period of history you don’t see in comics very often.

The art due continues to be strong, doing a lot with shadow and facial close-ups. I’m not familiar enough to know who is drawing which sections, but the fact that I can’t easily tell, either, is really a credit to Rossmo and Lorimer. I also love the use of backwards angles to give certain panels a really dramatic feel. Combined with the pleading or desperation or hate in the eyes of our main characters, the varied panel structure and heavy linework really gives Curse a strong, moody feel.

Curse isn’t your typical horror book, and that’s a good thing. Now that the pieces are in place and the backstory is together, watching where this one goes is going to be fun.

A short week for me because of limited reading time. What should I go back and read?

Rat Queens is Comics Royalty

Rat Queens 
Written by Kurtis Wiebe
Illustrated by Roc Upchurch
Image Comics

Rat Queens is a serious, thoughtful meditation on the nature of what it means to be --- sorry, I'm just messing with you. Rat Queens is actually a wildly funny, sweet, raunchy, moving, violent, silly fantasy tale written by Kurtis Wiebe that's winning a lot of people over with its combination of fantasy tropes (deconstructed and otherwise), strong female characters and relationships, and laugh-out-loud humor. All of this is winningly illustrated by Roc Upchurch, who excels in this series at both violent, intense action, and small moments.

It's the story of four women, Violet (a dwarf), Dee (a human), Hannah (an elf) and Betty (a human) who live in the town of Palisade. They comprise the "Rat Queens", a crew of adventurers whom the local merchants have come to despise as they seem to bring trouble wherever they go. Pretty quickly in the series we learn that someone's trying to kill not only the Rat Queens, but the other local bands of adventurers as well (those include Peaches, the Four Daves, the Brother Ponies and Obsidian Darkness - all great names, particularly when you see the groups of adventurers).

The Rat Queens and their fellow adventurers fall siege to attacks, and what's left of them regroup and try to figure out who's trying to kill them. They go about trying to figure this out, and eventually have to deal with a related problem, which is that (FYI) when you kill a troll, his girlfriend might just come after you (so think about that before you do anything rash). In the current issue of the series, we get epic battles, occasionally gory violence, nice resolution and respite for our characters (including some drinking, drugs and dwarf-on-Orc sex), and we get an intriguing setup for the next arc of the series.

There's a lot that's great about this series. Start with the Rat Queens themselves - each of them has a distinctive personality and throughout the series we get a lot of great, meaningful background and back story for each of the Queens that's nicely integrated into the main story (for example, any self-respecting female dwarf has a beard - I didn't know that).

We get humor, a lot of humor. This is a hilarious book. I actually thought the initial issue may have laid the humor on a little thick, but as the series has progressed the humor has been nicely balanced with a lot of both heartfelt and dark moments. Some of the humor comes from completely anachronistic points- Betty the Smidgen (great, optimistic, hilarious character) is tasked with bringing dinner for everyone and she opens up a bag filled with candy and drugs, or when Hannah gets a call on a mystical rock which functions like a cell phone.

This series has some fun deconstruction of the fantasy genre: Among other moments, one of the Rat Queens (Violet) makes a "badass" pronouncement of bloodlust, and Betty grades her poorly on it; Violet admits that she had been holding onto that particular quote for a week.  There's a danger in having too many of these "meta" story beats; making the book overly self-referential and "winking" can take the reader out of the story.  However, the creative team seems to have found a nice balance, as this isn't just a satire or send-up of the fantasy genre; come for the humor and occasional D&D jokes, sure, but stay for the deeply characterized friendship between the Rat Queens.

These are characters who work well together, have known one another for a long time and clearly love one another. All of this comes across well in the story, such as in a sad and touching scene where Betty turns away from a woman she cares about because of the loyalty she has to her friends; you really feel her sadness and her loyalty.  I wish most superhero team books were this effective at portraying friendship and allegiance between characters.  The effectiveness of this scene is really carried by Upchurch's fantastic depiction of facial expressions - emotions are really spot-on here.  So, even if you're not naturally drawn to the Fantasy genre, this is a great, warm, funny, action-packed and bawdy series, well worth a look.

Digging into Digital: Kel McDonald and Dark Horse Launch Misfits of Avalon Online Ahead of Print Release

In a press release from Dark Horse and on her own website, Kel McDonald announced that her upcoming book from Dark Horse Comics, Misfits of Avalon, would also be serialized on her website each weekday until the publication date.

McDonald describes it briefly as follows: "As I told Publisher’s Weekly yesterday, Misfits of Avalon will be about a group of magical girls who are jerks. They are giving magic rings and must retrieve a magic sword." Dark Horse adds that the series will tie in with the Arthurian myths, and that "they [the girls] may not be the heroes in the story..."

The complete first book (McDonald states there will be three in all) is scheduled for an October print release, and serializing it will give the book time to build an audience, just as McDonald has done for her other projects, including Sorcery 101. She is an extremely prolific creator and anthologist, being the person behind a series of fairy tale books featuring legends from different continents.

This is not the first time a book has seen a web pre-release, and it makes sense because many webcomic readers also want a hard copy for their bookshelf or a collection for their digital device, either to read a story for the first time or re-read it all in one bite.

Naturally, there are only a few pages up at this time. We see one of the girls looking very much like any ordinary young woman, starting her day--or maybe, not starting it, as the case may be. The linework is McDonald's usual quality, refined over time. She does a great job with setting up the panels with lots of details, like notes on the fridge or a stray wine bottle, that give us an idea of who this person is before we've even gotten to know her.

It's nice to get in on this one from the start and see how it develops. You can find the comic here, and it is available to read via the best way to read webcomics, Comic-Rocket as well.

Misfits of Avalon will publish in October from Dark Horse Comics.

Get in the van with Vandroid 1

Vandroid 1

Written by Tommy Lee Edwards and Noah Smith
Illustrated by Dan McDaid and Melissa Edwards
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Vandroid is an ambitious multimedia project/love letter to 80's action movies by Tommy Lee Edwards, Noah Smith, Dan McDaid and Melissa Edwards. The aim of the project is to "resurrect" a lost-classic movie called, of course, Vandroid. They've discovered the trailer for the movie and even a short clip from the soundtrack (I understand the full soundtrack will be forthcoming). The comic (this will be a 5-issue miniseries) is an adaptation of the "recently unearthed" screenplay for that lost classic. If you enjoyed the low-rent science fiction and action movies of the 1980's with tough guys, big guns, and bigger hair, then you will love not only this book but the whole Vandroid experience. 


Vandroid tells the story of Taylor Grey, an unscrupulous computer designer whose very first attempt to activate an artificial intelligence goes horribly, fatally wrong. Taylor's employer is unwilling to continue the project (Project Horizon), but Taylor has other shady backers that are willing to do so (as shady backers are wont to do). So Taylor decides to take this project to his old roommate at MIT, a down-on-his-luck drug-addicted schlemiel named Chuck Carducci, who once made a name for himself in the 1970's designing custom vans (and is also apparently a robotics genius), but is now an object of scorn and ridicule as a has-been and burnout. Chuck's so low that even his drug dealer is telling him to get himself together. 

But Chuck has dreams, and this robotics project is just the thing to get him back on top. Taylor knows Chuck is desperate, and glad to have the work, and so Taylor takes full advantage. Chuck pours his heart and soul into making this android his greatest achievement, and (spoiler alert) he succeeds. He's built this android to be everything he thought he was, and everything he wishes he could be.  Not only that, but the android has absorbed Chuck's journals and diary entries so the android decides that it, in fact, is Chuck Carducci. Not surprisingly, things go about as well for Chuck as you would expect. At the end of the first issue, the Vandroid is on the loose and Taylor finds out what happened to Chuck. 

This issue sets a high bar for the ones to come. Everything in this issue feels not just authentic to the 1980's, but authentic to the sub-"Terminator" level science fiction movies from the 1980's (think of something like "Trancers" or "The Wraith"). From the cheesy "fake science" dialogue at the beginning of the book, to the fact that the main protagonist (Taylor Grey) looks like the perfect 80's amoral character (he made me think of some combination of Gordon Gekko from "Wall Street" and Ellis from "Die Hard" but with hair courtesy of Van Halen and the computer genius of Steve Gutenberg's character from "Short Circuit"), to the vans and the cars and the hair and the clothes. 

The art from Dan McDaid has a rough, stylized feel, and in certain panels had some kinetic action that reminded me a little of a gritty, slightly less loose Paul Pope. The coloring here is great as well, as it sets a somewhat dirty mood occasionally crossed with the glitzier environs of Southern California. The creators have tapped into something great with this one. I'm not sure if this would resonate with someone younger but as a child of the 1980's I kind of fell in love with the images in this book.  

There's great storytelling in Vandroid, not necessarily in the sense that "Watchmen" is great (though the story is extremely engaging and the dialogue is fantastic); instead, what they seem to have tried to achieve here was something fun and authentic to the style of 1980's B-movie cinema. In that, this is an extremely successful first issue.

To truly experience Vandroid, don't just read the book. You need to see the trailer and listen to the music. These have clearly been created with a lot of love; the book (and the project as a whole) doesn't feel at all like mockery or satire but instead like a detailed, entertaining homage to a genre and a time gone by. So, put on your ray-bans, adjust your mullet, and pop some Rockwell* into the tape deck, and take a ride in Vandroid.

* "Somebody's Watching Me". Come on, you know you loved that song.