Fables Volume 7

Written by Bill Willingham
Illustrated by Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Jim Fern, Jimmy Palmiotti and Andrew Pepoy
Vertigo

Every series is bound to have the "story arc you absolutely hate" and for me, that's the one contained here in volume 7, a racist, anti-Arab screed thinly veiled as a fictional story.

The Fables of the Arabian world are here--and they can't speak English! It's funny to have them mangle the native tongue of all good Fables! Ha! Ha! Ha! It makes sense to condemn them for having slaves but pretend like there's never been any slavery in the euro centric culture of Fabletown. That way, when the good Fables triumph over their evil counterparts and their, I shit you not, "Weapons of Magical Destruction," you know that the Right, er, I mean right, side has won.

Now I know politics fall into comics. Frank Miller's a radical libertarian, and when that shows in his comics, I laugh at it. Erik Larsen is blatantly liberal, and if/when I read his comics with Obama in them, I bet I find them to be rather ham-handed but probably more enjoyable than this, because, being bluntly honest, I agree with his politics more than Willingham.

But to take and make the story this obviously anti-Muslim I find problematic--it's just not needed. As with pseudo-porn, I'd rather you just say what you mean, rather than try to couch it in something acceptable, like pretending we should root for Prince Charming and company because they're "our Fables" and not because they're cast as Bush's liberators, right down to a desire to grant freedom to any Arabian Fables who desire it. "Fabletown East" is nothing more than a show to try and claim the "democritization" of Iraq and Afghanistan as spritual brothers. (I wonder if Willingham will show it blowing up in the face of the Fabletown government. My bet is on no.)

I will give the plot points for a clever resolution to the problem of the Geenie and for setting up trouble in the Charming Administration, but those could easily have been handled in a far more agreeable manner. There's just not a need to take Fables down the right-wing road, and I am worried for my future enjoyment of the series. There's also the practical problem of the fact that one of the established points of the series--they can't go home again--is challenged by the resolution of this story, since Willingham refuses to have the Arabian Fables deal with the reality of the Iraq situation. It's a moment of "wait a minute..." in a series that's been very tightly constructed so far.

I blame the politics.

The second story arc is not much better. Two of the Adversary's wooden soldiers fall in love, and long to get the Pinoccio treatment. What might have been an okay subplot is dragged out for two full issues, as we learn that there are sleeper agents among us. Normally, I'd give that a pass, but now I think it's an attempt to warn of domestic terror threats. Regardless, it's needless padding that I hope goes somewhere.

I'm gonna give Willingham and Co. a mulligan for this one, as I really do like this series. I just hope the next trade puts it back on track.

Teen Titans Volume 3

Written by Ben Raab and Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Justiniano, Chris Ivy, Tom Grummett and Lary Stucker
DC Comics

This is an odd pairing--a long-forgotten Beast Boy mini paired with a forgettable Teen Titans arc--packaged as the third volume of the new Teen Titans series. Their only link is that both are written by Johns, who shows he's a lot better now than he was when the Gar Logan origin-revamp story came out.

Basically, the mini is Beast Boy: Rebirth, with Gar trying to find himself in a post-Titans world. He returns to Hollywood, where a person with an old grudge is killing his acting partners. He's in terrible shape until the Titans' version of Bat ex Machina shows up and drives him to do better. In the end, he triumphs, ready to make his place in the DC world.

Except that he really doesn't, leaving him free to be part of the Titans reboot.

The Beast Boys and Girls arc features another of Gar's old enemies (of a sort) walking back into his life to make trouble. Possibly ret-conned into the story of Gar's origin, someone is using kids as guinea pigs to recreate Beast Boy's unique situation. Who would do such a thing, and can he manage to cure Gar once and for all?

Taken separately, these stories are okay for what they are--filler stories about characters who have a following that just doesn't happen to be me. (I mean, I have tier-C characters I love, too, so I'm happy for the Beast Boy fans that this exists.) Taken together, however, the stronger writing and art in the Teen Titans arc make the earlier story feel like it wasn't needed. Johns is clearer, crisper, and more precise in having Garfield ready to accept his lot in life in the second story. As a result, the bumbler we see in story one feels out of place. Placing them together makes both stories a little smaller, somehow, like doing an "The Many Origins of the Joker" trade or something.

When I read the Titans story in single issues, it held up better. Covering the same idea too close together is not the best plan in any instances, but especially in comics, where the focus is always on what you've just read. That's the mistake this trade makes, and as a result, it's probably okay to go past this one if you're reading over the Titans as a series. Either that or take a break between the stories, to give them each room to breathe.

A Treasury of Victorian Murder: Jack the Ripper

Written by Rick Geary
Illustrated by Rick Geary
NBM

(I mentioned Geary's historical work a few days ago, so I thought I'd include a review of one of his works in that series today.)

This is a re-read for me, which I was originally going to just do a quick hit for, but after scanning a few pages (and with a Ripper book I read earlier in the year still fresh in my mind) I decided to give a it a full airing.

Geary has an entire series of books on Victorian murders, ranging from the Assassination of President Garfield to well, Jack the Ripper. They're done in a mock woodblock style that perfectly fits the time period in which he works. (That's why the book he did on J. Edgar Hoover was a bit jarring--the style feels out of place in the 20th Century, somehow. It's still great and you should read it, however.) Best of all, Geary takes the time to actually research his material--this is not a slap-dash job. (He lists, in addition to the book I read, 10 other sources plus his primary text.)

This time out, Geary uses the anonymous journals of a person closely related to the case as his guide to the still-unsolved ripper killings. Strikingly modern, the writer clearly notes the many mistakes of the police and the frequent desire to move along quickly, most likely due to the lack of real suspects and the nature of the people being killed (i.e. no one important). Geary is tacitly restrained in his drawings (it would have been so easy to draw gory details to show off his drawing chops) but gives enough of the facts to provide, via his source, a pretty good look at the Ripper murders.

The writing does fizzle out a bit towards the end, probably because the case was slipping from the public eye and journals tend to be related to things going on around the writer. However, he does speculate on the killer's identity, and I think, in the end, his guess is as good as the others I've heard.

Geary is a master storyteller, and I can't see anyone who reads this not liking this little graphic novel, or any of the others in the series. Since this is a familiar crime, it's also probably the best place to start.

MOME Volume 2

Written by Various Writers
Illustrated by Various Artists
Fantagraphics

The second edition of Fantagraphics' anthology series brings back old friends Gabrielle Bell, Sophie Crumb, Jeffrey Brown, and others along with a few new contributors.

Crumb's work continues in the style of her dad's comics, with three short tales that are based in the reality of her life--a boy who faked his death, a very comical vegan punk, and yet another punk who raves the night away. In some of the very few reviews of MOME, I've seen her work singled out as being bad, but I think it's a lot of fun. But then again, I also read comic zines, and her work is very much in that style.

Jeffrey Brown's entry is strangely dark, as it springs from his work-life but branches out into a conspiracy to cover up a death at a jam session. See what happens when you try to form a garage band?

The multi-part stories are back in full force, with Paul Hornschemeier's "Life with Mr. Dangerous" kinda stuck in a bland-life neutral, David Heatley's "Overpecked" continuing to be disturbing, and John Pham's "221 Sycamore Ave." focusing on an instructor past his prime. Pham's story is the most interesting of the three, but I continue to be baffled by why a quarterly book needs to string stories out like this.

Jonathan Bennett pens a cartoon monologue in "Needles and Pins," as a man reflects on ravenous pidgeons and other things while Kurt Wolfgang gives us several one-page gags about crude children that are mildly amusing but nothing special. I'm not a big fan of being shocking just because you can.

Perhaps most adventurous is "Event" by Anders Nilsen, a story that tells everything with a series of colored blocks centered on the page with text. I'm still not sure how I feel about this one, as it is definitely thought provoking, but I am not sure the pages devoted to it were worth it.

Tim Hensley provides "ads" for the book this time, my favorite involving a street-toboggoning pontiff.

My favorite story was "Magic Marker" by Matin Cendreda. Reminding me very much of the work of Jason (another Fantagraphics artist), the lead character finds an ordinary magic marker, except that whatever he writes with it comes true. Like the Monkey's Paw, however, this is not quite all it's cracked up to be. These are the types of stories you can only find in an anthology and that's why I like them so much.

Gabrielle Bell, another writer/artist quickly becoming a favorite of mine, writes a tale of birthday woe and gets the interview slot in this issue. She's surprisingly dismissive of the genre, prefering to read "great literature." I find that kind of comment offputting as a rule, but as my friend Noah points out, it's okay to separeate the writer from the things they say. (If that wasn't quite what he said, it was close, and is very much a Noah-like thing to say.)

The anthology wraps up with another folktale (which I'm still not sure fits in with the rest of the material) and a parting shot from Wolfgang. Once again, I am pleased with the overall quality of the material, and if you are a fan of anthologies and indie comix work, I think it's a safe bet you will be, too.

Hellboy Volume 3

Written by Mike Mignola
Illustrated by Mike Mignola
Dark Horse

You know, if I was told, "You can only read one publisher for the rest of time," I'm starting to think I'd opt for Dark Horse. They really publish great comics, even when they're just collections of smaller works, like this third Hellboy collection.

The stories here are from various sources, like a Christmas special, Dark Horse Presents, and the odd limited series. All of the art is by Mignola, and many of them feature a few things redone here and there.

First off is a story I read when reprinted to a comic, "The Corpse and the Iron Shoes." The first is a mishmash of folktales in the mighty Hellboy manner, as our hero fights against the wee folk to save a baby for its parents. The second story is a fun little sketch of thing, "a weird little incident" as Mignola puts it.

"The Baba Yaga," original for this trade, provides the back story to things referenced in the second Hellboy Arc, as Hellboy faces off against the Baba Yaga herself. She's just as evil here as over in Fables and Hellboy tries to take her down.

Next up is a Christmas story, well, sort of. Mignola admits the Christmas elements are kinda added on. But the story itself is vintage Mignola--a folk tale inspires him to lead our investigator of the paranormal off into the depths of a creature that holds a poor girl hostage from the afterlife. As her last remaining relative lies dying, can Hellboy free her?

Well, I'm sure you know by now, but the best parts are the very modern-speaking Hellboy telling gothic monsters to "Take it like a--" and so forth. It's that juxtoposition that keep the stories fun for me.

Mignola takes another folk tale (big shock, I know) to the page for a Hellboy origin, as we meet the woman who may or may not be his mother. This one is fairly straightforward, as Hellboy doesn't do much. I'm not entirely shore that was the best way to approach it, but see what you think.

"Wolves of Saint August" is the second Hellboy story, in terms of its creation, and features Mignola's first scripting work on the character. One of the longer pieces in this trade, Hellboy faces off against werewolves that live in a long-cursed town. The artwork is not quite as polished as the Hellboy seen now, but the energy of the character shines through. Plus, you get things like a werewolf skeleton, drawn only as Mignola can.

Last up is "Almost Colossus," a story that sets up some of the events in later Hellboy and BPRD trades. Liz is dying, and no one can figure out why. While Abe watches over her, Hellboy goes off to investigate missing corpses. A link soon forms between the two stories as Hellboy lurks in cemetaries and Mignola gets to do a Frankenstein story of Colossal proportions. This story featurs my favorite line so far in a Hellboy comic, "Now God has a tree in his neck."

I think this one is most notable, however, for the fact that while doing the olbigitory monster scenes, Mignola puts some subtle touches to his art, as when Liz can no longer muster the strength for a cigarette. Despite his blocky style, Mignola often finds inventive ways to frame stories, whether it's a death scene or Hellboy fighting a 100 foot tall golem.

None of these stories are "essential" reading, but they sure are fun. I really like Hellboy and am glad there's a lot more still to read.

House of Mystery Volume 1

Written by Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham
Illustrated by Luca Rossi, Ross Campbell, Sean Murphy, Zachary Baldus, Steve Rolston and Jill Thompson
Vertigo

I actually read this one in single issue form, but figured I'd review it as a trade.

As some of you know, DC used to put out two horror anthologies, House of Secrets (hosted by Abel) and House of Mystery (hosted by Cain). We saw them entered into the Sandman mythos by Gaiman, where he played with both of them quite well, building on what Alan Moore had teased into Swamp thing.

I'm not sure what they've done since, but in this new anthology plus an ongoing plot series, Cain finds he's lost his house to new occupants, five people who run a bar in the House of Mystery, where the price of a drink is a tale well told.

I admit I was a bit sad to see that Cain would not have a bigger role in the series (at least not yet), but Willingham and Sturges make up for that by more or less keeping the theme of the old series, namely short stories with various feature characters. Vertigo made a good choice here in using guest artists for the short tales, and if they add guest writer/artists to that part, too (imagine, say, a Kochalka horror story, or better yet, something creepy from Daniel Clowes), it would be an aopportunity to showcase new work within an ongoing title. But that's probably hoping for too much.

As it is, the stories are pretty varied, ranging from a law clerk of the fantasy world, to a guy who claims to live in an Lovecraftian world, to a mobster who gets the jump on the fat man running the operation. They're offbeat little tales you'd never see in any other comic, and that's why they work so well here.

The main story itself is the big mystery within the house of mystery. Our five protagonists, all of whom have arrived at the house at different times, are stuck there forever. Four of them are resigned to this life, but the fifth, Fig, refuses to believe she can be caught. After all, according to her--this is her house!

That is of course, impossible--unless, of course, it's not. Sturges teases the reader with the answer and while Fig looks for the solution, she may bring the entire place down around their ears. By the end of issue five (also the end of this trade), we may have an answer as to what is going on. But then again, we probably don't. After all, where's the fun in so easily giving up the msytery...

All in all, I really enjoy this revamping, mostly because it doesn't completely step all over what has come before. Sure, it would have been nice to see the old framework used (I'd have probably left Cain in place and have him cackle over the fact that the others are trapped), but the fact that this is an anthology comic again, in age where there aren't too many of those, makes me very happy. Sturges is getting stronger as a writer in his own right, as this is better than his initial work on Jack of Fables--the dialog flows more smoothly, for instance. I also like the fact that it actually reads well in single issues, though honestly, given the price difference, I'll be dropping the title soon (after the second arc wraps up) to trade-wait it.

If you're looking for new Vertigo work to pick up, give this a try.

See, This is Why I'm Giving Up on Single Issues

I'm getting ready to do a review of the first trade of DC's new (and very good) House of Mystery series. I pop over to DC's site to see which issues are in the first trade, since I did this one by single issues. As I suspected, it's the first five.

Now those first five cost me $2.99 each, so the trade should be $15 or so, right?

Nope.

Okay, maybe just a bit of a discount, like $12?

'Fraid not.

No, the trade is $9.99, a full 1/3 less than what I paid for it, with no ads and bonus features added into the mix.

This is exactly why I am just about giving up on single issues.

Ceres: Celestial Legend Volume 1

Written by Yu Watase
Illustrated by Yu Watase
Viz

(My reviews from back in the day are strangely short.)

My 16th birthday sucked, but not as bad as Aya's does. A relatively normal teenager with a twin brother, at their party, he bleeds profusely and she is told her family is going to kill her.

Yikes!

This is a fantasy horror-manga about a girl with powers beyond her control. The drawing is pretty good and the story seems interesting, at least so far. Let's see what else happens.

Skeleton Key Volume 1

Written by Andi Watson
Illustrated by Andi Watson
SLG

I still have trouble believing Andi Watson is a guy, but I'm basically resigned to it by this time. He just writes--or at least seems to write--female characters so well, and in male cartoonists, that's a rare trait. (Name a positive female character written by Eisner, for instance. No, no, I'll wait. Thought so.)

This time around, in a pseudo-Mignola style that I wasn't expecting, we have the story of a teenage girl stuck in Garfield, Canada. Her parents, ex-hippies that settled down to middle-class jobs, don't pay her much attention, and she is of course an exile at school. Her only happy moment is a rather odd decision by this town to hold a Day of the Dead parade. Our heroine buys a costume that comes with a little something extra. When she tries to return the misplaced item, she gets drawn into a rather strange option--a key that will take her almost anywhere. Now she has a fox-human friend, three rather scary enemies, and the need to help her only friend. What will happen next? Well, you'll just have to read to find out.

Watson does a nice job setting this up--he has to establish Tamsin's world before he can go all goofy, and he does it in a way that doesn't make you wish for the action to start. The artwork is rather blocky, which helps with the atmosphere but occasionally makes it hard to tell what's going on. The fox-woman is a great side character, good for comic relief--you can't go wrong with the stranger in a strange land bit--and also full of surprises. He also does a neat thing with the old monster-in-the-closet deal that I won't spoil here. The dialog feels real, too, and, as with his other books, you get the impression that we have a perfectly normal girl getting thrust into a situation she never imagined. That's not an easy trick, but reading it is a treat!

Cowboy Wally Show

Written by Kyle Baker
Illustrated by Kyle Baker
Marlowe and Co


Kyle Baker has his semi-realistic art thing going on again in this one, which is apparently something of a cult classic. It's the story of an entertainer that is really quite bad but somehow keeps getting a chance to do job after job, bouncing around just about every media gig there is. From a start on a ribald children's show (acquired by blackmail), he quickly moves to prime time variety, quiz shows, specials, his own network, the movies, and late night talk. Along the way, he seems to ruin ju...more Kyle Baker has his semi-realistic art thing going on again in this one, which is apparently something of a cult classic. It's the story of an entertainer that is really quite bad but somehow keeps getting a chance to do job after job, bouncing around just about every media gig there is. From a start on a ribald children's show (acquired by blackmail), he quickly moves to prime time variety, quiz shows, specials, his own network, the movies, and late night talk. Along the way, he seems to ruin just about everyone he comes into contact with as it all comes to a head on a very special late night episode.

Baker, a writer for TV (I was unaware of this), manages to skewer just about everything having to do with the genre, from the seemingly endless TV specials with vapid hosts to the game show regulars (Charles Nelson Riley and Jamie Farr get tweaked on the nose) to how washed up stars get new life on a talk show (Ellen, anyone, though this predates her?). His drawing style here is to focus on the headshot, probably because drawing the full girth of Wally would have bankrupted him in ink costs alone. The characters lean in, sway, swear, and weave their way through the panels with just about as much action as if they were fully drawn. It's a neat trick, actually.

There's a lot of good parody in this if you've ever paid even casual attention to the world of celebrity downfalls and rebirth. When Wally remakes Hamlet from a prison cell--he's trying to take it away from the snobs--you'll die laughing at his colloquial revision of Shakespeare's sometimes overblown play. (Hell, I think it was better than Brannaugh's!) A jump into action films and their quirks is similarly entertaining.

I think what most impressed me is Baker's comic timing. I can't say I'm a big fan of his Plastic Man, but after reading this, I can see why he got the gig. Wally and his foils banter endlessly and Wally's apparent inability to know that he's a soulless man who's shallower than the national bank reserves is written spot-on. I was a big fan of "Why I Hate Saturn" but I think this is Baker's best work I've read so far. Definitely worth grabbing.

Conan Volume 1

Written/Adapted by Kurt Busiek
Illustrated by Cary Nord and Thomas Yates
Dark Horse

(As if slavishly reading one set of Conan adaptations isn't enough, I have to follow this one, too!)

Ah, Robert Howard. Who'd have thunk that I would fall in love with the Edgar Allan Poe of his day? This is a man who invented sword and sorcery, a genre I rarely if ever read in modern form. This is a person who indirectly helped Arnold become Governor of California and yet I am drawn to his prose in a way I haven't been since Twain.

I love Robert Howard's work. I think he was a great writer, I think that if people get over the two main problems--his writing for the pulps and the stereotypes involved in such writing--they will see what I see: A man who wrote great stories that just so happen to be genre fiction. Those, to me, are the best kinds of genre fiction and the only kinds worth reading.

As you can see, I'm a big fan, and now here comes Kurt Busiek, one of my favorite comic book writers, to adapt his work into a narrative story for Dark Horse, as Roy Thomas (perhaps the Busiek of his day) had done for Marvel before him.

How can I resist such a great combination?

This is an amazing combination of just the right writer with just the right material. Busiek, as I mentioned in my Astro City Volume 1 review, is at his best when either mining the past or working within that structure. Therefore, with Thomas on one hand and Howard on the other, Busiek is in his element. I would say that he relies a bit more on the source than on its prior adapter, mostly because these stories feel rawer than the polished prose that Thomas is best known for. Busiek captures the essence of these stories, most of which I've read before in some form, giving his Conan the air of a "savage" who is far more wise than the world around him that's full of rulers, magicians, and other liars.

That's the key to Howard's greatness--his ability to show Conan as the outsider, no matter what the setting. He is only at home when he can fight the system. Conan is the man who removes the veil of respectability from his surroundings, and while they are fantastical, we as the reader can't help but see our age mirrored in his. Thomas's stories, while good, never quite got to that level. Busiek's does.

I love the set up for these stories--a young noble off on an errand for his father finds a statue of Conan the King and demands to know all about him. A reluctant scribe, just the type that Conan would hate in his day, protests but to no avail. Enter the story of young Conan, starting with the Frost-Giant's Daughter, a story not first by Howard's writing history, but first in terms of Conan's history as pieced together by those working in Howard's shadow.

From there, Busiek creates a story with elements of Conan tales that shows his ability to write a Howard-like story. It is so much like something Howard could have written that I had to double-check myself to be sure I was right that Busiek created it.

If there is a problem with this series, it's that I am going to dissent and say I don't care for the direct pencil work of Cary Nord. While it's "rough" and the editorial team feels that serves the material, I would love to have seen this get a nice inking first, to really bring out the art. As it stands, I feel like we're in a bit of a haze and a blur all the time. Again, I know that I am in the minority on this, but I felt it had to be mentioned.

No comic book and/or fantasy novel reader should delay any longer than they have before reading this amazing series of comics. (I joined on shortly after this set of issues came out.) This is one of the best adaptations I've ever read.

Autobiographix

Written by Various Writers
Illustrated by Various Artists
Dark Horse

When I first heard about this one, I knew that I was going to enjoy it immensely. With Will Eisner, Paul Chadwick, Frank Miller, Sergio Aragones, Bill Morrison, Matt Wagner, and Linda Medley (amongst others) involved, there was little doubt I'd find it to be a great anthology. If you like any of those authors I named, this is definitely a must-read. If you like stories taken from real life and placed on the drawn page, this is also a must-read. If you like both things, this is going to be one of the best things you read all year.

AutobioGraphix is a collection of short stories, written and illustrated by well-known comic artists in a variety of genres, from superheroes to parody, to personal work, to those that have done a little of both. But instead of being asked to write a story about someone else, they've been asked to tell us something about them.

And that's exactly what they do, in ways that may surprise you. Matt Wagner, for instance, wants to school you on how to make chicken parmigiana. Frank Miller turns himself into an action hero on the Daredevil set. Sergio chats it up with Richard Nixon while we learn about Linda's childhood games, many of which I played, too. Stan Sakai travels with his wife and watches helplessly as a man dies while they eat. (If THAT doesn't catch you attention then I'm not doing a very good job of writing reviews these days!)

The stories are perhaps best by the fact that no two are even close to alike. They are all personal experiences but the variety of those experiences make this so good. While Eisner might talk about breaking into the business, Paul Chadwick comments on how he (and may others) were very nearly taken out of the business all together. Another artist gets very philosophical while Bill Morrison shows a bit of Bart Simpson in his past. I don't know if the editor, Diana Schutz, requested the tales be varied or if it just happened by chance. Regardless, it works very well.

My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is the ordering of the stories. There's not a very good flow between them and the book is too front-loaded (i,e. all the names people would know easily are in the first half of the book). Eisner's contribution, for instance, would have had more power at the end than its slotting towards the front. Otherwise, this is an amazing collection I urge you to read.

World War Hulk Incredible Hercules

Written by Greg Pak and Jeff Parker
Illustrated by Gary Frank, Leonard Kirk, Carlo Pagulayan, Jon Sibal, Scott Hanna, and Jeffrey Huet
Marvel Comics

If there is nothing else to like about this trade (and frankly, there's actually a lot to like about this one), it's the fact that Pak should be given credit for daring to use an X-Men character that's not Wolverine. That takes guts!

Continuing my read-through of World War Hulk, this collection, while technically still called Incredible Hulk in single issue form, is really the launching pad for the blog-acclaimed series "Incredible Hercules," which is what the title changed to in the aftereffects of the war. After reading this one, I can see why.

The basic plot is that Amadeus Cho, a character I didn't know existed, wants to help the Hulk. He tries to recruit She-Hulk to assist, but when that doesn't work out like he planned, he turns to former Champions Hercules and the Angel. Soon, they're off to Atlantis to recruit another old Hulk ally, Namor. He turns them down, but Namora agrees. Once our players are gathered (with a few additions I'll leave for the reader to see and smile at), Cho leads a team deemed the Renegades in an attempt to help the Hulk out of his problems.

But does the Hulk want to be helped? Or has he crossed a line, with no going back? Can even the seventh smartest person on earth find a way out of this one?

Pak does an amazing job with a tie-in to a crossover. He winds his cast in and out of the action of the main crossover with ease, repeating a few scenes here and there when the story dictates it, all the while filling out the main story itself by looking at things World War Hulk didn't have time to provide details on, like civilian endangerment, the aftermath of the Hulk's battles with the Illuminati, and so on. This in and of itself would have made for a good story, but Pak's handling of Hercules is the best since Bob Layton. He is by turns the bragging demi-god and comic figure (Herc explaining why keyboard shortcuts are better than mouse clicks had me laughing out loud) while also giving him a tender heart and loyalty that's touching rather than overdone.

It's no wonder that Herc got his own series out of this. He's a great character, in the right hands, and clearly Pak is one of the people who can do him justice.

I should also mention that despite the bevy of artists on this trade, the artwork holds up well. This is in no small part to a selection of artists who do good work, like Frank, Kirk, and Hanna, and others that, while unknown to me, compliment the work around them. It's rare for a comic to have that anymore, so I want to praise it. The story has a great script, but it's helped immensely by people who read the plot and then drew it in such a way that I always knew what was happening, just by looking.

There's one more thing I want to mention in this review, namely Pak's use of old continuity to tell his story. This could have very easily been a series that tromped all over past Hulk stories--after all, the whole point of this World War Hulk is that old Greenskin is gonna kill people. But instead, Pak uses old continuty to tell his story, making the current events match past facts without rehashing plots from twenty years ago. Imagine, actually building on what's come before instead of making your first act tearing it all down? Why, that's so crazy it just might work!

If you only read one World War Hulk crossover, and I may wish that's all I did by the time it's over, you definitely should pick up this one. I am really looking forward to reading more Hercules and also more work by Pak, who's definitely a new favorite of mine. Cho may not have all the answers, buy Pak sure has the answer for how to do a crossover right.

The Night Before Christmask

Written by Rick Geary
Illustrated by Rick Geary
Dark Horse

Most of the time, if I like a character and I like a creator, I can purchase a book safe in the knowledge that I will almost certainly love the contents inside.

I find the concept of the Mask fun.
I find Rick Geary's Victorian murder comics to be some of the best stuff I've read, and definitely the best non-fiction comics I've read (not that I've read a lot, to be honest).

Put the two together and you get comics gold, right?

Unfortunately, not. Or rather, what you get is perfect for a child who saw the Mask movie with Jim Carrey and wants to read a mask story. "The Night Before Christmask" is great for someone who has kids and wants to ease them into comics.

For a 31 year old with no kids expecting woodcut-like scenes of wanton destruction ala the Futurama Santa Robot, the book is a huge letdown. Unlike Marvel's all-ages comics, like the Power Pack minis or Parker's Avengers, this story is definitely geared to a younger audience.

As a childen's comic, it's wonderful. Geary gives Stanley's nephew the power of the Mask and he uses it to play Santa Claus, even foiling a burglar in the process. There's a few laugh shots for adults, like when the Mask imitates famous stars for a camera, but this is written at the level of about an 8-year old, maybe a bit younger or older depending on their reading level. (I was reading on a fifth grade level out of kindergarden, so I never can tell what writing level matches up with what age.)

The drawings are typical Geary, and only make me want him to takle a "superhero" book even more than before I saw this. They retain his grainy style, though it loses a bit in color translation, and his Santa looks like someone from the Victorian age, as you might expect. I will say I think some of his usual care is missing, however--the detail work is a bit sparce.

There's nothing wrong with this one in the right hands, namely that of your son, daughter, niece, or nephew. Unfortunately, I have none of those, so this one was a miss for me. Chalk one up to experience--and taking it out of the mylar bag next time.

Trebro Tees Off: Batman Lovers & Madmen

Written by Michael Green
Illustrated by Denys Cowan and John Floyd
DC Comics

Hey boys and girls! It's time for Trebro Tees Off! This is where I find a comic I hated SO MUCH, I can't find anything at all good to say about it. It's where I get to vent my snark.

And oh man, is there a lot here to vent about.

Let's start with the idea that we need yet another revamp of the Joker's origin. I realize that part of the fun with the Joker is that no one really knows how he got started (Alan Moore gave us some hints, but consider the narrator). But do you really think we needed one that claims to be the definitive origin?

And if we did, for God's sake, could you at least find someone who knows who Batman is?

I mean, that's the only way this story makes any sense at all. Michael Green clearly has never read a Batman comic in his life. It's the only possible explanation for the absolutely insane things he has Batman do.

For instance:

With enough time to use a Batarang against the Man-who-will-be-Joker, he throws it just well enough to scar the edges of his face, when two issues earlier, we see him use *the same Batarangs* to pin someone to a wall.

"I give him something to let him know...we're not done."

Neither am I. As if that's not bad enough, to solve his burgeoning Joker problem, Batman turns to someone he can trust...Jonathan Crane! Yes, a pre-Scarecrow Crane is trying to (wait for it) build Arkham Asylum! You know--the place he's supposed to be in as an inmate, but that would require actually reading a Batman comic.

Now, anyone who reads Batman on a regular basis and somehow managed to miss this one is probably cringing, but it's time to make it worse.

A few pages later...Batman calls in a hit.

I am not kidding you. As they like to say--Not a hoax! Not an imaginary story!

Real-life, Dan Dido-backed DC canon has Batman calling in a hit on another human being.

Somewhere, Bob Haney is crying.

So yeah, Bats asks to have the proto-Joker wiped out because he killed a woman he slept with once.

This of course goes all wrong, and while Bats angsts about intentionally taking a life, the Joker gets his insanity on, beats the thugs trying to kill him, and ends up a whiter shade of pale. Bats gets there just in time to see what his IN-CANON hit has wrought: The worst killer in all of the DC Universe.

That's right folks--according to DC, Batman created the Joker, going full circle from the days when it was implied the Joker created Batman.

I am so glad we live in an age where comics are all dark and realistic, don't you?

(Oh, and the girl lives, too. So it was pointless revenge.)

The last part of the story is a fairly typical Joker plot with lots of death and mindless rambling. But the problem is the punchline: Batman refuses to let the Joker die.

Now, in old Bat-chronology, this made a bit of sense. Bats doesn't kill humans. So, no matter how bad the villain, he won't cross that line.

However, since the whole point of this story is that he *did*, going back and not killing now makes no sense and ends up making Batman a cruel monster who won't save lives by taking one life, even if he was willing to take one life for a woman he barely knew.

Like I said, this is clearly written by a person with no idea who Batman is or what he stands for. Many a time, Batman's been faced with an ultimate choice, as has Spider-Man, and many other heroes with a no-killing credo.

Their reason is universal: "If I do it once, there's no reason not to do it twice," or something similar. Now DC has gone and upset the apple cart, and everytime Bats goes after a killer, it just doesn't make sense for him not to cap them and be done with it.

This is the problem I have with a lot of modern comics. Yes, the story may be more realistic, but once you start down the road to realism, the whole thing falls apart. Let's face it--in the real world, Bats is in Gitmo and I defy Peter's Spider-Sense to work against a tactical nuke.

Lovers & Madmen features just about everything I hate about "edgy revisions" of characters. Done right, you get Brubaker's Doom or, with a few qualms, Captain America. Done wrong, you get a mess of mistakes and things so far out of character they look like the reports Colin Powell read to the United Nations.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the "edgy, evocative" art means drawing people with angles instead of curves, a woman's leg coming out of Bruce's hips--backwards--during sex, and faces with more wrinkles than a Dick Tracy villain. I am not sure why DC seems insistent on giving Batman books the worst artists in their stable, but they succeed every time.

In short, you'd have to be a likely candidate for Arkham yourself to think this was a good comic. The copy I got from the library to do my review was ripped and torn. Clearly, the prior patron liked it about as much as I did. Avoid this one like the plague, folks. I'm a professional reviewer--don't try reading this one at home.

Losers Volume 2

Written by Andy Diggle
Illustrated by Jock and Shawn Martinbrough
Vertigo

On first blush, I really shouldn't like the Losers. It's a foul violence-fest with a conspiracy story that I could find just about anywhere.

But like a good writer handling a typical zombie story (see Kirkman, Robert), writer Andy Diggle finds a way to make a fairly typical trope interesting to me, in this case by putting together a cast of characters that's just quirky enough to make me want to follow them and tying it into a story that's deeper than it looks on the surface. It's a tricky balance, as the players almost fall a bit too far out there (the girl is a radical anti-American, the tech geek hacks computers in his boxers, several old military men express distress because "things ain't what they used to be), but Diggle reins in the excesses just in time, at least so far.

Having figured out they want to go after a mysterious spook named Max (who may or may not exist), the Losers take a brief break to regroup and prepare their next move. Aisha makes good on an obligation, Jensen looks like a geek on a Saturday night, Pooch says his final (?) goodbyes, Clay tries to make sense of everything with an old contact, and Couger shows quiet depth. Each of these scenes could have fallen into cliche, but since Diggle worked hard to make them likable in the first trade, it plays out fairly well. He also takes pains to make sure that each scene helps move the plot in subtle ways as we learn that our Losers may not all share the same agenda...

The hunt for Max takes them to the sea--an active volcano, in fact--and the hunt is on for an island's lost treasure. Meantime, some folks inside the CIA want to know just what the Losers are up to...but how to do that if the whole operation is compromised from within?

Now that's a very simple paragraph, but the story within has lots of explosions, killings, backstabbings, a little skullduggery, and even--of course--a little lava. Diggle gives us the typical action movie fare while also hiding a deep mystery on the inside, almost subtly. I had to re-read the ending a few times till I figured out (I think) what's going on. Now normally I say that because the writing was bad. In this case, however, the re-reads are due to a carefully crafted double-speak that makes you want to keep reading.

The Losers may be one of those series you passed up because the base plot is pretty typical. If you did, that's a mistake. This is a great comic that I think I'll enjoy all the way through. I'm pretty sure you will, too.

Farewell, Georgia

Written by Ben Towle
Illustrated by Ben Towle
SLG

This was a grab at 2008's SPX, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Towle adapts four folktales (as the cover mentions) into short graphic stories in a style that reminds me of Rick Geary. (Though I should clarify that by that I mean in terms of his approach to telling the story, not in the artwork.)

First up is a legend told about the great (and often angry) baseball player, Ty Cobb. Challenged by a young punk to a match on the diamond, Cobb agrees--and the punk wishes he hadn't. Towle captures the anger within Cobb's aging frame brilliantly here in this short but fun tall tale. I particularly like the bit about the eyes.

Next up is an old Native American myth, that Towle updates to the present day. Two men see a pair of attractive women in a bar, who lead one of them on a magical journey to meet their brother. The man is thinking love, but gets..well, something else entirely. This story is probably just a bit too mystical to fit well within Towle's personal comic-looking style, but is still pretty creepy.

Third is a semi-true tale of a man who rode his goats to preach the gospel, travelling across the United States. It's the kind of thing you'd find in the Paradox Press books DC put out in the 90s.

Lastly is the very sily shaggy dog tale of the coon monkey. Towle pulls out all the stops in trying to make this one come across as silly, and he suceeds very well.

There's a brief origin for all 4 tales at the end, if you want to explore further. I have no need, these were good enough. Definitely worth reading if you can get ahold of a copy. "Farewell, Georgia" was nominated for an Eisner, and it's easy to see why. Great stuff.

Dark Horse Book of Hauntings

Written by Various Writers
Illustrated by Various Artists
Dark Horse

This is the third of the "Dark Horse Book of ..." series, and while it does not contain a knock-my-socks-off story like the Monsters edition did, I think this may be my favorite overall. The quality level of the anthology is stronger here, even weighed down by an interview of a medium somewhere toward the middle.

As always editor Scott Alie (who writes one of the stories) sets the tone with a personal tale, this time of his own personal ghost. I find the concept of haunting fascinating, and while I leave myself open to the idea that a haunting is possible, I have never had one. (So any unemployed ghosts are welcome to contact me.) He suggests reading in order, and I agree, as the stories flow rather nicely together (another reason I like this one the best so far).

First off is P. Craig Russell adapting a haunted house story in his beautiful style, as two kids dare each other to enter a condemned building, with terrible results. Next is the requisite Hellboy story, always a fun time. I think the idea that Mignola made short Hellboy stories for each of these anthologies was a nice touch.

We also have a classical story adapted with illustrations modeled on the old magazine prints, about another sinister haunted house, which leads me to Alie's contribution, a story that gives a new spin on the concept.

There's a curse on the next story, with an important lesson--don't piss off your tattoo artist, while a man takes a boy to a haunting in the weakest story of the collection. After the medium, we get a story of two boys, both outcasts, though some children are more outcast than others. Paul Chadwick of Concrete does this art for this, and his simplistic, realistic imaages work well here.

Last but not least, Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson go to the dogs--literally, in a touching story that shows not all hauntings happen to humans. I particularly like the interplay between the dogs and their cat friend in this one. It's a great closing tale that provides a little bit of hope amongst the haunted and the haunters.

Dark Horse Book of Monsters

Written by Various Writers
Illustrated by Various Artists
Dark Horse

Mr. Allie put together a series of short books about various horror themes, and asked comic creators to contribute. This is the second one I've read. Allie feels that Dark Horse, of all the comic book lines, keep the Monster Comic genre going better than any other, with its Goon, Hellboy, and other creations. Frankly, that's hard to disagree with. He also talks about how of all the other types of horror, Monsters are the ones comics can do best. Again, hard to argue with the results. :)

In this collection, we get an amazing neo-Monster age story done Marvels style by Kurt Busiek, Keith Giffen, and Al Milgrom. It's so good that the rest of the stories pale in comparison, and I'd have put it last for that reason. Busiek does the eyewitness view from the perspective of an explorer hero, and it's just amazing. When he's on, and he is here, Busiek is one of the best in the business.

There is a Hellboy story in here, too, with typical Mignola humour and art, as well as a Victorian sea story that gets some good illustrations.

The other stories are just okay...we get a variation on Frankenstein, an evil priest story where the Monster is the man of the cloth, and a werewolf story illustrated by Jill Thompson. They round things out, but I'd have rather seen less typical monsters, since Mr. Allie was just talking about how there are monsters only comics can do, and I've seen those tropes work just fine in print.

Still, this is worth it for Busiek-Giffen alone, and the rest are at least enjoyable. Definitely worth the read.

Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft

Written by Various Writers
Illustrated by Various Artists
Dark Horse

A few years ago, Dark Horse put our 4 short anthologies, of which this was the first one I read. They all contain work from a great cast of comics creators, this particular one including Mike Mignola, Jill Thompson, Sean Phillips, and Scott Morse.

Oh, and a newcomer to the comics industry, William Shakespeare.

I think he has a good career ahead of him.

Perhaps most interesting of all is that editor Scott Allie includes an interview he conducted with High Priestess Phyllis Curott about witchcraft. This is somewhat unusual in a comics anthology to have a text interview, but I think it fits in with the rest of the material well.

The Shakespeare story leads off, followed by a brief Hellboy tale by Mignola. It's always nice to see a written-and-drawn Mignola Hellboy story and this one is just as good as his others. I will admit the stories in the middle are just okay, mostly standard fare, with an old witch story given updated illustrations.

Perhaps the best of the bunch is Scott Morse' ephemeral blurred artwork laying down the start of the Sale Witch Trials. He gives the work a blended, ghost-like apperance appropriate for the tale.

Last up is a dog story, literally, with Jill Thompson art (in the style of Scott Morse, oddly enough). A group of dogs must use their only cat friend to disrupt an evil ritual. But will it end up being a dog-gets-eaten world?

This is a fun little anthology that I don't think got a lot of press. It's definltely worth picking up.

House

Written by Josh Simmons
Illustrated by Josh Simmons
Fantagraphics

Yet another book that took forever to get off of my library hold list and into my hands--roughly six months, to be exact. It's like the library decided to give me Christmas presents or something of the items kicking around on my hold list for most of the year.

After reading House, I have decided to use it as exhibit a the next time Erica wants to try and explore an abandoned house. Because I just know that what happens in Josh Simmon's slow-burn horror comic is exactly what will happen to us, except that instead of a broken water bottle, she'll be carrying a soda.

I think the hardest job a reviewer has is handling a book like House, where discussing the merits of the book--and I thought House was excellent--would spoil the joy of reading it for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure yet of doing so. I'm gonna try my best here, but you'll pardon me if this review seems a bit more clipped of details than usual.

First of all, this is a wordless comic, ala Jason (also of Fantagrahics), so if you require dialog in your graphic novels, this is not for you no matter how good I think it is. While I admit I was surprised at the lack of any sound effects whatsoever, the creepiness value of the story is definitely heightened by a lack of what would almost certainly have been typical horror exclamations. If you have an imagination--and I bet you do--you can fill in what the characters are thinking just fine on your own.

The second thing to understand is that this is a slow-burn comic. The first half of the story is there to establish a mood as the plot builds to its terrifying conclusion. I am a big fan of stories that work in this manner, having cut my teeth on a lot of old-school books and movies. If the payoff is worth the build-up (and here it is, as the protagonists dig themselves--at times quite literally--into further trouble), you have a winning story. However, I am aware that a lot of people prefer things that get right into the action. If that's you, then I think you'll find House disappointing.

Still with me? Okay, good. House is the story of two girls and a boy who are urban explorers, namely folks who poke their heads around in abandoned properties. It's something they must do often, because they're very prepared--matches, miner's helmets, a full lunch, the whole nine yards. This time, they're after a really huge mansion in the woods.

This place is HUGE, as established by many camera angles by Simmons. Unfortunately, it's also not very structurally sound. Despite this, our trio presses on, even as their dynamics change in ways that may not help them if they run into trouble. As they explore the house, more secrets are uncovered. Soon, however, the house may have a few secrets that can't be solved...and that's where the book starts getting really good...!

Simmons' art is very dense and filled with intricate lines, almost like the line art of a lithograph or similar art styles that went out of style over a century ago, only to be resurrected by comic artists. This places a shadow over the whole story, as it feels like there's something bad about to happen on every turn of the page. Even the scenes where only innocent things like a man walking in the woods occur have a feeling of menace. Printed on black pages, the borders between the panels themselves close in on the story and missing panels give the effect of blackness cutting off the story's air.

In other words, this is creepy in the old Universal Pictures sense, not in the Friday the 13th sense, and I thought it was great. If you like old-school horror, I'm betting you'll agree. I look forward to reading more by Simmons in the future.

Strangers in Paradise Volume 7

Written by Terry Moore
Illustrated by Terry Moore
Abstract Studios

I had mentioned after the last volume, which was sort of "Strangers in Paradise: Year 1", that I was concerned my interest in this series may have flagged. Fortunately, with Sanctuary, things get back on track.

Sanctuary is a rather strange entry for the series. It flips forward ten years in time, after something so horrible happens that it tears Katchoo and Francine's relationship apart. Francine is a mother with a drinking problem, while Katchoo has become a vastly successful artist, albeit one without her partner David.

What the hell, you say? I say it too, but Moore winds the clock back to a respite from the seemingly endless story of Katchoo's past and features David, Francine, Katchoo, and, to a lesser extent, Freddie and Casey, working out their complicated relationships. It's obvious that the signs of strain are there, as Francine can't decide whether or not she loves Katchoo, and Katchoo can't fully decide whether or not to love David. Will Katchoo get fame and fortune at the expense of her best friend?

As their lives go topsy-turvy, we also flash back to the future again, with Francine's mother making a decision that will affect everyone. And if that's not enough plotlines going, Katchoo's past looks ready to join in the fray again. There's a whole lot going on, and watching it all unfold looks to be pretty interesting.

I was much happier with this outing, even though I feel like Moore has written himself into a corner I can't see a way out of, and my immediate thought at the end was, "Oh God, not more Katchoo past stories." However, I really like our characters, and when Moore has David pull a Curt-Swan Superman to the camera, I was literally laughing out loud.

While this series is not amazing, I am enjoying it as a rule and will keep going.

100 Bullets Volume 3

Written by Brian Azzarello
Illustrated by Eduardo Risso
Vertigo

Since I was intrigued enough by Volume 2, I decided to keep going with 100 Bullets. While I don't think I'll ever come to like this series anywhere near as much as most other people I know, I do want to see what Agent Graves is really up to.

The problem is that I am apparently going to have to get through multiple volumes of Azarello's racist depictions of the inner city in order to do so, and I'm just not sure I can manage it. We're right back in the ghetto again, as a Philadelphia youth growing up without a dad is given a chance to get his revenge on the man who fathered him and left him high and dry.

Instead of listening to his trying-to-do-right mother, the son (given the idiotic name Loop) goes off to be a mob bag-man for a white gangster. Life is good until there's a chance to rip off the old guy. This of course goes bad, and gangster straight out of the Godfather or something gets to lecture the black kid about honor amongst thieves, something it seems we are to believe Loop and his father lack.

Am I reading too much into this? Apparently. Other review sites give this book a lot of praise, or at least 4 and 5 star ratings, and it's won a ton of awards. I did some Google searching and I can't find any articles talking about the racial issues I see with this series. The only thing I found was a message board post, where the poster in question was told, essentially, that not only was he wrong, but that the characterization of Loop was that of a positive character!

My problem is not that black people are being shown committing crimes, it's the fact that they're so stereotypical as to be laughable. I'll wince, but I can handle a stereotypical portrayal in context, like reading 1970s Power Man or 1930s pulps. (Just because I love the Marx Brothers doesn't mean I don't think the Headstrongs joke in Duck Soup is abhorrent, or, a bit more on subject, that when Robert Howard goes off on a typical-for-the-time racial villian trope I don't think "you were better than that.") I can even deal with it if you're trying to write in the *style* of an old stereotype.

But to publish a comic that shows an unapologetic poor portrayal of African Americans in this day and age--and worse, have people think it's good!--is amazing to me. The very fact that this is seen as "realistic" to a lot of the folks I read reviews from tells me that we're not as far removed from the days of Willie Horton commercials as I'd like to think we are.

The rest of the story is major spoiler city, so I won't go over it, beyond the fact that you really shoudn't mess with Agent Graves. I'm gonna give this series one last try, but I think the problems are just too high for me to want to continue any further than that.

100 Bullets Volume 2

Written by Brian Azzarello
Illustrated by Eduardo Risso
Vertigo

I liked this second volume of 100 Bullets much better, but that's a bit like saying you'd rather have a cold than strep throat. This time, there's a stark reduction in "street" dialog, though there's still far too much for my taste, and Azzarello ramps up the mystery factor.

The premise is still the same--a person who was wronged gets 100 bullets and an untraceable gun to do whatever they'd like with it (usually in relation to those that wronged them). It can be anyone--a grieving mother, a dice hustler, maybe even a reporter. That's still interesting enough, but the key now is that we start to get just a little hint as to why this is being done.

The question is--do we like the answer?

It seems that some people have liked to play with the lives of others for some time now, and maybe that doesn't sit very well with certain other people. Or maybe it's all crap being fed to us through misinformation. Right now, that's hard to tell.

What is not hard to tell is that even though the stories seem gratuitously "gritty" at times, Azzarello has got something in his head, and now I'd like to find out what. Assuming you made it through the first trade, I think you'll want to find the answer, too. Just be ready to wince every time the book enters the inner city.

100 Bullets Volume 1

Written by Brian Azzarello
Illustrated by Eduardo Risso
Vertigo

I'd heard so many good things about this one, I was really unhappy with myself for not reading it sooner.

Then I started reading it.

As long-time readers of my reviews know I am very skeptical of Vertigo these days. The label, once a haven for good, dark comics that took the idea of a horror comic and left out the worry of Comics Code censorship, has become a place where authors can be vulgar and writers draw breasts with an "adult" label slapped on it to draw interest. While there may be more to it as the story progresses, Volume 1 of 100 Bullets is a poster child for my problems with Vertigo lately.

The stories contained in this collection are foul, violence-laden, and feel like they're written by a person who's never been in the "hood" trying to write a gang-banger story. The dialog feels stereotypical and the revenge plots so thinly pieced together that they don't draw me in the deeper plot at all. I'd even go so far as to say the dialog in the book is racist. [Later books tone this down a bit, but it's still a huge problem.]

About the only thing I enjoyed was Risso's shadowy art, which is wasted on the writing here.

The main story is about a women who went to prison and now has a chance to pay back those who have wronged her. I'd have cared a lot more about whether or not she does the deed had I not been mired in a lot of needless street scenes that didn't feel real to me at all. Things are a bit better in the second arc, a wronged man who hangs out in bars. It's probably because this story hangs more on the man and a destructive woman than it does an inner-city backdrop. Sadly, though, we're right back there for the final story, a 1-shot tale that features the same faux gang-banging that just doesn't play out as realistic for me.

I'm willing to give one more volume of this a try but my expectations are much lower now. If you're on the fence about this one, I'd give it a pass.

Hexed #1

Written by Michael Alan Nelson
Illustrated by Emma Rios
BOOM! Studios

Man, I haven't reviewed anything in single issue form for so long, I almost forget how.

I have to admit, if Hexed wasn't available online for free, I'd probably not have noticed it at the comic book store. I don't really read anything new in floppies anymore, and while I tend to look for new series to try, my luck with indie single-issue comics has not been very fruitful. Maybe I'll re-think that, given that I will be going all-trade on other stuff, so taking a flier on a title won't make my comic shop visits bank-busters.

At any rate, Hexed is going to be a simultaneous release online and in comic shops. BOOM! has done this before, so they know how it works. And apparently, sales went up (not down) on the title as a result.

Hexed is the story of a thief of magical items that looks like she belongs in the Vertigo universe, but since her name is also Lucifer, this might present confusion at the Endless' summer parties. We learn a bit about her from inner monologue, part from her interesting series of employers, both past and present. She's a mix of innocence and hard-edged occultist tricks, a balancing act that writer Nelson tries (but I think just misses) to pull off. Lucifer is asked to do things for a man she hates and will inevitably fight, setting up our series.

The cute stuff--a teddy bear as protection against cults or wanting to hear an old wives' tale from her employer--strikes me as a bit too juvenile for a person who can think about the use of feminine wiles to get into parties. It jars even more against dialogue that discusses shooting people's wombs or acts of necromancy. The writing gets better as the issue progresses, however, which is a good sign.

The artist, Emma Rios, does, I think, a great job with the script, despite some of the problems I had with the pacing and action. She's not going to win any awards, at least not yet (I hear she is new to comics), but her style is better than a lot of the work published by Marvel (and especially DC) right now. Lucifer is highlighted and yet also muted in the opening scenes, and the transition to works of magic from the mundane are handled well. Her characters move in space and remain fluid, even when the scene mostly involves talking.

I am also greatful for a lack of gratuitous sexy art. Lucifer is down to business, and even a presumed panty shot is not nearly as sexed-up as, say, Black Canary.

All in all, while I'm not going to run out and grab this from the store, I may pick it up to support the concept, namely giving readers a taste of a new thing. I think it's a solid comic trying to do what Vertigo used to do--give a reader an adult story that isn't gory or sexed-up just because the label says "Mature" on it. It's definitely worth checking out, which you can do here.

Penny Arcade Volume 2

Written by Jerry Holkins
Illustrated by Mike Krahulik
Dark Horse

Hard to believe this took about two years to finally make it from my hold list to my hand, but that was the case. It's funny how long some things take to wind their way through the hold list.

This is the second collection of Penny Arcade strips published by Dark Horse. Penny Arcade is that rare breed of webcomic, namely one that can last for more than a year and has enough clout to be self-supporting.

I mentioned in my review of volume 1 that the only danger this book runs into is when you don't know the games they are referencing, the jokes kinda fall flat. Well, that was the case for me on this one--in 2001, I had fallen out of the video gaming world (I'm not sure I even had a system set up), and so the references are to a lot of things I never played--Halo, Grand Turismo, Dark Age of Camelot, just to name a few.

In addition, some of the additions to the book--blog posts, for instance--really slowed the pacing down. I'd rather just have a book of strips, honestly, because that's what I'm here for. The bonus features at the end were also a bit odd, as they felt like a page-count throw in--there's not enough of any given thing to really make me interested. Perhaps if I followed the strip regularly online, I'd feel a bit differently.

All in all, I still enjoyed the book. Even though I didn't get all the references, the ones I did get, like the slow death of the Dreamcast, were laugh out loud funny. So are the ones about people trying to censor video games, a riff on Scott McCloud, and of course George Lucas. It's just that this time, I felt more like the young person I described in my first review, puzzling my head over the same type of references that I immediately picked up on before.

Penny Arcade still holds up very well, and if you are at heart a video gaming geek (and if you're reading a comics review blog, odds are you are in fact a geek in MANY other ways), you'll enjoy these blasts from the recent past of 2001. Props to Dark Horse for giving these a permanent home.

Penny Arcade Volume 1

Written by Jerry Holkins
Illustrated by Mike Krahulik
Dark Horse

There are an awful lot of web comics out there--so many, in fact, that I have a horrible time trying to keep track of them. I generally leave it to my friend Noah to point me to the best of it, then when I forget, to remind me again.

Penny Arcade is one such webcomic.

More durable than many, Arcade goes back to 1998. This book is a collection of roughly the first two years, complete with commentary. Since the comics themselves are freely available online, it's the commentary which makes the book.

Over the 150 or so pages, you'll find cartoons about many of the things that make the late 90s so much fun: Sega Dreamcast, Video Stores (what are those again?), Star Wars, and more video games than you can shake a stick at.

The artwork is simple but effective, and almost all of the jokes hold up--provided you're roughly my age. A person who graduated HS when I graduated from College would probably look at this and ask, "Who's Duke Nukem?" but that's true with any kind of topical humour. Even still, there's enough general jokes or timeless ones that I wouldn't NOT recommend it to someone younger. However, if you remember when there was still only a PS1 and Sonic only played for the home team, you're in for a real treat.

Bacchus Volume 1

Written by Eddie Campbell
Illustrated by Eddie Campbell
Top Shelf

And here it is, the first trade paperback finished in 2009, a grab from the Top Shelf sale over the holidays. You may know Eddie Campbell as a collaborator with Alan Moore, and from reading Bacchus, it's clear that the two have a storytelling style that matches up neatly.

Bacchus is about exactly who you'd think it's about--the Roman god of wine. Except that he's not quite the man he used to be. You see, immortality is not in fact forever--Zeus went senile, for instance, and most of the other gods would have aged terribly had there not been a horrible fight on Olympus as they aged.

As we meet Bacchus, he's out for revenge on Theseus, for crimes against the woman who gave him the keys to solve the labyrinth. The story winds between past and present, as we we see the two go after each other in modern times, and Bacchus tells a "follower" (in a nice way to get the back story in) the history between them.

Campbell plies the trade of updating Greek and Roman myth as deftly as others who've done similar work, such as Gaiman. If you love the old mythology, this is going to be an instant hit with you. It works less well for those not interested in the old stories, but I think the plot--revenge plotted over centuries with modern-age pawns used as fodder--will appeal to you anyway. The artwork is sketchy and line-based, like Bill Sienkiwicz, only a bit cleaner. Given the age of the players involved, this works well.

The story's real shine, however, is how well Campbell adapts the personality quirks of the mythical figures into modern terms. Bacchus only drinks wine, of course, and sitll revels when he can. Theseus is a dick to those around him, throwing them away as needed. And the only character I've refused to name--because it's just too cool and must be left for the reader to find--is just screwed up enough to really add a needed wild card into the mix.

If there's a problem with Bacchus, it's that I can't find Volume 2 anywhere, and Top Shelf is not doing a printing of it because of the Omnibus coming out in 2010. So I may be over a year finding out what happens next!

If you can find more than one volume of this one, I think it's well worth it. Campbell is a great new writer/artist (to me, I realize he's been doing this for over 20 years now) and I definitely want to read more of his work.

Marmalade Boy Volume 4

Written by Wataru Yoshizumi
Illustrated by Wataru Yoshizumi
Tokyopop

Things perk up a bit here in Volume 4 as Miki tips her hand to the audience by being very upset at Yuu's apparent sexual orientation. While Yuu gets closer to a new school mate, Miki tries hard to both keep her distance and keep them apart. Are things as they look? Probably not? But are they deeper than Yuu wants to let on? Oh no, now that's a different story altogether. Well, not really, because, you know, it's all in the same manga. So it's really all the same story.

Ahem.

I am glad to report that I am back to being interested in the story again. The new twist with Yuu gives us a serious plot to hang our heads on, and Miki's desire to help him/keep him close gives it the love interest.

Where this manga is sorely lacking, however, is the humour, which only comes in pieces now that the tone is a bit more serious. It seems like the jokes are moving to the side people. That may or may not work, we shall see. Still, I am happy to report this won't be getting dropped from my reading list anytime soon.

Marmalade Boy Volume 3

Written by Wataru Yoshizumi
Illustrated by Wataru Yoshizumi
Tokyopop

More of the story of Miki, who wishes life were normal, and her half-brother by a very odd set of marriages, Yuu. Volume 3 finds us branching out a bit, as the supporting cast gets to have their say while Miki and Yuu try to alternate caring for and (pretending?) not to care for each other.

The story of a girl caring for her teacher is fairly common in writing, and so that being the focus of this volume kinda bored me. There really wasn't much in this volume that didn't seem to be out of things I'd seen before, so I admit to being a bit disappointed overall.

Yuu and Miki should be front and center at least most of the time, and here they feel shunted--and worse, too far apart from each other--most of the issues in this trade. I'll stay on, but my interest is flagging.

Marmalade Boy Volume 2

Written by Wataru Yoshizumi
Illustrated by Wataru Yoshizumi
Tokyopop

This shojo comedy continues with the story of Miki, a girl whose parents got divorced and re-married with another couple, who has a son, Yuu. They all live together and the question is whether Miki will fall in love with Yuu.

(This of course leads to great wordplay fun, as in "falling in love with Yuu.")

The bulk of this edition is a tennis match that forces the two rivals for Miki's affection to play together against a boy who loves Yuu's ex-girlfriend--and is the cousin of Miki's other rival. The match itself isn't very funny, so this book is not as good as the one that came before it. It feels more like a place holder, as one of the main plot points--the parents all living together--is shoved to the background, and Yuu's playfulness isn't showcased as much.

Still, it's better than the average manga, and I'm enjoying it. I think Yuu--er, you--would, too.

Marmalade Boy Volume 1

Written by Wataru Yoshizumi
Illustrated by Wataru Yoshizumi
Tokyopop

Marmalade Boy is a comedic manga with some shojo elements to it. However, it's far too funny to be a real shojo--this is more in the style of Love Roma. If you liked Love Roma, and I did, then you should be in for a treat with Marmalade Boy.

Miki is your typical shojo girl with boy trouble, which only gets worse when her parents decide to permanently partner swap with a family they met on vacation. That lands poor, normal-desiring Miki in a house with both sets of parents and one cute but annoying step-brother. He of course transfers to her school and both flirts with and tortures Miki, who also has to deal with the boy who rejected her previously. And, of course, Miki gets a rival for the step-brother she isn't sure she likes.

This is a very light read but a fun one. The idea that no one except Miki finds the whole situation difficult makes for good comedy, and the interplay between her and the step brother is quite well done. I also like that Yoshizumi does try to give the characters a bit of grounding, so that they aren't just there for comic value, since this is not designed to be out-and-out parody ala Ranma.

The art is a bit exaggerated, but the background do compliment the plot rather well. I'm not sure if it's our librarian's bias or my reading bias, but man, I sure read a lot of manga set in high schools. Perhaps this is because I never read teen stuff when *I* was in high school.

I'm not sure how long this can make for a good story, but I'm willing to tag along for the ride, at least for as many as are in the library.

Earth-Prime Thor Foils Crime

Man dressed in Thor Costume thwarts a robbery.

I can't even think of a witty rejoinder for this one, as it's comic gold all on its own. Courtesy of one of my favorite political blogs, of all things.

Gotta love that costume--reminds me of the Thor that showed up in one of the Incredible Hulk movies for TV. Either that or a recent Marvel "re-imagining" of a classic hero. Take your pick.

Paris

Written by Andi Watson
Illustrated by Simon Gane
SLG

Comics Worth Reading just did a review for this book, which made me think of mine, as we appear to have had similar reactions, though mine was harsher, as I feel like it was less of a story and more of an excuse to write about lesbians. Johanna's review is better than mine, but this is my review blog, so you're stuck with my pithy comments instead of her desire for a book with more depth to it.

I've liked the Andi Watson I've read so far, so I was really disappointed to hit this male-written lesbian fantasy featuring entirely too many drawn lines from Gane. Set in the (I guess more restrictive?) 1950s, a young American artist paints pictures of the wealthy to pay her way through art school.

While I'm sure this is not the first woman she's painted, she falls madly in love with a girl in high society, who also loves her (for what? her commonality? the fact that she can dump her and marry a man later? I just didn't get it.). While the two are kept apart, the arranged marriage for our wealthy part of this duo has a terrible secret in his closet. You can probably guess what that means.

Crushed by her inability to break into the high parts of Paris, our heroine returns home to paint signs for her dad's hardware store. This was, I felt, a perfectly fine ending, but we get the "happily ever after" treatment anyway. So yeah, the girl gets the girl, just like in the movies. Roll credits.

One of the things I've liked about Watson's other work is the details we see about the characters. I felt like I knew the protagonists in Love Fights, right down to a jealous cat. This time around, everyone feels like stock characters placed in a b-movie based on a chick lit book. There's no strong motivation, no inner monologue, no real reason for the characters to act as they do except to move the plot along. For a writer I enjoy, I expect more to the story. This time I didn't get it.

World War Hulk Gamma Corps

Written by Frank Tieri
Illustrated by Carlos Ferreira and Sandu Florea
Marvel

That's actually the back cover, but I like it better, as it gives you a feel for the characters involved rather than the front cover, where Banner is doing his impersonation of Luke Cage's Power Man days.

What I really didn't like was anything about this mini-series, which introduces a set of five more gamma-related characters and gives them all grudges of varying value against the Hulk. Created secretly by a rogue general, they've been doing black ops work, apparently without the knowledge of anyone else in the Marvel Universe (a bit hard for me to believe, given the point of the Illuminati).

Now that the Hulk is out there attacking the world, they're sent in to get revenge on him, using their anger and deviated powers.

Of course, they fail miserably. But while they do, the Hulk manages to convince them that he has nothing to do with their actions, and that the real villains are the Illuminati, who are responsible for their problems.

So guess what? According to Marvel, Reed Richards is responsible for not only bringing Galactus to earth, he also, I guess, should have cured aids. And Black Bolt obviously cares nothing about stopping the spread of heroin while Charles Xavier must have created the Abomination while he was out convincing Magneto to try and take over the earth.

There's nothing here that makes it required reading, unless you are into the graphic violence that pervades a lot of comics these days--heads are ripped off, arms completely crushed, and there's even a neck breaking in the bargain. Apparently Marvel and Tieri decided that it was time to make up for all the blood and gore not shown in the Hulk Comics I grew up reading.

I wish the story had been better, because I think Ferriera's artwork was pretty good. It can be hard to get the Hulk to look right--powerful and monstrous, but still human at his core--and he does that rather well, I think. I also do like the character designs, even if the concepts are a bit lame.

It's comics like these that make me ask why I read superhero comics at all anymore, but then I read Gotham Central and remember good stories can still be told. The problem is that it means reading some forgettable stories along the way. This is one such trade. So learn from me and leave this one on the shelf.

The Losers Volume 1

Written by Andy Diggle
Illustrated by Jock
Vertigo

The Losers is one of those series that I shouldn't have liked. A black ops team goes rogue, swears a lot, and beats the shit out of whatever gets in their way. Add a dash of betrayal, a bit of a love interest angle, and lots of explosions, and you have something that's usually okay as far as it goes, but that's about it.

Now, the Losers has just about all that in it, with a few extra quirks added on. But Diggle's writing is such that he actually makes the concept interesting. The characters involved have just a bit more life to them than normal, like the female who runs raids to save female slaves or the computer geek who can also wield a mean gun when needed.

The tricks are also pretty high stakes, stealing everything from planes to nuclear bombs, along with several escapes that defy logic but are simply great fun. There's even a few kill scenes that are so over the top as to work perfectly within the ultra conspiracy behind the conspiracies framework.

If you're looking for something that's just popcorn fun and you like action movies, you'll have a ball. I really should get around to reading volume two someday.