Superman Chronicles Volume 1

Written by Jerry Siegel
Illustrated by Joe Shuster
DC

Before we actually talk about this one--doesn't that cover, with no external frame of reference, make you think Superman is surfing? Perhaps he's riding a wave of the timestream back to these early adventures?

At any rate, while I've read and re-read some early Batman work, this is my first time actually sitting down and reading the first appearance (and follow up adventures) of the Man of Steel. I tend to find Supes a bit lame and overpowered as a rule, so my first take at this slightly less powerful version was a positive one. Here he's more like Iron Man or something rather than neigh omnipotent being and I like the idea better.

In these stories, Superman, while still Clark Kent, tends to shed his identity as often as Bruce does for Batman and far more than I'm used to, even going so far as to disguise himself as other characters (again, ala Batman). The whole human-yet-not-human thing that tends to get flogged a lot in more modern comics is really absent here as Superman revels in his powers, often being rampantly destructive for his own pleasure (like when he decides to wage a one-man war on traffic menaces).

This is also a Clark who has no fear of the law. While Superman is shown now as being possibly the most law-abiding of all the DC heroes, here the police dislike his actions so much at one point they bring in an expert from out of town to try and remove him! (Of course, this is apparently Ohio we're talking about, not Metropolis, so that explains it. Cops in Ohio just don't like the competition.) Superman's actions lean heavily on the side of justice and not nearly as much on the law as they do today.

Other oddities are Superman railing against a person who might entangle the United States into "european wars" and getting involved against protection rackets and corrupt prison chain gangs. Again, the frame of reference I want to use here is Batman--these are the types of things you'd expect him doing, right down to the many many many times Superman threatens to kill those who oppose him. (And sometimes, they do die--heroes and their non-killing codes are still a ways off.)

DC themselves even note this on the back cover blurb, saying Superman "...took no prisoners, made his own laws and gleefully delivered his own brand of justice--even if it meant dangling a crook by the ankle from alove the city or giving a wife-beater a taste of his own medicine." I think gleefully is the perfect adverb to use in this case.

Superman's origin is given pretty short shrift, and we learn of his various powers as we go along. He's just sort of vaguely powerful to start, and I don't think they knew quite how powerful until we start getting him holding up entire bridges and other tricks. X-ray vision just pops out of nowhere, with no explaination other than needing it for a plot device, for instance. It's kinda neat not having the entire life's story spread before you on the opening pages and "discovering" his powers along with the original readers. (Heck, we don't get the first "full" origin till the last story in the book!)

Interestingly enough, two things hold true even all this way back--Clark pretends to be a wuss (though it's often to lure an enemy off base, not to protect his identity) and Lois is a strong female presense, willing to do whatever it takes to get the story. Naturally, she gets in trouble a lot doing so, but I find it kinda neat that her characterization has never faltered. In fact, one might argue that she is the only character in comics to be so well--and consistently--defined over the past 70 years. Not even Batman can say that!

I do have to note that the art here is atroscious. No offense to Shuster, who definitely did well for the time, but the art level (as with Kane's Batman, who gets an advertisment at the end of one of the stories) is definitely a product of its time. This is not like looking at the 1950s horror comics, or even the 1940s work of Eisner, where you can see the art form building into what we come to think of as superheroic work. This is definitely designed to look like old newspaper strips (since, after all, that's what they originally planned it to be). It will be interesting to see how that changes over the years.

Props to DC for these editions, and I'd kill for them to do it with Plastic Man, even if he's not one of the most popular current heroes. Even further props for doing things like including original covers (guess who pops up? Zatanna's dad, Zatara!) and also oddball appearances, like Superman's World's Fair story, that otherwise might never see the light of day.

Comics historians totally need to read this. Superman fans probably already did. But those of you who are generally dismissive of Superman should give this a look. Ironically, it's a lot more human than a lot of those human-side stories made today.

Legion of Superheroes Volume 2

Written by Mark Waid (with Stuart Moore)
Illustrated by Barry Kitson and a Legion of other Artists
DC

Thanks to interlibrary loan, I get to finish off the first arc of the reboot of the Legion of Superheroes done around the time of Infinite Crisis.

The Legion kids are still out to save the worlds, but who is going to save them? Even as they get to the bottom of the nature of the enemy (a foe who can literally tell you he doesn't exist), internal conflicts threaten to tear the Legion apart. When Brainiac 5 feels he can lead the Legion better than Cosmic Boy, there's problems all over as the Legion has their own Civil War while the planets themselves start to separate from their own confederation.

Will there be enough time--and enough Legionnaires?--to stop a scheme that's eerily similar to Cosmic Boy's own? And what sacrifices will have to be made to save the Universe?

Brainiac, Cosmic Boy, and the others are about to learn they have some growing up to do--and the hard choices that go along with it.

While Waid sometimes hits on the "these are teenagers, let's make them moody and emotional" button a bit too often, he does a great job of using the kids versus adults dynamic to complicate the fight at hand and show that a world that doesn't respect its youth is a sad one indeed. He's also excellent at maturing the characters, even over such a short period of time. As with JLA, Waid finds a way to keep the large cast juggled fairly well, without short-timing any of the major players. (It is kinda funny that he uses Chameleon in the same way that Plastic Man works in the JLA.)

There are serious questions raised in these issues that won't be easily solved--Brainiac's dismissal of the others may be at bay, but for how long? And what if his own interests outweigh those of the rest? Can Cosmic Boy keep them all together without acting like the adults he wants to subvert? What's going to happen to the rest of the Legion once things calm down and old resentments resurface? Waid remembers that comics still can have subplots while doing an overarching story.

There's also his little touches--the Kandor reference for Brainiac's planet, Robin (a thinker) leaving the trophy that can hold a key to victory, the idea that these kids have families who are affected by their choices. It's all part of the whole that Waid does so well.

Kitson's pencils are excellent, though he's marred by the mass of inkers on this one. It's obvious--and glaring--where the fill in pencils and inks show up. I mean, for God's sake, this series had four different LETTERERS.

We can't even use 1 letterer anymore?

I can't say I love the Legion or would want to be collecting this, but Waid almost always tells a quality story, and this one's on point and definitely recommended.

Umm...DC?

So I was browsing around DC's website, and I noticed their corner ad.

"Watchmen The Mobile Game"

Okay, I can see that. Not sure how many people will get it, but I can see it.

"Play as the Comedian."

Umm, DC? What exactly am I going to do as the Comedian? Rape women, kill presidents, and shoot pregnant women?

I think someone got their marketing seriously screwed up.

World War Hulk

Written by Greg Pak
Illustrated by John Romita Jr. and Klaus Jansen
Marvel

So I finally manged to get my hands on the main part of the World War Hulk crossover, after quite a bit of waiting. Greg Pak writes the story of the Hulk's revenge for the death of his planet, ripping the Warbound right through damn near all of Marvel's heroes, referencing past Hulk stories in his acknowledge continuity but don't be a slave to it manner along the way.

Soon, the Hulk is in control of everything--but the earth has quite a few cards left to play. They escalate the battle, calling on everything from Ross's military might to Dr. Strange's most dark incantations to the Sentry himself.

But are the cures worse than the disease? Would stopping the Hulk once and for all mean the destruction of far more? When war escales to this level--how do you stop? Can you stop?

Well, since this is the Marvel Universe, there has to be a stop or you can't make movies anymore, so we do get an ending that seems a bit odd, given that it could have been tried from the get-go. But Pak gets to make a statement about the nature of vengence inside a slam-bang crossover, and there's really nothing wrong with that.

John Romita, Jr is the artist for this one, and I have to admit, it's an odd choice. Yes, JRJR is one of the biggest artists in the Marvel stable, but he's also far more suited for drawing people than monsters. You get great emotion in the faces of Ross, Richards, Rick, and others, even people whose names don't start with R. But the large fight sccenes with the Hulk against ever-larger foes, just don't have the power that, say, David Finch (of the cover above) can bring. I do like that Romita opted, wherever possible, to use his artistic strengths to great effect, such as bringing the action closer to the reader where his emotive abilities shine. The condemnation of the Illuminati scenes are particularly good at this.

Pak's story is an interesting look at the escalation of violence in comics, while at the same time, escalating the violence--these battles basically take out New York City in a way that would have seemed inconceivable after 9-11. I guess six years is long enough to wait before destroying iconic buildings again. (See also the Watchmen movie.) There is a lot of commentary that borders on meta--the characterization of Strange, Stark, and Richards, in particular. (T'Challa telling Reed he made this the world's fight was particularly strong, I thought.) I also like how well Pak ties things into other doings within the Marvel universe without dragging us so far down we need to be reading all of them.

This book reads pretty well as a stand alone, not requiring you to have read all the crossovers to know what's going on, though I pretty much have by this point. He keeps the action on-panel for the most part and doesn't waste too much time summarizing the past (a few pages explain Planet Hulk, and a few panels take care of other things we need to know, like the Civil War status quo or doings with the Inhumans). It should hold up fairly well if read years later.

The only real weakness I saw is the ending. I am not a big believer that the Hulk has almost limitless, godlike power. The idea that he could threaten the world on his own is rather out there. It does ding the enjoyability down a bit for me. Hulk is amazingly powerful, yes, but is he on the level of Galactus? I don't think so. (There's also the matter of major villains like Doom being completely ignored. I hardly think Victor would just let the world burn around him. And the chance to defeat the Hulk and one-up Richards would just be too much to resist.)

Old-school Hulk fans probably wouldn't like this one and I'm almost sure those who only consider David's Hulk to be the defining one would probably hate it, as there's no psychological doings here--it's all about the rage. But if you're looking for a good story about the difficulty in drawing the lines between good and evil when you reach a certain escalation point. Though the execution is not perfect (I'm not convinced all the heroes would toe the Stark line given we are just past Civil War here), World War Hulk is a fun time.

Sleeper Volume 3

Written by Ed Brubaker
Illustrated by Sean Phillips
Wildstorm

Agent Carver (but Agent of who?) is even more out of place than ever in this third quarter of the noir series by Brubacker and Phillips. As he tries to rebuild his life as best he can given the results of the prior volume, his old life just won't let go. Soon both sides want him to up the ante in a game of chess between two masters. As Carver himself notes, if he's a pawn in this game, he doesn't like his odds.

What to do? Try to buy just enough time--and maybe allies--to get out alive. But what does Carver really want in the end? As he murders his way through double agents and loose ends, Carver tries to figure that out even as his boss (bosses?) grow impatient. Soon he'll have to make a choice--after all, even a sleeper has to wake sometime...

I have to admit, I wasn't quite as enthused with this volume of Sleeper as I was with the previous two. For one thing, Phillips' art drops off noticeably in places, becoming far sketchier than I'd like from anyone who isn't Bill Sienkiewicz. I understand that this is designed to be portrayed in a noir style, so there's going to be a fair amount of shadowy figures and ill-defined backgrounds, but I think he skimped just a bit too much this time. (Perhaps in the interests of a deadline? Hard to know these things when you read in trade form.)

The other is that a bulk of the goings-on this time feel like filler material, and in a series that's only--what? 24 issues?--long, you need to conserve space for the really important things.

It's true that we get to see Carver pinballed between Lynch and Tao, but somehow, the yo-yo on a string felt really drawn out to me. I understand Carver's conflicted in what he wants to do, but that's nothing new--we knew that from the start of the second book. Working through his stream of consciousness over the course of several issues, with the fill-in of the Tao-Lynch rivalry (which probably only needed a few pages--after all, Tao's origin only needed a few pages, why make this take longer?) on top, just kinda made me want to get the story moving.

If you think of Sleeper as a four hour mini-series, this is the third hour, where I just kinda felt like maybe we only needed three hours after all and would it be okay if I got up to go to the bathroom?

This is not to say that I didn't like the book or that there were not good things going on. Brubaker's plotting is very good--even if I think his pacing is a bit off--and the two major twists he throws in this time are doozies. I just think they'd have had more impact if they came closer together as part of a shorter version of what we got. His dialog is also, as always, top notch. If Bendis is the master of the banter, Brubaker is the master of speaking simply in the most complex way possible--perfect for work like this or Nick Fury.

There are certainly no heroes in this one, but the fact that just when I think Lynch and Tao can't go any lower in their fucking with Carver, Brubaker finds a way to make them evem worse is a tribute to his writing ability. (I do wish the women in this book were a bit less manipulable but that does fit in with the pulp style of the story.)

I should also mention that Brubaker and Phillips get in a great use of a classic origin story in this trade that is worthy of Warren Ellis. I went back and read it three times I found it so amusing.

All in all, I've enjoyed Sleeper quite a bit, even with a few qualms, and am looking forward to seeing how it will end. You should be, too.

Zombie-Loan Volume 1 by Peach-Pit

Written by Peach-Pit
Illustrated by Peach-Pit
Yen Press

I had a chance to spend an inordinate amount of time at the main branch of the local library and grabbed quite a few random things, so some of the reviews over the next few weeks should be quite varied.

This was one of the random grabs, and while the idea is pretty cool, the execution is a bit lacking in my more refined manga tastes nowadays.

Let's start with the premise--apparently, there are zombies on the loose and if you have the right vision, you can spot them. Michiru Kita can do it, but she tries hard not to, even wearing the typical manga glasses to avoid her extra sight. But not all zombies are flesh-eaters. If you want to life hard enough, fate can be altered--for the right price.

When two folks with a large debt find out there's someone who can help them with their zombie-loan, really awkwardly drawn action ensues. And that's where the problem is with this one--the art is so busy and crowded so often, it's hard to tell what's going on. During several of the fight scenes, I had no idea how the action was playing out. It's not helped that the artist (artists?) involved also opted to leave out backgrounds and that the translators felt the need to translate every sound effect--but with the original characters in place--leaving almost no room for the eye to breathe.

On top of that, there's really not a cohesive plot, as the three main characters seem to jump from activity to activity because there's a rush to get every part of the introduction in by the end of page 200. While some manga plods a bit, this one could have stood a bit longer setup to work better, at least for me. It might have lessened the art problems as well.

I really do like the idea of zombie bounty hunters, though, so I'm liable to try at least one more volume to see if it gets a bit better. However, you may find it best to wait it out.

Mighty Avengers Volume 1

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by Frank Cho
Marvel

I read New Avengers in single issue form from the start to the end of the Secret Invasion arc. I like Bendis as a rule and his character interplay is always fun.

So why didn't I grab Mighty Avengers, too, in the post-Civil War era?

Because for me, these are some of the least interesting Avengers to be placed together since the Bob Harris era. I hate the Sentry, I hate the idea of an evil God being part of an Avengers team, I don't much care for Wonder Man, Ms. Marvel is stuck being a tool going all the way back to the Busiek years, and Black Widow, the Wasp, and Iron Man just aren't all that interesting to me. (I liked Iron Man until Civil War, when they turned Tony into a dick.)

So I figured I could trade wait this one, and honestly, kinda forgot about it. Since I had some space in my library holds, I figured I'd see what was up.

The results aren't bad, but that's mostly because of Bendis' clever decision to give every character an internal monologue, commenting--frequently negatively--on the events around them. So Sharon gets to complain inwardly at Tony's passive-aggressive approach to leading the new team while Ares decides whose pants he's going to try to get in, all in the middle of a rather drawn out battle against yet another Ultron.

In other words, this is Bendis trying to write an old-school Avengers yarn, but it's just not in his nature to do so--and twists the story accordingly. So while building up this big fight and teamwork and saving the world and stuff, there's also an inherent dysfunction because the whole thing feels manufactured. (And given we've seen Tony Stark manufacture fights before, I wonder if the implication was intentional.)

Anyone coming from New Avengers would be used to seeing that team working well together, naturally, without needing to be hand-held. I can't speak for Bendis's plans, but the whole point of this seems to be that no matter how hard Tony tries, he's not going to be able to replicate what the old Avengers (or even the old New Avengers) were able to do--save the day as a matter of course instead of a matter of protocol. The natural formation of Avengers, which Tony praised back in the New Avengers days, just isn't happening here, and the results are nearly disastrous.

At least, I hope that's what Bendis was going for, because if he really was just trying to do a superheroic story ala the old days, it fails pretty badly. The heroes are selfish and angry and seemingly more interested in themselves than in helping people (call it the anti-Spidey approach). While there's always been character doubt--that's the Marvel Way--the idea that Janet Van Dyne, Original Avenger, would question why she's on the team seems far-fetched if it's not to show how badly Tony's misjudged the team. Or that people who have worked together so long would suddenly, placed on a team together, inwardly snipe at each other. The hidden thoughts are funny, but if they aren't meant to prove a point--this team is no Avengers--then they really serve to ruin the story rather than bolster it.

There are several nice touches--Hank trying--and failing--to get past his Wasp issues (well, maybe it's Hank, who knows due to Secret Invasion), the idea that Black Widow rises to the occasion even if it doesn't quite do the trick, and Tony's reactions to what happens to him are all classic Bendis. He's really got an ear for patter, even if the people involved are not patter-prone.

Frank Cho's art is pin-up worthy on just about every page. (This is both good and bad, as it leads to having the female characters posing when they should be fighting.) Honestly, it's a bit exploitative in sections, a problem in comics I wrestle with constantly. But if I have to choose between good but mildly exploitative versus "has this person seen an anatomy book?" I'll go for the former.

Mighty Avengers is a very Bendis-y book. If you like that (I do) you'll like this. If you don't, steer clear, you'll feel better.

The Order Volume 1

Written by Matt Fraction
Illustrated by Barry Kitson, Mark Morales, and Jon Sibal
Marvel

[And we're back, after a short vacation.]

I think The Order suffered from my "I expected more" problem that I run into from time to time. I figured a series that treated superheroes like they were basically television actors under contract would have some sort of biting commentary, either on the idea of television reality or how flawed Tony Stark's Civil War thinking is (was?) or perhaps both.

Unfortunately, while it tries here and there, I think the whole idea falls a bit flat. The first problem is none of the characters are very likable, and the only established character is Pepper Potts, who's asked to be Oracle instead of Pepper Potts.

Our leader, Anthem is a man trying too hard, and therefore provides a moral center that seems too forced. It doesn't help that he is, quite literally, a stand in for Tony Stark.

The other characters are rather bland mishmashes of characters we've seen before. One is a Flash/Quicksilver clone, one makes earthen constructs, another uses psychic energy--badly, of course--to hammer foes, and we have a guy in armour, too, because this is a team founded by Iron Man and therefore has to have a guy in a metal suit.

It all ends up leaving me a bit cold, as I just can't get behind the characters and the most interesting thing that could happen to them--the Speedster going ape on the man who ruined his career or the young singer's life turned upside down by a past scandal--never happens. Instead, it's like Fraction tried hard to surprise the reader with something different from what was expected. Normally, that works for me, but here, I think the obvious would have made for more compelling reading. Occasionally, the banana needs to just be a banana.

There's also a problem with the villains faced. Rejects from Iron Man and Hulk's rogues gallery? Zombie Dethloks that pop like grapes? (And no one seems to notice that they look like Dethloks?) Again, it just doesn't feel inspired to me, and since there's no meta commentary going on--I don't count the morally challenged press agent as meta, maybe others would--it feels rather blah. I'd honestly think of this more as an Image book from when they were very clone-heavy vis a vis Marvel and DC. Something that's okay for what it is, but not my cup of tea.

Fraction himself ended the book after 10 issues, so perhaps he didn't like where things were going, either. I'm really not sure.

The Order really isn't bad, but it's like getting an off-brand tea bag for brewing. It's servicable enough, but I think there's better reading out there. I will read volume two, if I can get it, to see how things wrap up.

The Complete Peanuts Volume 3 1955-1956

Written by Charles Schultz
Illustrated by Charles Schultz
Fantagraphics

As we wind our way through the Eisenhower years, Peanuts is still a strip seemingly at war with itself. As I've mentioned previously, there is a strong battle between simple, comic stip style gags (Matt Groening singles out the "kite tied to an anchor" as an example) and the deeper, angst-ridden moments where Charlie Brown's worries about how much everyone hates him are almost painful to read. By the 20th or so time that Violet and Patty are thrown into Charlie Brown's face to berate him, the only natural reaction is to wince--or worse. (I found myself mentally shouting at the book--STOP TRYING TO WIN THEIR LOVE!)

But that's the point and the depth of Peanuts, isn't it? The main characters, particularly Charlie Brown, Linus, and Snoopy, become more than little doodles--they start standing in for people you know. Why do I want Charlie Brown to stop hurting himself by sticking around people who hate him? Because I did the same god-damned thing, and I bet at least a few of you reading this did it, too.

Though there's quite a bit of painful commentary on childhood going on, Snoopy shines through as the god of fun in the Peanuts world. Given a larger role over the course of these two years, he shows intelligence beyond the scope of a funny dog, starts getting picky about food, and immiates a whole host of animals, from snakes to vultures to rhinos to Lucys. He'll dance for no reason, swipe Linus' blanket, or try to be the Peggy Fleming of the sidewalk. Whenever the stip falls a bit too far into a depression, Snoopy is the venue Schultz uses to lighten the mood.

And man, they are just laugh-out-loud funny a good chunk of the time. Charlie Brown may be the stand in for Schultz himself, but Snoopy is where he placed his unrestricted sense of fun.

It should be noted here that I think in this volume we see Snoopy's doghouse used as a "real" house for the first time, a theme Schultz will revist over the course of the strip.

As Snoopy slowly becomes, well, Snoopy, Shultz also starts firming up the rest of the cast. Charlie Brown is officially the loser now--he's bad at school, sports, and friendships, finding a kindred spirit only in Schroeder, who seems to rag on him the least. (He also hangs out wit Linus a lot but right now, those are set up mostly to show how smart Linus is compared to the older Charlie Brown.) The impish pranks are gone almost entirely, leaving Calvin to sit in the brain of Watterson for another 30 years or so.

Linus, while still shown as a baby, is portrayed as whip-smart, able to do nearly anything the older kids can, and frequently better. He's also philosophical, taking Lucy's bullying with a smile or asking the point of certain actions. Schultz still has him act childish here and there but I doubt that will last much longer. Lucy is not quite a total jerk yet but you can see it's coming. She's mean to Linus and Charlie Brown a lot more often, and frequently yells for no reason. Lucy is also the weak link in this collection, as Schultz has her doing the same gags OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. I know this was a daily strip, not originally meant to be read as a trade, but still, the scenes were almost word-for-word at times within only a few months of each other.

It's an odd time to be a part of the supporting cast. Shermy is pretty much confined to group shots and the ocassional straight man part. Pig Pen comes in for a gag here and there, with a clear indication he's proud of who he is. (He's our cover person this time and gets the great line "I'M WELL READ!" placed on the back cover comic.) Schroder is still in love with Beethoven, but it's clear there's only so many jokes to be mined from that. (I particularly like the Davey Crockett versus Beethoven gags.) Charlotte Braun is mercifully forgotten. Violet and Patty are pretty much just around to insult people. As Shultz finalized his plans for the Browns and the Van Pelts, it kinda feels like he forgot the rest a bit here.

This are not the best Peanuts comics ever. Fantagraphics notes that more than half are new to modern readers (i.e. never reprinted), and I can sort of see why. However, for those who are comic historians and fans of Peanuts, there's plenty here to enjoy. Watching Schultz develop his writing style is quite a treat, and well worth your time.

The Complete Peanuts Volume 2 1953-1954

Written by Charles Schultz
Illustrated by Charles Schultz
Fantagraphics

Lucy graces the cover of this set of early Peanuts material and that's very appropriate, because it is here that we first see the strip developing into the Brown-Van Pelt Show it would become over time. Yes, the other characters would appear, especially Schroeder, but it's obvious that Shultz by this point in time favors the two families and that, combined with Snoopy, they will form the backbone of the strip.

This is especially true of the evolving Charlie Brown-Lucy relationship. As the strips proceed, we see her verbally driving Charlie Brown crazy, as she says things that are patently rediculous but any attempt to stop her meets with failure. (This will move to Sally at some point, with Lucy just being meaner as time goes on. It's been suggested that Lucy subs for Shultz's first wife, but I'm not so sure.)

This is still a book in transition--there's a lot of simple gags, like Linus growling over a ball, but even those start to take on the "Shultz angst", such as when Lucy hits Charlie Brown with a snowball. "Don't be mad..you're the first person I've hit today!" she says in reply to his puzzled expression. Once we get rolling, we find the philosophy comes fast--Charlie Brown goes to show Linus how to play with blocks, only to find Linus has already created an elaborate structure. "SOME little kids admire bigger kids..." If that's not enough, try this one on a set of fence posts: "Linus loves Violet, Shermy (already reduced to fill in parts) loves Patty, Lucy Loves Schroeder, Charlie Brown Loves Charlie Brown." We're still in the realm of the visual gag typical of a daily comic, but the biting edge is getting there.

But the biggest news is that this is Snoopy's coming out party. He's everything from an umpire in one of my favorite visual gags, to musing about being an object of attention, to mugging to the camera--in short, he's officially another one of the children, with the huge advantage of not having to go to school! He also starts the great Snoopy facial expressions. Lucy asks if he can be tight-lipped, and Snoopy mimes a zipper. The vultures and flying aces and tennis matches aren't far behind.

As Shultz adjusts his cast, he tries a few new ones on for size. Pig Pen gets his debut, including a rather funny set piece where everyone starts to act like him. He gets to stay while perhaps Shultz's worst idea--Charlotte Braun, a loud-speaking pun off of our hero fades out, though she's probably in some strips going forward.

There's still a lot here that's fresh and new, and again, I've only scratched the surface to find a few examples to put in the review. I will say that I found this one to be a lot stronger than the first volume--there are less dated references and the sight gags are better. If you ever were a fan of anything Peanuts, you owe it to yourself to read these books.

Lucy may say that everything is mine (prompting Linus to give her his shirt), but the pleasure in reading this will be all yours.

The Complete Peanuts Volume 1 1950-1952

Written by Charles Schultz
Illustrated by Charles Schultz
Fantagraphics

Decided to re-read this one as I restart the series. I grew up on the Peanuts gang, reading them for as long as I can remember and watching the TV specials. Though I'm sure it would break poor Sparky's heart to hear it, he is indirectly responsible for the first time I ever swore. I'd forgotten to tape one of the specials, you see, and when I saw it on the Sears TV sets (back when Sears was relevant), I proclaimed "shit" in a rather loud voice. I think I was maybe 10 or so, perhaps a bit older or younger.

Dad stifled a grin as Mom fumed over my lapse in public, where others might think her a bad parent. Heh.

At any rate, it's fascinating to see how Schultz progresses rapidly from making Peanuts a simple comic strip to something with complex characters. By 1951, Charlie Brown's already starting to angst and self-doubt while others make fun at his expense. Meanwhile, Schroeder, in a 4th wall moment that must have been unheard of at the time, asks to be moved to a strip that appreciates his humour. There's still a long way to go before Linus quotes philosophy, but the seeds are definitely getting sown.

We also see the growth of Snoopy, from Shermy's dog to kind of a neighborhood pet that starts acting more and more human--he has a TV, starts doing impressions, and even gets to talk to himself. Then there's Schroeder, a prodigy in diapers for a good portion of the strip and Lucy talking in the third person while she starts to get meaner. Oh, and did you know that Lucy wasn't the first to yank the football from Charlie Brown?

Schultz is in the early stages of something good, finding what worked, giving characters personality--Charlie Brown and Lucy seem to be the two that get changed the most, and setting himself apart from the rest of the pack. I was most struck by how much Watterson took from these early Peanuts strips. Calvin's triangle mouth, fights with girls, and dislike for baths all come from the early Charlie Brown, as does the trouble in school and desire to make things more elaborate than they are in a five year old's world.

Speaking of Cbarlie Brown, I did have one trouble reading some of these strips, and that's because when Charlie Brown has the triangle mouth going on, he looks like a dead ringer for Pacman. It's kinda like the Homer Simpson on the Japanese soap thing.

Not all of the jokes hold up, of course. Schultz makes some rather jarring sexist comments that luckily get forgotten as time goes on, and as with any daily strip of 365 days, they can't call be winners. What shines through though is Sparky's uncanny ability to merge childhood feelings with adult discussion--and you don't see that again in a comic until Watterson. That's what makes this worth reading 50 years later, and will still make it head and shoulders above the rest 50 years from now.

I've only highlighted a few things that I noticed on this reading. Ask me again in a few years, and I bet I come up with other things, and I bet you will, too, as you read along. Oh, and here's your chance to see Violet, Shermy, and Patty shine before more developed characters are on their way, and the Van Pelts are already taking over. So for all you Shermy fans out there, this is the one to read!

World War Hulk Warbound

Written by Greg Pak
Illustrated by Leonard Kirk, Gary Martin, Rafa Sandoval, and Roger Bonet
Marvel

It's funny how being a library reader creates odd situations. I am now in the position of having read pretty much all of the World War Hulk stuff--except World War Hulk!

Oh well, it'll get to me eventually.

In the meantime, I'll happily take more enjoyable storytelling by Greg Pak, as he picks up some of the pieces he used in the Planet Hulk-World War Hulk and gives them a place in the Marvel Universe.

Hiding in the wake of the Hulk's defeat, the Warbound are desperate and dying. It looks bad when S.H.I.E.L.D. agents find them but suddenly a transport beam appears out of nowhere. But is the offer from friend or foe? The Warbound are given little chance to decide.

Soon the Hulk's former friends are faced off against an angry group of confused citizens and the crazed manipulations of one of the Hulk's oldest foes, with only a S.H.I.E.L.D agent as an unlikely (and unwilling) ally. Can they manage to keep one step ahead of the dangers they face and try to save more innocents from being caught in the middle of a ploy to stave off death?

Pak really does an amazing job of using continuity to tell his story without either destroying it or getting so bogged down as to be unable to move. It's a trick I wish more creators used. The Warbound are an interesting and unlikely pairing (I mean, one of these guys is a member of the Brood, for God's sake, and I don't want her dead--that's saying something) and the idea of placing them in a situation that keeps them isolated from the rest of the Marvel U but ready to appear when needed (as a friend of mine pointed out) by someone.

The dialog is crisp and the interactions between the characters, particularlyHiroim and Korg, are well done. I'm not big on space-opera type characters, but Pak keeps me interested. The only minor issue I have is their harping about puny humans. I get they're echoing the Hulk, but it gets on my nerves after awhile. Kirk's art is stellar as always, and you can always tell who is doing what. (I really wish I didn't have to comment on that, but so many artists today seem incapable of drawing people with enough detail to keep me knowing who's who.)

There are also a set of backups on each of the Warbound, which flesh out their lives. Honestly, they don't add a lot and probably could have been left out of the trade. I kinda feel they were part of a bigger plan that didn't materialize, at least not yet.

Warbound is an interesting group I wouldn't mind seeing more of someday.

Gettysburg The Graphic Novel

Written by C.M. Butzer
Illustrated by C.M. Butzer
Harper Collins

Having looked at the publisher's blurb after reading the book, I can now see why the author chose to focus as he did. This is not really a book about Gettysburg the battle, but the Gettysburg Address, a totally different animal.

We do get some short, historically dubious information about the battle, with the focus almost entirely on the Confederates for some strange reason. (I say dubious because the writer implies that General Buford planned a grand retreat to Cemetery Hill and Ridge, when the only thing he did was try to delay the Confederates and later Generals worked on the terrain.)

Because of the briefness of the overview of the battle, there's no room to give anyone a fair hearing, so the only Union General highlighted is Joshua Chamberlain, nothing is said about General Sickles, and so on. It's about the worst example of teaching a younger audience about the Battle of Gettysburg that I've seen. I cannot for the life of me figure out why Butzer opts to look so much at the Confederate side of things, especially given that his bias is strongly against the ideals of the CSA, as the reader can see by the time we get to the Address.

We then move on to the battle's aftermath, which honestly was pretty well done. Butzer actually shows people dying, the problems of Civil War medicine and the post-battle plans for the cemetery about as accurately as possible for a children's graphic novel. I was impressed.

It's when we get to the Gettysburg Address itself, which is reproduced here in its entirety, that I have a problem, as Butzler opts to hit the child over the head with inclusionary visuals. While I agree that the Gettysburg Adress is something that effectively re-affirms the Delcaration of Independance, I find the background drawings of every single racial dynamic, every single movement (from emancipation to gay rights) marching along in harmony to the tune of Uncle Abe rather disengenuous. After all, those movements often don't agree or work together and to imply they've all just worked together for a better America is teaching kids a false reality.

Just like the complexity of Lincoln himself, America is a tricky place to pin down so simplisticly. I realize this is a kids's book at heart, but I believe stongly in teaching kids how things are to make them better--not showing them what it should be and leaving them shattered when they discover the truth.

All in all, this was a nice idea that wasn't executed as well as I'd hoped for. The scope is too broad and the message--while I agree with it--is too idealistic for what's supposed to be historical fact.

Batman: Joker's Asylum

Written by Various Authors
Illustrated by Various Artists
DC

I have to admit, I recognize none of the names associated with this project, which probably tells you something about how much I read new comics on a timely basis. I'm very sorry to writers Arvid Nelson, Jason Aaron (that name vaguely rings a bell), JT Krull, David Hine, and Joe Harris--but I got no idea who you are and what you do.

Ditto for artists Alex Sanchez, Jason Pearson (again, name seems to stick out, but I don't know why), Guillem March, Andy Clarke, and Juan Doe. You're probably doing things, I just don't know where.

The point of this series was to apply the House of Mystery/Tales from the Crypt idea to the Joker, who as we all know is a chatty fellow who likes to run his mouth. So what better to have him do than start telling stories about his fellow rogues, including a story about his favorite subject--himself?

It's a cute conceit that some writers use better than others. A one-shot about the Scarecrow might have a limited following but toss the Joker's name on it, and more people become interested. I can live with that. The only problem is that because the five stories are written by five different people with five different artists, I can't help but feel like there was an opportunity lost to link them up a bit more strongly. (Perhaps they did that in trade? I only read the single issues.) It is fun to have the Joker pop in to give the story a moral, as one writer does, or to talk about what people say about his own adventure, however, so I'm not complaining. Just making a notation for the future, should they ever try something like "Superman: The Luthor Files."

I'll takle these in the order I read them: Scarecrow's story is done in a rather odd art style that seems a bit out of place in Batman's world, and lacks a sense of the creepy I think it needed to be better. The theme is the terrors of high school bullies and how Crane tries to manipulate them. My big problem is how a post-Scarecrow Crane is still out there practicing psychology without getting nailed immediately. I just can't get into Scarecrow as a character so you might enjoy this a bit more than me.

Two-Face was second for me (heh heh). I liked this one a lot, as it showed that Harvey is extremely intelligent and exposes a streak of cruelty that I liked a lot. (Too often he's shown as a tortured soul--it's nice to let him out to play.) A man with a similar ailment to Dent is given the chance to rehabilitate him (nice twist on a common theme of Two-Face stories), but instead, Harvey flips the situation to his advantage. I especially loved the detailed, almost Bolland-like artwork on the scarred side of the characters. My second-favorite, but that's no fault of the team. Besides, that seems to be appropriate, too.

I'm afraid I didn't care for the pin-up, "ha-ha-she's-almost-naked-every-other-panel" style chosen for the Poison Ivy story. We get it, she's sexy. Flashing her not-quite-naked ass and tits doesn't make for a quality story. Writer Krul gives us another origin story for Pamela and acts like Ivy brutally killing people is unusal for her. I was definitely disappointed, as I felt like the writer didn't try to read up on her before putting this one together.

It's a little strange to me that the Penguin ends up in this series, as I'm pretty sure modern, post-Crisis continuity has him as DC's version of the Kingpin rather than an insane capering criminal. There's even no mention of Arkham in the entire issue. This is the story of how Oswald Cobblepot never forgets a slight. It's also a love story. I think you can see where this one's going. I really enjoyed a scene between Batman and Copplepot that may be the most gentle conversation they've ever had.

Last up for me but probably first in the trade is the Joker story. Oh my, was it ever nice to read a story by someone who gets the nature of the Joker. Yes, he's insane, yes, he's a killer. But there's usually some point to the madness. (Like in the Animated Series, when he decides to copyright Joker Fish.) Nelson ges that, and in this jibe at modern game shows, puts the Joker on stage with just the right amount of terror and humor that makes for a perfect comics Joker. I liked this one so much I read it twice, and even recited the ending of the story to Erica because I thought it was so good. (Depending on how you read this story, you might even call it a commentary on the expectations of the modern comic book reader. But perhaps I exaggerate.) By the end, we realize that the Joker is not the only evil in Gotham. Not by a long shot.

This is a fun idea that, while not quite as good as it could have been in places, works well overall and makes for some nice reading, even if the idea is more of a 90s thing (remember when one-shots were so popular?). And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as the person reliving the 90s isn't Rob Liefield.