Captain America Red Menace Volume 2

Written by Ed Brubaker
Illustrated by Steve Epting and others
Marvel

The second half of the pun-laden arc title continues with Cap ending up in the UK trying to keep Bucky from killing General Lukin. He meets up with some superheroes but manages to look bad while trying to get into Lukin's suspicious dealings. Lukin and his sometimes silent partner have other plans, however, and soon no one's letting Sleeping dogs lie.

Faced with a common foe, can Cap and Bucky work together again (just like Winnick already did with Batman and the Red Hood--oh, sorry...more The second half of the pun-laden arc title continues with Cap ending up in the UK trying to keep Bucky from killing General Lukin. He meets up with some superheroes but manages to look bad while trying to get into Lukin's suspicious dealings. Lukin and his sometimes silent partner have other plans, however, and soon no one's letting sleeping dogs lie.

Faced with a common foe, can Cap and Bucky work together again (just like Winnick already did with Batman and the Red Hood)?

As with the first part of this arc, I am convinced that either a) Brubaker really hates Steve Rogers, b) Joe Quesada really hates Steve Rodgers, much like he hates Mary Jane Watson, or c) this is not Captain America, and we'll find he's been captured, brainwashed, etc., possibly during Bendis's Skrull saga.

No matter how good the story, I can't help but feel like this is not Captain America fumbling his way through the world. I don't care that he was frozen in ice, even in loose Marvel time he's been around in the world for about 10 years or so by now and therefore would be able to understand and adapt to what's going on far better than Brubaker's letting him. This constant being led about the nose by Sharon Carter and not being able to plan beyond the moment is not the Cap we know and love and I'm sorry, there's no way that Bucky's return would shake him up this much.

That's why I'm hoping that Bru's grand plan is to have been leaving hints all this time that we're not really dealing with Cap, and at some point, we'll get the Return of the King, so to speak. [Edited to add: I guess we are, but not quite how I expected.]

As far as the story goes, the Lukin-Skull interaction is brilliant, the plotting of the action is top notch, and the ending fits nicely with what's been happening. I do feel like the UK heroes were used as placeholders rather than for their actual value as heroes and we could have lived without them, but it was nice of him to include UK people in a story taking place there. (How often does Marvel remember they have heroes in other countries?) I have no problem with Brubaker the storyteller--were this a non-canon book, I'd really enjoy it. However, this particular arc feels like he lifted the Cap-Bucky part right out of Batman. I know there's only so much that can be done in a comic book, but still--having them partner against the odds but split without any resolution? Using maneuvers they did when they were partners? DC should look into copyright infringement on this one. I expect more of Brubaker.

Because this played out like a comic I already read that came out first and involves characters that have established histories that while I don't expect them to be followed in lock-step should at least be respected or given a good reason to be disregarded, I can't help feeling somewhat disappointed. Until we find out this is not really Cap, of course, and then I'll be happier with these. [Guess that's not happening, is it?]

This set of issues wasn't as strong because it felt more like an echo of a storyline done elsewhere. But overall, Brubaker's a hell of a writer and it shows in his storytelling. As per usual, if you can stand the changes in character, you'll like this just fine.

Captain America Red Menace Volume 1

Written by Ed Brubaker
Illustrated by Mike Perkins and others
Marvel

Having decided it was finally time to forgive Brubaker for bringing back Bucky, and after liking the Civil War Cap trade, I decided to give this a shot. Picking up where things left off in the Winter Soldier arc, Cap and Sharon try to investigate SHIELD business while also tracking Cap's old partner to an odd town with curious AIMs.

Yes, that's a pun, thanks for asking.

Once there, they do battle with some agents of the Red Skull who are on a mission of their own, showing Crossbones as having a particularly mean streak and a desire to recreate Natural Born Killers along the way. Neither of these stories go very far in this set-up volume that includes a one-shot special that backs up some of the retconning of Bucky that Brubaker's doing in this series and gets us ready for part two of the arc.

I am very impressed that while it's obvious Brubaker must change Bucky to fit his new vision--he's shown as aggressive and reckless and always ready to kill--it's written in such a way that I don't feel like it's gratuitous. And that's the key for me finding these issues to be great storytelling instead of a murderous romp through Cap's history, wrecking all in its path. While the details are often heartbreaking for me as a long-time Steve Rogers fan, the way in which these stories are constructed are nothing short of amazing.

The one shot is the best part of this trade, showing Cap in his glory and helping to make the Bucky we have now be more palatable to the readers. It's a Cap on top of things, not the one-step-behind Steve Rodgers that Brubaker writes in the main comic.

And that hits on my one problem with this book as a whole under Brubaker. The story itself is great but it's not a good story for the main character. His handling of Sharon and Bucky and the villains is just fine, but Rodgers just feels off to me. Cap is a leader, a thinker, a planner. In Brubaker's care, he feels sluggish, ready to do whatever Sharon wants or SHIELD leans him towards or events dictate, despite comments to the contrary. Sure, he's always been flexible, but it was always within a plan. I can't see any plan so far, and I've now read all but a few issues before Cap's death.

This is not the Cap we see in New Avengers, or the Cap from his prior 6 (7? I've lost count by now) incarnations. It's enough to make me think--here we go folks, wait for it--that this is NOT Steve Rodgers (or at least not *our* Steve Rodgers) and so Cap isn't dead after all.

And you know what? I would be okay with that, because if this was Cap's swan song series, I don't think he was given proper justice. While the stories are top notch, I just feel, as I did with Winter Soldier, that Brubaker isn't playing fair. As a result, I recommend this, but with a caveat that it's a good story, but not a good Captain America story.

Quick Hits: Captain America Winter Soldier Volumes 1 and 2

Volume 1
Written by Ed Brubaker
Illustrated by Steve Epting
Marvel

[Note: I read this in single issue form. I wonder if I'd have felt different had I read it in trade.]

Wish I'd liked this one more, Brubaker's writing is top notch but I just don't care for the can of worms he opened in the telling of the story. As a result, it gets recommended as worth reading but I can't give it the wholehearted endorsement that I'd normally give something written this well.

Basically, the Skull is dead and Cap has a new enemy to face with the power of the Cube, but there's another danger closer to home that could destroy Cap forever! All the clues point in a particular direction--but that's just crazy.

Good stuff it just went somewhere I wish it hadn't.

Volume 2
Written by Ed Brubaker
Illustrated by Steve Epting
Marvel

[Also read in single issues.]

Again, great storytelling but I just can't stand what it meant to the Marvel universe as a whole. I also thought the ending was too much of a cop out, especially given we've seen it before, at least twice by my count.
A writer of Brubaker's stature can certainly come up with something better.

The conclusion of the Winter Solider storyline--can Cap stop a mad Russian with the cube before it's too late? And what about that Winter Solider guy? Is he really who we think he's supposed to be?

Well, you probably know by now, but here's where first reveal happens, along with some more changes in characterization that just don't square, not unlike how Brubaker handled Batman and from what I understand, the X-Men. I find the story to be good, but man, wasn't there a way to tell this story without it changing the Marvel Universe? Again, recommended, but be wary if you're a long-time Cap reader.

Celebrate the 4th of July with Captain America Reviews!

What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than with Marvel's patriotic Patriarch, Captain America?

All week long, Panel Patter will feature my reviews of various Captain America books I've read and reviewed, some new and some from my older review sites.

So get out your sparklers and your reading glasses, let's party like it's 1945!

(Sketch from Ben Herman's website.)

Parasyte Volume 2

Written by Hitoshi Iwaaki
Illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki
Del Rey

Man, sometimes I take so long to get back to a series I thought was really good, it's almost criminal. Parasyte being a perfect example of this. I really should have been reading more of this by now, but for whatever reason it fell off my radar.

Not anymore.

This second volume continues the adventures of Shin, a human who was affected by the alien invasion, but not in the way it was supposed to go. Trapped in a dual life with the alien, he must fight between the instinct to save the world (or at least his parents) and the desire to survive.

As things progress, it's obvious that's not going to be anywhere near as easy as it seemed. First of all, any aliens in the area gravitate to him and try to kill him as a flawed example of the species. Secondly, how to keep your parents in sight at all times? And if you fail, what to do when your ultimate fear takes form...

While the first trade was mostly about Shin learning about the parasytes and their plans for earth, this volume sees us focus on Shin and his changing body. While he may deny that he is any different (beyond the obvious), it's clear that he and the alien are merging into a hybrid being---the alien is less alien and Shin is less human as time goes on. Regardless of who they meet, be it another alien, a resident bully, or even a hybrid like themselves, Shins reactions will no longer be totally human. It adds a tragic element to the horror, one even greater than the loss Shin suffers in the book's main story this time out. By the time we get to the last chapter--which is more of an epilogue, really--it's clear that Shin will never be the same.

There's a lot of phychological horror going on around the book. Shin continues to look inward, his father tries to deal with the incident that drives the book, and everyone around Shin, including the alien, are very reflective. But we also get some nice gore, with chopped off heads, car accidents, and quite a few impalings.

From a geeky perspective, I think the insights we get in to how the aliens attach to the humans and morph themselves is probably a highlight of this volume. While they're still terrifying, this does place the a bit more squarely in the realm of the real.

This time around, Iwaaki deals more with localized problems, and I wonder how things will shift (or not) in volume three, which I hope to read sooner than 2 years from now. This is a great horror manga (I've been reading a lot of good horror manga lately) and it definitely comes highly recommended.

Parasyte Volume 1

Written by Hitoshi Iwaki
Illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaki
Del Rey

Ahh, Japanese horror manga--ripping off heads of characters, showing blood all over the place, worrying not about a "comics code" or corrupting the morals of those who read them. It's such a refreshing change of pace, because, since it's so natural, there doesn't seem to be any attempt to go for shock value the that a brutal scene in, say, a Vertigo book does. Whenever DC shows gore, there's always a sense to me that they feel so naughty about doing it that finding a way to make it flow naturally within the story is secondary to the editors.

In your average horror manga, that's not a problem, and, since I loves me my horror books and horror movies, reading horror manga is something I enjoy quite a bit, especially when the story is a good one. Does Parasyte fit the bill?

Yes, and very nicely, too.

It's great being at the top of the food chain, as humans are. We eat what we want, stay where we want, and generally don't worry about too much. What happens when a force from beyond the stars invades, and takes us over from the inside out? How do you fight an enemy you don't know exists because it looks just like you?

The answer is not very well. Earthlings seem oblivious, even when the evidence is right before their very eyes. As a result, brain-eating parasites are able to start taking over, and once they do, there's a new addition to the homo sapiens menu: humans!

Now all this would be fine as a story and enjoyable enough--watch humanity deny the problem right in front of them, just like they may be doing with global warming--but Iwaaki adds another element. It seems one of the parasites didn't quite make it to the brain and is now stuck in his host's right hand. Whoops! Trapped there now, he must make the best of his situation, feeding off normal human body production and trying to understand the human race he now belongs to.

The interplay between the host (Shin) and the parasite is what makes this step up above most of the other manga out there. While Shin starts off with the righteous rage of a traditional hero, he is checked by the parasite's practicality--what will happen to Shin if he reveals himself? The obvious answer is not to Shin's liking, and so we see that things are going to be far more complex than initially thought.

The rest of the first volumes takes us around the new world through Shin and the parasite's eyes--was he the only failure? What happens when they meet? Can the parasites learn, love, reproduce? And is humanity as innocent as Shin wants his parasite to believe?

Iwaaki's answers to questions like, "Why feed on other humans?" is not what you'd expect, and neither is just about everything else. The author turns reader expectations on their ear, and in so doing makes this a very enjoyable romp that questions our thoughts about humanity. A pleasant surprise, and I look forward to more.

52 Volume 4

Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid
Helped by Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Illustrated by a lot of people, including Dan Jurgens and Patrick Olliffe
DC

The year without the Trinity concludes in this volume, as the four great writers start to close off their plotlines and we get to see just what was the point of featuring these particular characters and how their new status quo will fit into the greater DC Universe.

There's a bit of a change this time around, as the writers tend to spend a longer time with each plot point in a given issue to help close things down. At times it feels a bit like a movie that has to resolve itself before the closing credits, and who gets resolved when is one of those things we could probably spend a lot of time arguing over.

First out the door are Lex Luthor and Steel, with a story title I particularly liked, "Man Ain't Nothing But a Man." It shows that despite so much of the whiny angsting, John Henry Irons is a hero and when the time comes, he acts like one. I only wish he'd done it sooner. I also like how Lex, despite all his claims to the contrary, really does have Superman envy.

Next up is Ralph's finale, which from Dan Dido's notes may have been originally planned quite differently. While I was certainly happy to see that Ralph was not all we saw him to be in the rest of the series, it does feel like scen whiplash, as all of a sudden he's, well, Ralph again is the best way to put it. Giffen apparently did this, so maybe he wasn't quite so happy to ruin *everything* he set up in the JLI years, after all. It's a nice ending for Ralph, and one I am ultimately happy with, if the road they set him on really had to go this way.

At this point 52 kinda becomes the Black Adam show, for better or for worse. Just as we thought maybe things could work out for this dark mirror of the Marvel Family, Geoff Johns takes it all out from under him in the bloodiest manner possible, as we see that the Oolong Island folks aren't nearly so mad after all. What will Will Magnus do when the time comes? Can all the World's Heroes stop a man with nothing left to lose? It's a nice way to get just about everyone mixed in by the end, with the only real big superhero fight in the whole series. I don't know who came up with the final end for Black Adam, but it's brilliant.

And since we're mixing plots, we also wind Montoya back in for good measure, though that seems mostly just a way to get her back to Gotham to finish up her story. It's a bit weird to not really see crowd reaction to Gotham's fate--again, the lack of Bat Family in here is glaring--but I mean, first a plague, then a quake, then fire...guess Gotham's just used to it by now. Montoya may have been changed a lot over time by Rucka, but I do think 52 gave her a nice spotlight and a reason for her new role in the Universe.

Oh, and of course, there's this whole little plot set up from the beginning about the mysterious number 52, a villain who wants to eat universes, and a man whose career could use a little boost. I don't even pretend to understand time travel stories, but I think this one works well enough, even if it feels like something that should have started a little sooner for the impact it has on the DC Universe.

I've left one story out, and that's the one I didn't like the whole time and still don't like--the lost in space plot. Not only does it not tie in with the rest of the plots in any way I can see (wheras all the others are linked and linked well--from Red Tornado's head to Intergang to the Metal Men to Clark Kent's ability to know Lex's secrets), it also ends with a whole host of Deus ex Machinas. Animal Man's status quo is basically reset, Adam Strange's pain is cloned away, Lobo is back to being Lobo, and Kory just never seemed to be anything but a cheesecake prop. It's a drag on the series, time and time again (no pun intended). I hope that they went somewhere with it, but it obviously wasn't in 52.

At the end, we get a little coda for each plot, which was pretty cool and starts us on the way to the stories DC was already working with. I appreciate that our writing group made sure we know things ended up for everything we saw in 52 (apparently Mark Waid's idea--thanks Mark!), and it made for nice closure.

If there's only one problem I'd like to address here, it's that Bruce, Diana, and Clark seem to just reset without really seeing how or why. Was this in their own books and I missed it? Hell, the art was so bad on Diana's cameo, I didn't even know it was her. When they do show, it feels rushed. The editing was pretty good overall, but I think they missed a step here.

I also kinda feel like the large scale battle with Black Adam was condensed too tightly into these pages, like a Company Event within a Company Event. Was that addressed elsewhere, too?

Overall, I think 52 worked given the grand concepts that they tried to play out. Not everything worked for me, but that's a reasonable thing to expect in such a large story. As an event, I think it was better than a lot of crossovers I've read. With a little less gore and a few less characters, I would have felt it was nearly perfect. It's an interesting idea I'd love to see Marvel try, maybe with Bendis, David, Millar, Brubaker, and Quesada.

If you haven't read 52 but you like DC's characters, give it a try. I think you'll be glad you did.

52 Volume 3

Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid
Helped by Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Illustrated by a lot of people including Phil Jimenez, Dan Jurgens, and Pat Olliffe

52 starts on its home stretch as plotlines start reaching their big reveals, making this tricky for a reviewer who tries hard not to ruin crucial details.

Suffice it to say that Ralph Dibny, Renee Montoya, Steel's niece, and most of the others we've seen so far end up heading for resolutions to their many Trinity-less problems, even if the answers to the questions they seek aren't what they hoped. Battles are joined, others are ended, and there's a fair amount of questions still left to be answered as there's still quite a bit of villany left on the table, both human and otherwise, be it in deep space or the heart of Metropolis. Can Intergang be stopped by those who aren't Batman? Will Luthor trump a JLA-less world to be more powerful than he ever was as President? Are there any more Keith Giffen characters who still need cameos? Is it okay to end this paragraph with a Question?

The writers have all mentioned how they felt like a team by this point, and it shows. There's a lot less awkward moments, a lot more easter eggs (Plastic Man's son, a certain crime fighter's penchant for red-haired women, Lobo being, well, Lobo-ish, just to name three that won't ruin much for anyone else besides me coming at these pretty clear of spoilers), and a lot more concentration on making sure that the reader feels like he or she is getting their money's worth out of each major storyline. All of the stories feel like they are progressing to endings that make sense (even if in some cases, there may not have been as many clues as I'd have liked. Your milage may vary.)

As we wind down, there is a bit of a feeling that any pretense of lightness must be written out, because this is DC and their comics require being dark and gritty, despite Rucka stating he wanted it to be otherwise. (Hard to do that when your comic relief bits start oozing blood, guys.) It seems that every conclusion to a plot must make it darker, which is honestly a shame.

We also start to see some of the Trinity slipping into the pages, here and there, which was kinda neat and probably needed. (There's a sequence in there with Clark Kent that may be one of my top five Superman moments.) It's been an interesting ride hanging with the B, C, and D-list folks in the DC Universe, but Luthor versus John Henry Irons just doesn't stir my blood as much as the usual pairing.

In addition, I do think this series was entirely too free of Batman villains. Montoya is not really a replacement for Batman, and Ralph ends up with the magic folks, so he's not really taking the Darknight Detective role, either. What were the Joker, Riddler, and company doing, anyway?

There's also one other problem in this trade, which was the "montage to explain everything we didn't get to." I get that there's not enough time to cover everything, but it just felt thrown in to me. Better, I think, to just leave it out and leave it to another writer, another time.

But, regardless of my feelings that DC is too quick to be violent and far too quick to kill things off left and right, and far, far too desirous to destroy past characterizations, this series so far has been quite enjoyable. I may not agree with some of the decisions, particularly in the case of DC's lighter characters, but within the context of the story, I'm hooked. That's why this Fantastic Four (plus honorary member Giffen) are so highly regarded in the comic book world--more often than not, they can take something a person may not agree with, and win them over.

I'll be curious to see how this one ends.

52 Volume 2

Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid
Helped by Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Illustrated by a bunch of people including Phil Jimenez and Patrick Olliffe
DC

Oh, DC and its crazy spolierific trade paperback covers! On the other hand, it does let me talk about some things without it really harming anything.

As mentioned earlier, DC keeps up its weekly run of the back-of the roster characters goings, with the main Montoya, Black Adam, Steel, and Ralph plots driving things. But we also have a new wrinkle, Supernova, added in, and those little vignettes with Doc Magnus start to bear fruit (including my favorite retcon of the whole series).

It's in this trade where we start to see that the different stories in 52 are either linked or going to be linked with one exception that makes that plot stand out even more as the weak sister of 52. Supernova winds his or her way into the Ralph story as well as the Steel plot (because Lex, in my favorite panel in the whole trade, is quite convinced he's you-know-who). Montoya and the ailing Question end up on the wrong side (then the right side, then the wrong side, then the right side...) of Black Adam. And there's other things that will tie in later, but I can't mention those right now.

This is where you see four quality writers (and a 5th, Giffen, helping out here and there) really start to show their chops. While a lot of writers can do an arc or two, these are men quite capbable of writing multi-year runs on titles (Green Lantern, Batman, Justice League, Superman, Fantastic Four, the Flash. Doom Patrol, the X-Men, just to name a few--some of the twice between the group). As a result, they know how to add sublte clues that won't pay off for several issues later.

You also get the writers finding ways to show us they do know these characters which again calls back to the depth of their careers. Watch as Clark Kent winces while Booster makes mistakes (and wishes he could help...) while the dialog calls back to Booster's history as a comedic character. Note in a little tweak to Bill Willingham that Detective Chimp's a Republican. See mad scientists from all over DC's many, many years of existance with a boss that I'm sure will leave you shell-shocked. These guys know their stuff, and they do it very, very well.

As far as the main storylines go, Renee and Black Adam's stories are meshed for a bit, and that works better than you'd think as long as you roll with the comic book logic that Black Adam didn't have them immediately killed. Intergang is after all an international crime cartel and it makes sense that they'd try to get into a place known for being corrupt. It also keeps humanizing Black Adam, a point that lies underneath his entire arc.

Ralph probably has the least to do as they set him up as a magical detective sent on a quest through DC's supernatural stuff, from the House of Mystery to the underworld, where we see an old foe defeated.

Steel and his niece continue to angst a lot with the Teen Titans thrown in for good measure, because we are dealing with Geoff Johns. Luther ends up playing mind games with both Steel AND the JSA, which I think is a particularly good touch. Luther is more of a maniacal bastard here and we get his true motivation, which makes this arc a bit better.

What continues to hurt the 52 stories, though, is the Lost in Space gang. Perhaps sensing that it was lagging, we have a new player added, one that Giffen actually would have preferred to keep out of the mix. Yup, it's the Main Man himself, but written primarily by none other than Grant Morrison. Grant promptly takes everything you're used to seeing about Lobo and turns it on its ear for great effect, but I still just can't get interested in what's going on with Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire.

My opinion of 52 really picked up after reading this volume, once I got into the idea that we're looking long-term reather than shorter stories. I've gotten so used to the latter that I'd forgotten how good the fomer can be. Definitely good stuff, and looking foward to more.

52 Volume 1

Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid
Helped by Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Illustrated by a lot of people

[Decided I was going to save all the 52 reviews till I'd read the whole series. This was a better idea when I didn't get stuck waiting forever for the third volume.]

Unlike Marvel, DC has never, to me at least, had much of a cohesive feel, despite several attempts (Crisis, Zero Hour, a plethora of less cosmic crossovers like Joker: Last Laugh and Our Worlds at War) to try and do that "it's all tied in together" thing that Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Company established back in the 1960s and Roy Thomas and Jim Shooter really cemented. When Spidey shows up to see Johnny Storm, it just feels more natural to me than when Green Arrow pops by Keystone city.

Final Crisis and its aftermath of One Year Later was the first (of apparently several now) tries to fix this problem. (How well that's worked is up to debate, and I just don't read enough DC comics to judge.) And to top off Final Crisis, we had "52," a series written by four of DC's big guns and given an artistic consistency by the man known for sick humor and quick thumbnails, Keith Giffen.

Each weekly issue would have a little bit in all the stories going on, with perhaps an emphasis on one particular angle each time. It's an idea that works well, actually. I'm a big fan of anthologies and am working towards getting a complete run of Dark Horse Comics Presents, Marvel Comics Presents, and the like, so I'm no stranger to slowly advancing plots. I do wonder, however, how others felt that are used to fuller storytelling on a week-by-week basis.

The idea behind 52 is to capture, in "real time" (a dubious comics concept if there ever was one), a year in the life of DC where Bats, Supes, and Wonder Woman just check out. That would be more shocking except, well, just how many times has Bats taken a powder in the last 15 years? I'm starting to think he gets more vacation time than a tenured union janitor. It's hard for me to buy in to it being a rough time for the DC U when we've seen it time and time again over the years.

At any rate, because of this we get a string of B, C, and D-list heroes running point, such as Elongated Man, the Question, Steel, Adam Strange, Booster Gold, and even Black Adam, to name a few. Other, better known characters, such as Green Arrow or the Alan Scott Green Lantern hang around the edges, but the floor was open for others to shine.

In this first volume, Booster is having trouble staying out of trouble, Black Adam learns to rule, Ralph searches for the cult of Superboy, and Montoya Questions herself as a new Bat-person enters the scene. Steel becomes the new foil for Lex Luthor while heroes who were hurt in the Crisis try to make their way back or recover what they've lost. This is a world that's very shaken up and only the best of DC's writers can fix it again.

The trouble is in some of the plots, and to a lesser extent, the character chosen. I'm a huge fan of Ralph, so I ate that part up with a spoon, even if I hated how bad Ralph looks by the end of the volume. But Steel and his niece just comes off as whiny drama because I can't believe anyone related to a superhero could possibly fall under Lex's spell. That would be like Rick Jones going off to work for Doctor Doom, and unless you gave me a damned good reason, I'd call bullshit. Similarly, I really don't care if Adam Strange, Starfire, and Animal Man ever come back.

On the other hand, Greg really convinced me to care about Renee, and given I felt she was a bit mishandled here and there in Gotham Central, that's saying something. This is also where Batwoman II(?) debuts and I think he did a nice job on the controversy surrounding one of his choices for the charcater.

My point here is that if you're on the back end of DC's vast library of characters, you need to make sure the reader wants to keep reading about them, and in this first trade, I don't think we got compelling plots on all points. I know it would have been impossible to please all of the people all of the time, but lost in space (to pick one plot) isn't really interesting unless it's going someplace big. (And hey, maybe it is, but if so, give us a few more clues.)

The other trouble with working on the also-ran crowd is that there's a bit too much temptation to just blow stuff up because you can. DC has really wrecked everything about the Giffen-DeMatteis Justice League over the years, and especially here it just feels forced. Giffen says he liked seeing it happen, but I for one did not. Booster and Ralph deserve better.

Still, I like where most of the plots are going, even if they run a bit rough on how I'm used to seeing some of these folks. (I really have given up on DC trying to make a pretense of caring about past characterizations and just run with it, unless it's so bad as to be anger-worthy.) I've learned to just enjoy the story being told rather than trying to hold on to old continuity, as long as the story is a good one. Overall, that's true here, and I definitely want to see how these stories play out.

52 Pickup

Since my computer crashed and I lost the links I was going to use for Sunday Readings this week, we'll take a break from that and go with a 4-part look at 52, DC's first weekly series.

Yes, I really am only finishing up 52 now.

And believe it or not, I really was almost spoiler-free for the whole thing, Go figure.

At any rate, I hope you enjoy this special set of reviews, and Sunday Readings will return next week.

Enjoy!

Dick Tracy, What Do You See?

(Panel from Dick Tracy daily strip, 6/26/09.)

Might help if you ask your artist to draw in the pupils next time you play poker, Dick. Poor Dick Tracy, Jr. just lost his college fund over this!

Goodbye Chunky Rice

Written by Craig Thompson
Illustrated by Craig Thompson
Top Shelf

[Top Shelf has been very kind and linked to many of my reviews on their site. I'm going to do the courteous thing here and warn them not to do so for this one, as I can't say I really liked the book the way I've liked almost all of their other titles I've read. Thanks again for the links, Top Shelf!]

I got this because Thompson worked with James Kochalka, whom I happen to really like, on a zine (well, technically graphic novel, but for all intents and purposes, it was a zine). The book won a Harvey and put Thompson on the map. It got rave reviews from Alan Moore, amongst others.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be one of the others as I found the story to contain just a bit too much needless angst for my taste. The main character and I just didn't connect, and when the focus is on angst, the reader must identify with the protagonist. I just wasn't able to do so based on the story as I perceived it.

The plot is about a turtle, who leaves his doormouse love to go traveling, for reasons he doesn't know. He meets a pair of dysfunctional bothers, weathers a storm, and talks to a set of Siamese twins. It should have worked better for me, I would have thought, because this kind of book is just what I've really enjoyed reading lately. As longtime readers of my reviews no, I am no stranger to personal narrative books, and generally speaking, I really like them.

My problem, however, is that this one's an angst-fest without a real reason for the angst. There's no hurt, no slight, no sense of difference or isolation to drive the character's melancholy. I can't even see why the main character has to leave, prompting a lot of the angst. "Oh no, I have a good girlfriend (boyfriend? hard to tell the gender), but I have to leave." Why? We never get an answer, other than he's restless. Well, then, your fault if you end up unhappy. Thompson just doesn't bring me into the story, either by design or by accidental omission of a compelling reason for the characters' actions.

I hate to disagree with Alan Moore, but I just didn't think this story deserved the accolades it received. But then again, "Empire" is my least favorite of the 3 Star Wars films, so I'm no stranger to disagreeing with a large group of people. If you can take your angst without a generating reason, I think you'll like this a lot better than I did.

The Drifting Classroom Volume 2

Written by Kazuo Umezu
Illustrated by kazuo Umezo
Viz

I liked this one enough to do another ILL request, and I hope that the folks who buy books at my local library will start to see a pattern. This is a strong series that needs a wider audience, at least where I live.

While the first volume was more of "horror of the mind" as I called it, this set of issues has a nice set of gory manga violence. People are beaten, burned, stabbed, shot, and strangled--and that's just a sample of what you're in for this time.

Unlike some gore-fests, however, this does not affect the quality of the writing in any way. Umezu still has a tight rein on the plot, the atmospheric moods, and the mysterious nature of why the school is set out of time.

There's a lot going on in this volume, starting with a battle for the school's food, the creeping insanity of the teachers (contrasted by the eerie calm of the children), and a growing realization of the truth. I think it especially interesting that it's the children who are working their way through things. Umezu also shows us a bit of what the rest of the world sees, as he teases hints out to the reader.

Almost every scene is charged with negative energy. As with the first volume, shadows are cast over everyone, keepings things creepy and gloomy. People's eyes look soulness, windows are dark, even desks--probably shiny in normal times, are dull and formless. It's an effect I don't remember seeing in manga yet (though my reading is limited), and I like it a lot.

Sho, our focal character, tries very hard to keep his sanity intact as the adults around him start losing their heads--almost literally. He's thinking about food and water even as some of the teachers battle for control of what little they have left. He somehow finds his way into every situation, as a good main character does, without it seeming too forced.

Sho may also be the key to solving the mystery--if he can live long enough to share it.

Like any good horror writer, Umezu understands the need to keep upping the ante while allowing the reader space to breathe. He lets things settle a bit--like the battle for food--only to bring up the fact that eventually the food will be gone. We also see that the craziest people may be those who act the most sane. What does that say for Sho, the one best able to hold it together?

I really like this series, and any fan of the horror genre will quickly see the best parts of the genre on display here--children in danger, limited resourcces, an unstoppable force (in this case a time warp), and of course, human cruelty. They're all familiar themes, but crafted together so well by Umezu that you'll find new ways to be terrified. I'm looking forward to more.

The Drifting Classroom Volume 1

Written by Kazuo Umezu
Illustrated by kazuo Umezo
Viz

I really wish my local library carried a bit less shojo and a bit more horror manga. Having to ILL it is rather annoying, especially since there is no lack of manga in the library's collection--they are definitely ahead of the curve in terms of ordering things. At any rate, this one came off a blog recommendation, and I am glad I took the time to request it.

Mr. Umezu is apparently a specialist in horror manga, from what I understand. This time out, he narrates the tale of a strange day in Japan, where an earthquake seemingly separates a school from the rest of reality. Our protagonist, Sho, is a typical pre-teen just starting down the road of rebellion. He has a really bad fight with his mother on this fateful day, and a lot of time is spent on this. We are not, at least not yet, talking the the horror of the seen--here we are in the horror of the mind. We are to imagine being 10 or 12, torn between obedience and independence, and our last act never gives us the chance to find the balance. Umezu does an amazing job of getting inside the head of Sho and making us relate to the horror he faces.

But that, of course, is not all--there's an entire school with little food and water and a whole horde of excitable children. Can the teachers keep things together, and for how long? Will the childish mob take over and destroy them all? It sure seems possible, although through lies and deception, there is an uneasy peace. I am quite sure, if I can get my hands on Volume 2, that it won't last for long.

Drawn straightforward but in a set of creepy angles and shadows, this is a fine addition to my reading of horror manga. I definitely recommend it--if you can find it!

Sunday Readings 6-21-09

A few things I thought were interesting, here and there...

Blog of the Week: Rick Veitch is probably best known for being an Alan Moore collaborator, but he's done quite a few other good comics in his own right. His website frequently features snapshots of his artwork from all over his career, whether it's a current commission, a page from when he was 16, or just a doodle from a notebook. He'll also let you know when he's got something going on in the comics world, but one of the things I like best is that Rick has a blog to share things, not just to hawk stuff. Have a look!

Chris Sims helps Comics Alliance celebrate Captain America "600" with a nod to Cap's most memorable moments.

My wife's main man, Jeffrey Brown, is going to be doing a Simpsons story!! Can a Marvel gig be far behind? I certainly hope not!

Lastly, Bully wants us to get musical with Wolverine. I bet his favorite Beatle is Ringo.

Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes Volume 4

Written by Mark Waid, Tony Bedard, and Stuart Moore
Illustrated by Barry Kitson, Adam DeKraker, Mick Gray,Rob Stull, Rodney Ramos, LenLashley, Greg Parkin, Pat Olliffe, Livesay, Dale Eaglesham, and Art Thibert
DC

Wow! An arc of this series where Barry Kitson actually has some consistent inkers! While there were yet another a large number of artists, some of those were from the backups. So I don't have as many issues with the art this time, as the flow from one part of the arc to the next feels a lot better.

So what's going on this time? Well, there's still fallout from the uneasy alliance with the United Planets, while the Legion itself decides to find a way to deal with Supergirl once and for all, taking the Richard O'Brian approach--she needs a little (ooh!) Shock Treatment....

Ahem. Sorry about that.

A man of many subplots, because he worked in the era when comics writers stayed on a title for more than 6 or 12 issues at a time, we also see the first stages of resolution to Brainiac's attempts to resurrect the dead and the return of Sun Boy, though perhaps not for very long. Are the attacks on Sun Boy's team, several locations across the United Planets, and the Legion itself (again) linked in some way?

Hey, it's a Mark Waid comic--what do you think?

I am particularly impressed by Waid's ability here to tell multiple stories without the reader feeling cheated, a trick that also works in 52. Again, I refer back to his comfort with staying with characters for longer than a year. He also does an amazing job with the patter here. As he's grown more comfortable with the characters, you can see the little Waid touches of humor within a tragic situation, such as my personal favorite, "Which one's the delusional lunatic again?" with the obvious but perfect reply, "I can't tell anymore."

In the wrong hands, that's the lines of a melodrama. With Waid, it's comedy gold. (This is why he's arguably the best candidate to write Spider-Man, and I'm so happy he's in regular rotation right now--can't wait to read those in trade.) He also slips in just a bit of meta-commentary here and there, like when a character complains that the villain's dialog is stereotypical. Again, with a lesser writer, those types of situations distract, but Waid always seems to find a way to make it work.

I should also mention that despite moving on to some grand arc work, Waid still finds the time to do little stories that show we are dealing with teenagers, either as a full issue (a jealousy plot involving Supergirl) or little touches, where a Legionaire doesn't want to admit to losing a fight to Brainiac. They're little human elements, but for me, that's the difference between interesting superhero comics and those that are just okay

Unfortunately, sometimes Waid just has to push the envelope a little too far. A backup story deals with ruined comic books with the message that it's better to deal with the living than the dead, in a direct comment on folks not liking continuity changes. It's not a bad story, but I think that type of message is better delivered in an essay, not in the mouths of your creations.

But that's just a minor blip in a comic series I am really digging a lot more than I expected and definitely recommend.

Jack Kirby's Omac: One Man Army Corps

Written by Jack Kirby
Illustrated by Jack Kirby, D. Bruce Berry, and Mike Royer
DC

Those of you who've read my reviews at other places are probably aware that I'm not overly fond of a fair amount of the 1970s Kirby without a partner work. Working as writer, artist, and editor, the King may have had free reign, but no one to help reign him in, either.

And Mark Evanier himself notes this is one of the more difficult Kirby creations of that time period for a reader: "Speaking as a fellow reader--I'd stopped being Jack's assistant some time before he did OMAC--I don't think he took me along on the ride, at least the first time out. I didn't fully 'get' OMAC on first reading."

On top of everything else, as a reader, I'm not overly fond of space stories, especially in comic books. It's just not my thing, Green Lantern being the only exception--and my least favorite of his (you pick the "his") adventures are those dealing with space.

So, in a move that I admit surprised even me, I am here to tell you that I not only "got" OMAC, I loved it. Hooked right from the start, I was left after eight issues wondering where Jack was planning to go and being sad that he left the book clearly with more to say.

Maybe it's the great inking work from Berry, who apparently did not do much comics work but found a way to bring out the best in Kirby's pencils in the majority of these issues. (I actually think his issues are better than Royer's, who was a more frequent Kirby art partner.) Maybe it's the fact that Jack got to work free of all continuity and therefore was not trying to force his wild ideas onto people that it didn't work for (Jimmy Olsen, Captain America) and harming the story's punch. Maybe it's the fact that the story just hints at the darker side of the Utopian police force OMAC works for, giving everying an air of mystery.

Or maybe I've just changed as a reader and I should try Bicentennial Battles again.

Nah. That one's still a clunker, even if you do like your Benjamin Franklins replaced by trolls.

At any rate, OMAC is the story of a future where the UN has moved into the idea of a global force trying to save humanity against itself, as it does things like create artificial life for destruction, bribe entire cities so rich people can enjoy them alone, exchange old bodies for unwilling youths, and other genetic mutations designed for personal gain (at the harm of others). The solution is the unwilling creation of OMAC from a bumbling everyman. Now able to get whatever powers he needs to save the day, OMAC thoughtlessly aids the Peace Agency against any perceived threat.

The genious thing about the series is that OMAC is a product of the very things he's sent again--an irony I'm sure Kirby intended to address later but never got the chance.

While there are still some problems present with any Kirby solo project, they are minor enough not to throw me out of the story. His dialog is very comic booky in places (which you'd expect from a man whose work dates back so far into the Golden Age) and the story often seems to end just because he ran out pages. But that was the nature of the beast, then--writing longer, drawn out epics just wasn't done back then, especially at DC.

But what impressed me most here is the artwork. Kirby's monsters are grand! This is a man with a fertile imagination or one hell of a set of nightmares, let me tell you. And his page layouts--the first thing you see is a "human" contorted into a block of cement in a horrific image of pain--are in my opinion, some of his best. (This is where I feel I've matured as a reader. I took a lot of time looking at his compositions and a bit less time with the quality of the story.) Even the human villains are distorted into figures of evil, giving the innocent bystanders a more pathetic aura.

For those who like to know such things, there are plenty of Kirby guns, Kirby crackle, and Kirby Close-Ups, too--all of which feel like they flow more naturally here than in any other place I've seen them. This is just a well-constructed book, and it's a shame it went out with a whimper--even if the last panel is technically a bang.

If you're a Jack Kirby fan, this is a must read, and I can't thank DC enough for collecting it. If you've been scared off solo Kirby by some of his later Marvel stuff, give this a try. I think you'll dig it. It certainly opened my eyes in terms of how I view Kirby's chops as a creator, and makes me really excited to dig into those hardcovers I just got a few days ago. Excelcior, indeed!

My Life is Kirby-rific

So I went shopping on Wednesday and picked up (at Mark Evanier's recommendation), "The Best of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon," with a nifty coupon from Border's.

I am quite pleased with my evening at this point.

Then we end up at Half Price Books.

Where all four Jack Kirby DC 4th World Hardcovers are sitting there for half off each.

And I had a 15% off coupon to boot.

Needless to say, they went home with me.

My life is now extremely Kirby-rific!

Marvel Romance Redux

Re-Written by Jeff Parker, Roger Langridge, Jimmy Palmiotti, Keith Giffen, Peter David, Kyle Baker, and others
Illustrated by John Buscema, John Romita, Sr., Jack Kirby, Dick Giordano, Gene Colan, Jim Starlin, Don Heck, and a heck of lot of others
Original plots frequently by Smilin' Stan Lee or Jack Kirby
Marvel

Shortly after I finished the Boom parody book, I started on this one from Marvel. Again, this is current writers putting words in the mouths of old comics, though this time it's from the Mighty Marvel Bullpen, back when they were still writing and drawing romance comics.

And let me tell you, Jack Kirby doing romance comics is something you need to get this anthology for alone. Only the King would do "Kirby Close-Ups" in something as stylistically bland as a romance comic.

Before I talk about the writing, I do want to get into the art. Joke all you want about the subject matter, John Romita Sr., Dick Giordano, and Gene Colan could sure draw pretty comic book women. Buscema and Kirby are kinda out of the element here, but the page layouts are awesome. And I mean, really--Jim Starlin doing a romance comic? Is that why Thanos lusts constantly over Death?

It all sort of makes sense now.

I have to admit, I liked this set of stories a bit better than the others. This is probably because there were more writers involved (I only named my personal favorites up top) so it didn't have quite that feel of same-ness. It doesn't hurt that in addition to Giffen, Peter David and Jeff Parker are added to the mix, and both end up with the best stories in the collection, and Langridge clearly has the chops, based on what I've heard about his Muppet Show book and the Fin Fang Four stories.

That's not to say the rest are too shabby, it's just that it's hard to argue with the pitch-perfect comedic stylings of David, who does everything from bringing Patsy Walker's hero continuity into her romance comics to pointing out the various artistic mistakes to telling us how god-awful Stan Lee's original story was. Seemingly the longest in the collection and full of little gags, it's the shining star in the collection.

Other notable fun include Jeff Parker creating "President Stripper" and a Men in Black style parody where romantic aliens threaten the earth (aliens seemed to be a favored theme) while Jimmy Palmiotti riffs on comic book fanboys and social conventions that are out of place today.

This was also a better outing, in my opinion, for Giffen, as his story of hot hitwomen uses the original story in a totally convaluted and Giffen-y way. His other story is not quite as good, but the idea of a distracted secret agent is still pretty funny.

All in all, the humour here is definitely more in line with my style. Perhaps because Marvel required "cleaner" jokes or perhaps it was just a different crowd, there was definitely a stronger dose of the cerebral, as the writers gave this more of a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 feel instead of a Saturday Night Live aura.

As I said with "What Were They Thinking?!", your enjoyment of this will vary depending on your funny bone. I think either way, there's a lot here to be enjoyed, but don't rush it if you can help it. Because I had to make sure I got this one back, I sped through things a bit more than I would have liked.

Riffing on old comics is a lot of fun, and you can tell everyone involved enjoyed it. I do wish Marvel had given Stan and John a chance to re-do at least one of their old stories, though. Maybe next time...

What Were They Thinking?!

Re-Written by Keith Giffen, Mike Leib, Kevin Church, Chris Ward, Joe Casey, Johanna Stokes, Andrew Cosby, and John Rogers
Illustrated by Various, including Wally Wood, Steve Ditko, and a lot of guys who probably were better served being anonymous
Boom! Studios

Remember the gag on Whose Line Is It Anyway when they'd pick a scene from an old movie and re-"write" the dialog? Well, picture that in comic book form, and you have this collection, with the primary ringleader being the man that co-wrote the "Bwa-ha-ha" years of the Justice League, Keith Gifffen.

The fare is what I can only assume are public domain comics, the lead of which is by poor Wally Wood, who at least is dead and can't see them making fun of him. (The same can't be said for Steve Ditko, whose story here gets turned into a set of bestiality and anal sex jokes.)

There's a lot of funny stuff in here--a "rescue" mission goes awry, an island people try to avoid an American JI's best attempts at "help," and one story really gets in the digs at George Lucas. That's always a grand time! But the best work, to me, was Church's take on Cowboy comics, noting their ludacrous plots and making in-jokes about how the characters are portrayed. I think I laughed longest at his parts, which surprised me because I'm usually a big Giffen fan.

However, overall I wasn't quite as into this as I'd expected to be. One bite on the "hey, I bet if we make 1940s characters act gay it'll be a riot" apple is funny. Two bites is okay, and by the time we're at three or four, I'm kinda ready to pass. Taking piece by piece, the jokes are pretty funny, if often not my style. But after about the 10th scatological joke, I'm with the character who holds his head to his hands and says, "Stop it! No more! No more lame metro-sexual humor. I can't stand it!"

If you like Adam-Sandler or American Pie-level humour (I can only take it in small doses), you'll think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, however. As with all comedy, it's a very personal thing.

I did appreciate the names of the "artist" when they didn't know--that was also a clever touch. In a classy behind the scenes moment, we get to see how they created the comics, and also the source material for the Wally Wood sections. Boom's production of this was quite classy, even if some (okay, most) of the jokes weren't

I think this is the type of material best read a bit at a time, and sadly, having it out from the library kinda rushed the job a bit (see my upcoming thoughts on a similar Marvel project). If you see it, though, definitely give it a look. If you're more of a "poopy" joke fan and less of a Groucho Marx type, I think you'll definitely love it, and even the latter folks will find parts of this laugh out loud funny.

Sunday Readings 6-14-09

[Sorry updates have been a bit scarce. I've had a lot going on and was also out of the state for a bit. Should be back to normal starting tonight.]

Here's a few things I read, here and there, that I wanted to share...

Blog of the Week: Comics Should Good (because hey, I already did Comics Worth Reading!) is one of several blogs at Comic Book Resources that I read on a regular basis. It's a smattering of daily features (right now, it's Artists pick Artists), commentary on comics news, reviews of current comics, daily excerpts from critical moments in Brian's favorite comics, and my personal favorite, "Comic Book Legends Revealed", where primary writer Brian Cronin digs into some of the mysteries surrounding the comic book world. Blatant plug, since I like his blog--you can get a collection of these columns now in book form. It's a high-content blog, so be warned, but the quality doesn't suffer a bit. Well worth checking out!

Remember the Mr. Men and Little Miss series? So does this person.

Bully finds no less than 29 homages to Fantastic Four #1.

Comics Alliance looks at the less-than-stellar moments of MODOK.

I love George Herriman. So does Hobotopia.

Lastly, I love Rob Liefield gives three thoughts on the comics business. I don't particularly agree on any of these points, but I found them to be interesting enough to share and maybe start some discussion.

Sunday Readings 6-07-09

A few more things I read here and there...

This is a little old, but check out this homage cover starring the Muppets!

Caleb already brought this to a lot of folks' attention, but just in case you didn't see it, photographer Matt Miller takes on the Endless in a great shot. (NSFW) Caleb is dead right that you should have a peek at this guy's other work, too, while you're at it.

I sincerely hope this is not viral marketing by Fox.

James Hunt has a solution for people angered by current comics: Buy used.

Blog of the Week: James Kochalka is a name pretty much anyone who reads me already knows, but since most of the blogs I've featured have leaned a little heavy on the superhero side (though Kochalka is doing Marvel work later this year!), I thought I'd spotlight American Elf, which has the bonus feature of being where you can see Kochalka's daily strips before they get turned into excellent book collections. You also get his son's artwork, too!