Thor and Loki: In the Land of Giants

Written by Jeff Limke
Illustrated by Ron Randall
Graphic Universe

I've read a few others in this "Graphic Universe" series and found them to be fun comic-book style retellings of myths I'm quite fond of. This time it's Thor and Loki, looking rather different from their Kirby counterparts--and that's not a bad thing.

Thor and Loki are arguing over what is better--brawn or brain. They decide to go to the land of the giants to find out, stopping along the way at a farmer's house, where a deception leads to Thor taking the farmer's kids as a ransom. Soon they're battling the giants in amazing contests--but are they really?

My favorite part of this one is the girl asking why she can't have a challenge, too, and being told not to argue with the giants. A cute way of pointing out the chauvinism of most Norse mythology.

The story works well, solving nothing of course and showing how much trouble Thor can cause. My only beef is that Loki comes off a bit too nice--he's more a voice of reason than a trickster here. In places like this, it seems like Limke is willing to fudge the boorishness of the old myths in order to make sure no parents get angry with what their child is reading.

It's the only downside to what I thought was a pretty well-done comic. Definitely a neat pickup for the right age range, which is certainly not adults. There are plenty of comics out there covering darker edges of the myth, so that's no big loss. I'd easily recommend this to anyone with children who want to learn about the legends and myths surrounding the days of the week.

Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards

Written by Jim Ottaviani
Illustrated by Big Time Attic (Zander Cannon, Kevin Cannon, and Shad Petosky)
GT-Labs

Like most kids who grew up when I did, I loved dinosaurs. When I was four, I could pronounce their names probably better than I could most common English words. I even thought I would be a paleontologist, following along in the footsteps of Marsh and Cope and Horner and Bakker.

Well, obviously that didn't happen, or this blog might be called Fossil Feelings instead of Panel Patter, and I'd have a completely different subject and audience. However, I do get a bis nostalgic for those heady days when I was quite sure you'd find me with a little pick and dust brush, trying to discover a Robosaurus or something.

In a way, my child-like enthusiasm is not far off from the passions we see in Bone Sharps. The difference is that these are men with all the corruption that goes along with being grown up, and their enthusiasm takes them down darker paths, as Marsh and Cope write screeds, plant fossils, and use what political power they can bring to bear to ensure the ruination of the other. In the hands of Ottaviani, the pair are like warring children or cartoon characters, with the only thing missing a big explosion or perhaps a comic chase scene across the Wyoming desert.

Some liberties have been taken to make this story more engaging to the reader, of course, but the basic gist is correct. While Marsh and Cole agreed on far more than they disagreed (for example, they both thought Dinosaurs were akin to birds, which has now been proven), neither were willing to let the other have any point in the fossil record, for fear their own legacy might be tarnished. This got to be so ridiculous that the primary scientific journal of the time instituted the unusual practice of making Marsh and Cole pay by the page in order to be published! (This did not deter Marsh, who paid for multiple pages at a time.)

If you know anything of the history of the post-Civil War years in America, you won't be very surprised to learn that just as in every other field at the time, there was vast speculation, booms and busts, and those attracted to the field weren't above using underhanded tactics to get their way. Marsh, from this account at least, was a bilker of the government and a horrible employer. Cole lived above his means, which eventually caught up to him. Others were gamblers or schemers in other ways, making the few honest people (such as Chief Red Cloud) look like saints. American history is not a pretty subject, and Ottaviani makes that clear.

In terms of an informative narrative, I think this book works well. The story flows from beginning to end, and while it's clear that facts are shifted or changed a bit to make it work better than it should, I don't think that Ottaviani strays so far as to turn this into a work of fiction. Think of it like you would a really good biographical movie, and you'll have a solid feel for the material before you start reading. You'll come out of this one with a better understanding of how the Bone Wars were won, but don't plan on writing any scholarly papers from this book. Thanks to a nice reference section, however, it's easy to use this as a springboard to other works, if you are so inclined.

Big Time Attic is a production house made up of three artists in this case, one of whom I know from other comics. [Edited with new info courtesy of Ben Towle. Thanks man!] If you are familiar with Zander Cannon's other work, you'll see his influence on most of the pages. They do a good job of making the comic feel like it's set in the late 19th Century, complete with the decision to use a sepia tone rather than black and white. The artists' depictions of historical figures is pretty good, as I could usually identify them without narrative help. I'm even going to give a shout out to the lettering, because P.T. Barnum speaks in circus poster font, which is absolutely brilliant.

Bone Sharps is a nifty little book that peels back a layer of shine from the Age of Dinosaur Hunters. My only minor complaint is the absence of Andrew Carnegie, who also had a hand in this insanity and should have at least gotten a mention. That's a minor omission, however, and one most probably wouldn't even notice, despite the fact that he does have a dinosaur named for him. If there's still a little kid inside of you who wants the T-Rex to fight the Triceratops, find a copy of this book and let the adult side of you learn the dark underbelly of what left your childhood self speechless, time and time again. Not only will it not spoil the wonder, it might even rekindle it. Now where did I leave my dust brush...?

Irredeemable Volume 2

Written by Mark Waid
Illustrated by Peter Krause
Boom! Studios

Things continue to collapse in more ways than one as the Paradigm search desperately for a way to stop the Plutonian while the Plutonian searches for the Paradigm so he can end them once and for all. Secrets are revealed and the roots of the conflict start to show exactly why the Plutonian is...Irredeemable.

I continue to be impressed with Mark Waid's writing on this book and Peter Krause's illustrative decisions. I don't know how much is from the script and how much is Krause's own choices, but they compliment the book's ideas perfectly, showing much for the reader, but not everything. Violence pervades just about every page, but it's never shown in a way designed to shock. Like a good horror manga artist, Krause presents the facts as they are in the story and lets the horror of the situation do the work for him. It's not flashy, it's not going to win some Wizard "Artist Who Best Depicted a Decapitation This Month" award, and it's definitely drawn in a style more befitting of Dan Jurgens than Jim Lee. In other words, I think it's perfect.

Two examples come to mind of how impressed I am with Krause's work here. The first is when Volt is given a very dramatic lesson in "be careful what you say" that could have been portrayed with buckets of blood but is instead indicated simply by an evil glow in the Plutonian's eyes that you know represents his heat vision doing something terrible. The second is when we need to know that the Plutonian is obsessed with Bette Noir. Instead of going for as many shots of cleavage as possible, Krause instead tastefully uses shadow and object arrangement so that the reader is clear on the point but without drawing a single line that is overtly exploitative. Krause shows it can be done. I just wish other artists would listen (or just give up the pretense of being for kids and just show the nudity they're dying to draw).

Back to Waid's story, however. Most of this second set of issues is devoted to the Paradigm's desperate attempts to find a way to stop the Plutonian. Along the way, we end up finding out more of why Tony (the Plutonian's "real" name) has gone off the deep end. As with the scenes we saw in the first trade, it's clear that Waid wants you to see that it wasn't one thing that caused the Plutonian to go mad, if you can even call this madness. There's no mind control, no clone, no death of a loved one, no chuck of rock causing all this. It's just the weight of the world, slowly tearing down a good man, bit by bit until he can't take it anymore.

The Plutonian's rage is one we can all relate to. We just usually can keep it in check, and those of us who can't might end up in jail, if we do something to harm others in our rage. But the Plutonian is a being with almost absolute power. His rage just won't die, and now everyone is going to pay the price. His reality is the fantasy we don't like to admit that we ever have, and that's part of the brilliance of Waid's scripting here. Despite his monstrous behavior, Waid has linked it to something real.

At the risk of repeating myself, I'll mention again that this is what makes Irredeemable so good: Waid uses modern concepts but doesn't try to make it *all* as realistic as possible. We're in a world of super powers, which changes the rules of the world but not the concepts. People can still be bastards, just like in our world, but there's never a sense that Waid is trying to write a story of what real life with the Plutonian would be like--because such a world can never exist and trying to write one just ends in frustration for both the reader and, I think, the creator.

Beyond the meta concepts, Waid has some really clever moments in here. I was not expecting the big reveal in the final chapter in this volume, though I have a feeling I know where it's going, because I don't think the Paradigm have it in them to actually save the day. That's far too easy, and unworthy of this story. I also loved his use of Volt, who is here entirely to make fun of the concept of Black Lightning and treatment of African American superheroes in general. The general dysfunction of the Paradigm is on full display here, and I think that's only going to get worse as time goes on. Lastly, even as things move along at Flash-like speed, I love how Waid is still dropping little clues and hints in his trademark fashion that can be picked up on later, as he sees fit.

This book is that of a master at the top of his game. When Mark Waid is on, and he's definitely on here, he's just about the best in the business right now. Irredeemable is a great dark story about what happens when our superheroes are as imperfect as the heroes of history. Jill Sobule asked why they had to be imperfect. I'd answer that in the case of Irredeemable, it's to make for one of the best superhero comic reads I've had in quite some time. Can't wait to get to volume three, and if I were still doing single issues, this would be going straight on to my pull list. Irredeemable comes with a top recommendation from me, even for non-capes fans. Mark Waid is showing what you can do with the medium, and I'm definitely along for the ride!

Series Review: After School Nightmare

Written by Setona Mizushiro
Illustrated by Setona Mizushiro
Go Comi

Wow. I feel like I have a bit of reviewer egg on my face over this one. After singing its praises during the Manga Movable Feast when I was at volume six, I find myself finishing this series and feeling horrendously disappointed and embarrassed that I recommended it to others. What a difference a few volumes can make!

For reference, here's my original series review, at just past the halfway point. I talked about how this was a horror manga with a good mystery, with solid artwork and interesting characters. The trouble I had is that all of the things that made After School Nightmare so interesting across the first half of the comic start to unravel as we progress, until the final volume ends with a "you're kidding me" ending that generates not so much questions about what happened so much as the worst question a manga can present to the reader: What was the point?

Let's back up a bit before going into why this series ended with a whimper instead of a bang. The main premise is that Mashiro, a half-man, half woman, is starting to change in ways that will prevent him from continuing to pretend to be a boy, his preferred gender identity. This is made worse when Sou, a classmate, starts to show romantic affection for him. As if that's not bad enough, there's a special class in the school that reveals your deepest fears that you must fight your way out of in order to graduate.

That's where the horror and mystery meet a shojo plot that has the additional twist of adding gender identity to the mix. While some were offended by the main character's rejection of his femininity, I maintained that we were not to trust this rejection, and that Mizushiro was planning to show that Mashiro had to accept himself/herself for who he/she really is before he could end this frightening situation.

I really liked the fact that the manga was headed in this direction, as we don't often get positive depictions of gender issues. Most characters are vividly gay or straight, even if it takes some help from those around them to realize it. Not so in this case--Mashiro isn't dealing with whether or not he loves men or women (it's clear he likes both). The question is whether he is really male or female, a far more delicate issue. I liked that Mashiro wrestled with the issue on just about every page, and honestly, I was happy with the resolution on this score. It affirmed that each person must come to their own conclusion, and that only when they've made peace with their choice can they be happy. If you look closely, you can ever seen that Mizushiro has drawn Mashiro's choice even before he/she makes their final decision. That's a great bit of storytelling.

Unfortunately, it's about the only thing that's good about the last half of this manga series. As we progress through Mashiro's mind and his tricky relationships with Sou and Kureha, the nightmare class takes on less and less importance and we're in a more traditional shojo manga world. This is mistake number one. I liked After School Nightmare because it had a different focal setting, and taking that focal setting away began the process of the story running off the rails. It also means that the art, once a strong point of the manga, also tails off in quality. Mizushiro's pencils are quite good, but when she's drawing classrooms and bedrooms instead of nightmare visions of classrooms and bedrooms, it's harder for her to show off her talents.

The biggest sin, however, was in Mizushiro's choice of endings for this series. It's definitely a "gotcha" ending, which I only tolerate in short fiction or television. This is roughly 2,000 pages of comics. That is not short fiction. The ending needs to flow from the story, not be introduced at the end. Mizushiro did not play fair with the reader at all.

I'll give a bit of room for spoiler space here, just in case you do decide to read the series.

Hey!

Don't read this!

Because if you do read this!

Then you'll know the ending!

Last chance!

Okay, have it your way!

Rob's thoughts on the ending are next!

I'm not even sure this ending makes sense. Are we to assume that somewhere souls live as teenagers angsting their way through life and having horrible visions of what their eventual lives will be like until they decide it's okay to live in such a crappy world, at which point the gods of the universe let them be born?

I mean, this is a story with lying, deceitful teens who frequently force sexual actions, sometimes with members of their own family. There are parents who ignore their children (at best) and berate them (at worst). The only way out is to apparently be cool with all of the above, fighting back or ignoring it so that you can go through a stylized birth canal.

Just what is Mizushiro trying to tell her readers? That life is rotten, and it's rotten even before we go onto the world's stage, and it's all because we're conditioned to it? If she's not saying that, then what was the point of the prior nine volumes? To show that Mashiro has one hell of an imagination, and woe to his family, because he's one dark soul who is bound for sorrow?

I just don't get it. None of the conclusions I can come up with are satisfying, and how this story made to Eisner level is beyond me. (Maybe they went forward with the nomination before finishing, just as I gave it praise before I had read the dreaded volume ten?) After finishing After School Nightmare, I just felt cheated. Creators should take care to make sure that they are giving the reader good reason to follow along for 2,000 pages. To do otherwise, is absolutely unfair. But then again, that is apparently the view Mizushiro has of the world anyway.

After School Nightmare is a cautionary tale for me. I'm going to stop plugging manga and other comics before I finish the series. I was burned on this one, and I don't plan on that happening again soon. I withdraw my recommendation of this series, and take back my suggestion to seek out older volumes. The payoff in the end, no matter how good the setup was, just isn't worth it.

Cat Paradise Volume 3

Written by Yuji Iwahara
Illustrated by Yuji Iwahara
Yen Press

The story of the spirit animals and their reasons for hating the human race are revealed as lives continue to hang in the balance at the cat-friendly school with a set of deadly secrets. The villains they face now are getting increasingly clever and it will take all the strength that the human-cat pairs have just to stay alive, let alone try to prevent the spirit animals from taking over the world. By the end of this volume, it's clear that things are not nearly as black and white as we were previously led to believe.

I didn't have as much to say this time, but since I started reviewing the series and I intend to finish reading it, I thought I'd give a few quick impressions.

My first is that this is a manga that definitely picks up steam as it goes along, which is a good thing. As I finish each volume, I'm drawn further into the story of the spirit animals, though I admit I'm kinda rooting for them instead of the humans, since it appears that it was the humans who caused the problems in the first place by insisting on being different from the rest of the animals. (I think that was a brilliant idea on Iwahara's part, that both makes sense and gives a nice reason for conflict. In the world of Cat Paradise, it is the humans who lack souls while the animals all possess them. Lose your spirit animal and you effectively lose your ability to survive as a species.

That's a great idea, but why wasn't it in volume *one* rather than past the point some might have already given up? I understand the concept of the slow build, but you have to give the reader something to latch on to, and Cat Paradise really didn't do much of that in the first two trades.

I also liked the main battle in this volume, with the spirit animal turning the tables on humans by using their own hunting tricks against them. Like the soul concept, the reversal really works for me. It's nice to see villains in a shonen manga who really can give the heroes a run for their money. Sometimes I feel like they're created just to be knocked down, rather like a set of powerful dominoes. Iwahara seems to have something more in mind, and I like that.

What I did not like, however, is that I still don't care much about the human characters in this manga. They're still very plain and generic and easily swapped around for just about anyone else in the cast. Part of why I'm rooting for the bad guys is because the good guys just have no flesh on their bones. At least the spirit animals have plans, schemes, and dreams going for them. It's probably too late for anything to change on this score, however, so I'm just going to have to live with it through the final volumes.

Cat Paradise isn't a manga you need to run out and grab today, but if you like stories that involve conflict with ancient forces or talking cats and see it somewhere, I'd say it's worth a look. The story is enjoyable enough and sometimes that's all that's needed. This isn't a manga for the ages, but it's a nice Sunday afternoon read. Go into it with that mindset, and you won't be disappointed.

A Year of Takahasi Week 7: Back on Track (Ranma 1/2 Volumes 8-10)

My year-long look at the work of Rumiko Takahashi continues here. A great creator deserves a whole year of examination! You can find all of the posts here.

Written by Rumiko Takahashi
Illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi
Viz

I can't resist the pun here, as I not only feel these volumes place the manga on a more solid footing than the ones with the skeezy Happosai as focal antagonist but it also represents getting my feature back on track. (Computer issues wiped out last week's planned post.)

As with just about every volume of Ranma, we are introduced to some new characters but this time they work much better within the context of the narrative. Ukyo is yet another suitor for Ranma and she fits in perfectly for several reasons. Let's talk about those for a minute before we move on.

First and formost, she is of a similar age to Ranma and Akane. If Ukyo shows interest in either of them, it does not make you sick to your stomach. That's a huge improvement from Happosai.

Secondly, Ukyo has gender issues that do not stem from a cursed spring. Because Ranma "rejected" her, she feels that she can no longer be feminine. Thus she has turned to a masculine life. Now I realize that this is a comedy and a comedy for kids to boot, but there are some deep contrasts that you can make here. Ukyo leads a dual life because she feels it is the only way to deal with heartbreak while Ranma leads a dual life by fate. Perhaps the sins of the father/son combo have more to do with Ranma's plight than bad luck?

Or maybe I'm just overthinking it.

Anyway, the third thing that makes Ukyo so interesting to me is that she is just as tomboyish as Akane but Ranma seems less bothered by it in Ukyo. Sure, she can cook (for comedic effect) but I wonder if maybe Ranma only respects a fighting spirit in women whom he won't be sharing his life with. That's a fairly common--if unfortunate--theme in both fiction and real life and I wonder if Takahashi isn't slipping a bit of social commentary into her farce.

Again, maybe I'm just overthinking it.

At any rate, Ukyo is a fresh face that immediately brings some new life into the series and interacts with the existing cast quite well. Like other new characters we see a lot of her initially then she fades back a bit. She's definitely a keeper though and her appearances are welcome.

During this stretch of chapters we also get the return of Mousse, the nearsighted boy who wants to destroy Ranma to get at Shampoo. The plot is about as normal as you get in Ranma 1/2, with an evil scheme to either kill Ranma or turn Akane into a duck. Because it's an almost normal idea, some of the fun is lost and I feel like we see a recycling of gags. Plus Akane as damsel in distress just doesn't work for me. It's far funnier when Ranma only thinks he needs to save her. Real danger just doesn't belong in Ranma.

While volumes 8 and 9 are solid, I feel like volume 10 is a bit of a filler volume. The stories are funny but while we can see character development in the Ukyo and Mousse battles, these shorts are just moments in time. Really darn funny moments in time mind you, but somewhat akin to deleted scenes.

Most notable in volume 10 is the introduction of another non-suitor villain, the Principal. As with Happosai, the story moves from being akin to Tom and Jerry to their later team up work in The Tom and Jerry Show, where differences were put aside to fight a common enemy.

While I prefer the action to focus on suitors, at least the principal is not a pervert. He is just diabolical, with all the resources of a James Bond villain, complete with an underground lair. In order to avoid his mad edicts, all of the students must stay one step ahead of his fevered brain, leading to quite a bit of funny moments.

This story arc, while stepping back from the love hate rekationship of Akane and Ranma, at least continues the zaniness, which makes it a lot of fun to read. Ranma 1/2 is at its best when things make absolutely no logical sense and that's definitely the case here.

As we close in on the 1/3 mark of 1/2, we get a little bit of everything and there's nothing wrong with that. This is still such a fun book to read and that doesn't change anytime soon, as we'll see next week.

My Podcasting Debut: Manga Out Loud on Barefoot Gen

I am deeply proud and honored to announce that my first appearance in a podcast is up and ready for your listening pleasure!

Please join host Ed Sizemore along with Sam Kusek, Patrick Jones, and myself as we wrap up the February Manga Movable Feast by discussing Barefoot Gen. As Ed noted to me on twitter, there were so many other things we could have covered, including Gen's father, who gets left out of our conversation.

I am so afraid that I sound like crap or come off like an idiot, but I also think I made a few good points as we went along that might not have made it into my reviews relating to the series. (I was happy to point out that Nakazawa and Tezuka share artistic sensibilities, for instance, something I'm pretty sure I missed while blogging the series.) Ed is a wonderful host, keeping the conversation moving and bringing up great talking points. Sam's passion for the manga really shines, and I'd never have guessed Patrick hasn't finished the series yet, based on his strong knowledge of the story and other material surrounding it.

Go have a listen to three very knowledgeable people talk about a great manga, and if you can stand it, hear me say a word or two as well. The link to the podcast is here.

Batman: Joker's Asylum 2

Written by Various Writers
Illustrated by Various Artists, including Keith Giffen, Kelley Jones, and Bill Sienkiewicz
DC

I enjoyed the first Joker's Asylum project, so it wasn't a stretch for me to grab this one off the shelf when I saw it at the library. I'm a suck for anthologies like this, and the Joker-as-Cryptkeeper idea is brilliant. After all, we all know he's a talker, so why would it surprise anyone that he likes to tell tales on his fellow inmates?

This time around, we've got the Mad Hatter, Harley, the Riddler, Killer Croc, and Clayface 1 (is there only one Clayface now?), so it's not exactly the most familiar names. However, that doesn't mean there aren't good stories to tell about these characters, as we soon see.

The collection starts with the Mad Hatter, drawn by veterans Giffen and Sienkiewicz. They put together a patchwork quilt of a visual narrative that gets the reader inside the head of the Hatter, who is trying to forgo the use of hats or tea, but cannot shake his need for Alice. In the end, his insanity controlled is just as deadly as his insanity released, as the story collapses around him. Arguably the most solid story in the collection, and a good one to begin with.

Harley is next, with a Valentine's Day love story that would have fit right in with the days of her solo book, which author James Patrick clearly read before coming up with this story. Nothing but nothing will keep Harley from her man (Mr. J, of course), as even Batman himself comes to realize. Full of fun and violence but free of darkness, Harley's murderous rampage is an actually enjoyable read, though I still wonder about her taste in men. There are some holes in this one, of course, when you stop to think it over, but luckily the story is just good enough to keep you from thinking too hard. A nice holiday tale that's done in one.

In what looks a bit like an inventory story that might have been re-purposed, the criminal version of the Riddler can't find a way to make the girl of his dreams love him. The story is set up as a riddle with no solution (because the Joker is jerk), but my bigger question is how this one got out of the planning stages. The Riddler used to be a big name guy, but he's ill used in this one, out of character and stuck in a story we've seen a million times before. When is a story not really a story? When I could telegraph the ending for miles. Props to the artists for drawing in a goodly chunk of Batman's rogues, however.

Killer Croc's tale also has a familiar ring to it, but Mike Raicht does a much better job of giving it a fresh coat of paint. He uses the Joker-as-narrator quite well, slipping him seamlessly into the story, which I thought was a nice touch. Croc is a tough character to write, because it seems like Dc can't decide if he's a human with a skin issue or a monster that can speak. I don't know that Raicht has an opinion one way or the other, but by the end of the story, it's clear that Croc is the only remotely human animal among the protagonists. In the end, he'll take his chances with Batman, and I for one don't blame him.

We close things down with Kelley Jones doing a Clayface story. When Jones is on, his work is so much fun to read. When he's off, it just looks like bad illustrations. This is not his best work, though the Joker-themed chapter headings are right in the insane Jones style that I love best. Unfortunately, the rest of the script is too pedestrian, so while there are several neat visual tricks, the whole effect is far too normal for Jones to Shine. Basil Karlo finds out that he's as popular as Tim Curry, and convinces his followers to literally worship him. Bats is a harsh movie critic, however, and ruins everything in the final act. There are some funny moments, like Bruce asking for movie candy, but overall, this one had more potential than product.

Looking at the anthology as a whole, it's interesting to me that love is a strong theme in all these stories. I wonder if that was intentional, because I don't recall the first Joker's Asylum having a common link beyond their insane narrator. It certainly would be cool to have this be a bi-annual event, with stories relating to a particular holiday or time of year (Joker's Asylum: Spring Break pops to mind), doing them just often enough to be fresh and not play out the idea.

In an age when Batman stories are so closely linked, it's nice to see stories you can just pick up and read. Of course, Batman himself is scarce within the narrative, but what do you expect when the Joker is calling the tune? I wish DC did more trades like this that can easily be read without needing pages and pages of context. Lord knows, they've got enough back material and people willing to write tales of the Dark Knight. In the meantime, I'll enjoy these as they come up, and fans of Batman and his rogues gallery should, too. This definitely gets a recommendation from me, just as its predecessor did.

Some Thoughts on Barefoot Gen

Written by Keiji Nakazawa
Illustrated by Keiji Nakazawa
Last Gasp

The Manga Movable Feast (or MMF for short) is a chance for those of us who hang out on Twitter to all write about the same series. We've discussed things as different as Yotsuba&! and To Terra over the past year. Sometimes the feast is about a well known work like One Piece, but other times we'll look at books that might be a bit under the radar, such as Karakuri Odette. This time however, in a month filled with thoughts of love and sweethearts, we've chosen to pick one of the most depressing and difficult manga series available in English, because we're funny like that.

This month's host is Sam, at A Life in Panels, and he's serving up Barefoot Gen. You can read his introductory post here, and the complete link list for this month's MMF is here.

I am really not kidding when I say that Barefoot Gen is a very hard manga to read. For those unaware of the series' content, Gen is the story of a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Nakazawa spares absolutely no gruesome detail in the process, using a cartoonish style but still managing to present the sheer horror of the aftermath of the bomb in such a way that no one one takes the time to read this manga will ever look at World War II (or even more modern conflicts) the same way, ever again.

Barefoot Gen is so difficult, it's causing many of of the other reviewers in the Movable Feast to quite literally wince, cringe, or cry--and sometimes all three at once. At this point, my viewpoint is shielded a bit by distance, because I read the first volumes of Gen about four years ago now and most of the rest of the bad stuff two years ago. While the effects of the bomb are always with Gen and his cast, the worst of it comes at the beginning. It's been awhile, but I can remember my strong reactions to the initial volumes in the series.

What makes Barefoot Gen stand out to me, even above the better-known Maus (because Speigleman doesn't implicate the United States in depravity in the way that Nakazawa does and thus can easily be taught in colleges around the country) is that there is no anthropomorphizing. A story loses a bit of its shock when it's creatures who are dying instead of real (if cartoonish) human beings. When people melt in front of the reader's face in Barefoot Gen, there is no disguising the fact that it's a person who is dying an almost unimaginable death. It's recognizable skulls and leg bones littering the pages here, and that makes a huge difference. Barefoot Gen is in your face once the bomb drops and I think that's why this comic has more power in its panels than anything else I've read that's dealt with a serious issue in comic form.

That power, however, can be a bit oppressive at times. There is a relentless energy behind Nakaawa's lines, as his anger and frustration at the pain and suffering of his fellow Japanese citizens at the hands of the powers that be (first in Japan, then in America) shines through, page after page. It can get to be quite the strain on the reader, as others have noted. Gen is a character speaking from his heart and those words register strongly. The trouble is that it's rather like being in a hot tub where the water pressure is turned up too high: A reader can easily decide that it's all too much, and give up on the story entirely.

Doing that would be quite a shame. I wrote several times in my reviews of individual volumes that anyone who thinks that the United States (or any other nation) should go out there and fight war after war really needs to read Barefoot Gen. While its primary focus is a condemnation of the use of atomic weapons, it is more generally and more broadly a condemnation of war itself. The primary decision makers (the Emperor, General McArthur, President Truman) never feel the impact of the falling bombs or rice shortages or babies dying from lack of nutrition and medical care. Those who are so quick on the trigger of attack often never have to deal with the true consequences of conflict, a point Nakazawa points out again and again.

This is ultimately one of the strengths and weaknesses of Barefoot Gen. Nakazawa returns again and again to the idea that it was the powers that be who got Hiroshima nuked, but after awhile, the theme grows a bit strained. As we move on to the volumes after five, it feels like Gen is just looking for opportunities to repeat the same things he's said previously and in certain situations, it feels rather forced. There are definitely times in the narrative where Nakazawa trips over himself trying to maneuver his characters into position so he can speak about a certain atrocity or desperate situation that the survivors found themselves in. It hurts the literary nature of the story, especially when the point Nakazawa is making comes down in a ham fist.

I understand that the whole point of Barefoot Gen is to chronicle the effects of the nuclear strike into the years that followed, but I also feel like maybe the manga ran its course somewhere about volume six. By volume ten, I admit that I was starting to lose my focus and also starting to feel like while those around Gen were trying to put their lives back together, he was stuck in that moment in time. I don't think Gen should ever forget the bomb, but I also think instead of railing against those who supported the war, he should be transitioning into doing more to help people find a way to prevent this kind of war from happening again. He is a part of the transformation of others, but in a way, I feel like Gen will always be trapped within that one, horrific moment in time.

That's pretty easy for me to say, however, as I was not personally impacted by the bomb and cannot know what I would do if I were a bomb survivor. I understand the concept of "never forget" and I agree with it. However, I also think that Gen's shrill rants would be getting him nowhere by this point in the story, and to some extent we see that in the manga. I'd have rather seen Gen end his time in this story by really trying to make an impact on the world. Instead, he seems content to keep being the voice in the wilderness while others move on, for both the good and the bad.
In the end, it feels like Barefoot Gen doesn't so much end as it does finish, which I have to admit disappointed me somewhat. I wanted Gen to grow up and speak to political groups, not just rail at those around him who survived the bomb without the great cost it had on Gen and his family. I wanted him to show that he was strong, like that grain of wheat that his father always mentioned. Instead, it feels like he's unable to make that leap and is only able to straighten the grain of those around him. Perhaps that's how Nakazawa himself feels, and thus his avatar Gen must do the same. Either way, there's definitely a sense of unfinished business, just as those who wish to ban the bomb permanently have not yet finished their task of ridding the world of nuclear weapons--if anything, there's more than before.

Overall, Barefoot Gen is a powerful story of loss and survival. I'm glad to have read it, and I think anyone who wants to wage war on others should read it, too, as it's a cautionary tale of the cost of battle beyond the billions spent making weapons and feeding soldiers. It is by no means a perfect story, nor should it be considered an entirely true one. (I find it hard to believe that Gen and his friends could get away with so much and survive, especially when battling the Yakuza and the American military.) There is definitely exaggeration for effect, and the effect is to make you think twice about any preconceived notions you might have about the moral correctness of dropping the nuclear bombs. If you read Barefoot Gen and you don't question your thinking afterward, you were either an extreme pacifist in the first place or are unwilling to admit that sometimes the actions of the United States in World War Two were not full of moral purity despite the angelic shine we give to "The Greatest Generation."

Like any good book, reading Barefoot Gen should change you. Maybe just a little, maybe by a lot. If you find yourself unaffected, then perhaps you need to go back and read it again. Either way, this is a comic book that is on its own level, with few peers. We all need to read this series before the lessons it imparts come too late.

Peter Bagge's Other Lives

Written by Peter Bagge
Illustrated by Peter Bagge
Vertigo

We all have different sides of ourselves, living as we do in complicated times where what we do privately might be quite different from our public persona. Usually, it's harmless fun, but taken too far, it can lead to serious trouble. That's the case here in Other Lives, where four people who aren't what they claim to be manage to get themselves into a tangled web that involves terrorism, infidelity, plagiarism, and just a touch of insanity besides. Mix it all together, and you've got an explosive combination that ends up showing the best and worst of our protagonists...and their Other Lives.

First of all, I have to give Vertigo credit for publishing this book that I'd have sworn up and down, from design to content, was actually from Fantagraphics. It's nice to see that DC was willing to do things outside their comfort zone, even if it's pretty clear that's no longer the case. (After all, you can't make a movie out of this and aging fanboys don't want to read about how their online identities are often skeezy and wreck their personal lives, so what good is it?) I did have to laugh, however, because however brief, we still get Vertigo Breasts, which I am pretty sure is a requirement by now.

Thematically, this book most resembles what a Robert Crumb book might be like if he tried his hand at fiction rather than semi-autobiographical material or adaptations. The characters are ugly on the inside and out, staying just one step up from being difficult to look at. They're very real people, not all that unlike ourselves, but carrying traits that make them just bad enough that we can safely look at them and say, "That's not me!" (We'd never go online to escape a drab life or hold entire relationships with people we only know online or have horrible addictions or get so wrapped up in our ideas that we avoid reality. Oh no!) It doesn't surprise me to learn that Bagge was heavily influenced by Crumb, later even working with the man at some of his underground comics.

The thing I liked best about this book, besides the fact that the story is very well plotted, with each piece of the puzzle fitting nicely together by the end, is that while things are certainly exaggerated, these are characters I can recognize, even if I wouldn't want to hang out with them. Their stories sound familiar, because we all know a person who spends too much time in World of Warcraft (or Second Life, which is clearly what this story is based on). When you are unhappy with your regular life, it's easy to find a place online where you can be happy. I think just about any of us that have had issues in our personal life have had places where we retreated to in order to stay sane, because the online world is far more accepting than the real one.

The key is finding a way to keep the line drawn and in Other Lives, those lines are often not even considered. Even in the real world, character are lying constantly and pretending to be something they are not. Vlad/Vader, the main character, builds his life on a combination of lying and keeping the truth hidden, a trait he apparently inherited from his father. Woodrow ruins his life with a gambling habit and delusions that attempt to keep a marriage together, even as he has other plans. Ivy wants to be with Vader and be a good person, but she also wants to raise hell where "things don't count," learning far too late that they often can. Only Otis gets a pass in all this, because his illness drives his delusions.

No one in Other Lives understands how living these various lies is unhealthy, and I think that's Bagge's point. We spend so much time trying to be who we are not and pretending to be the person we think others want us to be that we're tripping over ourselves. By thinking we have to show a facade to the world, we're all headed down a road to destruction. I hardly think people are going to die and end up in wheelchairs because we try to look better than we are, but how much emotional damage is caused because you're afraid to admit you like comic books to your co-worker and instead laugh while they're talking about the latest doings of Two and a Half Men?

Bagge is best known for getting to the heart of the problems today's society through semi-autobiographical comics. He's doing the same thing here. Other Lives is both funny and tragic, like a good serious comedy should be. There's a lesson to be learned here, one that I admit I struggle with every day and am only in the past few years learning to manage. We need to accept who we are, and allow our true selves to shine through. Otherwise, whether by drinking or gaming or creating online avatars, we are going to drive ourselves all off a cliff. Trust me (and Bagge): You'll be a better person for it, just like Ivy and Vlad by the end of the book.

Irredeemable Volume 1

Written by Mark Waid
Illustrated by Peter Krause
Boom! Studios

Once upon a time there was a writer named Mark Waid. Mark was considered to be a pretty good comic book writer, but there was a knock on him--he just wasn't able to write stories that were relevant. He was too mired in the inherent goodness of the heroic idea. Even when he varied off that path, crafting dystopias where existing characters we knew and loved were buffeted by the darkening of the world, people felt like he still clung to the idea that there was a better way.

Mark was old fashioned. Mark didn't get it. Mark might have Doctor Doom kill his lost love, found again, but if you weren't ripping people in half or having them do shocking crimes for a pre-teen audience, you just weren't hip. Go hang out with Stan Lee in the retirement home for God's sake.

Well, Mark decided to show them. Mark created his own character, one that was familiar but didn't have the heroic history that Mark felt should be preserved (how quaint of you, Mark). This character went down a path that was as dark as anything on the market, and promised to get darker still before it was done. The biggest difference? This darkness made sense within the context of the character and the world, and showed that the key to a good dark story is to be well-written, no splattered in as much gore and shock value as possible.

Good job, Mark!

Perhaps I'm laying it on a bit thick, but I get tired of solid comic book writers being attacked because they refuse to try and create the grosses, most vile stories they can with characters familiar to even the most casual fan. Mark Waid's worst stories are better than Mark Millar's best, and just because he refuses to try and bring "the real world" to comic books or refuses to do stupid things with existing characters, he's thrown in the rejects bin.

Well maybe I'm old fashioned, but I like a good story better than a shocking one. And I like writers who recognize that while you can bring modern *ideas* to the table, there is no way possible to bring the real *world* along for the ride. There's a reason why DC designated the earth they published on as Earth Prime, where no heroes stayed for long. As soon as you try to put real-world issues into your comics, the magic is gone.

Waid realizes this, and keeps the action moving so fast you can hardly keep your eye on Krause's pencils. We're dumped in media res and barely give the time to catch up. The Plutonian is a being of unimaginable power, and he's decided that the human race doesn't matter to him anymore. We're not quite sure why, and there's a definite hint that we may never know. What we know is that he's killing thousands of people at a time, seemingly for the pure joy of the kill, and his former friends and enemies are scrambling just to stay alive, let alone look for a way to stop his rampages.

What realism we get in this story is comic-book realism, with villains coming together yet having no ability to marshal their forces. The United Nations gathers, but recognizes that it's in way over its head, while weak-kneed leaders try to grovel for projection (a gesture that is rewarded in quite a clever way by Waid that's both perfect for the situation and extremely horrific--all without showing a single drop of blood). Heroes try to react to the threat with the type of ideas that heroes always have--the trouble is, those ideas just aren't going to work. About the only thing missing was a set of tanks trying to shoot him out of the sky. Maybe we'll get them in the next trade.

I love the way that this story plays out perfectly logically. Everyone does just what you'd expect them to do, from the Lois Lane stand-in to the noble heroes who only want to save lives to the cannon fodder who plead for their lives. Only thing is, the Plutonian isn't playing by the same rules everyone else is used to. He's decided to play chess without obeying the movement rules. He's using the entire bank as his war chest in Monopoly while others are still trying to pass go for their two hundred dollars. The Plutonian won't accept what the others come to think of as the currency of the realm, and this change is the action that drives Irredeemable.

Rather than try to drag ideas of domestic terrorism or other bits of reality that destroy the illusion of fantasy necessary to make a superhero comic work, Waid opts to make a few subtle changes in the narrative. People snark on the Plutonian, which eats at him. He's rejected by the love of his life for perpetuating a fraud. He's even got some weird kinks. These are modern ideas that can easily be integrated to make the story darker without shattering the suspension of disbelief needed to keep the whole concept going in the first place. This is how you write a comic book with modern ideas, people, not suddenly deciding that Homeland Security might want a list of people with powers.

Then there's the issue of darkness. This comic is full of dark points. People are incinerated, blown up, and drowned, from heroes to villains to innocent children. An arm is ripped off by a piece of a coffee cup. Yet at no point in time is this violence either gratuitous or gory. Waid places each horrible act within a context that necessitates it and Peter Krause dignifies that script by showing these terrible deeds in such a way that presents the action with trying to see what new levels of depravity he can get away with on the page. The story, not the shock value, is the key.

This is the way a good dark comic should be done. Make original characters who can echo familiar names, but don't have the history of that name. Make your story reflect the peculiar standards of a superheroic world. Use modern ideas to tweak that world ("What if...") but don't try to make it look like the reality we live in daily. Most importantly, use violence to drive home the plot instead of abusing the plot to see how badly you can shock people.

Put simply, Mark Waid gets it. His description of this being a story of slow betrayal, of a Conradian march to the bottom, is spot on. And just like Joseph Conrad, this is a dark story done right. I just wish other creators, instead of taking potshots, would start taking notes. We'd all be better for it.

Bleach Volumes 7 and 8

Written by Tite Kubo
Illustrated by Tite Kubo
Viz

With the capture of Rukia a done deal and the Soul Reapers about ready to punish her for the crime of saving lives in an unconventional way, can even Ichigo's strong spirit make a difference? Shown the limit of his powers by his betters and taken almost to the brink of death, what more can Ichigo do, let alone his soul-sensitive friends Chad and Orihime? There may be one last hope to save Rukia, but are Ichigo and his friends ready to pay the cost? Find out as we round out the beginning of the story of Bleach!

These two volumes were definitely better than my return to the story with Volume 6. There's a stronger sense of mystery, as we begin to see that the Soul Society isn't as beneficent as we were led to believe by Rukia. Ichigo's amazing power is shown to be almost nothing against those of experienced soul reapers, and members of the cast must start making decisions that will affect them for the rest of their lives--potentially shortening that life in the process.

These are the kinds of things that make a shonen story interesting to me. Sure, there's the usual battling, with each fight happening at roughly the same place in the narrative. But this time around, we also get added drama that puts the formula for shonen in the background. It's what attracted me to the Bleach anime in the first place, and I was worried that it was going to start evaporating from the manga. Fortunately, Kubo steers us back on track here. I hope that pace keeps up as the story continues.

I think it's interesting that inherent in this story is that Ichigo, Chad, and Orihime must all give up their childhood here, making a very adult decision. Further, it's implied that they are all going to lie to their family and friends in order to do this. I wonder at the potential consequences for the decisions made here and if Kubo will pick up on that later. It would definitely make for an interesting story arc for me, but maybe not so much for the target audience. I guess only time will tell.

There's definitely a lot of darkness in this portion of the manga, but we also get some good comedic set pieces. Ichigo tries to escape a trap by running up a wall, Roadrunner-style, for instance, a good example of the continued use of physical comedy to lighten the mood. There's also some verbal wordplay here and there, usually at Ichigo's expense. It definitely helps take the edge off the overall story, which is starting to get extremely serious.

I also thought that the artwork was better this time around. I had an easier time understanding what was going on during the battle scenes, and there were some pretty neat moments, such as when Ichigo is falling amid the blocks of his life or as his soul chain is literally being eaten away. There's also good work with facial features here, using eyes and grimaces to compliment the plot and text. Kubo's probably one of the better shonen artists that I read regularly.

After being a little worried by volume six, I'm glad to see that these two trades are more in line with what I expect from a shonen manga. I'm definitely interested to see how Kubo handles the next part of the story, even though I'm familiar with it from the anime. There's a lot of cool moments coming up, and it should be a fun ride, as long as there are more books like these two and less like volume six.

The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects

Written by Mike Mignola (with Katie Mignola)
Illustrated by Mike Mignola
Dark Horse

This is a collection of Mike Mignola written and Mike Mignola illustrated stories, with all the usual weirdness this implies. That's really all you need to know, because you're either a fan of the Hellboy creator or you're not--his style doesn't exactly lend itself to being neutral.

If you are a fan and haven't read this one yet, you definitely need to find a copy right away. Much as I'm grateful that Mignola teams with other artists so that we can get more creative work from his brilliant (if obviously demented) brain, there is nothing quite like seeing Mignola's vision as laid out by Mignola himself. His layouts are often easily as interesting as the story itself, leading the reader's eyes all over the page and allowing Mignola to let the dialog part of his script take second fiddle to the art when it's appropriate.

This collection leads off with a proto-steampunk story where a superhero known as the screw-on head battles the evils of the world at the behest of President Abraham Lincoln, looking totally awesome Mingola-ized and completely unflappable, despite facing horrors that make the Civil War look like a parade march. Using a clever combination of snark and Victorian seriousness, Mignola earned a well-deserved Eisner for this story that fits perfectly within the Hellboy world while not actually being a part of it.

It would be hard to top a story with an animated robot head and Abraham Lincoln, but the rest of the contributions are pretty solid. A follow-up tale of sorts uses a variation on the Jack in the Beanstalk legend to good effect, with Mignola drawing a cool and creepy devil that takes on the role of the giant. Mignola's representation of the beanstalk is something to see, with his dialog again balancing old ideas with modern speech.

That's not the only appearance of the devil, however, as he shows his evil head again as a flippant lord of evil in The Witch and Her Soul. This time around, Old Scratch wants two creations of a witch who sold her soul to the devil. They bargain for their life--and win. Or do they? I think it's kind of funny that even in a collection with no Hellboy, we still see Mignola drawing large read creatures. Guess you gotta go with what you know!

Prisoner of Mars more or less closes down this collection, with Mignola putting on his early science fiction hat (doing it better than Alan Moore, and with a lot less things that make me want to wash my eyes out with bleach) and using stereotypical British stoicism to relate a rather fantastic story. Within the space of just a few pages, a man kills a crazed colleague and ends up with his essence turned into a walking tin pan on the surface of Mars, only to be rewarded for heroic action in saving two planets. It's absolutely preposterous and the pacing of the story makes it even more ridiculous. I love Mignola's artistic choices here (he mentions in the bonus material how much fun it was to draw characters in this story), and if I'd only seen in text form, I'd have guessed it for a piece contemporary with Verne and Wells.

I'm a huge Mignola fan, so this was an easy sell for me. It's obviously not the place to start for those looking into his work for the first time, but anyone who only knows his Hellboy universe material really needs to pick this one up. Abraham Lincoln will thank you!

Emma Volume 10

Written by Kaoru Mori
Illustrated by Kaoru Mori
CMX

Happy Valentine's Day! And what better way to celebrate this day of love than with the final volume of Emma, which features the moment we've all been waiting for--Emma and William's marriage!

Of the several volumes of short story collections, this is by far the strongest. The emphasis is on characters we've seen frequently, and their tales tie up some of the loose ends of the main storyline. We also get the return of the title character, which also helps to ground this manga more firmly in the world Mori created so well.

I really liked how Mori showed this was an end of an era by bringing in more modern ideas here and there. I am not going to get picky about some of them surely being anachronisms, because they are there not to show Mori's historical knowledge, but to let the reader know that the world Emma and William are entering together is not the one of William's parents or of Emma's guardian angel first employer. Just as the social standards are changing, as we see when the servants mingle into the wedding party or when William's ex-fiance Eleanor is shown to still be desirable despite the taint of scandal, the practical world is changing, too. I don't think there should be an automobile or a plane in Emma's world right now, but they, like the idea of a gas stove, are coming. Each of these ideas is just slipped in, without commentary, allowing the reader to process the changes themselves.

If there's an issue with this volume (besides the 4chan section, of which the less said the better), it's that things seem to work out just a bit too neatly. Emma and William are married without incident, though also somewhat without approval. Eleanor will rebuild her life. (Though in this case I was glad to see that--she got the short end of the stick in this manga!) The remaining servants all have plans, and seem to all be in positions that were probably more comfortable than is true to the time period. In the end, everyone is joyous and happy. If this manga reminded me of a Henry James novel turned into a comic, here it becomes the anti-James, or perhaps what a James novel might have looked like if he actually liked any of his characters.

While it certainly warmed my heart to see Emma happy (I'm not as keen on William given what his waffling cost Eleanor), the ending here is sweet but just a bit too good to be true. Yes, Hakim is lurking, purposefully putting himself in William's place or showing him up, but that's about it. I really think someone in William's family breaking code of conduct to speak out would have been appropriate, just to give things a bit of conflict.

All in all, however, this was a wonderful series that sadly, very few people will get to read in the future because it's from a defunct publisher. Emma may never have had the best story or the best art, but the level of artistic detail in the settings brought out the English Literature lover in me. Mori put together great relationship dynamics, and even gave us a lot of closure here, where other writers might have focused on the main characters only. I'd recommend Emma to anyone who likes love stories, especially those set in a historical context. Sometimes, it's just nice to see a happy ending. It's hard to think of a better story to use for a Valentine's Day post. May your love run as true as that of Emma for William, everybody!

The Muppet Show Comic Book: On the Road

Written by Roger Langridge
Illustrated by Roger Langridge and Shelli Paroline
Boom! Studios

What to do when your theater is temporarily closed? Take the act on the road, of course! That's exactly what the Muppets do, hopping on a tour bus and seeing a bit of the country while repairs are made. But not everyone is going with them; Fozzie opts to fly solo. Can the Muppets survive without him, especially when they travel to a town that's filled with relatives of Statler and Waldorf? Watch as the road show antics build up to a momentous return home, complete with Gonzo being, well, Gonzo for charity and a mysterious box that could lead to temptation. All this, and a pitch for a movie-length version of Pigs...In....Spaaaaceee!! (Why not? Hollywood's done everything else.) It's time to play the music in your head, and be sure you've got plenty of light when reading more from Langridge's Muppet Show!

It would be really hard for anything to top Roger Langridge's initial four issue run of the Muppet Show Comic Book. That was a magical experience that might come along only once in a lifetime. I was mind-boggled by how well Langridge took the spirit of the show, from Pigs in Space to Veterinarian's Hospital to Statler and Waldorf and made it absolutely sing on the printed page.

I can't imagine anyone being able to keep that pace up, and so it's no surprise to me that my second entry into Langridge's Muppet Show comics was not as awesome as the first time. But that's sort of like saying nothing's going to top the first time you ever saw Casablanca; just because the first time was the best doesn't mean the 15th time isn't something special, too.

This time around for the "0" issue, Langridge has an artist, Shelli Paroline, for the Pigs in Space movie pitch. Paroline isn't as good as Langridge at making the Muppets come alive, but the splash page that has nods to quite a few other sci-fi shows, including a certain temporary employee and his robot pals. I'm not sure if that was Langridge or the artist's idea, but I'm a sucker for little Easter eggs like that. The rest of the story isn't half bad, either reading like an extended episode of the Muppet Show, with Fozzie and Rizzo hosting instead of Kermit. The verbal banter is excellent, and Langridge deftly weaves the usual cast in and out of the narrative.

From there, the story transitions into the Muppets adapting their act for road shows, with the already vaudevillian feel of the program ramped up to the next level. Dr. Bob becomes a traveling medicine show, for instance, and the group adds an insult comic using the Muppet Show as a stepping stone to better things. Even the Swedish Chef and Pigs in Space are given a tweak to work in a non-studio format. Best of all, the troop can't escape Statler and Waldorf, who apparently have spies in every city--or at least relatives!

The jokes hold up pretty well all in all, but all in all, things are best when the gang return to the stage and immediately get greedy about a secret box addressed to Fozzie Bear. The show must go on, but that won't stop everyone--Kermit included--from trying to learn what's inside. Where's Fozzie, you ask? Doing a road show of his own in some great silent comedy sequences by Langridge, particularly the one about the alphabet.

Soon, the gang is reunited for a musical number that could easily close any of the Henson TV shows, and we're closed for another trade. This one ends on a really touching note, I think, showing that Langridge understands that beneath the laughs, there could also be a lot of meaning. Henson and his associates had strong feelings about the world, and it's good to see that vision carried out, even on the printed page.

One the Road, while not as mind-blowing as the first collection, is still very, very good. I love that Langridge has the characters self-aware that they're in a comic book rather than on television, and I love his use of so many of the varied characters that appeared on the Muppets over time. Even his original additions look like they came out of the creature shop, which is no mean feat. I'm sad that there's only so many Muppet Show comics left to go, but I also appreciate that Langridge didn't try to take this idea further than he could sustain it (though perhaps Disney owning Marvel had a bit to do with the closure as well). I couldn't possibly give On the Road anything less than a wholehearted recommendation, and if you're a fan of the Muppets, you'll do the same once you've read it. Forget whoever is working on a Muppet Movie--hire Langridge!!

Cthulhu Tales Volume 2

Written by Various Writers, including William Messner-Loebs, Steve Niles, and Mark Waid
Illustrated by Various Artists
Boom! Studios

It's odd but true that I've never actually read an H.P. Lovecraft story, despite watching movies, reading Mythos stories by other writers, and reading comic adaptations of this classic pulp writer who should be in my wheelhouse in terms of being part of a regular reading rotation.

For whatever reason, it's just never happened. Maybe I'll change that someday. In the meantime, however, I still enjoy seeing how other writers play in Lovecraft's creepy sandbox, especially in short story form, like this second volume of anthology comics from Boom! Studios.

I'm pleased to relate that the overall quality of these stories is very high, especially for an anthology. In general, I wish these stories had been longer. I realize that there's only so much room in a 22 page comic book, but perhaps doing two 11 pagers might have been a better idea. These writers have some pretty cool ideas going on, but sometimes there's just not enough room to peel the flesh from the bone, as it were. Still, given the space allotted, I think there's a lot of great twists on the Mythos, ranging from the timeless to the topical.

My favorite of the topical stories is the one that closes the volume, There Will Be Blood, by Mark Sable and Sergio Carrera. The invasion of Iraq has consequences that only a money-hungry corporation could misinterpret, with the protagonist finding his only way out is to condemn himself to the ranks of the damned. It's a great idea that brings to mind pulp writers who have used other, older wars to set up their stories.

A lot of the stories reference the Necronomicon, of course, but I like how none of them try to connect together. After all, who's to say there's only one book? It's always fun to see how writers use this linchpin, with Mark Waid probably being the most innovative this time around (How do people make theoretical breakthroughs? With a little help from their fiends.) Waid of course has the best splash page in the whole book, with a Cthulhu head playing psychologist asking about the patient's mother. It certainly got my attention!

There's definitely a sense of tradition in here in terms of horror story format. I am a sucker for the twist ending, and we get them here, drawing a direct line from the 1950s to today. In those tales, I keep waiting for a narrator to tell us to beware, but this is Cthulhu, not the Crypt. Michael Alan Nelson's On the Wagon sets the standard here for the anthology, with a twist that might just drive you to drink. It's safer that way.

While there are several well-known writers in this collection, I'm not familiar with the artists at all. A creator named Chee does a lot of the stories, and is probably the most solid of the contributors. Others try to be as straightforward as possible, which leaves things just a bit too bland for my taste. We also get an homage to Mike Mignola in a story that might not be too far away from the Hellboy universe. Overall, I wish the art was just a bit stronger and creepier, though props to the colorists, who do a very good job of making the art look stranger than it actually is. We see a lot of odd washes, garish contrasts, and other tricks that keep your eyes off balance. Given that this is the world of the Mythos, I think their choices were appropriate.

There's a story towards the end called the Cruise of Cthulhu, and while I certainly would recommend taking that trip, I'd definitely recommend this book to horror fans and mythos lovers. Cthulhu Tales is a solid anthology with a lot of neat takes on Lovecraft's ideas. I enjoyed this book a lot, and definitely want to read more in the series. Maybe after reading a bit of the original material first...if my mind can handle it...

The Man Who Beat Up Daniel Johnston

Written by Bill Volk
Illustrated by Bill Volk
Self-Published

In light of the forthcoming Daniel Johnston comic, I thought it might be fun to look at Daniel Johnston as the main character in someone else's mini-comic. In this case, it's a 24 hour comic by Bill Volk, centering around the idea of a man who beats up the singer-songwriter at the request of Satan.

The comic is rather strange, and its made all the stranger by having a pink cover with neon green pages. The fight sequence is fanciful, and Satan is portrayed as looking rather like Billy Corrigan from the Smashing Pumpkins. As we see, the Devil wants Johnston to stay in Austin at any cost, though the reasons remain mysterious.

Volk's art is quick and sketchy, as you might expect in a 24 hour comic production. We have this one because my wife is a big fan of Johnston (I'm sorry, I don't see the appeal), and it's a cute story that from what I understand from her does in fact tie in to a longstanding concern of Johnston himself, namely the role of Satan in his life. Johnston definitely has mental issues, but I appreciate that Volk doesn't use them for comedy here--he's treating this as straightforward as the real life protagonist might have done.

I don't know if Daniel Johnston knows there's a mini-c0mic out there about him, but if you're a fan of the man and see this sitting in a comic shop somewhere, grab it. It's definitely a neat piece of trivia. If you want to know more about Bill Volk, you can check out his website. There's no mention of this comic, but there are some other neat artistic features to check out.

The Brewmaster's Castle

Written by Matt Dembicki
Illustrated by Andrew Cohen
Self-Published

Tucked into a section of the District of Columbia that's probably better known for it Embassies is a mansion that was once home to an aging brewer named Christian Heurich. The mansion still stands, but the man, of course, has long since passed on. This is the story, fictional of course, of what that man might have been thinking on the last day he was a part of...the Brewmaster's Castle.

The subject matter of this mini is extremely specific, as you might expect. Had it not been written by one of my favorite mini-comic creators, Matt Dembicki, I probably wouldn't have grabbed it. It's clear that Dembicki has done his research on this subject, and his co-creator on this one, Andrew Cohen, definitely does a nice job of making the interiors of the comic resemble the insides of an old mansion and mirror the things you can find in the house today.

If you have an interest in the history of beer brewing in this country, than this mini is definitely going to be of interest to you. The appeal, however, is lessened if you're not strongly attached t the subject material. I liked the idea of Heurich touring his home one last time, thinking about all that happened within its walls. That was a great way to actually give a historical context to the comic without turning it into a historical pamphlet. Still, I'm not sure if there's an audience for this one outside of fans of Dembicki or those who are interested in brewing.

I think the most interesting thing about this mini is its shape. Dembicki opted for a tall legal size, with each page having three square panels about the size of a quarter-page zine. Cohen mostly uses this space for that purpose, but occasionally we get a spread page that is tall and narrow, a pretty cool effect that you don't often get to see. Cohen's use of black and while imagery is pretty cool overall here, and I'll definitely have to look into more of his work in the future.

The Brewmaster's Castle is a quality specialty work. If you like the history of breweries or know someone who does, this would make a nice (and unexpected) gift for them. It's a bit too narrow in subject to get a general recommendation, but the right person will definitely dig this a lot. I can't wait to see what Dembicki is up to next. His minis are always varied, and are always of a high quality. He's definitely an artist to follow for fans of the mini-comic genre.

Technical Trouble

Hey all,

My ccomputer just decided I don't need a space key.  That means it's going to the shop.  Panel Patter will be a little irregular until it is up and running again.  I will try but can't promise a Takahashi post on Tuesday.  Blogger mobile won't allow timed posts so it may be a problem.

See you all real soon (I hope) and remember...warrenties are your friend!

Bleach Volume 6

Written by Tite Kubo
Illustrated by Tite Kubo
Viz

When last we saw Ichigo, he was locked in a deadly duel with Ishida to see who could destroy more hollows, the surrogate soul reaper or the quincy, a group of hollow destroyers now all but destroyed themselves. Their battle, however, has a lot of collateral damage, and soon others must enter the fight in order to save Ichigo's home town. On top of this, there's a giant hollow on the way, lured by all this fighting. Is Ichigo's seemingly limitless power up to the task? Will he and Ishida be able to make amends with each other? And can this disturbance go unnoticed by the Soul Society? Find out in the 6th installment of...Bleach.

I hadn't picked up a volume of Bleach in a long time, but since one of my goals is to try and finish some of the series I've started over the years, I thought it was time to get back. After reading some other shonen titles in the meantime, I have to admit that Bleach doesn't hold quite the same appeal to me that it did when I was reading it last year. This reads more like a superhero story to me, one that keeps going from trade to trade without covering a lot of ground. I still enjoyed reading it, but I was not as into the action as I remember being before.

There are some nice touches here, such as the fact that Ichigo is completely clueless, attacking a foe of immense power in the same way he would a normal hollow. The contrast between his brawling nature and Ishida's calculating brain does work well here. It also sets up the humor in this section of the story. The trouble comes in that the battle itself seems resolved a bit too quickly and easily for such a description of terror. I didn't feel the menace that I should have from a hollow so big it swallows other hollows without a second thought.

The ending part of this set of chapters begins a new point in the story, which if it follows the anime at all, will take Ichigo and his friends to the world of the Soul Society, changing the nature of the monsters Ichigo must fight. I'm hoping that gives this one a bit more weight. Right now, the manga feels a bit too airy, especially when I'm reading other stories that have extra layers of meaning within the overall plot.

Maybe I'm just expecting a bit too much of a series that's designed for kids. Yet I feel like there could be more going on. I'm still enjoying reading these books, at least right now, but it's not one I would call a must-read for others. We'll see what the end of this story arc brings in the next few volumes.

The Worst Kind of People Issue 3

Written by James Cuartero
Illustrated by James Cuartero
Self-Published

James Cuartero's Worst Kind of People series returns for a third issue, bringing along the same terrible types of characters we've come to be familiar with in the first two issues. There's the man who promises a better life for his wife, only to leave her a football widow. Another builds a chore-bot that quickly finds other work while a third man chooses a rather odd way to indicate he no longer loves his spouse.

Yup, these are not the types of folks you want anywhere near you, whether they're having their hands make out together or giving answers to questions we'd rather not ask in the first place. Cuartero keeps the mildly uncomfortable humor going page after page, with each one seeming to be a little worse than the one before it.

The key to these comics is not amazing art (Cuartero's pencils give you the gag, but aren't anything special in and of themselves) but the good sense of comic timing. These (usually) four panel gags don't stick around too long, ruining the joke. They show up, make you either chuckle or shudder, and move right on to the next thing. While sometimes crude, they're never offensive just because Cuartero can--anything gross about them is for a specific purpose, which I can appreciate.

The Worst Kind of People is not for everyone, and I'm sure Cuartero knows that. I find the jokes funny, and am sad to see that there are no more updated online, with the last entry being just before I talked to him at the Small Press Expo. I hope we've not seen the last of this series, but if not, it was a fun three issue run. You can still pick up the first two volumes from Cuartero himself, I believe, if you want to see what brings out the worst in Cuartero. I had fun learning the answer--maybe you will, too.

A Year of Rumiko Takahashi Week 6: Nobody's Perfect (Ranma 1/2 Volumes 6 and 7)

My year-long look at the work of Rumiko Takahashi continues here. A great creator deserves a whole year of examination! You can find all of the posts here.

Written by Rumiko Takahashi
Illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi
Viz

No matter who the creator is, no matter how good a particular work of that creator is, no matter how much you rely on that creator, there is no avoiding it: At some point, they're going to come up with something you don't much care for.

Mark Waid even got me to read Legion of Superheroes, but his run on Fantastic Four never worked for me. Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory was seven degrees of separation for me in terms of my enjoyment of the sprawling series that went nowhere, and this is a man who usually is spot-on for me.

Which brings me to this part of the story of Ranma 1/2.

Over the course of the 6th and 7th volumes, we are introduced to a lecherous little troll of an old man named Happosai, former mentor to Ranma and Akane's fathers and soon to be an entirely too frequent thorn in the side of just about everyone in the world of Ranma 1/2. His whole gag is being so consumed with lust, he's always trying to cop a feel, sneak a peek, or steal intimate garments from anyone female.

This would be annoying enough on its own, but it's compounded by the fact that this old geezer's lust centers on teenagers rather than adults. Happosai's antics aren't funny--they're essentially criminal and absolutely creepy. And he won't go away either, playing a large role in both of these books. Maybe this is just one of those cultural differences. Maybe it's a matter of personal taste. I'm honestly not sure. I just know that the little creep gets on my nerves almost as badly as he grates on the people in the manga, and I don't think that was quite what Takahashi had in mind when she devised him.
The whole idea of Happosai as an unmitigated lust machine really grates on my nerves, not the least of which is the fact that he doesn't even fit into the theme that Takahashi has established for Ranma villains. Perhaps I'm overly desirous of the formulaic, but one of the things I like about Ranma 1/2 is that there is a sense of the familiar about premise and story. A comedy works best when it sticks to the script, and I feel like Happosai is off book, taking Ranma 1/2 away from what makes it such a good story.

The humor of Ranma 1/2 lies in the romantic tension between Akane and Ranma. All of the verbal wordplay, slapstick, and comedy pivots on the axis of their relationship. Do they really love each other, deep down? Maybe (I'd say probably, based on my admittedly limited sample of evidence), but they'll both be damned before they admit it. Thus, we have a lot of great comedic moments, as Ranma and Akane refuse to admit to liking each other but will go to extreme lengths (most of which are hilarious) to ensure that the engagement stays intact.

It's bizarre that a tomboy and a cursed boy-girl are the focus of so much attention, but no one said a comedy ever has to make logical sense. What I do know is that the best Ranma 1/2 stories use this as their centerpiece. Ranma and Akane can work together, sure, but just like Tom and Jerry, they're best when they are at each other's throats. The big problem I have with Happosai is that instead of dividing Akane and Ranma, he gives them a common enemy, with no tension of desired romantic affection. (Happosai certainly has lustful intentions towards the two of them, but again, that's really just disgusting and not at all funny.) I'm sure the intention is a change of pace, but there had to be a better way to accomplish it.

Despite my dislike of these volumes, there are some funny moments. Akane's terrible cooking gets some laughs, as we also see the return of the Black Rose, who refuses to let Ranma out of her life, even as her brother Kuno wishes he'd go away and the "pig-tailed girl" would stay. Romeo and Juliet gets an appropriate trouncing, and the theme of the cursed springs pops up in several places. (One of these weeks, I want to talk about Takahashi's use of running gags. Don't let me forget.) It's extremely impressive how Takahashi manages to weave her ever-growing cast in and out of the narrative. I just wish these stories weren't spoiled with the image of a man who gives me the creeps popping up over and over again.

Fortunately, Happosai's part in the world of Ranma will be reduced a bit as time goes on, rotating into the series of antagonists that plagues Ranma almost like a batting order. I really wish he'd go away entirely, but as an occasional annoyance, he's relatively tolerable. As with any creator, not everything is going to be perfect in the eyes of every reader. Don't let Happosai turn you away from Ranma 1/2, because there's some great new players just around the corner who fit the antagonist mold far better--and with far funnier results. Next week, we'll consider the character rotation choices in Ranma 1/2. I hope you'll join me then!

Invincible Iron Man Volume 1

Written by Matt Fraction
Illustrated by Salvador Larroca
Marvel

I know I've been reading more superhero comics this year so far, but believe it or not I'm actually being more selective about what I'm choosing to read. I don't actually want to stop reading stories about characters I grew up with. I just want to stop reading *bad* stories about characters I grew up with.

That brings us to Matt Fraction, the writer given the mighty task of making Tony Stark likable after Mark Millar and company put him squarely in the "jerk" category during the events of Civil War. No pressure, there's only a big movie coming out at the same time. With most Iron Man material showing him in less than a stellar light, Fraction had quite a bit of work to do.

So how does he manage it? Quite well, actually. Fraction deftly decides not to spend too much time arguing over who was right and wrong, and instead focuses on the idea of Tony Stark's sense of responsibility for the well-being of the world, from close friends like Pepper to the victims of international terrorism. He's continuing to operate on an expanded version of Peter Parker's notion of responsibility, with his guilt based on his weapons manufacturing past, padded by the death of Steve Rogers.

The trouble, however, is one of scale. When you try to become responsible for the world, you set yourself up for all kinds of failure. We start to see the signs of that here, and also see that Fraction can create long-term arcs as well as immediate problems, a skill necessary for writing good serial comics that's often lost these days. Stark must also deal with the problem of letting the technological genie out of the bottle, a story we've seen before (Armor Wars) but is given a new, darker twist.

Oh, and after a lot of serious storytelling, we also get a spot-on, in character Spider-Man, arriving just in time to give the book a little levity.

That's the thing that makes Fraction such a good writer. He's fully able to write a serious situation that mixes real world problems and superheroes but also have two characters banter about their looks even as a crisis looms. While I'm not fond of going to that well in the first place, as I've said a time or three, if you're going to do it, do it right. Fraction does here. The idea is plausible, the impact realistic, and Tony Stark's reaction is right in touch with his character, both in the short term and looking back to the years when Bob Layton was co-plotting and illustrating the book, which I still consider to be the best Iron Man stories. This trade can hold its own against the Layton years, and that's really saying something given the mess that Civil War placed Stark's character in.

The story itself is pretty typical modern Marvel fare. The stakes are raised as the practical application of the powers available in the Marvel U are blended with the issues of our earth, leading to heroes questioning what they do and why they do it. My feelings on this are mixed, because the more realistic you try to be, the less magic these stories contain. When characters as asking why Tony Stark doesn't allow others to use his magical magnets for healing, the answer "it's too expensive" is lame, given that Stark will turn around and spend billions rebuilding his businesses by the end of the trade. There's no need to go there, guys--I don't read these stories to think of real-life problems. It throws me out of the story, never something you want.

Fortunately, Fraction doesn't spend too long on these ideas, keeping the action flowing from one battle scene to the next and using his ability to create fake but plausible technology to make Iron Man even more ahead of the curve than he was the first day he put on the suit. I'm willing to forgive the real-life digressions because Fraction's plot is strong and his dialog--including Tony's inner monologue where he worries about his legacy throughout this trade--is amazing. Plus, like Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak, Fraction uses instead of abuses continuity. There are references to older Iron Man stories here, but they aren't shunted aside or radically altered. They instead serve as context, and possibly exploration points for new readers who just saw the Iron Man movie. All in all, the scripting here is great.

What's not so great is Salvador Larroca's "art." I was tempted to put quotes around illustrated above, because what he's doing here is not art, it's tracing. And it's not even good tracing, either. When I go from one page that's got David Duchovny as a jihadist and Danny DeVito as a rich man with a costume fetish on the next, I'm laughing--but not for the right reasons. The art job here is abysmal and the praise Larroca gets on the back cover flap for being timely is an insult to people like Sal Buscema, who often pencilled (and sometimes inked!) five comics or more in a given month. Actual pencils. not Photoshopped tracings. If this story hadn't been so good, I'd have given up reading it. Marvel has an awesome stable of great writers, but they need to work on finding actual talent for the art chores. Klaus Jansen might not be my favorite artist, but at least he actually uses his own compositions.

Or maybe I'm just behind the times and this is what fans want now. I certainly hope not.

Invincible Iron Man is a really good story that can be read without a lot of background knowledge. Those who know Fraction from other, indie works will be happy to see he's just as good when writing for a major publisher. If you're looking for a good superhero story, this isn't a bad place to look. I'm definitely in for a few more volumes of this.