Reviews by Alex Kennedy (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} 7comicsaweek) wrote,@ 2005-03-21 22:48:00 |
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Negative Burn: The Best From 1993-1998 (Image)
Story and Art by Various
Between 1993 and 1998 Caliber comics published 's Negative Burn , a black and white anthology with no real discernible theme. What it did have, in spades was top flight creators. Having not read I'm not sure how comprehensive this "best of" trade paperback is, seeing as the it only represents a small number of the staggering number of writers and artists who worked on the title. That said, it does have a hell of a lot of good odds and ends from some very big names. Say what you will, but it's always interesting to see what a creator gets up to without any real constraints on what he or she is allowed to do.
Okay, I should say something first off. Some of the creators who's material is collected herein isn't exactly groundbreaking. You may have heard that there is some Alan Moore to be had, and there is. Three stories in fact. But all three are cute little throwaways. That may sound dismissive, and it's not my intention to belittle anyone's work. But my overall feeling upon reading this collection is that Negative Burn was a place for weird little creator odds and ends. Taking that into account, there are some really neat pieces found between the covers. One of the best things about this collection is that it gives us a convenient window into the recent past, letting us see the development of some of the artists represented. Paul Pope for example has three stories, and it's fascinating to see his particular style in a less polished prototypal form. Similarly Phil Hester's artistic contributions show him experimenting with an almost Sienkiewicz like style, wild and inky. Also neat is getting to see artists really do something different from what they're known for. I don't associate Brian Bolland with cartooning, but his featured "Mr. Mamoulian" strip. There's a great deal of variety here, some autobiographical tales, some humor and some plain old oddball stuff. It makes the book read a little unevenly as it careens off in all kinds of different directions. I guess the whole unthemed anthology is something of a double edged sword. It gives freedom, but makes for something of a disjointed reading experience.
The big treat for me in Negative Burnwas finding a bunch of work from the team of Darko Macan and Edvin Biukovic. The team was behind one of my all time favourite storylines in any comic ever, Grendel Tales: Devil's Choices and although they did a few other odds and ends their collaboration was tragically cut short by Biukovic's passing away in 1999. Finding a bunch of work from them in the pages of this trade paperback is both a sad reminder of how amazing these guys were and a treat for those of us who so loved their unique collaborative style. Their story "The Immortals" is the highlight of the book for me, a darkly humourous tale of revenge. I suppose that's the true value of Negative Burn, getting little bits and pieces from creators that we may have never seen otherwise.
Okay, I'll try to make this as clear as possible. The Negative Burn collection has some truly talented people in it's roster. But nothing in it is likely to blow you away. It's great if you want to see a bunch of neat odds and ends from said creators. Provided that the reader goes in with the right expectations, it is a treasure trove of material for the right person. Have a flip through and see if any of the names in the index pop out at you. That'll probably be the key to whether or not this collection will be of interest to you.
Story and Art by Various
Between 1993 and 1998 Caliber comics published 's Negative Burn , a black and white anthology with no real discernible theme. What it did have, in spades was top flight creators. Having not read I'm not sure how comprehensive this "best of" trade paperback is, seeing as the it only represents a small number of the staggering number of writers and artists who worked on the title. That said, it does have a hell of a lot of good odds and ends from some very big names. Say what you will, but it's always interesting to see what a creator gets up to without any real constraints on what he or she is allowed to do.
Okay, I should say something first off. Some of the creators who's material is collected herein isn't exactly groundbreaking. You may have heard that there is some Alan Moore to be had, and there is. Three stories in fact. But all three are cute little throwaways. That may sound dismissive, and it's not my intention to belittle anyone's work. But my overall feeling upon reading this collection is that Negative Burn was a place for weird little creator odds and ends. Taking that into account, there are some really neat pieces found between the covers. One of the best things about this collection is that it gives us a convenient window into the recent past, letting us see the development of some of the artists represented. Paul Pope for example has three stories, and it's fascinating to see his particular style in a less polished prototypal form. Similarly Phil Hester's artistic contributions show him experimenting with an almost Sienkiewicz like style, wild and inky. Also neat is getting to see artists really do something different from what they're known for. I don't associate Brian Bolland with cartooning, but his featured "Mr. Mamoulian" strip. There's a great deal of variety here, some autobiographical tales, some humor and some plain old oddball stuff. It makes the book read a little unevenly as it careens off in all kinds of different directions. I guess the whole unthemed anthology is something of a double edged sword. It gives freedom, but makes for something of a disjointed reading experience.
The big treat for me in Negative Burnwas finding a bunch of work from the team of Darko Macan and Edvin Biukovic. The team was behind one of my all time favourite storylines in any comic ever, Grendel Tales: Devil's Choices and although they did a few other odds and ends their collaboration was tragically cut short by Biukovic's passing away in 1999. Finding a bunch of work from them in the pages of this trade paperback is both a sad reminder of how amazing these guys were and a treat for those of us who so loved their unique collaborative style. Their story "The Immortals" is the highlight of the book for me, a darkly humourous tale of revenge. I suppose that's the true value of Negative Burn, getting little bits and pieces from creators that we may have never seen otherwise.
Okay, I'll try to make this as clear as possible. The Negative Burn collection has some truly talented people in it's roster. But nothing in it is likely to blow you away. It's great if you want to see a bunch of neat odds and ends from said creators. Provided that the reader goes in with the right expectations, it is a treasure trove of material for the right person. Have a flip through and see if any of the names in the index pop out at you. That'll probably be the key to whether or not this collection will be of interest to you.
