7 Comics a Week

7comicsaweek @ 2005-05-22T20:14:00

2005-05-23T03:14:29Z

My review of Young Avengers #4 is up at Buzzscope.

Young Avengers continues to impress. A classic teen superhero book with some deep ties to the Marvel Universe at large, Alan Heinberg and Jim Cheung have handily avoided any expectations people might have formulated based on the somewhat silly idea of a team of adolescent analogues for the classic Avengers line up. There’s a big lump to swallow in the plot of this issue, but putting aside those time travel-related concerns, there’s still an engaging story to be had in issue #4.

7comicsaweek @ 2005-05-16T20:47:00

2005-05-17T03:47:41Z

My review if the tentacular Mnemovore #2.

7comicsaweek @ 2005-05-16T00:12:00

2005-05-16T07:12:57Z

New reviews up at Buzzscope.

Rann-Thanagar War #1

Adam Strange #8

Mnemovore #2 will up sometime tomorrow, I'll link to it at that time.

7comicsaweek @ 2005-05-09T17:52:00

2005-05-10T00:52:06Z

One more for the road... my review of Lex Luthor: Man of Steel #3 is up at Buzzscope.

7comicsaweek @ 2005-05-08T20:38:00

2005-05-09T03:38:33Z

Reviews up at Buzzscope, more to come in the next 24.

Matador #1.
Bigfoot #3

7comicsaweek @ 2005-05-02T18:23:00

2005-05-03T01:23:05Z

New reviews up at Buzzscope.

Otherworld #2

Daredevil #72

Human Target #21

7comicsaweek @ 2005-04-25T20:53:00

2005-04-26T03:53:19Z

New reviews up at Buzzscope.

Runaways #3

The Walking Dead #18

7comicsaweek @ 2005-04-19T20:09:00

2005-04-20T03:09:49Z

New reviews at Buzzscope. Thrill to my lack of proofreading!

Breach #4
Powers #10
Adam Strange #7

7comicsaweek @ 2005-04-15T22:30:00

2005-04-16T05:30:25Z

My review of Sea of Red #1 is up at Buzzscope.

I am running behind on my reviews, and so will be making an effort to get more submitted this weekend.

7comicsaweek @ 2005-04-12T21:08:00

2005-04-13T04:08:42Z

My review of GLA #1 is up at the new incarnation of Pop Culture Shock, Buzzscope. Be sure to read the comments so you can see someone cast aspersions on my ability to form opinions!

7comicsaweek @ 2005-04-07T19:46:00

2005-04-08T02:47:03Z

Review of Otherworld #1 is now up at PCS.

7comicsaweek @ 2005-04-05T21:03:00

2005-04-06T04:03:55Z

Two more reviews up at Popcultureshock.

Pulse #8

Astonishing X-Men #9

7comicsaweek @ 2005-04-02T11:12:00

2005-04-02T19:11:53Z

My review of DC's "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" is up at PopCultureShock. Go read it and tell me how wrong I am.

7comicsaweek @ 2005-03-27T18:47:00

2005-03-28T02:47:01Z

Some new reviews are up at Popculture Shock. That site will soon be replaced with a site called Buzzscope with a more comics oriented theme, until then my stuff will be viewable at PCS.

7comicsaweek @ 2005-03-24T19:49:00

2005-03-25T03:49:28Z

If you're wondering why 7 comics a week hasn't updated in a few days, it's for a good reason. My reviews are jumping to a new site hopefully starting Monday, and I'm stockpiling material for the launch. I'll be back to you with a url and an update as soon as things are finalized. I will be maintaining this journal to let you know when the site updates... exciting things are in the offing!

Negative Burn: The Best From 1993-1998 (Image)

2005-03-22T06:48:52Z

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.

Shaolin Cowboy #2 (Burlyman)

2005-03-21T04:02:41Z

Everything by Geoff Darrow

Oh Geoff Darrow, how we've missed you. After spending a number of years using his ultra-detailed style to to do design for The Matrix films. His return to comics is in the pages of Shaolin Cowboy, which he writes and draws. Or more accurately, he writes and draws the hell out of. The first issue featured one of the most ballsy illustrative stunts I've ever seen and although there isn't really a set piece of that calibre in the second issue it's still an incredibly funny read with art like you wouldn't believe.

At the finale of the previous issue, we discovered that the gang of murderous revengers out for the Shaolin Cowboy are headed up by King Crab. Who is literally a crab. In an extended origin sequence narrated by the vengeful crustacean we learn that he is out to get our hero for devouring his family at an all you can eat seafood buffet, to the point where he travels to train at the very temple where Shaolin Cowboy learned his kung fu. This is of course leading up to a fight between the Cowboy and King Crab as the crab busts out his 12 forms of animal ju-jitsu. Cue another all out fight scene in the way that only Darrow can do. The fact that it's all being played pseudo serious (in spite of the asides from our hero's companion Lord Evelyn Dunkirk Winnieford the Ass) is what makes the whole elaborate gag work so well. It's not so easy to make something as ludicrous as this issue of Shaolin Cowboy work, but it's so genuinely funny throughout that one doesn't even stop to think about it. It's sublimely ridiculous, and makes perfect sense within it's own weird little universe. Oh yeah, and the zingers are great. All of the bon mots from King Crab's gang and the references to other comics ("Revengers Dissasemble" ) are chuckle worthy, adding to the feel good nature of the book. Some might not get it per se, but I have hard time imagining anyone not being at least amused by it.

And the art. Oh the art. Would that I could do the artwork in Shaolin Cowboy justice with my clumsy words. Suffice to say that there is NO other artist in comics capable of this level of insane detail and over the top action. Oh, people have come close, but none can aspire to match Darrow on this playing field. Who else could draw a pudgy Japanese cowboy fighting a Kung Fu Crab to the death? He has it all sewn up. End of story. I can only imagine the level of work that goes into each and every page of his work, and it's mindboggling. Try to not be drawn in by it... I dare you.

If you haven't picked up Shaolin Cowboy yet, I encourage, nay insist that you do so. It's it's own kind of quirky weird funny, and I daresay that there is nothing else in comics like it. It receives 7 out of 7 on the Seven Comics a Week seven-o-meter. What else do you need to hear?

Black Panther #2 (Marvel)

2005-03-21T02:28:33Z

Written by Reginald Hudlin
Pencils by John Romita Jr.
Inks by Klaus Janson
Colours by Dean White

The first issue of the new Black Panther was a promising read, really playing more with the concept of the nation of Wakanda than anything else. In fact the Panther himself only appeared in brief flashbacks in the issue itself. I guess that's why I didn't really catch on to the idea that this series seems to be a straight up reboot of the whole Black Panther mythos. I suppose it's possible that a large portion of this issue is in flashback but there's no indication that it's not all supposed to be going down concurrently. That points to reboot. That also means that every previous version of the character from the original Lee/Kirby rendition through Priest's fan favourite take are now obsoleted. Maybe Reginald Hudlin (fresh to the comics field from B-list hollywood screenwriting) felt it would be the easiest way to relaunch the title without bogging everything down in continuity. Or maybe he just couldn't be bothered to work out a way to tie in all the recent work on the character into the story he wants to tell. One way or the other, it seems that Black Panther is now a blank slate with a new status quo being established.

Much of the issue is dedicated to a ceremony where the role of the Black Panther ("sort of like being Pope, President and Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff all at once..") is up for grabs in an annual contest of strength. It's a neat idea that fleshes out the culture of Wakanda a bit, sort of a survival of the fittest crossed with gladitorial combat. Although anyone can participate, our focus is on various challengers from the royal family itself. Hudlin is clearly setting up some family feud action between the various princes and princesses who come to the challenge. The foreshadowing is none too subtle, but being that this is thus far a book about the nation of Wakanda itself, the premise of a feud between royals seems like it would fit nicely. We're also introduced to T'Challa, considerably younger than when we last saw him. He's still a cypher pretty much (with one whole line of dialogue in the whole issue) so it's still up in the air how close he'll end up being to past versions of the character. Regardless, the other two sub plots from the first issue are brought up, but moved forward only ever so slightly. The US government continues to worry about the super advanced Wakandans being a rebel nation, and Klaw takes the fella he busted out of some kind of super jail last issue to get laid. I'm not terribly keen on subplots that develop so slowly that they seem almost motionless but I'll cut these some slack on the assumption that they're going to develop into something big. Still, why move things along so slowly on a new book?

John Romita Jr. has never been one of my favourite artists, but I certainly can't fault most of his work here. His action is always big and dynamic and he seems to have gone back to some of Kirby's original designs for the look of Wakandan clothing and weaponry. Maybe not so politically correct with al lot of people wearing headdresses and the like, but still fun to look at. Also I rather liked his use of the classic Kirby Black Panther design, complete with short little cape. It seems unlikely that Romita will be on the title for much longer than the opening arc, but I certainly wouldn't complain if he stuck around for a while.

The more I think about it, the more Black Panther seems like an Ultimate universe take on the character. I must admit that I'm not a fan of retconning away large portions of shared universe history, but it doesn't intrinsically affect the quality of the story. Which is pretty decent really. With a little adjustment in the pacing department it has the potential to being a solid superhero book with some political overtones. Which ironically was what Christopher Priest was doing on his now superseded take on the title. You know what they say about how the more things change.

Bigfoot #2 (IDW)

2005-03-20T02:39:06Z

Written by Steve Niles and Rob Zombie
Art by Richard Corben
Colours by Tom B. Long

In my review of the first issue of Rob Zombie, Steve Niles and Richard Corben's Bigfoot I tried to make it clear that this comic is not for everybody. I would like to reiterate now, for the sake of clarity: If you don't want to see Sasquatch messing up a lot of innocent people in a particularly savage fashion, I advise you to not pick up Bigfoot. With that out of the way, I'd like to actually commend the title for being the best example I think I've ever seen of a schlocky horror movie by way of a comic book. That feel was present in the first issue, and it gets driven home hard in the second. From the structure and pacing and the way the whole thing is laid out there can be no doubt. Bigfoot is a nasty seventies monster movie that never got made.

I'm afraid though that the title may have be an example of a recent phenomenon that has been bothering me. It's a 4 issue mini-series that seems at least from the first two installments, to be geared for reading in one sitting. It's not uncommon, but the amount of plot development in this issue doesn't exactly make for a terribly engaging read on it's own. Summarizing it all is quick, and doable in two sentences. Bigfoot has re-emerged in 2004 and is killing campers and drivers in the viscinity of Shadow Hills National Park. Billy, who was orphaned by the crazed beast in the first issue gets a gun and goes out to hunt the monster down. The majority of the page count is taken up with Bigfoot's insanely vicious attacks. That's all well and good as the murderous set pieces really add to the monster movie feel. But it makes the issue fly by awful quick. In the context of the full length of the story I have no doubt this won't bother me. But having shelled out $3.99, I was hoping for something a little more meaty to read. Obviously it's a lot easier to get people to sample a four issue mini-series than to just release it as a graphic novel, but it ends up being a little frustrating for the monthly readers. Especially when we know that it'll likely be collected anyways. At the halfway point of this story I can honestly say that I'm interested in where it's going, but that I'm frustrated at the fact that it's going to take at least another two months to get there.

No complaints about Richard Corben's art though. The man draws horror comics with the skill and grace of someone who has been doing it for a long time. Which he has. He pulls off some really memorable tricks here, illustrating a sequence where Bigfoot maniacally chases an ATV in such a way that it has the slowmotion feel of being pursued in a nightmare. Of course there's more than a little gore to be had and it's uncommonly vicious.. make no mistake Corben is not about your easily digested cartoon violence. What he does is visceral and shocking, and not for the faint of heart. Fans of gore should be happy with it, and I must say it's nice to see someone who can still get a rise out of us doing this sort of thing, considering how jaded we've become to violence in our entertainment.

I am not the sort to recommend waiting for trade paperback collections of series. Bigfoot is testing my resolve in that department, I honestly feel that it will likely read it's best in one sitting instead of divided up. I suppose it may have a lot to do with the successful evocation of horror movie style. I wouldn't watch a movie in four half hour segments, and I'd prefer to digest Bigfoot in one big chunk. That's not a knock against the book, it's just a suggestion to achieve maximum enjoyment.

Mora #1 (Image)

2005-03-20T00:53:48Z

Written and Drawn by Paul Harmon

I feel sad that many people may take a quick glance at Mora and mentally relegate it to the endless stream of so-called "goth comics" that litter up the stands of many comics shops. It's much more than that, and although it might superficially resemble the glut of post-Vasquez cutesy gloomy books, it's got a lot more to it than that. It's clear from his little afterword that creator Paul Harmon has poured his heart and soul into the creation of this book, and the effort has something substantial and very pretty to show for it.

Mora is one of those timeless faerie tale sorts of stories, set in an indeterminate time and vague sort of place. Narrated by the somewhat worse for wear duo of Rabbit and Tortoise. Through their narration, we see the birth of Mora, Anandra and an as yet unnamed Lion cub, all whom are tied together by some greater destiny. That's of course pretty vague at this point... so suffice to say that things are pointing to Mora being some kind of witch, and that she can see little gnome creatures that escape the gaze of her neglectful parents. As much as this might sound a little, well airy-fairy there's also a very genuine wry humour and palpable darkness to the proceedings. Harmon has done an excellent job establishing the tone for Mora in one short issue that he can flow naturally from a lighter more fable-ish feel to a sinister scary one. The birth of the young Lion's lust for blood and the horrible transformation of the Owlen-Man are both excellent examples of how fluidly the change can take place. Strong storytelling is the key to be sure, and Harmon's writing and art in that regard are quite seamless. Being a writer/artist means being able to play to your own strengths, but one gets the impression that Paul is not satisfied making things easy on himself, he wants a challenge. That all goes back to how much work he's obviously put into this comic. Any minor problems I had with the lettering and spelling are easily dismissed by the sheer enthusiasm inherent in this project. Labours of love can be self-indulgent and impenetrable to the outsider but Mr. Harmon has managed to balance his own love for what he's doing with accessibility. I'd compare it to Scott Morse's Soulwind, in that it presents it's own fantasy world, childlike and adult at the same time.

I'm happy to recommend Mora to anyone interested in something a little funny, a little dark and a a little fantastical. I'm sure fans of Tim Burton will find it an enjoyable read, but beyond that it has a lot of appeal for those of us looking for bright new creators to follow. Harmon has set himself up quite nicely, I hope to see his efforts rewarded. Anyone willing to dedicate this much to comics deserves it.

Blood of the Demon #1 (DC)

2005-03-18T07:14:00Z

Plot and Pencils by John Byrne
Script by Will Pfeifer
Inks by Nekros
Colours by Alex Bleyaert

You know what? I've started writing this review five times. I've tried to be fair and impartial. I've tried to seperate John Byrne the artist from John Byrne, the raving internet nazi. I've tried my best to not just shit on this comic. But you know what? Blood of the Demon sucks. It sucks fucking badly, and I'm sick of trying to say it in a less blunt way. I thought I could do the professional thing and gently tear it apart with the critical grace of a real writer. But that would have been dishonest. The visceral reaction I had to this comic was pure revulsion. Byrne must seriously have someone at DC's balls in a vice, I cannot fathom another explanation for how this piece of garbage ever saw the light of day. Perhaps the thought is that they might as well try to recoup the cost of commissioning it in the first place. There's plenty of blame to be spread around and anyone involved in greenlighting this disaster has a piece of it to call their very own. What rational man or woman could have looked at the finished product and not turned their head in disgust?

To summarize... Jason Blood , the Demon's human alter ego has been captured by some generic evil monster villains who crucify him. Upon trying to transform into Etrigan
he is stabbed, and chucked out a window. He's taken to a morgue, from which he promptly escapes naked, pursued by stock character no. 18976, Sassy Black Police Officer. Upon hooking up with his old buddy Randu, he's revealed to be stuck between forms, not capable of a full transformation. So he goes and kills up the monster guys who captured him at the beginning of the issue, before transforming into Etrigan. I wish I was trying hard to make this sound bad, but I swear to you, this is a straight retelling of the plot of this issue. Starting from square one in my litany of complaints, what the hell is going on? There's no explanation of who the Demon is, or why he's doing what he's doing. Never heard of the Demon? Tough luck pal. Secondly, what the hell happened to the last 20 odd years of continuity? We know from Byrne's insanely egotistical take on the Doom Patrol that he feels he shouldn't be beholden to other peoples work on characters. That's all well and good, but if you're going to reboot, you should at least be looking to take the character back to something. As much as Byrne gasses on about being in touch with Etrigan's roots, he's not showing much of an understanding of what the character is all about. All he's doing is writing Kirby's charmingly quaint "pet demon" into a ridiculously bloody fight scene, wrapped shoddily in the tattered remains of an unfinished plot. To his credit, scripter Will Pfeifer does his best to write some reasonable dialogue for this mess, and actually evokes Kirby's uniquely enthusiastic scripting a few times. But it's not enough to detract from how far off the mark this whole stupid endeavour is. It's not a good new take on an old character. It's not a nostalgic throwback to a simpler time. It's a misguided lump.

As for the art, I will make a concession. It's better than Byrne's art on The Doom Patrol. It's still not very good. His attempt at "ultraviolence" is amateurish, and his monster guys are reminiscent of his Vampire guys from JLA. That is to say, retarded looking. Inker Nekros does a reasonable job, but seriously, who the hell calls themselves Nekros? A cheap shot on my part, sure, but you can't tell me he wasn't asking for it.

I realize that this isn't really much of a review, and that it will likely damage my credibility as a legitimate critic of comics. But there are somethings that a man can not stand for. This hideous abortion is one of them. If John Byrne or anyone at DC editorial for that matter had any respect for the memory of Jack Kirby, they would have stabbed this monstrosity through the heart before it was born into the world. As it stands, I can only hope for a quick death to this series. It's better than it deserves.

Just because I'm drunk, it doesn't mean I'm wrong.

Young Avengers #2 (Marvel)

2005-03-17T06:44:38Z

Written by Allan Heinberg
Pencils and Cover by Jim Cheung
Inks by John Dell
Colours by Justin Ponsor

Okay, so the premise for Young Avengers seemed like a bit of a stretch at first glance. Teen versions of the original line up the Avengers, written by some guy who works on The O.C.? Names like Iron Lad and Hulkling? I try hard not to pre-judge comics before giving them a shot, but I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to check this one out. Surprise of surprises, Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung delivered a strong debut with the first issue and move things along at a sprightly pace with the second. I'm still not completely sold on some aspects of the series, but it's certainly got potential to spare.

The second issue picks up where the first left off, with various people puzzling over the identities of Daily Bugle christened Young Avengers. Cassie Lang (daughter of the late Ant Man Scott Lang) has hooked up with Kate Bishop, a young girl involved in the first issue's hostage crisis in an attempt to track them down and petition them for membership. Meanwhile, Iron Man, Jessica Jones and Captain America are filled in on the secret origin of Iron Lad (which will probably confuse the hell out of people who aren't at least a little knowledgeable about Marvel history). And to cap it off, Hulkling and the Asgardian worry about the possibility of the Patriot being a loose cannon. If you grew up on Marvel books this is nothing new, but damn if Allan Heinburg can write 'em like they used to. As much as his use of characters like Jessica Jones would suggest, he's clearly an old school Marvel fan, and Young Avengers has the feel of a classic Marvel teen superhero book. The squabbling and petty disputes, the angst, even the dopey criminal dialogue is here. Sure, it's nothing new and pretty much every comic company doing superheroes has dipped their beak in the pool at some point but that doesn't detract from how solid an example of the genre this is. Heinberg even throws in some sly commentary on the fanboyish nature of the main characters, a cute way of driving home the point that these are a bunch of teenage boys, not just grown ups drawn younger.

The big weakness of doing such a particular approach on a new title, especially one so steeped in the Marvel Universe is that you're going to alienate readers who don't know or care that much about it. Heinberg mostly acquits himself pretty well, but there are a few bits (like the aforementioned Iron Lad origin) that are somewhat awkward. They're pretty easy to gloss over though. By the same token, were I just starting out in comics I would avoid putting myself in a position where I would be directly compared to wunderkind Brian Bendis, which is pretty unavoidable when writing a sort of spin off of his current book and using Jessica Jones, his pet character. But again, Heinberg pulls it off without too many glitches. He's an obviously talented writer, I just get the impression that he's still working through the excitement of playing in the Marvel sandbox. That's a good thing, as his enthusiasm is the biggest selling point for Young Avengers. Still, when (and if) it wears off, he'll need to have some good writing to back it all up. He's got the skills, I'm waiting to see him really apply them.

Jim Cheung and inker John Dell do their job quite well for the most part. Their designs for the Young Avengers are nice and classic without looking dated and their action and panel structure are solidly paced. There a few minor complaints I have about the relative appearances of some of the characters, Cassie Lang for example does not look 15. Also, their are some slightly awkward poses and a bit of stiffness in the figures but these are as I said minor complaints. There's a touch of Finch and maybe some Bagley in what they do. Although neither of those artists are really to my taste, I certainly can't fault Cheung and Dell for that. They do a good job on Young Avengers, not mind blowing but way above just serviceable.

So I guess I can sum it all up pretty simply. Young Avengers is a good book for fans who want a modern (but not too modern) Teen superhero comic in the Mighty Marvel style. I'm sure there are tons of people out there who that would appeal to, they should by all rights enjoy it thoroughly.

Bizarro World (DC)

2005-03-16T07:04:57Z

Art and Story by Various

The original Bizarro Comics hardcover was quite a coup for DC. Featuring dozens of alternative comics finest creators going buckwild on the superheroes of the DCU. Despite the somewhat strained framing sequence for what was essentially an anthology, the book was largely successful and had more than a few unforgettable stories. Obviously the premise had the legs for a sequel and so we get the delight that is Bizarro World. It's got the return of some of the guys who made Bizarro Comics a success (Evan Dorkin, Tony Millionaire) but has more than a couple big wheels from the alternative comics scene making their Bizarro Debuts (Harvey Pekar, Peter Bagge). The irreverent affection for superheroes is what makes the book such a fun read, and with this much talent gathered into one volume it's a hard package to beat.

Although practically all of the stories in Bizarro World are humorous, that's not to say that there isn't a lot of variety in them. Some, like the opening story about a Bizarro Theme Park (illustrated by the ever talented Scott Morse) are more story based, while contributions like Patton Oswalt and Bob Fingerman's "Batman Smells" are really just elaborate set ups for gags. Still more like Mike Doughty and Danny Hellman's "Aquaman" are quite melancholy. What's incredibly impressive about the book though is the uniformly high quality of all of the stories contained within. I suppose that's not a surprise considering how much talent is attached to the book, but it's hard to think of another anthology style book that remains as consistent from beginning to end. Although Bizarro does make his share of memorable appearances (including the oddball Bizarro Harvey Pekar story illustrated by Dean Haspiel), it's Batman who appears in the most, and probably best stories. Especially great is Chip Kidd and Tony Millionaire's "Batman with Robin" which although not long on story features Millionaire's idiosyncratic artwork as filtered through the creepy as it was Bob Kane style. The Dark Knight is also sent up in one of the book's comedic highlights " Monkey, the Monkey Wonder" by Evan Dorkin and M. Wartella which posits the idea of Bruce Wayne taking an orphaned Monkey as his ward. Plenty of great monkey drawings and Dorkin's gag a panel sensibility make for a surefire laugh chuckle, no matter how you slice it. To tell the truth, there are so many good stories contained herein that it sames to single out a few to recommend it. That said, I could not complete this review without mentioning the delight that is Chris Duffy and Craig Thompson's "The Spectre" which finds the living embodiment of god's vengeance turning his eye on petty office politics. It was my personal favourite story, although there isn't even one story I would say I disliked.

Now is as good a time as any to mention how lovely the production values are on the book. From the Jaime Hernandez cover, the high quality paper and the fantastic design of the whole package, this book screams class. It's a personal thing, but I'm quite glad that DC left the dustcover off this one and just went for a glossy hardcover style. It's a format I'd like to see them use more. Although the price might be a little daunting it's at a comparable price to most of DC's hardcover OGNs but tips the scales at just about 200 pages. Go find another book that looks and reads this good for the price, or any price really. Go on, I dare you.

If none of this has grabbed you thus far, let me throw in a few more good reasons to check out Bizarro World . James Kolchalka, Dave Cooper, Don Simpson, Farel Dalrymple, Gilbert Hernandez, Andi Watson, Ivan Brunetti, Michael Kupperman, Paul Dini, Ariel Bordeaux, Rick Altergott, Paul Grist, Eddie Campbell, Brian Ralph, Kyle Baker and many, many more. If that doesn't sell you on picking this book up, I hesitate to wonder what will. Do yourself a favour and pick up the pure goodness that is Bizarro World, you deserve it.

Vimanarama #2 (Vertigo)

2005-03-14T02:03:15Z

Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Phillip Bond
Colours by Brian Miller

Grant Morrison is getting around isn't he? Although he probably finished writing Vimanarama ages ago, it's coming out just as his presence in the comics field is going into overdrive with his ambitious Seven Soliders project in the offing and a special Superman title on the horizon. One might worry a little bit about him stretching himself too thin, but considering the exceptional quality of all of his recent output he seems set to solidify his spot as one of the hardest working and most imaginative talents in comics. Vimanarama is doing it's part, thanks largely to the contributions of artist Phil Bond. Even without the profile or buzz of Seven Soldiers or We 3, Vimanarama has plenty to offer. How many other Sci-Fi/Religious/Romance Comics are out there?

The second issue has much the same tone and feel as the first, a mixture of spirituality and humor as a race of interdimensional space gods wreak havoc on one another with plain old helpless humans caught in the middle. Prince Ben Rama of Rama and his team of ancient superheroes the Ultra Hadeen have returned from 6000 years of making war in space just in time to save us all from the tyranny of the Fireborn, a race of accidentally released from beneath South London last issue. All this of course is of little to concern to our hero Ali, who is more interested in feeling sorry for himself and lamenting the loss of his arranged bride Sofia to the heroic Ben Rama. Believe it or not, there's actually quite a bit more crammed into the issue, Morrison is entering one of his high density writing phases where every page is packed with idea after idea after idea. In the past that style sometimes worked against character development as Grant's cast took back seats to the deluge, but it's quite well balanced here. Ali is pissed that all this cosmic stuff is happening not because of the impending end of the world, but because he feels like it's unfair that he never got to really do anything first. Sofia isn't so taken with her demi-god suitor, but feels vaguely compelled to go along with him because after all, he is in the business of saving the world. And Ali's dad is just mad that his shop got wrecked. Even with all the craziness flying around, that's what makes the series fun and interesting.

Given that the series is as much about the characters as the intergalactic holy war, Phil Bond is actually a pretty logical choice. He's a supremely expressive cartoonist and a huge part of what sells Vimanarama is how human he makes the cast. The split between the soap operatics and the space warfare is reconciled quite nicely in his style, no mean feet considering how much of a gap he has to bridge. Speaking of all the religious/alien imagery, he's certainly shown that he has some fairly remarkable design chops. I daresay that if he can do this stuff well there's little he isn't capable of tackling. The only real misstep is near the beginning of the issue where he makes some unnecessarily gruesome choices in a sequence between the Fireborn and the members of British parliament. It's a small complaint though, and one that's pretty irrelevant considering the scope of what he's doing in the rest of the issue.

Although I still harbour the feeling that this series would have made a great original Graphic Novel instead of a 3 issue mini-series, it's been a real delight thus far and one almost wishes that it wasn't ending with the next installment. There's really no reason to doubt at this point that it will conclude in a satisfactory manner, and I'm honestly quite excited to see how it all plays out in the end. Vimanarama is a top notch effort from two top notch creators.

Conan #13 (Dark Horse)

2005-03-13T03:43:35Z

Written by Kurt Busiek
Art by Cary Nord and Thomas Yeates
Colours by Dave Stewart

Conan is a loaded property for anyone to take on, and although Kurt Busiek is the kind of writer who specializes in working with characters with loads of backstory and fan following, it's been kind of surprising how natural the series has been thus far.
The key to making the series work is of course in getting the interpretation of our Cimmerian hero right, and on that count Conan scores full points. He's not just a dumb warrior, he's a masterful rogue who puts his faith not only in steel but in his own cunning. It's tricky balancing act to get all that across and keep things fresh when movie and previous comic book versions are so archetypal. Especially when the stories are based on the works of Conan creator Robert E. Howard. Bravo to Busiek and Cary Nord for being able to pull it off so deftly.

Conan has been tricked by the female mercenary Janissa into protecting the Priest Kalanthes on his journey to destroy the gem of Tik-Pulonga. Kalanthes' nemesis the sorceror Thoth-Amon is doing all he can to slow their progress, including mystic poisonings and the requisite big monster fight. That's a pretty by the books fantasy story set up, but it's the distinctly unheroic actions and reactions of our hero that make up the meat of the issue. Conan doesn't care about anyone's hide but his own, it's his sense of honor and obligation that keeps him from just taking off. Janissa and Kalanthes are both good counterpoints to that, each respectively on the quest for their own reasons selfless and otherwise. The dialogue and narration are as they should be, of a pulpy classic nature. It's not exactly the wordy descriptions of Tolkien, more hokey and self-aware. Long time fans of the character want to read him saying things like "I thought the southlands were silks, and jewels, and soft women-- not slumbering gods in bowls and Serpent-Monsters!". That's cheese is part of the appeal of Conan, without it things just wouldn't be as fun.

Cary Nord and Thomas Yeates have done some very nice work on the series thus far. Although I was not a fan of the somewhat sketchy finished look when it was used by other creators on books like 1602, it's well suited to the kind of timeless story being told in Conan. The style of our hero is similarily classic, although they manage to get across his relative youth at this point without comprimizing on what we all know Conan looks like. The swarmlike designs for the monster that befouls our protagonists is a delightfully gruesome touch, and certainly gives us a fitting idea of the evils of the dark sorcery they face. At a few moments on some of the later pages the storytelling gets a little confused and some panels look a little underfinished but overall it's a slick production. Conan has left some great artistic legacies in the comic book form, and although this series is still relatively young, the art team (including the always welcome colors of Dave Stewart) are aiming to make a mark of their own.

I'm glad to see that while many of Dark Horse's long standing licenses are long past expiration date they've got something as cool as Conan coming out. Busiek and company are showing some exceptional grasp of how to properly bring a long standing property to life, paying respect to what has come before without being beholden to it. It's a great deal of fun, and should appeal to anyone who has ever enjoyed Conan in the past, in any medium. Crom be praised.