Archive for November, 2004
November 15, 2004 | Comics
The Originals
Dave Gibbons
Vertigo/DC Comics
$37.95 (hardcover)
**** (out of five)
The theme of fitting in and finding your place in the world is a very common one in comics.
When figuring out whom, for the most part, is reading these books — young men — it makes perfect sense.
The Originals, an all-new graphic novel from Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons, is smart look at belonging and the lengths that people will go to be accepted.
In a pseudo-futuristic 1960s England, two best friends, Lel and Bok, want nothing more than to join the coolest gang in town: The Originals.
But once they’re in the door, the teens quickly find the price of fitting in is often compromising your ethics, hurting those you care about and fighting other people’s battles.
Wrapped up in a visually outstanding package, one that sees Gibbons at the height of his craft as an artist, The Originals is subtle, pithy and if only a little obscure.
No Comments »
November 15, 2004 | Trades
Superman: Birthright
Mark Waid, Leinil Yu, Gerry Alanguilan
DC Comics
$45.95 (hardcover)
**** (out of five)
Post-9/11 society, particularly in America, is must more guarded and more jaded than ever.
We don’t trust people the way we used to — no matter how good someone appears to be.
This dynamic plays a central role in Superman: Birthright, a 21st century re-imagining of the origin of the Man Of Steel.
While the basic facts remain the same — a spaceship from Krypton crashes in Kansas; the baby inside is raised by humans; he grows up and becomes a reporter at the Daily Planet in Metropolis — Birthright draws on the cynicism of the masses to put a more real spin on what might happen if a superhero landed in our midst.
Flashing back between Clark Kent’s upbringing in Smallville, where he meets an arrogant young Lex Luthor and the present where Luthor is trying to play on the public’s fears to make Superman seem like a threat from space, Birthright is an elegant update on one of comics’ most familiar faces.
Just don’t call it Ultimate Superman.
No Comments »
November 15, 2004 | Trades
Superman: Secret Identity
Kurt Busiek, Stuart Immonen
DC Comics
$30.95 (paperback)
**** (out of five)
Perhaps no one in the comic industry has done a better job over the past 10 years of bringing depth and humanity to comic book characters than Kurt Busiek.
With series like Marvels and Astro City, Busiek crafted stories of heroes that are real on a much deeper level than readers have ever been privy to an he continues that theme perfectly with Superman: Secret Identity.
In the real world, — the same one you live in — in a small Kansas town lives a boy named Clark Kent. Clark is a bright, but shy teenager who takes nothing but grief for having been named after the fictional Man Of Steel.
Until one day he wakes up and he has all of Superman’s powers.
After years of ridicule and humiliation, Clark Kent IS Superman.
But this is the real world? And regular people can’t fly or shoot laser beams out of their eyes. How is this possible? What should Clark do with his newfound gifts?
Told in a perfectly suited first-person style, Secret Identity is moving and thought provoking. Slowly moving through four different key periods in Clark’s life, the story of what a real man might do if he becomes super is a highly compelling read.
Complimented perfectly by what is the most breathtaking art in the career of Toronto’s Stuart Immonen, Secret Identity is one of the most innovative takes ever on the Superman mythos.
No Comments »
November 15, 2004 | Comics
Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life
Bryan Lee O'Malley
Oni Press
$11.95 US (paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Scott Pilgrim is a typical, drifting, twentysomething, wannabe musician with female troubles.
That pretty much sums up Precious Little Life.
This sweet and identifiable tale of post post-graduate life in the city of Toronto by writer/artist Bryan Lee O’Malley mixes quick dialogue with fun characters to create a solid book. It begins like a comedy, turns into a romance and at some point devolves into a Manga battle book, but not for too long.
Scott’s muddled love life, featuring a semi-platonic relationship with a 17-year-old high schooler and a deepening attraction to a rollerblading delivery girl is fairly compelling stuff — if a bit odd.
One can only hope Precious Little Life isn’t too autobiographical or O’Malley’s got one peculiar life himself.
No Comments »
November 15, 2004 | Comics
Owly Vol. 1: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer
Andy Runton
Top Shelf Productions
$10 US (paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Owly is one of few 157-page books on the market that can be read in 10 minutes.
But go ahead and take your time.
While this sweet little black-and-white series contains no dialogue, its images speak volumes.
The title character, Owly —a kindly owl that is happiest when making others happy — is easily endearing and creator Andy Runton does a fine job of eschewing dialogue to tell simple stories.
So go ahead and savour each page. And if you do finish in 10 minutes, do yourself a favour and read it again.
No Comments »
November 15, 2004 | Trades
Hellboy: Weird Tales Vol. 2
Dark Horse Books
$17.95 US (paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
A goat monster, a headless gunman and a vacation in hell — yep, this Hellboy book earns the name Weird Tales.
This second collection of the anthology series that sees some of the comic book industry’s best and brightest take a 8-10 page stab at Mike Mignola’s big, red paranormal investigator is as diverse as those creating it.
Standouts include Craig Thompson’s aforementioned My Vacation In Hell; Will Pfeifer and P. Craig Russell’s Command Performance, a look at a death-defying stage act that the hero aims to close the curtains on; and Jill Thompson’s 15 Minutes, a glimpse at the hard work that goes into being a prop skeleton.
No Comments »
November 15, 2004 | Comics
Go Girl!: The Time Team
Trina Robbins, Anne Timmons
Dark Horse Books
$5.95 US (paperback)
1/2 (out of five)
It can be fairly said that there aren’t nearly enough positive female super-hero comics series on the market.
It is also true that many writers still fall back on the cliché of having women be damsels in distress, while men are swooping down to rescue them.
This is due, in large part, to the fact that most comics are still written by men. And while we live in an era where some of the best series on the market are being written and illustrated by women — Devin Grayson on Nightwing, Gail Simone on Birds Of Prey and Pia Guerra on Y: The Last Man spring to mind — few comics have ever tried to bash you over the head with feminist claptrap like Go Girl!
Written by noted creator Trina Robbins, with art by Anne Timmons, Go Girl! is supposed to be about a teen girl with superpowers, a female science nerd and a cheerleader who accidentally travel back in time, where the have to overcome their differences and work together to get home.
Instead of being a message of female unity and empowerment, Go Girl! is hokey, childish and comes off like something done for a grade school project.
It is clear that this book is supposed to be tongue in cheek and a tip of the hat to a simpler time of comic storytelling, but with a feminist edge, but it misses the mark badly and just comes off as a colossal waste of time.
No Comments »
