Archive for June, 2005
June 27, 2005 | Comics
The Plot
Will Eisner
W.W. Norton & Company
$28 (Hardcover)
**** (out of five)
Will Eisner was the godfather of comic books and a master storyteller.
With both his traditional hero work like The Spirit and his more modern work such as the pioneering graphic novel A Contract With God, Eisner showed an ability to engross his audience with his skills as both a writer and illustrator.
For several years prior to his death on Jan. 3, 2005, Eisner had been working on a very personal story, one that broke the mold, even for this pioneer.
The result is his first — and sadly last — work of historic non-fiction: The Plot: The Secret Story Of The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion.
Eisner traces the history of this text, from its original creation as an anti-imperialist story written by Maurice Joly in 1864 to its adaptation by the Russian secret service into an anti-Semitic one around the turn of the last century and its use by the Nazis and many others as a propaganda tool.
Eisner’s exhaustive research, compiling numerous newspaper reports, historical papers and even a point-by-point comparison between Joly’s story and the Protocols revealing the fabrication — all done in illustrated form — make an irrefutable argument against this hateful tome.
The Plot delivers its message powerfully and convincingly, making the final work of Eisner’s career as important a read all the fiction work he did before it.
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June 27, 2005 | Comics
Ice Haven
Daniel Clowes
Pantheon Books
$26.95 (Hardcover)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Daniel Clowes is a complex person.
Well, frankly, he’s a legendary misanthrope whose contempt for society is outmatched only by his distaste for comic book critics.
So with all due respect to the creator of Ice Haven (along with Ghost World and Art School Confidential) — here it comes.
Ice Haven is a novel made up of different comic strips, each featuring a different art style and one of 10 characters — ranging from a worried little boy to an aging poet and a big, blue hate-filled bunny.
The loose theme that ties the stories together is the apparent kidnapping of a young boy in the small town of Ice Haven.
Through his diverse cast of characters (which incidentally includes a comic book critic) Clowes examines the fragility of people and their interactions with his traditional insight mixed with thinly veiled contempt.
Ice Haven is the perfect purchase for a pessimist.
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June 27, 2005 | Trades
The Walking Dead Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars
Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard
Image Comics
$12.95 US (Paperback)
**** (out of five)
It’s a tale as old as horror movies: the dead rise from the grave, they eat some people, a hero steps up and saves the day, the dead go back to being dead and life goes on.
But what happens when the hero never shows and the dead are still hungry?
The Walking Dead, written by Robert Kirkman (Invincible) and illustrated by Charlie Adlard, follows the lives of a small group of survivors months after something caused the dead to start walking around looking for McBrain Happy Meals.
The main character, former police officer Rick Grimes, is taken on a roller-coaster of moral dilemmas ranging from whether he would steal or kill to protect his wife and son to whether capital punishment is appropriate in a world where the dead stay standing.
The third collection sees the group stumbling upon what they envision as the perfect haven from the undead: a heavily gated prison.
But between the zombie guards and inmates and a few living ones, along with a few unknown new members of the group, keeping from going stir crazy may be impossible for Grimes.
The Walking Dead is one of the most consistently disturbing and thought-provoking comics around. It is a terrific moral barometer to gauge your cushy life against.
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June 27, 2005 | Trades
The Gray Area: All Of This Can Be Yours
Glen Brunswick, John Romita Jr.
Image Comics
$14.95 US (Paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
The first reaction to seeing John Romita Jr. illustrating something other than a Marvel comic is mild shock.
You see, outside of a few crossovers with DC Comics, Junior has never worked outside of the ‘House Of Ideas’ — not in over 25 years.
But once you get past the fact that Spider-Man isn’t going to swing by, nor will Iron Man, Daredevil or the Mighty Thor, it’s really easy to get sucked into The Gray Area.
Writer Glen Brunswick crafts an interesting (if slightly formulaic) tale, which see crooked cop Rudy Chance gunned down, only to be find himself in the space between heaven and hell.
Chance’s only shot at redemption comes when he’s drafted into The Gray Watch, a police force of sorts, which keeps evil in check.
With The Gray Area, Romita Jr. — with fine inking courtesy of Klaus Janson — continues to show why he has endured so long in the comic book industry, with subtle, edgy art that can be made to fit almost any occasion.
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June 27, 2005 | Trades
Life’s A Bitch
Roberta Gregory
Fantagraphics Books
$16.95 US (Paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
In just 272 pages, Roberta Gregory can make a woman realize her life’s not so bad and a man glad he’s not a woman.
With this first collection of her Bitchy Bitch stories, originally published in the infamous Naughty Bits comics, Gregory shows the daily trials and tribulations of the average woman … well maybe not average.
Her character, Bitchy (or Midge if you prefer), is a foul-mouthed, rage-filled seether, frustrated with her insipid co-workers, her demanding mother, her sex life, her periods and practically everything else around her.
Often funny and identifiable for those firmly entrenched in office life, Life’s A Bitch also tackles some headier issues such as gay rights, abortion and molestation.
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June 27, 2005 | Comics
Concrete: The Human Dilemma #5 (of six)
Paul Chadwick
Dark Horse Comics
$3.50 US
**** 1/2 (out of five)
Concrete is moody, uncomfortable and irritable.
While on tour reluctantly promoting a childlessness program (in exchange for a piece of art he’s been searching for years for) the hulking stone body that houses the human mind of Ron Lithgow begins to crack.
After accidentally spewing acidic vomit during an interview and making a hasty exit, Concrete heads home where he discovers his back has cracked completely open to reveal a miniature version of his stone self inside.
After four issues of statistics and reasons making the case for childlessness, creator Paul Chadwick has made Concrete a dad … or mom … or something.
The Human Dilemma highlights what a master storyteller Chadwick is and just gets better with every issue.
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June 27, 2005 | Comics
The Stardust Kid #1
J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Ploog
Image Comics
$4.40 ($3.50 US)
**** (out of five)
Their amazing series Abadazad is on the shelf for the time being, but that can’t keep J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog from making a new one.
With the same fanciful imagination that made Abadazad — on hiatus until the legalities resulting from the bankruptcy of CrossGen Comics are resolved — DeMatteis and Ploog present an eerie modern fairy tale with The Stardust Kid.
Cody DiMarco has a new best friend, Paul Brightfield, and though they can’t quite put their fingers on it, Cody’s mom and former best friend both have a funny feeling about him.
Little do they suspect that Paul is actually an ancient magical creature that lives in a nearby park — a fact that Cody is well aware of and loves.
But as the friendship between the young boy and his amazing companion grows, something much more sinister starts making its move on the park.
It’s great to see DeMatteis and Ploog back working together and The Stardust Kid shows they haven’t missed a beat.
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June 27, 2005 | Comics
JLA #115
Geoff Johns, Allan Heinberg, Chris Batista, Mark Farmer
DC Comics
$3.50 ($2.50 US)
**** (out of five)
It was a story that was begging to be told: what happens when Batman finds out his fellow members of the JLA erased part of his memory?
To tell this tale, which has been foremost on fans’ minds since this revelation during last year’s acclaimed Identity Crisis series, DC Comics tapped their brightest star writer — Geoff Johns — and partnered him up with OC writer Allan Heinberg and the talented art team of Chris Batista and Mark Farmer.
When the guilty members of the JLA confess their crime to the Martian Manhunter, he sets out to talk to Batman and set things right. But the Secret Society of Super Villains has plans of their own — and a startling revelation.
An obvious lead-in to this fall’s highly anticipated Infinite Crisis (also by Johns), this five-part storyline is sure to rock the JLA to its very foundations.
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June 27, 2005 | Comics
Strange Girl #1
Rick Remender, Eric Nguyen
Image Comics
$3.95/$2.95 US
*** 1/2 (out of five)
The rapture has come and the pious have been called up to heaven.
That, of course, leaves the unworthy stuck on earth under the rule of Lucifer.
Strange Girl follows the life of one of the unworthy, Beth, who watches helplessly as her family floats into the sky and leaves her alone on the scorched earth.
As we fast-forward a few years, we find Beth working at a bar, serving demons and being her usual mischievous self — leading to inevitable trouble.
Writer Rick Remender has had a really good idea with this series, which is well illustrated by Eric Nguyen, and the potential shines through after just one issue.
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June 27, 2005 | Comics
Neverwhere #1 (of 9)
Mike Carey, Glen Fabry
Vertigo/DC Comics
$4/$2.99 US
*** 1/2 (out of five)
What would you do if you happened upon a bloodstained stranger lying on the sidewalk?
If you’re Richard, star of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, you do perhaps the only impulsive thing in your entire life and pick her up and take her home.
In the first of this nine-part adaptation of bestselling author Neil Gaiman’s gritty fantasy story, writer Mike Carey (Hellblazer) and Glenn Fabry (Preacher) begin Richard’s decent into the mysterious world underneath his own.
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