Archive for July, 2006
July 31, 2006 | Trades
Sloth
Gilbert Hernandez
Vertigo/DC Comics
$26.99/$19.99 US (Hardcover)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Miguel Serra is so tired of life that instead of putting himself out of his misery, he puts himself to sleep — for a year.
After 365 days in this self-induced coma, the would-be teen rock star suddenly awakens and begins to piece his life back together: his relationship with his girlfriend, Lita, his friendship with best-bud, Romeo, and reviving the trio’s band, Sloth.
The only problem is that Miguel himself has now become like the band’s namesake, maintaining a perpetually slow pace that challenges every facet of his life.
Then the story goes all David Lynch-esque (y’know the Twin Peaks guy?).
Gilbert Hernandez, co-creator of the critically acclaimed indie comic, Love And Rockets (along with brother, Jaime), uses his mesmerizing art style and storytelling ability to transform the lemon orchards in Miguel’s hometown into a place of magic and mystery.
In a complex web of allusions and ‘did-that-really-happen’ moments, Hernandez examines the complex nature of teen life, including their hopes, dreams and fears.
Sloth is one of the most visually striking and mentally engrossing graphic novels of the year.
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July 31, 2006 | Trades
The Cobbler’s Monster
Jeff Amano, Craig Rousseau, Wayne Faucher
Beckett Entertainment/Image Comics
$14.99 US (Paperback)
*** (out of five)
In the summer of 1887, the citizens of New York City are living in fear of a monster.
It had killed men, devoured pets and made everyone fear the alleys and shadows.
The Cobbler’s Monster is essentially a fusion of Frankenstein and Pinocchio (heavy on the former) that takes the idea of Gepetto’s unwavering love for little troublesome Pinocchio and asking how far that love would extend to a monster that he loves like his son.
It’s a decent story, a nice blend of emotion and action – courtesy writer Jeff Amano and artists Craig Rousseau and Wayne Faucher — but there are a few twists that are a little hard to take,
As the old cobbler and his young accomplice Matthew confess to police detectives how they brought the monster to life, they bandy about technical terms that may be simple to the average B student in high school biology, but would have sounded like crazy talk to ‘ye olde N.Y.P.D.’
If you’re willing to take that leap of faith, along with the inevitable horror movie ‘why are they going in there if they know the monster’s in there’ moments, The Cobbler’s Monster is worth a try.
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July 31, 2006 | Trades
Batman: City Of Crime
David Lapham, Ramon Bachs, Nathan Massengill
DC Comics
$26.99/$19.99 US (Paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Gotham City has always been the cesspool of the DC Universe — the kind of place that’s so bad that even the tireless Batman can’t stop all the crime there.
But things seem to be going from bad to worse lately.
It begins, as these stories so often do, with the death of innocents — seven teenaged girls, to be precise.
Six of them are killed in a fire, while the other, an acquaintance of Bruce Wayne’s, is found dead in an alley.
As the circumstances of the fire and of the lifestyle of the seventh girl come to light, Batman begins to unravel a startling conspiracy in Gotham, one that involves plenty of Wayne’s fellow bluebloods, city officials, police and residents.
And when the hero finally figures out where to point the finger for all these tragedies, he finds an answer that may be more unsettling than the deaths themselves.
Crime-noir writer extraordinaire David Lapham (Stray Bullets), with help by artists Ramon Bachs and Nathan Massengill, takes his time with his first foray into the DCU, building a complex and very visceral story that is highly satisfying.
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July 31, 2006 | Trades
Superman/Batman: Vengeance
Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines
DC Comics
$26.99/$19.99 US (Hardcover)
**** (out of five)
Only three little words are necessary to convince any DC Comics fan to pick up this book: Me Am Batzarro!
The original Superman/Batman creative team of writer Jeph Loeb and artists Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines re-team for this six-issue bookend and give readers just what they want — more heroes and villains than you can shake a stick at.
While Batman and Superman try to defend themselves against an other-dimensional super-team that mistakenly blames them for the death of a teammate, the rather unusual partnership between longtime Man Of Steel nemesis Bizarro and the backwards Dark Knight, Batzarro, is forged.
As the dimension hopping really heats up, readers are introduced to a gender-backwards Supes/Bats duo, a whole mess of Supergirls and the first DCU appearances of Batman Beyond and the Red Son Superman.
But the real question is: Who started all this mess?
The answer is priceless, as is this great farewell by Loeb, McGuinness and Vines.
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July 31, 2006 | Trades
Bomb Queen: WMD (Woman Of Mass Destruction)
Jimmie Robinson
Image Comics
$12.99 US (Paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Breasts, butts and bombs — that’s pretty much the root of Bomb Queen.
Jimmie Robinson’s wonderfully vulgar, violent and voluptuous villain is the unquestioned ruler of New Port City.
But when mayoral hopeful Robert Woods uses BQ’s reign of terror, which is highly popular in her hometown, as a campaign platform, she’s forced to face the wrong side of public opinion for the first time in years.
The result, in this collection of a four-issue limited series, is a blast.
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July 17, 2006 | Trades
Iron West
Doug TenNapel
Image Comics
$14.99 US (Paperback)
**** (out of five)
Preston Struck is a no-good, lily-livered coward.
He’s also a cheat and a crook, but that’s beside the point.
But the hero of Iron West just can’t seem to do the wrong thing when the heat is on and the getting is good.
Nope, Struck just can’t help but stick his neck out and help try to save the day when a band of gun-toting robots set their sights on taking over the sleepy little California town of Twain Harte.
Of course, he can’t save the whole town by himself, so Struck joins forces with — you guessed it — robot Indians, Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster!
Doug TenNapel, designer of the legendary 1990s video game Earthworm Jim — along with the terrific graphic novels Earthboy Jacobus and Tommysaurus Rex — gives us a fun-filled and farcical trip back to the Old West in an adventure that proves that you don’t always have to be good to do good.
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July 17, 2006 | Trades
Supergirl: Power
Jeph Loeb, Ian Churchill, Norm Rapmund
DC Comics
$19.99/$14.99 US (Paperback)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Ah, Supergirl.
Hmmm… how do I cut through all the clever subtext and figure out why this series is so appealing? Let’s see, it’s the adventures of a leggy blonde fighting crime in a crop top and miniskirt — drawn by one of the most talented artists in the industry, Ian Churchill.
Well, I guess we’re there.
The latest incarnation of the Maiden Of Might, Superman’s long-lost cousin Kara Zor-El — who burst onto the scene a couple of years ago in the pages of Superman/Batman, courtesy writer Jeph Loeb and artist Michael Turner — soars into here own series and, sure enough, straight into trouble.
Kara runs the gauntlet of super-villainy in this story and with guest stars galore, including the Teen Titans, the Justice Society, the Justice League and the Outsiders, she figures out just who is trying to make her new life on earth a living hell and sets up a knock-down, drag out battle to the finish — with herself!
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July 17, 2006 | Trades
Legion Of Super-Heroes Vol. 2: Death Of A Dream
Mark Waid, Barry Kitson
DC Comics
$19.99/$14.99 US (Paperback)
**** (out of five)
This new Legion Of Super-Heroes series may just be the perfect comic book expression of teen angst.
The adventures of DC Comics’ 31st Century heroes continues with a look at the danger of cliques, how the government oppresses teens and the beginnings of young love.
As the simmering feud between team leader Cosmic Boy and his rival Brainaic 5 heats up, Legion members start to choose sides, while their efforts to warn the galactic government about an imminent invasion are met with scoffs.
When the invasion comes (we told you so!) the Legion is divided and dejected and the costs of war prove heavy, but you should never underestimate the power of a group of motivated teens.
Writer Mark Waid, along with artist Barry Kitson, do a wonderful job of balancing some very universal teen problems with the, um, problems in the Legion’s universe and come away with a highly compelling new series.
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July 3, 2006 | Trades
Invincible — Ultimate Collection Vol. 2
Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Cory Walker
Image Comics
$34.99 US (Hardcover)
**** 1/2 (out of five)
One of the biggest complaints I hear about comic books nowadays is how superhero series have become too predictable.
The characters many of us grew up with have become so iconic that you can never push them to much of an edge and thus you never fear for or with them nor feel too invested in their lives.
Invincible has been the antidote for these musty old superhero stalwarts for almost three years now thanks to a fantastic blend of action, humour and romance — courtesy wonder-boy writer Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Marvel Team-Up) and artists Ryan Ottley and Cory Walker.
Essentially, Invincible is what legends like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and the rest would come up with if they were shaking up the industry now instead of 40 years ago when they combined teen romance titles with men in tights and came up with titles like Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk and more.
This isn’t the grim-and-gritty real-world crapola that has dominated so much of the genre over the past 20 years. Invincible is like life: some ups, some downs, some babes, some bad guys — but in a flying-without-an-airplane kind of way.
Volume 2, collecting the entire second year of the series along with a boatload of bonus material, opens with Mark Grayson, A.K.A. teen hero Invincible, recovering from learning the staggering truth that his father is actually a supervillain.
But never a series to dwell on the downers too long, Mark is pressed right back into helping save the world by helping stop a global invasion, rescuing a mission to Mars and stepping up to wear a dress in a wedding to the queen of a species of fishy sea-dwellers!
This volume shows this series really gaining momentum and establishing a pile of key little plot points that creep up later. This collection isn’t just ultimate — it’s essential.
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July 3, 2006 | Trades
DMZ Vol. 1: On The Ground
Brian Wood, Riccardo Burchielli
Vertigo/DC Comics
$13.50/$9.99 US (Paperback)
**** (out of five)
Most people have had a crappy summer job or internship, but Matty Roth has got us all beat.
He’s been hired as a photo tech intern for Liberty News, what he thinks will be a desk job, only to find out he’s going into the DMZ — Manhattan.
There’s a war on between the United States and the so-called Free States and now Matty’s stuck in the middle — thanks to the fact his ride gets blown up the second he touches down.
With the help of a sympathetic local, Matty survives his first few days in the DMZ and then begins the slow process of documenting the lives of the remaining New Yorkers — who much to his surprise aren’t all savages living off fried rats.
Writer Brian Wood (Demo, Local) and artist Riccardo Burchielli paint a vivid portrait of the never-say-die spirit of NYC in this slick and significant new Vertigo series.
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