Archive for February, 2004
February 9, 2004 | Comics
Blankets
Craig Thompson
Top Shelf Comix
$29.95 US (softcover)
Blankets is an achingly honest story of love. The tale of the author/artist’s awkward teen years — raised in a devout Christian household and confused by the messages of the bible — mixed with the fumblings of first love make this book gripping.
The rawness of Thompson’s personal reflections — on subjects ranging from his childhood relationship with his little brother, to being sexually abused, to his increasingly fragile faith in God — are brought hauntingly off the pages with a wide range of art styles, from the bizarrely abstract to the absurdly simple.
It is difficult to read Blankets and not reflect on one’s first experience with love and romance — to remember how (trivialities feel like catastrophes) important every little thing is when you’re a teen and how hard it is to accept the end of a relationship that is clearly doomed.
Blankets is simply is a perfect example of the power of visual storytelling.
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February 9, 2004 | Comics
Three Days In Europe
Antony Johnson & Mike Hawthorne
Oni Press
$14.95 US (softcover)
Perfectly timed for the day of love, Three Days In Europe is about the power of love gone wrong.
Jill thinks she’s got the perfect way to (bring she and her estranged boyfriend, Jack, closer together) end an estrangement when she plans the ultimate romantic getaway for her boyfriend, Jack — a trip to London for Valentine’s Day to see the reunion gig of his favourite rock band. Until she finds out Jack’s arranged for them to jet off to Paris to see a gallery show by one of her favourite artists.
The pair’s argument over which trip to take leaves Jill in London, Jack in Paris and the unusual ride that eventually reunites them is a riot.
Jill ends up a groupie for a band she hates and Jack falls in with the wrong art crowd in a wild adventure that is sometimes silly, but certainly satisfying.
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February 9, 2004 | Comics
My Faith In Frankie #1 (of 4)
Mike Carey, Sonny Liew & Marc Hempel
Vertigo/DC Comics
$4.50
Frankie Moxon’s got a great life. She’s been blessed with her own private god.
But what happens when that god, in this case, Jeriven, God Of The Heart’s Fires, starts messing with 17-year-old Frankie’s love life, trying to keep her from being faithful to anyone but him?
Does a rain of bunnies sound like a rough start?
This first part of a four-issue series is silly, strange look at love and devotion, mostly as told by Frankie’s best friend, Kay.
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February 9, 2004 | Trades
Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds
Gail Simone, Ed Benes, Alex Lei & Rob Lea
DC Comics
$22.95 (softcover)
**** (out of five)
Finally one of the major comic companies got it right.
When you’ve got a series starring three intelligent, modern women, in this case DC Comics’ staples Black Canary, Barbara Gordon (AKA Oracle) and the Huntress, get a smart woman to write them.
Of Like Minds collects the first six issues of new scribe Gail Simone’s run on this smart and sexy title and she’s quickly made is faster, funnier and definitely much more feminine.
It doesn’t hurt either that joining Simone on the title is one of the most talented pencillers working today, Ed Benes.
This book sees Oracle, the world’s most powerful information broker, and the deadly Huntress desperately trying to rescue Black Canary, who is being held hostage — with two broken legs no less!
It’s a race against the clock as the pair work to find Canary and her captor, the evil Savant, who is prepared to commit murder unless Oracle gives up perhaps the most important piece of information in Gotham City: Batman’s secret identity.
The combination of Simone’s clever dialogue, which very quickly makes you care about these characters and Benes’ ability to draw breathtakingly beautiful women is a match made in heaven. Of Like Minds shows why they have created such a buzz around Birds Of Prey and sets the stage for what will hopefully be a long stay on this title.
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