Walking on the Moon

I wanted to mention a few collections/graphic novels I’ve finished in the last couple months that didn’t get into one of the other longbox posts.

Girl Genius 4: Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams, Girl Genius 5: Agatha Heterodyne and the Clockwork Princess, and Girl Genius 6: Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite, Phil and Kaja Foglio. These are a great chance to see excellent creators at the top of their game. Phil’s been doing comics a long time and his writing/plotting chemistry with Kaja seems to make everything stronger. Girl Genius really shows off their personal blend of humor and drama. Better than that, their mad scientists are all geeks with the volume turned up to 11, and they get them exactly right. Highly recommended. You can read the whole thing online.

Skellington, The Retribution Index, Great Aches, and Heavy Metal Hearts + Flowers, John Allison. These are all Scary-Go-Round collections, and all of them but Heavy Metal Hearts + Flowers are online. Scary-Go-Round has long been a favorite here on the moon. Its clean expressive art and whip-smart dialog make every arc a great delight. Of course, Allison can get a little lost on his way to the big picture – a quirk that is becoming less common as he goes on – but the joys above more than compensate for the occasional wandering storyline or abandoned set-up. It’s good fun.

Legion of Super-Heroes: An Eye For An Eye, Levitz, Geffin, Lightle, Orlando. This reprints the first 6 issues of the 1984 prestige series, including the death of Karate Kid. Now, if that sounds super campy to you, you should skip right on to the next review. I’m a LSH fan, and something like this collection is hard to resist. I kind of wish I had. It’s great to see the old Lightle art, and to a lesser extent the Geffin art, but the story is a lot more disjointed than I remember it. It’s certainly difficult to juggle the Legion’s large cast, and Levitz was always good at communicating a lot of action with a few broad strokes of writing. It seems like this was accomplished by immersing the reader in the world month-by-month, and looking back from 20 years later, it doesn’t flow as well.

More importantly, Karate Kid’s death was really disappointing. (I suppose these are spoilers.) This was something that had happened off-panel for me, and the short explanation – sacrificed himself fighting Nemesis Kid when the LSV conquered Orando – always sounded like a way the Kid might go out. But the actual scene is just awful. The Kid ditches the rest of the Legion to fight Nemesis Kid hand to hand to “settle a personal score.” Val is simply not this dumb; Nemesis Kid can beat any single combatant by definition – you don’t fight him alone if there’s any other choice. As a result it looks like KK threw his life away by being pig headed, and that’s a lousy thing to know. Bleah.

Yeah, I know how dumb it sounds for a grown man to be ticked off that 20 years ago Karate Kid fought Nemesis Kid out of character and lost, but that’s the way it is.

Powers 11: Cosmic, Powers 12: Secret Identity, Bendis and Oeming. Mmmm Powers. I keep thinking that Bendis and Oeming’s gritty cop drama set in a world with superheroes has nowhere else to go, and they keep surprising me with new ideas and new character interactions. Really it’s Deena and Walker – the lead characters – who carry this all. They’re flawed people doing their best to eek out some sense of fairness and justice in a world with all the corruption and venality of ours, magnified by super powers. They’re flawed to the point that they’re as real as their world is a fantasy; I probably wouldn’t much like meeting them. Still, as long as they stay real, I’ll keep coming back.

Goodnight Irene: The Collected Stories of Irene Van de Kamp, Carol Lay. When I stroll through the comics store and see a collection of Carol Lay comics about a character I don’t know with an introduction by Mike Mothersbaugh of Devo, well, you’ve got my attention. Irene is one of the richest women on Earth, who happens to have been raised by the Ubangi people and has the radical body alterations common to that culture. And she lives in a world informed by 60’s romance comics. It’s both a lot of fun and certainly will keep the analysts busy. Even if you don’t want to think vary hard, these are winning stories with an interesting protagonist set in a fantastic world. They’re drawn by Carol Lay, so they’re gorgeous. If you do want to think there’s stuff to chew on.

This is long overdue.

Badger Saves the World #1, Baron and Caron. I liked this much better than Badger: Bull in terms of presenting the Badger. There’s more space to breathe and a little more time to let readers ease into his world. The art still isn’t my cup of tea. It seems a little cramped and much less dynamic than I think the Badger needs.

While the pacing is better, things still seem a little uneven. There’s a Badger vs. demon battle that feels tacked on and rushed, as if to show that Badger’s not just crazy. Without room to change tone, it just feels confusing.

Overall, I’d still send people to the back issue bin to see the Badge at his best. Boy I’d love to see a set of Badger reprints like Grimjack and Jon Sable have been getting.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #3-4, Palmiotti, Gray, and Arlem. This one’s still in guilty pleasure land. I do continue to like the art, though it isn’t always simple to follow. It is stylish and matches the tenor and pace of the story, which are considerable plusses.

The writing is more troubling. Every issue seems to add a subplot to the mix without resolving any of the existing danglers, which is a little alarming for a half-over 8-issue mini. I do like the consistent nods to the complexities of the real world, but that isn’t really enough characterization. I guess I’d prefer less going on and more characterization – or even more spectacular punch-ups – to rushed characterization and new subplots. It’s still a fun read, though.

Gravel #0, Ellis, Wolfer & Caceres. Beginning of a new series featuring Warren Ellis’s combat magician. Bought more or less on a lark. So far there’s plenty of Grim’n’grtitty dialogue, but not much beyond that. Gravel’s had a run of mini-series and hasn’t died out, so I’ll stick around a while to see what’s here, but this issue was not anything very special.

Black Summer #4, Ellis & Ryp. Very clearly a pacer issue. Several pieces of the chess game move to new positions, but very little happens in terms other than plot. A bunch of ordinance and people are destroyed by the Guns, John Horus shows he’s a bad ass, and Frank Blacksmith is moving new Guns into position. All well and good, but no one will ever say this is their favorite issue of Black Summer.

Captain America #33, Brubaker, Epting, Guice, and D’armata. Like Black Summer above, this is mostly pacing and plot. Bucky mixes it up with Iron Man and a surprise twist that’s only minimally surprising is revealed. I know why Brubaker needs to incorporate the twist, but the real test will be if this book remains readable after it’s added.

Grendel: Behold the Devil #2-3 (of 8), Wagner. Matt’s getting readers into Hunter’s world at a reasonable pace, though it’s starting to take a toll on his characters. As they start to see what goes on in Grendel’s operatic world, it’s difficult to ccntinue to see it as a game. Unless you’re Hunter, of course. For me it’s interesting to see these characters again, but I wonder how new readers are seeing this whole thing unfold.

Will Eisner’s The Spirit #12, Cooke, Bone & Stewart. Looks like we’re not done with Cooke and Co., and I couldn’t be happier. Another updating of an Eisner character where the team does an excellent job keeping the emotional resonances intact while updating the action for the modern reader. That story is so strong, and the updating done with such care, that this remains classic stuff.

Doktor Sleepless #4, Eisner & Rodriguez. Now, this is the way to keep the pot bubbling. We learn some more about the Nurse, there’s an interlude with the Doktor complaining about the state of music today, and then some strange rumblings of badness to come. Each segment is spooky, oblique and raises more questions than it answer.

Looking at the big stack of comics I’m reviewing I was struck by how clean Rodriguez’s art is and how well he tells the story. There are plenty of subtleties to the art, repeating visual motifs, hints in the backs of panels, and such, but his art never looks cramped or busy. It’s art that so well done that it’s easy to miss.

And what can you say about a series that features disemboweling as a repeating motif? Good stuff.

Fell #9, Ellis & Templesmith. While one of the joys and goals of Fell is that each issue tells a complete story, that doesn’t mean that its world is static. This is another great issue in itself, with a tense plot and unusual crime to unravel, but the real tension comes from seeing the long term effects on Richard Fell. It’s becoming clear from both the issue itself and the backmatter that things will be changing more for detective Fell in the coming issues, and it also seems clear that this will not be a pleasant experience. For anyone.

Except, of course, those of us reading about it. Grab the trade paperback and then join in.

Nothing actually came in this week, but here’s what I got last week.

Badger:Bull – Mike Baron and Kevin Caron. I’m going to buy all Baron’s Badger output, and there’s not much I can do about it. For my money, Badger was one of the great 80’s indy comics, and I keep watching to see if Baron can find that magic again. I know Badger holds up, because I re-read many of my old issues after the ill-fated Image run a few years ago, and they were still great. Unlike the Image run.

To be fair, Badger is tough to do – a comic kung-fu movie starring a multiple personality that’s surreal, touching, thrilling, and drop dead funny is a hugely tall order. I wouldn’t believe one could pull it off, except that Baron did for 50+ issues in the mid-80s. I believe he’ll hit his stride again.

And to be more fair, Bull isn’t bad, really. Mostly a little rushed. There are certainly moments that come near the Badger of old.

Some of Baron’s commentary makes it sound like this was an attempt to sell the Badge as a movie property, so there’s an attempt to tie up a lot of continuity in a very short space. I think these characters need more room than that to breathe; despite the comic elements, they’re deep. But as long as Baron keeps trying, I’ll keep reading.

Grendel: Behold the Devil #1( of 8 ) – Matt Wagner. More 80s stuff. I’ll read any Wagner, and certainly any Wagner Grendel. Hunter is one of my top three Grendels, and it’s always fun to see him again. This issue just puts the players on the board and lets us see how things are starting. It’s atmospheric and interesting. At his best Wagner’s one of the best writers or artists in comics today, and this shows signs of being good stuff. Recommended.

Captain America #32 – Brubaker, Epting, Guice. I didn’t recognize Guice’s inks this issue; he did a nice job keeping the tone consistent. SHIELD and our heroes finally get to take a swing at the Skull and his men this issue, with typically mixed results. Still one of my favorite reads.

Will Eisner’s The Spirit #11- Cooke, Bone, Stewart. I think this wraps up Cooke’s run on the Spirit, which makes me sad. I enjoyed his run a great deal, as he respected the material while making it his own. This issue ties up the loose El Mortez ends. It’s the least Spirit-y of his issues – which is to say plays few of the Eisner tropes, except good storytelling and string characters. (And I don’t think Eisner has a monopoly there.) Well done; the creative team goes out with a bang. Sorry to see them go.

Sig file fodder: “Ellen, I love Kimball, and there are things I don’t want him to worry about, like my youthful engagement to you. Or the Undead.” — Argonaut Bones

Wormwood from Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows. This is really Preacher lite. It’s an interesting enough story with the usual Ennis flourishes – the road to hell paved with mimes indeed – but running only 6 issues, only a bit of the depth. It’s blasphemous, profane and often in bad taste, but also full of tart observations and occasional moments that move you in spite of all the puerile humor. Jacen Burrows art is the only thing here that’s superior to Preacher, but it’s a good story nonetheless. Try it, and if it appeals to you at all, go start in on the Preacher trades.

The Immortal Iron Fist: The Last Iron Fist Story, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja. It’s no secret how much I enjoy Brubaker’s writing, and I have a long-standing fondness for Iron Fist, so I decided to check out this collection of the new series. It’s all the fun of a late night Kung Fu movie, with a winning protagonist. More good-natured than intense, Danny Rand faces the trial of being a Billionaire Kung-Fu hero. The Iron Fist franchise has a history of mixing Blacksploitation with its chop socky, and Luke Cage drops to keep a bit of that going on. On the art side, Aja handles the tonal shifts with aplomb. His storytelling is sharp, and he does a great job of making the Iron Fist mask especially expressive. It’s fast paced, winning stuff.

All-Star Superman #9 – Morrison and Quietly. Whew, no more bizarros. Morrison continues his brilliant translation of Silver Age Superman stories into the 21st century, keeping the wonder of those stories. You can’t make a Silver Age story believable, but Morrison makes the tropes come alive. It’s a world of wonder and strangeness, but the people walking through it are humans. Strongly recommended.

Maybe that Wertham fellow had a point. Scans from Mike Sterling. The third panel of page 8 is particularly impressive in its political incorrectness.

Again, a couple weeks worth:

The Flash #233 – Waid and Eddie Williams II (backup by Waid & Rogers & Braithwaite). It’s a bad sign when the comic about the fastest man alive feels too slow. The villains are the sort of distraction that Wally would have dalt with off-panel a few years ago, and the character development is all happening too slow. Add to that an out-of-character JLA “intervention,” and I’m done. I did almost stick around for the lively back up, but the slow front doesn’t need anything stealing its focus.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #2 – Palmiotti, Gray, Arlem.  I’m liking this quite a lot.  This issue focuses on the FF’s party girl, Phantom Lady, drawing from today’s tabloid culture fascination pretty reasonably for a mainstream underwear book.  That’s fainter praise than the book really deserves; this is good work.  The detailed and gritty art tells the story clearly and the stroy’s interesting and well paced.  This is worth reading.

Captain America #31 – Still solid.  Man I live in fear that something will happen to screw up this team’s creative footing.  But so far, so good.  Bucky’s in the clutches of Dr. Faustus and the Skull, the Skull’s plans moving forward and S.H.I.E.L.D. playing catch-up.  Everyone still behaves like they should and tensions are high.  Still a great book.

Black Summer #3 – Ellis & Ryp. The point of this issue is to let us know what Tom Noir can really do, and why he’s important at all.  And Ellis does it beautifully.  The art’s beautiful, the pace is breakneck, and now we know who’s the really dangerous gun.  Catch up while you can.

Doktor Sleepless #3 – If Black Summer is getting clearer, we’re only beginning to see all the twisty passages in Doktor Sleepless.  Interconnections and magic and technology all bouncing off one another.  It’s good and creepy and probably has a point.  This issue is fleshing out the supporting cast some more, so it may be a bit confusing if you haven’t read the earlier two. Top notch stuff!

I have my Spirit number 9 now.  It’s a really impressive piece of storytelling.  Where #10 is a procedural with over-the-top satire, #9 is a tightly written continuity development that’s really scary.  El Morte is one of Cooke/Bone/Stewart’s new villains for their Spirit incarnation, and in this issue he really comes into his won as a villain worthy of Denny’s attention.  Cooke does a great job of telling El Morte’s origin here in a moody way while giving the rest of his cast a chance to shine.  Bone and Stewart’s clean lines sometimes give the book a cartoony look, but they execute this more serious story with clarity and aplomb.

Great issue.

Many comic readers have an unfortunate soft spot for the amazingly bad Super-Hero Hostess Fruit Pie Ads that ran in 70’s and 80’s super hero books.  Wacky trickster Mike Sterling has led me to an enormous collection of them.  Life is good.

This will be a couple weeks’ worth. I’ve been busy…

• Jungle Girl #1 – OK, I’m only human. It was a Frank Cho cover and it promised jungle girls and dinosaurs. And it more or less delivered: it’s full of half-dressed women, dinosaurs, and a land that time forgot. But I’ve seen a lot of lands that time forgot, and this one didn’t grab me as something new. And Frank Cho’s only doing the covers. And I have a full run of his Shanna the She-Devil. I’ll pass on the rest of this. (If you haven’t seen a land that time forgot, you might want to have a look and tell me what you think.)
• Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #1 – Again, I have an uncontrollable weakness for the Freedom Fighters. One of the first Justice League issues I read was the Earth-X crossover that restored them to DC continuity, and I’ve always thought they were interesting for fanboy reasons. I picked up an issue or two of the recent mini-series and kind of shrugged it off. I just can’t leave it alone, though. This has the look of an interesting long underwear story and I’ll probably hang on to see how it goes.
• The Flash #232 – Two issues in and this still hasn’t caught fire for me. The art is gorgeous, but static, which clashes with the speed that’s essential to the title. Worse, the plot’s dragging; these aliens seem like the kind of low-power menace that Wally should be able to polish off in an issue, we’re headed for issue three, and these vaguely tasteless critters are still on the scene. C’mon Mark, find the gas.
• Will Eisner’s The Spirit #10 – I seem to have missed 9. Grrr. This is a pretty reasonable heav-handed satire (in the Spirit tradition of heavy handed satire). The story is a little cramped, in that the various suspects and victims all ran together a bit for me, but even glossing over the plot details, I enjoyed the story. Another enjoyable Spirit romp. Where’s my number 9?
• Captain America #30 – Brubaker’s tense narrative is reaching a climax – Bucky in the hands of the Skull (and he kicks around Sin and Crossbones like the second stringers they are)! SHIELD finally catching up with the Skull’s machinations! Drama centered on Cap’s legacy (in more ways than one)! It’s tough to wait the month between issues. This is a great character-based action series.

• Moon Knight #12
  • I’m outta here. This is the end of an arc, and my collector’s mentality will let me stop buying this title now. The arc ended with a muddy attempt to run a multi-timeline tying up of a couple climactic threads, but the tension just wasn’t there for me. I think the Moon Knight crew deserves better.