This was a curious week for comics, with a huge number of endings and a lot of beginnings. Series are always ending and being replaced, but it felt like there was a lot more this week than usual. I bought 7 books that were ‘last issues’, and 6 first issues, although I’ve included New Avengers Finale #1 and the Fallen Sun special on both lists, as they managed to be both at the same time….
Best Comic of the Week:
Daytripper #6
by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá
Other reviewers have referred to this title as being pretentious, and I wonder what that says about me that it is consistently one of my favourite books each month. Where others see pretension, I see a solid attempt to address some complicated themes using a genre that doesn’t often get to deal with these types of quiet, involved stories. I would have thought that by now the ending of each issue, which repeat the same result monthly, albeit in different ways, would have become a little too precious, but instead I find that the knowledge of how the chapter will end causes me to absorb every page as if it might hold a clue to the ending.
Moon and Bá are working in a very South American style, and their story’s central conceit reminds me of writers like Borges and García Márquez, who were never willing to sacrifice their story for the constraints of reality.
In this issue, we meet Brás at the age of thirty-three, when a plane crash in Sao Paolo kills a couple hundred people. Brás, as an obituary writer, is charged with the task of eulogizing each victim in print, which he does in a haze, as he believes that Jorge, his close friend and colleague, may have been on the plane. His writing is populist in approach, with hands and hearts being recurring motifs. In a lot of ways, this is a 9/11 story transposed onto Brazil, with the series of articles the New York Times ran about the victims of that tragedy being an obvious inspiration for Brás’s assignment.
Like in New York, the people of Sao Paulo focus on the individual stories when the big picture becomes over-whelming, which is a lot like what Moon and Bá are doing with their short stories about the different period in Brás’s life. I find this book to be consistently thought provoking and beautiful, and am sad that there are only four issues remaining.
Other Notable Comics:
DMZ #53
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Ricardo Burchielli
This month, Matty gets tortured and then has a chat with Parco Delgado’s sister, who is one scary Grace Jones with piercings type. The army is escalating its activities in the DMZ, and Matty is looking for a new role for himself, as he comes to the realization that he is the best person to write the official historical record of what has been going on all these years.
I like how Wood is comparing the way Rose tortures Matty to the way he is torturing himself for his role in the destruction of the Parco nation in the wake of the nuclear explosion. Matty resumes his probably-doomed task of returning some dog tags to the American army, which has become an act of contrition or redemption for him.
As always, this is a great book, even if this issue was a pretty quick read.
Fables #95
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha
It’s another interlude story, as Rose Red and Snow White’s mother narrates the story of Snow’s first prince. Rose and Snow are still children in the story, living with their mother in a small cottage in the woods. They are visited throughout a winter by bear, looking to sleep by the fire. With the coming of spring, the bear leaves them, and the two girls keep having run ins with a mean-spirited dwarf with a long beard who has issues with getting himself stuck in awkward situations.
The story is modeled on the types of fairy tales that have given this book its reason to exist, although I’m not familiar with the original source of this tale. We get the idea towards the end that there is a reason why this story is being told, but at this point, the reader is left with no indicator as to what that may be. It’s a nice enough issue, although I can’t help but wonder if Willingham isn’t padding things out a bit to get the main story to a certain place for the 100th issue.
Greek Street #11
Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Davide Gianfelice
This issue, which closes off the Cassandra Complex arc, feels like it could have been the ending of the whole series. Milligan gives us closure on a number of plotlines, as Eddie escapes the Fureys and the police, and confronts Lord Menon. Dedalus outs himself, and Eddie receives purification at the hands of the witches that keep showing up.
This has been a frustrating series, especially through the first volume, but now that things have been established, I’m starting to enjoy it much more. It looks like the next arc is going to be completely different though, with a story featuring a soldier in Afghanistan. I have no idea if we’re going to see Eddie and his contemporaries again, or if this title is going to start taking a page out of Northlander’s book, and become a series of thematically linked arcs.
King City #8
by Brandon Graham
This issue of King City is pretty different from the usual, in that this one is very character driven, and relies much less on bizarre plot elements or elaborate sight gags than the usual installment.
This time around, we get to learn a lot about Max Absolute, the current boyfriend of Anna, the Cat Master’s ex. Max fought in Korea, and now we see what that was actually like, as Graham gives us some military bonding followed by a xombie attack We already know that Max does chalk (it’s a drug), but now we know a little more about how he feels about it, as he suffers from the loneliness that many veterans feel when they return to ‘the world’.
As well, we see some of Pete’s continued search for the alien girl from volume one, and Earthling does some Cyrstal Math. As usual with an issue of this book, the sum is much more than its parts, as Graham continues to pepper his pages with out-of-left-field wordplay and seemingly random narrative techniques, such as how this issue tells us what’s in everyone’s pockets.
This book is an instant classic.
The Light #2
Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Brett Weldele
The second issue of Edmondson’s new horror comic continues to impress. Coyle and his daughter, Avery, continue to flee the strange goings on in their town. Basically, it’s becoming more and more apparent that people who look into electrical light are getting infected with something, and burn up within minutes. It seems that light sources that are not connected to the grid, like car headlights and airplanes, are safe.
Coyle wants only to keep his daughter and himself safe, while Avery wants to go to Portland to look for her mother. A plane crash on the road in front of them changes both their minds, and they settle to look for some place safe to hide out, presumably until morning.
I really like this book. Edmondson is great at building up a sense of suspense, while Weldele continues to draw some of the best work of his career. I particularly like the way he is colouring this book, and allowing the light to become a tangible thing on the page. Beams of light feel like they have weight to them, and the reader becomes very aware of the luminosity of each page.
The only complaint I have about this issue is that it doesn’t make sense to me that Coyle wouldn’t be scanning the airwaves for a radio station that might be able to tell him (and us) something about what’s going on. Even if most stations are off the air (I don’t imagine any DJ other than Venus Flytrap broadcasts by candle light), it seems like it would have been a necessary scene.
The Sword #24
by the Luna Brothers
I’ve really enjoyed The Sword, and am pleased to see that the Luna Brothers were able to bring the series to the conclusion they wanted, in the space they’d planned for. This has been an interesting series with an original premise.
Dara Brighton, a college student, watches her family get murdered by three people with elemental powers. Eventually, she discovers that her father, who has been alive since the time of the Ancient Greeks, was the custodian of a powerful sword, the only thing capable of harming these three elementals. They are the ones who created the sword and had the father, Demetrios, use it to kill their brother back in the day. After that, Demetrios used it to keep them all in check.
Most of this series has focused on Dara seeking revenge on the three. She has traveled with her best friend Julie, and with Justin, the slightly nerdy guy who had been Demetrios’s student, and who knew the story of the sword.
In this final issue, there is one last confrontation for Dara. Saying too much would give away the surprise at the end of issue 23, so all I will say is that the Lunas wrap up their story nicely, giving a real sense of closure to things for Dara. At the centre of this book, from the beginning, has been Dara’s sense of family. Whenever she has been in trouble, we’ve been given flashbacks to different points in her life, and have been able to see the strength her family has given her. This issue really pays homage to her family, and I thought the ending was quite touching.
This series is highly recommended. It’s worth picking
The Unwritten #13
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Peter Gross
It’s back to Tom and friends, as a new story arc begins. Our heroes arrive in London just in time for the launch of the new Tommy Taylor book, only this one wasn’t written by Wilson Taylor, and is instead written by Callendar and his shadowy organization in an attempt to draw Wilson out of hiding.
It seems that a number of forces are converging on Tom (it’s a trick of gravity, according to the Frankenstein monster), as this series becomes ever more interesting with each issue. Carey is starting to work at the level of a Fables or 100 Bullets, in terms of this being a long-form Vertigo classic.
Quick Takes:
Adventure Comics #11 – It’s the end of Mon-El’s stay in the 21st century, as he and the Legion run around planting Brainiac’s cities on different planets. It’s a placeholder comic, wrapping up a few left over plotlines before Paul Levitz takes over the Legion, and it’s decent enough, even though I was left with a powerful sense of deja vu throughout.
Amazing Spider-Man #631 – Aside from the prerequisite scene of Parker feeling guilty, this was a really good issue. Bachalo’s Lizard is amazing, as are his action sequences. When I started reading this book again, I didn’t think I’d like it this much.
Avengers: The Initiative #35 – Another title comes to its close this week, as Gage uses this issue to tie up many of the longer-running plotlines from the last three years, including bringing Komodo and Hardball together again. This book is going to be replaced by Avengers Academy next month, and I’m going to register my complaint right now that they are not going to be using more of the characters from this comic. Gage (and Slott before him) put together a really interesting cast in this comic, and for a good while there it was my favourite Avengers book. I hope some of these characters don’t get consigned to limbo for long.
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 – This was about as strange as I expected, as Batman does battle with Vandal Savage in some distant past where superheroes apparently show up quite a bit. I feel like this whole thing is happening way too soon (I like the new status quo in Batman and Robin), but appreciate that Morrison is able to write the story he planned. Chris Sprouse’s stuff looks great – especially the page with the other heroes.
Birds of Prey #1 – I’m not sure what to think about this. On the positive side, I love when Simone writes Black Canary – she gets the character like no one else. I also enjoy the dynamics between Canary, Oracle and Huntress, and there is a scene here that captures that perfectly. On the negative side, I can’t handle Benes’s art. He’s not going as far out of his way to contort his women into showing boobs and butts at the same time as he did on Justice League, but it’s still not pretty, especially for what should be an empowering book. Also, Hawk is in the book. That’s a huge negative. As well, I found the plot to be a little overly-confusing and kind of backwards, but I have enough faith in Simone that it will turn out okay. I just wish they had someone like Cliff Chiang or Javier Pulido drawing this; it would be brilliant.
Daredevil: Cage Match #1 – This is an odd but fun little story about Daredevil and Luke Cage shooting off their mouths and deciding to settle their differences in the ring. The set up is a little forced, as is the inclusion of Turk in the main event, but the book is graced with some nice Sean Chen art. Plus, it’s always nice to see Cage in all his yellow shirt, chain belt and tiara wearing glory. (I’d rather Johnston get Wasteland back on track though….).
Dark Avengers #16 – Bendis says good-bye to Osborn’s team by showing us what happens to most of them in the wake of Siege. I like that Victoria Hand is not going away – she was usually the most interesting character in the book (even if she was a little too much like Maria Hill). Deodato’s still working with his new digital style, and it is nice most of the time, although I think I prefer his pencils. Here’s my question of the day – what ever happened to Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr)? I thought he was going to be a major player in Siege. When he didn’t show there, I expected to at least see him in this issue.
Flash #2 – This worked better than the first issue, as Flash deals with the Renegades (basically the Rogues of the Future). Manapaul does an amazing job with this issue, but I’m still not sure if I actually care about Barry Allen.
Heroic Age: Prince of Power #1 – Amadeus Cho is one of the best new characters of the decade, and now that he has his own limited series, where he is not under Hercules’s shadow, he really gets the chance to shine. Pak and Van Lente give us all the humour we were getting used to in Incredible Hercules (along with some fantastic sound effects), as Cho scours the multiverse for his not-quite-dead friend. Great stuff.
The Marvels Project #8 – I’ve always loved Golden Age heroes, and stories that re-create the WWII era like the original run of The Invaders, so I was immediately on board for this project. It wraps up here with the birth of that team, and returns us full-circle to the series’s beginning, although I feel like maybe the end didn’t live up to the expectations set at the beginning of this book.
New Avengers Finale #1 – Another ending, as Bendis wraps up the story of the Hood (for now at least) and Luke Cage’s renegade Avengers team enter into the Heroic Age. I enjoyed the look back at the last 60-odd issues of this title, and am quite interested in seeing what happens next. Hitch’s art is perfect for the action scenes in this story, but I hate the way he draws Wolverine. Why is he always crouching?
New Mutants #13 – The cracks are starting to show among the X-Men as a lot of bickering begins. I’m not happy about the choice of character they killed off in this issue; he was one of my two favourites on the X-Force team, and had a lot of potential for growth. This crossover has been decent, but is starting to feel a little padded, as this is now the second issue where nothing too significant happens (unless you like Blackbirds).
R.E.B.E.L.S. #18 – We’re still in rebuild mode, as Dox starts terraforming Rann and rebuilding LEGION (shouldn’t they have to change the name of the book?). There are some new characters introduced – namely a pair of lame looking Green Lanterns, and Starfire fights with her sister (again). There are a few good character moments, but this title feels like its floundering. I have lots of faith in Bedard though, so I’m planning on sticking with it.
Sentry: Fallen Sun #1 – I never liked this character, and thought he was a bad fit for the Marvel Universe, but at the same time, liked the concept of a hero that the whole world forgot about (especially when it was done better than Triumph at DC, who is completely forgotten again). It’s nice that Marvel brought in Paul Jenkins to write the good-bye, since he invented the character, but still, something felt off here. First, the Rogue thing didn’t work for me at all. Secondly, what’s up with the diary stuff? It doesn’t go anywhere, and is therefore just filler. Oh well, I wasn’t that intrigued….
Siege #4 – This is an alright, if slightly rushed conclusion, although I find it strange that Bendis left so many things to the tie-ins (like the fate of Osborn’s Avengers team among others). Great Coipel art throughout, but do we really need another big building on top of Avenger’s Tower? It was silly the first time. As for the big death? About damn time is all I have to say on that.
Superman: War of the Supermen #2 – Better than last issue, but that’s not saying much. There’s a lot of padding going on, and way too much posturing for me.
Comics I Would Have Bought if They Weren’t $4:
Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #1
Farscape Scorpius #1
Frenemy of the State #1
New Avengers Luke Cage #2
Punisher Max #7
The Shield #9
Siege Embedded #4
The Week in Graphic Novels:
Kenk
Produced and conceived by Alex Jansen
Written by Richard Poplak
Filmed and designed by Jason Gilmore
Illustrated by Nick Marinkovich
This graphic novel is such an interesting project. Igor Kenk is a notorious Toronto figure; a known bicycle thief and walking urban legend. The creators of this unique book filmed Kenk for more than 30 hours, and then, instead of making a film about him, made this book instead. The dialogue (okay, with Kenk it’s mostly monologue) is taken from the film, with journalistic details provided by Richard Poplak. His writes with a very light hand – there is no real analysis or interpretation here, as he prefers to let the man speak for himself.
Artistically, the book is made up of stills from the filming, which have been manipulated, enhanced, or just straight photocopied, in a style intended to evoke the 80s Yugoslavian punk FV style. It makes some of the more cluttered scenes – and when Kenk is involved, there is a lot of clutter – a little muddy and evocative of a cartoon trash heap, where identifying any one thing becomes impossible. What it also offers though is plenty of photographic images of the man himself, allowing the reader the opportunity to really study his face; something usually lacking in other journalistic graphic novels.
The book is quite fascinating. Kenk, an immigrant obsessive compulsive holds court on many topics, but his strident environmentalism and rabid self-sufficiency are his favorite topics, with Western excess, police harassment, and ‘monkey factor’ (his homegrown understanding of Social Darwinism) being close runners up.
Kenk berates customers (not as much as I would like), attends garage sales, drives around the city, and eats with the filmmakers, and much of what he says makes sense. I began to see him as a bit of a sympathetic figure, although the information that came to light about him following his 2008 arrest does make it difficult to maintain that sympathy. Basically, for people who don’t know, when Kenk was arrested, the police discovered almost 3000 bicycles in his possession, most stolen, as well as some smallish weight of drugs. Kenk has been driving the bicycle theft mania in Toronto for decades.
Kenk the man is irascible, thorny, intelligent, and mesmerizing. The book is much the same. ‘Kenk’ reminds of some of the more off-the-wall New Yorker profiles I’ve read over the years, as the writer and producer really get a sense of who this guy is, and work hard to situate him in his environment. This is a very ‘Toronto’ book, and helps capture the spirit of Queen St. West that has been lost as the neighbourhood has become increasingly commercial.
This is a rare piece of work, that deserves a lot of attention.
30 Days of Night: Red Snow
by Ben Templesmith
So once again, I’m dipping my toes in 30 Days of Night water, and find this outing
This story is set in 1941, somewhere north and cold along the Russian front. It follows a group of German soldiers, a group of Soviet soldiers (with a random British guy accompanying them), and a Russian peasant family who live in the area. These disparate groups end up in the same place, at the same time that a bunch of vampires appear and attack. The humans have to work (uneasily) together to try to survive.
As usual with these books, (with the exception of the brilliant 30 Days Til Death series by David Lapham), the vampires are total ciphers, and the people don’t get much more development. Russians and Germans hate each other? Shocking! Peasants afraid of Soviets? What they needed was a good long political argument when they were all trapped in the tunnels together.
And really – again with everyone hiding in basements? There was too much here that was borrowed from the first volume, and not enough of Templesmith’s usual madness. Still and all, it’s a decent read.
Album of the Week:
