Best Comic of the Week:
Ginseng Roots #12 – Craig Thompson brings his long-running nonfiction series to a close with an oversized issue that really sums up the comic’s themes and various threads beautifully. This series has been a mixture of journalism and memoir, as Thompson has revisited his childhood in Wisconsin’s ginseng fields and reported on the historical and current practices and cultures of ginseng cultivation. Thompson took a topic I’d never given any thought to, and spun out a thoughtful treatise on family, childhood, farming, Eastern medicine, and industrial agriculture. He revisits topics that informed Blankets, his biggest book, throws in a deep love for comics, and also takes us around the world with him. He gives loving portrayals of farmers in America, including Hmong farmers, and shows us the differences and similarities to the farmers of China. It’s a stunningly mature work that really sticks the landing, playing with how roots and threads work as metaphors throughout the work. I didn’t mind the long delays between issues as the series progressed, as the pandemic and Thompson’s health issues interfered with its steady production. It also gave the work time to age like premium shang. I’m going to miss this book, and can already tell that I’ll end up getting the eventual graphic novel, which is going to have some major differences from the series. The last thing I want to comment on is how much I like the smaller format and paper quality of this very handsome series. Uncivilized Books is one hell of a great publisher.
Quick Takes:
Abbott 1979 #1 – Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivelä return to 1970s Detroit and Elena Abbott for a third miniseries. Abbott’s not doing well – she’s still pining after her girlfriend six years after they broke up, she’s barely subsisting as a journalist who writes about local theatre, and the Umbra, the shadowy force from another dimension she alone has the power to fight, will not leave her alone. Kivelä does a great job of showing us how broken and down Elena is, and the story and art is very aware of the setting of this book. This is always an impressive series, and I’m happy to return to it.
Alien Annual #1 – Declan Shalvey returns to the icy moon that his recent Alien miniseries was set on, but shows us what happened when the xenomorphs first showed up there, and got into conflict with the indigenous lifeform, which appears to be bigger than a rhinoceros. This helps fill in some backstory (Shalvey has another miniseries coming out soon), and it’s always interesting to see how the xenomorphs emerge from other species, but at the end of the day, this is a silent comic that tells a pretty simple story. Danny Earls does the heavy lifting, art-wise, and he succeeds in telling the story. I don’t mind an occasional one-off like this, but wouldn’t read a whole series with this type of story. It’s hard to innovate within the Alien universe.
Batman #138 – The crossover with Catwoman, which started with a simple and effective premise, continues to sprawl as Batman seems to be completely losing control of himself. His family, other than Damian, is completely opposed to his approach to things, and we learn why Vandal Savage has come for him at this exact time. There’s a lot happening in this book, and it’s interesting to me how both Zdarsky’s Batman and Ram V’s Detective Comics really have Bruce on the ropes at the same time. This run is feeling pretty momentous at the moment.
Birds of Prey #2 – I am loving this book. Kelly Thompson has Black Canary gathering a team that has to infiltrate Themyscira to rescue her sister, Sin. Dinah has to do some convincing to keep her nascent team together, and then they split up to gather some necessary (and secretive) supplies or items. There’s a John Constantine cameo, and some good team-building going on. Leonardo Romero’s art is great, playing with layout and giving each character expressive faces (even Batgirl, whose face is never seen). Jordie Bellaire’s colours are really odd in this issue – it almost looks like there might have been a printing error that adds new layers of depth to the colours – but it grew on me. I’m glad this book exists, and I hope it has a long life with this creative team.
Black Panther #5 – Eve Ewing’s Black Panther is interesting, but very divested from just about everything that’s gone before with the character. She’s got T’Challa in a remote city (which is apparently more than two hundred years old, but was also built by his father?) getting in the middle of a growing gang war that now apparently has a supernatural component to it. All that is fine, but I can’t help but wonder why there isn’t more focus on T’Challa himself, who must be hurting after losing his throne and being exiled from the country. I also wonder why the regime isn’t doing something about the reports of his presence. The last thing I wonder about is the fact that he’s incorporated a traditional shield into his costume, and it hasn’t been mentioned. I like this book, but there needs to be a deeper line to the character’s past to fully satisfy me.
Doctor Strange #8 – As Strange tries to figure out a way to deal with General Strange, his war-ruined other self, Clea goes to meet the General on her own. Pasqual Ferry’s art absolutely rules in this issue, as the stakes rise. I do have one problem with this storyline that I can’t escape or rationalize away. If General Strange fought for five thousand years, and then Strange was allowed to continue his life, does that mean the Vishanti moved him back in time, or is the war still going on somewhere? There’s a paradox happening, I think, and it’s bugging me. Otherwise, I’m really enjoying this series and Jed MacKay’s approach to Dr. Strange, who often bores me.
Fantastic Four #12 – It always felt inevitable that with Ryan North writing the Fantastic Four, there would have to be a story about dinosaurs. That finally happens this month, as the team gets sucked into a portal that takes them to a parallel world where primates never evolved, and dinosaurs remained the dominant species. They meet the dinosaur version of the Avengers, and have to figure out a way to save both their realities, although a familiar villain doesn’t want that to happen. This is a fun issue with great art, and it keeps the good vibes of North’s run going. This book is pure comics joy.
G.O.D.S. #1 – I really wasn’t sure what to expect coming into GODS. There hasn’t been a lot that’s made it clear what this book is about (or even what its titular acronym stands for), and the one-page teasers that started showing up in most Marvel comics didn’t give much away. I ended up reading this lengthy (and pricey) first issue in two sittings, because the first third really did not interest me much. Once the story got going, and we started to get cameos from some of the more obscure Elders of the Universe, I got more intrigued, and finally, I enjoyed the execution of the story. We don’t know much about Wyn, the main character (whose passing resemblance to Jason Wyngarde is irritating), or what his role in the universe really is. Jonathan Hickman retcons a few things into the fabric of the Marvel Universe, again, and kind of gets current Dr. Strange continuity wrong (unless Wong is going to return to Strange’s employ really soon). The first mention of a Prometheus Pit got me incredibly excited though; as a lifelong fan of the Micronauts, I didn’t think that would ever happen again. I think this is supposed to be an ongoing series, but I’m not entirely sure what this is going to become. Valerio Schiti’s art is very nice, but Wyn does look a lot like Dr. Strange, and that makes their interactions a little confusing in a few places. I trust Hickman to start a good story, but after the last number of years, I don’t trust him to finish it. I’ll stick with this title, but if I’m being completely honest, I don’t see this moving to the top of my to-read pile, the way HoX & PoX, to say nothing of East of West or The Manhattan Projects were.
Immortal X-Men #16 – We learn a little more about what’s happening in the desert, as Hope and Exodus find a key member of the X-Men, but also see the return of Apocalypse. Shaw and Selene attack Xavier on Krakoa, which uncovers two new mysteries (or maybe just one?). It’s strange to me that this title has been the central X-book since it launched, but in Fall of X, it seems to be skirting the periphery of things. I know this stuff is highly coordinated, but it’s starting to feel like the sprawl is a bit out of control.
The Plot Holes #2 – I’m really enjoying Sean Murphy’s new series. Ed and her crew move through digital books, editing them to improve them before they get published, and working to maintain the general health and desirability of the platform they exist on. But now, a malevolent viral bookworm has started to infest the books, and that puts everything at risk. The team struggles to stop it, and the newest member of the team, our point of view character, does not understand why he’s there. We get to know the characters better, and they learn a few things about Ed, their boss, and her possible connection to the real world. Murphy’s art is gorgeous, and while this is a strange concept, he manages to make it feel believable. I like how so many new publishers, like Massive, are launching with strong showings like this.
Red Goblin #9 – I started to get this series because Normie’s plight started to interest me, and I like the writing of Alex Paknadel. This issue didn’t do much for me, though, as Rascal (the symbiote that’s bonded with Normie) starts systematically trying to destroy everything that makes him sad, including his dead father. This brings him into conflict with Norman Osborn, who is a hero now I guess? The subplots of this series are more interesting than the main event, and it now looks like Venom is going to show up next issue, and I’m rethinking my choices. There’s a lot of potential here, but I don’t think it’s rising to it.
The Sacrificers #3 – With this third issue, we return to the beings who appear to run the fantasy world that Rick Remender and Max Fiumara have created for this series. The gala takes place, and Rokos, who is the sun (I think?) presides over the affair, not knowing that his daughter is watching from the wings and providing us with her perspective. We also check in on the group of young people taken from their home as sacrifices, who are living a happy life in the paradise we saw last issue. Some of these kids are invited to the gala, though, and that means we get a fuller sense of what this book is really about. Fiumara’s art is impressive here, as he’s designed a very strange world full of anthropomorphized characters, and made it believable. This series has a different tone from what I’m used to seeing from Remender, and while it has his trademark bleakness at its core, it’s also much lighter. I’m enjoying what I’ve seen so far, but still have no idea what the longer story might be.
The Sickness #2 – With this second issue, we get a better sense of what Lonnie Nadler and Jenna Cha are up to with this strange series from Uncivilized Press. There are two threads to the story. In 1945, a young teen named Daniel is experiencing worsening hallucinations, and news of the first atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima seems to accelerate his anxiety. In 1955, a doctor named George is convinced that the woman who just killed her family is suffering from a rare mental disorder, but he gets pushback from his superiors. To make his story even more interesting, he’s a Black doctor trying to get by at a time when racial tensions are again on the rise. Nadler is still laying out this story, which looks at the horror elements of mental illness, and he’s taking his time is building things. This makes the book even more interesting, as does Cha’s unconventional and creepy pencil art. I love the way they use windows and doors to obscure some text, and the hallucinations Daniel experiences at dinner are fascinating. I think I’m liking this more than the pair’s historical horror series that was published by Vault a few years back (the name escapes me at the moment). It’s a good comic.
Sins of the Salton Sea #5 – While, I feel like this could have used a few more pages at the end. We’ve been watching this guy, Wyatt, try to save a teenager, Silver, from being sacrificed by his father, who is the leader of a cult based around the Salton Sea. In this issue, things all come to a head, as it becomes clear that the threat Silver’s death is supposed to stave off is real, but Wyatt is not prepared to let the boy die. It’s an intense issue that has a surprising ending that, really, could have used an epilogue. I enjoy Ed Brisson’s crime comics, and thought his approach to this series was very cool. C.P. Smith’s art looks great, and the covers to the series are incredible. I appreciate that AWA is publishing these off-kilter stories, and can live with the large number of questions this series has left me with.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #39 – So when did all the Star Wars books get a dollar more expensive without adding any extra pages? I’m enjoying the Dark Droids event, but when it’s over, I’m going to have to take a look at my pullfile list. If any book is going to go, it’s likely going to be this one. I don’t really have anything else to say about this.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #39 – Vader has to tap into his anger to defeat the droid entity, as Greg Pak returns to the same well once again. It’s hard to write Vader, but this constant leaning on his trauma to make him at all effective is getting tired.
Transformers #1 – I was pretty big into the Transformers as a kid, collecting the toys, watching the cartoon, going to see the animated film in a theatre, and of course reading the Marvel comic (until I realized it existed just to debut a new toy every month). The thing is, I don’t remember a lot about them now. I can probably name ten or twelve characters, but don’t recall which side each one is on or anything like that. In the years since I stopped collecting toys, I revisited the property from time to time (I remember there was a Jae Lee drawn G.I. Joe/Transformers series), but the Michael Bay movies are unwatchable, and I don’t really have much nostalgia for them. It was cool seeing one of the characters turn up unexpectedly in the first issue of Void Rivals, but I didn’t really see myself buying any of the new Image comic. Then I found out it was being written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson, and I figured I’d have to give at least the first arc a try, because I’m a big fan of Johnson’s work. Honestly, though, this first issue was a bit of a let down. He tried to do a lot here – we meet a couple of teenagers who somehow find a big ship full of dead robots at the same time that one of them turns up and figures out how to revive and reshape these beings. It also turns out that this guy, the one who we saw in Void Rivals, isn’t aware of the fact that the robots have split into factions and hate one another. The few who get brought back start fighting, and the kids recognize the humanity in Optimus Prime, so they help him escape after he destroyed the machine that was fixing them. The art is lovely, but I wasn’t always sure who was who, and I didn’t make any kind of emotional attachment with any character in this book. I trust Johnson and will give this an arc before deciding whether or not I want to stick with it, but I didn’t love this first issue.
X-Force #45 – While Sage and Domino try to figure out how to find and help their teammates, visiting Dr. Strange, Colossus finally gets free of the mutant writer who has been controlling him. Mikhail wants the writer to take over a member of Orchis, as his plans have unraveled in the wake of the Fall of X. There’s a lot happening in this book right now, although it really just effectively sidelines the team from getting involved in any of the main events.
X-Men #27 – The Fall of X exploits of the X-Men take a bit of a weird turn as the team heads out to visit the Fantastic Four, to try to recover the knowledge that Professor X stole from Reed Richards a little while back. Rasputin IV is not the best ambassador for the team, so we get an interesting take on the fight first, team up later trope. Also, Kate discovers who Orchis is holding prisoner, but that doesn’t seem to help anyone much. I love that Phil Noto drew this issue; it feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen his art, and it’s always welcome.
The Week in Music:
Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips – It’s rare to find two rappers who wait until deep into their careers before partnering up as an ongoing group and still maintaining solo careers at the same time. It’s even more rare for those artists to get consistently better, more daring, and more experimental with each release. On We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, rappers billy woods and E L U C I D push each other to rare heights. The album eschews traditional song formats, and features one strange and off-kilter beat after another. The producers include JPEGMAFIA, Child Actor, Preservation, DJ Haram, August Fanon, El-P, Steel Tipped Dove, Messiah Musik, Kenny Segal, Willie Green, Black Noi$e, Jeff Markey, and Sebb Bash, making this a survey of the noisiest corners of the underground. Additionally, there are a few musicians who play over each track, giving the album a cohesive sound. These musicians include the incredible Shabaka Hutchings on woodwinds and Jane Boxall on marimba (I loved her work with Ceschi on his unfinished trilogy). There are features from Cavalier, Pink Siifu, Junglepussy, Curly Castro, and Moor Mother that add a lot of texture to things. woods and E L U C I D are two of the most talented rappers in the game, and there are just so many quotable lines spread across this album. I’m nowhere near familiar enough with it yet to be able to pull out themes, but I do know that this is the kind of album I’ve been waiting for from these guys. Their last album with Alchemist was wonderful, but this feels like it’s visiting from a future decade, and is miles ahead of anything else that’s come out this year. It really is incredible.
Dylan Owen – Keep Your Friends Close, I’ll Always With Mine – When I first discovered Syracuse rapper Dylan Owen a few months ago, his work reminded me of a different era of rap fandom, where slightly sentimental lyrics about finding your way into adulthood appealed to me. It was clear that Owen graduated the Atmosphere/Grieves school of rap, and I was here for it. Upon picking up the physical, I discovered that this album first came out ten years ago, and everything made so much more sense to me. It’s still a relevant and warm listen, and I like how Owen structures his rhymes. The production is nice too.
Super Duty Tough Work – Paradigm Shift – I first got to see the Winnipeg-based hiphop jazz band Super Duty Tough Work this last summer, in a mid-afternoon performance on a sweltering Jazz Fest afternoon, where their exhortations to “F*** the Police” did not exactly get the crowd ready to tear down the system. Even still, it was clear to me that this band had it going on, and now that I’m able to really take in their lyrics in the comfort of my home, I can see that they are truly fantastic. Rapper Brendan Kinley (aka Brendan Grey) balances conscious rapping that portrays the realities of life in Manitoba with a sense of real swagger and confidence. The band sounds great, and with Junia-T on production, there’s a consistency to this album I appreciate. I especially love the way Kinley references one of my favourite Saul Williams tracks, but switches the lyrics to tell us they come from Treaty Number One territory. I just found out they’ll be performing in Toronto again soon, and I’m looking forward to it!
Apollo Suns – Departures – The nine-member Winnipeg funk and psychedelic jazz band really put on a show on this new album. It probably should have been a summer release, as it carries warm grooves and is generally a very feel-good production. I love stuff like this, and love that it’s coming from Central Canada, which I always assumed had a funk deficit.
Atlantis Jazz Ensemble – Celestial Suite – Celestial is a good word for this Ottawa-based jazz band’s latest album. They give us a kind of soundtrack jazz, with a big but gentle sound. It’s a relaxing album that could come from a different era. There’s always a place for something like this in my collection.
