Falling further behind again…
The Best Comic of My Week:
Skinbreaker #1 – I’ve been looking forward to diving into this new series by Robert Kirkman and David Finch. It’s an incredibly lush and detailed fantasy series set in a world where human-like beings live in tribes run by chieftains who gain their position by combat challenge. We meet an aging chieftain who knows his time is almost up, but his son does not agree and doesn’t want to challenge him, even though that puts their community at risk of being run by a dullard. Kirkman introduces this world, and why it’s called Skinbreaker, while Finch goes to town on the backgrounds and characters. It’s a beautiful comic that promises a pretty gripping story once things get fully underway. Apparently all eight issues are finished already, as Finch has been drawing this book for eight years (!); I look forward to regular doses of this.
Quick Takes:
Absolute Wonder Woman #12 – One of my favourite things about the way Kelly Thompson writes the Absolute version of Diana is how she shows her seeking out alternative solutions to the problems she faces. She approaches everything from a place of deep compassion, and it makes her character a lot more interesting. This issue wraps up the labyrinth storyline, and introduces some new story elements, including our first look at Diana’s mother, and the Absolute version of a Justice League mainstay. Hayden Sherman’s art is so nice in this book; I think it might be my Absolute favourite.
Far Down Below #5 – This ended up being a fun series by Chris Condon and Gegê Schall about a pair of boys who ended up in a strange underworld ecosystem complete with glow in the dark dinosaurs. It’s silly and a bit derivative, but Condon and Schall pull it off at the end.
Gehenna: Naked Aggression #4 – I was surprised to see that this was only a four-issue miniseries, and that it ended so abruptly without much resolution. That said, the creators have plans to bring this series back for a second volume next year, and I’ll be there for it. This has been a fun action movie of a comic, with lots of scenes of women trying to kill one another. It’s pure comics, and the fact that it’s a bit dumb is kind of the point. That’s what makes it fun.
Orphan and the Five Beasts: Bath of Blood #1 – James Stokoe returns with the latest chapter in the story of Mo, an orphaned woman who has been tasked with tracking down and killing five demons. She’s taken out two so far, and this new series opens with the immediate aftermath of the last one’s death. She doesn’t feel that the small town she and her gang of cutthroats are in is safe yet, but takes a break from her quest to have a bath. The pregnant proprietor of the bathhouse has a nice chat with her, while an Inspector from the Imperial capital arrives, and police go after the gang. The story in this series is fine, but not too original. The draw lies in Stokoe’s incredible, and incredibly detailed, art. This book is so attractive, and I’m happy to see it back on the stands.
Superman #30 – Joshua Williamson has Superman, Superboy Prime, and Booster Gold set up the K.O. event with this issue, as our heroes try to stop Darkseid’s Legion in the future. As a huge Legion of Super-Heroes fan, I’m pretty excited to see them acknowledged in this way, and the news coming out of New York that Williamson will be writing a Legion book soon makes me even more excited. I have no idea what version of the team will emerge from all of this, and I’m pretty used to being disappointed by relaunches, but I’m glad someone is trying. There’s a lot happening in the DCU right now, and it makes me glad I stuck with this title, which is at the centre of so much of it.
Ultimate Hawkeye #1 – I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in this one-shot featuring one of the more intriguing Ultimates. The usual Ultimates team of Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri provide an opening sequence that has Charli killing a familiar weapons dealer, but then the book is handed off to B. Earl, Taboo, and Michael Sta. Maria, and things go downhill. Charli enters a secret decadent club, believing he’ll be able to take out another target, but we learn that the Exterminatrix has set up a trap for him, and she puts him through a quick gauntlet before having him fight the person who was originally supposed to get his gear. For starters, the story moved a little too quickly, without taking the time to establish things clearly, and it didn’t provide any real insight into Charli’s character. I think this was a missed opportunity, as Camp has been building out this world, but has consistently left me wanting to know more about it and the heroes that inhabit it. This gave me Marvel Comics Presents vibes, and I doubt that the compromised position we leave Hawkeye in will be revisited again.
Ultimate Spider-Man #21 – I love how little Peter Parker factors into this book sometimes. Jonathan Hickman is telling a story that is so much bigger than Peter, and the combination of that and the fact that the book plays out in “real time”, with each issue happening a month after the last, makes this pretty unique. Mister Negative makes a play for power, kidnapping Mr. Wesley, the Kingpin’s top aide, but he has no idea that Wesley is not what he appears to be. We get Negative’s origin in this issue, learn the identity of another Mysterio, and see how Jonah and Ben are working towards uncovering big truths on their news site. I really like the way Hickman is structuring this book, and hope it continues after this Ultimate Endgame stuff. You can tell there’s a lot of potential in this setup.
Viking Moon #1 – This new Image series by Joe Pruett and Marcelo Frusin checks a number of boxes for me, so I was happy to preorder it. It is set in Newfoundland (then called Vinland) about a thousand years ago, and shows us how a group of Vikings are attempting to establish a small settlement, despite the knowledge that the last attempt ended badly. Within a day of their arrival, they are fighting with the Indigenous people of that land (who so far receive no voice or development, which seems like a poor choice). That alone could be enough for a story about colonization, but Pruett has tossed in some giant werewolves, making this into a historic horror series. Frusin’s art lends this project that classic Vertigo feel (really, this could be an arc of Northlanders in a way), and makes it look great. I do hope to get the perspective of the Indigenous people in this story, but aside from that, Pruett has my attention. This is a time period that’s always fascinated me, and I like the horror elements so far.
Wild Animals #3 – Ed Brisson is a masterful crime writer, and this Mad Cave series, drawn by Andy Kuhn, continues to demonstrate this. The main character has returned to the town where he was born, and where his father was killed by some corrupt cops, looking to even the score. He kills the first of the murderers that he comes across, accidentally, and continues to make a series of bad choices while the local sheriff starts to figure out what’s going on and look for him. Brisson explores this character’s feelings really well, while building suspense. It’s a good series.
X-Men #22 – I always loved interlude X-Men issues, and that’s what Jed MacKay gave us with this one, which sets up the Age of Revelation event. Scott returns to the factory from his short stint in the town’s jail, and learns that Magik ran a mission without his approval. Beast confronts Juggernaut for killing one of the Upstarts, while Jennifer admits that the murder didn’t affect her. Doug Ramsay, Revelation, shows up with Bei and Warlock, asking for a place to stay, and that sets off this big event that I have almost no interest in. I wish Marvel wasn’t doing this, as I think it’s going to upset the momentum that a lot of these titles have.
The Week In Music:
Puma Blue – Antichamber – I haven’t spent anywhere near enough time with this album that I bought back at the start of the summer. Like my new comics, there’s just been too much media to consume this year, and nothing has gotten the attention it deserves. On Antichamber, Jacob Allen (Puma Blue) strips away almost everything, leaving us with his voice and his guitar, along with some other ambient sounds and instruments. He’s always been a sparse artist, but this is the most minimalist his work has ever sounded, and I like that. These songs are personal and often oddly-constructed, but they are also beautiful and a bit haunting. I saw him perform these songs, and that makes them stand out a little more in my esteem. I don’t know if this is going to be the direction he continues to travel in, but I like it, even if it’s a lot more singer/songwriter than I usually like.
Soul Media – Funky Stuff – Jiro Inagaki, sax player and leader of the band Soul Media, was a pandemic discovery for me, but it wasn’t until my recent trip to Japan that I was able to add any of his music to my collection. Soul Media plays fusion jazz, and they were masters of it. This album, originally released in 1975, is a classic of the genre, and still sounds fresh today. It’s cool to see how Inagaki picked up the styles of people like Herbie Hancock and made it his own. I can only imagine how cool it would have been to see this band perform this stuff live in their heyday.
DJ Haram – Beside Myself – I first paid attention to DJ Haram when she worked with Moor Mother as part of 700 Bliss, but it was when she landed a placement on Armand Hammer’s We Buy Diabetic Test Strips that I realized she was someone I needed to pay close attention to. She also made beats for billy woods’s masterpiece Golliwog, and the fact that woods and ELUCID are on this album was more than enough reason to listen to it. It’s a terrific album – it’s brash and aggressive, but also beautiful. She has appearances from Moor Mother, August Fanon, and Aquiles Navarro, who are all artists I admire. This dances around genre-wise, but should appeal to anyone who likes thoughtful and dark dance music, or underground hiphop. It’s a pretty strong mission statement and makes me really hope she accompanies woods when he comes here next month.
Max Richter – Sleep Circle – This two-disc collection abridges the eight and a half hour piece Sleep, that I would love to see performed in its entirety some day. It’s designed to represent a full night’s sleep, and it’s a lovely example of droning neo-classical music. This shorter version is just as lovely, and just as able to induce extreme states of relaxation and thoughtfulness. I’m glad I was able to get it in this format.
