Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Here’s Chris Allen with one of the three GrayHaven columns for today.
Bastard Samurai by Mike Avon Oeming, Miles Gunter and Kelsey Shannon.
Image Comics. $2.95
Jiro participates in death duels on the rooftops of New York for the amusement of Yakuza, but is that all he is? As he tells us, he's still trying to acclimate to the Western world, trying to fit in and not stand out as a trained killer. But more than that, whether he quite realizes it or not, it might not be acclimation that's the problem. He may have to abandon this lifestyle, and possibly destroy it, in order to be his own man. It's a strong theme for an action series, a lot more than what I was expecting.
In fact, I thought what we would see would be a fun, violent series, with a plot along the typical lines of, "there's this guy you need to kill for me." Instead, Gunter and Oeming pack this first issue with history, philosophy and culture, a subplot concerning someone who may have discovered Jiro's secret, and even a couple clever jokes, to make a much more satisfying, dense story to complement the expertly composed action. Oeming's inks work seamlessly with Shannon's style here, which is similar to the style Oeming uses on Powers, in that although it is iconic and reminiscent of animation, it is also able to show subtle expressions and body language effectively.
Every page is packed with inventiveness and energy. The backup story by Gunter and Oeming is looser, with funkier dialogue, and the reduction in stylization and Eastern lore is helpful in making Jiro's world accessible to the reader. Honestly, as exciting a first issue as I've read in a long time.
Don't Miss.
Captain America #1 by John Ney Rieber and John Cassaday.
Marvel Knights/Marvel Comics. $2.99
While it might not be the greatest time to be Captain America, with our gray political landscape built on compromises, the servicing of special interests, and of course the inescapable reality of that there are no superheroes to protect us from terror, it is nonetheless a good time to read Captain America. To the extent that superheroes may be important in some of our lives, Cap is more important than ever, as an reassuring, enduring symbol of stout heart, perseverance, and selflessness. The challenge, then, is to depict a Captain America who lives in a world we recognize, not so idealized as before, where a tough day was tossing Batroc the Leaper on his ass for the 900th time. September 11th, we're well beyond the concept of "tough days." So it's delicate territory. What Rieber and Cassaday do in the beginning of this issue is to carefully bring us back to that day, with minimal but heartfelt narration and evocative but not gratuitous imagery, and then place it in the context of what it means to a soldier like Steve Rogers' life. We've seen the various specials and trade paperbacks and magazines and books with stories and photos and drawings about 9/11, and yet it's no less powerful here, though as I've said, tastefully recalled. I commend the writer and artist for what they leave out as much as what they put in. What they put in is a clever use of pastel and drained color for this day, representing not just the ever-present haze of smoke from Ground Zero, but the drained, punished spirits of all of us made witness. And somewhere, doing what he feels is right, is Steve Rogers. Not Captain America, not the Red, White and Blue Avenger, but a man who has fought for a couple lifetimes against tyranny of all sorts, only to find it on his doorstep. What they leave out are the bodies, the sickening details, and the tears. It would be so easy to show Steve cry, as a visual cue for the reader to follow suit, and yet the creators don't take the easy way out.
The rest of the issue brings things back to a more recognizable superhero realm, the color returning and Captain America on another mission for Nick Fury against a monster bent on destroying humans with different nationalities and ideologies from his. It's too early to tell if this will be a more conventional story or not, but I find no fault with choosing an Arab villain for this first story arc. It's just logical, and if there is enough complexity to the story and to this character, then it won't be simply a kneejerk catharsis for readers who need to see some Arab pay for another Arab's crimes, even in a fantasy setting. Based on the strength of the first half of this issue, and no wrong notes in the rest, I'll give Rieber and Cassaday the benefit of the doubt.
Highly Recommended.
Available Light by Warren Ellis.
AIT/PlanetLar. $24.95
Other comics creators spend a lot of time talking about the revolutionary things they're going to do with this or that character. Warren Ellis is many steps ahead of most of them, taking on other forms of media and even, here, inventing his own. I wouldn't call this an ambitious project exactly; at just about 30 pages of text, it's a brief, dazzling flash in the sky that hints at the presence of other worlds to explore. What Ellis has done here is to take a portable digital camera, snap a couple dozen different shots at home and around London, and write a one-page essay, anecdote or story inspired by each grainy image. In fact, some of these pieces appear to have been written on the fly, on a collapsible keyboard and visor screen, and wirelessly transmitted back to his home p.c.
Whether any additional tinkering was done after this, I don't know, but the writings as a whole have a sense of immediacy, clarity, and a refreshing candor. In the nonfiction, particularly the piece about his daughter, Ellis keeps his crisp British wit while simultaneously displaying the warmth we suspected must be there somewhere. But just as satisfying are the brilliantly minimized slices of grisly science fiction. It's here that the enigmatic (and sometimes dull) photos are brought to life, and the stories benefit from the distillation. It's often like something he might come up with for a three issue Avatar mini, but boiled right down to a five minute blast of violent thought. Overall, it's a bit pricey for the length, but a
successful foray into a new genre, and well worth re-reading.
Highly Recommended.
Startling Stories: Peter Parker, the Megalomaniacal Spider-Man by Peter Bagge.
Marvel Comics. $2.99
In Bagge's reinterpretation of Peter Parker/Spider-Man - his first foray into anything resembling superhero comics - Peter, on the advice of shallow girlfriend Gwen Stacy, abandons his altruistic instincts and uses his Spider-Man persona to achieve fame and big merchandising bucks. His inflated ego is such that he keeps both former friends and enemies like Betty Brant and J. Jonah Jameson close, under his thumb and subjected to great humiliation. Eventually, Peter does get his just desserts, though there's not much to convince us to feel sorry for him, nor do any real heroes emerge. It's interesting; I laughed a few times at it, where I was supposed to, and it's fun to see Bagge draw these characters, but the point of this sort of escapes me. If it's just an "eff you" from Bagge to the fanboy geeks he doesn't understand, it seems unnecessary. Spider-Man is my favorite character, but I'm not offended by this; I'm just wondering if we wouldn't have been better served by Bagge's usual facility for comedy grounded in
the real-life concerns of a struggling young man, the kind of thing he always brought to Buddy Bradley in Hate. Instead, we don't get much more than an amusing, but obvious, "Dark Spidey" sort of What If? tale, with a slightly more interesting Objectivist theme (a tribute to Spider-Man co-creator and Objectivist Steve Ditko) that's more window-dressing for the sight gags than anything.
Mildly Recommended.
The Princess and the Frog by Will Eisner.
NBM Publishing $15.95
There's no real "bad" Will Eisner work, unless you go back 60 years or so, when the master was still learning his craft, but I'd put this one into the "completists only" category. What it is, is an adaptation of an old fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, about a good prince transformed into a frog by an evil wizard. He can only change back to human form if he's kissed out of true love by a princess. Now, with Eisner and the Bros, you might expect a little better, but while Eisner does a decent job with it, the source material is flawed. The princess is unlikably fickle and selfish, and Eisner is possibly too faithful to the text, never adding enough to her character to make her a worthy match for the ultragood prince. His art is always a pleasure, especially his depiction of the King, but he uses an odd blend of
watercolors that's a bit harsh and unattractive, and his lettering is
particularly sloppy. The back cover advertises, WHAT BETTER WAY THAN
BEAUTIFUL COMIC ART TO GET KIDS EXCITED ABOUT READING! Well, a little bit better story would have helped. Not a bad book by any means, but like I said, it's mainly for hardcore Eisner fans. "Softcore" Eisner fans may want to get the softcover version, which I think is $8.95.
Mildly Recommended.
Queen and Country #8 by Greg Rucka and Leo Fernandez.
Oni Press. $2.95
I had the pleasure of meeting Leandro "Leo" Fernandez at the 2001 San Diego Comic-Con, and got to see his rather impressive portfolio. This is a nice, talented guy, and I'm happy to see he landed his first major gig as the new regular artist on this title. It looks like he's adapted his style a bit, to more of a high-contrast look like his countryman Eduardo (100 Bullets) Risso, but with an interesting loose-limbed, exaggerated quality not unlike Richard Case's work on Hunter: The Age of Magic. He's starting in the middle of the story here, as our heroine Tara Chace is not just on the sidelines with her personal problems, but finally becoming a key element in the mission to extract important information, as well as stranded agents, from Afghanistan. The suspense slips comfortably into a higher gear here without sacrificing any of the subtle moments of characterization. Another good
issue, and another artistic find for Oni Press.
Highly Recommended.
Rubber Necker #1 by Nick Bertozzi.
Alternative Comics. $3.50
Based on his high quality, but minimal, output, I would never have guessed Bertozzi would come out with a monthly anthology book. He just seemed to be one of those graphic novel guys, and you'd appreciate what he did whenever he put another book out. Now, while this new book, consisting of three stories, doesn't rank nearly as highly to me as his previous three-story book, The Masochists, its ambition and playfulness is exciting and promising. "Drop Ceiling" is the major story here, the first of an ongoing series about a ne'er-do-well who is trying, in an idiotic way, to get his own piece of the family furniture business pie. It's hilariously lowbrow, though with an element of sneering at the characters that makes it a sort of cross between Johnny Ryan and Daniel Clowes. The next story is a more reserved, though still pathetic and funny, look at a lovestruck Ivy League professor whose shameless gesture of love, a sculpture that should really get him fired, instead brings him great acclaim as an artistic visionary. The last story is in the "experimental" category, a surreal tale peopled with characters who speak in pictograms. It's rather a distancing effort to put at the end, but I'm still quite pleased with the book overall.
Recommended.
And for a look at Bertozzi's previous masterwork, read on...
The Masochists by Nick Bertozzi.
Alternative Comics. $14.95.
Not a graphic novel per se, the creator of Boswash returns with a thematically-linked trio of stories about characters facing moments where they can change their lives. Some for the better, and...
Passing Out involves a boy in love with a girl. That's not the familiar part. A member of the high school band and enthusiast of fantasy card games, he finds he'll throw away his nerd status, his cards, and even his friends, for this girl. His campaign is ruthless, and if you don't recognize it from high school, you're lying: he builds himself up at the expense of others, until he's won the girl's favor. And for his friend Larry, who wants nothing more than his old friend to get back down to his level, the humiliations come fast and furious.
Bertozzi creates a chillingly real story here, more painful for the fact it's honestly pretty funny at the end, and you know you should feel guilty about it. He's careful not to idealize any of the characters, making the dream girl decidedly plain and rather uninteresting.
U.V. Katastrophe is a more upbeat tale, as an aging punk rock guitarist — now writing advertising scores - meets up with his old bandmate and starts thinking about the old days. It's plaguing him, this lost innocence, the dulled edge, and the current music he was happy making sounds terrible to him. Bertozzi represents this with perfect imagery: ghostly squares coming out of the speakers. There's something...too even about them, isn't there? Too orderly, and too, well, SQUARE. But faded glory can be restored, if only for one song and one night, and Bertozzi brings the old axeman back on stage to close out his old band's set, the music from the speakers spiky and snaking across the room, lifting the guitarist upward, out of his aging body. It's a beautiful moment, and a needed dose of cheer after the last story, and especially before.
5/4, if I guess correctly, uses an awkward musical rhythm to suggest a life lived out of sync with everyone else. Such a life belongs to Donna, an overweight, painfully nervous woman living with her brother, who's given to seizures on occasion. Donna shoplifts; Donna hurts herself; and Donna drinks too much. It's while shambling down the street drunk that Donna is preyed on by two hip young men, looking to make her some sort of cruel piece of performance art at their party. While the previous pieces are observant studies of human nature, drawn in an engaging style, this story is so real it almost brings bile to your throat. We've all had moments we've gone too far for a joke, or realized the person we're teasing isn't equipped to
handle it, and this is an aching distillation of all this moments. Truly one of the most powerful stories I've read this year, and a fitting end to this ambitious and fully realized work.
Don't Miss.
Archie #522 by Rip Pubus and Phil McCracken.
Archie Comics. $2.25
The Beast of Riverdale has returned to feed, but confused by the memories of Archie's illegitimate child, still digesting in its gullet. It shambles through the halls of bombed-out Riverdale High, trailing tattered scraps of human flesh behind it, its moaning unearthly. Why did Mr. Weatherbee choose NOW to try to salvage the porn left in his charred desk?
All right, I'll admit it: I missed this issue, and was just guessing what happened, based on past Archie continuity.
Oh, I'm just kidding on that last one. Catch you next time.
Chris Allen
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