---

The Pull List
(Click title to go directly to the review)
ALL STAR SUPERMAN #5
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA # 1
THE BOYS #2
THE AMERICAN WAY #7
THE TRIALS OF SHAZAM! #1
Big Eyes for the Cape Guy presents AFTERLIFE VOL. 1
Indie Jones presents
CHEAP SHOTS!
Tales From the Crevice – It Came from the Nineties: SIN CITY: THAT YELLOW BASTARD
A Message from Gail Simone

---

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #5

Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frank Quitely
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Baytor

There is something so delightful about a creator that embraces the improbabilities of the super-hero genre and just runs with it, even while failing to “play by the rules” by not altering the visuals to reflect the “reality” of the fantasy world. Grant Morrison takes us inside the walls of Stryker’s Island, and uses our shared experience of prison environments to create something oddly more memorable than the usual super-hero prisons we’ve seen in comics... including his own.

No specially built containment cells, no guards wearing souped-up armor, no villains still in costume, no elaborate restraints, just the gray walls, bars, and orange jumpsuits we’ve all seen on television. Superman doesn’t even appear in costume, only Clark Kent, who manages to save the day on more than a few occasions under the nose of a clueless Luthor, who is far more entranced by the sound of his own voice, as he pontificates on his hatred of Superman.

And the whole thing is beyond illogical. Luthor is allowed to work on scientific devices, the guards overseeing him oblivious to the nefarious purposes he will no doubt use them for. Superman is more than a little responsible for the mayhem in this issue, as an uncontained Parasite runs amok after absorbing Superman’s out-of-control powers. In less capable hands, this would be excruciatingly awful and I would be saying the same things to dismiss it, but damn it if the whole thing doesn’t work. The proceedings are just so damn charming, starting with the wonderfully deceptive cover that promises us Lex Luthor defending his fellow inmate, Clark Kent, when the comic offers up our non-incarcerated reporter “bumbling” his way into saving his would-be protector on several occasions.

Frank Quitely continues to shine, crafting a Clark Kent that looks appropriately dumpy, while maintaining a hint of Superman’s presence. His basic penciling style manages to be both highly detailed and remarkably simple, letting the colorist, Jamie Grant, supply a lot of the texture of the world. There’s lots of fine lines on his character’s faces, so Quitely certainly isn’t shirking his responsibilities as a penciller, but we don’t get a lot of unnecessary line work on walls and furniture and clothing when color manipulation can get the job done ten times better. Every last image just pops off the page, without the murkiness we see in so many comics these days, brought about by dingy colors and over-rendered backgrounds.

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN remains one of the impressive super-hero comics on the stands today. It’s a near-perfect marriage of Silver Age whimsy and modern story telling. It sets a tone not unlike some of the better children’s cartoons, where illogical plotting doesn’t mean stupid; where style and wit take center stage and make you forget how wildly improbable everything you just witnessed was. Sure, it could spend a lot of time nailing down all the particulars of story logic, but it (like its Silver and Golden Age predecessors) is well aware of its space limitations and wisely decides to focus on character and plot to entertain us. Sure, you could nit-pick the thing to death if you wanted to, but why would you want to?

---

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA # 1

Written by: Greg Pak
Illustrated by: Nigel Raynor
Published by: Dynamite Entertainment
Reviewed by: superhero

OK, let me get this of my chest right away. I love the TV show BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Yes, I was one of those early skeptics that were wary of a re-hashed BSG starring a female Starbuck but when the mini-series premiered I found myself impressed. Then, as the show went on, it quickly shot up to the top of my must-see-TV list. As a matter of fact when almost everyone I knew kept babbling about how great LOST was I would often find myself arguing that BATTLESTAR was the superior show. In two seasons and one mini-series BSG has become one of my favorite sci-fi, scratch that, just altogether favorite television shows of all time. So when the word came down that GALACTICA was being adapted to comic book format I was pretty interested in checking it out. I’ve never been into licensed comic adaptations but I figured the TV show was so interesting that the comic couldn’t disappoint.

Boy, was I wrong.

Don’t misunderstand me. As far as the story and writing goes, this is a pretty decent tale set in the BATTLESTAR universe. It’s pretty standard BSG fare as far as the plot goes but Pak does a pretty good job of getting the basic feel of the series down. As a matter of fact, Pak’s story is solid enough for me to read it and think that it’d be good enough to actually be an episode of the actual TV series. My only actual problem with this issue, storytelling-wise, is that it really just throws the reader into the proceedings without giving them any real sort of primer or back story on the universe in which the story takes place. As a matter of fact, any of the background information presented on the major players in the story is minimal at best. I understand that this book is more than likely geared to BSG fans but I have to believe that there might be some readers out there who might pick this book up out of curiosity and not have actually seen one frame of the TV show. That, to me, is the one of the major failings of this issue: it doesn’t open up the brand to new fans.

The other major problem I have with the book is the art. I rarely say this in a review but this book’s art is just downright unattractive. While I think that Nigel Raynor is more than likely a capable artist his style here is absolutely wrong for a licensed book. None of the characters are recognizable in any way, shape, or form. What’s worse is the whole look of the book just appears to be thrown together at the last minute. Everything from the layout, to the figure drawing, to the coloring just looks rushed and sloppy. This is not how a comic book based on a major property should be put together. If anything, in my opinion, the appearance of this book actually places a small blemish on the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA name.

This makes me want to ask both Dynamite Entertainment and whoever sold the license for a BSG book to them what they were thinking. You have the comic book rights to one of the best shows on television today and this is the package that you put out there? Or this is what you allow, in the case of the owners of the BATTLESTAR franchise, to be released into the comic book market? While I don’t want to overstate the importance of the comic book fan base, don’t these people realize how important a hit comic book series or graphic novel could be to a sci-fi property? Apparently not, because this book looks to me like it was put together to just have anything on the stands instead of having an actual quality product on the shelves that might have some life of its own and be something worthy of the source material.

This all being said, Pak’s writing and my love for the television show has made me curious enough to want to check out the second issue. Hopefully the look of the book will improve but if it doesn’t I don’t even think that my affection for the TV show could keep me interested in this comic book series. That’s too bad because I really think that something special could be done with a BSG series. Unfortunately, that something special is definitely not happening in the pages of Dynamite Entertainment’s BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series.

---

THE BOYS #2

Writer: Garth Ennis
Penciler: Darick Robertson
Publisher: WildStorm/DC Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee

Issue two of the book that promises to "Out-Preacher PREACHER" has hit the stands, and you know what? I think in some aspects this book may just do what it has set out to. But here's the rub: I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

Oh sure, I love a good bit of the ole ultra-violence here and there, but I don't want this book to try too hard to push the envelope when it comes to trying to live out its claim. The black humor that made PREACHER what it is is here in full force, but the reason I, and most people that have read that Vertigo classic, love it is because of the heart it had underneath. PREACHER to me is one of the greatest comic stories ever told because of the bonds of friendship, camaraderie, and true, passionate love that it held within. A character named Arseface was just the icing on the cake. So before we go out and try to "Out-Preacher PREACHER", I just would like everyone to remember why PREACHER was so great.

So what do we have in this second issue of THE BOYS? Well, we have the first appearance of The Frenchman as he ruthlessly beats the hell out of some rather rude and prejudicial bastards. We have The Female showing up in an equally brutal (but in a much more low key) way. And then we have some domestic troubles as the last member to be introduced, Mother's Milk, is having some issues with his ho-bag of a daughter. Oh, and Wee Hughie is still sorting himself out after the horrific death of the girl who could have been the love of his life.

So even though there's a lot of violence for violence's sake (though I loved the bit with the Frenchman, that was some good old fashioned Spider Jerusalem-like beating down) that heart I mentioned before rears its head here to make it feel more like the aforementioned classic. In all of this, no matter how gory the beatings get and how gruesome things get, I think the raw emotion we're seeing thru Wee Hughie and Mother's Milk and his family is a great sign that this book will keep things very much on the off-beat side and will tug at our emotions much like PREACHER did before (god, how many times have I mentioned that book already?) And it looks like things are going to get much worse for Hughie before they get better as I have no doubt that we're going to see a lot of personal conflict with himself when he finally gets to re-enact the revenge that he has to want. Hughie doesn't seem like the violent type, but I foresee him doing some very horrible things with the memory of his lost love fresh in his mind. The question is, will he be able to live with himself after?

Now, while the story itself might be pulling itself together a little slowly, one thing that's definitely firing perfectly out the gate is Darick Robertson's art. I honestly have to say I think this is the best I've seen from the man, and I'm a guy who absolutely loves his work on TRANSMETROPOLITAN. Robertson's facial expressions are second to none, and the range he shows in the emotions of his characters is amazing. His character designs are simple, yet stylish, and there's great detail in his backgrounds as well that really bring the settings to life. And when it gets to time for the blood to run, you can be damn sure that every last bit of gore will be depicted beautifully as always.

Right now, I'm about 80% sure this book is the classic in the making it looked to be on paper. We all know the creative team has it in them, we all know the premise can't be beat (come on, how often have you wanted to see some uppity super-type get what they deserve?), and now we've seen the players and we have an idea of the character of this book. There's laughs, there's adrenaline and savagery, and there's some pure, heartbreaking feeling behind it. I think it's just a matter of dishing out all of those elements in the proper doses, and we will indeed have the makings of the book that will "Out-Preacher PREACHER."

---

THE AMERICAN WAY # 7

Written by: John Ridley
Pencilled by: Georges Jeanty
Published by: Wildstorm Comics
Reviewed by: superhero

When this series first started I pretty much thought it was a rip-off of the old Dark Horse comic book series THE AMERICAN. While this book does share many similarities with THE AMERICAN, mainly the idea of America’s great superheroes being frauds perpetrated by the government, THE AMERICAN WAY has been able to grow into a compelling series of its own.

Much of this has been because it’s begun to tread into an area which few comic book series dare to, that being race relations in America. While it’s true that much of the book’s central storyline deals with the details of how the main super-group’s façade begins to unravel in front of the American public, much of the intrigue is set into motion because of the intolerance present in 1960’s America. The ‘60’s is the time period when this book takes place and you can imagine the fireworks that are set into motion when one of the team’s masked heroes is revealed to be a black man. This is what ends up setting the book apart from THE AMERICAN. The hardly remembered Dark Horse series only really focused on the lie of a fake superhero pre-made for the public’s consumption. THE AMERICAN WAY delves into what happens when a fake super-team starts to tear itself apart because they can’t deal with the fact that one of them has a darker skin color than most of them would normally be comfortable with.

This particular issue serves as the prelude to the final climax of the mini-series and it’s a doozy. Things begin to finally come to a head when half of the team decides to hunt down their black teammate. While much of this type of thing could come across as clichéd in many other comic books, writer John Ridley avoids the typical pratfalls that would normally plague a superhero book trying to delve into the unconventional issues that THE AMERICAN WAY brings to the forefront.

Georges Jeanty’s art is beautifully crisp throughout the book with just about perfect panel layout and storytelling sequencing. Truth to tell, it was Jeanty’s art that kept me with the book though the early issues as his smooth style (as well as that of legendary inker Karl Story) has given the comic a nostalgic feel without taking away from the serious issues the book has dealt with. I don’t know what Jeanty’s done before but I personally think he’s an artist to keep an eye out for. Sure, he may not be as flashy as some, but his work is strong and professional, unlike a lot of big name artists out there.

I’ll be sad to see the last issue come out. This book’s been a really steady read that I’ve looked forward to more and more with each successive issue that has come out. Then again, I can’t wait for the finale as it really seems like the shit’s going to hit the fan big time and I’m praying that the book doesn’t cop out on me at the eleventh hour.

---

THE TRIALS OF SHAZAM! #1

Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Howard Porter
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Baytor

If there’s one thing years of reading GREEN LANTERN has taught me, it’s when the writer asks, “what’s Hal Jordon doing using the most powerful weapon in the galaxy to stop bank robbers?”, you know Hal’s going to be taking a huge hit in the popularity department. One of the worst things you can ever hear a writer do is talk about limiting the scope of his stories in a way that would categorize the great bulk of the character’s past stories as irrelevant, and that they’ll be striving to shove the character in some niche that isn’t widely popular.

So, it is with this attitude I approach THE TRIALS OF SHAZAM!, whose author has similarly questioned Shazam’s focus on earthly crimes, and wants to explore the magical elements of the DC Universe.

Yeah, right, like that’s proven so popular in the past. That’s why Dr. Fate has been continuously published since the Golden Age and why Zatanna is a cultural icon for millions of young girls.

Can you tell I’m cynical yet?

The problem with the great bulk of magical stories is that the rules are complete gobbledygook, often being pulled out of the writer’s ass for plot purposes. Take for instance a rather grim ‘n’ gritty scene in this book where we learn that a magical rite requires the blood of seven virgins, an explanation that sets up Billy Batson’s presence in this story. Yet a few pages later, when the bad guy’s plan goes balls up, suddenly the blood of a single tainted person is more than enough to complete the ritual. Admittedly, this isn’t confined to the magic genre, being present in virtually ever super-hero story ever told, but at least with a normal super-hero story, there’s a solid foundation of logic and rules that apply to most situations. Here, even during a throw-away scene with Zatanna, the rules that are applied are arbitrary gimmicks and we are told that all the old rules have been re-written… which is code for “Winick is pulling the new rules out of his ass”.

Okay, true confession time. THE POWER OF SHAZAM! isn’t horrible. It’s darker and far more limited in scope than I would like, and, as the above is proof, I can have a field day nit-picking it; but I have to admit that Winick has a solid handle on who he wants these characters to be, even if I totally disagree with his decisions. Preconceptions aside, it’s an enjoyable, often amusing ride, and Howard Porter’s artwork is stunning in all the right places. The cliff-hanger might even be shocking if you haven’t bothered to read any of the pre-release publicity; otherwise it, and virtually all the other developments in this issue, are going to have a high déjà vu content. Hell, it might even end up highly enjoyable if Winick steals one of Joss Whedon’s BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER tricks and starts humorously applying practical, real world solutions to magical problems.

Come on, who doesn’t want to see Shazam with a rocket launcher?

---

AFTERLIFE VOL. 1

Writer: Stormcrow Hayes
Artist: Rob Steen
Publisher: Tokyopop
Reviewer: Baytor

It’s been a couple of weeks since I read it, and I’m still not quite sure what to make of AFTERLIFE. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. There’s just something wonderfully perverse about a comic in which Adolph Hitler and Mother Teresa share a panel for no other reason than they can. The celebrity cameos are a great crowd pleaser, and I especially liked the quick Doctor Who reference from the recent WWII episode. There’s a great sense of wit at play in this book, and whenever the story started to drag, there always seemed to be some interesting human story or sight gag to revive my interest.

The afterlife, we discover, is an ever-changing landscape, where a valley can transform itself into a mountain in the blink of an eye, and where everyone who has ever died wanders around rather pointlessly, frozen in the physical form they had at the moment of their death. If you died a senile old man, you’d be a senile old man in death. If you were beheaded, you’d be carrying around your head for all eternity. Against this backdrop a number of interesting human vignettes play out, and these were the elements of AFTERLIFE I most enjoyed. In a world with no shape, no form, no structures, small groups of people would spring up around old relationships, old countries, old religions, even similar methods of death. One of the major characters spends most of his time searching out such groups, looking for his former countrymen, desperately trying to find someone who knows his lost love, whom he has been searching eternity for despite not knowing what she looks like anymore.

While I love this stuff, it’s not something you can sustain a plot, and this is where the premise begins to undermine itself. The main plot centers around a group of Guardians, who are appointed by forces they do not understand through a process they do not understand to protect the dead from creatures they do not understand for reasons they do not understand. Which illustrates the big problem I have with the book: it raises a lot of questions without supplying any answers. Among the few definable rules is that the void, it seems, is bad, and one should avoid falling into it; and that the uninteresting creatures who are attacking are bad, because they want to throw people into the void. Only problem is that most folks are having such a dismal time that you don’t exactly get worked up about their plight. Understandably, they fear falling into the void, because the last thing they want is to find themselves in a worse situation than the very bad one they find themselves in, but this isn’t exactly a fear that translates to the reader.

A secondary plot suggests itself about halfway through the book, as the lead characters begin searching for a long rumored Gateway. Where it is, they do not know. Where it leads, they do not know. Again, the book is plagued by questions it does not supply answers to, but the quest does seem to promise to lead to more interesting cultures in future volumes, exploring the religious factions that have sprung up after death, and the Gateway itself offers hope that we’d soon find ourselves in a world a bit more interesting than this one.

Even with these serious misgivings, there’s just something about this book that intrigues me. Stormcrow Hayes has a good handle on human drama, even if his attempts at epic storytelling fall a bit short, and whenever he was in danger of losing me, he’d always have some moment that sucked me right back in. Rob Steen’s art reminds me of some of the better horror art coming out of Avatar these days, and while the Lovecraftian tentacle thing isn’t exactly the best showcase for his talents, he manages to make his bones, conveying a good sense of emotion and treating us to any number of cool shots, like looking down on a crowd of people through a guy’s head wound. And even the elements of the story that I’m having problems with might disappear in future volumes. As it stands, it’s a very good, albeit seriously flawed book, and worth a look if you’re a horror fan.

---

TRANSFORMERS: STORMBRINGER #1 & 2
IDW Publishing

I didn’t think I’d have such a great time reading this comic. Telling one Transformer from another has always been hard for me, which proved to be a turnoff on the whole line of comics and toys for me. But reading through these first two issues, I realized that beyond the “ooohhh cool” factor of robots that turn into machines, there really is a pretty strong story going on with these transforming cats. This series brings us back to Cybertron, the planet all but destroyed by the neverending battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons. This series does a great job of illustrating the strong case against war and how there is often no winner. These two also set us some pretty foreboding vibes as a powerful Transformer looks to be returning. It’s a menace that forced both Optimus Prime and Megatron to work together to defeat it, so you know it has to be bad news that he’s returning. Don Figueroa does a great job of making Cybertron and its robot inhabitants distinct and interesting. So far, IDW’s TRANSFORMERS line has been a pleasant surprise. - Ambush Bug

THE NIGHT DRIVER TEASER EDITION
Moonstone

Moonstone has some pretty interesting ideas going for it. This book is a shining example of this. THE NIGHT DRIVER is actually a pitch for a film without studio backing. Instead of shopping this pitch around to producers in script form, Moonstone has collaborated with its creators to create a visual pitch for all of us to enjoy. And maybe, just maybe, someone in Hollywood will take enough notice to make it into something special. And, to be honest, I’d kind of like to see this pitch made into something on film. Part THE HITCHER, part THE MACHINIST, this teaser illustrates the first few minutes of this story as a lonely driver comes face to face with a strange hitchhiker. The art is sketchy, but capable, as is the potential in this one to be a good story. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for the 96-page graphic novel coming in September and, if we’re all lucky, maybe even the big screen. - Ambush Bug

HERO SQUARED #3
BOOM! Studios

Well, the plot is inching along and we may just get an honest to goodness slugfest in the next issue as the evil Caliginous releases a mystery villain to take on our hero Captain Valor. There’s a lot of the talkity in this issue, but it’s the entertaining kind of talkity that I have grown to expect and love from JM DeMatteis and Giffen. The back and forth between the squeaky clean Captain Valor and his alternate reality counterpart Milo continues to be the highlight of this book. It’s not big on the action department, but that doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining. DeMatteis and Giffen make their characters trade words like earthshaking blows in the most action packed of slugfests. - Ambush Bug

DOC FRANKENSTEIN #5
Burlyman Entertainment

Worth the wait. That’s all I can say about this title. I too wish we could get a monthly dose of Burlyman Entertainment, but this is a company that has promised quality not quantity. And it never fails to deliver in the quality department. This issue features a great battle between Doc and a pack of hillbilly werewolves. All the while, a little fact that some of you may not know is revealed: Jesus was taught by fairies. One thing this series could use is a recap page. There are enough characters, goings on, and space between issues to warrant such a thing. But aside from that little beef, I can’t recommend this and every Burlyman title published so far more highly. The Wachowski Brothers and Steve Skroce aren’t shy with the action and blood in this one and Doc’s escape from the werewolves is truly classic. - Ambush Bug

MODEL OPERANDI #1
After Hours Press

“It is what it is” and yes, I too hate that saying, but that pretty much describes MODEL OPERANDI. If you like insightful, talky, overly-serious comics, this is definitely not the comic for you. But if you like boobs, and models, and legs, and boobs, and action, and tongues firmly planted in cheek, and…did I say boobs? Then you may want to pick up this first issue. I do like boobs, so I have to admit that this was a guilty pleasure of a comic for me. It’s international espionage set in the world of modeling. It’s hot chicks on motorbikes shootin’ shit and blowin’ shit up. And it’s got boobs. If I haven’t sold you on this yet, I’m not gonna. It’s a fun romp with bikes, bullets, blowin’ shit up, and yes, a nicely drawn boob or two. - Ambush Bug

Remember, if you have an Indie book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.

---

CIVIL WAR: YOUNG AVENGERS AND RUNAWAYS #2
Marvel Comics

Y'know, this book has some things about it that really, really make me want to like it, but overall I just can't. Like, take this issue for example. There's some really great bits between the characters like some great funny bits from my favorite Runaway Molly and the re-emergence of one of my favorite Grant Morrison characters, Noh-Varr aka MARVEL BOY. But goddamn if the story behind this encounter isn't generic as all hell. I know it was pretty much summed up in our review of the first issue of this mini, but dammit how many times do we need to see more of the case of mistaken identity followed up by superheroes bashing each other and then making amends BS? Add in some art that is pretty unspectacular and this whole thing has just been a project in wasted potential and finding more revenue thanks to that spiffy CIVIL WAR half-cover. I don't know why I let myself be suckered into these things anymore. - Humphrey

52: WEEK 17
DC Comics

Another chapter of 52 limps by and this time it’s DC’s equivalent to the cast of THE GREAT SPACE COASTER that takes center stage. For an issue that introduces the intergalactic killing machine known as LOBO to the action this issue was surprisingly tepid. No, I’ll just out and out say it: this thing was flat out boring. You bring a character who’s as crazy as LOBO is into the 52 fold and his intro is as interesting as a piece of dry toast? C’mon! There’s so much potential here! I mean, really, the most he does is strip Starfire of her bustier and we don’t even get to see anything??? Way to go on the whole double standard of violence vs. sexuality in comic books DC. We get to see one character's entrails splattered all over the front of the good guys’ space cruiser but we don’t get a peek at Starfire’s yabs? So I guess when it comes to comic books it really is what’s on the inside that matters most to the crew at DC Comics. - superhero

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #33
Ultimate Marvel Comics

Okay, so a couple weeks ago I did a real quick talk-about over the UFF Annual that just came out where I said that particular comic was a very positive sign of things to come with Mike Carey's run. Well, that run is here, and uh, I think I might have spoken too soon. Then again, I'm not even sure what the hell is going on here. It starts with Reed and Sue at the mall, and then we're fighting Gods from the looks of it, and then we're back at the Baxter Building and then, uh, more god-fighting it seems. So, um, yea. Pasqual Ferry's art is really great, but I'm giving this run another issue to become clear or I'm done, I think. And that, as they say, is that. - Humphrey

---

It Came From The 90’s
By Vroom Socko

It sometimes amazes me how readily people can dismiss an entire span of comics history. Amazes, but doesn’t surprise. You see, there was a 90’s comic that I once dismissed, that I honestly didn’t think much of when I first read it. Sure, SIN CITY was action packed, but I’d already seen Frank Miller tell a story about a trenchcoated monster of a man in HARD BOILED, and that one had the added benefit of Geof Darrow’s insane Where’s Waldo on crack artwork. So after a few issues of Dark Horse Presents, I gave up on the story.

Skip ahead a few years, and I was hanging out at a friend’s place with a stack of comics a yard high. He reaches into the pile and says, “You have GOT to read this, it’s fucking insane!” And he hands me issue #6 of THAT YELLOW BASTARD. It blew my mind. The fake ending, the actual ending, and the art… oh my god the art. Stunning is the only word to describe those pages. As soon as I could, I got my hands on as many SIN CITY comics as I could find.

I ate it all up, even those earlier pieces that didn’t click with me the first time around. (It worked wonders reading them as part of a whole, I can tell you that much.) There was A DAME TO KILL FOR, which is what I’d imagine Double Indemnity would have looked like if it had been directed by Sam Peckinpah. And there was THE BIG FAT KILL, possibly the most hardcore story about Murphy’s Law I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Plus there were all the little stories, like THE BABE WORE RED and JUST ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT.

But it’s THAT YELLOW BASTARD that I keep coming back to, that I revisit time and time again. It has the series’ best hero in Hartigan, who starts out as the “cop about to retire” and proceeds to shatter that cliché like a body through a plate glass window. It has Nancy, the most alluringly sensual woman in comics. And it has the Yellow Bastard.

Most of all, it has the art. The most iconic moments are those of Hartigan in his cell, which always remind me of the cover Frank Miller did to Harlan Ellison’s book Mefisto In Onyx. The white bars against an endless black background are haunting. Then there’s the other extreme, where there’s an endless white with bars of black. It happens during the ending, when Hartigan is approaching the barn holding the Bastard.

My favorite piece, however, is in the scene where Hartigan appears before his parole board. It’s page 116, just an image of our hero standing there, looking at the floor, all done with a few black sections on a totally white background. I think it’s the best work of art Frank Miller has ever done, and I know that THAT YELLOW BASTARD is the best comic he’s ever made. It’s rugged, heroic, brutal, nasty, and beautiful. If nothing he’s done since has equaled this work, it could be because it set the bar so very, very high.

Question For Discussion

Who is one of your favorite veteran comics creators, and where do you think their work peaked?

---

A MESSAGE FROM GAIL SIMONE
HELP LEA HERNANDEZ!!!

Early this morning, the Texas home of award-winning writer/artist Lea Hernandez, my friend and co-creator of the graphic novel Killer Princesses, caught fire and burned. Half her house is now gone, and the rest is smoke-damaged. In addition, she lost at least six of her family's beloved pets, two dogs and four cats. If you knew Lea, you'd know how devastating that is.

She's lost a great deal of her family's possessions, including irreplaceable art. She doesn't yet know the full accounting of what's been lost at this time.

Most know Lea as the brilliant creator of such works as Rumble Girls and Cathedral Child. She drew the Marvel Mangaverse PUNISHER book, and has drawn for TRANSMETROPOLITAN, among many other accomplishments. She is also the co-founder and original editor for GIRL-A-MATIC, one of the most important venues for female-friendly comics created to date.

She's also my friend, and it's entirely possible I wouldn't have a career in comics if she hadn't asked me to write Killer Princesses for her to draw.

And finally, Lea is one of the last great firebrand hellraisers in comics.

Lea has two (wonderful, amazing) special needs children and right now they need a place to stay and some clothes to wear. More than that, they need some help, and fast, in the form of donations to her paypal account. Lea's a proud person so I'm going to ask FOR her. This is important, and a great chance to do a wonderful thing for a creator who has consistently enriched this industry we all love so much. Please, take a moment and send WHATEVER YOU CAN to Lea's paypal account and help make this time a little bit less painful for someone who would do the same for you if the positions were reversed.

If you're a retailer, I ask that you set up a donations jar. If you're a creator, I ask you to think of how devastating this would be to your career and donate what you can. If you're a reader, I'm asking you to take a moment and hit the paypal link. You'll be doing something heroic and you'll feel great about it, I promise.

Read what Lea had to post on a neighbor's computer while wearing her pajamas at: Livejournal.com/users/divalea

Donate (PLEASE) to her paypal account at: divalea@gmail.com

Finally, if I understand the story correctly (as told to me by Lea's good friend and current Girl-a-matic editor), it was Lea's daughter hearing the smoke alarm that allowed the family to get out in time, so for God's sake, do everyone you love a favor and CHECK YOUR SMOKE ALARMS.

Thank you so much for helping. Really, any amount you can send will make a difference. That's all I can say.

Sincerely and gratefully,

Gail Simone