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Friday, September 3, 2010
NYCC Reviews
The New York Comic-Con was great. On with the reviews!
Fusion Anthology
by various
Dominion Publishing Enterprises, $19.95
An anthology of stories in the sci-fi/fantasy/superhero vein. You have to admire the Dominion people for their scope. At the NYCC, theirs was one of the biggest booths among the independent publishers. Fusion comes as part of an elaborate DVD-like package that includes a supplemental behind-the-scenes pamphlet, a poster done up like a movie poster and assorted promotional postcards, all within a plastic bag that the person at the booth whom I dealt with absolutely insisted on placing it in (even though he was having a difficult time stuffing it inside properly and I kept saying that it was unnecessary to begin with since I’m only gonna throw it out). Dominion went all out to make as huge an impression as possible, both with their booth and with their product, and I respect that. That’s the way the game works, isn’t it? The book itself is extremely professional looking, from start to finish: full color, with beautiful artwork practically across the board. The biggest name creator here is journeyman penciller Rich Buckler Jr., whom I’m a bit surprised they didn’t push more (but then, they probably wanted it to be about the “team,” so to speak). I initially balked at spending ten bucks (the con price) on a bunch of mostly unknowns, no matter how pretty the package, but given how much these guys probably already invested, not to mention their enthusiasm for their product, I figured they were worth taking a chance on.
Yep, Fusion is an impressive-looking package, no doubt about it. It’s such a shame then that all of the stories uniformly suck ass! Granted, many of them are scenes from larger ongoing tales, so I don’t expect to get everything right away (although there are pages which summarize the basic premise of each character, which is good). Still, in every instance, either the writing is cliched, the placement of the word balloons and captions is awkward and makes following the action difficult, or the characters themselves are ridiculous and I just don’t care about them. It’s as if the creators were given a directive to cram as much plot and action as they can into the space allotted them, leaving little room for subtlety or character development. While some of these characters have semi-interesting premises, the way they’re executed either confuses me or bores me. Dominion’s tag line is “You will be loyal.” Not with writing like this, I won’t, fellas. Sorry. C+
Black Bastard #1-2
by Matthew Mohammed, Michael Peacock & Jason Yee
Rorschach Press, $3.00 each
The adventures of a gold-chain-wearing, afro-styling, super-powered pimp, as he chases girls, plays basketball, and causes all sorts of mischief. Okay, all those people who are complaining about the Boondocks TV show? They have no damn clue what offensive really is. Matthew Mohammed does. Black Bastard gleefully revels in every stereotype you can think of and then some, and as a result you may hate yourself for laughing at the stuff in this book. But you’ll laugh all the same. I sure did. I would compare it to Chappelle’s Show but this pre-dates that, according to the indicia. Truth is, while it’s understandable why some black people don’t want to see this kind of humor, I believe it’s cathartic in a way. Once we acknowledge that these stereotypes exist and why, we can expose them for their stupidity. Black Bastard is such an obvious exaggeration that only a complete fool would think he represents blacks in general – and yet, such fools do exist. Once they see that their racism has no effect (thanks to work like this), they will lose their power. And as for those blacks that feel threatened by humor like this, well, the answer is simple: make a comic or cartoon show or TV show to counter it. If enough people do this, one day we’ll be seen as having a full range of pop culture, from one extreme (Nat King Cole) to the other (Ol’ Dirty Bastard) and everything in between, and we will no longer be seen as a monolithic entity with a narrow worldview.
Back to the comic – the only thing that confused me about it was what appears to be BB’s dual identity. He appears to have a second life as a more or less ordinary dude, but it doesn’t add anything to the story at all, at least not in the issues I read. I’d much rather see him as BB 24/7. The art is good, though I favor Jason Yee’s over Michael Peacock’s. It has more of an animated look to it. Black Bastard is not for everyone, obviously, but if you’re not the easily-offended type, I think you’ll get a kick out of it. B+
Van Von Hunter Vol. 1
by Mike Schwark & Ron Kaulfersch
TokyoPop, $9.99
The misadventures of an overeager medieval warrior, determined “to hunt all that is evil and destroy it utterly,” and his amnesiac sidekick. In this volume, their quarry is a deposed prince looking for a magic bauble that’ll make him top dog again. I received this book not at the TokyoPop booth, but at the table for a software company called e frontier, who were showing off their latest comics-making programs. Manga Studio 3.0, which Van Von Hunter was made with, lets you build comics from scratch (not just manga, although TokyoPop is partnering with e frontier on this, hence the manga emphasis). Inking, shading and tones, text, even freehand drawing is possible (if you have a pen tablet – that comes separate). Poser 6, meanwhile, lets you model the human figure in a wide variety of poses, from flat to three-dimensional, cartoonish to realistic. I watched a demonstration of Manga Studio in action and I have to admit, the young lady who operated it sure made it look easy. You can make panels any size and shape you want, throw in as many speed lines as you want, control the placement of the text, and so on.
While reading VVH, I kept expecting the art to reflect some aspect of its, I dunno, artificial nature, but I have to admit, Ron Kaulfersch makes it all look, if not completely naturalistic, then close enough for it to be unnoticeable. The VVH characters have become the spokesmodels for Manga Studio, in fact, appearing on the boxes for both the Debut version and the advanced EX version. The book is a comedy, so the art leans more towards the lighthearted side, but it’s no less lovely. The nameless sidekick looks sexy (as a comic book heroine should), the creatures look appropriately gruesome in a semi-harmless kind of way (except when they’re not), the costumes are well designed, and I don’t get a feeling of stiffness or rigidity to the figures anywhere. Would I like to see a greater variety of line weight? Yeah, but that’s mitigated somewhat by all the gray tones and shading, which are also handled expertly.
And oh yeah, it’s a funny comic, too! VVH is presented as this gung-ho con artist who may not have much in the way of real skills, but somehow manages to still come out on top. The nameless sidekick is Maddie to his David, full of moxie yet also has a naivete that’s endearing. The humor doesn’t get a base hit every time at bat, but the strikeouts are few, and the supporting characters are great (especially VVH’s maid!). One big complaint: there’s a single obscenity in a place that did not need it that badly. If you like Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’ Justice League work, you’re bound to like this as well. There’s even a great “Bwa-ha-ha” moment! B+
Galtow #1
by Robert Garrett & Patrick David
XMoor Studios, $2.95
In what looks like either a post-apocalyptic New York or perhaps an alternate reality New York (not entirely sure which, but it’s not that important), rival gangs take on the manner of feudal Japanese clans and engage in ritual combat fights called galtows, witnessed and recorded by scribes called daze. This first issue profiles three fighters and the daze that watch them. This is a fascinating bit of world-building on the creators’ part. The book begins with a one-page overview providing background on this society (which takes place in 2015, only nine years from now, so I suggest you all start learning how to wield a sword!). Through the cast of characters, we learn about the clans and the daze, as well as the culture of this world and the kind of people who devote their lives to the galtows and what ritual combat means to them. Robert Garrett’s script does a fine job of getting all of this across smoothly while giving us cool fight scenes and a variety of plot lines to watch unfold. Patrick David’s art isn’t quite on the same level yet – bodily proportions are a bit wonky and elongated, especially the women. Hopefully, over time, that will change. Galtow’s strength is in its characters, who provide a better understanding of this unusual fantasy world, and I finished the comic wanting to know more about them. Definitely worth a look. B
The Adventures of Bud Wonder & Tony GoGo #0
by Julian Lytle
website, no price indicated
I think the title character is a spy of some sort. He and his faithful sidekick get chased all over Europe by some other people during New Year’s Eve. This book appears to have the usual James Bond-type trappings, but for a zero issue, it doesn’t explain much about anything, like Bud and Tony’s mission, who’s chasing them, who Bud and Tony work for. It’s basically one big chase scene with hardly anything in the way of context. For all we know, Bud and Tony could be the bad guys! Artwork sucks; it looks extremely rough and unfinished in places and the backgrounds are piss poor. Here’s a thought: if this takes place in Europe – and where in Europe, exactly? The caption says “the Mediterranean coast” but that could still be any number of countries – why not make an attempt to make it LOOK like somewhere in Europe instead of sketching in generic cityscape backgrounds? Plus, the way the cover is arranged, it looks as if Tony is the star of the book and not Bud. Can’t believe I spent money on this! D
City of Walls
by Shaun Noel, Abede Lovelace & Mark Morales
website, no price indicated
Life inside a walled self-sustaining community, with all its dangers, through the eyes of three children. This is a character study, and I liked seeing the relationships between the three protagonists unfold. The airplane movie and the Billie Holliday record inspire dreams inside Daniel and Jin and Arianna which contrast greatly to the adults’ attitudes, shaped as they are by a lifetime spent within the city walls. Artwise, though, I had a very difficult time figuring out exactly how old the kids are. At first they seem like pre-adolescents, but then they look more like teenagers, and there’s no indication that the story spans years of time. Also, putting shadows underneath the word balloons is unnecessary and a distraction besides. There’s potential here, but the art is still far behind the writing. B-
Papercutter #1
by various
Tugboat Press, $3.00
Another anthology: Spiral Bound’s Aaron Renier tells the tale of a pair of bohemian NYC art types; J.P. Coovert contributes a wordless piece about a late-night driving experience, and Sean Aaberg concludes with a story about restless youth in a world gone mad. Those who enjoyed Spiral Bound, like me, will be pleased to know that Renier can handle humans just as well as anthropomorphic animals. I especially liked the scene in the Natural History Museum and the way Liam and Claire interact with the exhibits. Coovert’s piece is short and sweet, though I couldn’t help thinking that the car should’ve had a back window. Aaberg’s story is more on the bizarro-world side. The art is a cross between Dave Cooper and underground cartoonist Derf, and I liked the irony-drenched narration. Top it off with some comics reviews and a beautiful color cover by Renier and Papercutter is a good package overall. B
Dread Society X #0
by Chuck Collins, Leon Allen & DNA
MySpace page, no price listed
In a post-apocalyptic America, a member of a freedom-fighter group helps out a Native American family terrorized by a racist gang. To all you self-publishers and aspiring self-publishers out there, let me offer this bit of advice: for the love of Eisner… PLEASE… run a spell-check on your script before you insert your word balloons. This book has nothing radically new or different to it, so I doubt I would’ve given it a high grade even if there weren’t as many typos as there are in it (and I honestly cannot recall ever seeing as many misspellings in a single comic book as I have here; it’s truly disgraceful), but at the very least I wouldn’t have been tempted to throw this piece of crap out the window in disgust. (I didn’t because it’s chilly outside and I’ve got a cold.) Story is nothing I haven’t seen done before – in fact, I found it preachy at times – and as for the art, well, I know all the cool kids love that manga style, but I found the distorted torsos and crooked-looking arms off-putting. The coloring is beautiful; that’s probably all I can recommend. Nothing worth seeing here. D
Brodie’s Law: Project Jameson
by Alan Grant, David Bircham & Daley Osiyemi
Pulp Theatre Entertainment, $14.95
A career criminal is hired to steal a computer disc which contains information about a top-secret and potentially dangerous technology – one he is forced to employ himself in order to take revenge on those who took his family away from him. Alan Grant’s name is familiar to long-time comics fans on both sides of the Atlantic, and here he scripts a tale combining elements of crime, suspense, and science fiction. I hope it’s not too much of a spoiler to reveal that Brodie’s Law will remind people of the films Darkman and Face/Off – however, there’s a significant difference in terms of approach. Brodie wants payback, understandably, for what happens to his family, but over the course of the story his experience with the technology includes unexpected and unwelcome side effects that color the way he sees the world and the people around him, and that adds a deeper level of poignancy to his struggle. The ending, in particular, is a tragic and bittersweet one, yet it is not completely without hope either, and that’s what makes it so chilling and so powerful. David Bircham and Daley Osiyemi co-plotted the story along with Grant, and Bircham is the interior artist (Simon Bisley does the cover). Bircham exaggerates figures in places, but he comes up well short of out and out Kelley Jones/Bart Sears-style steroid freaks, which is good. Multicultural cast, emotional tension, lots of action, and a whale of an ending – you can’t ask for too much more in a comic. B+
Dracula vs. King Arthur #1-3
by Adam Beranek, Christian Beranek & Chris Moreno with Jay Fotos
Silent Devil, $2.95 each
Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia, alias Lord Dracula, after losing his kingdom, his wife, and his faith in God, makes a deal with the Devil by which he is reborn as a vampire and sent back in time to conquer another ruler who placed his faith in God, but was instead rewarded with prosperity: King Arthur of Camelot. This is one of those “Hey, I can’t believe no one’s ever done this before!” kind of ideas. While on the surface, it may seem like an excuse for another mindless Freddy-vs.-Jason, Alien-vs.-Predator kind of slugfest (knights fighting vampires! Woo hoo!), the creators have invested a great deal of intelligence in this story. From the prologue at the start of issue one, the Beranek brothers parallel the lives of Dracula and Arthur – one real, one who might have been real, but both shrouded in myth and legend. One ruled with fear and intimidation, the other with compassion and chivalry, but both men believed they were doing God’s work. By the end of the scene between Dracula and Lucifer in issue one, Dracula actually comes across as a somewhat sympathetic character. Arthur is presented as a basically decent guy, if a little headstrong and clueless at times. Sir Lancelot is the wild card whose loyalties are never completely certain, and Guinevere is the long-suffering wife who’s tired of her husband bringing his job home with him all the time – when he’s around, that is. And once the fighting starts, the bodies start piling up quickly and gruesomely. Chris Moreno’s art is good. He captures the clothing and architecture of the Middle Ages well, and I like his interpretation of Merlin – a radical departure from the traditional Gandalf look. Dracula vs. King Arthur was a very pleasant surprise for me. I eagerly await its conclusion. (By the way, I feel I must add that issues 1-3 contain a minimum of 32 pages of story, some longer, yet they’re all priced at $2.95. Another reason to read this book.) B+
BOOK REVIEW
The Looking Glass Wars
by Frank Beddor
Egmont
376 pp., currently available only in the UK
The “true” story behind the classic children’s tales Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, in which “Alice” is actually princess of Wonderland, and is forced to flee from it into the real world after a coup d’etat by her aunt against the Queen. After seeing my review of Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars, the comic book spin-off of this novel, Frank Beddor (whom I was surprised to learn is actually a Yankee, after meeting him at the NYCC) sent me a copy of the novel itself. The first half of Hatter M #1 is taken directly from the novel; the rest goes off on its own. Madigan spends many years in the real world looking for Alyss, so there’s definitely plenty of room for the comic to go off on its own.
As for the original source material, Beddor does an excellent job of re-interpreting Wonderland, from its locations to its inhabitants and everyday life. The familiar Wonderland archetypes from Lewis Carroll’s stories are dramatically different, yet not so much as to be unrecognizable – for example, here Tweedledum and Tweedledee are two quite intelligent generals who command the Wonderland army and can combine into a single entity. (Or is it one general who can split into two?)
In his introduction, Beddor warns the reader not to expect LGW to be as relatively genteel as the Carroll books, and indeed, parents should think twice before reading this to little kids – there are scenes of decapitation, bloody violence, and death.
LGW hinges on the use of imagination as a source of physical energy that can be used and abused, not unlike the Force. While it’s made clear that Alyss’ imagination is stronger than most, I don’t know if I like the idea of everyone being able to create and destroy stuff as instantly as they do. That concept, if taken to its logical extreme, could easily cause Wonderland to be in a constant state of flux, never looking the same from one minute to the next. Beddor tries to explain it away by saying imagination has limits, but the more I think about that the less I buy it. Limits on imagination implies stagnancy, no chance for growth and evolution, and it’s made clear in the story that Alyss has the potential to exceed her mother in terms of imagination power; indeed, to be the most powerful ruler Wonderland has known.
The double-edged-sword nature of imagination is something Alyss must eventually come to terms with; like the Dark Side of the Force, fear and aggression can lead to the user becoming corrupted by the power, as we see with Alyss’ aunt Redd and as we kinda see in Alyss’ childhood companion Dodge. The war takes its toll on young Dodge, and he grows up into an angry young man so consumed by the need for vengeance that he denies even his feelings for Alyss, whom he’s fighting for in the first place. While we see the changes in Dodge, though, we never really feel them. We see that he has a bit of a death wish, and that he’s become more and more of a lone wolf, but I never felt his internal struggle. Even after he’s reunited with Alyss, there’s not a lot of time spent on the tension between the two of them. Maybe it’s just me, but this was an important subplot that didn’t have as much emotional resonance as it should have. I never sympathized with Dodge, and I should have.
Still, I did enjoy LGW overall. I liked seeing how Alyss’ exile in the real world (Earth-Carroll?) changed her, and how she continued to feel the pull of her “family” even after she returns to Wonderland. Madigan, as I said in my review of the Hatter M comic, is a cool character – even more taciturn here than in the comic, yet his quirks and biases and secret pain give him just enough dimension. There’s less humor here, but I find that’s okay. The comic has more room for humor, I think. Hopefully Americans will latch on to this novel when it eventually gets released here. B
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
