47 Ronin 4 (Stan Sakai): Forty-seven Ro-Nine Four? 47R9-4? Is that some new droid designation? Eighteen inch pan pizza... Seven-fifty an hour... Thirty-yard gain.. numbers numbers too many numbers I’m lost in the numbers whathaveidone ARHGHAHGHGHGH!!!!!!
(CC Note: <smack!>)
47 Ronin is an ancient tale about the loyal army of a Japanese lord who’s brought to disgrace for not being disgraceful himself. Lord Asano commands a prosperous area that is distant from the capital city, and is called in to visit with the supreme ruler, the Shogun. He signs up for a class to learn proper etiquette, but refuses to bribe the teacher when prompted, and is thus sabotaged. The teacher traps him in one of those awkward social technicalities that result in death - we’ve all been there before, right? Only the rest of us don’t have a band of trained warriors willing to live as outcasts waiting for the perfect time to stage a tiny uprising and take revenge. (CC Note: Well, I know YOU don’t...)
This issue highlights sacrifice and payoff. The samurai forsake all their former relationships and are successful in convincing all that they are disheartened, pathetic wretches that are not worth thinking about. Hearts are broken and families are torn apart. Their target’s spies have spent months dutifully taking note of everything these apparent good-for-nothings have done and faithfully report it all back to their master. The spies get paid off and told their jobs no longer exist for all their efforts. For the “broken” warriors, their payoff is that their target has let down his guard, and soon they will have their revenge.
Sakai, known best for his long-running Usagi Yojimbo series, proves he can draw humans as effectively as anthropomorphic animals, so long as it’s in feudal Japan. The narrative as it comes off the page is cohesive, but it feels light, like there are some details being left out. The basis for this story is a series of events that actually occurred, and has been adapted as many times as some Shakespeare plays. The [spoiler alert!] Wikipedia article helps illuminate things, not so much what’s missing from the page, but rather what’s on the page that the reader might miss. The more you know about the original story, the more you can catch on the page, which makes the whole project an ambitious tome, but a challenge for the reader.
There’s one issue left in this series, and it’s pretty easy to find spoilers as to how it’ll end. Trade-waiters will have an easier read in the long run, but the notes in the back of each issue may be worth it to students of Japanese culture. Either way, this is an intense revenge tale that’s worth a look.
Worlds' Finest 12 (Levitz/ Macguire, Borges, Rocha): I could have sworn I reviewed Worlds' Finest before, but I couldn’t find anything in my (brief) look at the archives. So if I’m repeating myself here, just keep in mind it’s new to me. A bit. But it feels old.
In the rush to streamline the universe and get everything in great shape for New 52, a couple of people missed the last bus to their home reality: Helena Wayne and Karen Starr, aka Huntress and Power Girl. They were friends before world-hopping, but now they’re inseparable partners as they struggle to find their place in a world not made for them while trying to get back to the one that is. The blonde owns a company and is featured on magazines regularly while the brunette is on government watch lists the world over. Way to play to stereotype, DC.
Karen Starr has attracted the attention of a power player, and at first she was delighted to accept it, but it was revealed that the man’s also a big name in other places, like Apokalips. Karen and Helena leave before things get too serious, but some people just can’t let go. Desaad, Karen’s almost-date, comes calling and leaves a charred ruin behind, inspiring the need for closure.
There are jumps in the narrative that, while they sync with the jumps between artists, don’t sync with each other well. It’s difficult in places to tell how parts of the story relate, or even if they’re in sequence or not. There’s not a lot of depth to be found, which is good, because if the basic story can’t be told well, then anything else would be hopelessly lost.
I’ve seen some books with questionable titles before, but this sets a new standard. I do not recommend it.
As some readers may know, there’s a movie coming out Friday called Iron Man 3. It may come as a shock, but that’s actually based off of a comic book of some popularity. To commemorate this, Marvel is putting out two comics featuring the Man in the Iron-Actually-a-Titanium-Alloy-but-People-Insist-on-Calling-it-That Suit, Tony Stark.
First up is Iron Man 9 (Gillen/ Eaglesham): This title follows Stark between stints on Earth and, as is this issue’s case, in space. Tony’s looking for an intergalactic mass murderer, and he’s rich. Cue the mercenary - Death’s Head. We learn a bit about Tony’s range of bigotry toward artificial intelligences, as well as a hint that his dad may have had shadier dealings than Tony ever suspected.
Tony’s out in space because he wanted to find new challenges, and in that he’s very successful. One of those challenges has been looking for him as well, and while a personal vendetta suddenly appearing in the infinite void of space would sound fishy to most people, for a narcissist like Tony Stark it makes the normal amount of sense. There aren’t many speaking roles, yet the writing is clear and pretty clever.
Readers looking for something that ties into the movie won’t find much to connect with here. For that demographic, I recommend Iron Man 258.1 (Michelinie, Ross, Layton), a story spun off from the classic Armor Wars storyline created by, well, the creators of Armor Wars.
Tony Stark’s not as recovered from the violent near-takeover of his company from Justin Hammer as he’d hoped. He’d like to recover, but his equipment and staff are being targeted by a new threat, which unbeknownst to Stark is an old threat that refuses to lay down.
There’s a tiny bit of recap at the very beginning to give readers a sense of where and when in comic continuity this takes place. It’s been about two decades since Armor Wars was first published and a lot has changed in the world of technology, but the world of Stark Industries still comes off as state-of-the-art without trying to force any upgrades into the setting. This is fresh material, but it reads just like classic comics.
If all you’ve seen is the movies, some things may seem out of place, but most will fit right in.
When my manager asked me what I wanted, I asked for ten grand. I was hoping to get a hundred Benjamins, but instead he gave me Ten Grand 1 (Straczynski/ Templesmith). Better than the slap in the face he gives me as my Christmas bonus.
Joe freelances. He doesn’t do it for a living, because he’s not interested in living, but if he doesn’t, he won’t get an afterlife with his wife, the only soul to think he was worth something on either side of the mortal coil. He charges $10,000 a job, again not because he needs the money, but to make sure anyone that approaches him is serious. The kind of jobs he does aren’t for the faint of heart, or the closed minded, or the law-abiding, but he’s motivated. The latest job hits him close to home because it was supposed to have been done a while back, so he’s doing this one pro bono.
Nobody really likes Joe. He’ll only meet his informants in seedy establishments, his clients unanimously wish people like him didn’t need to exist, and his victims haunt him. He’s also been dead a few times. Everything about his existence seems miserable, but there’s a reason he suffers through it. That reason looks out of place with Templesmith’s style, but the overall result works. The reader gets why someone would go through all this. The reader wants to know more about Joe and his work, even if they wouldn’t like to be there.
This has all the trappings of a great tragedy, and I’m fascinated to see if it follows through. I recommend this for anyone looking for something more substantial in their reading lists.
While I’d love to see readers pile into the shop as soon as possible to pick up their books, I’ll understand if you wait until Saturday, that is Free Comic Book Day!, to pick up everything at once. See you later!
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