April 17, 2013

Life is about risk. We see risk in comics all the time, it’s an essential part of any story, really. If you want something, you have to commit to it without guarantee it’ll work out. You can plan and cast safety nets all you want, but inevitably, one must leave the future to fate. Sometimes you just have to do something you know is stupid just to see what will happen.

This week, I’m letting Assistant Manager and gaming expert Tim pick this week’s comics for review. Who knows? Maybe he has insight into the publishing industry that I don’t and we’ll have a roster that opens things up. Or, he could be a vindictive jerk and give me nothing but crap. Either way, readers, just brace yourselves.

(CC Note: Oh yes. Oh. Yes.)

Star Wars: Vader’s Little Princess (Jeffrey Brown). Starting off the week with a bit of light reading is an optimist’s view of what would have happened if Anakin Skywalker hadn’t been separated from his kids. Among other things, they would not make out.

The book is a collection of scenes between Vader and Princess Leia as she grows from a stubborn child to a fiercely rebellious woman. The imposing and intimidating Vader falls apart quickly when little Leia comes from behind a tractor emitter and starts asking her daddy questions. As she gets older, Vader finds her lack of respectable fashion sense disturbing. Sometimes they’re united against the universe, other times they fight so loudly you’d think a planet exploded.

About the only thing every page has in common is an endearing quality that somehow, in the face of countless continuity slaps, manages to capture the characters and what makes them lovable. Jeffrey Brown’s artwork dominates each page with a simple, deceptively childish, and unmistakable style meant to speak to young and old alike. The linework is uniform, and the coloring is done in crayon (or the digital equivalent, but the look is obvious), yet it works better than some mainstream efforts. When there is dialog, there’s rarely more than ten words per page, yet that’s all it takes to push the message home, whatever that page’s message might be.

It’s a little book meant to amuse, unite parent and child if only for a few minutes, and remember a time when fear kept the local systems in line and no one had heard of Gungans. The worst thing about this is that there’s only one copy this week.

Five Ghosts 2 (Barbiere/ Mooneyham). Next up is a new series that looks like 1930’s era pulp fiction drawn by Joe Kubert.

...PULP COMICS AS IF BY JOE KUBERT?!? TRAMBAMPOLINE! Wait, calm down, calm down. Let’s actually read it before we go crazy.

Fabian Gray is a treasure hunter in the same way that Robin Hood is a welfare officer: he believes in better living through aggressive fundraising. He picked up a trinket a while back in the same way that Doctor Who stole the TARDIS, and now he’s got new abilities and problems. Fabian is trying to find a way to undo whatever happened to his sister, which happens to be the exact same thing that happened to him, only he got a benevolent case of multiple personality disorder, and she got comatose. Allies are few, and while growing in number, their motives are pretty damn peculiar. Enemies are everywhere, even perhaps on the Kryptonian Supreme Court.

This story takes the classic archetypal heroes from the age of pulp storytelling and literally mashes them together with a standard anti-hero type that’s popular today. Fabian’s own motivations are crystal clear, even if the path to make them reality is hazy and convoluted. So far, the creators have done an excellent job of taking all the best elements of pulp stories and leaving the worst parts - like offensive stereotypes and gender roles - out. The first issue simply ignored them entirely, but with a new ally coming into play, maybe things will get more varied.

Mooneyham’s artwork is such a perfect homage both to the style of the story and Joe Kubert’s own work that it alone merits the cover price. Barbiere’s plot is still warming up, but the elements are coming together for something that could be great.

So far this isn’t too bad. Maybe I was worried for nothing?

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 1 (Giffen/ Mhan). Wait, didn’t this come out a few months ago? It did, but that was a miniseries where the familiar story and characters were brought back into their roles. This is the first of the regular series.

Skeletor and the Sorceress are dead. The land of Eternia is beginning to rebuild itself, eager for a chance to rest after a long, hard war. This is perfect timing for interdimensional hellbeasts to cross over and start invading, or so the animated totem pole of death thinks. He sends his daughter and a few murder squads over to start subjugating the masses, expecting little resistance. Family drama and a man-mountain with a sword prove more than they expected.

Why is this a number 1? One character is introduced, everyone else is in the middle of the cheeriest funeral ever, and the elite of society only just now realize that girls can have red hair. I don’t understand! Oh wait, number 1’s sell better. It’s shameful, but I cannot see any other reason for this.

The writing is a bit disjointed in places - ribbing on the stage of a funeral? - but the lines are clever enough. I caught a smirk forming once or twice on my face. Mhan’s artwork has clearly matured from his days on Spy Boy, and he did good then.

Numerology aside, this isn’t a bad issue. There are a number of very simple ways it could have been better, like give new readers a way to understand what’s going on, but it’s a reasonable addition to the He-Man Canon.

He-Man Cannon is hereby copyrighted by me and will be available in stores this Christmas!

As a side note, seeing as how DC is publishing the He-Man books, I am going to predict, here exclusively on this blog, that He-Man will be the unannounced final selectable character for Injustice: Gods Among Us, out this week. The local Gamestop had a release party Monday night that we gave out free comics at, and everyone had a blast.

Captain America 6 (Remender/ Romita). It’s been a while since we looked in on the relaunch of Captain America, so I suppose we’re due to check back in. When we left, Cap had been kidnapped by Arnim Zola, and while escaping, Cap grabbed a small boy he thought had also been kidnapped and brought him along. Since then, about twelve years comic time have passed, and they have not been kind.

Armin Zola, on learning his old enemy was alive, sent an army to burn down Cap’s new digs, the surrounding village, and everything in between. On learning that his son was also alive, he took the kid back and left Cap for dead, because this time that’ll work. Cap proves resilient. Zola also has a daughter/ warlord that just got her first crush, and she hopes she can figure out how to deal with these new emotions (and considering her upbringing, ALL emotions are new) before they follow her into the shower with a loaded gun and shoot her in the face.

So far, this volume has gone out of its way to depict everything at its worst. It is so far removed from everything we know about Captain America that, aside from some scraps of uniform, it’s hardly recognizable. This reminds me of Punisher: The End, where the world got so screwed up that the only way to end the story was for everybody in it to die. It wasn’t just ugly, it was so damaged and rotten that the only positive takeaway was that nothing remotely human could rise back up and try it ever again. It’s not even the absolute desolation I’m complaining about, it’s the proposal that Steve Rogers’s principles don’t survive under stress when they’ve already proven to survive decades of duress. Considering his role in the mega event that is going on at exactly the same time, it’s a very safe bet that he’ll get out of this situation without major temporal damage and not bring anyone along. No suspense there. There’re other parts of the story that strike me as so tasteless that I’m not going to bring them up, fearing that highlighting them will make them more popular. I didn’t know I had a limit for tastelessness either, but here we are.

There are many books out there that take heroic templates and use them in ways that normally would never be accepted. If Remender and Romita had tried that instead of abducting Captain America, this might be interesting. As a Cap book, this is disgusting.

And that was a Variant Coverage first. I relinquished control of the schedule to management. I’m glad we gave it a shot, it’s always good to try new things. Now I can say with all the assurance in the world that it will never happen again. See you next week!

April 10th, 2013

It’s that time again, comic readers! Time for me to take a look at some of the highlight titles coming out this week and figure out what makes them sing. We’re experiencing some unseasonable warmth here in Indy, and I think it’s going to my head. I’m feeling frisky!

Buffy Season 9 Number 20 (Chambliss/ Moline): The role of the Slayer changed significantly throughout the acclaimed TV series. When it went off the air and transitioned to comics, it changed even more, and changed most of the world with it. Where the Buffyverse is now is worlds away from where the show left it, but the quirky interaction’s as constant as ever.

Magic thrived for a while, granting the world hundreds of slayers and monsters and wonders, and then it got shut down hard. Anyone that drew their life from magic started dying, like Buffy’s magical mystery sister, Dawn. Xander’s been living with her for a while, trying to discover the normal life everyone they know has been fighting to protect for so long. Those with power left to them want to save the ones that’re being drained, but they’re not having much luck. Xander isn’t willing to wait for luck.

I like what is going on here, but I’d like it better if it was being approached differently. Two things are happening in this issue: Xander’s so riled up that he has to do something, and he’s being offered a spot on a new team. He’s been frustrated with being the normal human coasting on a sea of supers. So frustrated that he left the group once while they were all in high school. And he saved the city - no one knew about it, but he did it, and his only reward was knowing that he could do something important if he had too. Here he is again, no allies and a whole lot of stuff that needs doing, and it looks as though he’s throwing in with a new group. Xander needs to show that he can succeed in the field, that vanilla mortals are capable of defending themselves and solving their own problems, but this instance feels like a step backward.

It’s possible he’s going for a triple cross, but this blog is about the here and now in comics, and right here, right now, things are looking a bit bleak.

Secret Service 6 (Millar/ Gibbons): We got past Secret Service being set in the UK instead of the USA. We got past the language barrier of the gangland cockney accent. And now, we can get past the delays. Secret Service closes up with this last installment, and instead of confronting the real issues like budget cuts and political backstabbing, they decided to go with an epic siege on a mountain fortress. Bold choice.

Gary grew up in the slums of England on welfare and knowing he’d never get out. His uncle Jack London slapped him over the head and gave him a chance to be something more: a secret agent. Last issue, Gary watched his uncle get shot through the face for doing his job. With the classic stiff-upper-lip mentality, Gary arranges a proportional response in the same way that the 501st is proportional to a backyard game of toy soldiers.

This series ends very well. There’s victory, though it’s not the one anyone really wanted, but most can easily live with. Gary completes his character arc neatly. I find Millar writes more for plot than character, the former having pristine form and the latter coming off rough and forced, and while that’s essentially true here, it succeeds in places that some of his other stories haven’t. Dave Gibbons, known for making simplicity and directness a higher art form, gets to play around with this issue, and it shows that he’s having fun with his work.

This is good spy-thriller melodrama. Anyone following the series owes it to themselves to pick it up after all the waiting.

Sex 2 (Casey/ Kowalski):I find it incredibly refreshing that comics are making progress in getting away from certain negative stereotypes, and this series takes some needed steps in a couple of directions. For one, comic reader CAN have Sex. They can now add to their Sex issues in a positive way. More to the point, while certain body parts jiggling is a component, sex is about more than that to most people, and it probably should be.

Simon Cooke has been through a lot in the past few months. It’s made him look back on what he’s missed, and he realizes he hasn’t taken good care of himself mentally. Those close to him, be they enemy or friend, are throwing him into situations hoping that a quick lay will make everything better, and it’s not working. It’s very frustrating for everyone around him to watch him not get better, and while most are comfortable just saying so, at least one party threatens to get violent about it.

Comics have been known to treat sex as a tool for shock value and humor. Transmetropolitan had (among other things) Nazi sex midgets, Pro had a celestially empowering peeping tom, and the list goes on. They’re throwaway gags like so many used tissues. They relieve tension, then move on. The whole thing is disarming. The jokes stop here, but Sex recognizes that it got here by means of those same jokes.

The skeleton of the characters and setting is derived from Batman. The sheer amount of innuendo and dark humor around Bruce Wayne/ Batman is one thing, in fact it’s so many things that I can’t even safely put references up, but this series puts up a hand, calls for silence, and has the reader give serious thought to what those jokes are doing. For instance, take all the psychological baggage of a super-rich child who saw his parents murdered, but swap the gender of his primary caregiver, and throw the innuendo out the window. The reader is left absorbing the story of a man who repressed every mature desire he had to fight for a cause and impress the closest thing he has to a mother, only to have her pull a 180 and tell him to have the fun he’s been denying for decades. It’s heavy stuff, perhaps too much.

There’s copious amounts of copulation in these pages, sure, but it doesn’t read like most other action-almost-porn titles on the shelves. This is a book that’s recommended for mature audiences only, not just older ones.

Mylo Xyloto 3 (Haggerty/ Fuentes): I know what you’re thinking: why make a comic about an instrument most people haven’t thought about since grade school? (CC Note: No, Ryan, that’s a xylophone.) And why are LSD pixies dancing on one on the cover of the latest issue? (CC Note: That’s a staircase!) And why are they trying to bring back Michael Jackson’s trademark fashion sense? Let’s actually read the book and find out, shall we?

In this tale taken from the album by Coldplay, Mycroft Xerxes (CC Note: Mylo Xyloto!) is a cop for a police state using fear of an extraterrestrial threat and mass media to keep the population in line. The main threat to that state is an underground network of graffiti artists whose main arsenal consist of a bright color palette. During one investigation, Marko (CC Note: That’s the guy from Saga, Issue 12 on sale this week!) finds he can use the same light show they do, and it makes him rethink his position in the suppressive regime. Mxyzptlk (CC Note: That’s... oh, forget it!) might be able to give the revolution what they need to restore self-rule, but his old friends have some pretty aggressive counter-arguments.

This reads like a standard conformity versus individuality storyline, made less standard for the basicness of every component. Those in power wear drab shells and follow an immortal despot who likes to wring his hands constantly. The revolution is literally an underground movement. Stark black and white versus multichromacticness. (It’s a word.) (CC Note: It absolutely is not.) It’s not deep, but it’s pretty.

This is the halfway point for the series. If it’s going to do something unique, it should start soon, because it hasn’t yet.

Wolverine #2 (Cornell/ Davis): In this series, Logan was getting coffee when someone whipped out a blaster out of Buck Rogers, shot hostages, and so he stabbed him in front of his son. Then things got weird. In this issue, the post office gets involved somehow and whatever’s actually using the blaster is working toward wider prospects. Now, here’s my question:

WHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?!?!?????

Seriously. Why? Every other book Marvel puts on the shelves features Wolverine prominently. This makes the fifth active book where he’s the title character. Jamie Madrox’s power lets him be in several places at once, yet he doesn’t get around as much as this guy. Yet here’s a series that is two issues in and I cannot tell what this title does that none of the other dozen Wolverine-centric books do. Wolverine & the X-Men has “I kill people but not young people” covered. Avengers vs X-Men should have filled the “I have complicated issues with psychics” quota for longer than this. Every single book in Marvel and a few from DC note that he’s incredibly difficult to kill, and that he likes beer. Is there anything else? From what’s in this book, nothing important.

I’ve been taking a fresh look at Alan Davis’s work recently. For a long time, I wasn’t a fan. His facial compositions didn’t work for me, and he lacked the pizzaz I got from other artists. Lately I’ve had to reassess these opinions. He’s got a great sense of composing bodies in motion, he uses backgrounds well, and while I’m not sold on his faces yet, when one works, it works.

I don’t remember Wolverine calling anyone “Bub” in this issue. I... I don’t know.

Well, now that I’m completely confounded by the world at large, I think I should lie down. Yes, that sounds healthy.

April 3rd, 2013

Did you miss me, readers? Were you lost without my guiding voice to lead you through the shoals of new issues? Were you confused as to what books deserve your attention, and others your scorn? Worry no longer, for I have returned!

Not that my adventures or lack thereof are why you read this blog. No, this blog exists because comics are awesome. When they’re great, they’re awesome, and when they’re terrible, I have an awesome time ripping them apart. It makes for wonderful reading, does it not? And this week has some exemplary books to pick at. Let’s get to it!

Fables 127 (Willingham/ Buckingham): Between Once Upon a Time, Grimm, and more derivative titles, television has decidely learned that audiences enjoy fairy tales. These shows aren’t bad, but they simply don’t stand up to Fables.

Mawwiage. Marriage is the theme of the day, be it in Supreme Court debates or Vertigo titles. In this particular case, Beast is trying to add “Matchmaker” to his resume while Old King Cole and the rest of old-school Fabletown collectively rewrites their own laws on marriage to underline the word “consent”. Snow White is having a dispute with an old flame, and while everyone is on her side of the conflict, no one can actually help.

Traditions are stone. They are strong and weather ages, but they are also brittle, bothersome when in the way, and hurt when hurled at one’s head. Finding a way around them takes time, patience, and planning, but is the gentlest way to ensure that those who come later have an easier time on their path. For those less patient and incredibly powerful, there’s the option of smashing through and making a lot of noise in the process.

This isn’t a great spot to pick up on the story for new readers. There’s not much in the way of introductions or recap. There is, however, a great deal of intrigue, character drama, and action splash pages. If you want to get someone hooked on this series, this is the issue you should put in their hands.

Helheim 1 (Bunn/ Jones): For some people, love doesn’t get to be about raising kids or busting down walls. Sometimes love kills. Sometimes it kills the ones you love and you die inside. At the risk of instigating a convention for the emo crowd, we’re reviewing Helheim.

Helheim is the story of a small village of ancient Norse(wo)men. They’re hiding behind their walls against an army of barbarians to whom death means strategic weight loss. The barbarians are led by a mysterious witch that’s targeting the villagers for the equally mysterious redhead that’s captured the heart of Rickard, the greatest hero they’ve known for generations. Heroes have it rough - they hardly ever get to sleep.

Though not the focus of the story, this provides an argument of marriage that doesn’t involve tradition, since the setting predates most traditions: is it enough for a union to make the couple happy, or should the welfare of the people around them be an issue? The actual purpose behind this story is related in the back of the issue - what does a viking-witchcraft-monster story read like? Between Bunn’s clean dialog and direct plot and Jones’s evocatively simple artwork, such a cocktail reads pretty good.

The common results of these kinds of mash-up books is that a bunch of flashy stuff gets thrown on a page and the reader is expected to look at it, think it’s cool, and throw money at someone. The common mash-up is terrible, because the creators behind it often forget to include any form of substance, and the thing ends up a rotting pile of tissue by the end. In Helheim’s case, there’s an effort made to show actual human emotion and drama alongside horn-helmeted skeletons cutting enough heads off to inspire the creation of a dozen death metal bands. This is so crazy it might just work.

Age of Ultron 4 (Bendis/ Hitch): A Marvel mega-event in the beginning of spring? Normally, publishers wait for summer to print their blockbuster crossovers, but like retailers with Christmas, the philosophy now seems to be “first is best”. Well, I’m not done eating my Hershey’s Candy-Coated Chocolate Eggs, so back off!

[Author’s Note: Seriously, those eggs are themselves justification enough for a major holiday. If I had a bank account, I’d drain it every year on those things.] (CC Note: Why did we not delete your site access while you were gone?)

About two years ago in publishing time, meaning so far back no one actually remembers, a bunch of bad guys opened something from space to see what was inside. It was Ultron. He left. A bunch of other stuff happened, and just when everyone had stopped thinking about him, he destroyed most of the planet. The general populace isn’t taking the end of civilization well. What heroes survived aren’t taking it much better, but they have more experience at using anger constructively. In this issue, life throws them a bone. They find a place to catch their breath, compare notes, and assemble something that resembles a plan.

This series started deep. It started AFTER most of the explosions had already died. Everyone was hurt and vocal about it. What started as a survival horror story set in the Marvel Universe soon turned into a story of epic, bitter betrayal, and then quickly became a story across multiple time frames. Bryan Hitch, an artist known for his meticulously realistic art, has pushed himself admirably to render the scenes in a way that captures the hopelessness and pain such a story demands. I’m happy with him.

I am not happy with Brian Bendis. This became a time travel story, and I don’t like time travel stories. That’s nothing new. That is NOT why I’m not happy.

Bendis’s first Avengers story was one of apparent betrayal. Vision threw up Ultrons. Now, years later? Vision is throwing up Ultrons. Things are so bad that Spider-Man, the king of ID-paranoia, gave up his secret identity to the other survivors? Bendis did that before. Avengers have to go to the Savage Land to get the critical lead and find a path to victory? Not the first time. Not even the second. Taking one plot thread and attaching it to a different plot thread does not make a new and exciting plot. That doesn’t happen no matter how many old plot threads you put together. It just makes a braid of boring.

Some things get better with age. Others need to be enjoyed fresh. So far, Age of Ultron needs to be sent back.

Uber 0 (Gillen/ White): When I suggested this for the blog, my associates told me that I wouldn’t be able to handle it, that the internet would break under its weight. But we’ll show them, won’t we?

The justification the Nazis gave for instigating World War II was that they were protecting their home and gene pool from contamination, and establishing borders within which they could establish their version of a superior human, an ubermench. Their obsession with traits such as blonde hair and blue eyes, now understood to be genetically recessive, makes their cause sound more insane now than it did then, and plenty thought it was nuts then. Uber does not address aspects of the war like religion or economics or the potential risk of giving failed painters harsh criticism. It focuses on the idea of a superior human, and asks the reader a very direct question: what if the Germans had actual superhumans? What if they understood what made people stronger and could produce such people reliably?

This is a prequel book. There’s a lot of set-up and exposition, a few splash pages, but things haven’t really even started yet. This is a very direct book. There are no sides taken, no clear heroes or villains. Given the subject matter, it couldn’t afford to be anything but - one does not show Nazis winning and then try to make a statement. This is a book for adults only. As is the Avatar publishing tradition, there’s copious blood and violence, and while there’s sexual content, there’s nothing in the way of nudity.

The first issue isn’t even out, and already this book has thrown down an impressive gauntlet. It’s challenging, but if you can handle it, it’ll make you proud.

It feels good to be back! Leave a comment to let us know if you like having the blog back, or if it causes you pain, describe that pain to us. Either way, we’d love to hear about it. (CC Note: When’s your next vacation?)

March 22nd, 2013 - A Bloglet

Okay, I know the update this week is late. Well, that’s the good news.

The bad news is that I’m not in a position to provide a real update, either, so you’re getting something of a placeholder. In my determination to be a good blogger, though, I provide a placeholder with some meat to it.

It escapes us sometimes, but the characters we respect with awe/ fear started in humbler places. For instance, Kal-El was essentially thrown away by his parents. Peter Parker was miserable before that spider came along to bite him. We may not pay much attention to these moments, but they are formative moments, and they need to be accepted.

Gaze upon the following pictures I totally stole from the internet and meditate upon their story. Do they make sense? Do they offer new insight? Are they blatant gags and I’m just waiting to see who doesn’t get the joke? The answers next week! Maybe.

March 15th, 2013

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. Let’s test that, shall we?

BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #19 NOTO CVR



– “Bad Touch”, “Stranger Danger”, and “I need an adult!” all hit my brain at once when I saw this cover. It really hurt. To give you an idea, think of seeing someone with electricity arcing up their arm and then saying, “Turn your head and cough.” It hurt like that.

CRIME DOES NOT PAY ARCHIVES HC VOL 04



– Of course Crime doesn’t pay, nothing pays, we’re in a recession! Also, the lady’s going on a shooting spree! That’s notoriously a low-return criminal enterprise. (CC Note: Is it sad that more people think the crime being committed on that cover is the woman trying to wear those shoes with that dress?) (Don’t help.)

BATMAN #18



– Pets leave little gifts in boots. It’s what they do. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s taken this long to broach the subject in the Bat-mythos. Alfred must have invented five different methods for getting guano out of a cotton-kevlar blend.

SUICIDE SQUAD #18



– I’ve seen this image before, but it was on a marquee poster for mud wrestling. I seem to recall the same number of wriggling vines being involved too. Hawkeye is going to need to stretch to pull this one off.

AVENGERS ARENA #6 NOW



– This looks like the combination of Battle Royale, Breakfast Club, and Revenge of the Nerds II. Now that I think about it, the series so far could be described that way.

THUNDERBOLTS #6 NOW



– A woman in skimpy clothing holding popular action figures? That’s so blatantly pandering I can’t believe I haven’t seen it before. Wow.

WOLVERINE #1 NOW 



– I just don’t get it. He’s charging toward the reader. Claws out. He wants to kill you, and he doesn’t know you. So why do we buy so many titles that he gets five series devoted to him?!?

WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #26



– You see??? And even though it explains on the cover who that guy is, I can’t help but think that Kraven’s slightly-blonder brother is going through Kraven’s rolodex?

SHADOW #10



-The Shadow, I guess, is trying to match Wolverine for number of crossovers. He doesn’t quite have the feel for it, if you ask me, and you totally did. He’s in Masks, and now he’s hosting characters from 50 Shades of Grey?  

That’s all, folks!!

March 6th, 2013 - Nonfiction Comics?!?

A term for comics that hasn’t died yet is “funnybooks”, in much the same way we call movies “films” despite the fact that no one records on film anymore. It’s a term people are used to, and so long as people get what they’re talking about, what’s the harm in using the expression, right? Well, in the case of “funnybooks”, the answer is “Quite a bit”.

When you look on the New Releases shelf, there’s a lot to take in. An infinite amount of color, poses and proportions that defy all understanding of human anatomy, settings and equipment that push the limits of the imagination, and that’s all before you get to “D”. Among all those books, let’s say for the sake of argument 35 titles between A through C, maybe five actually are trying to be funny. And that’s me being generous. Some readers may get their jollies from the way titles read next to each other, or accidentally suggestive covers, but I’m not counting those. I’m only counting the comics being published with the intent of making people laugh before anything else. These are very few. That’s not a bad thing until you come across someone that defines the entire medium as a place for giggles and nothing else because they only know the medium as “funnybooks”.

This week I’m taking a special look at two well-produced non-fiction books that, while not afraid to make a reader laugh, take their respective subjects very seriously, and succeed while doing it.

Poorcraft - The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less (Trotman/ Nock) is what started me on this tirade, initially. (CC Note: So, IT’S to blame!) The title is humble, the cover art is full of smiles and puppies, and even the font is old-time energetic. To the typical, slightly jaded comic book veteran, this would seem to do everything it can to stay below radar. It’s a shame, because what lies within is a comprehensive guide to thriving in struggling circumstances, using contemporary situations as examples, something everyone could use.

The book is divided into sections for budgeting, food, transportation, entertainment, and just about every other aspect of a person’s life. It follows a doe-eyed spend-thrift hipster named Penny and her less-financially minded neighbor Nickel as they navigate a world that seems to cost more than what they have. Nickel has become accustomed to a certain lifestyle and is resistant to give it up. Penny has set her personality to “optimistic” and lost the lever, calmly confident that there’s an affordable alternative to anything anyone could need in any situation. Their spirited debate throws out the essential information and tips for the better lifestyle that the title promises.

Individually, they’re less character than archetype, Penny the confident, mindful ant to Nickel’s high-living, hungry grasshopper. Penny carries an aura of personal serenity, supposedly because she knows everything will be alright, where Nickel spends the entire time stressing over how her life is changing and she feels out of control. Penny spends the first few pages on her own to introduce the reader to the book, and while it’s dull, uninteresting stuff, it doesn’t last long. Once Nickel comes in, they spend the entire book more or less arguing with each other, and they read more like the devil and angel that appear on one’s shoulders. The bickering is entertaining, and turns what would otherwise be dry, monotone text into viable advice.

The illustrations evoke a sense of Steamboat Wille, simple and seemingly crude, but at the same time instantly recognizable and effective at communicating. Like the characters, the artwork uses classic styles to put a priority on the reader instantly understanding what’s on the page. They’re not out to jump-start a brand new format or shake up the industry, they just want to make it easier for their audience to save money.

I’ve made a few mentions of how safe this book is as far as its production is concerned, and before that sinks in too deep I want to make it clear that this was a necessary choice. Normally, I respect work that challenges, and there’s a lot to respect here. The characters and the artwork don’t throw down any gauntlets because the content itself is what directly challenges the reader. A lot of the tips and tricks described in the book are going to sound ludicrous to the stereotypical American, things like making one’s own cleaning products, and cooking an entire chicken and recooking it into different dishes to make it last a whole week. Nickel’s resistance echoes that of anyone that’s fallen on hard times, hoping that they’ll be able to make it through without changing their lifestyle. Sadly, that’s probably not going to happen. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, and may prove more of a challenge for readers than most art styles or narrative devices.

The biggest criticism I have for this is that it’s too successful at making itself appear non-threatening. I like alliteration as much as the next guy (CC Note: no, you like it way more than the next guy), and I also recognize the importance of getting a title to hook into new readers’ heads however one can. The full title has no pretention, making every effort to be non-threatening as it can. Where so many stories across all forms of media are built around tension and violence, I can appreciate the desire to balance that out with something calm and rational, something that doesn’t mind whether you pick it up or not. That’s its own kind of bravery. On the other hand, there is an overwhelming amount of attention being given to the economic problems people face today and very little covering solutions to those problems the average low to middle class person could actually use. In my own opinion, given the sheer volume of advice contained, and how pertinent it is to audiences, it could easily have gone with a bolder presentation.

Awkward title choices aside, I really do recommend Poorcraft. If you don’t need it, you probably know someone that does, and at $10 a copy, it’s what they need: a great bargain.

Comic Book Comics (Van Lente/ Dunlavey): This is a comic that goes a bit Inception on us, a comic that looks at comics. If you look too closely, you may find yourself in a panel reading the book, and at that point you may not be able to tell where you end and the book begins. If this happens, we cannot give you a refund, but we may recommend a good therapist.

There’s more behind the creation/ evolution of the modern comic than Stan Lee. There’s politics, bitter feuds, backstabbing, dreams forged in sweatshops, weddings with true love, chases… it’s a bit like A Song of Ice and Fire if it were about pen and ink instead of dragons.

You may recognize the names of the creative team. They worked together on Action Philosophers, another book adapting real life into something that reads lighter. Van Lente’s also penned mainstream books all across the industry. They know comics. They live comics. They did not rely on this when they started Comic Book Comics, though. Each issue has a bibliography section larger than some college-level final papers. The volume of information on each page can get pretty intense sometimes, with text and illustrations fighting to drown each other out. Clocking in at 320 pages, this makes for a pretty intimidating tome for the average reader.

Consider what it took to produce. Contracts going back to the turn of the century, partnerships that began as hobbies between friends but ended as vendettas, and some of the major players are still alive and active today. Families are suing multi-national corporations over underpants. This is not the kind of stuff people can talk about casually. Van Lente and Dunlavey would seem to have a lot of fun being as professional and meticulous as possible here. Every statement is cross-referenced, verified, and sourced. It’s enough to make any major journalist proud. You also get images of kaiju newspapers attacking Normandy or something. If you dare ask for anything more than that, we just shouldn’t hang out anymore.

Anyone interested in the sordid details behind the development of an entire medium should check this out. Educators looking for a new way to teach history to their students should check this out, and hope the attention spurs more players in the industry to develop textbooks in comic format. I know I would have paid closer attention to the names and dates that cost me my grade point average if there were faces – not portraits – to attach them to.

What it all comes down to is how much of an audience there is for non-fiction comics. When people can choose between their world and a world where a kid picked on by bullies can walk on walls and has to choose between a blonde and a redhead, the choice would seem pretty obvious, but don’t make it just yet. Our world has a natural gas deposit that’s been burning without any human intervention for decades. There is a diamond mine open to the public in the USA. The burial site of one of the world’s most famous kings was recently found under a parking lot. This world of ours has some really neat stuff in it, if you know where to look.

February 28th, 2013

I have to admit it. There are times when I love my job.

I’m paid to review comic books and graphic novels, that right there is pretty sweet. I’m given a forum to call out creators and publishers, both for when they do something wrong and when they do something right. Some may have this jaded image that as soon as somebody starts reviewing things professionally, they never like anything again, but that’s not true. Yes, we’re critical, but that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate things even while we’re noting their weak points.

Think of eating pizza with a group of friends: it was made with everyone in mind, and while individuals may pick things off they don’t like, most will enjoy it. I and other reviewers are right there at the same table, but we’re expected to tell the next table whether they’ll like what’s about to come out or not, and at our best, we’re comprehensive. Even if we love what’s on our plate, if we know some people at the next table are allergic to something, we need to share.

Of course, if something is so foul that the only way to get any satisfaction is to warn others away from it, well we might as well warn them in a way that’s funny. Keep all this in mind while I review this week’s books.

Guardians of the Galaxy 0.1 (Bendis/ McNiven): Say what you will about people, but we can be pretty arrogant sometimes. Earth holds the Miss Universe Pageant every year, yet not once have we invited another planet to represent. We tend to forget we’re not the only planet out there, and when we do think about the others, we tend to not think of them kindly. Changing it up (somewhat) is the relaunch of Guardians of the Galaxy, a series about different species coming together to ensure the universe doesn’t break down and wreck all our stuff.

But before all of that, we look at their leader, Peter Quill. Yes, the creature responsible for the continued existence of what passes for order in the cosmos is a human... only not really. Not completely. Meredith Quill left for solitude so she could get some work done, except a spaceship crashed in her front yard and a STTOS alien stumbled out. STTOS aliens, by the way, appear human in every physical capacity but they’re alien because they say so, like more than half of the aliens on Star Trek: The Original Series. Meredith pulls a Kirk, the alien leaves, and ten years later a young Peter Quill has trouble with bullies: their faces keep flying into his slappin’ hand.

This being a prequel book, there are some very hard boundaries that can’t just be crossed. We know the boy’s going to grow up and leave for outer space. We know he’s preternaturally comfortable with alien tech. This issue isn’t a game changer, all it does is take two moments that define the character and put them in the spotlight. It brings the character back down to Earth in the sense that he’s more relatable now, at least as much as a half-alien, cosmic threat exterminating royal pain in the ass can be. Toward the end of the issue the reader’s caught up to present day, and the more traditional Bendis-style dialog comes in, but throughout McNiven delivers very crisp, emotive artwork.

If this is a genuine look at what the series will be like once it fully launches, we’re in for a good ride. Check it out.

Carbon Grey Vol 2 3/3 (Gardner/ Evans & Nguyen): There’s something about Russian history that captivates people. Maybe it’s the regal dynasty with a long-lost heir, or the closest thing to an immortal sorcerer on record, but people keep coming back to it and re-imagining what might have been. Carbon Grey takes the same amount of land, political intrigue, and mysticism, adds a dash of superpowered space rock, and serves it with a garnish of blonde, brunette, and redhead.

“Mitteleuropa” has two very notable families: The Medein are the hereditary leaders of the country, and the Greys trace their lineage back to the first Kaiser’s most trusted friend, bodyguard, and the only superhero in the world, Gottfaust. Trained from birth to protect the kaiser and his family, the thirteenth Grey has become implicated in the current kaiser’s assassination. This issue wraps up the second “act” in the Carbon Grey Saga with the finding of two powerful artifacts and the players behind the global power struggle playing their hands. People think others are dead when they’re not, others are most certainly dead, and in the next volume, called the Final Chapter, it looks like many other things will die.

Personally, this matches the feel of other Russian commodities like borscht or vodka: an acquired taste. There are so many plot threads being played out that one needs to either have taken notes throughout every issue or reference a wiki, which I couldn’t find. When there’s plenty of time and space for those plots to grow and take root in the readers’ mind, this isn’t a bad thing, but developments happen so often and with such intensity that it’s hard to keep up. This is a shame in this medium, because there’re few ways for new readers to catch on, and this denies readers many of those chances.

The artwork takes up a lot of the slack - every character has a very distinct look, providing a much-needed anchor to the narrative. On top of that, the art style’s pretty; digital painting instead of the traditional pencils, inks, and digital coloring gives the series itself a singular, heavy feel.

This is a very dense book, which historical fiction tends to be. When it’s complete and collected, I expect this is going to be a story that meets every definition of “epic”, but for now it’s merely a very demanding series.

Freelancers 4 (Esquivel/ Covey): Before anyone gets excited, this is NOT a how-to guide for becoming successfully self-employed. This is a book about two best-friend orphans that grow up to become bounty hunters. It’s hard to tell the two apart sometimes, we understand.

“Freelancers” in this case are a mix of private eye, bounty hunter, and action hero at the beck and call of the super rich. An orphan named Katherine Rushmore started the industry, and fellow orphans Val and Cass have been fighting their way out of her shadow since setting out on their own. Life outside the orphanage has been hard on them lately, but they’re pushing through. This issue follows them on a bodyguarding case for an identity thief that made the worst identity in the country profitable.

Depth is not one of the items on this book’s menu. This is a book about two hot chicks on the West Coast using kung fu and spouting one-liners. The good news is that Esquivel and Covey know it and they run with it. You get equal portions of pickled puns, deep-fried martial arts, and cheesecake. This is the kind of story that begs to be made into a TV series, but works just as well in a comics format.

This is a slice of light-hearted fun, nothing more, nothing less. It’s not for everyone, but every now and then it can be a treat.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Nemo - Heart of Ice (Moore/ O’Neill): As large, imposing, hairy, and clever as Alan Moore can be, the scariest thing about him these days is that there are two of them. One is the creator of some of the most powerful stories the medium has known to date, the other uses the name to sell mediocre scripts for pocket money. You’re never sure which Alan Moore you’re getting until you open the book. That’s why you have me.

Janni Dakkur, the only child of Captain Nemo, is her father’s daughter. Neither party was wholly comfortable with this, and with him dead, Janni is left with one path to understand the man - by sailing his course. That means a lot of pirating, a bit of politics, and exploring. Driven to prove herself capable of more than her father, she takes the Nautilus to a place Captain Nemo visited, but dared not map, a place where he lost every member of the landing party save himself. And they weren’t even wearing red shirts.

The Alan Moore that writes for LOEG isn’t sure if he wants you to get all the literary references he and Kevin O’Neill use. Catching the nods to world literature has always been a keystone for the series, but the nods are becoming so obscure that they don’t hold the reader as effectively. It’s as if he wants to keep such pieces of work relevant, but also delights in proving he’s better read than everyone. The story underneath is fairly decent, carrying the theme of coming out of “greater men’s shadows” along multiple paths.

This follows up Volume 3 nicely, giving the tragic Janni another chance to find some sense of fulfillment. It may not have the same power as the original, but it’s a decent addition.

Have a great week, everyone! Remember, the next few updates are going to be off-format just a bit, so........ just try to go limp.