Category: Comics Page 6 of 7

This Damned Band by Paul Cornell and Tony Parker

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On October 19, 2016

In Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Paul Cornell

This Damned BandThis Damned Band

by Paul Cornell, Tony Parker (Artist)

Trade Paperback, 160 pg.
Dark Horse, 2016

Read: October 12, 2016


I’ve struggled for a couple of days now trying to figure out what I can say about this. It’s all about the premise when it comes to this book (a collection of issues from a limited-run series).

This is a comic about one of the biggest bands of 1974, Motherfather, on what could be their last world tour — complete with a documentary crew, a gaggle of groupies, and a manager who could be the hybrid of Wilson Fisk and Colonel Tom Parker. Like many rock artists of the time, Motherfather makes a big deal about worshiping the devil as part of their stage persona. While on this tour (possibly with some psychopharmacological help), they discover they’ve actually been worshiping the devil.

Oops.

Things don’t go all that well from there.

If you like that hook, you’ll like this book. Otherwise, just skip it.

Paul Cornell wrote this, so right off that tells you this is going to be well-written. A little humor, some real people and real emotions, and some seriously messed up supernatural elements. Cornell delivers on the promise of the premise — and a little more. It’s exactly what you want to read given the hook.

As for Tony Parker? I don’t think I’ve seen his stuff before — but I’m going to keep an eye out for it. I honestly can’t think of anyone who could’ve matched the style and story of this book like he did — either in the film sections, the visions/hallucinations, or the rest. Really great work.

I should throw in a quick note here, if it’s not obvious from the subject matter, this is not for kids.

It’s not for everyone, but it’s pretty entertaining. If the concept strikes you as up your alley, it probably is — give this one a shot.

—–

3 Stars

Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope by Berkeley Breathed

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On September 13, 2016

In Comics, Fiction

Bloom County Episode XI: A New HopeBloom County Episode XI: A New Hope

by Berkeley Breathed

eARC, 144 pg.
IDW Publishing, 2016

Read: September 10, 2016


I have a hard time believing it’s been 25 years since the last Bloom County collection — but that’s mostly because I’m in denial about my age. Even if it’d only been 2.5 years, it’d be great to see the ol’ gang back together.

I really don’t know what to say here — what can anyone say about Bloom County at this point? It’s about as good as it ever was. I could be wrong, but I’m not sure that Breathed is as sharp as he was last time out, but who is? And when you’re world is as well-developed, with such a great cast of characters, and strong point of view, no one’s going to complain. Well, at least I’m not.

The author’s note explaining his return to the comic, the little bonuses hidden through the pages, and being able to read these offline make this a must for fans — whether you actually listened to the Billy and the Boingers record or if you first read them on Facebook. It’s not just a nostalgia trip, there’s good material here.

One note about format — you want this in paperback. I don’t want to complain, but this was a nightmare to read on my eReader. Paper is the only way to go with this.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from IDW Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.

—–

4 Stars

Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe

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On February 19, 2016

In Comics

Thing ExplainerThing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

by Randall Munroe

Hardcover, 64 pg.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015


I’m not sure what to say about this beyond just regurgitating the Publisher’s Description. If that’s not enough to make you want to pick this up for at least a glance, I don’t think I could say anything that will.

But, quickly, the idea behind the book is that using drawings/diagrams and the 1,000 most commonly used words to explain how various and sundry things work — from ball-point pens to the Large Hadron Collider, and many points in between and beyond.

The artwork is like what you see on xkcd, the humor is similar — more broadly appealing (I think), however. The material is educational. That’s about it in a nutshell. I guess I should state that the artwork isn’t like the stick figure comics, it’s the incredibly detailed diagrams that show up at other times.

To give you a taste, some of the entries I found most educational/interesting/amusing were: Shape Checker (padlock); Bags of Stuff Inside You (internal organs); Hand Computer (smart phone); Stuff You Touch to Fly a Sky Boat (airplane cockpit). From Cover to Cover (literally) Munroe’s drawings will be teaching you a little more about how things work.

This is not a sit down and read cover-to-cover kind of book, period. It’s a grab it every now and then, flip through until you get to a page or two (or six) that you haven’t read, or one you have and want to re-read. I’m just leaving this around for my kids (and myself) to pick up from time to time. I wish I could’ve got a picture of the expression on my youngest’s face just now as he was reading through the book, I could’ve not said a word and simply posted it — I’m not sure how much he understood, but he was fascinated. I’d gladly buy a sequel — actually, I could probably use one.

—–

4 Stars

Some Assembly Required by Kevin Smith, Phil Hester and Jonathan Lau

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On February 17, 2016

In Comics, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Some Assembly RequiredThe Bionic Man, Vol 1: Some Assembly Required

by Kevin Smith, Phil Hester and Jonathan Lau (Artist)

Trade Paperback, 248 pg.
Dynamite Comics, 2012

Read: February 16, 2016


I was a big fan of The Six Million Dollar Man as a kid, and when I got a little older I stumbled onto — and devoured (repeatedly) — Martin Caidin’s Cyborg. Throw in a strong appreciation for Smith’s work? And I’m clearly the target audience for this (so why did it take me 3+ years to read it? Good question).

The main story hasn’t changed: Steve Austin is a test-pilot, horrifically injured — almost killed — when a test flight goes wrong. A team of experts save his life, rebuild him with bionics, and set him loose fighting for truth, justice, and the American way and so on.

The story was nothing special — good, solid action/adventure story. There were a couple of nice twists on the TV show’s story/characters. Just enough to keep it updated and fresh. I’d have appreciated something closer to Cyborg, but I understand why they made the choices they made. Austin goes up against his bionic predecessor, who has gone rogue and now is running around attacking and raiding technology companies. The battle scenes may have been a bit too big and epic — but they fit in with the current cinema trends, so, I guess they worked.

I was sure I’d seen Jonathan Lau’s art somewhere before, but from what I can tell, I haven’t. Which is a shame — it’s great. I’m not going to say that it’s my favorite comic art — but it’s exactly what I want comic art to look like. Which seems like a contradiction, but let’s move on. Yeah, some of the gestures are over-done, and a couple of the men are just too huge. But otherwise, dynamic, easy to tell character-from-character, nice detail, overall very attractive. I’d be willing to give a book a second look just because of his art in the future.

There are some nice references — visual and verbal — to the TV series that are pretty seamlessly worked in. Which I appreciated — looks like the next volume will be less subtle about it (which is not necessarily bad). I’m not going to say this was a great comic that leaves me chomping at the bit for the next, but it was worth the time and entertaining. Not much more to ask for.

—–

3 Stars

The Batgirl of Burnside by Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart & Babs Tarr

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On February 12, 2016

In Comics, Fiction

The Batgirl of BurnsideBatgirl Vol. 1: The Batgirl of Burnside

by Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart (Writers), Babs Tarr (Artist)

Hardcover, 176 pg.
DC Comics, 2015

Read: February 10, 2016


My dabbling into The New 52 continues . . .

Like everyone who has at least one social network account, I was deluged by images of the new Batgirl uniform back in 2015 — and I dug it. I liked the Cassandra Cain incarnation of the character — but had missed just about all of them post-Barbara Gordon, who didn’t do much for me (I was a big Oracle fan, in my defense). So I decided to give this a shot when I saw the collection. Oh, so glad that I did — the best of the New 52 comics I’ve read so far.

Barbara Gordon’s in some sort of tiff with Dinah Lance (I’m assuming it’s Lance, didn’t care enough to check), she’s moving out of her old digs into a very trendy, hipster part of Gotham (the part that Nolan or Burton never showed) with a roommate she met doing physical therapy while working on a Master’s/Doctorate with a predictive algorithm that will probably go on to turn Gotham into Minority Report or will be Oracle. Doesn’t take her long to need to do the Batgirl thing, so she slaps together a new costume (her old equipment was no longer available) — the purple leather coat and sneaker thing — and gets to action.

(you can really tell I’m into detailed research here in that paragraph, can’t you? Well, maybe not today)

There’s a new gaggle of friends, mostly university based, who help her tremendously. There’s a romantic interest or two, conflict with the cops, some good stuff with Dinah, a brush with celebrity culture, and a few laughs. It’s light-hearted when it can be, kick-butt when it has to be. Which pretty much sums up Barbara, too.

The art? Wow. I don’t know how to describe it, but it makes you think of an animated show, it’s fun, it’s dynamic — it absolutely wouldn’t work for a lot of titles, but this one has enough spirit, enough joie de vivre, that it works perfectly. It supports and doesn’t distract from the story, just what you want from comic art.

I really dug this, and hope that this version of her sticks around for a bit (as I write this, I’m fully aware that she’s likely morphed at least once into something more Christopher Nolan-esque) — I’ll be looking for more of this one for sure.

—–

3.5 Stars

It’s Our Right to Fight by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth

By

On December 21, 2015

In Comics, Fiction

It's Our Right to FightTeen Titans, Vol. 1: It’s Our Right to Fight

by Scott Lobdell (Writer), Brett Booth (Artist)

Trade Paperback, 168 pg.
DC Comics, 2012

Read: December 17, 2015


I haven’t picked up a DC collection in ages — and longer for a single issue. The whole New 52 idea both intrigued and annoyed me, and I just didn’t want to invest the time. But I saw this on the shelf at the library the other day, and figured, why not? It was the Wolfman/Pérez run of The New Teen Titans that got me into comics as a kid, and I enjoyed the first twenty or so of the Geoff Johns version in 2002-on before I stopped reading comics for a while. So it makes sense, that if anything was going to bring me back to DC, it’d be The Titans.

So, we get a variation on the Superboy clone being deployed to take out young metahumans. Really? They reboot the entire continuity just to redo stories like this? ooookay. It was fine as far as that goes, nothing special, nothing terrible (although, I thought Superboy’s crisis of conscience could’ve taken a bit longer to resolve) — it was primarily used as a device to get Red Robin (as always, hate the name, love the Bottomless Fries) to gather the troops. We’ve got Cassie/Dont-call-me-Wonder-Girl, who is…okay. We’ve got a new-to-his-powers (or is he?) Kid Flash — he’s pretty annoying and cocky, really, but I’m willing to see him grow.

There are three new characters — Bunker, a name almost as dumb as Red Robin, sort of Ice-Man without the chill, I like him, but think he schtick could get old; Solstice — who seems to be serving the role Raven did back in the 80’s, but I could be wrong; and Skitter, a weird arachnid looking person, I’m not even going to try to guess what I think about her without more exposure.

This is almost all set-up, with just enough resolution to call it a collection and move on to the next. It’s hard to say what I think of the storyline or characters until I se some more, but I don’t mind it. I’m not sure I like it, but I don’t hate it.

Biggest beef: Red Robin freaks out at Kid Flash early on in a way that makes no sense for someone over the age of 6 to do. I really don’t get that at all.

Booth’s artwork was nice — nothing that blew me away, but it’s been awhile since I’ve read a new (to me) comic that had art that nice. It feels like I’ve seen his work before, but looking through his credits, I’m not sure where. Very dynamic, loved the creepy vibe of Skitter’s look.

—–

3 Stars

Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley

By

On August 19, 2015

In Comics, Fiction

SecondsSeconds

by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Hardcover, 323 pg.

Ballantine Books, 2014

Read: August 14 – 15, 2015


This is a story about Katie — a pretty successful young chef, with a personal life in shambles (are there any chefs in fiction whose extra-kitchen life aren’t in shambles?), on the verge of opening her second restaurant while handing over the reins of her first. She’s been given a gift — from a source she doesn’t understand — to undo the events of one day, to rewrite history — just one, there are rules. After one not-that-terrible-but-certainly-regrettable day, she decides to use it.

Katie’s as surprised as the next guy when it works (assuming, of course, the next guy isn’t in a work of fiction). And she finds a way to break the rules. And does fixes another bad day, and another, and another and soon she’s like the guys in Richard Curtis’ (IMHO underrated) About Time, tweaking and massaging the details of the past to make her present perfect.

However, like I said, there are rules. And we all know what happens when you break the rules concerning magic. Or time travel (ask Marty McFly how things were going for him during The Enchantment Under The Sea dance). Now, actually, I thought emotionally and character-wise were richer and more interesting before the wheels come off Katie’s machinations, but it’s here where things start to count.

If I was a better judge of visual art, I’d have the vocabulary to express this next point. So apologies for that, if I’m confusing here — well, that’s what comment boxes are for. I’m not knocking in any way, the penciling here (or in other works) when I think of O’Malley’s people as cartoon-y, like children (occasionally very adult looking children) doing very non-childlike things. To me, the artwork here in O’Malley’s signature style, isn’t a fit the way it was with Scott Pilgrim. There’s a darkness to the story, a flavor to it that seems at odds with the art. Which makes the art more effective — these are twisted forces that should happen to people that look like they were drawn by Lan Medina or Peter Gross, not the fun and innocent-ish looking characters we meet in these pages. It’s more jarring, unnatural, in O’Malley’s hands.

Very entertaining, a good follow-up to his magnum opus — a different direction, feel, and populated by people with a different set of issues. Did I heart this as much as Scott Pilgrim? No. Because it’s not the kind of story I prefer. Is there anything wrong with it? No. It’s just it didn’t strike the same chord with me, mostly because O’Malley was going for a different chord. Worth your time.

—–

3.5 Stars

Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond

By

On July 3, 2015

In Comics, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, YA/MG/Children's Books

Lois Lane FalloutLois Lane: Fallout

by Gwenda Bond
Series: Lois Lane, #1

Hardcover, 303 pg.

Switch Press, 2015

Read: June 27, 2015I’d love to be able to talk about this book as a YA adventure tale on its own. But I can’t. It’s Lois Lane, fer cryin’ out loud. Lois the intrepid, fiery, determined journalist. Not the ditz, not the comic relief, not the damsel in distress (except for the distress she finds herself in because she plunged into danger, not as a victim). Sure, she’s sixteen and a rookie when it comes to reporting things — but she’s gotta start somewhere.

Not only is this Lois Lane, but it’s teenaged Lois. So you have to think about this in terms of Smallville, well I have to, anyway. Bond’s Lois isn’t Smallville‘s — she’s closer to Chloe Sullivan (just with less tech savvy). Actually, if we’re talking WB shows, Bond’s Lois is Veronica Mars without the cool dad. But she’s not just smart and tenacious. She also gets people — she may have no social skills (or not enough of them), but she can read a person. Early on, Lois sees what’s going on with the other girl in the news staff pining after one of the guys. There were other examples, but putting that one where it was — and the way Lois saw it — makes you believe her “reads” of other people.

After spending her life bouncing around the world, from base to base, and seeing the negative effect it’s having on his daughter. General Lane gets himself a permanent assignment to Metropolis (the exact nature of which isn’t clear — but what teenager cares that much about what their parent does?). Lois is going to put down roots here, too, and not get in trouble at school — a resolution that doesn’t last through first period. But, this draws Perry White’s attention as he visits the school, and he invites her to join a new student news project. From there, Lois and her new colleagues uncover a story that involves a strange mix of cyberbullying, VR gaming, and group psychology.

Sure, the story she uncovers is about outlandish, a little hopefully) hard for us to believe. But, hey, this is a book based on comics. So yeah, outlandish works. It also allows Bond to make some subtle (maybe overly subtle) remarks about group-think, the dangers of our online society, and so on.

The use of Gen. Lane, Lucy, Perry White and the Daily Planet were inventive, but were consistent with the source material. Which was both a relief, and a key for the book working as well as it did.

Her friends aren’t that developed — but there’s enough of them to be more than cardboard cutouts of high school stereotypes. I look forward to learning more about them all — I think Maddie’s the most entertaining and interesting, but I’d gladly see more of the others as well. Which goes for East Metropolis High as a whole, really. I hope in future installments that Lois can find someone other than the school secretary to dupe to accomplish her ends.

She doesn’t do much with him, but I enjoyed Bond’s treatment of Lois’ online friend, SmallvilleGuy. Someone she met online after posting about seeing something inexplicable in the middle of Kansas. Bond doesn’t try to hide from the reader who this guy is, or play games with us — the nickname is a dead giveaway. Still, it would’ve been easy for Bond to pretend for a couple of books that this stranger was someone new to the canon. Instead, she plays it straight — sure, she has some fun because we all know a whole lot more than Lois does about this guy, and what their future will hold. But she doesn’t do it at the expense of either character.

Fallout was engaging, fun, and an inventive contemporary take on a timeless character. Recommended for comic book types who don’t mind a different look at canon and/or people who like CW dramas.

—–

3.5 Stars

iZombie, Vol 1: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson, Mike Allred

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On January 22, 2015

In Comics, Fiction

iZombie, Vol. 1 iZombie, Vol. 1: Dead to the World

by Chris Roberson, Mike Allred

Paperback, 144 pg.
Vertigo, 2011
Read: January 20, 2015
Color me underwhelmed.

I love the concept. A non-mindless Zombie has to keep eating brains so she doesn’t become the shuffling, mindless kind. She’s got a friend who’s a ghost, and another who’s a were-terrier (possibly the idea I enjoyed most), and works as a grave digger so she has easy access to “fresh” food. I enjoyed her friends, and wish we’d spent a little more time with them.

But the execution didn’t live up to the potential. I thought the writing was slow and a little unclear a couple of times — but some of that was intentional, I realize, as Gwen’s supposed to be learning what’s going on, but some of the lack of clarity was just poor writing.

I don’t demand dazzling art, I get that not everyone is George Perez, Mark Bagley, or Ryan Ottley, but I’d like something more than competent. People seemed stiff, generic and lifeless. I could only differentiate between two characters because of their skin tone! Not confusing at all.

In the end, it was good enough that given the chance, I’d read the next collection, but I’m not exerting a lot of effort to do so. I’m mildly curious about a few things — and can understand why some would be attracted to this, but it left me feeling cold.

—–

2 Stars

Review: Hawkeye, Vol. 2: Little Hits by Matt Fraction and David Aja

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On October 23, 2013

In Comics, Fiction

Hawkeye, Vol. 2: Little HitsHawkeye, Vol. 2: Little Hits

by Matt Fraction
Paperback, 136 pg.
Marvel Comics, 2013

Like it’s predecessor, I enjoyed the second collection of Hawkeye comics from Fraction, et al, although I’m not as over-the-moon about this series as everyone else seems to be. It’s fun, but not frivolous — some good, dark story telling, but with a light touch.

On the whole, I thought this was a stronger collection, with better stories — although part of that might just be me growing more comfortable with this particular style.

The only negative I have to say about this is that I’m not crazy about having to wait until 2014 for Vol. 3.

Oh, incidentally, I just have to say: The issue from Pizza Dog’s point of view was utterly fantastic.

—–

3 Stars

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