This week our special guest Oscar comes on board to discuss and review Transcendence, Under the Skin, Jodorowsky’s Dune, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Fargo (series), Trillium, Star Wars Expanded Universe, and more.
Monthly Archives: April 2014
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This week our special guest Oscar comes on board to discuss and review Transcendence, Under the Skin, Jodorowsky’s Dune, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Fargo (series), Trillium, Star Wars Expanded Universe, and more.
Original Sin #0 (2014) Review
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STORY BY Mark Waid
ART BY Jim Cheung
We’re introduced to the newest member of the Nova Corps and who currently flies with the New Warriors. Unlike other spin offs or crossover events, issue zero does a nice job of catching the readers up on who Nova is. In addition, it throws in a little skirmish to fully nail down the tone and character of Nova. Nova also becomes the relatable narrator. Because Nova is new to the world of Marvel’s Cosmic Universe, new readers are learning along with Nova. This makes it easier for the readers understanding when the story transitions it’s focus on The Watcher.
Presumably, by the time issue one hits the shelves The Watcher, Uatu, will already be dead. After all, Original Sin carries the tag line of, “Who Killed the Watcher”. With that in mind, it’s nice issue zero gives the readers a chance to know the victim and understand Uatu’s purpose. Otherwise, the crossover event of the year will retain little gravity.
Furthermore, the story arc is a classic who-done-it mystery. It will be interesting to see if this mystery will have re-readability to live pass its conclusion. Often these types of mysteries lose their appeal once the ending has been spoiled. Regardless, one of the greatest parts about these types of mysteries are the skeletons hiding in various peoples closets and how those secrets will influence their motivations. Issue zero already revealed secrets behind Nova and The Watchers motivations. Meanwhile, secrets are being revealed in other tie-in issues such as Avengers and Mighty Avengers.
What’s also interesting is issue zero revealed images from other Marvel continuities or universes. We’ve already witnessed Ultimate and 2099 universe converge into the Marvel Now continuity. Perhaps there are more forgotten characters or time lines waiting to be reintroduced.
There’s a large team of great artist behind this story arc and each panel shows it. There’s so much detail crammed into the backgrounds of the panels it almost looks like each section is fighting for attention. Wandering into The Watcher’s layer and exploring what he sees was a treat for the new eyes and old fans. There’s also plenty details given to hologram technology to give every cosmic fan a sense of nostalgic wonder. The colors and shading bring every character to life and the action feels like its exploding off the page. The Marvel Now cosmic titles show how much comic book art has been able to progress since the cosmic era of Jack Kirby.
Overall, we’re sure to see surprising guest appearances emerge from the shadows while other revelations will subvert our understanding of well known characters. Whether or not Original Sin can keep up with its promises remains to be seen, but its first shot in the dark certainly grabs attention.
Colder (2013) Review
STORY BY Paul Tobin
ART BY Juan Ferreyra
Colder is set in a world where a Jungian Shadowland lies just beyond the perception of sanity. This place of nightmares are where all the fears and traumas dwell and wait for their chance to feed on damaged souls. There are two who can travel back and forth between chaos and order. Nimble Jack, the antagonist who looks like a gothy Neo-Nazi, feeds on those who are the most insane and corrupted. Nimble Jack has an uncanny ability to find his victims one loose thread that keeps their sanity stitched together and pull until they begin leaping from tall buildings or slipping nooses around their necks. Colder references the cold skinned Declan. Declan can feed on insanity too but in the process he is able to mend the fractured egos and pull them back into orderly state of being. These two form the duality between chaos and order, apathy and sympathy, despair and hope, and demonstrate what happens when one is tipped too far.
In first few pages, Paul Tobin walks us through an asylum where oppressive order burns away to violent chaos. With each new patient, their maddening diatribes become less coherent and their actions become more violent. This culminates with the introduction between Nimble Jack and Declan. In one scene, Ferreyra and Tobin perfectly capture Nimble Jack’s ruthless apathy. He crawls into a convict’s cell and unravels the man and motivates him to hang himself. Nimble Jack watches the convicts kicking dance of death and delightfully compares it to a man swimming. Meanwhile, they use Reece, Declan’s caretaker, as a way to demonstrate Declans compassion and sympathy. In order to get Reece to understand Nimble Jack and Declan’s world, Declan allows Reece to start losing her grip on reality in order to see the Shadowland. The deterioration of Reece’s state of mind throws Declan into deep regret and remorse.
Every character is a macabre caricature done in beautiful inks and paints. The panels are creative and break the mold in order to match the surrealism of this cerebral story. There’s the nostalgic flash back scenes which have newspaper or comic strip style gutters and framing. Whereas the shadowland will use its colors to softly create boarders while retaining the surreal aspect that each frame is fading into the other. Or, there are action sequences framed by rearview mirrors or close up shots of Nimble Jack in Declan’s eyeballs. Watching Nimble Jack grotesquely crawl out from underneath a victims skin, it’s hard to deny this is the most beautifully depicted nightmare currently on the shelves.
Colder has a cerebral depth which is often left out of most horror genre comics these days. Instead of relying on a cat and mouse chase, the creators decided to plunge into the depths of nightmares. They’ve created an unnerving intensity which will make its readers jump at their own shadows.
Trillium (2014) Review
STORY BY Jeff Lemire
ART BY Jeff Lemire
Once the final page to this incredible arc is flipped, the mind will have to take a moment to soak in the amount of layers and depth Jeff Lemire had just expressed. At first, Trillium begins as a hard Sci-Fi. Lemire crams heavy world building exposition into every tiny panel on his 12 grid layout. There’s a great sentient virus traveling throughout the universe eradicating all trace of humanity. The Trillium flower is our last hope for a cure. Meanwhile, our two protagonist William and Nika are racing against time and space to uncover the deeper meaning of the Trillium flower, the alien race who holds it sacred and the looming black hole.
Like all good Sci-Fi’s Lemire begins his story with a straight forward solve the mystery save the world scenario; however, once the tale finishes it becomes an exercise in existentialism. Lemire breaksdown the conventional linear narrative in order to accurately express his ideas and characters. For example, remember the cramming heavy exposition into those small panels? In addition, Lemire will also force us to flip the book upside down to read the story from the opposite protagonists perspective. There’s an issue where we have to read it from front to back and then back to front. Not only does this approach force the reader to become actively involved, but also this style breaks linear continuity down into a singularity.
Also, Lemire has also went to great lengths to show a communication breakdown. He portrays this rather through people not being able to speak or understand the other, or the perspectives and motivation runs against the protagonist ideology. It’s only solved with patience and a connection through the Trillium flower. A flower which becomes more symbolic for unity as the story progresses. By the way, Lemire even took time out to create an alien alphabet where people willing to spend time can decode and translate the cryptic alien language.
In the background, the architectural designs and details for the Inca temples or the spaceships are highly detailed. Meanwhile the foreground objects such as characters and artifacts often have an impressionist style. With the world building details of technology contrasting with the unusual morphology of the characters and cosmos, it establishes a more classic science fiction tone and style.
Jeff Lemire forces the reader to actively participate in this Sci-Fi adventure, but it isn’t without reward. The amount of work and creativity Lemire put into deconstructing conventional comic book narrative in order to build this epic is staggering and worth applause. Once the final page to this incredible arc has flipped, it will a take moment before we realize Jeff Lemire had cleverly broke down the existential question into one answer. The non linear structure, the shifting perspectives, the use of language and technology it’s all about a message which transcends beyond time and space.
The Black Beetle : No Way Out (2014) Review
STORY BY Francesco Francavilla
ART BY Francesco Francavilla
Black Beetle is a tribute to noir style crime fighters. Although the case begins with the protagonist, Black Beetle, trying to take down a crime boss, the unexpected turn of events creates a hard boiled reactionary who-done-it. Because these scenarios are common in the violent and seedy world of pulp, Black Beetle had developed a paranoid sense to always “expect the unexpected”. Therefore, he consistently pulls out a new gadget that fits each unexpected occasion. Regardless, this doesn’t mean he’s the omniscient and impervious type of hero. We actively watch Black Beetle find and follow clues while taking a significant amount of damage, rather from a concussion blast or falling helplessly into a pit of man-eating rats and more bizarre situations which rely on equal amounts of luck and cunning.
When it comes to action, none can pack action into one panel like Francavilla. His mastery over colors and framing creates a superior amount of boiling tension and kinetic energy. For example, at one point he uses a retro style which uses shifting colors and onomatopoeia in the spreads for the Hard Way Fight. There are other points where Francavilla will creatively layer car chases or explosions over panels which also continues the explosive momentum. Towards the end he cleverly put the panels together for a jigsaw spread during the pulpy obligatory revelatory montage. Then, there’s The Beetle’s car. It will only have one illustration per issue, but the car combined with the beautiful use of light beams as motion lines and dust clouds and gravel spitting out of the panel makes its brief appearance a roaring pleasure.
Although the artwork is masterfully crafted and designed, a brief scan of each page clearly depicts this is a loving tribute to the minimalist style of noir comicstrips and pulp magazines. The tri-tone colors bleeding beyond the thick inky lines also retain that pulp magazine tone. In another nod to the classic heroes, Francavilla will use contrasting colors for characterization. Orange and black signifies the Beetle while yellow and black represents Labyrinto. Because there’s a minimal amount of detail in the background, what details he does give draws the eyes in to the frame almost prompting the reader to play detective and look for clues. Despite the minimalist comicstrip style, Francavilla’s art still brings Colt City to life. There’s just enough to give the impression a well placed bomb could make all its brick and mortar crumble into a pile of dust. Then to give Colt City’s night life a little more character he will sometimes illustrate music in the panels gutters. Every detail in every panel is thought-out and put there in order to establish tone and place.
For those who miss the stripped down and straight forward plots of Detective Comics, this is a new series which is worth shining a light on. Although it’s hard to talk about Francessco Francavilla without gushing over his art, the hard boiled plot, protagonist, and villain have just as much layers and details integrated as his art. Once the reader flips that final page, they are sure to go back to the beginning and start retracing every step through every panel.
Rat Queens: Campaign 1 (2014) Review
STORY BY Kurtis J. Wiebe
ART BY Roc Upchurch
For those old, new and current gamers of dice throwing Role Playing Games of any sort, Rat Queens is your mistress. The campaign has the cliché underlying mystery with a few small battles which build up to one major all epic of epicness battle sure to top every battle until the end of the next story arc.
However, this isn’t what makes Rat Queen’s so special. It’s the fact that every loud mouth character is a perfect iteration of the people we use to chuck dice and level grind with. Betty is the social and provocative butterfly who always brings the candy and drinks. Jerk know-it-all Hannah endlessly pulls spells out of her ass to save the day while effortlessly pissing everyone off. Meanwhile, Violet would rather rely on her armor class and attacks rather than her intelligence checks to solve any problem. Then there’s the quiet and mysterious Dee who spends an obnoxious amount of time juggling her backstory and healing the Rat Queens. Finally there’s Sawyer who takes on the role of being the passive game master who just wants to try and push these vulgar degenerates into the direction of some sort of quest.
Unlike other takes on the RPG genre, this series doesn’t get bogged down with the quests or backstories. Instead, it relies on quips and quick jabs at each other to move the pacing along. Even when there are brutal fights with explosive guts and brain matter, chances are the readers are still laughing from the Rat Queen’s hijinks. The Rat Queen’s also make sure to wink or stumble towards the fourth wall cleverly letting us in on the joke.
The Rat Queen’s as well as all the other guild’s are adorned with garb which is part fantasy and part contemporary. This is a nice touch and it’s easy to imagine people dressed similarly at the next Live Action Role Playing gathering or Renaissance Festival. At first glance the lines seem jagged and the characters are abstract caricatures. However, with closer examination the amount of exhausting depth and detail pops out to a photorealistic quality. Rather it be from the physical traits such as eyes, ears, hands, or the backgrounds contrasting with the foregrounds through the use of shading, focus, and textures, or the simple and small tears in the fabric and flesh, each panel is a feast for the eyes. For an indie release, it’s amazing Roc Upchurch is able to pull off the coloring, inking, drawing with just his own two hands.
Although this might seem like a niche release, it’s ridiculously enjoyable for even the level one readers. Even if one misses a few issues, Kurtis J Wiebe writes a way where any issue can be a jumping on point. Once again, this series doesn’t get bogged down with an epic overarching story where if you missed the castoff you better wait until the next arc begins. Instead, just like a great campaign ran by a great storyteller, each issue is a great opportunity to join in for a great laugh. Rat Queens is just that great.
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Brother Lono (2014) Review
STORY BY Brian Azzarello
ART BY Eduardo Risso
COLORS BY Patricia Mulvihill
LETTERS BY Clem Robins
After many years, we’re finally thrown back into the high risk ultra violence of 100 bullets. Brother Lono has been M.I.A. for a stretch of time and has taken shelter at a Mexican Catholic Orphanage run by Father Manny and a suspiciously sexy Sister June. Of course, what’s a Mexican crime story without a drug cartels, drug mules, bloodlust philosophers, and scantly clad maybe-not-under-aged hookers?
Just like any hard boiled story about reformed killers, it paces back and forth on the line between redemption and damnation. However, Azzarello’s writing doesn’t come off as forced or preachy. Instead, the diatribes flow more like deathrow poetry which stitch their way through the hyper violence. By the end of the series, Azzarrello and Risso madon for creative brutality made beheading’s look like mercy kills. Although the amount of suffering and death trivializes life and hope, it’s counterbalanced by the moral dilemmas; therefore, bringing the theme and nature of 100 Bullets back to life.
Although the story focuses on Lono and his redemption, his redemption is actually the burden of Father Manny. In the earlier series, a briefcase of 100 bullets was given to a protagonist to bring balance back to their lives, but it was always with a profound cost. Father Manny’s 100 Bullets is Lono himself. He’s given the dilemma between using Lono to defend the orphanage from the cartels or to save Lono from himself. In an act of weakness and fear, Father Manny lights the fuse and as the good book says, “Hell followed with him”.
The art style has matured a little over the years. The lines are a little more clean and the colors a little more polished. The beautiful contrast between the inky darks and the golden tans gave more depth and focus between the characters and their landscapes. Once again, the torture and blood shed was creatively sadistic. The women’s curvacious bodies all dripped with dangerous sex appeal. It was also graceful how Risso would ink iconic Hispanic street or prison art into the landscapes or bodies of the villains.
Not only is this a good tale for beginners to get a taste of the classic series, but also for old fans it felt like a fresh take on what had come before and is definitely worth picking up. What may sound like a classic anti hero tale actually slowly burned into a story about how desperation can cause irredeemable acts. In the world of 100 Bullets, there’s never a short supply of either; however, this struggle against giving into the fight is what makes these stories tick timelessly. It’s never a question of can you but will you.
Secret Avengers: Save the Empire (2014) Review
STORY BY Ales Kot
ART BY Michael Walsh
Those goofy and out of this world Avengers gotten themselves into a sticky mess this time. Hawkguy is being chased by the evil A.I.M. before he runs in and like totally ruins Black Widow and Spider Woman’s girl day at the day spa. Meanwhile, Fury and Colson are uncharacteristically bromancing all over S.H.I.E.L.D’s damaged Satellite. Only to be attacked by The Fury. Wait there’s two Fury’s sharing the same scene? Moving on. To make matters worse, creepy M.O.D.O.K’ is trying to get his war game on with Director Hill before her lovely S.H.I.E.L.D HQ gets infiltrated. Really, the plot is just something to carry the reader from one tongue and cheek joke to the next slapstick hijinks.
It’s Ales Kot’s uncanny characterization skills which highlight the funniest moments. In addition, it’s fantastic one of Marvel’s series have finally adopted Fraction’s incarnation of Hawkeye. One of Marvel’s draw backs is writers will portray the same character an infinite amount of different ways.
Therefore, within one month Hawkeye’s personality will run the gamut with his 16 point personality profile. However, with Fraction’s Hawkeye getting nods from various awards, it’s clear which one incarnation is coming out on top. Hopefully, this means Hawkguy will no longer suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Yet, the same can’t be said for the other characters. Black Widow is less femme fatale and more valley girl. Nick Fury is less Sam L and more creepy sex predator. Agent Colson is less Agent Colson and more Maxwell Smart, and so on. Ales Kot’s characters are inconsistent with the rest of the rest of the MU series. One can’t help but wonder if they are parodies of themselves. The story spirals off in several directions and begins to have larger holes than the one bumbling Colson blasts through S.H.I.E.L.D’s satellite. Maybe this too is self referential. If it is, the story lacks focus or clear parallels to other story arcs. Because of the exaggerated situations with popular Marvel players, it’s hard not to read this as some sort of Mad Magazine parody, which is completely fine. Self referential humor and irony is always trendy, but Kot’s delivery isn’t punching through.
Furthermore, Marvel is starting to diminish the novelty of their other lines such as Superior Foes and Hawkeye. Marvel is creating a formula by taking a comic book writer known for their postmodernist and nonlinear style of storytelling and wrapping it up with minimalist artwork. When they first announced Ales Kot taking over Secret Avenger’s it should have been safe to assume this was going to be something similar to what he did with Suicide Squad or Wild Children. A thematic and cerebral plot which had fourth wall breaking characters who kept it fun and sexy the whole ride through. Instead, Kot somehow delivered a functional parody which at best is derivative and at worst a mad house.
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