Books: Hellboy

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Hellboy
Vol 1: Seed of Destruction
Written by John Byrne
Art by Mike Mignola
1994



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Hellboy
Vol 2: Wake the Devil
By Mike Mignola
1997




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Hellboy
Vol 3: The Chained Coffin and Others
By Mike Mignola
1998




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Hellboy
Vol 4: The Right Hand of Doom
By Mike Mignola
2000




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Hellboy
Vol 5: Conqueror Worm
By Mike Mignola
2002




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Hellboy
Vol 6: Strange Places
By Mike Mignola
2006




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Hellboy
Vol 7: The Troll Witch and Others
By Mike Mignola
2007




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Hellboy
Vol 8: Darkness Calls
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo
2008



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Hellboy
Vol 9: The Wild Hunt
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo
2010



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Hellboy
Vol 10: The Crooked Man and Others
Written by Mike Mignola and Joshua Dysart
Art by Richard Corben, Jason Shawn Alexander and Duncan Fegredo
2010



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Hellboy
Vol 11: The Bride of Hell and Others
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, Kevin Nowlan and Scott Hampton
2011



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Hellboy
Vol 12: The Storm and The Fury
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo
2012



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Ok then: Hellboy. I'm gonna admit: I've never been much of a fan. Something about the way it's never really transcended it's influences or rather: the bits that it put together to make up the character. So that - it's always felt like just a typical down-on-his-luck tough guy with a steady supply of quips plastered all over in red and given a pair of horns (and to be really damning: there's not really much (or anything) separating Hellboy from a video game character - which I mean in all the worst possible ways: there's no growth in any of these volumes - apart from putting Hellboy in lots of different exotic (and not so exotic) locations). I get that the things that he picks fights with (or pick fights with him) are all mythic beasts and fairytale legends and lovecraftian monsters - but I'm bored with fight scenes and I've been bored with them a long long time and I guess it doesn't help that The Sandman was one of the first comics I ever read properly - so that kinda fantasy/legend mash-up thing needs to do more than just be happy with itself in order to impress me.

One of the things that irritated me is the way that pretty much every Hellboy story (especially the big ones) all seemed to rely on some corny deus ex machina to save the day (turns out that the ghost can save everyone - or someone else has a power that no one mentioned before or whatever...) which manages to kill the story stone dead and left me feeling cheated. But then again - there's not really much in way of story in any of these thing. Sure - they have an appearance of story - people go places, stuff happens - but the characters never rise above being voice boxes for plot mechanics and blah-blah exposition and the dialogue rarely rises above the level of an 80s action movie (eg Hellboy shouting "get stuffed!" as he fires a gun) which got real old real quick (or maybe I'm just a big old humbug?).

It was halfway through volume 4 that I realised what my problem with the whole series was: Hellboy isn't really 'about' anything other than the stuff that happens: there's people talking about old legends and stuff - and fights (lots and lots of fights) - but at no point does it ever really convey anything deeper or strike any emotional chords. Ok - there's a bit in The Conqueror Worm where a granddaughter is betrayed by her grandfather which is pretty horrible and actually made me feel something - but as the rest of it: it's just pretty pictures (very very pretty pictures) going all out sound and fury with nothing really said apart from a few empty-seeming gestures here and there about sacrifice and being your own person/not being defined by who you were.

And even after reading all the books in the series - you're not really left with any better understanding of who Hellboy is than you are at the start. Which isn't so good.

Every other bad guy making long speeches about the secret history of the world that - while full of classical text easter eggs - do little to advance the story. In fact - most of the time Hellboy feels like an extended almanac of unearthly spooks and monsters: hitting the reader from all sides with citations and references - and little in the way of fun, action and adventure: all tonic and no sugar (as opposed to Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - which covers a lot more ground but (mostly) manages to provide a few bangs for your buck).

On the plus side: The artwork is totally amazing: consistently doing loads of fun things with shadows and small shafts of light not to mention the fine handling of the colours palette (I wonder how feted Hellboy would be if it was drawn by an artist without Mignola's evident talent? oh - and what's with all the people always falling from places?). And - judging from the introductions - there's a lot of fine people who seem to think that Hellboy is worth his weight in gold (including Alan Moore and Michael Moorcock among others).

But yeah: Blah blah blah. All in all - I'd say: Read B.P.R.D. instead. Or better yet: The Sandman. Although I will admit that the later stories do get better - check out Makoma in Vol 7 and The Crooked Man in Vol 10 - which can be dipped into without any prior knowledge needed...

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Links: GraphiContent Review of Hellboy #1, Comics Should Be Good The Crooked Man Review, Are You A Serious Comic Book Reader Review of In The Chapel of Moloch, Comic Book Resources Review of The Crooked Man #3, Comics Alliance Review of Hellboy in Mexico, PopMatters Article: The Devil You Know: Mignola's Hellboy in the Chapel of Moloch and the Old Debate, Robot 6: Your Wednesday Sequence Article.

Further reading: B.P.R.D., B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Sandman, Lucifer, iZombie, Fables, The Goon, Turf, Mezolith. 

All comments welcome.

Books: Coraline

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Coraline
Written by Neil Gaiman
Art by P. Craig Russell
2008




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Ooooooh. A horror story for children. Excellent!

Originally written as a children's book by Neil Gaiman in 2002 (featuring illustrations by Dave McKean! whoop!) Coraline comes from a long line of English fantasies about kids discovering portals to other worlds and the dangers that lurk within - with the added bonus of some Lovecraftian-style nameless nasties bolted on to the underneath. I've never read the book or the famous 2009 stop-motion film (although now I've read the comic I'm tempted to try both): so I don't know how you'll respond to this book if you're coming from the opposite direction - but speaking just for me - I had a great time. Adapted by P. Craig Russell (who seems to be making a habit of adapting Neil Gaiman prose tales into comic format - see: The Sandman: The Dream Hunters) the illustrations have just the sort of slightly-dreamy fairy-tale feeling necessary to make the story hit home and there's so many beautiful little grace notes that - as much as it kinda pains me to say something so cheesy - makes it all feel somehow timeless.

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Links: Newsarama Article.

Further reading: Anya's Ghost, The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book Stories, Stardust, Locke & Key.

Profiles: Neil Gaiman.

All comments welcome.

Books: Spider-Man: Down Among The Dead Men / Venomous / The Last Stand

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Spider-Man
Vol 1: Down Among The Dead Men
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Terry Dodson
2004



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Spider-Man
Vol 2: Venomous
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Terry Dodson and Frank Cho
2005



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Spider-Man
Vol 3: The Last Stand
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Terry Dodson
2005



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Pow! Everyone thinks that superhero comics are so easy. Good guy. Bad guy. Superpowers. Dangers. Action. Hot love interest. Fight Scene. End. Repeat. But gosh-damn-it: like all things - if you're gonna do it right - if you're gonna make it sing then you need to do more than just re-fry the basics - and in the same way that the people who work in the greasy spoon round the corner use (pretty much) the same ingredients as Michelin star chefs (ok - so this isn't a water-tight analogy - but just go with it...) there are some writers who can take all the superhero staples and then mix them together and cook them in such a way that just makes it all feel... right.

A Marvel Knights tale (which is like mainstream Marvel - only slightly darker/more mature - or as mature as Marvel can get anyway...) Spider-Man: Down Among The Dead Men / Venomous / The Last Stand is one big epic tale that pushes the webbed wonder all the way to the very edge (I really wish that this thing had one big collective title - if only to make it easier to catalogue: but each volume has it's own individual heading - oh well). Taking place at a time where Peter Parker has graduated high school and has now become a teacher - and got over the will-they/won't-they? with MJ (they're now happily married): Mark Millar still manages somehow to turn in one of the most dramatic and nail-biting Spidey stories I've ever read. Seriously: this is up there with Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man saga and if you're read what I've written about that - then you know that I'm dealing out some high high praise. One of the things that made me realise how good this thing is - is how several times reading it I actually feared for Spider-Man's life and assumed that there was a chance that he might just not make it. And there's loads of big crazy action that pushes the limit of how far a hero can go before he cracks.

If you like superheros - and especially if you like Spider-Man - then you owe it to yourself to read this book. And - even if you don't like those things (and if you don't normally like Mark Millar [1]): then you should still give it a spin. Hell - actually I think I'd even say that if you only ever gonna read one Spider-Man story: then make it this one.

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[1] I guess because this was written in 2004 - it's Mark Millar just getting starting up - but not yet gone full torture-obsessed crazy. So it has loads of inventive superhero fun - but none of that dark ever-so-off-putting "I've gonna make this more messed up and crazy than anything else seen before" undercurrent. Bonus.

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Links: The M0vie Blog Review, What Culture Review.

Further Reading: Ultimate Spider-Man, Fantastic Four: 1234, Wolverine: Enemy of the State, The Ultimates, Thunderbolts: Faith in Monsters / Caged Angels.

Profiles: Mark Millar.

All comments welcome.

Books: Batman: Broken City

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Batman: Broken City
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso
2004




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From the two creators of the superb crime neo-noir epic 100 Bullets comes a Dark Knight story that reads like a detective story - where the detective in question wears a cowl and a cape and runs around rooftops. As always the artwork by Argentinian Eduardo Risso is completely electrifying with some of the best Batman clenched teeth pictures I've ever seen outside The Dark Knight Returns. Unfortunately it's slightly marred by Brian Azzarello's typically twisty writing that doesn't really know the difference between being elusive and annoying. But then I guess you should you able to tell that it's not going to be so great seeing how it starts off with a joke about God weeing on Gotham City (you think I'm joking? Ok then - read it and then get back to me).

Ah well. There's always 100 Bullets...

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Links: Comics Should Be Good Article, GraphiContent Article, Second Printing Review.

Further reading: 100 Bullets, Joker, Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Year One.

All comments welcome.

Books: Thunderbolts: Faith in Monsters / Caged Angels

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Thunderbolts
Vol 1: Faith in Monsters
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Mike Deodato
2007



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Thunderbolts
Vol 2: Caged Angels
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Mike Deodato
2008



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Ah. It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised. I didn't even know this book existed - I mean - I'd seen copies of it around - but just kind of dismissed it as typical boring mainstream Marvel nonsense - until I realised that it had Warren Ellis' name on it. I don't want to sound like too much of a fan-boy (probably because I'm a bit of fan-boy): but hell: if it's written by Warren Ellis - it's at least worth trying out - right?

Right.

Set in the time of Marvel's "Civil War" when the Superhero Registration Act (or as I always like to think of it: 'The Keene Act') has come into force - and all the costumed adventurers out there have to either sign up and go legit or get hunted down and locked away: these two volumes feature a succession of episodes (it's hard to really call it a story seeing how it takes place in a whole big universe of stuff and Ellis' run only takes place between #110 - #121: but still you can read it and be throughly entertained without feeling cheated at the end) in the career of the Thunderbolts: who in this instance are the ones who have to go round enforcing the law: ie beating up the good guys.

The concept of the Thunderbolts themselves is also really cool. If you don't know (you have something better to do than learn all the ins-and-outs of the Marvel superhuman teams? huh - ok then): The Thunderbolts are just like The Justice League of America or The Avengers - except instead of being made up of goodies who are saving the world because they want to - it's a bunch of baddies who have to do all the dirty jobs because they're forced to. That's cool because: 1. We all know baddies are always more interesting than the goodies (seriously: who would you rather have a drink with boring Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent or Lex Luthor and the Joker?)

Oh: and so you know there is a Vol 3. out there - but it's not Warren Ellis and it's nowhere near as good (so if you ask me - it's best avoided).

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Links: GraphiContent Review: Vol 1 / Vol 2, The Weekly Crisis Review.

Further reading: Civil War, The Authority, The Avengers: Secret Avengers: Run the Mission, Don't Get Seen, Save the World, Spider-Man: Down Among The Dead Men / Venomous / The Last Stand, No Hero, The Avengers: The New Avengers: Illuminati.

Profile: Warren Ellis.

All comments welcome.

Books: The Beats: A Graphic History

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The Beats: A Graphic History
Written by Harvey Pekar, Nancy J Peter, Penelope Rosemont, Joyce Brabner, Trina Robbins, and Tuli Kupferber
Art by Ed Piskor, Jay Kinney, Nick Thorkelson, Summer McClintock, Peter Kuper, Marey Fleener, Jerome Neukirch, Anne Timmons, Gary Dumm, Lance Tooks, and Jeffery Lewis
2009

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Ok. So first of all I'm just going to admit that I haven't actually read this entire book. I mean. I tried. Very diligently. But it all got a bit much... I mean - not that I have anything against it - it's just I don't think that it's for me. So then: I guess I should say: who is it for?

From grouchy curmudgeon Harvey Pekar The Beats: A Graphic History is an examination of the lives of the famous and not so famous writers, poets and artists who made up the "Beat Generation" - in particular: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S Burroughs (whose three stories combined take up the bulk of the book: while the last third looks at more obscure names).

Me myself - I've never really had much time for the type of writing that The Beat Generation spat out. "Unexpurgated means of expression and being"? No thanks. I prefer things which are a little more - erm - thought out. I tried once reading Junkie and Naked Lunch way back when - but didn't get very far before admitting defeat. Saying that I was curious to learn more and gain some sort of understanding as to what all the fuss is/was about. Unfortunately for me - this book wasn't written for the causal fan - but rather for those people that already know about the work and want to know more about the history of the people who made (I guess the title should have tipped me off).

Thinking about it venn diagram style - I don't know how much overlap there's gonna be between the circle of people who dig the Beats and the other circle of those who like comics - but if you are one of those people then you should definitely give this book a shot. For the rest of us - well - unlike other comic book histories (like say Kiki de Montparnasse) - The Beats cursorily over-view doesn't really give the average reader to connect on any sort of personal level: and so while you'll get a whole bunch of facts about who did what were and worked what job and knew which people - you're not going to get any sort of insight to what these people were actually like. And yeah: I guess I found the onslaught a little fatiguing - and well yeah: left me bored. Which is why I skipped out before class was done. But don't let that stop you.

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Links: 3:AM Magazine Review, BoingBoing Review.

Further reading: Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. Thompson, American Splendor: The Best of American Splendor, American Splendor presents: Bob and Harv's Comics, Kiki de Montparnasse, #$@&!: The Official Lloyd Llewellyn Collection, Breakdowns.

All comments welcome.

Books: Ultimate Comics: Avengers vs New Ultimates: Death of Spider-Man

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Ultimate Comics: Avengers vs New Ultimates: Death of Spider-Man
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Leinil Francis Yu
2011




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It's very tempting to argue that most of the problems with this book can be summed up by the hodgepodge list of other titles that you need to read to understand it [1] (let's see now): The Ultimates (which introduces the whole set-up and is amazing), Ultimate Comics: Avengers Vol 1 - 3 (with this book basically existing as Vol 4) and the whole Ultimate Comics: Death of Spider-Man serial which (no duh - just check out the title of the book) crosses over with this one. Not that it's the worst thing in the world to read something that's part of an on-going story but - I dunno - it does feel like cheating when the book is seemingly presented as a complete story in and of itself (i.e. it really really should have a "Vol 4" on the spine) but then doesn't really make sense without the other books which preceded it.

But anyway: Ultimate Comics: Avengers vs New Ultimates: Death of Spider-Man is Mark Millar's - if the stories are to be believed (see: here) - Marvel swansong and the capstone to a story/line of comics that started with The Ultimates (which - like I said above - is amazing). On the one hand it does feel like he's trying hard: there are some things here that he pushes slightly further than he has before (namely: the politics - however obvious they might be): so that's nice and it's rare to see such a mainstream superhero go to the kind of places that this book ventures into. But as I write this I might be being a little too kind: because on the other hand when I finished the book the feeling I was left with was disappointment. There lots of elements of this book that shamelessly rehashes plot-lines from Millar's previous outings and the end result is like listening to a distant echo of a good pop song played long ago and far away. Part of that may be down to Leinil Francis Yu's art that left me pining for Bryan Hitch (who drew The Ultimates which - did I mention this already? - is amazing) and whose flurry of muscles and action poses sums up all style and no content. And - well - it also doesn't help that the event teased in the title doesn't even happen in this book - instead taking place in the series Ultimate Spider-Man (altho you'll have to read both to get the full picture - which is a move that feels like it's mainly been done for reasons of commerce as to opposed to - I dunno - making things good).

Summing up: Mark Millar writes cheeseball action craziness that mostly manages to leave me feeling satisfied and somehow well nourished: this book unfortunately didn't manage to hit that sweet spot - but (hell) maybe it's worth reading anyway just to get a sense of the current state of the genre: and now that I've managed to lower any hopes you have going in - there's a chance you could be pleasantly surprised. Who knows?

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[1] And seeing how the Ultimate/Ultimate Comics line was sold as an antidote to convoluted storylines and the like when it first launched - it's also kinda damning too. Even if it's kinda understandable for a line of titles that's been going on for over a decade.

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Links: Comic Book Resources Review of #1 / #2 / #6, Multiversity Comics Review of #1 / #5.

Preceded by: The Ultimates, The Ultimates 2, Ultimate Comics: Avengers.

Followed by: Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man: The Death of Spider-Man, Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates.

Further reading: Ultimate Comics: Doomsday, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Down Among The Dead Men / Venomous / The Last Stand, Ultimate Galactus Trilogy, The Authority, Superior.

Profiles: Mark Millar.

All comments welcome.

Books: Marvel 1602

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Marvel 1602
Written by Neil Gaiman
Art by Andy Kubert
2004




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For me - personally - it's neck and neck between this and Mark Millar's The Ultimates for the best Marvel story of all time. Or to be precise: best cross-over Marvel story: i.e. one where all the heroes get together and have a big epic-type adventure (so you know - that excludes all the stories where it's just Spider-Man by himself or whatever).

But - yes - Marvel 1602 (or - as it was known when it was first published: "1602") is a rip-roaring, bodice-ripping extravaganza that transplants (nearly) all of the Marvel pantheon all the way back to the Elizabethan era - so instead of Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. there's Sir Nicholas Fury spymaster general and instead of Dr Strange Sorcerer Supreme we get Dr. Stephen Strange - Court Magician and so on. I'll admit now that a big part of the pleasure of this series is discovering all the ways the various Marvel characters have been "historicized" and which parts of their personalities have remained intact and which parts have been suitably altered. And - as it's from Neil Gaiman's bustling storytelling brain - you don't have to fret about it becoming an empty intellectual exercise - it's not just about changing the background and putting everyone into period dress - it's taking all the best elements of the Marvel Universe and making them feel - oh the irony - fresh and new and vital again.

For those of you expecting (hoping) for anything like The Sandman in terms of deep-thinking/complexity stuff - change your expectations. Neil Gaiman put it best saying that 1602 was a comic: "for summer, to be read under a porch or in a treehouse." Not so much a chess game - more a jumping around in the fields kinda thing.

If you're not up to date on your Marvel superheroes and don't know the difference between your Daredevils and your X-Men: I would strongly advise you initiate yourself with some general reading before dipping in (goodness only knows how much of it would make sense otherwise - or (more importantly) how many of the jokes you'll get) and - trust me: it's not going to be any fun if you have to look it all up on Wikipedia. The one thing I will say tho - seeing how I wish that someone had told me: Virginia Dare is not (as I guessed) an obscure Marvel character - but an actual historical figure - who is famous for being the first child born in the Americas to English parents and who disappeared in mysterious circumstances (I guess readers in the USA would know that anyway - but I had no idea).

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Links: The M0vie Blog Review, Bookslut Review, History for Kids Neil Gaiman Interview, Powells Review, Incommensurable Ontologies and the Return of the Witness in Neil Gaiman's 1602, Jess Nevins Annotations #1 / #2 / #3.

Further reading:S.H.I.E.L.D., The Ultimates, The Sandman, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Marvel 1985, Marvel Zombies.

Profiles: Neil Gaiman.

All comments welcome.

Books: Rasl

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Rasl
Vol 1: The Drift
By Jeff Smith
2009




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From the mind of Jeff Smith (creator of the long running fantasy epic Bone) comes Rasl - a fevered science-fiction/crime caper that skips and twists from art theft to the magic of quantum mechanics with an assurance that will leave you gasping for breath. Told in a heady black and white that leaves everything feeling half dream-like Rasl a tale told by someone successful enough to have the luxury of choosing their own pace - and not skipping over the little details (like the detail of the surface of the moon) that can end up making all the difference in the world...

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Links: Popmatters Review, Graphic Novel Reporter Review.

Further reading: Bone, Heavy Liquid, Black Hole, Echo.

All comments welcome.

Books: Fantastic Four: 1234

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Fantastic Four: 1234
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Jae Lee
2002




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People as part of mathematical equations, inter-dimensional chess and giant robots from the sea: yes it's obviously Grant Morrison doing all his bonkers stuff but for once it left me feeling cold. Part of the Marvel Knights series which is quote unquote "the showcase for 'evergreen events' — self-contained limited series that think outside the box, that challenge readers to re-think their favorite Marvel characters and re-evaluate the legends that surround them" Fantastic Four: 1234 is a self-contained story featuring Marvels First Family which manages to condense almost ever Fantastic Four story ever told into one compact little tale. My problem is that having enjoyed the hell out of the Ultimate Fantastic Four series and Mark Millar's and Bryan Hitch's World's Greatest/The Masters of Doom Fantastic Four spin - 1234 felt a little dour and lacking the spontaneous and stupendous sense of fun that I'd come to expect from my FF stories. Also - I think it's rather telling that I'd read this book a few years ago - but decided to reread for the benefit of this post and couldn't really remember anything about it from the first time round.

You should realise that I may be in the minority when it comes to my dis-interest in this book (check out the links below for more glowing recommendations). And I should admit that the art by Jae Lee is very much gorgeousness but I kinda preferred the stuff he did in Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol 4 (and if you liked this - you really should check out that).

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Links: Comic Book Resources Review, GraphiContent Review, First Comic News Review.

Further reading: Ultimate Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: World's Greatest / The Masters of Doom, Fantastic Four: First Family, Spider-Man: Down Among The Dead Men / Venomous / The Last Stand.

Profiles: Grant Morrison.

All comments welcome.

Books: Criminal

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Criminal
Vol 1: Coward
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips
2007



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Criminal
Vol 2: Lawless
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips
2007



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Criminal
Vol 3: The Dead and The Dying
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips
2007



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Criminal
Vol 4: Bad Night
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips
2007



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Criminal
Vol 5: The Sinners
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips
2010



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Criminal
Vol 6: The Last of The Innocent
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips
2011



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Someone told me that the books in the Criminal series could be read in any order - and while I see the point (each volume is it's own self contained story): there's some things that won't hit you right and some bitter ironies that you'll miss unless you read them in sequence. Certain moments that might seem hopeful if you come at them the wrong way. But wait. What is Criminal anyway? Why read them at all? Ok then: the baby of American writer self-confessed "army brat" Ed Brubaker and English ex-2000AD artist Sean Phillips (who have also worked together to create Incognito and Sleeper - so if you like this - you should go check them out too) the series Criminal is the flagship title of modern crime "neo-noir" comics and the successor of a tradition that started all the way back with Frank Miller's Sin City (and if you haven't read those already - what the hell is wrong with you?). Unlike Sin City - there isn't too much wild and crazy with the techniques used here (with a few exceptions here and there) - so anyone hooked on the outlandish excesses of your Alan Moores and Grant Morrisons should look elsewhere (or - you know - simply adjust your expectations accordingly): Criminal is stripped back, unshowy and cuts right to the point (and most times - that's the end point of a knife pushed up against someone's throat). In common with Sin City (I promise I'm gonna stop going on about Sin City soon) what's nice (nice?) about Criminal is the way all the separate stories inter-lock and dovetail into each other - so that each successive volume drags you under a little deeper and pours on the injustice a little more - creating a world where character's fates end up being decided before they even get a chance to grow up.

The artwork follows the cue of the writing containing all the action in the same sequence of little tidy boxes (which - if you compare it to his art for other books - isn't really something Sean Phillips does elsewhere): but it definitely adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere that builds up in every story and reinforces the central idea contained within every volume (and hell - every noir story) that escape is impossible: and your only options are death or - even worse - prison.

Other things I liked: the unlikely names of the characters ("Teeg Lawless"?); the lighting (hell yeah comics can have good lighting too); the few times the art switches styles (mostly in dreams and memories - and there's a cool trick in Vol 4 that I won't spoil); the piling up of bad luck upon trouble that afflicts every character caught in headlights of plot in a way that never seems too contrived but always left me thoroughly gripped.

So - yeah - anyone that likes a good old dollop of hard boiled crime fiction (and Ian Rankin wrote an introduction - so you know this is the real thing): Criminal is waiting to show you a good time... Just make sure you watch your step.

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Links: The Comics Reporter Interview with Ed Brubaker, Page 45 Review of Vol 1, Tor Review of Vol 1, Gosh! Comics Blog: Gosh Recommends Criminal Coward and Lawless, A Criminal Blog, Tearoom of Despair: It's Criminal, Tearoom of Despair Criminal: The Sinners Article, Tearoom of Despair Criminal: Last of the Innocents Article, The Comics Cube Article: Gateway Comics: Criminal.

Further reading: 100 Bullets, Incognito, Sleeper, Sin City, Scalped, Queen & Country, The Punisher: The Punisher MAX, Marvel Zombies, Goldfish.

Profiles: Ed Brubaker.

All comments welcome.

Books: Batman: Year 100

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Batman: Year 100
By Paul Pope
2006





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1939.

That's the year the world first met "The Bat-Man."Detective Comics #27: now one of the most valuable comics in existence (so if you've been hoarding yours in the attic someplace - well -  nows the time to sell).

Of course - way back then he was just a rip-off of The Shadow ("Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" etc [1]): but since then The Bat-Man has evolved considerably: he got a back story [2], a boy-wonder and even dropped that pesky little hypen ("Drop the "the". Just "Batman". It's cleaner) - amongst other things.

You see: the Bat-man back then isn't the same Batman we know now. Best example: every child knows that Batman made very solemn vow about firearms [3] and has a pretty strict whole "no killing" thing: but it wasn't until the Comics Code Authority came into being in the 1950s to ruin everyone's fun that the "no guns" and "no wasting the bad guys" thing was actually a thing. Up until that point The Dark Knight really didn't give much of a hoot about packing heat [4].

Point is: this is a character that is always adapting. In the sense that he's always outsmarting the bad guys, always cheating death and never gives up [5]. And also (outside of the world of Gotham) he's a figure that's always able to morph to cope with whatever era he finds himself in [6]. Basically - like has been said elsewhere: He's the ultimate survivor.  

Of course - over the years this means that he's built up quite a few layers of paint (so to speak). No longer just a Shadow-wannabe - The Dark Knight has quite a few different sprogets (is that the word? No?) in his Swiss Army Knife of a personality: He's a creature of the dark striking fear into the heart of the criminal underclass, he's an utility belt wielder extraordinar with more gadgets than Q and Inspector Gadget combined, he's the world's greatest detective [7], he's a ninja, he's a scientist [8], he's Zorro [9], he's   the goddamn Batman [10].

But the problem with all this Bat-parts is that it can be tricky to work out which parts to keep and which things to throw away. Watching The Dark Knight Rises this week (yeah - I know the date above says the 4th of November 2011 - but the thing I wrote back then wasn't that great (well: it sucked): and I just kept thinking how much better it would have been if Christopher Nolan had taken a few notes from Paul Pope's playbook: hence all this now): I just kept thinking how damn stupid Batman's cape looked (I'm gonna ignore his Bat-growly-voice seeing how the rest of the entire internet has already beaten me to it): I mean first of all: it wasn't even the same colour black as the rest of his outfit (and was is it made out of: velour? [11]) and - hey - didn't Watchmen and The Incredibles both make the idea of capes seem not only silly but also kinda dangerous? (No? Just me?). I mean - it was cool in Batman Begins when they did that whole - let's shoot this like a horror movie stuff - but for some reason most of The Dark Knight Rises has Christian Bale standing in the middle of the street in full daylight in full Bat-regalia and it just kinda makes him look like a guy doing cosplay [12].    

There is a point in the film about the halfway mark (and don't worry if you haven't seen it - I'm not going to ruin it for you) where it seems like maybe they're going to strip away the bulky Batman suit and take away all his gadgets and maybe turn him into a rough-and-tumble street fighter relying not on the trappings of technology and - well - prestige [13] - but rather using his wits and his indomitable killer instincts: less of the man and more of the bat. But no - instead we get more standing around and punching and sitting around flying stuff - so that it feels more like you're watching a play than - I dunno - an action movie. But then I guess that's what the genre is nowadays - actors standing around delivering their lines inter-spliced with all the CGI shots (and thinking about it: that's probably why one of my favourite films is (don't laugh) Cloverfield as - amongst other things - the whole thing feels really physical and tactile (all that camera shaking): so you know (or rather at least: more easily pretend) that it's stuff that's actually happening).

Batman: Year 100 is the Cloverfield of Batman comics [14]. It's what The Dark Knight Rises kinda aspired to before it went all rote and predictable. It's not a perfect comic (it just kinda ends: like you feel like there should be another book or something to fill out the rest of the story): but it's kinetic, alive and drenched in sweat: with all the clunkiness of the Batman mythos stripped away to it's bare essentials - so that it doesn't feel like a Hollywood Movie Star being paid $$$ to stand around and pose: but more like a living breathing force of something beyond that requires no suspension of disbelief [15] to enjoy. As described by Paul Pope himself in that Wired Article below: "He's someone with the body of David Beckham, the brain of Nikola Tesla, and the wealth of Howard Hughes, who is pretending to be Nosferatu" - so who are you to resist?

What makes it different from other (boring and leaden) Batman tales of it's ilk is the wild, ferocious dangerous energy Paul Pope flings across the page - I've never read a Batman story that seemed so desperately alive - highlighting all the stresses and massive amounts of physical agility that it would take to pull off high-stakes crime-fighting: dude has to strain and sweat over everything he does and that - combined with the story that starts in media res - and never lets up. The artwork is all flowing white lines and jutting angles so that you eyes never really have a place to get settled. And with some cool Bat-updates (that I'll leave to you to discover) and some hot motorcycle action: it'll make your heart race too. Plus - it puts the Bat-Man of Gotham up against more than just your usual cookie-cutter supervillains with crazy costumes and silly names ("What is crime? Who are the criminals now?") and - I've gotta say - it's all adds up to create a good look for The Dark Knight.

It's called Year 100 because it's set 2039. But we all know that (with folks like Paul Pope leading the way) the Bat-Man is going to be around a lot longer than that.

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[1] Nowadays - best known - (if at all) - as a crumby 1994 action movie starring Jack Donaghy.

[2] Altho not until Detective Comics #33 - you hear that Hollywood? You don't always have to kick things off by making everything about the hero's secret origins (see also: Tim Burton's Batman - ha!).

[3] Please see: Grant Morrison's Final Crisis for the one exception that rule.

[4] See this: which is (I'd admit it) nicked from this Cracked article called 5 Reasons Batman Always Wins. Which I wholeheartedly recommend to each and every Bat-fan out there (and the non-believers who want to know what all the fuss is about): it's one of the best encapsulations I've read about what it is that makes people so giddy about The Dark Knight: "Did you see what just happened? The two most common ways of calling something fast are "in the blink of an eye" and "at the speed of light," and Batman outdrew both of them. That is not the gunplay of a man out of practice. The new metaphor for speed just became "half a Batman.""

[5] Check out Neil Gaiman's Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? for more on that one.

[6] So much so that the only way to triangulate all the various versions of Batman into the same frame of reference as each other (or however you wanna say it) is to either go dimension-hopping (see the third story in: Planetary: Crossing Worlds) or a form of controlled schizophrenia (see Grant Morrison again with: Batman R.I.P.).

[7] Cough.

[8] Dur.

[9] An acknowledged inspiration.

[10] I'd suggest Grant Morrison's (him again) The Return of Bruce Wayne for a much more entertaining breakdown of this idea.

[11] "If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards... Checkmate."

[12] Which then just got me thinking about Batman Ben from Parks and Rec (Which then gets me thinking of Batmen Abed from Community). In fact - check out this great article "It's Not About "Dark," Damn It" on The Comics Cube!: Sample quote: "You're supposed to find this man frightening, but nothing about him is frightening. He's in a Halloween suit. He can't turn his neck. The entire movie spends so much time establishing how "grounded" and "realistic" it is, but the very way Batman is presented is "realistic" in a Hollywood point of view, which is not at all "believable," but more "not fantastic." It wouldn't even be so glaring if Jim Gordon didn't get so much screen time. How is who's supposed to be the world's most perfect human wearing body armor from head to toe while the old policeman next to him is only wearing a bulletproof vest?"

[13] Christopher Nolan pun intended. (And for more Nolan-related fun check out: Christopher Nolan tells a knock knock joke).

[14] Just so you know: for me Cloverfield is one of the best films of all time ever. If you're lucky maybe one day I'll try and write down exactly what it means to me. If you're lucky.

[15] Something else that stopped me from getting emotional involved with The Dark Knight Rises: are you really telling me that there's going to anyone in Gotham (hell - the world) that couldn't work out that Bruce Wayne is Batman? I mean at this point - with all the ostentatious displays of super expensive-looking-technology - who else could it be? Who else could afford all that stuff? Bill Gates?

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Links: Sean T Collins Review, Wired Article, Tor Review, Are You A Serious Comic Book Reader Article: Better Than List Pt. 2 Batman: Year 100 > Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Supervillian Article: Panel Madeness! Day 5 100 Years. And If It Is, I'll Wait.

Further reading: Heavy Liquid, Batman: Year One, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Marvel Boy.

All comments welcome.

Books: Zomnibus

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Zomnibus
Vol 1
Written by Shane McCarthy, El Torres and Chris Ryall
Art by Chris Bolton, Enrique Lopez Lorenzana, Yair Herrera and Ashley Wood
2009



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Well - first of all - top marks for the name. I mean - wow - "Zomnibus" (heh): I was sold. But then - I tried reading the damn thing...

Normally I feel I owe it to you guys to read the entirety of every book I put up here - but with Zomnibus I just couldn't do it. A collection of three different stories (Zombies! Feast! by Shane McCarthy, Chris Bolton and Enrique Lopez Lorenzana; Zombies! Eclipse of the Undead by El Torres and Yair Herrera; Zombies Vs. Robots by Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood) each of which just kinda felt - I dunno - shallow. I love zombies as much as the next person (hell - probably even a little more): but I need my zombie stories leavened with something else besides just zombies - and yeah - I couldn't actually finish any of the three stories. Feast! was the one I got the furthest with - and it was pretty fairly written at the start: but halfway through I realised it was going to nothing more than go through all the basic - seen it all before zombie movie motions. Eclipse of the Undead I couldn't even get into at all - and just flicked through the pages... And Zombies Vs. Robots - which seemed the most promising featuring painted art by Ashley Wood (that I sure many of you would love) seemed amateurish and kinda half-baked. And the art was just too one tone (guys seriously needs to extend his palette beyond that kinda washed out grey).

I realise that this is a pretty damning thing to say: but the whole book somehow seemed like it written for nu-metal fans (they still exist somewhere right?). Kinda lugheaded and - heh - ever so slightly brain dead: like a TV movie instead of the real thing. Oh well.

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Links: Undead In The Head Review, Graphic Novel Reporter Review.

Further reading: The Walking Dead, Crossed, Blackgas, Marvel Zombies, Sweet Tooth.

All comments welcome

Books: Goldfish

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Goldfish
By Brian Michael Bendis
1994






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Yeah. Hold your breath: because Goldfish just chucks you into the deep end and expects you to float [1]. There's a phone call but good luck trying to work out who's talking and what they're talking about and who they're talking to: and then we're somewhere else with different people doing different stuff which then very quickly takes a turn for the violent ("In this business personal honor is everything.") and then it's on to the compère before we've even had a chance to rise to the surface and gulp down some fresh air and then you're hit by the title "Created and executed by Brian Michael Bendis" [2]: "Ya ready? Good."

Oh yeah - didn't anyone say? Not only is Brian Michael Bendis a gifted writer - but the funt can draw as well (what can I say? Life isn't fair).

Published all the way back in 1994 all the way back before Bendis became the head honcho at Marvel Comics (and his writing talents squandered on the never-battle of superheroes doing superheroy stuff) Goldfish is a hard-boiled noir with a cast drawn from the usual batch of femme fatales and ex-cops on the take... With striking black and white artwork that smashes itself across the page like a hammer into a sheet of glass, words that half the time can't even be bothered to stand up straight but tilt from side to side like as if were stuck in a car careening down winding back-alley streets and word ballons that bubble and morph from blobby screams of pain into heart-shaped thanks you: this isn't a book that's scared to put in the time to create an experience that's visceral and exciting and that's got everything timed exactly right: the singer says "hit it!" and elsewhere someone else let's loose with a stream of bullets [3]: and the way that things get unleashed in time to the rim-shots on the drum and the blasts on the trumpet? It's the kind of thing that I could very easily imagine Alan Moore reading and sagely nodding his head to ("Yeah. That's the stuff.").

And - well since it's Bendis this is hardly worth mentioning but still - if you're coming in: you should know that it's all about the dialogue. It isn't afraid to make itself sound a little silly ("Holy shit and a half" anyone?) and doesn't mind being cute ("It sure feels black and white") but mostly it's all about being as straight to the point as possible: pure objective and all that. Twisting everything to it's sharpest point and then cutting the reader like a piece of glass: coming alive especially when he's working with more than two people: that card game in particular crackles with just the right type of natural electricity - of people taking over each other, ignoring each other: all the word ballons expertly arranged so even tho it's chaotic (and it does get quite chaotic - cutting from place to place with lots happening all over) - you can still what's going on.

Yeah: it's a crime comic. But it's low-down and dirty: where the "hero" isn't the guy in the sharp suits and the million dollar penthouses: he's sitting alone in empty cafes and hustling his ass off. Think Tony Montana before he made all his riches or Carlito Brigante before he got old: only instead of Al Pacino's gruff Italy-Americanisms think Dante's from Kevin Smith's Clerks (I know I was. Maybe it's the facial hair? Yeah - it's probably the facial hair). All this mixed into a cocktail sprinkled with a few shots of the type of fast-talking David Mamet and Quentin Tarantino love so much (with an extra dash of vodka - natch). If that's too much movie-referencing for your little head then maybe you should brush up on your classics before you head on in: not that you'll need to have watched them in order to understand what's going on but just to get you in the right mood - this is a book that wears it's love of movies right on it's sleeves ("You like movies?" "Yeah - I love movies.") - and hangs the posters on it's walls. Although always with an eye on how to turn all those exhilarating and fist-clenching movie moments into comic form [4].

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[1] Admittedly - it's not as hardcore as say - Stray Toasters or The Adventures of Luther Arkwright when it comes pure and total audience befuddlement - but if you've come to this book on the back of his mainstream Marvel stuff - well - it's not exactly going to spoon-feed you in the way that you may be used to...

[2] Which half me thinks sounds kinda cool while the other half just kinda thinks it seems a little bit like a Guy Ritchie knockoff (ouch). I mean - I know that Spike Lee likes to call his films "joints" but that's no real excuse: then again (hell): at least it means you know exactly what to expect.

[3] Whoops. No - my mistake - actually it's flashlight. Sorry - I think the neo-noirness had me ready to always expect the most violent option. But - hey - easy mistake to make - right?

[4] In fact: in the Three Card Monte Ten Years Ago flashback one of the guys standing in the background is wearing a T-Shirt with this design on it: which the more geeky of you will recognise from Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics book. Which - to me - is a nice little bit of showing off / insider referencing: "Hell yeah - I like comics."

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Links: Multiversity Comics Review

Further reading: Sin City, Criminal, 100 Bullets, Scalped, Daredevil (2001 - 2006), Desolation Jones, Stray Toasters.

Profile: Brian Michael Bendis.

All comments welcome.

Books: Hitman

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Hitman
Vol 1: A Rage In Arkham
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea
1997



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Hitman
Vol 2: 10,000 Bullets
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea
1998



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Hitman
Vol 3: Local Heroes
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea
1999



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Hitman
Vol 4: Ace of Killers
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea
2000



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Garth Ennis doesn't normally dip his toes into the DC/Marvel Mainstream: even if his most devoted fans tend to be those who are still teenage boys at heart - Ennis himself kinda tends to shy away from brightly coloured men dressed in spandex focusing more on stories of camaraderie, big guns and anything to do with Clint Eastwood. Normally preferring to sit outside tossing stones in (yeah Preacher was published by DC but it under the Vertigo imprint which meant it sat outside it's long-running superhero continuity) when he does do even do superheroes (as most notably in The Boys) it's with a sneer affixed across his face and scowl written across his heart. Which brings us to Hitman.

First appearing in The Demon (a comic series starring a yellow-skinned rhyming monster that some of you may recognise from Swamp Thing) Hitman is known to his buddies as Tommy Monaghan (and as one character notes he kinda looks like an "Irish Terminator.") Blessed/cursed/whatever with some low-grade superpowers after an unfortunate run-in with a parasite demon alien vampire thing Tommy is one of the hardy few who decides not to use his powers to fight for truth and justice etc etc but rather to better himself in his chosen line of work: killing people for money. But: because this is all happening within the confines of the DC Universe (namely Gotham City) things aren't going to be that easy...

With loads of Ennis' trademark low down and dirty humour ("We the undersigned respectfully request that Superman get a proper haircut like he used to have.") and a sense of purpose that makes things - well if not quite realistic - at least grounded in small scale human feelings (mainly friendship related) even if they're fighting for space between demons from hell, freakish gangster types and a zombie octopus.

The art by John McCrea (who has done stuff with Ennis including the Preacher Special Tall in the Saddle and The Boys: Herogasm) is a bit messy and cheap-looking (sorry John): but it's bendy, fleshy nature suits the ever-so-slightly ramshackle plots.

With a novel approach to 1996's big cross-over event "The Final Night" - where just has Tommy holed up in his favourite bar drinking with his mates and always ready to pop the pomposity of any nearby big-shot - Hitman is as relaxed and careful as it's title character and always ready with a winning line or ingenious characters (Sixpack - take a bow). It's an early work - so it's not as ground-breaking (or as sweary) as Preacher - although there are plenty of places where you can see the early traces of Jesse Custer and Cassidy winning blend of bromance and Ennis' film fandom. All in all then: the ideal read for anyone wanting to get away from superheroes - but still looking for a healthy shot of tough tough boys: Bueno Excellente!

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Links: Alternate Cover Review of Vol 1, Page 45 Review of Vol 1, The Tearoom of Despair: Hitman Good.

Further reading: Preacher, The Boys, Gotham Central, Incognito, Hellblazer, The Punisher MAX, Swamp Thing.

Profile: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.