Books: The Shadow

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The Shadow
Vol 1: The Fires Of Creation
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Aaron Campbell
2013



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All I know about the Shadow is the 1994 film starring Jack Donaghy Alec Baldwin - which I'm guessing I must have seen on it's TV Premier on ITV or BBC1 or whatever (back when it took untold millennia for films to make the journey from the big screen to the small one). Of course - as we all know - nowadays superhero films are basically American's number one export: but all the way back then they were viewed with the same sort of wary eye as films based on computer games [1]: mainly I guess because - one: special effects hadn't really got to the place where you could realistic depict the larger-than-life action scenes that are the lifeblood of the genre and two: well - because they were total rubbish.

And so yeah: if you asked for the sum total of my knowledge about The Shadow I guess I would have mumbled something the evil that lurks in the heart of men (?) said something about the rubbish Jack Donaghy Alec Baldwin film (which in my mind is kinda intermingled with The Rocketeer and the Dick Tracy film: so much so that when I try to picture them I can see Jack Donaghy Alec Baldwin playing all three roles: but what the hey) and then made a "what more do you want from me" kinda shurg and then beckoned you to leave me alone.

So why I am even bothering to write up about this comic? I mean - this is a character who first appeared in 1930 on the radio which - in my mind - means that he's about as ancient as the Greeks, Egyptians and dinosaurs. I mean - at the end of each episode (of the radio thingie) there would be a bit where the Shadow would remind his listeners that "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay... The Shadow knows!" which - for this 21st Century kid is about as lame as "Remember kids - winner's don't do drugs!" or whatever it is Captain Planet that used to say [2].

Well - this shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone paying attention: but obviously the thing that makes things worth reading or not (nine times out of ten) is the writing - and in the case of this book: it's one of my first comic book crushes [3]: Mr "Sweary war-obessed Irishman" aka Garth Ennis.

If you've read any of Garth Ennis' recent work (he started off kinda like a lighted-hearted, young, care-free frat boy with a scatological sense of humour but then slowly grew into a much more bleak, bitter and serious ballader of war stories: namely the first and second world wars - scraping off the bright and shiny paint of the legends and fairytales to expose the hard leaden realities underneath) then you will not be at all surprised to find that the very first line of this supposedly fun, light hearted pulp adventure is: "Between Nineteen thirty-one and nineteen forty-five, Japanese occupation forces killed fifteen million Chinese people."

Wow. Major bummer dude. That's kind of like turning on to watch an episode of Colombo or something - only to see someone being stabbed in horrific close-up and then to see the traumatising effect it has on the victim's friends and family: it's like - yeah: sure - that's the kinda basis of all the genre-fun that we want - but we don't (normally) want to have to confront the actual reality of the situation: we just want the mystery without so much of the murder - you know? The escapist excitement without the awful grisly details. But - of course: what makes Ennis such a gripping read is the way that he likes to mix up his thrills and spills with grit and grime - a gourmet sandwhich with all the trimmings embedded with dirt and bugs  

The strange thing is that - from that stark and brutal opening - the book that switches into a much recognisable pattern of early 20th Century adventure - like an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles [4] almost: blah blah exposition and same-old same-old and a bunch of situations you've seen a million times before. It's at this point that I started to get concerned: was Garth Ennis phoning it in? Was this just going to be as crappy as what you would normally expect a Shadow comic to be? (Like I think I said: if it wasn't for Ennis' name on the cover - I really don't think I would have bothered to even pick this book up....).

But there wasn't any real need to worry: the first third of the book is just about setting the scene and getting things into place for the mayhem and awfulness that happens later: where one cliché after another is over-turned (or set on fire) and what you thought was merely going to be rip-roaring mutates into something else entirely: and - dotted around here and there - a few typical Ennis touches (one character in particular plays like an ancestor of Cal “a cop on the edge” Hicks from the Jody and T.C one off special The Good Old Boys (as collected in Preacher: Ancient History): which is all to the good).

So yeah - for a superhero whose powers are way way less than super [5]: this is actual a pretty solid reading experience. All of which goes to show - that even the lamest worn-out character can - in the right hands - be grafted on to a story that's well worth your time.

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[1] And for more on that subject I would recommend this fantastic Grantland article: Hollywood Archaeology: The Super Mario Bros. Movie Unearthing a major disaster to learn the lessons held within. 

[2] Oh my god: having a quick look at the Captain Planet and the Planeteers wikipedia page and it sounds amazing (plus: it gets bonus points for the non-ironic use of the word: "edutainment") and I now kinda want to re-watch the special episodes: "The episode titled "Mind Pollution" (1991) was notable in that it did not deal with the environment, but rather with the issue of drug abuse. This was explained by the fact that the characters thought of drug addiction as "pollution of the mind." The episode revolved around an epidemic of a designer drug known as "Bliss" created by Verminous Skumm (which is such a brillant name for a villain: it's like Dickens on an off day going - "yeah fine whatever: we'll just call him Verminous Skumm."). It was also known for being quite a dark episode in the Captain Planet series, as it allowed a scene of Linka's cousin Boris bleeding from his arms (!?!) after jumping through a window and dying from an overdose of the drug." (Note: and on the subject of Captain Planet - for anyone who hasn't seen it already - check out Don Cheadle's take).  

[3] Like I think I may have already said: I first read Preacher at exactly the right age.

[4] Yeah - in the early 1990s they made a TV show of Indiana Jones and - yes - it is almost exactly as awful and boring and bland as can probably imagine.

[5] According to his wikipedia page: "Skilled marksman and martial artist" "Master of disguise" "Master of stealth" "Able to make himself nearly invisible to the naked eye" "Can alter and control a person's thoughts and perceptions" = YAWN.

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Links: Comic Book Resources Review of The Shadow #1, Geeks of Doom Review of The Shadow #3 / The Shadow #4, Comics Beat Article: The Shadow and Garth Ennis – A Review of the First Script.

Further reading: Battlefields, War Stories, The Marvels Project, The Twelve, Alan's War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope, Preacher, Turf, Tom Strong, Ministry of Space.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.

Books: 303

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303
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Jacen Burrows
2007




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
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Garth Ennis - when he started out - was a bit of a joke.

I mean - (wait. Back up): I mean - he wasn't really someone whose writing people took that seriously - more a court jester type than a big proper serious "writer" (the kind of person - well - guy (it's always a guy) who smokes a pipe and furrows his brow and wears a jacket with patches on the elbows and only has his photo taken in black and white). His big breakthrough hit was Preacher (still the thing that most people seem to know him for) and although that it had a contemplative side (Jesse and Cassidy standing on top of the Empire State Building springs to mind) the things that lingered was the gross-out humour, juvenile delinquency and - well - the fact that one of the main supporting characters was a guy called "Arseface." Not the type of guy you want to let into the "Serious Writers" club then (because if you did - there's always a chance that he might take a dump on the floor because - hey - jokes and stuff - and nobody wants poos on the floor thank you very much).

But then - something happened - slowly, very slowly - Ennis started to mature and grow and evolve into comics version of - erm -who's a famous war novelist? (sorry war novels aren't really my strong point) - I'm thinking someone way more high brow than Andy McNab and more hard-bitten than Ernest Hemingway (lots of loving descriptions of guns and stuff like that): maybe I'm thinking of Sven Hassel? [1] I'm not that great on the chronology of when his stuff came out (one of the downsides of only knowing the books from the collections): but I guess it was around the time he started doing The Punisher MAX series (which is great and which you should seek out) and War Stories (also top banana) that it was first apparent that - hey - this is good stuff: all the childishness had kinda faded away and all that was left was the steel: the typcially male fasination with the military, the effects of violence and honour (that's very important apparently).  

303 [2] is all of that sort of stuff distilled into purest form and served neat. Best example of that: The title isn't a character name - it's the name of the gun that the main character carries. And I guess so that you know that this book means business. 

Teaming up with artist Jacen Burrows (who went on to work with Ennis on the mighty (altho often misunderstood) zombie epic Crossed) 303 opens up in Afghanistan during the heights of the War on Terror (wait - is that still a thing?) and manages to mix high-tension explosive gun fights with ruminations on how there's no good wars anymore and everything in the past was better and have you seen the price of cup of tea? (Oops - sorry Garth - it's actually kinda effective when you read it - it just sounds a little bit silly when you try and talk about it). I like the artist Burrows has turned into - but his stuff here is a little bit plump compared to the hard-edged thing it eventually turned into - and the computer generated colouring makes everything look a little bit too shiny - but once the story settled in - I kinda forgot all about it as I got jolted and chucked around by all the twists and turns.

I guess that some people might deride it for being a touch simplistic - but I think that would be missing the point: although it does seem slight - it covers a lot of ground - and isn't timid when it comes to edging ever so slightly into the poetic and making big points about stuffs. It's almost like some sort of strange modern fable - although good luck trying to condense it all down into one pithy maxim ("war is bad" maybe?)

If you're a fan of Ennis from way back - but haven't picked him up in a while because you thought you'd outgrown him - then I would recommend you giving this book a shot - because - you know what? - he's grown too - and he ain't a joke no more.

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[1] Hello wikipedia! "Hassel's view of war is brutal. In his books, soldiers fight only to survive, the Geneva Convention being a dead letter to all sides. People are killed by chance or with very little reason. Occasional pleasant events and peaceful meetings are brutally cut short. Unsympathetic Prussian officers constantly threaten their men with courts-martial and execute them with little provocation. Disgruntled soldiers occasionally kill their own officers to get rid of them. By graphically portraying war as violent and hopeless in such manner, Sven Hassel's books have been said to contain an anti-war message. His first book Legion of the Damned has been compared to a much grislier, darker more terrifying version of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front." Book titles include (I love these): Wheels Of Terror, Reign of Hell, Blitzfreeze and (my personal favourite) The Bloody Road to Death: so yeah - that sounds about right. (And if you google "Garth Ennis" and "Sven Hassel" together you get this Newsarama interview that he did for his Battlefields series that include this line from Mr Ennis himself: "I read a lot of fiction. The genre of military fiction, particularly WWII fiction is one that’s almost passed from the earth. You do get the occasional novel coming out. When I was growing up again the seventies and early eighties there were a slew of paperbacks in any book store, the fiction section would have tons of material by, there were writers like Gunther Lutz and Sven Hassel and David Williams and they would be -- they were pulp fiction, but they were tremendously enjoyable too. Nowadays you just don’t get that, uh, so there’s one writer I would mention... a guy called Derek Robinson who’s written some absolutely tremendous books, I have to say if you think my humor’s black .you should try this guy. He wrote books called Goshawk Squadron, Piece of Cake, A Good Clean Fight... mostly deals with the war in the air and a great debunker of myths, but tremendously entertaining, quite violent, very funny, brilliant characters -- so he’s someone I would recommend to any fans of that kind of fiction."

[2] I'm going to admit now that it's no coincidence that I've selected this book as my 303th book post. Yes - I am that easily amused. And yes - I wish that I had held off writing about that Frank Miller book with that stuff about Sparta - but hey - you live and learn. (I did write about Ex Machina for my 100th post which tickled me - so whatever): let's move on.

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Links: Comic Book Resources Interview with Garth Ennis.

Further reading: Red, The Shadow, Crossed, War Stories, Battlefields, The Punisher: The Punisher MAX.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.

Books: Preacher

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Preacher
Vol 1: Gone to Texas
Written By Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillion
1996



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Preacher
Vol 2: Until the End of the World
Written By Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillion
1997



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Preacher
Vol 3: Proud Americans
Written By Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillion
1997



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Preacher
Vol 4: Ancient History
Written By Garth Ennis
Art by Richard Case, Carlos Ezquerra and Steve Pugh
1998



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Preacher
Vol 5: Dixie Fried
Written By Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillion
1998



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Preacher
Vol 6: War in the Sun
Written By Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillion and Peter Snejbjerg
1999



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Preacher
Vol 7: Salvation
Written By Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillion
1999



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Preacher
Vol 8: All Hell's A-Coming
Written By Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillion and John McCrea
2000



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Preacher
Vol 9: Alamo
Written By Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillion
2001



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Yeah. It's kinda hard for me to write about Preacher in a completely dispassionate way: I remember when I first read the first volume of Preacher way way back when I was a teenage boy (I'm sorry - these things happen) and I remember thinking that it was one of the most awesomely amazing things ever made. So it has this sorta strange dual position in my mind where on one hand it was one of the first comics that showed me what it meant to be kinda 'adult' whilst at the same time - when I look back over it - it feels like something a little bit childish and immature (which is because - it is eg. one character's entire arc is predicated on him looking like a giant penis - and believe that is by far the only example that I could use). But then I know that if I pick up and read Vol 2 "Until the End of the World" (by favourite book of the whole series) I'm going to be gripped and entralled and sold totally on it's massive dips and highs it's probably the best example I've ever come across of knocking a character down and then building him back up again: and one of the few times I've read a book and realised halfway through that I've made up a soundtrack in my head for it and am kinda singing it along to myself as I read: think big John Williams style strings and bombast (with added Hans Zimmerisms).

Packed full with violence, top swearing and over-blown situations of an adult nature Preacher is the far-reaching and groundbreaking saga of good old country boy Jesse Custer, his take no-prisoners ex-girlfriend Tulip (the best name they could think of?) and his best friend - the hard-drinking Irish vampire Cassidy (Favourite quote: "Awww fuckin' great... I mean... blessed are the meek"). Written by Garth Ennis (who at his point of his career was still writing like a really smart 16 year old boy) and taking in every single American archetype under the sun (cowboys, voodoo, astronauts, War War II, Vietnam, rock stars, Elvis, Bill Hicks etc) it's funny, thrilling and full of great over-the-top characters. Supposedly the big theme tying it altogether is "responsibility" - but it's really male-friendship that closest to it's heart and with it's sly caustic wit it will worm it's way into yours. And even if the big picture doesn't all hang together in the way you may hope [1] - there are countless scenes and moments of evil blaspheming brilliance.

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[1] I mean the end nowhere near as disappointing as Lost [2]: but you should know that (like Lost) it's more about the characters than the quest (and it's probably best if you don't think about how everything all connects together too much - just - you know - enjoy the memories of the journey along the way).

[2] And for more on that sort of thing then you should really check out this super-excellent Big Other essay: “The Ending as Wish-Fulfilment in The Tree of Life, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, and Lost.”

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Links: PopMatters Article: Crisis of Faith: The Struggle to Believe in Preacher, The 11th Hour Review of Vol 1, Walker of Worlds Preacher Re-Read Vol 1,  Grovel Review: Vol 1 / Vol 2 / Vol 3 / Vol 4 / Vol 5 / Vol 6 / Vol 7 / Vol 8 / Vol 9, Spill Review, Hooded Utilitarian Article: Garth Ennis: Anti-Messiah, Or Just A Very Naughty Boy?

Further reading: The Boys, Hitman, Punisher MAX, Chosen, Just a Pilgrim, Y: The Last Man, Scalped, The Sword.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.

Books: War Stories

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War Stories
Vol 1
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Dave Gibbons, John Higgins, David Lloyd and Chris Weston
2004



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Even tho I'd count myself as a Garth Ennis fan I had no idea that this series existed until I was told about it at a Islington Comic Forum meeting (thanks Malcolm!). And what can I say now I've read it? Well - put simply: it's emotionally affecting and at points heart-wrenching to the point of torture with a sense of detail in the charaterisation and dialogue that makes it all feel utterly realistic. Put more simply: It's really, really good.

Written in the same no-frills, deadly serious style as his Battlefields series (of which this is obviously the fore-runner) War Stories is a series of tales set in various locations and different units (Allies and Axis) of the Second World War. With the top flight artistic talent dream-team of Chris Weston (The Filth), Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), and David Lloyd (V for Vendetta) each delivering knockout material. And with scripts that don't pussy-foot around and refuses to either pull it's punches or go dark just for the sake of it - but rather pulls off that careful balancing act between the two and is all the more better for it.

I don't wanna be too hyperbolic - but hell: Stunning stuff.

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Links: Grovel Review.

Further reading: Battlefields, The Shadow, 303, Alan's War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope, Last Day in Vietnam.

Profiles: Garth Ennis, Chris Weston. 

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.

Books: Back to Brooklyn

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Back to Brooklyn
By Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti
Art by Mihailo Vukelic
2009




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You like your Big Apples rotten to the core and full of maggots - each packing pistols? Well then: this one is for you - a comic that's about what happens when a mafioso forgets about loyalty and goes gunning for revenge. This is not about good versus evil: just who's left standing at the end. Full of over-the-top gangster action where none of the characters can be trusted and everyone has an angle and a price and a main character who's as dirty and dangerous as the people he's fighting against- it's not subtle and you won't stay in your head after you've put it down - but it's an outlandish and crazy ride while it lasts. The artwork is a bit off - the poses are kinda awkward and it has this strange kind of computery effect over it - but what the hell: it gets the job done so whatever: Fergetaboutit. etc.

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Links: Comic Book Resources Interview.

Further reading: The Punisher MAX, 100 Bullets, Button Man, Road to Perdition.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.

Books: Battlefields

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Battlefields
Vol 1: Night Witches
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Russell Braun
2009



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Battlefields
Vol 2: Dear Billy
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Peter Snejbjerg
2009



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Battlefields
Vol 3: Tankies
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Carlos Esquerra
2009



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Battlefields
Vol 4: Happy Valley
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by PJ Holden and Garry Leach
2010



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Battlefields
Vol 5: The Firefly and His Majesty
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Carlos Esquerra
2010



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Battlefields
Vol 6: Motherland
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Russ Braun
2011



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Garth Ennis shows off his mature, softer side in these series of stories from the Second World War - "softness" obviously being a relative term when dealing with bloody death and murder. With writing full of interesting historical details (the Russian female bomber pilots of Night Witches), snappy character work (Sergeant Stiles in Tankies) and big emotional hooks (the sweeping romance in Dear Billy). With little of the juvenile high-jinks of his other books - this shows that when he puts away the gross-out humour and broad crazy slapstick - guy knows how to write a story that will make you care. With each volume telling a stand-alone unconnected story (apart from Vol 5: The Firefly and His Majesty which is a sequel to Vol 3: Tankies and Vol 6: Motherland which is a sequel to Vol 1: Night Witches) you can pick it up from any point: and they're all very much worth reading.

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Links: Newsarama Garth Ennis Interview.

Further reading: War Stories, The Shadow, Alan's War, Last Day in Vietnam, 303, Arrowsmith: So Smart in Their Fine Uniforms.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.

Authors: Garth Ennis

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Garth Ennis
Born: 16 January 1970
Holywood, Northern Ireland









The mischievous scamp with the sick school-boyish sense of humour Garth Ennis is one of the most known comic writers out there. Juvenile in his subject matter but sophisticated in the ways he pulls it off: he'll call a character "Arseface" and then make you care about what happens to him. Best known for his ultra-violent epic Preacher created with artist Steve Dillon he also had a very successful runs with Hellblazer and The Punisher. Recently he's grown up with the series Battlefields, and gone into hardcore horror with Crossed. Those with deliate sensibilities beware. Things he likes: Tough old school heroes, rugged and sweaty male friendship, Ireland, gratuitous violence, war (espeically WWII and Vietnam) and bad things happening to bad people. Things he doesn't like: superheroes and organised religion.

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Links: Irish Times Interview, Chuckpalahniuk.net Interview, The Hurting Article: I'm Done With You, Comics Alliance Article: I'm David: Garth Ennis, Heroes, & Assumptions.

Selected works: Hellblazer, Hitman, Preacher, Bloody Mary, War Stories, The Punisher MAX, 303, Fury: Peacemaker, Just a Pilgrim, Battlefields, The Boys, Back to Brooklyn, Crossed, The Shadow.

All comments welcome.

Books: Crossed

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Crossed
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Jacen Burrows
2010




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"Remember Youtube?" That's how it starts. And what a great way to start.

And then you're plunged headlong into the unrelenting horror. Make no mistake - with Burrows aiming to become somesort of 21st Century version of Bosch [1] - this is book is full of nightmarish scenarios and images that will sear themselves into your head. It will leave you feeling weak and despondent and lying on the floor in the foetal position totally wrecked and drained. But don't let that put you off - because (for what it does, for how it wants to make you feel) it's also really really really good.

I won't lie: at the Islington Comic Forum meetings Crossed is - well - Crossed is a bit of a contentious book. In fact "contentious" doesn't really cover it: basically everyone else hates and I love it - with one guy (Malcolm) turning round to me once and saying something like: "You know what you remind me of Joel? You like that guy who stands up for the Star Wars prequels [2]: I can't tell if you're trolling of if you're just deluded." Answer: neither. If the rest of the world don't like this book then - well: it's the rest of the world that's crazy (yeah - I said it).

What is it about? Well. It has the trimmings of a typical zombie survival tale thing: there's a plague that infects people and you end up with a small group of survivors who can hope for nothing more than to try and stay alive. But things are much much worse than anything else you're ever seen before. For a start: the zombies aren't really zombies: they're more intelligent, more dangerous and more evil. And the survivors don't really act in the way that you' may have been led to expect in other stories like this - there's no real bonding, no real funny character moments, no real hope etc. Apocalyptic stories - in the main - tend to present a sanitized version of society falling apart: things might get rough but things will never get too crazy and people will never only suffer harm in an 'acceptable' way (so they'll get shot in the chest - but not in the face). But Ennis (damn him) presents things gone completely insane and bodies being unacceptability harmed. Some folks have accused this book of being part of the "torture-porn" genre - but I would disagree. Anything of that type that I've been unfortunate enough to come across I've found to be brain-dead, artless trash. And while Crossed may not hold out for any high-minded pretension (It's more "The Road's" uglier, meaner little cousin) - it is sophicatedly put together and it knows exactly what it's doing. Fair warning: this book is 18+ and is probably only going to appeal to a select few. It's not pleasant. It's not nice. It's extreme and ultra-violent and nasty. But then that's what horror is for. 

Open up and say: "Argh."

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[1] I realise that's a bit of a highfalutin reference to make and - obviously Jacen Burrows (no offence Jacen) - is no Hieronymus Bosch in terms of actual painting skills and blah blah. But in terms of creating hellish images: images that made my blood run cold and my guts twist - and this is a really great comic for the way it just keep flinging more and more outrageous and horrifying images at you - I mean: it's not the skill - it's the effect. And how it left me feeling long after I'd put the book down (hopeless and distraught in a way I haven't really felt since I saw Requiem for a Dream on a Friday night at the cinema when it first came out - which left me lying face down in bed for the whole weekend just sorta moaning and whimpering at the extreme unforgiving harshness of the world: and if you've seen it then I'm pretty sure you'll know what I mean).

[2] Me personally I'm not really that much of a fan of any of the Star Wars films all that much (yeah yeah whatever): but hey there are people out there who are willing to make the case for the prequels in a way that doesn't seem totally bogus: check out Timothy O'Neil over at The Hurting: "Even when the action onscreen lulls - like, say, any of the times when the less-polished actors have to emote (you know who I'm talking about) - there's always something fun happening around the edges." And then: Drew McWeeny Film Nerd 2.0 series on Hitfix (which consists of him watching films with with kids) going through all six movies (in a bit of a haphazard order: 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6) so that's: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge Of The Sith, Return of the Jedi and has him saying stuff like: It is an imperfect film, certainly, but it remains one of the most preposterously scaled works of imagination I can name, a movie that casually introduces whole worlds and races of creatures, throwing out new ideas and images at a gallop. And the flaws that have been beaten to death by Mr. Plunkett and his devotees are far less outsized than they insist. When someone says "The film doesn't make any sense," that's simply not true. You may not like the movie, but the film makes both narrative and thematic sense, and there are some nice things Lucas does that he gets no credit for. I like the way the storyline about the Queen and her decoys serves as a mirror for the notion that Darth Sidious might be hiding in plain view, and I like the lesson the film sets up about the relationship between the Naboo and the Gungans." But - whatever. Maybe if I ever get around to talking about some of the Star Wars comics I could go into more depth: but that's probably gonna be a long time coming so don't hold your breath...

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Links: PopCultureBomb Article, Dark Faerie Tales Review, Zero 2 Heroes Review of Crossed #2, Bleeding Cool Review of #9, Popculturebomb Review, Bleeding Cool Interview with Garth Ennis.

Further reading: Cradlegrave, Neonomicon, The Walking Dead, Just a Pilgrim, 303, Alan Moore's The Courtyard, No Hero, Blackgas, Sweet Tooth, Zomnibus, Supergod.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.

Books: The Punisher: The Punisher MAX

________________________________________________________________________________

The Punisher MAX
Born
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson and Tom Palmer




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 1: In The Beginning
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Lewis Larosa and Tom Palmer




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 2: Kitchen Irish
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 3: Mother Russia
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Dougie Braithwaite




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 4: Up is Down and Black is White
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 5: The Slavers
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 6: Barracuda
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 7: Man of Stone
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 8: Widowmaker
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Lan Medina




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 9: Long Cold Dark
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov and Howard Chaykin




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The Punisher MAX
Vol 10: Valley Forge, Valley Forge
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov




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The Punisher MAX
From First To Last
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John Severin Lewis Larosa and Richard Corben




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Poetry.

It's there in The Tyger (collected in From First To Last) which as you can probably guess gets it's title from William Blake and his "fearful symmetry" [1] and shows you that the dark heart of Frank Castle goes deeper than you may have first suspected ("They'll blame it all on Vietnam. And they'll be right. And they'll be wrong."). And it's there at the brutal closing of Valley Forge, Valley Forge - which may just be the best finale of any "superhero" [2] comic out there - and shows you that you don't need your ending to go big and overblown in order to make an impact: rather you can just zero into the characters until there isn't enough room to breathe.

But - really - what I mean to say - is that it's there throughout - (and I'm sorry if this sounds a little overwrought) but what Ennis has done with these books is take a character that's always been one-note and one-dimensional and made him into goddamn poetry. Dark? Yes. Bloody? Yes. Ultra-violent, ugly and nasty? Yes. Yes. Yes. But there's a finesse and agility to the writing here (buried underneath all the killing) that makes this a beautiful read.

Originally created in 1974 as a Spider-Man bad guy Frank Castle (aka 'The Punisher') is not someone that you wanna mess with... A Vietnam veteran whose wife and kids were killed in front of him (collateral damage from a gangland hit) the guy is a border-line psychopath who has dedicated his life to "punishing" crime. Once paired with his sidekick 'Microchip' (who served as a Q/Alfred Pennyworth character) but since then gone solo Frank has no special powers and no fancy weapons - just a bad attitude, high pain threshold and a T-Shirt with a skull drawn across it. Garth Ennis began his Punisher run with Steve Dillon in 2000 with a 12 issue miniseries that came across as a little brother to their Preacher series - full of schoolboyish humour and slightly cartoony situations. Then in 2004 he returned with the seminal Punisher 'MAX' series ('MAX = 2001 Marvel imprint for adult readers - "free to feature explicit content") that took a serve towards something went more realistic, serious and bleak with Frank Castle himself refashioned into Clint Eastwoody kinda mould, less a character - more a walking/talking force of nature - his Saint of All Killers character from Preacher poured into a twentieth century mould. Taking on everything from corporate fraud to sexual slavery and The War on Terror with supporting characters from the CIA, KGB, Secret Intelligence Service, SAS, the IRA, militaries and militias from the Balkans and Middle East, all with agendas rooted in past conflicts like the Cold War or the Yugoslav wars Punisher MAX brings the reader into parts of the world that you normally not best think about. So - yeah - it's not exactly what you could call a "light" read - but over the 10 volumes (not including the prequel "Born" and the collection of one-shots "From First to Last") you get a very nicely written, thoughtful, interwoven thriller that will grip, shock and enthrall with each successive volume topping the last in terms of how far Frank (and Ennis) are prepared to go. Yes it is (very) violent but it's never mindless (it's even closes with a poem - woo). And it's probably the best thing Ennis has ever written - and makes all other Punisher stories redundant. So what you waiting for?

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[1] Which I'm guessing most of you only know from Watchmen. Right?

[2] But let's face it - even tho he's got the name [3] and the costume and zest for killing band guys - The Punisher isn't really much of a typical superhero. He's more like an elemental force of nature - dark urges made flesh - like something Jack Kibry would have dreamed up if he spent a weekend hanging out with James Ellroy. 

[3] Fun fact: I can't find exact source on the internet (damn you google): but I'm pretty sure that The Punisher got his name - not from his creators - but from Stan "Excelsior!" Lee. The story goes that the writer - Gerry Conway - was stuck on to call him (his best idea was: "The Assassin") and so approached Lee - who was the chief editor of Marvel at the time (or something) and said something like: "We've got this guy, he's this guy who's lost his mind and goes out there to punish criminals..." and Stan will interrupt and go "Call him .. The Punisher!" And that would be that.

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Links: Savage Critic Article: A History of Punishment for Adults: Jog reaches the last, black page on 8/13, 4th Letter Review, Read/RANT Review of Vol 1 / Vol 2 / Vol 3 / Vol 4, Comic Book Resources Review of Vol 9 and Vol 10, GraphiContent Article: The Cycle of Violence in Punisher: Widowmaker, Tearoom of Despair: The Punisher Made Me Cry, The M0vie Blog Review Punisher: Born / Vol 1 and 2 / Vol 3 and 4 / Vol 5 and 6 / Vol 7 and 8 / Vol 9 and 10 / From First To Last.

Further reading: 100 Bullets, Preacher, Daredevil (2001 - 2006), Criminal, Hitman, Gotham Central, 303, Button Man.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.

Books: The Boys

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The Boys
Vol 1: The Name of the Game
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2007



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The Boys
Vol 2: Get Some
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2008



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The Boys
Vol 3: Good for the Soul
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2008



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The Boys
Vol 4: We Gotta Go Now
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2009



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The Boys
Vol 5: Herogasm
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2009



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The Boys
Vol 6: The Self-Preservation Society
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2010



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The Boys
Vol 7: The Innocents
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2010



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The Boys
Vol 8: Highland Laddie
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea and Darick Robertson
2011



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The Boys
Vol 9: The Big Ride
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea, Russ Braun and Darick Robertson
2011



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The Boys
Vol 10: Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2012



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The Boys
Vol 11: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2012



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I have an unwritten rule about swearing on this blog: namely - I don't do it - and try to keep things as clean and wholesome and cussword-free as possible (like Kurt Vonnegut says in Hocus Pocus: “profanity and obscenity entitle people who don't want unpleasant information to close their ears and eyes to you.”). But I feel that I've just gotta quote the following line (from Vol 9 of The Boys) in order to help explain what these books are about - and the way I figure it - it's ok seeing how I'm not the one doing the swearing: I'm just quoting (but - nonetheless: brace yourself): (ready?): ok then:

"As the old saying goes. "With great power comes the total fuckin' certainty that you're gonna turn into a cunt."[1]

One. Yes - ok: haha. That's like the famous Spider-Man line - hell - you could even call it the Spider-Man philosophy if you wanted - or even maybe "founding tenet"? [2] - except he's swapped the bit where it goes "...great responsibility" and replaced it with some naughty words: and isn't that funny? Because it's like a reference isn't it? And yeah - for those of you that haven't read it maybe you're hoping that the whole series will be like that - and yes - don't worry - it's got loads of little comic book references for you to enjoy (yay!) [3] and plenty and plenty of swearings and bloody gory violence (because - hell - that's what comics books are for - right?).

But (and this is much more important): Two: it's also the hidden philosophy (hell yeah: "founding tenet" even) of the motivation/driving force behind everything that happens in The Boys. There's this Nine Inch Nails song Capital G (off Year Zero [4]) and a lyric that kept swimming around my head as I tried to get this down: "Don't try to tell me that some power can corrupt a person / You haven't had enough to know what it's like." Because - what these books are all about - beyond the jokes and the references and the fights - it's all about power. What it does. How it works. And how it's always messing people up in strange, ugly and nasty ways.

There's this xkcd cartoon (if you can't be bothered to click the link (but - oh my god - how lazy are you?) then: it's a roadsign that says: "you're in a box on wheels hurtling along several times faster than evolution could possibly have prepared you to go.": because - yeah - cars: they're kinda crazy and designed to travel at speeds that our bodies haven't really been built for [5]) and one of the - well - "morals" (however quaint that word sounds when talking about books that include gross-out scenes featuring - well - I've leave that for you to find out) of The Boys is that human beings just aren't really equipped to deal with too much power: that once you give them the keys to a car and the ability to go faster than they've ever been before - well - they're going to crash.

And seeing how there are superheroes spilling off every page: this means that for those willing to venture inside it's pages - we have depictions of super-powered heroes who (for a variety of reason) just aren't able to cope with their superpowers [6]. But instead of feeling sorry for them - well - see that quote up at the top again.

What I really wanted here was an extract from an Garth Ennis interview - because - having been an avid reader of his ever since - well - Preacher I guess (yeah - it's not exactly the most sophisticated comic ever written: but - hey - there was a point in time when I just a teenager ok?) - I feel like I have an understanding of some of the motivations behind why The Boys (no doubt totally wrong - but hey - whatever): of course not wanting to trawl my way through the internet in order to find the quotes I wanted I decided just to make the whole thing up [7]:

INTERVIEWER: Hi Garth. Thanks for joining us today.

GARTH ENNIS: Hi. No worries. Thanks for having me.

INTERVIEWER: So - I just wanted to talk to you about The Boys and some of the - well - motivations behind it.

GARTH ENNIS: Ok - let's do this.

INTERVIEWER: For all of us who've followed you from your auspicious beginnings writing Judge Dredd at 2000AD on to your big mainstream comics breakthrough with Preacher (well - you know - mainstream for comics) and up and beyond and into the big leagues - you've never really been one to disguise your contempt...

GARTH ENNIS: Burning hatred.

INTERVIEWER: Right. Sorry - burning hatred - for superheros: comics' genre of choice. As far as I'm aware you've never really written a Superman story or a Batman story. And in fact - the only time you've included Batman in one of your books was in Hitman which is - well - a series about a guy who...

GARTH ENNIS: Goes around killing superheroes.

INTERVIEWER: Well - yes (I'm detecting a theme here). So - I guess my first question - is what gives? Every other major mainstream comic book writer - from Alan Moore to Warren Ellis from Frank Miller to Grant Morrison - has seeming been more than happy to take on the men in tights: but the closet you ever get is with Hitman or with The Authority and your A Man Called Kev books - that only ever show superheroes through the viewpoint of a "typical bloke" - why is that?

GARTH ENNIS: Well - I don't like superheroes.

INTERVIEWER: Yeah - I get that. But where does that come from?

GARTH ENNIS: Well - thinking it over - I guess - as a comic book writer I've always really loved the comic book - well - medium and all the things that it can do - and all the different types of stories it can tell and all the genres it can tackle - and there's just something about it's narrow focus on superheroes that's always struck me as being a little - well - regressive almost. Like - it's as if comic books has been stuck in a condition of arrested development - and it's not really something that I've wanted to contribute to. I feel like - nowadays - we have enough stories about Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman and the rest of them - and I felt like - let's have some new stories and so mainly that's what I've been concentrating on - writing stories about things that interest me. Things like war and the military and men and just guys sitting in a pub and just talking about things that have some sort of relevance to my own life - not a bunch a make-believe heroes flying around in capes and stuff - I mean - that sort of stuff doesn't have any sort of meaning for my own life - and it just doesn't interest me.

INTERVIEWER: Ok - so then - what changed?

GARTH ENNIS: Well - one reason is that after all these years of being in the business - it's becoming harder and harder for me to avoid them. I mean - I haven't sought it out - but it's not like I haven't had offers to revamp this title or do this thing or whatever - but the thought of writing some kind of space epic with Madame Whatsherface and The Amazing Super-Crew - I mean - that's just not me. And the second reason is that - well - after all this time - superheroes have become more than just something that I didn't want to be part of - and more like - I dunno - a sort of totem of all the things that I just can't really stomach: they're like a really potent mix of all the worst excesses of celebrity, the military-industrial complex, American Exceptionalism and every jerk everywhere who does what they want because they're bigger than everyone else on the beach - do you know what I mean? And it sorta got to the point where all these ideas started to come together in my head and I realised that - actually - here was a story that I wanted to write about - here was a bunch of really powerful - I dunno - it was like: I had this chance to exorcise these thoughts inside me and get them down on to the page - where hopefully - you know: they wouldn't bother me anymore. You know?

The Boys then: An ever-so-slightly deranged gang of individuals who go around - basically - beating up superheroes and having the time of their life while they do it - while each trying to ignore their own dark and troubled pasts. They're the A-Team of costumed-hero take-downs. The Bash Street Kids of vigilante justice aimed exclusively at masked vigilantes. A bunch of lads - mucking around - inflicting grievous bodily harm on those who they judge to deserve it. The kind of people who attract and revel in all the wrong sorts of attention.

For all of you who've followed Garth Ennis from his auspicious beginnings writing Judge Dredd at 2000AD on to his big breakthrough with Preacher and up and beyond and into the big leagues - you'll know that he's never really disguised his contempt (hell - burning hatred) for the dominant genre of men (and let's face it - it's mainly men) in tights. (Best example before this: Hitman). And for those of us that never really understood the reasons why - The Boys is here to lay out all of the reasons why. Namely what they stand for. (And here they're a potent mixture of all the worst excesses of celebrity, the military-industrial complex, American Exceptionalism and every jerk everywhere).

With a promise from the author to "out-Preacher Preacher" presumably referring to the extreme violence and sexuality that were that series' hallmark and The Boy's constant fixation on bodily functions and bodily fluids (I defy you to read the series without once going "ewwww gross.") certain bear that out. But beneath the juvenile gross-out humour (that felt to me a little like pandering to gallery) and extended gags about sex with hamsters you'll find an intelligent (albeit pretty brutal) take-down on the idea of "the superhero" that's as thoughtful as anything else out there. See especially: the depiction of how superhumans would have dealt with the events of September the 11th (that left me feeling chilled all the way down to my bones). For a while it seems like it's just one book a mission and every mission skewers a different superhero/superhero team and then (around Vol 7) everything feels like it's coming undone and losing it's focus before - appropriately enough with Vol 9 (The Big Ride) everything starts to fall into place with tangible sense of awfulness and all the unexploded ordinance carefully left scattered around the place - well - it all starts to go off.

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[1] My original opening was slightly more ostentatious and went: "Who watches the Watchmen? Answer: The Boys." But - yeah - let's try and move past that.

[2] I'm pretty sure someone somewhere has written an in-depth analysis of what that means and stuff (this is the internet after all) - but - hell: it's all pretty simple isn't it? It's just comics and all that)

[3] I mean - I'll admit that I got a kick laughing along (oh look! It's like Batman!) but if that's all it was doing it would only all be worth reading once through and then throwing away. But having made my way through them all The Boys feels anything but disposable.

[4] No - that's not a Frank Miller Batman prequel. 

[5] Normally I would try and find some links to back this up - and a bunch of statistics to show how many car crashes there are in the world each day or something: but come on - I'm guessing by now this is just something we all know? And let's try and stay on topic (for once?).

[6] See also: Mark Waid's Irredeemable.

[7] Hey - that's allowed right? And - you know - I'm sure it helps me make my point about absolute power corrupting absolutely (making stuff up on a blog? Heavens - whatever next?).

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Links: Sean Maher's Quality Control Review, The Beat Garth Ennis Interview, Comic Book Grrl Article: The Boys: A Comic About Bad-Ass Men, Slutty Women, And *Very* Slutty Women, Tearoom of Despair Article, Playtime Magazine Article: Sex and Superheroes in “The Boys” (NSFW).

Further reading: The Authority, Preacher, Wanted, Hitman, Supergod, Transmetropolitan, Animal Man, Watchmen, Irredeemable.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.