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Reviews and commentary by Tony Isabella
"America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist"
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TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
for Wednesday, July 20, 2005
From COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1607:
"We have to be able to criticize what we love, to say what we have to say, because if you're not trying to make something better, then as far as I can tell, you are just in the way."
- Ani DiFranco, "punk folksinger"
"Why waste our time and your energy reviewing comic books you don't like?" is a question I get asked perhaps twice a year. What follows is my latest attempt to answer it briefly:
I review comic books I don't like to give you a base line from which to better judge the quality of the comic books I do like and therefore recommend to you. I take the "guide" part of this mag's title seriously; sometimes you have to warn a fellow traveler that they are about to walk off a cliff.
That's the theory. In practice, I tend to write more positive than negative reviews. My space here is limited so I concentrate on great stuff, good stuff that could be better, and bad stuff from which I think we can learn something. The fun part of this job for me is that I never know in advance in which of these categories a comic book or other item will land. It's the blessed suspense that revs me up month after month.
Let's see where the journey leads this time.
MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #13 [Marvel; $2.99] kicks off "Wild Blue Yonder," a multi-issue adventure in which, among other things, Peter Parker meets a strange visitor from another...state. Ethan Edwards, freshly arrived from Iowa, is the Daily Bugle's new star reporter. With a summer school teaching job gone south, Parker has returned to a full-time staff position with the Bugle. Publisher J. Jonah Jameson wants a big story on Spidey and puts the unlikely duo on the job, saying, "It's time for the unsung hero, the regular Joe of the long underwear set to great some respect."
This is what I get for being so lax in my super-hero reading. Either JJJ has honed his sarcasm to an extraordinary degree or he's had an equally extraordinary change of heart when it comes to our web-slinging wonder. I wish I knew which.
The reason I've let my super-hero reading slide - don't worry; I'll get back to my review in a moment - is because too many super-hero comics are written for the super-hero fanatic who knows every darn detail of vast super-hero universes. There's nothing to hold on to for lapsed readers and, for new readers, it must appear as if these comics are written in Sanskrit. Fortunately, writer Reginald Hudlin blithely swings over such pitfalls, smoothly inserting vital information into captions and dialogue.
One sentence sums up the Absorbing Man's powers. We learn his real name and his super-villain name in short order.
Hudlin tells readers everything we need to know about Peter's current employment, home, and super-hero situations without slowing down the story one little bit. Indeed, he uses his non-exposition exposition to give us considerable insight into the characters and their relationships. Outside of my Jameson confusion and my utter astonishment that Peter apparently knows a lot about the romantic quandaries of the X-Men, Hudlin kept me in the game.
Stuff happens in this issue and it makes for a very satisfying chapter of the over-all story. With the Edwards character, Hudlin is referencing one of the greatest super-heroic figures of comics; I can't wait to see where he's going with this.
The Absorbing Man has picked up a drug habit in prison, which strikes me as a brilliant and logical development given his jailers were drugging him to keep him from using his powers. He probably got hooked trying to cancel out the effects of the drugs that were put into his food. It makes him more interesting that just another run-of-the-mill super-killer.
My only complaint about this issue is its shock ending, which truly plays out as if it were put there just so the ish would have a shock ending. If there hadn't been so much good stuff leading up to the ending, I wouldn't come back for the next issue. I've had more than my fill of cheap theatrics from comics and, especially, from my super-hero comics.
Penciller Billy Tan and inker Jon Sibal deliver acceptable but far from outstanding art for this issue. Especially in close-ups, too many of the characters they draw look like they should ease up on the botox injections. However, since story is more important to me than art, their failure to rise to the level of Hudlin's writing doesn't keep MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #13 from picking up a solid four out of five Tonys.
******
If I didn't have online comics fandom to turn to in my moments of bewilderment, I wouldn't have clue one what was going on in THE OMAC PROJECT #1 [DC; $2.50]. In all fairness to DC, the above-the-logo blurb on the cover - "6 months until Infinite Crisis" - was a nominal tip-off that the DC Universe is once again descending into another of its "no outsiders allowed" mega-stories. Time to pull out those "...and the DC Universe will never be the same" t-shirts for this year's conventions.
This first of six issues picks up from the DC COUNTDOWN one-shot in which a super-hero took a bullet to the brain. His killer runs Checkmate, which used to be a government agency and may or may not still be one. Being that he's a cool mystery novelist and all, OMAC writer Greg Rucka probably knows, but he sure doesn't clarify this for his readers.
Am I lost? You bet I am. I remember Sasha Bordeaux from some Batman comics from a few years back, but how she worked her way up to her current position in Checkmate is a mystery to me. She seems to be an undercover agent for her old boss, though why anyone would still want to work for the unpleasant psychopath Batman has become is quite beyond my comprehension.
Among the other things Rucka fails to explain for new readers is what's up with the leader of Checkmate and also how he got to be the leader of Checkmate. As said leader is a character who's been roaming around the DCU for a couple of decades, this may have been covered in other comics, but, gee whiz, it would be nice if there was something about it in this comic book.
Checkmate controls some super-spy-in-the-eye that keeps track of all metahumans. It can apparently look right into the Bat-Cave. Because what could be more fun than watching an obsessive vigilante glare at a computer screen all night?
Remember what I said about warning you that you were about to step off a cliff? Let me do so by telling you what happens in this most unsatisfying comic book:
Sasha agonizes. Her new boss rants. Batman glares because he can't access the eye-in-the-sky which, apparently, he created. Cut away for a page-and-a-half of a "where's the action" fight between minor hero and villain. Sasha and another Checkmate agent have a chick-fight. Booster Gold gets out of the hospital - no clue as to how and when he got injured in this issue - and gets picked up by Wonder Woman. Literally. I hope his stitches held. Sasha and her agents dispose of the hero's body and gear. Batman glares some more as he receives a note from Sasha letting him know the hero is dead and that he doesn't control the eye anymore. This chapter is thinner than any of the 22 pages used to tell it.
The late Don Thompson - my friend and mentor - used to review some comics by saying that if the reader liked this sort of thing, they might well like those comics. I suppose if some readers were so into the DCU that they had memorized its events, its characters, and the relationships between characters that they might well enjoy THE OMAC PROJECT. I'm not one of those readers; I think a writer should give even outsiders a decent leg-up on what has gone before and what is going on at present.
THE OMAC PROJECT #1 has exclusionist writing with competent-but-uninspired art. It earns but a single Tony.
******
DAMN NATION #1 [Dark Horse; $2.99] has truly creepy moments in its opening pages. A Russian ship of the dead, at sea for almost two decades, enters the port of Miami. A scientist and a homeland security team board the vessel to determine what threat it poses to our land. Then, just as I was really wanting to see what would be coming next, the story jumped ahead five years. Leaving me in the dark as to what had happened and what was happening.
When did clarity become such a pariah to the comics industry? At its core, writer Andrew Cosby's story seems to be a pretty fair thriller about a mysterious plague, some sort of zombie creatures, and a nation plunged into mortal peril. Following the time-jump, we receive no information of how widespread that peril is and what effect it has had on the country, just darkly-painted officials who sure seem pretty frightened.
The story starts getting interesting again when a cure to the plague - whatever it is - is reported to have been discovered and a special ops team sent to retrieve it. But good luck figuring out exactly what's happening. The murky painted art of J. Alexander is often impenetrable and Cosby's writing isn't up to compensating for that visual weakness.
DAMN NATION #1 could have been a better issue, but it's undone by a lack of clarity in both writing and art. The best score I can give it is a disappointing two Tonys.
******
The walking dead also figure prominently in a trio of comics previews I've received of late. Be aware that I'm reviewing these comics from advance copies and not their final published versions, though they will likely not change too much before they show up in your friendly neighborhood comic-book store.
WULF AND BATSY [Chanting Monks Press; no price given] is an intense graphic album featuring characters who previously appeared in the publisher's ZACHERLEY'S MIDNIGHT TERRORS. He's a werewolf, she's a vampire, they're detectives. Okay, they're not detectives. I just couldn't pass up a chance to use that gag.
When I reviewed the "Wulf and Batsy" episode in that earlier comic, I wrote that they were good characters and that I'd like to see more of them. Writer/artist Bryan Baugh accommodated me with "We Have No Home," a 52-page exploration of an evening in the lives (or un-lives) of the title characters.
Wulf and Batsy are as violent as you would expect a werewolf and vampire to be, but they are not evil. They are survivors who clearly try to do as little harm as possible as they make their way through an oft-uncooperative world. Baugh does a terrific job of establishing the characters, their bond, and their desire to live in relative peace with mankind. When the evening progress badly, the results are frightening and horrible. Even then, Baugh allows us to retain sympathy towards his characters.
WULF AND BATSY has a modest manga sensibility to it. "We Have No Home" starts well, moves forward at a deceptively calm pace, and then explodes into its conclusion. From the cool Joe Chiodo cover painting to its shocking conclusion, this is an impressive piece of work. It earns four out of five Tonys.
******
Creator/writer Chuck Satterlee has come up with an interesting twist on super-heroes in OF BITTER SOULS #1 [Speakeasy; $2.99]. His flawed champions are given abilities directly related to their character flaws by a mysterious New Orleans pastor and then charged to do battle with the vampires, ghosts, zombies, and other spooky creatures menacing the city. This issue will be solicited in June for an August release.
OF BITTER SOULS has a lot going for it. Norm Breyfogle is the regular penciller/inker for the series and his work here is as good as his previous Batman work. Maybe better, since he's now free to put his own distinctive mark on brand-new characters. He's backed up by colorist Mike Kowalczyk, a relative newcomer who nonetheless does a fine job with the hues.
I love the New Orleans setting and the mysterious priest. The four heroes - a hooker, a dirty cop, a drug addict, and a gambler - are intriguing personalities. They may be on a path of redemption, but I trust it will be a bumpy road for them. I'm a big believer in hope, but things should never be too easy for even super-heroes. If I have any quibble with the cast, it's that it would have been refreshing to see the black guy be the dirty cop and the white guy be the drug addict.
This premiere issue bounces back and forth between a graveyard battle with a family of vampires and the dreaded "origin-itis." To his credit, Satterlee tells us just enough of the heroes and their circumstances to get us started. I look forward to learning more of their pasts and watching their future lives unfold as the series continues.
OF BITTER SOULS #1 is a good start. Let's give it four out of five Tonys. I'm pulling for this book to succeed.
******
Also from Speakeasy Comics comes THE HUNGER #1 [$2.99], which should be in the comics shops even as we speak. Mardi Gras reveler Charlie is kidnapped and murdered by a Caribbean gangster, only to be resurrected as a zombie to do the gangster's bidding. I don't want to give away too much of the issue, but I will say Charlie is not your typical zombie.
There are lots of conflicts playing out in this series. Our undead "hero" is at war with his dark urges and with those who seek to use him to their benefit. His killer is at odds with a powerful criminal organization. Writer Jose Torres and artist Chris DiBari have my attention; let's see if they can keep it.
The New Orleans setting is a plus for THE HUNGER #1, as is the painted cover by Eric Powell. On the downside, the preview reads like a page is missing here and there. Clarity in transitions is as important as clarity in all other areas of comics storytelling. Creators should always keep the readers in mind as they spin their tales and so keep the readers in their work.
THE HUNGER #1 picks up a respectable three out of five Tonys. Speakeasy Comics continues to be a publisher well worth watching, even in a market where literally thousands of items are offered to readers and retailers each and every month.
******
One more for the road. THE ART OF GREG HORN [Image; $24.95] is a hundred pages or so of big, bright, beautiful, eye-delighting paintings by one of comicdom's most accomplished craftsmen. This trade paperback reproduces dozens of Horn's comic-book covers and a wide selection of works he's produced for clients as far-reaching and momentous as Sony, Nike, the 2004 U.S. Olympic Basketball team, and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. If I had to sum up the appeal of Horn's work in a sound bite, it would go something like this:
"Greg Horn makes the most fantastic characters and situations look as real as the real world outside your window, and he makes the real world look as fantastic as the wildest ideas ever seen in comics or science fiction."
Horn offers entertaining and informative commentary on many of these paintings. Prepare to be amazed when you learn how fast he had to work on some of them. My only complaint about the volume is that there are a few pages where the design and background colors obscure the text.
THE ART OF GREG HORN earns the full five Tonys. It's always nice to end this monthly column on a high note.
******
CBG STUFF
The above column is from COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1607 [August, 2005]. CBG's new magazine format appears to be doing better than expected. The publication lost some subscribers in its switch from the weekly newspaper, but has since gained more, as well as gaining additional readers at the comics shops, newsstands, and bookstores which carry it. As a freelancer writer and now contributing editor who has had a long and happy association with CBG, I'm delighted to know that association will be continuing.
CBG now has a more substantial online presence as well. The new CBGXTRA.COM was launched earlier this month at...
www.cbgxtra.com
...with 29 forums of comics news and contributor comments. My contribution to the new site is the TONY'S OTHER ONLINE TIPS forum. In addition to the usual give-and-take of forum conversation, I'll be posting an exclusive-to-the-forum TOOT review every Monday and the "Oddly Worth Noting" mini-column whenever something oddly worth noting starts bouncing around my brain.
I'll still be writing TONY'S ONLINE TIPS here at World Famous Comics, be conducting new TONY POLLS every week, and hanging out at the official TONY ISABELLA MESSAGE BOARD, but you'll also find me doing fun stuff at the CBG website. I'd love to have you visit me there. The door is always open.
******
TONY POLLS
This week's TONY POLLS concern THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS, a super-hero team which seems to return - however briefly - every decade or so. Our new questions were inspired by a fan's online petition to Archie Comics requesting that the publisher once again revive the team. You can read the petition at:
www.bringbackthecrusaders.com
Our questions ask if you would buy a MIGHTY CRUSADERS title; which super-hero team style would suit you best; which hero you'd most like to see in his or her own title; if you have signed/plan to sign the petition; and, given that "crusaders" can be a loaded word in these times of the West again invading the Middle East, if you think the team should get a new name.
You can cast your votes at:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
The questions will remain active until sometime after midnight on Tuesday, July 26, 2005. Then, after I've had a chance to digest the news that came out of San Diego's Comic-Con International, I'll post a new batch of questions. Don't be shy about sending me your suggestions for questions relating to said news.
That's all for now. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 06/29/2005 | 07/20/2005 | 07/21/2005 >>
Discuss this column with me at my Message Board. Also, read Heroes and Villains: Real and Imagined.
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THE "TONY" SCALE
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
Please send material you would like me to review to:
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