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The Top Ten Comics of 2012

29 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by dmainhart in 5 Comics You Should Be Reading

≈ 21 Comments

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Adventure Time, Al Ewing, Alberto Ponticelli, Animal Man, Archer & Armstrong, Battlefields: The Green Fields Beyond, Bloodshot, Braden Lamb, Brendan McCarthy, Brian K. Vaughn, China Mieville, Chris Samnee, Daredevil, Dark Horse, DC Comics, Dial H, Ed Brubaker, Fantagraphics, Fatale, Fiona Staples, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Fury Max, Fury: My War Gone By, Garth Ennis, Goran Parlov, Harbinger, IDW, Image Comics, James Robinson, Jeff Lemire, kaboom!, Marco Rudy, Mark Waid, Marvel, Mateus Santoluoco, Matt Kindt, Mind MGMT, Nick Fury, Oni, Popeye, Rachel Rising, Ryan North, Saga, Scott Snyder, Sean Phillips, Severed, Shelli Paroline, Snarked, Steve Pugh, Stumptown: The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case, Swamp Thing, Tales Designed to Thrizzle, Terry Moore, The Shade, The Zaucer of Zilk, Travel Foreman, Valiant, Winter Soldier, Wonder Woman, Yanick Paquette

Welcome to the 27th Annual Edition of the Top Ten Comics of the Year! What began as two educators blogging in obscurity about their love affair with comics, has grown to become the most highly-anticipated event of the year amongst trend-setters, industry-watchers and that most idolized of velvet rope celebrities, the comic book creator. Why it seems like just yesterday that a little book called Sandman made the list (No. 7, 1991) giving birth to a worldwide phenomenon (we just received our yearly gift of one dozen black roses and homemade crumpets from Neil in eternal gratitude).

A note to the naysayers who complain about end-of-year lists: comics and numbers go hand-in-hand like old movies and cigarettes. If you say the number 27, what serious comics fan wouldn’t think Detective? Or 252, Spidey’s black costume? Why do round-numbered “anniversary” issues always sell higher? From what dark recesses of the mind  doth spring the obsession for a new Number 1 (as this past year surely demonstrates)? Fighting it is like the Kingpin fighting his urge for a donut: counter-intuitive and pointless. So to the list-cynics I say: go make a Top Ten List of your Least Favorite Top Ten Lists and be done with it. You’ll feel better.

The rules: As always, 80% (or 8) of our choices are books that Scott and Derek both read. We each get one alternate to round out the list (see if you can guess which ones these are! Correct answers will get a prize!). For limited series, the lion’s share of the story had to have seen print this year to be eligible (for instance, although Severed finished in 2012, most of the story was published in 2011. Similarly, Garth Ennis’ latest run on Battlefields, which tend to run in nine-issue installments, is only two issues in – and is already a strong contender for next year’s list). There are also no graphic novels on the list. There is no shortage of exciting work being done in a longer format, but this list, like the website itself, is dedicated to those wonderful monthly, folded-and-stapled periodicals which compel us to make our weekly Wednesday trek to the local comic book store for fear of missing something. (Having said that, congrats to Chris Ware on the inclusion of Building Stories on the NY Times own list of Top Ten Books of the Year. Check it out. It is a piece of work.)

What unites most of the books on the list I think, is an expansive approach to storytelling; a willful cherry-picking of literary devices from various genres, gleefully mashing them up against each other and seeing what happens. The playfulness in the examples below is infectious but not inchoate; they are produced by masters of their craft. Each creator involved has hit some kind of stride in the past year. Each comic is a breath of fresh air in our four-colored medium. We are the lucky recipients.

We here at Images and Nerds, of course, welcome debate (as long as you realize the futility of it, as all results are final, having been engraved in a cave wall for posterity.)

Without further eloquence, here’s our Top Ten:

ST_Cv0_ds10. Animal Man/Swamp Thing (DC) – OK, so this is our sneaky way of cramming eleven titles into our top ten list, but these two books really need to be considered as one. The amount of planning and coordination done by respective writers Jeff Lemire and Scott Snyder could serve as a template for the proper way to do that most fraught of endeavors: the crossover. These two clearly share a vision and it’s been thrilling to watch two creators at the top of their game working in such organic concert. Though the story has bogged down somewhat now that we’re in the middle of the epic proper, it’s been one of the surprising delights of the past year to watch their little corner of the DCU grow into its most compelling destination. (DM)

9. Fury: Myfury max War Gone By (Marvel) – I hope you didn’t let your year go by without your grabbing Garth Ennis’s take on Marvel’s eternal warrior, Nick Fury, the only cyclops worth a good Goddamn in the Marvel Universe, anymore, be it NOW! or MAX or whatever.  Fury’s certainly the star here as he boozily–and honestly–reflects upon some of the secret missions he undertook after WW II to ostensibly make a difference in a dangerous world.  But this title is more so everything we love about Ennis: perfectly composed conversations amongst expertly crafted characters (like the deliciously deep Shirley Defabio and the larger-than-life–and classic Ennis creation–Sergent Chef Steinhoff), all before a backdrop of war, with stops in Indochina, Cuba, and Vietnam, where the book will continue–at a punishing pace–in 2013.  But if Fury’s too hero for you, check out Ennis’s latest Battlefields saga, Battlefields: The Green Fields Beyond; it’s through two–a Top Ten worthy two–of six.  Either way, you can’t go wrong; in this guy’s hands, war is heaven. (SC)

shade8. The Shade (DC) – Once upon a time their was a writer of enormous range and nuance; one who easily blended genres and had an uncanny ability to capture the untidy, individual voices of each of his many characters in service of stories both grand and intimate. His name was James Robinson and the exemplar of his craft was a series called Starman. Now in the years since the end of that remarkable book, there has been a writer named James Robinson working on various super-hero books, but the quality of them has been so wildly inconsistent and lacking in authorial voice that it can scarcely seem possible that it is the same writer. Interesting then, that it took a return to the Starman universe to bring about a return to form. In The Shade, Robinson returns to his most compelling creation; a character both physically and morally in the shadows, one whose dandyish affectations and droll, Oscar Wilde-inflected narration serve as perfect counterpoint to the pulpy theatrics of a host of skillfully handled genres and subgenres. Welcome back Mr. Robinson. Stay awhile, please do. (DM)

dd127. Daredevil (Marvel) – Even a blind person who hasn’t had his other senses enhanced by exposure to radioactive material could see that this title has been Marvel’s best for over a year now.  Aside from the seemingly endless Omega Drive arc, which was a series of wrong turns–including a pointless crossover with Spider-Man and The Punisher–with a few delectable diversions dribbled in, specifically issue #12, Daredevil has been the model book in terms of how to marry mirth and mystery.  Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Javier Rodriguez had Daredevil dance with Doom for a couple of sensational issues and then created something strange and beautiful with the Coyote storyline, one that had me, at times, wondering if it were headed anywhere–and, in the end, boy, was it!  Damn my dubiousness!  There are a few creators worth our blind trust and our limitless patience, and Waid is without a doubt one of them.  (Speaking of, have you noticed the tone Waid’s establishing over on Indestructible Hulk?)  Similarly, there are many heroes whom we hold dear, but none as dearly as The Man Without Fear. (SC)

FRSH_Cv06. Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. (DC)  – What could easily have been a Hellboy rip-off instead turns out to be an exuberant melange of Universal Monsters from the 1930s and James Bond tropes turned on their head. Jeff Lemire (see #10) got the ball rolling (along with Alberto Ponticelli, whose pitch-perfect art will be missed when he leaves shortly – see #1) with a commitment to unrelenting, over-the-top action. The extraordinary Matt Kindt (see #3) continued the run by focusing on Frankenstein’s tragic history, without sacrificing a whit absurdity or epic carnage. If anything the hint of pathos serves to ground the general giant-monster frenzy, making the book even stronger.  Another oddball (and alas, soon to be late and lamented) winner from DC. (DM)

Fatale-Cover-Image-Comics5. Fatale (Image) – Sure, Ed Brubaker seemed to give up on Captain America in an uninspired final run; and he ran a minimalist route as he turned Winter Soldier into a must-read–and, unexpectedly, a top Marvel book for 2012.  It’s clear, however, where he was focusing his energies: Fatale is Mr. Brubaker at his brutal best.  If you have enjoyed his iconic work with the spectacular Sean Phillips on such titles as Criminal and Incognito, then you’ve most assuredly found Fatale to die for.  A dangerous dame, herself in danger; a fistful of dupes, their freewill twisted as if by magic; some crooked cops and crazy cultists; buckets of blood and nightmarish monsters: all of it comes together to set a terrifying tone and to mold and unfold a complex and compelling mystery–one that insists upon your complete attention.  And how about Phillips’ covers?  Stunning.  Yes, indeed, this is a book that stands out from the rest–in more ways than one. (SC)

ZaucerofZilk_Image4. The Zaucer of Zilk (IDW)  – Brendan McCarthy and Al Ewing’s mini-masterpiece is also perhaps the hardest book on the list to define. Carrollian fantasy, 1960’s psychedelia, and high-flying adventure crash together in a two-issue candy-colored phantasmagoria of a tale. The all-too-brief narrative packs in a lot of story but never feels weighed down by its creators everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach. Indeed the sheer scope of imagination on display – conceptually, thematically, incidentally even –  breathes such voluminous life into the thing that it threatens to take flight right out of your hands and soar into the ether. It would take most comics years to build a universe as enthralling as this. I, for one, am hoping for a return trip. (DM)

190133. Mind MGMT (Dark Horse) – This is one sexy book.  Matt Kindt–a creator on the cusp of greatness–is doing what he’s so very good at here: telling a taut tale at a brisk pace, one supported by humble yet gorgeous artwork, with colors you just want to drown in.  Go ahead: open any issue to any page; I guarantee you’ll gasp for air–and it’ll feel exhilarating.  I love the concept: Mind MGMT is like the Bush-era Office of Strategic Influence on steroids.  The execution is flawless: the story starts with a startling scene of murderous rage, which, teasingly lacks motive and context, and then segues into a cloudy memory of Amnesia Flight 815, which, in turn, sets the stage for Meru, who sees her next bestseller in the mid-air mystery.  But it’s all just foreplay, friends.  Once Meru meets Henry Lyme, the narrative explodes with the latter’s back story, which is awe-inspiring in its inventiveness and hellishly heart-wrenching, especially as we learn how the rogue operative had a hand–or, more accurately, a mind–in the opening sequence of ultraviolence.  Simply masterful.  The extras are fun, too, especially the bonus stories, which help to build this brilliantly intricate new mythology of men and women who are dangerously and desperately more than their fellow man.  Through seven issues of Mind MGMT and with his fantastic work on Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Kindt’s proving that he’s more, too–that he’s undoubtedly fit to comfortably sit in the pantheon of present day comic book gods. (SC)

saga-12. Saga (Image) – Combine Star Wars with Romeo and Juliet. Douglas Adams with Meet the Parents. Heavy Metal with The Wonder Years. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples are pushing against all kinds of boundaries here in a comic that truly has the air of limitless possibility about it. They are also unafraid of testing the preconceptions of their own readership (not to mention their intestinal fortitude – I personally can’t wait for Fard the Ogre’s 2012 Pin-Up Calendar, in all its scrotal glory). But for all this, in the end their story is about one family’s struggle to survive. In this day and age, what could be more resonant? (DM)

DIALH_Cv41. Dial H (DC) – Who knew that it’d take a “Second Wave” to shore up our faith in The New 52?  Well, it did: and said wave, which rolled in during low tide–with even lower expectations–deposited this unexpected treasure from novelist China Mieville and artist extraordinaire Mateus Santolouco at our feet; but once in hand, it was clear: this weird and wonderful story of a regular schmoe who dials up heroes from different worlds is a tsunami of creative vision.  Sure, the first few issues are tough to follow, but it’s in a manner reminiscent of the best of Grant Morrison, where perplexity percolates into something akin to pleasure.  And there’s plenty of pleasure to be had here, especially in the surprises born of Nelson’s turning the dial: there’s the unforgettable first, Boy Chimney, conjured in a stunning sequence of soot and smoke by Santolouco; and there’s the brilliantly satirical Chief Mighty Arrow, depicted bravely by guest artist David Lapham in an issue that just missed being named our Best Single Issue of the Year.  No hero, however, was as inspirational as Rescue Jack: with the dial down, Nelson finds the hero within and saves the day–if only for a moment.  Looking forward, 2013 promises an exciting turn: former Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. artist Alberto Ponticelli has been tapped to take on the challenge of bringing the magic of Mieville’s mind to the page.  We know he’s up for it.  Let’s hope that the readership is, too.  While Dial H has survived the Fourth Wave–sadly, the same can’t be said of Frankenstein–who knows which books the inevitable Fifth and Sixth Waves will wrest from our hands.  So, we say, with the volume dial cranked to 11: buy this book! (SC)

Derek’s Honorable Mentions:

5. Wonder Woman (DC) 4. Snarked! (kaboom!) 3. Stumptown: The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case (Oni) 2. Popeye (IDW) 1. Tales Designed to Thrizzle (Fantagraphics)

Scott’s Honorable Mentions:

5. Winter Soldier (Marvel) 4. Wonder Woman (DC) 3. Harbinger (Valiant) 2. Archer & Armstrong (Valiant) 1. Rachel Rising (Abstract Studio)

Best Single Issue of the Year: Adventure Time #10 (kaboom!) – “Choose Your Own Adventure Time!” by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb. This 15 page story is: An entertaining juggling act of any number playful narratives. A nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek callback for Gen Xer’s and one of their quaint, decidedly analog forms of interactive experience. A meditation on the control we have over our lives (or lack thereof) invoking the Free-Will vs. Determinism debate. A formalistic tour de force where story and design combine seamlessly in an innovative fashion that seems to expand the very  possibilities of the comic book medium. A children’s book with fart jokes. You choose.

Publisher of the Year: This is easy. With four out of the top ten spots (including No.1) it’s gotta be DC right? Wrong. If the first full year of the New 52 relaunch was able to till some fertile ground where the above books were allowed to grow, we are grateful. But each of these books are outliers in the DCU (or in the case of Animal Man/Swamp Thing, at least started as such). Much of their appeal lies in how they’re straining against and redefining the very super-hero mold that they are a part of. Because that of course was the focus of the New 52: superheroes. Retrenching, dusting off the icons and giving them a makeover for the 21st century. In 2012 however, that seems a backward-looking editorial mandate. Artistically, comics as a medium have long since proved capable of encompassing any genre or subject under the sun (or behind it. or beyond it.)  But what our medium still suffers from (and this is why the general public remains unconvinced about the viability of comics as a legitimate entertainment source) is a lack of the sheer amount and variety of product that you see in other formats (TV, movies, books, etc). Like it or not, when most people think comic books, they still think superheroes. Well the company doing the most change that, to fill the void on a week-by-week basis is: Image Comics (knew I’d get there eventually, right?) Go ahead, check out their catalog on any given week: crime, sci-fi, espionage, historical fiction, horror, comedy (and yes, some capes too). And all creator-owned. Are they all hits? Of course not. But Image is doing more than any publisher to create a culture that cultivates young talent while also attracting established creators, united by this one overarching philosophy: create any damn comic you can think of. Smells like the future–or at least 2013.

Turning pages,

Derek & Scott

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Back and Forth: Comics Interruptus

27 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by ScottNerd in Back and Forth

≈ 1 Comment

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Al Ewing, Alberto Ponticelli, Archer & Armstrong, Arturo Lozzi, Battlefields: The Firefly and His Majesty, Battlefields: The Green Fields Beyond, Bloodshot, Brendan McCarthy, Brian K. Vaughan, Carlos Ezquerra, Clayton Henry, Duane Swiercynski, Dynamite Entertainment, Fiona Staples, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Fred Van Lente, Garth Ennis, IDW, Image, Jason Aaron, Korean War, Manuel Garcia, Matt Kindt, Robert Venditti, Saga, Steven Sanders, The Boys, The Zaucer of Zilk, Valiant, Wayne Faucher, Wolverine and the X-Men, Wolverine Max, WWII

Scott Carney: So, umm, what do you want to talk about?

Derek Mainhart: I’m glad you asked! There’s actually a couple of-

SC: Geez, man, nothing?  If you’re going to be that way, I guess I’ll talk about, I don’t know, Archer & Armstrong #4.  How’s that sound?  Good?

Archer & Armstrong #4 Cover

DM: But I-

SC: Let me tell you: I’m totally into this book.  This issue, in particular, is a cornucopia of comic book goodness.  For one, the tone is timeless: you’ve got your comedy, your tragedy, your mysteries, your revelations, and action, action, action!  I mean, #3 promised Nazi monks and that’s what Van Lente, Clayton Henry, and Matt Milla deliver in #4: psychic Nazi monks with little mustaches, which they seem to “just like”–for whatever reason.  The comedy continues as one of the monks belts Archer with a belly-busting, “You just been blitzkreiged, dummkoff!”  But the knockout blow: A Geomancer–you know you know what that is–is crushed almost to death after shouting, “The Earth is saved!”  He asks Armstrong for “one wish…”; Armstrong replies, “Uh, do I haveta?  Kinda got a lotta stuff on my plate right now.”  Flat out funny!  As luck would have it, the Geomancer’s eventual death sets the scene for the return of another Valiant heavy hitter.  Expect a home run.  Heil Van Lente!  Heil Henry!  Heil Milla!  They’re doing everything just reich.

DM: I agree about the book, but I-

SC: I think I’ll drop the Nazi puns and stick with the baseball allusions: Valiant went two-for-two for the week with the other hit coming from Bloodshot #5.  There have been some pretty remarkable–and remarkably gruesome–sequences to open books of late.  This opening sequence?  An absolute bull’s eye of a flashback.  How great is Gamma, a green-frocked hulk of a woman, who tends to children–young psiots–imprisoned at Project Rising Spirit?  Her grandmotherly countenance is counterbalanced by bulging biceps and a terrible threat to an overpowered young Melissa: “Don’t tell anyone…but I enjoy the troublesome ones.”  That sequence segues into the present seamlessly as an adult Melissa is jarred from sleep, presumably the result of this horrible memory from her youth.  The rest of the story is developed dynamically as the assault on the P.R.S. facility is supported slyly by off-color slices of a scene that reveals Kara’s role as a nanite-smuggling Trojan horse; that way, Bloodshot could circumvent all of P.R.S.’s security measures!  Brilliant!  With the final splash–a promise of a bloody showdown between Bloodshot and the killer Chainsaw crew–Duane Swiercynski, Manuel Garcia, and Arturo Lozzi prove that they’ve got something special brewing here; and to think I was an issue away from dropping this title from the ol’ pull list!

DM: I didn’t read that one, but I would like t-

SC: I am definitely an issue away from dropping Wolverine and the X-Men. With #20, it’s clear: I’ve been duped.  For one, I never should have jumped on board; I mean, it really has nothing that appeals to me: I’m not a fan of Wolverine or the irregular cast of characters; and the mutant struggle for acceptance in an intolerant world doesn’t necessarily shout silliness as a rule.  But there was always something that drew me back month after month or week after week–which, by the way, is another issue I have with this title: its being a more than monthly for no good reason, other than to take advantage of saps like me.  And this issue has finally sapped any interest I’ve had in this book, which was mostly born from the brave and bold pencils of Chris Bachalo.  For one, I’m sick of fill-in issues.  That’s what this series has felt like for a while NOW!  And this issue does nothing to buck that trend.  I mean, the artwork–by Steve Sanders–doesn’t help matters, that’s for sure:  Iara, the utterly pointless new mutant Shark Girl, is established on pages 2-4.  I don’t know who the heck the girl is on pages 6 and 7.  I know it’s supposed to be Iara, but it looks nothing like her.  I don’t know how many times I turned back a page and then forward a page just trying to get comfortable with the unexpected shift in her appearance.  It was in that worthless exercise that I decided that I was done.  But I persevered: bumped into a Beast who looked like he’d be more comfortable harassing some pigs in some fairytale housing development; happened upon a horny Silver Samurai with a girl-on-Shark Girl fetish; and found myself awash in anime.  And wouldn’t you know: there’s some noggin’ noshin’!  (It’s uncanny how many head-chomping moments there have been in comics over the last several months.  In fact, in last month’s awful Wolverine Max #1, a woman has her head torn off by a shark!  Imagine that!)  But it wasn’t enough to turn me around.  A classic example of too little too late.  And please, don’t get me started on the stupid Mudbug and the poorly put together final page, which looks like several villains have been copied and pasted on top of each other without any care for the final product.  Did I mention I didn’t like this issue?

DM: And now on to-

SC: But I did love–love, love, love–Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #14.  And I’ll bet next week’s Wolverine and the X-Men that you did, too.

DM: NEEAARRGH! Saga’s Back! AND Battlefields! Zaucer of Zilk! AWESOME!!!! NYYAAAHH!!!!

SC: Dude, what is your problem?

DM: I’m…I’m sorry…just got a little excited, that’s all…what were we saying? Ah, yes. Frankenstein. Matt Kindt, Albeto Ponticelli and Wayne Faucher knocked it out of the park yet again –

SC: Enough with the baseball metaphors.

DM: They continue to serve up a winner-

SC: No tennis either.

DM: It’s great and everyone should read it! How’s that?!

SC: Whatever. I’m grabbin’ a–

DM: Anyway, what I’d really like to highlight is the return of Saga (Image). After a couple of months off, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples bring us Chapter Seven of their free-wheeling epic. When last we saw the alien husband and wife team of Alana and Marko, their tree/spaceship had been invaded by…his parents. Marko and Alana are from separate warring alien races so, needless to say, mom and dad aren’t pleased. Beautiful setup, conflict ensues, family secrets are divulged. The blend of Romeo and Juliet, Star Wars and Meet the Parents is a pitch perfect tale for our postmodern, genre-bending, mash-up culture. Still not enough for you? Well Vaughan is kind enough to throw in a splash page, full-frontal gross-out, lovingly rendered in all its grotesquery by Ms. Staples. (I can’t un-see it! I can’t un-see it!) Welcome back.

Another highly anticipated return is Garth Ennis’ superlative Battlefields: The Green Fields Beyond #1 (Dynamite). Ennis is a supremely versatile writer who seems to enjoy working in a variety of modes, from splatter/gore (Crossed) to genre satire (The Boys). If those books are where he gets his jollies out, his Battlefields series has consistently showcased him at full maturity. Here his command of character, thematic depth and period texture (ably abetted by artist Carlos Ezquerra) are on full display. Taking place at the height of the Korean War, the story reintroduces Sgt. Stiles, last seen in WWII in The Firefly and His Majesty. Something of a hothead in previous series, he’s presented here as a soldier thoroughly chastened by his experiences. Through him, we are witness to the tragedy, absurdity and, yes, heroism of war. Ennis’ respect for history, and the men who lived it, shine through on every page. These may be fictional characters, but with his uncanny ear for dialogue and truly prodigious research, Ennis has breathed life into them. Not that there isn’t plenty of violence and foul language to go around, but because it arises in the context of war, these are not only completely earned, but utterly necessary. War comics at their best. Ennis at his best. Book of the Week.

Changing gears, we have The Zaucer of Zilk #2 (IDW) by Al Ewing and Brendan McCarthy. The conclusion to this preposterous flying circus of a comic surprises and delights on every level. If you haven’t read it yet-

SC: I haven’t. Shut it.

Turning Pages,

Scott and Derek

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Back and Forth: Laborious Bastards

04 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by ScottNerd in Back and Forth, Microviews

≈ 1 Comment

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Battlefields: Dear Billy, Battlefields: The Green Fields Beyond, Bob Burden, BOOM!, Caleb Monroe, Clerks, comics, Darick Robertson, Doop, Dynamite Entertainment, Fantasia, Flaming Carrot, Fury Max, Garth Ennis, Goran Parlov, Grant Morrison, Happy, IDW, Jason Aaron, Jeff Lemire, Joe the Barbarian, John Constantine, John Layman, John McCrea, Justice League Dark, Kickstarter, Lee Garbett, Mark Waid, Mars Attacks, Mike Allred, Neil Gaiman, Peter Milligan, Roger Rabbit, Steed and Mrs. Peel, Tex Avery, The New 52, Vertigo, Will Sliney, Wolverine and the X-Men, X-Force, X-Statix, Zatanna

Scott Carney: Looks like I’ve finally hit the wall.  Or the bag.  Or something.  I’m staring at the stack for the week (all used, one abused) and I’m struggling–struggling because not a single comic struck me enough to make me bleed words.  So let me cut myself…

Derek Mainhart: I feel your pain. I was really excited about this week’s books. Two Grant Morrison books? Lots o’ Allred art? Sign me up! And yet I’m similarly uninspired. I guess we need to start with the book that seemed to have the most potential to make me Happy….

SC: Maybe an allusion to Clerks will make you happy: Seventy-two?  Seventy-two?  Grant Morrison used the f-word or some form of the f-word seventy-two times!

DM: In a row?

SC: Well done.  Can you believe it, though?  That’s how many times an f-word flies off the pages of his effusively offensive, belatedly offbeat, and finally fun Happy #1.  From the first c-word, Morrison, a true super scribe–and pen-point sniper–in his own write, makes it clear that he’s happy to be writing a book for Image and that he’s, sadly, no Garth Ennis when it comes to four-wheelin’ it with four-letter words.  As a result, I really had no use for this book–this is until Happy the Horse reveals who he is and why he needs Sax, our prostrate protagonist.  That bit hooked me hard.  That’s right: I’m going to accept the fact that the explicit language is meant to exaggerate the dour song of experience of the X-rated adult world and to set up the bizarre yet greatly appreciated arrival of an–as far as we know–innocent child’s hyperbolically-cartoonish imaginary friend.  So, despite my initial doubt, I’m going to ride the crazy premise of a loyal My Little Pegasus and its looking to swoop in and save the day with a soiled sidekick; I’m going to trust in Morrison and am going to grab #2.

DM: Yeah, I had a similar reaction. Those first few pages read like a bad impression of Ennis (a true impresario of invective – see below). But I guess that’s the point: Morrison’s satirizing gritty, foulmouthed, hyper-violent crime stories. One of the goombahs even says “We can do this without all the (effin) language.” But the problem is that, in satirizing the dreary, grim and gritty milieu of many a mediocre comic (and movie for that matter), he has created a story that is, in fact, all of those things. Darick Robertson really sells the contrast well; he renders a world that is positively grimy to heighten his rendition of Happy, who looks like a Fantasia character designed by Tex Avery. Unfortunately, that stark visual contrast isn’t matched by the story. In order for the satire to really work, Happy needs to be utterly guileless, standing in counterpoint to the cynical drudgery that surrounds him (think Roger Rabbit). But Happy only looks ridiculous. He’s as wise to the sleaze as anyone; more so, in fact as he informs Nick of his own predicament, “You’re in a mob hospital, they took your weapons, sedated you and now they’ve sent a torture squad to screw some kinda password out of you.” So, no, I’m not buying into the whole hilarity of the situation. Even the conceit (protagonist-goes-on-quest-with-imaginary-friend-or-are-they..?) is something Morrison recently explored in the far superior (thus far) Joe the Barbarian. Sigh. Like you said, it’s Morrison. I’ll always give him the benefit of a doubt (and my 3 bucks for #2).

SC: While Morrison’s f-bombs seemed awkwardly wired, Ennis’s are timed to go off at just the right moment in Fury Max #6.  But that’s just Ennis playing to his–and the “one-eyed [a-hole’s]”–strength.  The expected explosion of expletives isn’t the only reason why this book wears its warning like a Medal of Honor, however; Goran Parlov goes for the gore with a crushing depiction of a head in a vise and with Fury’s straight-out-of-the-headlines mouthful of face.  (I can hear the creators cackling during the process of putting this scene together: “Yes, I’ll have el Cubano, please.”)  And how about poor Elgen?  This brave soul–this patriot–takes a knife to the nether regions, is tossed to the sharks, loses a couple of limbs, and welcomes a benevolent bullet from the coldly caring colonel.  It’s clear: War is hell; and Fury and Heatherly are left to sail the Styx together.  Overall, this issue carries a terrific and oft terrifying tune–though, and I think I’m being fair, this time, the Shirley Defabio scenes don’t necessarily reach the height of perfect harmony.  Hey, it’s gonna happen.  You know what shouldn’t happen?  I’ll tell you what shouldn’t happen: the biggest flaw I found stands defiantly on the last page–the very last page–of the book: #7 comes out on 12/5?  Really?  Really?  Bastards.

DM: Nobody writes war comics better the Ennis. Military history is obviously a passion of his and he captures it in all its awful glory. His Battlefields series from Dynamite is even better than this one. I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment, Battlefields: The Green Fields Beyond, due out in November. If you like Fury, you could do worse than picking up a trade. They’re standalone stories and are a great display of Ennis’ true range (Dear Billy being my personal fave).  Don’t be a bastard. Check it out.

SC: Hmm.  Guess I’ll have to check that out.  Speaking of bastards: I love Jeff Lemire’s take on John Constantine.  (I love Lee Garbett’s take on Zatanna, as well; “Raeppa,” indeed.)  In Justice League Dark #0, the hellblazing S.O.B. is shown to be an insatiable magic whore with a heart–a heart probably plagued with plaque from all the cigarettes he sucks down over the course of the issue.  (Hmm.  I wonder if Zatanna could help him with that with a simple, “Euqalp eb enog!”  That little witch is a keeper, son!)  Story-wise, the book is split in two: there’s the well-developed and snappy slow burn of the first part, which ends with Nick Necro’s fully transparent flytrap of a phone call; and then there’s the rest, which lacks any heat at all, thanks, in part, to the aptly named Cold Flame.  But it’s OK; it’s all good: the darn thing’s a one and done; and next month, we get back down to business with “The War for the Books of Magic.”  Can’t wait for that.  Wait.  Why wait?  Why not try—this: “Htnom ylf yb!”

DM: I gotta disagree with you here. Constantine is a very singular sort of scoundrel. Ambivalent to the point of maddening. Distinct Liverpool accent. Deadpan, world-weary sarcasm. It’s not every writer that can nail the trenchant rhythms of his speech, or his enigmatically contrarian attitude. And, sadly, Lemire is not up to the task (though I commend him for not resorting to using “bollocks” every two panels). His rendition of Constantine has been serviceable within the team format of this book. But in a solo tale like this one, his flawed grasp of the character becomes glaring. A trench coat and a cigarette do not a bastard make. Yes, I realize this is the New 52 version of the character.  A good thing too. The Vertigo version would eat this guy alive.

SC: Something for Garth Ennis to explore in a new series: Constantine Max.

DM: I’m already looking forward to it!  But–and here’s another one you may not have picked up–a book that has no problem capturing the idiom of its lead characters is Steed and Mrs. Peel #1 (published by BOOM!). What is odd, initially confusing, and finally intriguing about the story (Caleb Monroe’s script working from Mark Waid’s plot with art by Will Sliney), is that it immediately takes those two beloved leads completely out of their comfort zone. A post-apocalyptic London, complete with irradiated mutant zombies? Hardly what we’d expect for our avatars of the swingin’ sixties. Indeed, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop (you know, hallucination, elaborate hoax, etc.), but apparently Waid and Monroe are sticking to their guns. Here (unlike in Happy) the study in contrasts works: no matter the mind-numbing horror they now face, our heroes imperturbably maintain their stiff upper lip and all that. End of the world? No excuse to lose one’s cool. Good show! (Sorry. I’ll stop.)

Another book making gleeful fun out out of the annihilation of mankind is Mars Attacks #4 (IDW). I do think writer John Layman makes a mistake in portraying the Martians as slightly  sympathetic. Still, each issue has been a scorched earth snapshot of the havoc those bloodthirsty, brain-exposed bastards are wreaking, rendered in equal parts comedy and gore by the always engaging John McCrea. The disparate snapshots seem to be coming together at the end of this issue. Not sure how I feel about that. But ancient Aztecs? Giant fleas? Buzzsaws to the noggin? High-octane hilarity.

But even that doesn’t come close to the near-sublime, spasmodic absurdity that is…Wolverine and the X-Men #17. Yes. That’s right. Wolverine and the X-Men. I’ve steered clear of the X-books for quite a while now. Their convoluted, insular story lines have rendered them seemingly impenetrable. But Mike Allred and Doop reunited for the first time since their glorious run on X-Force and X-Statix (written by Peter Milligan)? It was the kind of gift I didn’t realize I wanted until I saw it. Any reservations I may have had about deciphering labyrinthine layers of X-history were quickly dispelled on page 3 with the merciful announcement: “Previously – Lots of things happened, but don’t worry your pretty little head about it. Enjoy.” Reassured, I sat back, relaxed and did enjoy a true MIKE ALLRED COMIC. Certain writers, (Neil Gaiman, the previously mentioned Morrison and Ennis) seem to bring out the best in the artists they work with. Well Allred is one of the few artists who does that with writers. It’s as if they realize they need to up their game, channel their inner anarchist, and let it fly. And happily Jason Aaron (never a timid writer) is up for the challenge. The set-up: Wolverine hires Doop to protect the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning (which I guess is what it’s called now) from the myriad threats lurking, well, everywhere. His haphazard duties include, but are not limited to: ambushing a bowling league, seducing various members of a school board, and teaming up for an interdimensional adventure with the most unanticipatedly awesome guest star of the year, whose identity I won’t ruin. (Suffice it to say, my inner-geek had a heart attack.) Doop – truly an intrepid hero of the people. Really, the book this most resembles in its wondrous lunacy is Bob Burden’s legendary Flaming Carrot (check out his recently successful Kickstarter campaign for happy news on that front – http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/592668574/flaming-carrot-hardback-and-digital-comics). And that is rarefied air indeed. And so, at the end, I was left in a Doop-shaped pickle; was I wrong about my X-aversion? Did I need to start picking up this book? And then I turned to the Next Issue box featuring a Phoenix-enflamed Cyclops tie-in to the monstrosity that is AvX. Thus I find myself in the unique position of declaring: Book of the Week. I have no intention of picking up the next issue.

Wolverine and the X-Men #17 Cover

SC: I wouldn’t pick it up if I were you.  Thing is, I’m not; so, I’ll be picking it up as a loyal reader might be expected to–even with the seemingly never-ending AvX tie-in hanging over it like something you really don’t want hanging over something you like.  (I’ve already explained–in the previous Back and Forth–how I feel about that whole thing.)  Aaron’s sashayed around the silliness well enough; he’s even played it for a laugh or two–done particularly well in #16, with the focus on the snarky Kilgore kid.  And, you know, that’s what I’ve liked about this series: the “we’re superheroes, sure, but we’re not super serious” vibe.  This issue, however, seems waaaaay over the top–which is fine; I mean, it does focus on Doop, for God’s sake.  Thing is, it felt forced at times, like it had to be pushed and shoved–dragged, even–to the apex of wackiness.  Don’t get me wrong: I thought the Nazi bowling team was a strike; I laughed heartily at Doop’s daliances with members of both genders; and, oh, how I dug the cameo to which you referred.  I don’t know.  I don’t know why I didn’t fall into it as much as you did.  Maybe it’s because you’ve got the experience with the Allred/Doop tandem that I don’t have.  (Thanks for letting me borrow the X-Force trade, by the way.)  Maybe it’s because I’m a grumpy bastard who finds comfort in continuity.  Speaking of continuity: with all the stuff going down after AvX #12–with titles getting axed and added–I’m left wondering if Wolverine and the X-Men will be a thing of the past or if it’ll be a part of Now!  Now, speaking of Now!: I’m pretty sure you’ve got something to get off your chest about the Marvel revamp.  Care to share?

DM: Later.

SC: Bastard.

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