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Back and Forth : Looking for Comics at the End of the World

17 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by dmainhart in Back and Forth

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American Horror Story, Apache Chief, China Mieville, Colder, comics, Crispin Glover, Darick Robertson, Dark Horse, David Lapham, DC Comics, DC Entertainment, Dial H, Glenn Fabry, Grant Morrison, H.P. Lovecraft, Happy, Image, Juan Ferreyra, Lewis Carroll, Lot 13, Modern Family, Paul Tobin, River's Edge, Steve Niles, Vertigo

Derek Mainhart: Greetings from America’s northeast, where we’re learning to believe in Mayan predictions! How bad has it gotten? We’ve gone two weeks without comics! So let’s play catch-up and dive, a la Scrooge McDuck, into this huge pile of books. Given the apocalyptic weather, I thought we’d start with:

Colder #1 – I was originally going to give this one a pass. I was unfamiliar with the creators and the cover was a real stomach-turner (though a well-done and highly effective one – see for yourself):

Colder #1 Cover

So thanks, Scott, for nudging me to pick it up.

Scott Carney: Just another example of my bloody good taste.

DM: Indeed. The story, by Paul Tobin, begins with an explosive set piece in a mental institution. Though it goes a long way toward establishing the horror of the book, I did find the writing a bit twee in this sequence, especially regarding the dialogue of the inmates (“I am the pretty colors!  I am a swirl of pretty colors!”)  That same tone, however, is perfectly employed once we are introduced to the villain (or is he?) of the piece, one Nimble Jack. An appealing trickster type, he suggests a Lewis Carroll character as re-imagined by H.P. Lovecraft. Or perhaps a co-mingling of the latter day Joker (you know, the scary one) with Mr. Mxyzptlk. In any case, I imagine him being played in the film version by Crispin Glover of twenty years ago.

SC: Yes!  Excellent call.  Definitely the Crispin Glover of River’s Edge, circa ’86.

DM: ’86?  Really?  Wow.  OK: the Crispin Glover of twenty-six years ago.  Alright back to Jack.  He’s not the main character of the story, but his actions and his personality drive it, as he pops in and out like some maleficent Cheshire Cat. As to the story, it revolves around the mystery of Declan Thomas and his ever decreasing body temperature. A former inmate of the aforementioned asylum, Declan is currently being cared for by Reece Talbot, a young doctor of some sort, and a bit of an odd duck herself. After the attention-grabbing beginning, the writing becomes more satisfyingly subtle. We get to know Reece through expository yet unforced dialogue, and she is a winning creature thus far. There is a nice combination of normalcy and menace that runs through the book; a hallmark of good horror. The same can be said of the art by Juan Ferreyra. It is clean, bright and uncluttered (unlike most horror art), and yet ever so lightly off. Having said that, I somewhat take issue with one sequence in the book. Early on, Reece is the victim of a mugging. I don’t mind the fact of the scene; given what happens earlier in the story, a mugging is rather tame. I object to the staging of it, which I’m assuming was the purview of Mr. Ferreyra. Violence against women is tough to take, and the close-up of Reece getting punched in the face–in the fourth panel of page 15–seems unnecessarily voyeuristic and exploitative, skirting the edge of playing it for laughs. It’s odd; I’m completely fine with inmates being burned alive in the initial sequence, but this stuck in my craw. It’s all a matter of how you choose to present it, I think. But this is a quibble. For the most part the excess promised by the cover is (thankfully as far as I’m concerned) never realized and we are instead presented with something else: a psychological horror story / mystery that is truly unpredictable. I’ll be back for the second issue.

SC: I liked it, too–mostly.  Particularly the beginning.  I kinda dig the fact that Colder  kicks off with patient pyrotechnics.  I like the loopy loquaciousness of the loonies as the flames lick a little love into ’em.  But, yeah, it gets better with the introduction of the fantastically famished Nimble Jack, who does a delicious dance of depravity, which, dialogue-wise, is conveyed in a confusingly satisfying manner somewhat reminiscent of China Mieville’s consistently top-of-the-pile Dial H.

DM: Yeah. More on Dial H later.

SC: I’m not surprised.  But, yeah, after Nimble Jack, more specifically after Reece meets up with the cop, the pace cuts to an almost intolerable crawl.  It gets considerably colder.  If I’m being honest, I didn’t believe their dialogue so much; I was kinda bored by it, actually.  It felt forced, like I was being fed exposition after filling up on fast-paced fun.  Even Jack couldn’t heat it up again: on page 22, his fire goes out in puffs of smoke when he can’t get a rise out of Declan.  And the end?  I thought it was at the same time completely expected and completely necessary.  So, if I’m doing the math properly, it’s good enough to keep me around for number two.

DM: Another intriguing new horror entry is Lot 13 #1, though the results are decidedly more mixed. This one did come with a high pedigree; Steve Nlles and Glenn Fabry are both proven masters of the genre. Like Colder, this one establishes its dread with a scene of horrors past. When we get to the present, however, something odd happens to the tone.  We are introduced to the Nelsons, who are about to move into a new home (always a bad idea in a horror story). They are presented as a typical American family; two cool yet responsible parents, a lovelorn, slightly goth teenage daughter and a couple of tweens, one of whom seems sensitive to things of a ghostly nature. The too-clever, knowing back-and-forth between the parents, as they balance the stress of moving while dealing with the kids,  seems artificial, like something out of a sitcom. Even the pacing of the story, where a beat (comic or horror) is set up and delivered on almost every page feels structured more for a television show (you could almost envision where the commercial breaks would go. A perhaps related digression – I wonder why this comic was designated under the new DC Entertainment brand instead of Vertigo which has traditionally been DC’s repository for supernatural fare?) As opposed to the unforced naturalism we see in Colder, here what we get is akin to a queasy mash-up of Modern Family and American Horror Story. Still Fabry’s art (like Ferreyra’s) imbues even the everyday with a disquieting air. The cliffhanger (remarkably similar to the one in Colder) and the strength of the creators’ reputations will at least bring me back for next issue.

Lot 13 #1 Cover

SC: I agree with your TV show comparison.  It’s perfect.  In a way, that’s what I liked about it.  In fact, after the grisly opening, which I really liked, I found that the appeal of the book came from its well-developed and deliberate dialogue.  Speaking of: what’s up with the poorly-costumed curse words (“f&$%ing” and “h&%$”)?  What purpose does it serve to half-heartedly hide them like that–especially when the sneak preview of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has the f-word in all its glory just three pages away from the final page of Lot 13?!  I want to know!  In fact, I demand an answer!

DM: Yeah I don’t get it either. I don’t have an answer for you.

SC: Well, f&$% you, then.

DM: Speaking of irritating use of invective: Happy! #2. The first issue, flawed as it was, at least held out the prospect of high-contrast hilarity to follow. Well here we are, two issues into a four issue mini-series, and that potential remains stultifyingly untapped. A Grant Morrison story usually bursts with innovation, pulses with energy. Here instead we get dreary, tired scenes of seedy environs, uninspired profanity, and lowlife violence.  Nick, the hero (?) escapes his would-be killers at a hospital by beating them to death. Nick uses Happy to cheat at poker and then beats everyone to death. A pervert in a Santa suit (yawn) is introduced, presumably so Nick will at some point beat him to death. The counterpoint to all this, I suppose, is the running commentary provided by the eponymous equine. The problem is, unhappily, that the imaginary talking horse isn’t nearly as funny as Morrison seems to think he is.

SC: Oof.  Yeah.  It was rough.  It’s like Morrison’s doing his best worst Garth Ennis impression.  For example: the poker game.  Ugh.  Under Morrison’s watch, LeDic (Obvious jokes? Check!) and his cronies around the table–who look like members of an Ennis-penned wack pack, for goodness sake–are as friggin’ flat as can be.  Are we supposed to accept that Morrison chose to keep these fellas, so full of potential hyperbole, under wraps for some good reason?  Wait.  Is that the reason?  To kill it with understatement?  No; come on: I mean, if you’re going to put a pot of water to flame, let it boil!  Am I wrong?  Christ!  Ennis would have that table humming with quirkiness.  Instead, it’s a flippin’ funeral.  If he’s making a statement about Ennis or about something else, I’m not hearing it.  Maybe, as is the case with Happy the Horse, only one person in the world can.

DM: Now for a truly inspired use of an imaginary horse, you need look no further that Dial H #6. China Mieville slows down this roller coaster of a comic for a “breather” issue as our hero, Nelson Jent, literally never leaves his living room. The reason? The super-hero alter-ego he’s “dialed-up” would be appalling to modern sensibilities. (David Lapham, uncredited on the cover, provides the pitch-perfect art.) This wickedly fun little issue serves a number of purposes. It nicely fills in some background information on the workings of the dial, as well the hitherto mysterious Manteau. It showcases an easy repartee between the two leads that humanizes their relationship. And it cleverly explores comics’ fraught history with racism and stereotype while using that discussion as a springboard toward broader issues of identity. And did I mention? It’s flat-out funny. I can’t think of another comic that will have you so gleefully looking up   scatalogical  definitions (interestingly, this is not the first use of “priapus” as a name of a comic book character). Now that’s how you do foul language! This single issue of two people talking in a room has more wit and invention than most comics can muster in a year. Book of the Week.

SC: Is it wrong that I read every bit of Nelson’s dialogue as “Eh-neeek-chock”?

DM: Nice!

SC: So, yeah: clearly, this is the Book of the Week.  In fact, it may be my favorite single issue of any book of the New 52.  I know it hasn’t been fashionable of late, especially in the political sphere, but I must insist: DC, please do the right thing; please send more jobs to China!

DM: Rimshot! And out.

Turning pages,

Derek & Scott

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Back and Forth: The Long Goodbye

26 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by dmainhart in Back and Forth, Microviews

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Alexis E. Farjado, Animal Man, Batman, Batwoman, Bob Scott, Brian Azzarello, Brian Bolland, Brian Michael Bendis, Charles Schulz, Charlie Brown, Charlie Chaplin, Chris Samnee, Cliff Chiang, Courtney Crumrin, Daredevil, David Marquez, David Mazzucchelli, DC, E.C. Segar, Eisner Award, Evey Hammond, Flash Gordon, Fleischer Brothers, Fred the Clown, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, IDW, J.H. Williams III, Jeff Lemire, Kevin Maguire, Kevin Nowlan, Laurel and Hardy, Lewis Carroll, Mark Waid, Marvel, Merciless: The Rise of Ming, Mike DeCarlo, Monty Python, Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell, Paige Braddock, Peanuts, Popeye, Rocket: Cargo of Doom, Roger Langridge, Ron Adrian, Sandman, Sara Pichelli, Scott Beatty, Shane Houghton, Snarked, Spider-Men, Superman, Ted Naifeh, The Shade, Ultimate Spider-Man, United We Stand, V for Vendetta, Vicki Scott, W. Haden Blackman, W.C. Fields, Wonder Woman

Derek Mainhart: So this week was marked by the end of three series I enjoyed (in addition to The Shade from last week – sniff!) Let’s start with the one I liked in spite of myself:

Spider-Men #5: I was all set to not like this series. It seemed pointless – why kill Peter Parker if you’re going to introduce Miles Morales to…Peter Parker? (The fact that he’s from an alternate reality just seemed like splitting hairs.) The only reason I picked it up was that Brian Michael Bendis has created a compelling character in young Miles. And then, about midway through, I found myself getting caught up in it. One of the things that make for a good story are memorable moments. And this series, especially in the last two issues, was full of them. The scenes with Peter “reuniting” (for the first time?) with Aunt May and Gwen Stacy were touching and understated, the reactions of all involved perfectly calibrated. Mysterio almost willing himself to be defeated was wry and knowing. (By pointing out the cliche, Bendis milks it for humor turning a potential weakness into a strength.) And it ended on a wonderful note: a cliffhanger that was organic, inevitable and completely earned. The art by Sara Pichelli was knockout; a touch of Kevin Maguire in the facial expressions, some Brian Bolland in the refined linework. (Yes, she’s keeping that kind of company.) I was still left with a slight, nagging feeling of “having your cake and eating it too” by the whole concept. But when that concept gives rise to a series this good, my reservations (unlike this book, as it turned out) were pointless.

Spider-Men #5 Cover

Scott Carney: Yeah: I agree.  I, too, was lulled into a sense of “Who shoots a web?” about this series.  I jumped into it for a pair of reasons: the creative team–as you’ve said–is top-notch; and wouldn’t you know, I’m kind of caught up in Miles, clearly the most compelling character kicking around any of the Marvel universes.  After the first couple of issues, I wasn’t very impressed.  To be honest, I stuck with it only because it was a five-issue run.  And I’m glad I did: as I’ve described at length in a “Scottlight on” post, I absolutely loved #4.  Oh, I could’ve called it quits there, at the highest of highs, but there was only one chapter left; so I picked up #5 with amazingly low expectations.  And, as one might–and as I did–imagine, those expectations were met–until the end, of course.  What a final page!  Peter’s searching for Miles on the–ahem–World Wide Web–is pitch perfect and honest.  Plus, I think Bendis is making the ultimate statement here: that even Peter Parker–the Marvel hero–is interested, just as much as we are, in Miles Morales, the spiderling who would replace him, more or less.

DM: Which brings us to Miles’ regular book Ultimate Spider-Man #15. As mentioned above, Bendis has more than justified the decision to kill off Ultimate Peter by crafting such a refreshing character in Miles. This book shines when it concentrates on its young protagonist’s private life; his interactions with his best friend (the irrepressible Ganke), his chilling interactions with his murderous uncle (quite a change from Ben!) and especially the ever-growing complexity of his relationship with his father. In Miles’ Dad, Bendis has created a character that is completely decent, full of integrity, and utterly fallible. (It’s a shame that Mom is still a bit of a cipher). The interactions between father and son have been the highlights of the series. Methinks tragedy lies ahead, and not the simple kind caused by burglar’s bullet. Paradoxically, the least compelling scenes are the ones with Spider-Man. The wisecracks seem to have come too easily to Miles and make it difficult to discern any difference between him and Peter Parker, at least when he’s in costume. So if I have on a quibble here, it’s that developments from the “UNITED WE STAND” crossover (there it is, stamped right on the cover, see?!) seem to be pushing the book in a direction of less Miles, more Spider-Man. Hopefully I’m wrong. (Crossovers. Ugh.)

SC: I feel your pain when it comes to crossovers.  I think it’s time to look at any “stamp” or banner or threat of a crossover or tie-in as a sign–a desperate warning sign, like, I don’t know, Bridge Out.

In terms of USM #15, I couldn’t have said it any better.  The book itself is better when Miles is just plain Miles–and when he bands together with his super-free coterie–Ganke and the family–to take on the wicked, and infinitely patient, antagonist Adolescence.  I mean, come on: Ganke’s premature discharge (art by the solid David Marquez)–with Peter’s web shooters in hand–is a all-too-relatable teenage tragedy that calls down the comedy with every web cast toward the ceiling.  With a chunk of ceiling dangling from a strand in his hand, Miles admits, “I gotta have my webs”; but he’s had plenty from the get-go, including the stickiest one–how his dad feels about Spider-Man–which plays out here some, but to no great effect.  Speaking of no great effect: if Spider-Men #5 has a perfect ending, this one has, well, not that.

DM: As good as USM has been, Marvel’s best book (with the Eisners to prove it!) has been Daredevil. Mark Waid has infused, not only the character, but the entire series with personality and style to spare. In this he’s been abetted by some stellar artists including Chris Samnee this issue (Waid and Samnee are quickly becoming the new team supreme – check out Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom). Issue 18 though, is a bit of a letdown. What bothers me, I think, is the shift in tone. Waid’s run has distinguished itself (mostly) from DD’s usual morose proceedings by injecting a good dose of healthy, swashbuckling fun. The somewhat forced conflict between Matt and Foggy in this issue, and now the re-introduction of a tragic character from the ol’ gloom-and-doom, pre-Waid days, is threatening to let the air out, sending DD back into the deep, dank basement from which he so recently escaped. Ah well, Samnee’s art, as I said, is fantastic, with the best bits having to do with DD riding up and down an elevator.

SC: OK, so, I think I know what you’re saying without your saying it outright.  Hidden there in your pristine prose is exactly how I felt about this issue, too: it’s boring.  Like you, I didn’t buy the B.S. rift between Matt and Foggy as it was “developed” in #17, and I certainly am not reaching into my pocket this time around–except, obviously, to pay for the book.  I will say that my spirit was lifted as I turned to page 8, which is where I found Matt and Kirsten, thank God, outside of Matt’s apartment.  Their conversation–two panels’ worth, anyway—whisked me back to the wonderful DD #12; unfortunately, I wasn’t left there very long.  I’m blindly banking on the fact that this issue is a transition into something decidedly more daring and devilish.  If it’s not, I’m going to be darned disappointed.  Despite my display of displeasure, I assure you that I’m not down on the artwork.  Samnee is one of my favorites right now, and I’m happy to see him back here, no matter how dank this month’s delivery may be.

DM: Speaking of dank places: Batwoman #0. The story by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman is wildly uneven. It further explores our hero’s origin and begins with some quite insightful, sensitive reminiscences of her sister and especially her father. This section fleshes out her character’s past motivations while exploring her bond with her father (lots of Daddy issues – get it? issues? – this week!) We then get an extended Kate-in-training montage. Here the writing goes from heartfelt and specific to numbing and cliche’.  This is followed by an elaborate exercise in cruelty that, it turns out, was a final test of her readiness set up by – SPOILER ALERT! – her father. First problem – this reads like a second-rate version of Evey Hammond’s transformation in V for Vendetta (right down to Guy Fawkes-like devil mask that dad is sporting). If this reference is intentional, it’s a mistake. You shouldn’t highlight a work that is superior to yours; it can only suffer by comparison. (Do you hear me Jeff Lemire on Animal Man? Leave Grant Morrison’s run alone! – ahem.) The second, and larger problem, as far as this book goes – the premeditated masochism of the plan not only runs counter to what we’ve seen earlier in this very issue, it defies everything we know about her father’s character dating back to Greg Rucka’s original, excellent conception. To say his actions are out of character is an understatement. It reads like a friggin’ supervillain origin. The ending however, is a partial return to sanity, and William’s art, it must always be said, is just gorgeous. He employs the same David Mazzucchelli-inspired style he used for the flashbacks during Rucka’s run, and he nails it. He can pretty much just do anything, art-wise. Take page 13 – he utilizes both the simpler flashback style and his more lush, rendered technique in the same splash page. The visual tension between the two is a show-stopper.

SC: Without question: Williams III’s art is the thing here.  But even though his shift in style provides an unexpected and equally as stunning anchor for the pieces of the past, I found myself still somewhat lost in the origin story–and not in a good way.  I may as well have been blindfolded like Kate when she first became involved with the “Murder of Crows.”  What I was reading, for the most part, meant nothing to me.  Could’ve been the Perez-esque (circa New 52 Superman) wordiness of the captions, or the layout of the captions, which was unnecessarily awkward at times; in fact, the gorgeous splash to which you referred is marred only by an almost unreadable caption–red writing on a gray background–to the left of the beautifully rendered Batman.  I had to tilt and turn the book; I had to move into the light and out of it again in order to follow the damn narration!  That’s unacceptable!  It’s something I’d expect from a Marvel book, for goodness sake!  I don’t know.  It could’ve been–as you stated–that the story of how she came to be a hero is an all too familiar one.  Hey, it happens–unless, of course, you’re Azzarello on Wonder Woman #0.

DM: You hit the nail on the head.  With Wonder Woman #0, we have a writer in full command of his craft; not surprising when that writer is Brian Azzarello. Check out how he effortlessly establishes theme and tone on just the first page: We see a pubescent Diana climbing to reach a giant egg while the accompanying caption box announces: “The monthly monster strikes again!” This ostensibly refers to comic book deadlines (wink, wink) but offers, of course delicious counterpoint to the image. We are then informed of the conceit that this is a reprint of that classic (apocryphal) series, “All-Girl Adventure Tales for Men”! So there you have it: a tongue-in-cheek, coming of age tale tackling gender issues through the retro paternalistic tone of a comic of yesteryear. Again, that’s just the first page! This is simply writing on another level. (Cliff Chiang’s art complements the tone with bombastic panel compositions, though perhaps not the retro style that the story seems to call for. Oh well, we can’t all be J.H. Williams.) So, young Diana manages to steal the egg from a shrieking harpy (‘natch!) in order bake a cake (‘natch!) for her birthday. After an altercation with one of her Amazon sisters, she runs off feeling misunderstood and isolated (that common teenage malady) She even asks, weeping, (in a panel worthy of Lichtenstein) “Why must I be different?” A god suddenly appears proclaiming in most manly fashion “I be blood! I be iron! I be guts! I be WAR!” (That he does so while wearing what appears to be an outfit from an S&M flick just adds to the fun.) He offers to train her to be the world’s greatest warrior, once a month, under the full moon (‘NATCH!) By now you may be thinking, “Gender issues? Old-fashioned dialogue? S&M outfits?! Maybe I’ll steer clear of this one…” But NO! Here there be battle! Here there be the Minotaur! And despite the inherent irony in the writing, here there be…pathos. As Diana, in the end, must defy her bloodthirsty trainer, Azzarello defines, with utmost sincerity, the essence of his rendition of Wonder Woman: not her strength, not her prowess in battle, but her compassion, her mercy, her love. That he ties this in implicitly with her womanhood might seem, itself, paternalistic, even condescending. I call it revelatory.

SC: I found Wonder Woman #0 to be a clever combination of a writing style that is clearly aware of itself and a retro art style that proudly profits from its roots.  Overall, I liked it a lot, perhaps more than USM.  I particularly liked the relationship between Diana and Ares, despite its being one we’ve seen a thousand times.  Every panel in which we find them together reflects their powerful connection–until, of course, on page 27, when Ares lets Diana have it after she defies him.  That connection, however, is never actually severed: the Minotaur is obviously a doppelganger for Ares.  (Check out the final panel of page 21 and the first panel of page 26.  How about the last two panels of page 27?  Accidents?  I think not.)  And, in that, it’s clear that Diana, in being merciful, has passed Ares’ test after all.  Ah, the “Merry Men” have done it again–even if it is for the first time.

DM: Another book conjuring impressive literary tricks is Courtney Crumrin #5. This issue takes some time to explore the Crumrin ancestral tree. It does this by employing a story-within-a-story-within-a-story; no mean feat and Ted Naifeh pulls it off with aplomb. With its mixture of folklore and personal history, it put me in the mind of some of Neil Gaiman’s  work, especially the great Sandman (though less subtle, and perhaps not quite as precious). The atmospheric artwork; some Kevin Nowlan influence I think, with just a dash of P. Craig Russell (though I hate the way Naifeh draws hands). If the writing lacks some of its usual irreverent buoyancy, it’s only because the title character takes a necessary back seat this issue. So all in all, another impressive effort in a title that is YA in name only.

Moving further down the age bracket, we have Peanuts #2 from kaboom!, BOOM’s excellent all-kids imprint. I have mixed feelings about the existence of this series. Should the exploits of Charlie Brown et al., be understood as highly individual vehicles of personal expression for their creator, the master, Charles Schulz? Or do they, like Disney characters, now belong to the world, necessitating new stories for a new generation of readers? It’s a matter for legitimate debate. But it makes it harder to complain when the stories (by Alexis E. Farjado, Shane Houghton, Vicki Scott, Bob Scott, Mike DeCarlo and Paige Braddock) are as charming as they are in this issue.

And now, returning to the aforementioned goodbyes, Merciless: The Rise of Ming #4 (by Scott Beatty and Ron Adrian) brings the Flash Gordon spinoff to a close (sidebar – I get annoyed when limited series like this aren’t explicitly advertised as such. I had no idea this was the last issue. Maybe it was mentioned in Previews or elsewhere, but it should be right on the front cover. Perhaps not listing it allows for some editorial wiggle room if something is a hit, or not, but as a customer I like to know what I’m getting into (grumbled the old man)). While I do think more of his depraved rise to the top could have been explored, it was still great fun watching Ming go from backstabbing prince to Despot of the Universe through sheer ambition, callousness and relentless force of will. A true Randian hero.

And finally Snarked! #12 (another unexpected last issue, grumble grumble!). This well-deserved Eisner-Award winning series represents comics at their most exciting; idiosyncratic work by a cartoonist (the inimitable Roger Langridge) at the height of his powers, putting them in the service of a singular, fantastic vision. In this case that vision is a heady brew of Lewis Carroll, W.C Fields, Laurel and Hardy, the Fleischer Bros., Segar’s Popeye, and…and I don’t know what else. This book had it all: high adventure, slapstick comedy, classic art and undeniable heart. If, over the course of twelve issues, some of the comedic bits fell a little flat, it’s only because Langridge’s previous work set the bar so high (What? You haven’t read Fred the Clown, equal parts Charlie Chaplin and Monty Python? One of the funniest comics ever. Get it. Get it now. And while you’re at it, pick up his current Popeye series by IDW. And, oh, just get anything with his name on it!) The final issue of this crown jewel of the aforementioned kaboom! imprint provides a fitting close to the yarn, full of suspense, laughs and a lump in the throat (who knew the sentence “I like bananas.” could be so touching?) In a comic strip afterword, the lead character Wilburforce J. Walrus states that you should always leave them wanting more. Mission accomplished. Book of the Week. Well done sir, and good night.

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