Tag Archives: Scott Snyder

Halloween Edition!

29 Monday Oct 2012

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Welcome to the inaugural posting of 5 Comics You Should Be Reading! In this space we’ll be highlighting books that perhaps we didn’t have time for in our usual reviews (hey, we’re only human) or that we loved so much we’re mentioning them again dammit! This will also give us a chance to step back and consider overall series, as opposed to individual issues.

As it’s approaching All Hallows Eve, when the membrane separating the living and the dead is at its most tremulous, I thought it a good time to throw a quavering lantern light on the field of horror and the supernatural. A couple of personal, debatable rules when it comes to horror: No Superheroes. Just the presence of a costumed do-gooder robs a proper spine-tingler of one of its most potent premises; that things may not turn out alright. Superheroes are a safety net in the free fall of terror (Yes, even Batman). Second, no stories that use Halloween as a direct reference point. These stories are limited to an annual, holiday-themed reading. Horror books, on the other hand should  be enjoyed all year round. (Sorry, good as it is, you will not be finding The Long Halloween on this list).

A couple of shout-outs: Dark Horse is the leading publisher of horror comics by a wide margin. Though none of their books appear on this list, their catalog is replete with enough (burnt) offerings to satisfy the bloodlust of even the most ravenous bloodsucker. The Walking Dead is also not on the list, since, let’s face it, you’re probably already reading it.

5. Frankenstein Alive, Alive! (IDW) – The writer of 30 Days of Night (and the underappreciated Criminal Macabre) collaborating with the most legendary horror artist of our times, bar none. What more could you want? Steve Niles’ intriguing  story continues where Mary Shelley’s classic novel ends. But what makes this an event is Bernie Wrightson’s incomparable art. The only complaint here is that the first issue came out months ago. But you’ll likely be in a forgiving mood once you feast your eyes on the art. Here’s a peek:

With issue #2 finally due out in a couple of weeks, now’s a good time to check it out.

4. Dark Shadows (Dynamite) – Not the tongue-in-cheek Tim Burton parody. This iteration harkens back to the original cult classic, staying true to the melodramatic pitch and outsize personalities of its characters. But because this is a comic book and not a TV show, the camp of cheesy special effects and awkward editing is toned down in favor a style that has more in common with the lush, outre Hammer films of the 1950’s-70’s. The current creative team of Mike Raicht and Guiu Vilanova have things bubbling nicely. And you can’t miss it thanks to Francesco Francavilla’s Eisner Award-winning covers.  Purple dialogue, picturesque settings rocked by intermittent spasms of Grand Guignol violence; forget gothic, this series is positively baroque.

3. Courtney Crumrin (Oni) – Ted Naifeh’s coming of age tale of a young witch is what every ongoing supernatural series aspires to be: multilayered, textural, and driven by distinct, compelling characters caught in a fully realized world fraught with secrets, threats and humor, all of the macabre variety.

2. Fatale (Image) – Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips apply their considerable noir chops to the bottomless well of Lovecraftian horror with chilling results. A postmodern mash-up of classic genres with the potency of aged whiskey drunk from a medieval goblet.

1. Severed (Image) – The story follows Jack, a Depression-era urchin, as he travels across 1920’s America in search of his wayward musician father. His quest is derailed by an evil as ordinary and ingratiating as it is terrifying. In the Salesman, writers Scott Snyder and Scott Tuft have created a monster that instantly takes his place amongst the greatest bogeyman of our times. Just as the Salesman toys with Jack, Snyder and Scott take their time, letting the suspense of the story simmer, notching up the heat with exquisite, inexorable deliberation over seven issues, until it finally, unforgettably boils over. The art by Attila Futaki is a Norman Rockwell nightmare. Simply put, this is the best horror comic in recent memory;  a sophisticated, unsettling tale that will sit in your gut like a cold, dead lump, long after you’ve put it down.

Squirming pages,

Derek

Back and Forth: DC Won!

19 Friday Oct 2012

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Derek Mainhart: Well here we are closing in on Halloween, but for comics, the summer-style blockbusters from the Big Two keep on comin’. I guess I should start with the one I actually read.

Batman #13 – The Joker? Issue 13? Perfect set up for some Halloween frights. If only it were just that; but this much-hyped return of Batman’s nemesis is also the next epic crossover. Having just come off the whole Court of the Owls storyline (which was largely excellent) I must admit to feeling a little epic-fatigue. I do wish this was contained solely within Scott Snyder’s Batman instead of spread out across the whole Bat-family (not that I intend to buy all the other issues). Having said that, Snyder gets things off to a solid start. We get all the classic Joker beats in one issue: Joker assaults a police station? Check. Joker stages an elaborate, announced plan to kill a public official? Check. Joker lures Batman into an over-the-top deathtrap? Check. Having cleansed his palette, we can assume Snyder will be off and running with some new wrinkles next issue right? He certainly hints at it. He seems to be setting up a bigger, badder Joker. Harley Quinn spells it out: “He’s not the same Bats. He’s not my Mr. J. anymore…” I suppose this is tied into the whole getting-his-face ripped-off thing from Detective #1. (This begs the question: whose idea was that? Tony Daniel’s? The editors’? Or was Snyder setting this current story up a year ago?) But really, how much more twisted can the Joker get? Is Snyder suggesting that this version is somehow more monstrous than the Joker of Alan Moore’s character-defining turn in The Killing Joke? Trying to make this character more extreme seems to be just a way to fulfill the parameters of an “epic event”. Why not just give us an awesome Joker story? But, like I said, there’s much to like. The story-telling by Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion is excellent. Most of all, Snyder really excels at developing an underlying sense of dread through the entire book (his mastery at this was established in Severed (published by Image) which was practically an exercise in keeping your skin crawling over seven issues. The best horror book of recent memory. Get the trade for Halloween.) Speaking of which, how about that back-up? I only wish we could have read that before the events in the lead story!

I’ll let you handle the honors on this week’s other blockbuster: Uncanny Avengers #1.

Uncanny Avengers #1

Scott Carney: Oh, joy.  Your generosity knows no limits!  Must be your mutant ability.  For the record: I’m looking at Batman #13 as I would the first ten or so pages of The Great Gatsby–which means, in my mind’s monotone: “Now that that’s done with, let’s get on with the good stuff.”  Like you said: the back-up was pretty sweet–like cyanide.  Damn thing should’ve been part of the story proper.

OK.  I’ve put the “honors” you so benevolently bequeathed to me off long enough.

Now, I know you didn’t read UA #1, which is why you’ve lobbed it over to my side of the net.  But I’ll tell you all you need to know by analyzing one page: page one.  Picture this:

First panel: an eye held open a la the brainwashing scene of Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange; glowing in the iris is Cyclops as the Phoenix.  Speech bubble: an unknown spouting anti-mutant babble.

Second panel: zooming out, we  see two eyes held open a la the aforementioned a la, a trickle of blood between them, and some more babble, rousing some rabble about “evolution” and “competition”–which, interestingly enough, put me in a certain mind.

Third panel: the voice gains a scalpel-wielding hand, which is slicing into the exposed brain of the now Phoenix-free eye guy.  As unnamed character–he of the hand–blathers about the world’s having “felt the mutant boot on its neck”; and I was like, “Mr. Remender, you’re talking about AvX, aren’t you?”

Fourth panel: the voice digs itself deeper into a villainous vat of nonsense as its two hands pull part of the poor fella’s–the eye guy’s–brain out of his head.  And I was like, “Mr. Remender, you’re crafting the perfect Marvel fan, aren’t you?”

Fifth panel: the voice–now clearly Remender, in my mind, anyway–hops into a heap of “hatred[, which] protects a [comic company, like Marvel] from complacency in the face of [its more successful] rivals[, clearly DC].”  As he does, he shoves some device into the empty space in the eye guy’s head.

And that device, my friend, is Marvel NOW!

What a way to begin this glorious new initiative: with Remender’s mocking Marvel readers by making them out to be an easily-led legion of lobotomized zombies–zombies willing to buy into the reactionary ReEVOLUTION, which, apparently, isn’t much of a revolution at all.  In fact, according to Axel Alonso, Marvel’s editor-in-chief: “The only change is some subtle tweaks to some costumes.”  Indeed!

Phew.  I’m exhausted after that.  I’ll leave the rest to you!

DM: Yeah, dude.  Take a deep breath–or a nap or something.

I’ll jump into another book tying in to a crossover event is Frankenstein: Agent of Shade #13. This book also pairs well with our October fright-fest, as our favorite, tragic zipper-neck gets knee-deep in the Rot from the current Animal Man/Swamp Thing epic. Tie-ins like this are usually superfluous and best-avoided. And truly, nothing integral to the Rotworld story seems to happen in this issue. But not picking it up would mean depriving yourself of the stirrings of undead/amphibian love! Frankie riding a talking horse through post-apocalyptic Metropolis! And Matt Kindt’s freewheeling revisiting of Mary Shelley’s Modern Prometheus with Daddy issues! In terms of the larger story, this issue is indeed tangential and probably unnecessary. It is also one more thing: wildly entertaining.

Archer and Armstrong #3 may not be part of any crossover event, but with its globetrotting antics and millennia-spanning conspiracies, it sure feels like a blockbuster (and a pretty one too, as drawn by Clayton Henry and Pere Perez). But no mindless action spectacle this. The swordplay and martial arts are merely dressing for the big ideas that Fred Van Lente is playing with here (no surprise from a scribe who co-created a comic called Action Philosophers). Van Lente is an interesting, idiosyncratic writer; conversant in popcorn archetypes, he exploits them to plumb deeper thematic territory. If he has a weakness, it’s that his character’s reactions sometimes seem unearned. Archer’s about-face rejection of his lifelong indoctrination doesn’t ring true. And Armstrong’s response to the killing of a character he calls “the best woman I’ve known for ten thousand years” is simply “Bastards.”  Still, this is fascinating stuff. The rollicking action and effortless odd-couple, cop-buddy banter make a breezy read out of what is, after all, a thoroughly-researched satire about nothing less than the nature of faith.

SC: You know, that’s exactly what I was gonna say!

Turning pages,

Derek & Scott

Back and Forth: Dialed In

10 Wednesday Oct 2012

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Scott Carney: Where to start, where to start?  I know where I’m not going to start; I know where I’m not going to go period: to AvX #12 or Rorschach #2.  Each reads like a refund.

I guess I’ll start with a couple of books that were rotten as a rule: Swamp Thing #13 and Animal Man #13.  Mirror images of one another, these two books build the foundation for Rotworld–the former focused on the Green, and the latter, its locus, the Red.  Even though the stories follow almost identical arcs, in round one (as if this is a boxing match between flora and fauna), I’ve got to give the edge to the walking compost heap.  Scott Snyder’s story grows a bit more organically; and Yanick Paquette’s art–especially the layouts–is at its series best.  In terms of where each ends–a decided difference, indeed–it’s an absolute fact: I’m more interested in Abigail’s fate than I am in Ellen’s.  I’m pretty sure Abby’s not dead, despite what the Parliament professes; but I’d still like to see how the situation plays out.

Derek Mainhart: I had a mirrored reaction to yours: I liked Animal Man better. The endangerment of Buddy’s family seemed to raise the stakes higher than in Swamp Thing (though I could have done without the return of Shepherd, the Red’s answer to Jar Jar Binks). But then it almost seems odd to contrast the two books, since they really are different chapters of the same story. I admire the level of craft going into the writing, as the books are nearly symmetrical; a level of synergy rarely seen in crossovers. “Organic” applies in every sense of the word.

SC: Thanks to the last two pages of Daredevil: End of Days #1, I’m pretty sure I don’t know if Daredevil’s a dead devil or not.  I mean, the dude should be dead: Murdock’s murdered in full view of a mob of indecent flashers; and it’s the mob of Awful Samaritans’ impotent images that bring the bloody end game to life, providing the proof of Bullseye’s coring of ol’ Hornhead.  So who the hell is that at the end?  Does the Hand have a hand in this?  (I deserve a high-five for that one!)  The big four hands involved with putting this tale together have crafted something graphic and gritty: Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkiewicz deliver on the viscerals–I mean, visuals; and Brian Michael Bendis bends DD backward–essentially turning a blind eye to what Waid’s doing right now on Marvel’s best book, hands down–toward the the darker tone of his own successful run on Daredevil (Vol. 2).  Where’s David Mack’s hand in all of this?  It’s not where I was hoping it would be, that’s for sure.  I guess this storyline isn’t exactly where I was hoping it would be, either: it seems to rest outside of continuity.

DM: Yeah this seems superfluous. It read like “What If…..Brian Michael Bendis continued writing Daredevil????” It’s a shame because the ending that Benids did supply to his run was just perfect. I was also expecting some David Mack art. As it was, the art seemed as muddled as the story. Klaus Janson is a wonderful artist, but generally stronger as an inker in my view. Bullseye? The Kingpin? In light of Waid’s current, excellent work, this reads like a re-run.

SC: Even still, I’m prepared to give it another issue or two.  I mean, I was down on the idea of Spider-Men, and, boy, did I end up with web on my face with that one!  Time to dial up the expectations!

Dial H #5 certainly lived up to expectations–expectations that were sky high after a dialed in #0.  China Mieville continues to untangle the wires, allowing us to learn along with Nelson about his dial–one without a phone, without a booth; one he dials while calling on “a Superman.”  Even Superman, however, couldn’t have seen this one coming: Cock-a-Hoop?  I was cock-a-hoop myself as I witnessed this next round of wackiness, this epic battle–drawn up epically by Mateus Santolouco–that leaves some victims in its wake and presents a new challenge for our hero and his elderly sidekick Manteau.

DM: I still can’t believe this freak show of a comic is a DC book. The New 52 can be marked a success if for nothing else than this book’s existence. Mieville’s writing, though occasionally hard to follow, is never less than inspired. To wit: “When nothing eats nothing? It leaves anti-nothing behind. Somethingness.” Brilliant? Claptrap? Whatever man, I’m lovin’ the ride.

SC: Indeed. Mieville’s got it goin’ on–and he knows it: as Nelson remarks on how the shadow “used its dial…like it’s supposed to be used,” Mielville slyly whispers that he’s writing comics like they’re supposed to be written–that he’s writing them like Grant Morrison on Action Comics.

Action Comics #13 Cover

Action Comics #13 certainly doesn’t–it couldn’t possibly–meet the otherworldly standard set by #0.  It does, however, have an exciting–if not slightly confusing–reimagining of the Phantom Zone, with phantastic art from Travel Foreman, who set a phreakin’ high bar over on The New 52’s Animal Man–one not yet met, despite some good work from Steve Pugh et al.

DM: It was good to see Foreman’s work again. He does a nice job. But given the sparsity of the interdimensional setting, I think the colorist, Brad Anderson, deserves a lot of the credit for the overall look of the book.

SC: Noted.  But what really struck me–what drew a tear of joy from me–was the page turn from page 23 to 24: there’s Krypto, who “waited and waited for what felt like a thousand years–for Kal-El, his Kal-El, [I’m tearing up just typing this] had promised he would return”; and–turn the page–wouldn’t you know, “Kal-El never broke a promise.”  No, he doesn’t break promises.  That’s what makes him Superman.  That’s what makes us love him–whether we’re 9 or 90.

DM: Don’t hold back man! It’s ok! I’m right there with you. Morrison, more than any writer in recent memory, knows what a Superman story is supposed to be. Month-to-month continuity concerns, cosmetic changes, new villains, etc.; all of that is secondary. Superman exists for the big, goose-bump inducing, awe-inspiring moments. And that’s what we get here.

SC: Morrison is making magic–and is conjuring up a showdown with Mr. Mxyzptlk to prove it–which makes his impending exit all the more difficult to deal with.  Maybe if we get him to say his name backwards…

Turning pages,

Scott & Derek

What’s Up?

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

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Tuesday?  Already?

A Writer’s Dozen

  • Batman #13: Snyder plus Joker equals sold.

Batman #13 Cover

  • Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #13: Yes, we Kindt!

Valiants Marching

  • Archer & Armstrong #3
  • Bloodshot #4

My Golden Calf

  • Wolverine and the X-Men #18: I’m just going to believe.  Not trust.  Believe.

For NOW!

  • Uncanny Avengers #1: Why the hell not?  It’s not like I have to sign a contract or anything.

Millar’s Time

  • Secret Service #4: Once this series is done with, I think I’ll be done with Millar.

What are you looking forward to tomorrow?

Turning pages,

Scott

In Scott’s Bag (10/3)

05 Friday Oct 2012

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This may be the first week where I left the store with everything I expected to leave with.  That’s right: if you’ve been keeping up, you know that means my bones and my skin were overridden.

Big Star

  • Action Comics #13 (I hope this isn’t just a mini-vacation for Travel Foreman.  Looks gorgeous.)
  • Animal Man #13 (What the heck happened to Hawkman?  Holy crap!  Does this mean Rob Liefeld is the avatar of the Rot?)

Animal Man #13 Cover

  • Swamp Thing #13 (The layouts look lovely.)

Twelve Inch

  • Dial H #5 (Cock-a-Hoop?  I gotta get me some of whatever Mieville’s taking.)

By the way: Hate–absolutely HATE!–the Arrow banner that cuts across the covers.

Limited Serious

  • Daredevil: End of Days #1 (I can’t imagine a reality in which I won’t like this.)

On a Short Leash

  • Fatale #8 (Needs to pick it up a bit–with a new twist or something; otherwise, it might get pulled off the pull-list.)

Shruggin’ So Hard I Pulled a Trap

  • Rorschach #2 (Might be an improvement over #1.  Might.)
  • AvX #12 (The Architects might’ve saved the best for la—  Sorry.  I can’t keep a straight face.  And that always prevents me from typing the word la—  Darn it.  Still soooo not straight.)

I’d say I can’t wait to get into ’em, but I am waiting–against my will, sure; but I’m waiting, nevertheless.  Hmm.  Maybe by using all this wait, maybe I’m losing wait.  I wonder what’ll happen when I lose it all.  No: I know: I’ll be terribly intolerable, which means I won’t have to go and buy new pants–’cause the old ones’ll fit just fine.

What did you get in your bag?

Turning pages,

Scott

What’s Up?

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

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I never thought I’d be so happy to see the number thirteen.  Though, come to think of it, this crop probably sported the best of the zeroes.

Lucky Me

  • Action Comics #13: Gettin’ chills just thinkin’ back to #0.
  • Animal Man #13: Rot.
  • Swamp Thing #13: World.

All the Tea in China

  • Dial H #5: How will Mieville top Bumper Carla?  Can he?

The Bendis Mack Show

  • Daredevil: End of Days #1: And Janson?  And Sienkiewicz?  Yes, please.

Daredevil: End of Days #1

The Squeeze

  • Fatale #8: Always a highlight of the week.

Every Bone in My Body Says, “No!”

  • Rorschach #2: If only for Lee Bermejo’s art–and to see if Azzarello drops yet another line worth turning into commentary about the whole Before Watchmen [misad]venture.
  • AvX #12: My skin is even joining in on this one.

I usually ignore my bones.  I have only myself to blame.

What are you looking forward to?

Turning pages,

Scott

Scottlight on: Swamp Thing #0

22 Saturday Sep 2012

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(Keep in mind: this reflects the week of 9/5.)

I think we can all agree: Action Comics #0 is an instant classic.  It is a super treatment of the superhero; it is the promise of the New 52 come true–finally.  And, all hyperbole aside, what could be my favorite sequence since Electra’s death at the hands of Bullseye rests inside.

But it’s not my book of the week.

See: Swamp Thing #0 was next on the pile.

Swamp Thing #0 Cover

It sat there innocently, waiting, waiting.  It let me bask in the brilliant moment that Morrison manufactured just for me, a superfan waiting for his Superman.  When it came time to test its spine, I lifted the comic carefully, set it in my right hand, and peeled back Paquette and Fairbairn’s  powerful cover with a pinch of my left.

I cracked the spine to find an unexpected setting: a snow-covered Canadian forest.  Hmm.  Our initial narrator?  A sweet young girl heroically searching for “the green man”; she needs him, she tells us, to save her dying town.  The Good Samarathing, circa 1897, finds her, shelters her, and feeds her the flora of his own body; in that, he proves himself to be more than a simple Good Samarathing: he’s a Christanthemum!  While nursing her back to health, he discovers that she is closer to death than he could have ever anticipated; it’s just not to her own that she’s close to–it’s to his.

Her change to Anton Acane–a rabid Rotweiller, indeed!–is horrific; it’s enough to make your skin crawl–off!  The poorly stitched together panels are well done and add a sprinkle of abhorrence to the transformation and to the overall tone of the story.

What really cemented this Satanically sexy book as my favorite for the week is on page 6–6–6: as Arcane sinks his scraggly teeth into the swampy savior’s skull, Snyder snakes his way into my unsuspecting heart.  Devilishly delicious!

This “enjoyable” murder leads directly to the introduction of the more familiar Alec Holland, a scientist with–according to Arcane–a “staggering” relationship with the Green.  This relationship may be responsible for the miracle formula he’s created from an “acidic fruit of [a] little creeping vine”: a formula with the power to “change the world” and to “save lives”–to conceivably renew a fallen Eden.  The nod to God is hard to miss; the connection to Christ is nailed with the final splash–which is actually, with Holland’s hand emerging from the water, the opposite of a splash.

Well before Holland’s resurrection–before his death, even–Snyder and Kano bravely deliver, perhaps, the most disturbing page ever stapled into a mainstream comic: on page 14, Arcane proudly describes having “killed [babies] in their cribs,” and the images unapologetically show how it was done–all the way down to the dying baby’s quivering hands.  The sequence, while vile, is terrifyingly effective: my stomach turned and turned, even after I turned the page.

The rest of the story runs a rather expected route: Arcane, wearing the flesh of others, gets close enough to send Holland to a fiery end–or so it would seem to the impatient amongst the members of the Parliament of Trees.  The layouts during this stretch are all over the place and happen to create a visual experience that is far more violent than the story itself.  Doesn’t matter, though.  This time around, awe trumps awkward.

And, in terms of my ranking my pile of books for the week, I never would have guessed, but I can admit with glee and such, rotting malefaction trumps a magical Action–but not by much.

Turning pages,

Scott