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The Top 5 Books of July

31 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by ScottNerd in Top 5 Books of the Month, Uncategorized

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9/11, Ales Kot, Archie Comics, Bodies, BOOM!, Bosnian War, Cap'n Dinosaur, Chris Miskiewicz, Constantine, David Mazzucchelli, David Quantick, DC, Dean Ormston, Glenn Whitmore, Hellblazer, Image, Jim Amash, Jordie Bellaire, Joshua Dysart, Kek-W, Lee Loughridge, Life With Archie, Mandrake the Magician, Meghan Hetrick, Michael Kupperman, Mike Allred, Palle Schmidt, Pat Kennedy, Paul Kupperberg, Phil Winslade, Shaky Kane, Si Spencer, Silver Surfer, That's Because You're a Robot, Thomas Alsop, Tim Kennedy, Tonci Zonjic, Tula Lotay, Unknown Soldier, Vertigo, zero

This was one stacked month of comics. Consider: our #1 book from last month (Silver Surfer), despite another strong outing, didn’t crack the Top 5 this time out. Also, only one of the titles below has been featured on our hallowed list before (having been, at different times, praised and damned – see below). This speaks to the veritable title wave of new, quality work being produced in this, the New Golden Age of Comics.

#5. Bodies #1 (DC/Vertigo): Brit scribe Si Spencer–whose ambition is clearly as vaulting as a well-known Shakespearean Thane-in-the-neck–has brazenly pieced together a primo pastiche of disparate eras and artists–including a Murderers’ Row of Meghan Hetrick, Dean Ormston, Tula Lotay, and Phil Winslade–and in doing so has Doyle-d up a Holmes-ian mystery multiplied by four.  Sure, the transitions from one time period to the next are as harsh as a head on collision, but it’s entirely understandable because so is the seemingly singular homicide that links one Longharvest Lane crime scene to the next.  Lee Loughridge’s colors, too, help to both draw a distinction and create a connection among the settings, the latter established by his use of a clichéd shade of red, which is hinted at by the blood splatter on Fiona Stephenson’s vintage–and ironically vivacious–cover.  Bodies #1 is a killer first issue that executes an experimental exposition that could’ve easily succumbed to redundancy, but instead rises effortlessly to the level of required reading. (SC)

Bodies #1

Bodies #1

#4. Cap’n Dinosaur (one-shot) (Image): MORE! FUN! COMICS! Cap’n Dinosaur is just what any jaded comic book reader needs: sublime silliness distilled through a love of classic super hero tropes. A synopsis of the plot would be futile, and pointless besides (just take a gander at the cover!) Suffice it to say that writer Kek-W and artist Shaky Kane have cooked up a kooky confection of pure comic-y goodness. Kane’s absurdist Silver-Age aesthetic seems to bring out the best in his collaborators (as evidenced by another recent Image one-shot, That’s Because You’re a Robot, with writer David Quantick – also worth a look). In particular, Kane seems to inspire writers to release their buried id in order to keep up with his lunatic visions, in much the same way that Mike Allred does. In fact, with his timeless, retro style, anarchic non-sequiturs and surreal approach to pop culture, I’d say that if Mike Allred and (comic genius) Michael Kupperman had a baby, it would be Shaky Kane. So I guess what I’m saying is: Mike Allred and Michael Kupperman should have babies….Oh, just buy this book! (DM)

Cap'n Dinosaur

Cap’n Dinosaur

#3. Thomas Alsop #2 (BOOM!): The Mage. The Mystic. That mysterious Master of the Dark Arts, guarding the thin veil that protects our reality from the nefarious nether-worlds. Such figures have constituted their own archetype in comics since at least Mandrake the Magician. Curious then, that they have been underrepresented in the current comics scene since the demise of the venerated Hellblazer (What’s that you say? There’s a comic called Constantine featuring the same character? Sorry, never heard of it.) Poised to step into those considerable loafers is one Thomas Alsop. And by “step” I mean “stagger, covered in his own vomit.” Conjured from the aether by writer Chris Miskiewicz and artist Palle Schmidt, the titular magician (and voracious abuser of all sorts of substances), possesses a nice insouciance, equal parts debounair and depraved, that provides a necessary (gin and) tonic to the severity of the grave matters at hand (all puns and in-jokes are very much intended). Calling himself a “Supernatural Detective”, he shills his skills on his own reality television show (what else?). This however, is largely a cover (albeit one that pays handsomely) for his more serious work as protector of New York City. But that is not all the creators have up their sleeves; adding complexity is the story of Thomas’ ancestor Richard, the first magical protector of New York, and the dark secret that links past and present. And more still: this being very much a tale of New York, Miskiewicz has, very bravely I think, interwoven the 9/11 tragedy into his story. No small risk that, especially amidst all the fun and games. But he and Schmidt have, so far, accorded it the respectful tone it requires. All in all, this brew, seemingly light and frothy, is a lot more heady than at first it seems. Another round! (DM)

Thomas Alsop #2

Thomas Alsop #2

#2. Life With Archie #36 (Archie): Paul Kupperberg and Co.’s chocolate soda brought all the boys and girls–including yours truly–to the comic shop, and damn right it’s better than than all but one of July’s releases.  Yeah, this book–with the help of mainstream media coverage–absolutely blew up.  And I–like many other non-Archie readers–was caught in the blast radius; so even though I hadn’t touched as much as an Archie Comics Digest in 30-plus years, I just had to have it!  Mind you, this was no ordinary ordinance; this was a nostalgia bomb–one that made me feel welcome in Riverdale despite my being, for all intents and purposes, a complete stranger.

Writer Kupperberg and artists Pat and Tim Kennedy (pencils), Jim Amash (inks), and Glenn Whitmore (colors) put Archie on a path through his past, present, and future–in a lead up to the not-so-shock ending–and as I followed I was struck by just how good Archie is; in, fact, he’s not unlike Superman in his Boy Scout-ish goodness.  In the end, however, he is simply a man: he can’t fly or see through walls; he’s not bulletproof; and his sacrifice leaves us all lamenting the death of that perfect innocence embodied by Archie Andrews–which is made more affective not by the amount of blood about Archie’s body but by the final image of a chocolate soda with three straws having been knocked over during the fracas, its figurative innocence–established on a playful first page–left to melt and spill to the floor.

More that that, really, I was surprised by how good the journey through Archie’s life made me feel.  Gosh, it made me wish more than once that we could all be Archies and Jugheads and Bettys and Veronicas–that all joy could be shared and problems solved over a chocolate soda with three straws. What a world it’d be!  It was an experience I did not expect.  I had initially planned to thumb through the thing and stick it in a bag.  Who knew that “every bit of it [would] just [feel] like home”? (SC)

Life With Archie #36

Life With Archie #36

#1. Zero #9 (Image): Sonuvabitch. As you might have surmised, we here at I&N read a LOT of comics. With so much new product coming out each month, we not only have to decide which titles are worth our time, but also which titles are no longer cutting the mustard. Zero, Ales Kot’s minimalist gut-punch of a spy thriller, in particular has been quite the roller coaster ride, and not always in a good way. After naming it one of our Top Ten Books of 2013 for its innovation and unpredictability, it promptly took a nosedive, as unpredictability gave way to incoherence. In fact, it was only a couple of months ago that the previous issue (#8) was named our Biggest Dis(appointment) of the month. So yeah, this book was on the chopping block.

And then Kot does this. Set in the midst of the Bosnian War, Zero #9 tells a tale from Roman Zizek’s past. Zizek is Zero’s mentor, an American black ops agent, and a war profiteer. Unsurprisingly, he’s a double-dealer of the first order. Already knee-deep in subterfuge and complicit in some of the worst atrocity in recent history, he also has a Bosnian girlfriend who is pregnant, victimized by the war. And things go from there.

Artist Tonci Zonjic deserves special mention as his storytelling manages to be atmospheric, clean, and cartoony (in the classic sense), perfectly setting the tone with a style reminiscent of early Mazzuchelli. And Jordie Bellaire’s muted hues, perfectly navigating between harsh reality and precious memory, are, as always, flawless.

A cursory look at the news will tell you that the world is rife with new, terrible things happening every day. So much so, that the horrors of even the recent past quickly get buried. Rare is the comic that can successfully mine such tragic events for its own fictive purposes, while also shining a light on those so easily forgotten or ignored (Joshua Dysart’s Unknown Soldier comes to mind). Rarer still, one that can do so with such spare, awful beauty. With this issue, Kot and Co. have not only banished any thought of dropping this vital book; they’ve produced one of the most powerful, resonant stories of the year. (DM)

Zero #9

Zero #9

The Biggest Dis(appointment): Robin Rises: Omega #1 (DC): I’ve been pretty vocal in my support of Peter J. Tomasi’s Batman and Whoever, especially in light of its being overshadowed by the over-hyped and underwhelming Snyder books.  (I even told Mr. Tomasi as much when I met him at the 2013 NYCC.  He seemed mildly appreciative.)  Tomasi did a commendable job of following in Grant Morrison’s footsteps, when it seemed that others had no use for them–until now, that is.  Ah, and therein lies the disappointment.  This book, which starts off well enough with a Damien-Robin retrospective, descends into a chaotic disaster of day-old dialogue and stumbles–despite some solid work from Andy Kubert, Jonathan Glapion, and Brad Anderson–into a terminally anemic battle scene–an epic game of casket keep away–that only ends because it eventually reaches its $4.99 price-point page limit.  To make matters worse, it turns out that Batman’s going to have to go BOOM! if he wants to get Robin back; that’s right: he’s headed to DC’s dark side–and, boy, I’d punch Tomasi in his pursed Mother-Boxing Apokolips if I were to ever see him again for going so against the Wayne with his choice of settings for the next rung on the way toward Robin’s return.  (Heck, whom am I fooling?  I’d probably say, “Hey, Mr. Tomasi!  Love your work!  I can’t wait to see what you have in store for…Superman/Wonder Woman!”  And he’d probably be mildly appreciative.)  The New God-darned piece of shard is so distressingly disappointing that I’m seriously considering giving up entirely on Batman and Robin–no, seriously–which would leave me Bat-less for the first time since I jumped into The New 52.  Well, there’s always Moon Knight…(SC)

Robin Rises: Omega #1

Robin Rises: Omega #1

Turning pages,

Derek & Scott

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Top 5 Books of April

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by ScottNerd in 5 Comics You Should Be Reading

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Tags

Adventure Time, Andy Runton, Braden Lamb, Brian K. Vaughan, Dark Horse, Fiona Staples, Fury: My War Gone By, Garth Ennis, Goran Parlov, Image, Infinity Inc., Jonathan Hickman, Joshua Dysart, Jupiter's Legacy, Justice Society of America, kaboom!, Marvel Max, Matt Kindt, Mind MGMT, Nick Pitarra, Owly, Pendleton Ward, Runaways, Ryan North, Saga, Shelli Paroline, Steve Wands, The Manhattan Projects, Unknown Soldier, Watchmen, Zero Dark Thirty

5. Mind MGMT #10 (Dark Horse): Matt Kindt manages the impossible–with a twist of Lyme.  His artwork is incomparably kinetic.  His use of the margins–especially in the first half of this issue–is brilliantly thoughtful.  He is in total control: every mark on the page serves its master and, in that, is played “for the greater good.”  Nothing is left to chance, even as Meru rolls the dice in order to undo Duncan’s predictable advantage.  Sure, Mind MGMT has been solid of late; and for most titles that’d be a label to celebrate.  But for this book, solid is pretty much a euphemism for I expected more.  With #10, however, Dark Horse’s thoroughbred leaves a rather pedestrian solid in the dust and sprints toward utterly transcendent as it most assuredly must. (SC)

Mind MGMT #10

Mind MGMT #10

4. Adventure Time # 15 (kaboom!): Far from being a mere comic simulacrum of Pendleton Ward’s lauded TV series, this title has emerged as a monthly laboratory of formalistic innovation. Wry self-commentary, plots that collapse inwards, playing with the comic book format itself; one truly never knows what to expect. The semiotic experimentation in this particular issue does have precedent (specifically in Andy Runton’s adorable Owly) but, man, do Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb and (series letterer) Steve Wands run with it! (DM)

Adventure Time #15

3. Saga #12 (Image): Rocking out with its whatchamacallit out–in more ways than one.  I mean, sure, there’s a one-eyed monster that Prince Robot IV jerks around for most of the issue; but that monster is D. Oswald Heist, author of the inflammatory “piece of s—” A Nighttime Smoke, which, Prince suspects, had a page in bringing Alana and Marko together.  All the talk leading up to this in-your-face–and cleverly self-aware–release, by the sagacious Brian K. Vaughn and the sagalicious Fiona Staples, probably “only boost[ed its] sales,” and left everyone thinking of this terrific treatise on the weight of images and words. (SC)

Saga #12

Saga #12

2. Fury: My War Gone By #11 (Marvel Max):  Garth Ennis’ revisionist examination of Marvel’s famous super-spy is the best exploration of the intersection of pop culture and real-world violence since Joshua Dysart’s late, lamented Unknown Soldier. Or is it exploitation? By removing the title character from his familiar milieu of superheroes and inserting him into some of the darkest corners of American military history, the story inherently raises questions about the boundaries between tragedy and entertainment (in much the way the recent Zero Dark Thirty did). Ennis navigates this terrain (illustrated with appropriate ruthlessness by Goran Parlov) partially by taking the core of the character – grizzled war hero – at his word. To his credit, as he shines a light on the all-too-real atrocities committed in the name of God and Country (as in the last, devastating panel in the book) neither Nick nor Ennis look away. (DM)

Fury: My War Gone By #11

Fury: My War Gone By #11

1. The Manhattan Projects #11 (Image): Then: I held The Manhattan Projects #1 in my hands.  Hmm.  Hickman?  Thumbed through.  Art: Pitarra?  Who?  Seemed, I don’t know, shaky.  Said to self, No, as I returned it to the shelf, so…  Now: Two trades and a single issue in, I’m completely sold on the project–particularly on the twists, both brutal and risible.  This issue, “Building,” while not as tied to the twist as previous issues, is a masterclass in storytelling on par with what Vaughn and Staples have been constructing over on Saga.  Hickman, Pitarra, and Bellaire–whose colors are indispensable in the development of the narrative–balance the past and present with remarkable ease; and, in doing so, they build the relationship between Enrico and Harry in such a heartwarming manner that it’d take exposure to plutonium to warm the heart any more.  Also at play here is the Cold War between the simple and the complex, highlighted by Enrico and Harry’s initial conversation–which culminates in a sweetly incomplex “I just wanted some ice cream”– and then hammered home by the juxtaposition of Oppenheimer’s three–“I think he means…four!”–terribly complicated plans for conquering the heavens and the natural simplicity of being someone’s friend.  As close to perfect as can be. (SC)

The Manhattan Projects #11

The Manhattan Projects #11

The Biggest Dis(appointment): Jupiter’s Legacy #1 (Image). The title, which manages to be both portentous and pretentious, pretty much sums up the whole book. The latest entry in Mark Millar’s self-christened Millarworld, this books seems like a stab at seriousness after the bawdiness of Kick-Ass and Secret Service (both coming soon to a theatre near you!) The set-up: the larger-than-life heroes of yesteryear now have children who are forced to exist in their sizable shadow. This is a theme that has been explored, at different levels, in such books as Infinity Inc., Runaways, hell, even Watchmen. But so what? Any concept is only as strong as what the writer bring to it. No, what really rankles here is how the characters feel the need to immediately announce their motivation, instead of having it arise naturally from the narrative. The elders, bearing a strong resemblance to the Justice Society of America, go on and on about the meaning of the American Dream. They debate their place in a democratic society: should they be servants to the will of the people, or should they be running the show? (yes, that old chestnut) They exist only as avatars of differing opinion. Pres. Obama is even name-dropped in an eye-rolling attempt at real-world relevance. The ungrateful youngsters, meanwhile, whine about the pressures of their privileged existence, whilst knee-deep in sex, drugs and publicists, natch (ooh, edgy!) The forced dialogue even seeps into the incidental characters, as when one proclaims of the elder group “Well, there’s no denying you’re a colorful bunch and you’ve certainly piqued my curiosity here.” This is in the first panel of the second page – before we’ve gotten to know any of them! It’s as though he’s stating what Millar wants the reader to think. Well, I’m sorry, but this colorful bunch has piqued in me only the regret of being separated from my $2.99. (DM)

Jupiter’s Legacy #1

So what made your list?

Turning Pages,

Scott & Derek

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