Will Read Comic Books

dcu:

Ladies and Gentleman:

DARKSEID

Hrm…..I don’t know what to think about this…

So up to this point, I think I’ve been fairly clear about how I feel about Lemire and Foreman’s Animal Man. It happens to be probably my favourite of the New52, along with Wonder Woman and Swamp Thing. Well, for #3, Lemire and Foreman brought their game faces. And by faces, I mean creepy things with no faces at all.

<SPOILERS—Sorry, but the reveal in this issue is crucial, so if you care, stop reading>

What I’m referring to are the Totems, the former avatars of the Red - many without faces -through whom Buddy actually got his powers (slight retcon) and that Maxine, not Buddy, is the true next Avatar of the Red. Up until this issue, everyone had a basic consensus that Animal and Red equaled Swamp Thing and the Green; to see that put on its head is just fantastic. 

And aside from the reveal, I feel like so much more happened in general. While Maxine and Buddy are in the Red, two of the Three Hunters go after them there, and Buddy seems to get an extra power set of looking similar to whatever animal he takes the powers of—whether this is because they are in the Red or not is left to be seen. Back on the home front, Cliff and Ellen are similarly attacked and are now on the run. This looks like a set up for multiple parallel storylines between the two parts of the Baker family for a little while, giving Lemire some extra leg-room for a more literary approach, perhaps. 

Now, no review of this issue should go without mentioning the level of creepy that is elevating with every issue. While Animal Man is certainly earning its place as part of the ‘Dark’ family of DC books, it certainly isn’t the creepiest book that came out that week. With only one fairly calm death and almost comical body-snatching (re: ala Egger from Men in Black), its creepy factor is coming from Foreman’s fantastically surreal art. And intestine tentacles.

As for Travel Foreman, I have no idea how this guy is going to top himself. The sheer amount of non-violent viscera in this book is staggering, to the point that it is abstract in its portrayal - in truth, it’s some weird shit. Couple that with great Hunter and Totem models, and you have the space for some eventually-iconic interpretations of things in the DCU. And the lovely colourist, Lovern Kindzierski, gives the ability for the human brain to even begin to comprehend what Foreman is putting down. I mean that in the nicest, most effusive way possible.

TL;DR

Friggin amazing, as usual. 

WK

We’ve seen in general that DC’s new52 is keeping pace with itself - the good books stay good, the mediocre books stay mediocre, and the terrible books stay terrible. While I’ve heard Stormwatch got way better, most quality jumps stayed fairly small. (I’m still not going to pick it up though.) One of the books that got marginally better with its sophomore issue was Justice League Dark.

Plot-wise, we’re still putting the pieces in place, so it’s still a little disjointed, but in this issue we get some magic dueling, as well as a piece on why Deadman, who is essentially a ghost, can’t be with his (living) girlfriend, Dove. The questions you immediately asked at the end of Brightest Day about their love post-boomerang are somewhat answered here, and definitely enters creepy, Swayze Ghost territory. While a little strange, it did perk my interest in Deadman enough to pick up the first two issues of DC Comics Presents, whose inaugural story centers on Boston Brand himself. Great cross-promotion.  

The only thing that bummed me out some was that other than the Deadman sections, I felt that the story is still moving too slow; something needs to happen soon. 

And right at the end, we get a fun twist with what seems to be a betrayal of a group that does not yet exist. Will it ever actually exist? Is this going to be like Seven Soldiers of Victory? I guess we’ll have to wait to find out.

One of the things I like about the book is how it subtly demonstrates everyone’s different magical and supernatural abilities - Zatanna’s backwards talking is different from Constantine’s rituals, which also feels very different from whatever Xanadu is doing with those cards. This is a great meld between Milligan and Janin and I look forward to seeing how they’ll work together when everyone is finally in the same room.

Speaking of the art, Janin and colorist Ulises Arreola do a bang-up job here. The style and colour palettes change with whoever we’re focused on, making for a distinct difference in tone, which of course helps the pacing of the book. The level of grit on constantine and enchantress compared to the smoothness of Zatanna and Xanadu make for a well-put-together book.

TL;DR

Another win, and possibly better than #1

WK

Could #2 be as good as the long-awaited #1? 

Yes. Yes it can.

Batwoman #2 hits the ground running with Kate talking to Bette about possibly joining Batman Inc, though Kate isn’t sure if is awesome or terrible (a little meta there, maybe). This is followed by our friends at the DEO getting deeper into the case by getting Kate’s date Detective Sawyer further on the trail of Batwoman in classic love/hate triangle between Sawyer, Kate, and Batwoman. More creepy weeping woman and a two-gang slaughter of metahumans. Finish off with a superhero on detective shakedown and Batwoman under a pier about to be attacked by the Weeping Woman herself. 

While the plot is moving forward well and is keeping my interest, what I think I’m finding more interesting is the difference between Kate as Kate and Kate as Batwoman. Similar to how Bruce flits between two very different personalities - one dour, the other jovial - in many portrayals of the character, Kate is similarly shown, being silly and frivolous at times on her date, very confident, but in a quirky, off-kilter way. I like it. It certainly gives depth to the character outside of the mask.

The art, once again, is just amazing. Between Williams and Stewart, we are served with a heaping platter of lovely pages. The consistent difference of a painted Batwoman and Weeping woman certainly keeps the two on a different plane than the other characters; those other characters may be important, but they are the focus like Kate and the Weeping Woman are. Even the DEO get there own palette of harder shadows, possibly implying that the DEO are going to be after Batwoman long after Hydrology finishes up.

Williams’ splashes are, as always, just beautiful. You could get some real money just blowing those splashes up to poster size. 

My one gripe is that Kate’s date clothes are really out there. As in, not modern or up to date in fashion sense out there. Even a change of colour would have helped. Time to spend more time with vogue there, art team. 

TL;DR

Batwoman continues to be a top pick for DC’s New 52. Pick it up - It’s awesome.

WK

Demon Knights #1 was a funny, slightly-horrifying and action-packed comic that set a tone similar to my days playing Dungeons and Dragons. If anything, that tone has been amped up to another level. I don’t know how good the actual D&D comic is, but this could replace it!

Plot Summary: Team fights dinosaurs in tavern. Team talks to villagers/each other and jokes arise. People get pissed that the Questing Queen isn’t there (yet). Many strange connections arise. Etrigan tries to leave with Xanadu, but are attacked by pteradactyls. Everyone is beset by DRAGONS.

If that isn’t a usual D&D game around a table with beers and dice, I don’t know what is: a bunch of near-non-sequiturs, people can’t agree on doing anything, obligatory girls in armor jokes, dragons (lots), and finally, “I’ve used up all my prepared magic”. Really? In what other piece of fantasy outside of D&D do magic-users rely on prepared magic? I think Wizards of the Coast may have grounds for some legal action, if you ask me.

And really, that’s all that’s going on. The plot so far is fancy-paper-thin, but with lots of jokes and action. As long as you know what you are getting into, it will meet expectations. Kudos to you, Paul Cornell. 

As for the art, I did have one issue with it. The art team (Diogenes Neves (pencils), Marcelo Maiolo (colour), and Oclair Albert (inks) has decided to change Etrigan entirely in design from the previous issue! They seem to be moving away from the Classic Kirby vibe from issue one, to a more ‘modern and realistic’ Etrigan. Boo to that. I want bright yellow skin, not ugly mustard colour!. Other than that (in my mind, major) flaw, The art is crisp with lots of fun mayhem without being too convoluted. Bright, fun faces all around, again with a cartoony feeling to the faces, giving hilariously subtle emotions throughout the book.

TL;DR

Good work Demon Knights, you’ve given me my funny action book fix for the week. 

WK

So going into this one, I know this much about Grifter: He was in a comic called W.I.L.D.C.A.T.S (or something) that was also a cartoon that I might have seen once. I have no idea what kind of powers he was, other than wearing a sheet on his face that doesn’t blow all the other place while fighting. With that foundation, here goes.

Anyone seen LOST? That will make things easier. This book is apparently about Cole Cash (James Ford/Sawyer) running around conning people until he gets attacked by some stranger(s) (The Others) and escapes from some body-snatchers (Smoke Monster). Seems he can hear these glowy alien body-snatchers, even though no one else can (The Whispers) because he was almost one of them (because he’s a Candidate). He does board a flight (815) at one point as well. And on top of all that he’s a rogue government agent (while I might be stretching it a bit far, see Season 6 of Lost for that final bit).

Other than that, it seems like a cool story.

While I’m being slightly facetious (not really), it does have the make up of a good story. Nathan Edmondson-the writer-weaves a fairly mysterious but comprehendible tale of intrigue that will get people moving along with what looks to be a cool story. While it jumps between scenes quite a bit, I didn’t get lost, which is not the case in other New52 books out there (here’s looking at you, Stormwatch)

The art is good, despite the fact that Grifter has what has to be the lamest facial hair in the New52. The glowing aliens on the cover look suitably menacing, along with decent people throughout. Apparently the pencils are done by a dude known simply as CAFU, whose name is awesome and style is fairly generic, though not bad. Inks and colours, done respectively by Jason Gorder and Andrew Dalhouse complement the pencils very well. 

In the end though, with having only so much money to spend on comics, this one is on the chopping block. I like the story and art well enough, and would want to read more, but I’ll have to wait out the rest of the month to see if stays on. That’s the problem with having so many good books out at once, you have to pick and choose the best of the best. That’s a good thing, right?

TL;DR

Solid book with a solid, albeit familiar, premise. Unfortunately not enough for an automatic monthly pull from me. We’ll have to wait and see.

WK

Next on my New52 list is Demon Knights, written by Paul Cornell with pencils by Diogenes Neves, inks by Oclair Albert, and colours by Marcelo Maiolo.

One of the characters from my dad’s old books was the demon, Etrigan, known for his yellow skin, jester-like costume and rhyming dialogue. I remember reading the origin story of how the demon was joined to Jason blood (Merlin’s doing) but when it comes to powers, I have no clue at all. I liked the cut of his jib, though, and have always enjoyed the character when it pops up in cartoons, etc. 

So here we have a comic dedicated to him and a team of medieval heroes who use magic and other things to vanquish their foes. Cornell has said that this book was “Swords and Sorcery and Superheroes.” Well I have no idea where the superheroes are, but the other two components are there in spades. You might as well call this a Dungeons & Dragons comic book.

And that is by no means an insult. I love D&D. Swords and Sorcery are right up my alley, and this book serves those tropes in spades — hell, they even begin the ‘adventure’ with almost all the team somehow in an Inn at the same time! Fantastic. 

I was worried about this book after reading Stormwatch (I think I’ve made myself clear on that front), since Cornell is writing both, but he brings a totally different flavour to this book, with a coherency I found totally absent in Stormwatch. The cast is (mostly) introduced with a certain cheekiness, no doubt hat-tipping to the genre. When I say mostly, I mean that there are clearly two heroes that get some play that are not introduced much at all, but that’s ok, I can wait until the next issue to get some names. Oh, and every character is bringing their own brand of crazy to the table - something I’m sure I’m going to enjoy down the road. Cornell also brings a good dose of creepiness along with the humour with the possession of an infant who…uh..explodes…mid-speech. I’d be more turned off it weren’t for the art.

Ahh..the art. It’s good! The team brings everything together well with good, though slightly cartoony, anatomy, balanced inks and colours that bring a certain levity to the whole book, which helps when dealing with the demon baby. The whole thing feels larger than life, which just fits so well with the genre. The cover is great too, by Tony Daniel and Tomeu Morey, though it makes the book look darker than it is. 

TL;DR

Awesome. If it keeps up, I’ll be picking it up for a long time.

WK