De: Tales, Lion and the Eagle

Continuing to read through my non traditionally-sized graphic novels.  

De: Tales

After Daytripper, I went through a period of buying anything done by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba.  (Basically this and Two Brothers, which I’ll read tomorrow.)  This is a series of short stories, mostly slice of life tales involving pretty young women.  They’re not bad, with a few clever lines, but nothing more.

“He went towards the day, missing his ‘boyfriend-in-love’ days.  It reminded him of a song he knew.  ‘Without love, I’d be nothing.’  And the boy-nothing left the girl-nothing with whom he’d had sex-nothing the previous night and spent the rest of the day thinking about love-everything.”

“You’re late.  You lost your chance to fall in love with me.”

“Then what is this, inside my heart?”

“A memory.”

I’m still not sure what I feel when I read that last exchange, but I know it’s something.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Lion and the Eagle 1-4

It’s nice to read about the Burma theatre of World War II, it’s an aspect of the conflict that I (and many people, apparently) know very little about.  It’s too bad that the comic lacks the exciting action of the best Garth Ennis war stories, as well as the endearing characters and conversations that make the inevitable sacrifices more touching.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Fables, New comics

Once again, I fall behind one day and here I am with twenty issues to review.  Let’s get going!

Fables 94-100

We learn Rose Red’s origin and why she’s been wrongfully pissed at Snow for her entire life.  She busts out of her funk and reasserts her leadership of The Farm.  Frau Totenkinder defeats Mister Dark until it turns out she didn’t.  Everyone flees to Haven.  Beauty and the Beast’s daughter is born, and she may have taken her father’s curse with her.

Lots of things happening.  Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham haven’t lost a step one hundred issues in.  I’m still completely engaged.

Alluring cover from Joao Ruas.

I like his interiors as well.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Fables 101-113

Bufkin somehow makes his way to Oz, where he starts a rebel alliance against the upstart emperor there.  Bufkin’s best in small quantities, I’m fine with this plot thread but not loving it.

There’s a pointless arc where Pinocchio tries to dress the Fables up as superheroes as they train to defeat Dark.  None of it matters when the North Wind sacrifices himself to take out Dark.

This leads to an arc to determine which of Bigby’s kids will be the new North Wind.  (It’s Winter.)

Rose Red agrees to become a Paragon of Hope, or something like that.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good (Pretty good for 112, Nice for 101 and 113)

I’m so behind on new comics.  Here are some of them:

Captain Marvel 38

I was all ready to drop this title; The last arc was underwhelming, and I had no interest in reading a story about Binary.  But Kelly Thompson made this issue so funny that I have to give it at least another month.  

Seven Secrets 17

I’m once again prepared to drop this title.  It previously received a stay of execution, but I find myself not caring.  Again.  As with Captain Marvel, this gets one more month to change my mind.

Captain Carter 3

Good, clean fun, exactly what I’m looking for in this title.

Nightwing 92

Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo continue to amaze.

Batman: Beyond the White Knight 3

A setup issue.  We get the Derek Powers origin story.

Lion and the Eagle 4

Things reach their bloody conclusion.  Very middle of the road for a Garth Ennis war story.  Not one that sticks in my mind.

Daredevil, New comics

New comics!

Nightwing 91

Cute second part of the team up with Wally West.

Nice of Wally to ask.

Lion and the Eagle 3

Standard Garth Ennis war fare.  

Catwoman: Lonely City 3

This is so freaking good.  It’s as definitive a last story for Catwoman as DKR is for Batman.  It’s not quite as classic, but it feels that final and epic.  Cliff Chiang has totally leveled up here.

Daredevil 1-8

The start of the Marvel Knights era.  Who would have thought that entrusting a new imprint to those guys who created the firefighter superhero would have such lasting repercussions?

I never read Ash.

This arc, written by Keven Smith, has a better reputation in my mind than it really deserves.  It’s super wordy, Matt Murdock is really played for a fool here, and it’s not a good sign when the writer points out all the flaws in his own story.  Eight issues is way too long, and the Mysterio reveal is a major letdown.  

Joe Quesada’s art is what keeps this above average (though I’m still partial to his work on Sword of Azrael and X-Factor).  That and the excellent Bullseye fight scene in issue number five.  That one sticks in my head.

Yeah, it's a booty call

Great tag.

Sadly, I can't help but think of...

Damn you, Sarah Silverman

I hate the "hedging your bets" argument.

Love the art deco Dr Strange.

What is it about that last phrase that's so eerie and evocative?

Teeth!  So cool.

Didn't see this coming the first time around.

That image of Gwen is shorthand for so much.

Yeah, he doesn't listen.  Milla's coming up.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good.  Good for issue 5

Swamp Thing, New comics

New comics!

Lion and Eagle 2

Not Garth Ennis’ best war comic, but I’ll still take it.

Human Target 6

Did Christopher Chance and Ice really just kill Guy Gardner?  If we needed a sign that this is out of continuity…

This continues to be an amazing story, with lovely, understated art by Greg Smallwood.

So, so beautiful.

I've always wondered about this, melting frozen flesh...

Nightwing 90

Wally West shows up for what will probably be a couple of issues.  

Love the mussed hair.

Such a simple, elegant, sublime cover.

Swamp Thing 35-40

Issues 35-36: Alan Moore’s commentary on the dumping of nuclear waste by large corporations.  Swamp Thing learns that he can regrow his body.

Issue 37: John Constantine’s first appearance.  I own a reprint of this, not the original issue.  (I found most of this run in the back issue bins of a used book store when I was in high school.  Which reminds me, I should go back issue diving again sometime.  I used to love it, but I stopped doing it when I realized I owned all the old comics that I wanted.  But I want to do it again for nostalgia’s sake.)

Issue 38-39: I think this is the beginning of the “American Gothic” storyline, where Swamp Thing travels from city to city dealing with various horrible things.  Here, he fights aquatic vampires.

I’m realizing as I read these issues that they’re getting the “Good” rating based off of the art and the creepy mood.  The actual stories themselves are not the draw I would have thought at the beginning of my reading of this run.

Issue 40: The one where Alan Moore acknowledges how shitty it is to be a woman in Man’s world, and then piles on by equating the menstrual cycle with lycanthropy.  What?  The title of the issue is literally “The Curse.”  You go in expecting some kind of feminist message, and then get a “nope, sucks to be a woman, that’s all there is to it.  By the way, you’re literally a monster when you get your period.”  The second Moore work to get the “Huh” rating.  (Promethea was the first.)

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good (Huh for 40)

Fortune and Glory, New comics

New comics!

Lion and the Eagle 1

Garth Ennis is back doing another war comic, woots!  This one covers the Burma campaign during WWII.  It’s about average for Ennis, certainly no Sara.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow 8

A little too much moralizing at the end for my taste, I wish Tom King had gone for something a little more subtle.  Also, I’m still confused by the last page.  Why did Ruthye end her book that way?  Still, this was an amazing series.  If only the last two issues were just a touch stronger.

Nightwing 89

Tom Taylor crosses his two DC titles over as Nightwing meets up with Jon Kent.  I may have quit Son of Kal-El, but I’ll pick up issue 9 so I can see how this ends.  

Fortune and Glory 1-3

I was in the mood to go through Ennis’ war stories next (a coincidence that a new one popped up this week!), and they happen to be boxed along with Brian Michael Bendis’ indie stuff.

This is a hilarious look at Bendis’ attempt to sell his Goldfish screenplay to Hollywood.  He approaches the story with the perfect mix of “Yes, I realize how absurd all of this was” and “But there’s no doubt I wanted this to happen.”  It’s easy to forget how accomplished of an artist he is, the dude is a really skilled cartoonist.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good