The Pro

The Pro

Garth Ennis unleashes his full disdain for superheroes in this hilarious one-shot.  His weapon of choice is a weathered prostitute who’s just been granted superpowers, and he unloads with both barrels.  I’m going to let the work speak for itself.

God, I love Speedo.

That line of women is Amanda Conner at her best.

Ennis getting it all off his chest.

Multi-armed woman jacking off animals.  Not Ennis' finest moment.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Memetic, Nothing Better, Oni Color Special, Potter's Field

Memetic 1-3

James Tynion IV’s cool hook brought me in: Someone figures out how to use a meme to destroy the world.  The progression over the course of three days plays out just like Independence Day, as things get exponentially worse over time and a small group of people races against time to find a way to win.  

Top notch design.

The miniseries lost me when the origin of the meme actually turns out to be aliens.  That and the meat towers. Tynion lost me with the meat towers.

So.  Wrong.

I don’t mind that all of humanity dies at the end.  I mind that they died as meat towers.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Nothing Better 1-2

I bought this because I was a fan of Tyler Page’s Stylish Vittles, and mostly likely because they were available at his table at some con I was at.  This was back in 2005. Looking online, he just finished the nineteenth and final issue in 2018.  Props to his persistence, but even at the bargain price of 5 bucks for an online pdf of the whole series, this story about freshman at a Lutheran college isn’t interesting enough for me to continue.  

(I’d love to read a good story about people at university, something reminiscent of my time there.  This isn’t it. Not that it needs to mirror my experiences, but something more evocative.)

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck (Cutting)

Oni Color Special 2001

An anthology issue.  Pretty much crap aside from the Brian Michael Bendis story at the beginning - That thing is solid gold, and the only reason I’m keeping this around.  Bendis’ sendup of the indie comics of the day is all the more hilarious for the accuracy of his razor-sharp barbs. His Powers partner, Michael Avon Oeming, nails the various art styles as well, particularly David Mack’s.  Would that I could keep this story as a minicomic and excise the rest.  

So much good stuff in the word art if you take the time.

Going to be reading Red Star in a couple days!

And Bendis can take the piss out of himself, too.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine (Averaging Really good and Stupid)

Oni Color Special 2002

Take the previous issue and subtract Bendis’ story.

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Stupid (Cutting)

Potter’s Field 1-3

Mark Waid-penned miniseries about a man who investigates cold cases, aided by a Sherlock Holmesian network of irregulars.  Meh. It comes across a mediocre TV procedural.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck (Cutting)

Judenhass, Jumper, Last of the Independents, Leave it to Chance, Levitation, Lookouts, Me and Edith Head

It’s amazing how much more quickly I read through things when it’s not 100 issues of the same title.  

Judenhass

I never got into Cerebus.  I tried the first phonebook, but quit before I got very far into it.  I never made it to any of the more popular storylines. Other than that, my only knowledge of Dave Sim is that he’s a misogynist who pissed off Jeff Smith somewhere along the line.  So he’s controversial.   

Whatever his other issues, Judenhass (available for free download here) is a stunning piece of work.  Sim’s compiled a horrible array of quotes and actions demonstrating the world’s prevalent attitudes towards Jews over the course of human history, culminating in the Holocaust.  It’s illustrated with lightboxed photographs, repeated to heartbreaking effect, and I’ve rarely been so engrossed by any piece of reading.  

It’s not like the images or the history are anything new to me.  But Sims’ masterful arrangement and presentation combine to strike an emotional chord that’s quite rare.  It’s also appallingly topical today as the mantra of “Never again” feels closer to being violated than ever before in the seventy years of its existence.  

Read this.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Jumper

A graphic novel based on the Hayden Christensen movie, which I didn’t think was nearly as bad as the reviews made it out to be.  

Helps that it's Rachel Bilson.

It’s an interesting choice by writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir to center the story on the Paladins (the antagonists in the movie) instead of the Jumpers.  It doesn’t help that their fundamental premise feels flawed to me - they posit that Jumpers are dangerous because they inevitably grow up to become threats to society.  Well duh, they’re kids with no one to guide them as they blindly experiment with their powers! Maybe use all your insane resources to teach them instead of the killers in your employ!  Idiots.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Last of the Independents

A fun little by-the-numbers bank heist gone wrong graphic novel by Matt Fraction and Kieron Dwyer.  Nothing more, nothing less. I did like Fraction’s acknowledgement at the end: “Don Siegel, Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Sergio Leone, and anyone else that thought a middle-aged man could be an action hero.”  I echo that sentiment, and I’m happy that it’s still the case today.

Yessss.

Yaaaaassssssss.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Leave it to Chance 1-5

A cute little all-ages title by James Robinson and Paul Smith.  It’s nice enough, but it doesn’t have the legs to keep my interest.  It’s diverting enough that I’ll keep it around for my kids to read someday, but that’s about it.  

Georgie is so cute.  Love his design.

Toad God!!!!

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Fine

Levitation

Another Jim Ottaviani history, this one about a particular levitation magic trick.  As with all Ottaviani graphic novels, it’s not quite as good as it could be. Clearly, I’m interested in the material, I bought the books.  But they’re never as fun as I hope they will be. I think I keep buying them not because I think they’ll get any better, but because I still want to support Ottaviani in what he’s doing.  Teaching history and science through comics is a laudable endeavor, and he deserves to be commended for it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Fine

Lookouts 1

I bought this because the people at Penny Arcade are brilliant and just about everything they create is worthy of attention.  Gabe and Tycho aren’t the creative team on this comic, but I gave it a shot anyway.  I actually think writer Ben McCool and penciller Robb Mommaerts do a wonderful job here.  I only have the first issue because I missed the second at my shop, and I never picked it back up.  There’s not enough here for me to want to read more, but that’s not a comment on the quality of the work.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Me and Edith Head

A mini comic about a girl who finds purpose and fulfillment after being placed in the costume department of her school drama department.  It’s fine, but not as good as all the blurbs on the back cover…

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Ivar, Timewalker, Moving Pictures

Ivar, Timewalker 1-3

I bought this completely on the strength of the title.  “Ivar, Timewalker!” is so completely evocative, with a great name and a great function.  It’s like saying “Galileo Five!”

It’s really weird how I’ve never gotten into Valiant comics since they rebooted.  From everything that I can tell, they’ve got top notch talent and decent reviews whenever I come across them.  The comics that I do have are interesting enough. But I’ve never really been compelled to keep reading them.  

Ivar, Timewalker (!) completely fits that mold.  I love the premise - Ivar travels back in time to prevent one of the inventors of time travel from inventing time travel. 

The beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Fred Van Lente injects just the right brand of humor into a story this fantastical, balancing it with a nice mix of apprehension as everyone’s motives remain clouded to the reader.  

I’m amused by the idea that every time traveller has tried to kill Hitler at one point or another.  

Except for that last guy.  He's got other plans.

I like Clayton Henry’s art as well.  And yet, I was fine with to stop at three issues.  Didn’t feel the need for more. I spoiled myself on the plot and thought, “Sure, whatever.  I’m good.”

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Moving Pictures

I got this with this week’s new comics.  I saw that Stuart Immonen did the art, and it appeared to be about saving works of art in Paris during World War II, which sounded really cool.

Eh, what a mistake.  The story by Kathryn Immonen’s a slog to get through.  I can imagine a version of this tale of two lovers who despise each other, one French, one German, while pursuing their own agenda that’s full of emotion, conflict, and heartbreak.  But the one that I got wasn’t it. I found it confusing and soulless. Stuart Immonen doesn’t help matters, as both the female and male leads have similar looking doppelgangers in the story.  I often couldn’t tell who was who.  

As a new purchase, this will get another read through in the future, but I’m sorely tempted to just cut it the day after I bought it. 

Batman: Curse of the White Knight, Skyward, Runaways, GI Joe, The Hire, Islands in the Sky

New comics, some left over from last week:

Batman: Curse of the White Knight 1

I remember liking White Knight, but I can only remember snippets from in.  I really should have waited for the trade on this, but the cover was just too enticing.  

I have a weakness for a good Azrael cover.  I love his costume design.

Skyward 15

So ends a phenomenal comic.  Joe Henderson wraps up all the loose threads, and I’m completely satisfied.  Truth be told, though, it’s the art that pumped this up multiple levels. I’m so happy to have discovered Lee Garbett’s work.  I’ll be on the lookout for his art in the future.  

Runaways 23

Victor brings Doombot back from the brink, Chase and Gert have a serious conversation about their past relationship.  Molly shows she cares with stuffed animals. Good stuff.

GI Joe 67

I thought I was done with these, but I found this in a pile of unsorted comics.  More of the same.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Didn’t suck

The Hire 4

I also found this amongst the unsorteds, a day after getting rid of issues 1 and 3.  This one is also written by a top notch writer (Kurt Busiek), this one I’m also cutting.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Fine (Cutting)

Islands in the Sky 1

I bought this at a con because my friend did the art.  Genevieve Tsai is stupid talented.  She does facial expressions better than anyone I’ve read, and she brings an unparalleled sense of humor to everything that she does.  Check her out!

As for the comic, I wish that the content was worthy of her art.  Typical fanboy fantasy drivel with boobs and butts. Keeping it for her art, but Genevieve deserves much, much better material.  

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Fine

Hepcats, Hip Flask, The Hire, Incredibles

Hepcats 3-10

This comic was a big name in the black and white indie comic scene back when I first started collecting, and its reputation is completely justified.  Martin Wagner’s art is superb, an amazing extension of the admitted Gerhard influences. The story is engrossing too, focusing on a woman who’s forced to confront her repressed past after years of suppression.  I wonder how well the psychology of her depression/suicide attempt passes muster, but it certainly rang true during the reading. 

It’s a shame that Wagner wasn’t able to complete this story, due to a combination of economic and personal issues.  I would have kept reading it if given the opportunity.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Hip Flask: Unnatural Selection

Hip Flask: Elephantmen

This is all about the Ladronn art.  There’s a Katsuhiro Otomo Akira vibe mixed with Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, wrapped up in a European comic art style.

I love the Big Brother nature of the nonstop exhortations and commandments.  Richard Starkings’ writing is note-perfect there.  

I might have a stack of unread Elephantmen stashed away somewhere, now would be the time to dig it up.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty good (Entirely for the art.)

The Hire 1, 3

There was a time when BMW commissioned a bunch of shorts made by famous directors and a miniseries of comics with top notch creators.  The two I have are written by Matt Wagner and Mark Waid. They’re basically The Transporter in comic form.  Not the worst, but not memorable in any way.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Fine (Cutting)

The Incredibles 1

I bought this because I love the movie so very much.  But even written by Mark Waid, this couldn’t live up to the awesomeness of the source material.  It feels phoned in.

Regret buying? Yes

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Didn’t suck (Cutting)

Out of the Blue, Superman: Year One

Out of the Blue 2

Average for a Garth Ennis war comic, which is still darn good.  I wasn’t sure if McKenzie was going to make it at the end - Ennis laid it on pretty thick with the “looking ahead to after the war with his wife,” which is usually the kiss of death in this kind of story.  On the minus side, I didn’t care too much either way, since McKenzie was kind of a dick to his wife almost the entire time.  

The oversize hardcover format’s really nice, but I wish the story was a little more worthy of the price.  

Superman: Year One 1

This is vintage Frank Miller.  Reading his narration is like slipping beneath some warm, cozy blankets.  There’s a comfort there that I can’t explain. After the mixed bag that was Xerxes, I wasn’t sure if Miller had anything left, but it’s clear now that he does.

Miller does more here with Clark and Lana’s high school chemistry than anything I’ve read before, including Loeb’s For All Seasons.  He manages to bring Lana closer to Gwen Stacy “past girlfriend who almost makes me forget present girlfriend” territory than anyone else.  

John Romita Jr is equally hit and miss, and he definitely hits here.  A lot of it has to do with the fine line inks by Danny Miki and the gorgeous colors from Alex Sinclair.  

I hope that Miller is able to finish this as strongly as he started.