Elfquest

Elfquest TPB 5-6

Collecting the eight-part “Siege at Blue Mountain” arc.  The Wolfriders take on Winnowill in a final battle, and there’s a real sense of epic finality to it all.  Wendy and Richard Pini do a great job of building up the menace and big-bossness of the evil elf, and the whole thing is very third act.  

But despite all of this undeniably entertaining stuff, Elfquest is definitely suffering from diminishing returns with me.  While I had fun during the actual reading, I wasn’t as eager to get started as I was with the first issues, and I’m approaching the final trade (I’m missing volume 7) with a sense of relief that I’m almost done.  But don’t get me wrong, this is still good comics.

Her agony is so well drawn.

Phenomenal, complex storytelling through facial expressions.  Wendy Pini is an artist. 

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Elfquest

Elfquest 20-32

Another reason why Elfquest works so well is because each story flows naturally into the next, as if there’s no other way it could have gone.  Nothing feels like filler, everything is written with intent.  It makes for a propulsive story that constantly had me reaching for the next issue.

The Wolfriders defeat Winnowill, fly north in search of the High Ones’ palace, find the Snow Elves after a particularly brutal fight, then assault the trolls in a final battle.  The fight scenes are extremely well done, visceral and desperate in a way that’s pretty rare for a comic.  The Pinis accomplish this by creating characters that I care about and showing that they’re not afraid to kill them off every once in a while.  They even made the death of an extremely minor character extremely moving, an impressive feat.

Poor Vaya.

That said, it’s highly improbable that none of the Wolfriders died when half of the Snow Elves did.  I don’t care how good they are at combat.

My memory of Elfquest gets fuzzy after this.  Presumably because it isn’t as good.  There are four trades to go, of which I’m missing one.  Time to see if it’s worth picking up…

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Elfquest

Elfquest 9-19

Jump ahead seven years.  Cutter and Leetah have two (not annoying) kids, Ember and Suntop.  Cutter and Skywise set off on a quest to find other elves.  Along the way, they learn that not all humans are the evil killers they’ve always thought them to be.  (Racism bad!  Ignorance bad!)

Eventually, all roads lead to the sky elves and Winnowill.  Brr.  Talk about an effective, scary villain.  She looms over the Wolfriders, and she’s got the brutal psychic powers to back up her haughty arrogance and cold cruelty.  

What an entrance.

Not quite as good as the first batch of issues, but still very well done.  And things are going to pick up quickly from here.

Wendy Pini is great with the visual gags.

Skywise has his Whole New World moment.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

From Hell

From Hell

Okay, well that wasn’t as horrible as I expected it to be.  I mean, I actually read the whole thing, which wasn’t a sure thing going into this.  The narrative is surprisingly solid.  The only massive pain points were the interminable architecture/mysticism lecture in issue four and the full issue devoted to the mutilation of Marie Kelly’s body.  Other than that, it was inoffensive enough.  

This has sat on my shelf for about twenty-five years with the rest of my Alan Moore collection, masquerading as something of quality that I’d want to read again someday.  This is the second time I’ve ever opened it, and I’m never going to again.  I do not care about the Jack the Ripper murders at all, and Alan Moore/Addie Campbell didn’t manage to increase my interest a whit.  I’m never going to crack these pages again.  Cut!

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Don’t suck

That’s it for DC Box 9!  No idea what I’m going to read next.  We’ll see what mood strikes me.

Box Summary

Time spent reading: 26 hours 27 minutes

Issues read: 171

Issues cut: 2

Highlights (Good or better): Starman 0-17, 20-27, 36, 72-73, 80; Starman Annual 2; Shade; V for Vendetta; Swamp Thing 21-27, 29-32, 39, 41-45, 51-54, 56; Swamp Thing Annual 2; League of Extraordinary Gentlemen v1, v2

Project Summary:

Time spent reading: 49 days, 15 hours, 4 minutes

Issues read: 10340

Issues cut: 1096

Elfquest

Elfquest 1-8

I first read this in my middle school library, I have wonderful memories of it.  Years later, I found the first 32 Marvel Epic issues for 16 bucks, all the incentive I needed to pick up the rest of the Father Tree Press trades that I grew up loving.  I don’t think I’ve actually read them though, they’ve just been sitting on my shelf ever since.  (Just like From Hell, but I expect a far more positive reaction for this.)

Yeah, this is phenomenal stuff.  Reading this is like going home.  But unlike a lot of things that I first read when I was much younger, this is legit good, not just the fond nostalgic memories of a middle school kid.  It’s so well done that it took a while for me to realize why this is such an effectively entertaining comic - This first arc, for all of its drama, is a love story.  I can’t think of another comic that starts with something so unconventional.  (I’m not counting things like True Story Swear to God for obvious reasons.)  

And it totally works.  It’s a brilliant way of introducing all of the characters and the world that they live in.  The conflicts are mostly internal, not external.  Plus, it’s amazing to look at.  Wendy Pini art is gorgeously expressive from the first issue, and I find it hard to believe that this was her first comic book.  

That wolf is not happy.

Nothing like a best friend :)

The character design is excellent.  Everyone is instantly recognizable.

So much storytelling in these two pages.  So much joy.

The enthusiasm is infectious.

These four pages are such an emotionally satisfying culmination to the arc.

I remember this being good at least through the first five trades.  This is going to be fun.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

New comics

Some new trades that have been sitting on my shelf unread for quite a few months.  Now’s a great time to read them as I drag my heels before what I imagine will be a torturous slog through From Hell.  (Still very likely I’m going to cut it before I get all the way through it…)

Fine Print vol 1

Every time I read a Stjepan Sejic work, I’m first and foremost blown away by the skill of his characterizations.  To my mind, he’s unparalleled in his ability to create likable yet completely flawed people, protagonists that are intricately deep and capable of sustaining a series for years and years.  (I have no doubt about his ability to carry Sunstone through the twenty volumes he has planned.)  Throw in the gorgeous art and amazing sex and he’s put together some of the best comics I’ve ever read.  

On the one hand, I’m happy that he’s got, what, four(?) series going on at the same time.  It’s clear he has tons of ideas that are just bursting out of him, and it’s great that he’s staying creatively fresh jumping from book to book.  But on the other, it means that it’ll take forever before any of them come to a conclusion and I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT for all of them!

Plot Holes

Sean Murphy ran the Kickstarter for this miniseries a little while ago, and I backed it while riding on the high of Batman: Curse of the White Knight.  (So good!)  Unfortunately, this is a mish mash of a series that’s as disjointed as the books that the heroes flit between. 

Short summary: A bunch of characters from unpublished books band together to save other books from the hell of not-being-published.  Or something like that.  The internal logistics of the premise never really make sense, which is a problem because the entire series hinges on them.  The result is a story that’s as flawed as the books that the protagonists are trying to edit.  It just never fully makes sense, and I spent the whole time muttering, “Whaaatt??” as I read it.  

Luckily, the art remains stellar.  I never think of Murphy when going through my mental list of favorite artists, but I really need to add him to it.  The guy is amazing.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen v2 1-6

I love that Alan Moore weaves this around War of the Worlds.  As I said yesterday, knowing the references drastically increases my enjoyment of the story.

I would never have thought at the beginning of this series that Edward Hyde would be the MVP.  His moments with the Invisible Man and Mina Murray are by far the highlights, showcasing both his depraved side and his unexpected tenderness.

Nice.

Naughty.

Naughty.

Nice.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good