Reviews

The Marvelous Land of Oz #1 ( of 8 ) — Writer: Eric Shanower;  Art: Skottie Young Shanower and Young’s earlier adaptation of the original Wizard was an unexpected hit (i.e., it sold in Marvel Divas numbers in the Direct Market: not bad for a non-superhero kids’-book series); now, they’re venturing into the other Baum Oz books. The appeal here is twofold: Young’s art, which can handle both cartoony/appealing (Tip, the kid who’s the main character at the beginning of this book) and cartoony/creepy (his Jack Pumpkinhead, who’s both scary and oddly noble) with equal aplomb; and Shanower’s script, which … Continue reading →

Groo: The Hogs of Horder #1 (of 4) — Writers: Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier;  Art: Sergio Aragones A new Groo mini-series is always a cause for celebration, and this one is no exception.  Aragones and Evanier are always careful to provide thoughtful satire in with all the cheese dip and mendicant jokes, and here, while showing their bumbling hero destroying the economy of an entire country with a few ill-timed stumbles, they’re also laying the groundwork for one of the clearest explanations for our own Great Recession you’re likely to find anywhere (hint: it involves people being greedy, overconfident … Continue reading →

As the last shipment before Halloween, this week naturally brought a ton of horror books. Let’s look: FVZA: Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency #1 (of 3) — Writer: David Hine;  Art: Roy Allan Martinez This is the most expensive, at $4.99, but it’s squarebound, with nice production values and something like 56 pages of story. The 44-page lead involves an alternate-history US that always had vampires and zombies around, eradicated them in the ’60s with vaccines, but now has them coming back. Moody, effective art, showcased on decent paper stock, helps quite a bit; so does a real sense of … Continue reading →

Beasts of Burden #2 (of 4) — Writer: Evan Dorkin;  Art: Jill Thompson As I said in reviewing the first issue of this, you’d think that a comic about dogs (and a cat) solving supernatural crimes in a leafy little suburb would be too cute for words — but you’d be wrong. This second issue offers a perfect little Halloween tale, haunting and affecting. Dorkin gives each animal a distinct personality, and he’s a rare writer who trusts his readers; he gives us all he information we need, and lets us put the pieces together. As for the art, it’s … Continue reading →

D.C. Halloween Special ’09 — Creators: Mark Bagley, Duncan Rouleau, Kelley Jones, Dustin Nguyen, Billy Tucci and many others Some good talent here, as you can see from the (partial) credits. However, none of the stories get enough space to offer much of a payoff, and for a Halloween special there’s precious little thrills or chills. Billy Tucci probably offers the most interesting art, and the most charming story; on the other end, there’s a tale involving Wonder Woman watching The Blair Witch Project on TV that’s… well, stupid, with one of those “bwuh?” plots where nothing actually happens. You’d … Continue reading →