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Phil’s Reviews — Stuff I Bought #178

Phil — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:34:05 +0000

Hellboy — The Storm #3 (of 3) — Writer: Mike Mignola; Art: Duncan Fregrado

Baltimore: The Plague Ships #2 (of 5) — Writers: Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden; Art: Ben Steinbeck

These two books are connected because they’re both from the Mignola studio, and both reflect the very high quality of all of its output. Hellboy, of course, is their franchise character, and this issue offers perfect examples of his stubborn, cranky morality: he’s going to do what his gut tells him is right, and if you give him any crap you’re gonna get punched. Add the accomplished horror art — something scary, creepy or awesome on every page — and it’s the best book of the week. Plague Ships is lower-key: it’s a post-Victorian-era vampire-hunter tale, involving a WWI vet who encountered ancient evils during the fighting, and now is trying to track them down and kill them. It’s well-done, too; Christopher Golden’s art handles both the shadowy port-town and shipboard scenes, plus a gruesome flashback to the war involving vampires feeding on the dead in the trenches, with equal skill.

Wolverine #1 — Writer: Jason Aaron; Pencils: Renato Guedes; Inks: Jose Wilson Magalhaes

Yet another relaunch for Marvel’s quick-healing Canucklehead, and the title — “Wolverine Goes to Hell” tells you all you need to know. This first part doesn’t show much of the “hell”; it’s more about the Earthside acquaintances of Logan who are getting attacked — but Aaron has demonstrated an affinity for this kind of grindhouse joyride in previous books, so watching Wolverine fight his way through the various legions of the damned should prove an effective relaunch for this title.

Stumptown #4 (of 4) — Writer: Greg Rucka; Art: Matthew Southworth

This issue concludes the first episode of Rucka and Southworth’s noir tale of a hardscrabble female P.I. (one with both the requisite toughness and hidden heart of gold to fit the genre), and it’s a good conclusion to a good series: twisty and satisfyingly gritty, with everyone getting what they deserve and the stage set for another mini–series later. There’s a well-written afterwards by Southworth (it’s nice to see the artist get a chance to talk, instead of the writer, and he ends up sounding like an interesting guy), and between the cool Portland setting and the appealing main character, I’d be happy to read more Stumptown comics.

Scarlet #2 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: Alex Maleev

Another noir comic set in Portland, but this one isn’t a detective story; it’s a vigilante book about a twenty-something girl who gets screwed over by corrupt cops, and begins to exact revenge on them. It’s a dark story, featuring the kind of flawed, tragic heroine that Bendis does so well, and Maleev’s careful, expressive art makes it a pleasure to read.

Astro City Special: Silver Agent #2 (of 2) — Writer: Kurt Busiek; Art: Brent Anderson

This has been an epilog of sorts to The Dark Age, with Busiek’s Captain America avatar completing his tragic-but-heroic arc, and setting a hopeful stage for the new Astro City comics to come. Because so much of the story has been told, in bits and pieces, in earlier books, it’s more a summary than a stand-alone tale; new readers should wait until the next book to jump on to this series, but longtime fans will find it a good wrapup to the last few years’ worth of stories.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #36 — Writer: Joss Whedon; Pencils: Georges Jeanty; Inks: Andy Owens

Speaking of series wrapups: this begins the five-part conclusion to Season Eight, with all the major players (including Angel and Spike) onstage. Expect the usual humor, tragedy, lost loves, monsters, explosions and quicksilver dialog loaded with pop-culture references, as Whedon and company continue to pull off that rarest of transitions: from successful cult TV show to successful cult comic.

Stuff I bought, but don’t have anything to say about:

iZombie #5 — Writer: Chris Roberson; Art: Michael Allred

Usagi Yojimbo #131 — Writer/Artist: Stan Sakai

Battlefields #9 (of 9) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Russ Braun

The Boys #46 — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Russ Braun

Jonah Hex #49 — Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; Art: Jordi Bernet

Secret Six #25 — Writer: Gail Simone; Art: J. Calafiore

Stuff I didn’t buy, but wanted to talk about:

Wolverine: Road to Hell #1 (of 1) — Creators: Various

Mostly a promo book, with short preview stories from the new Wolverine, Dark Wolverine, X-23, Uncanny X-Force, Namor and Generation Hope teams (the Namor reprints seven pages from his first issue; I think all the others are new). OK for what it is, but none of the stories are long enough to establish any rhythm, and considering that this is meant to generate interest in all those new titles, it really ought to be on sale for $1.00, instead of the $3.99 Marvel is asking for it.

Namor: The First Mutant #1 — Writer: Stuart Moore; Art: Ariel Olivetti

Isn’t the first issue of an ongoing series supposed to, you know, establish the main character, and give all its new readers a clear set of reasons why they should care about him and come back for more issues later? This doesn’t do any of that: it’s a tie-in to that bloated X-Men vampire crossover thing, and assumes that anyone who reads it already knows that, knows who Namor is, and cares enough to want to buy it and all the other X-books in the story too. That’s a dangerous assumption, and one that, when this title gets cancelled after 12 issues, will have proven to be its undoing.

Punisher Max: Happy Ending #1 (of 1) — Writer: Peter Milligan; Art: Juan Jose Ryp

Not bad: it’s one of those single-issue stories that uses its main character as a walk-on, choosing instead to focus on another character whose life can actually change, and Milligan keeps skating on the edge of cliches and then turning them around, to good effect. Fans of Ryp’s art (mostly from his Avatar collaborations with Warren Ellis) who like his knack for drawing both gore and rubble will be interested to see his work here, in a standard four-color book. It’s a good story, worth checking out; the only reason I didn’t buy it is because I already have maybe 120 good Punisher comics (mostly written by people named Ennis and Baron), and didn’t quite feel the need for another.

It Came From the Back Room #4

Phil — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:01:09 +0000

Standard recap: I’m slowly going through AABC’s one-million-plus back-issue room, restocking the boxes on the sales floor and pulling stuff to sell as discount/overstock/special items. I’m going through the alphabet backwards (don’t ask), and at my speed (especially with the school year now in full gear), this amounts to a two-year project. I’ve currently finished the letter “N” and started on the indy “M” books. Here are some of the titles I’ve been encountering:

The Nam

First published in 1986, The ‘Nam was that rarest of birds: a realistic, well-written war comic. Writer Doug Murray and editor Larry Hama were both Vietnam vets, so the stories had a gritty reality — as gritty as a regular Marvel book in the ’80s would allow, anyway, which meant no swearing or graphically-portrayed violence. Murray began the book’s run with an inspired set-up: it would start in 1966, and each issue would take place one month later than the previous one, running up until the last helicopter whirled out of Saigon. Characters would rotate in, do their time and either die or leave and go back to the States, and be replaced by new recruits. There wouldn’t be glorified kill-the-Commies rants or testosterone-fueled fantasies, just an honest attempt to tell the stories of the men and women, on all sides, who were part of the war.
The early issues were helped considerably by the choice of artist: Michael Golden, whose pencils were realistic enough to make the settings and equipment feel real, but whose knack for caricature also let him make all the characters seem individual and memorable.

The result, presumably to everyone’s surprise, was a hit: the book sold very well (the first issue even went into a then-rare second printing), and was embraced by veterans, many of whom wrote in, creating a lively and thought-provoking letters page. Golden continued as artist for the first 13 issues (although he only does a few pages in #7), to be replaced by Wayne Vansant, who wasn’t as individual or startlingly good, but continued to provide steady, realistic pencils that went well with Murray’s steady, realistic scripts, and kept it up for a number of years.

It couldn’t last forever, of course: eventually, Hama was replaced as editor, and the new guy, following Marvel’s urging, wanted to forget about the real-time format and include continued stories; worse, he wanted to tie the book into the *choke* Marvel universe, by having a story showcasing Frank Castle, the Punisher’s, time in the war. Murray wouldn’t put up with that, and he left with issue #45 (although he came back for the anniversary issue #50) and, sure enough, the book started to do multiple-part stories, and, in issues #52 and 53, guest-starred Frank. Those issues sold very well, but at the cost of the book’s soul,
and subsequent writers could never regain it. The ‘Nam limped on to issue #84, with a few bright spots along the way (Russ Heath art in #65, and scripts by Don Lomax, another vet who had been both writer and artist of his own Vietnam Journal, for the final year or so), but when the last copies appeared on the stands in 1993, not that many readers were left to mourn it. Still, that’s an impressive legacy for a war comic, especially in the superhero-drenched ’80s and ’90s, and even today there are veterans who ask about its back issues. Here’s your chance to get a good percentage of ‘em for just a buck or two each.

Madman

Fans of Michael Allred’s ultra-clean, cartoony, ’60s-drenched pop-art sensibility (from the late, lamented X-Statix, or from the current and very cool iZombie, or from some of his other Vertigo guest-shots for books like Fables) owe it to themselves to check out this, his first creator-owned hit, with well-regarded runs both in the early ’90s and just recently. It’s colorful, experimental in both layouts and storytelling, and always high-energy and fun, with mad scientists and floating brains and giant robots and zombies and all manner of pop-culture blenderized treats: we didn’t have a lot of extra issues in the back, but we had some, and since most are stand-alone episodes they’re all worth a look.

Mage

This has a lot of parallels to Madman: an early, career-defining work (the first Mage mini-series, The Hero Discovered, appeared in the mid-’80s) by a well-regarded writer/artist, this time Matt Wagner. He’s probably best known for Grendel, but has gone on to do mainstream work for DC titles like Batman, The Demon, and, currently, Madame Xanadu. The second Mage volume, The Hero Defined, came out in the late ’90s, and deepened the first volume’s Joseph Campbell-inspired themes of heroic quests and Arthurian archetypes; Wagner has always said that the work is meant as a trilogy, and if the every-dozen-years pattern holds readers should look forward to the final episode sometime in the next few years. That’ll make it a 30-year-long production, one that’s filtered its creator’s own life experiences through its Everyman character’s, an ambitious and thought-provoking project that’s always managed to sneak in a lot of superhero-type punching and cool monsters too. As with Madman, we didn’t have a huge overstock of these — a lot more of the second series than the first — but it’s a work worth seeking out, just the right combination of obscure and worthwhile to reward readers for their effort.

50% off LABOR DAY SALE!

Marsha — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:56:22 +0000

4 Hour LABOR DAY SALE!

Monday, September 6th 10 AM – 2 PM

50% off Back Issue Comics from the main display floor! This includes the blue boxes and the Silver and Bronze Age Section! All other areas, including walls, glass cases and boxes on the counters are 25% off! 4 hours only, this Monday, Labor Day, 10 AM – 2 PM!

DEAL OF THE WEEK – 9/1/10

Marsha — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:03:15 +0000

Okay, folks we are changing things up. This week we are having two unannounced special BACK ISSUE SALES. Tomorrow, Wed. 9/1/10 get any back issue, from the boxes on the display floor (the main display of blue boxes and the Silver and Bronze section) for 50% off! This DEAL OF THE WEEK is only good from 12pm to 3pm, Wed. and only if you mention the DEAL OF THE WEEK! Not valid on the comics on the walls, in the glass cases or in the boxes on the display cases and tables.

Can’t make it Wed. between noon and 3pm? We will be offering another special similar deal on Labor Day from 10am to 2pm. Check back here, under promotions for details in the next few days.

Fresh Eyes on Old Books #4 by Dan!

Dan — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:26:33 +0000

The emmy goes to… Top Chef! And no one really cares. Dan talks about old comics… and everyone cares!

Batman #126 from 1959.

Immediately I want to point out that Hawaii wasn’t a state when this came out, and they have a whole section discussing all 49 states, which is AWESOME. Also, Robin uses the bat-plane to blast exhaust into a bad guys face just to disable him. All this happens before Batman and Robin fight the giant Kodiak Bear. Add in some “native eskimo tongue” and you’ll slowly start to realize how awesome this all is. And that’s just the first story. Add in another one that was kinda boring and the Firefly story on the cover and you get some seriously sweet silver-age goodness. That firefly story actually has the line “I have come for Mr. Carson’s Gold Nuggets!” Which just makes me smile every time. More info can be found HERE

Batman and Robin are in interesting territory right now. There are several different incarnations of each character, but Bruce Wayne is now wandering through time, and Dick Grayson is currently Batman (but for how much longer…?)

X-men 16 from 1965

Well… They can’t all be winners can they? In the mighty Marvel tradition, this X-men issue has a lot going on. Stan Lee makes sure every character has a lecture, an epiphany and a fight scene in just this issue. Jack Kirby does his usual work, so ya know what you’re getting depending on your opinion. The problem is it’s just so dense. You may not know this, but Stan Lee writes A LOT. It’s almost like he doesn’t trust the artist to handle everything he wants to happen so every single person has to say what they’re about to do, do it, then remark on how successful they were at doing it. It’s all a bit ridiculous, and not quite as fun as it sounds. X-men is still a giant soap opera in these early issues, and it’s a bit painful. More info can be found HERE

X-men is still going and has surpassed 500 issues. The best stuff to read is New X-men by Grant Morrison, it’s just so crazy that it works. Currently Matt Fraction writes the Uncanny issues, and it’s pretty good stuff.

Doom Patrol #98 from 1965

Well this was just ridiculous. The Professor is put in an iron lung after the mysterious Mr. 103 attacks him. I’m not even 100% sure how they defeated him. I just know that the bad guy was progressively turning into everything that could stop the Doom Patrol (as was implied on the cover) and then all of the sudden they were completely done and had defeated him. Interesting… but I’m still not sure what exactly happened. The second story was a Mr. Negative tale, he almost dies as he often does, then survives. Goofy silver age fun, and it’s basically where Stan Lee stole the idea for the X-men, so there’s that. More info can be found HERE

The Doom Patrol became popular again in the late 80′s when Grant Morrison got a hold of them. They are currently in a series written by Keith Giffen, available at your local comic shop!

And that’s it! In the span of writing this Mad Men has lost every acting award at the Emmys, so you can guess my mood. It’s a sad one.

“The” Dan Jacka

The Latest and (Mostly) Greatest #4 by Dan!

Dan — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:48:23 +0000

Welcome back to the internet’s most exhausted reviews! If you see the quality dipping I’ll blame it on the school semester, and we’ll see if Phil bans me from ever writing blog posts again. Let’s do this:

My Top Five (The Five Best Comics of the Week)

Secret Warriors #19 Writer: Jonathan Hickman Artist: Alessandro Vitti

Secret Warriors is quickly becoming one of Marvel’s most fascinating works. Month in and month out, Hickman delivers great action, drama, and ideas. This time it’s probably the most powerful in the positioning of the Howling Commandos reunion juxtaposed with the death of many of their members. And you know a comics good when I’m able to use the word “juxtapose”. Hickman has a sense of where his story is going (planned to be 30 issues?) and it’s clear that every piece will matter. I can’t wait to re-read this when it’s all over. Though not the normal artist, Vitti hits it out of the park, with plenty of great moments. This is an absolutely fantastic title.

Superman Secret Origin #6 (of 6) Writer: Geoff Johns Artist: Gary Frank

Damn it Gary Frank! I don’t care how long it takes you, I will read anything you are willing to draw. Johns writes a capable Superman origin story, and it’s exactly what you’d expect, but that’s not what matters. Gary Frank’s art, on the other hand, is what makes this book really what it is. Though he obviously references Christopher Reeve while drawing Superman, everything else is just so freaking fun to look at. Gary Frank is one of the few artists who I would probably appreciate a silent issue from, and trust me, I hate silent issues. This was a fun series, and I look forward to more collaborations between Johns and Frank

Avengers #4 Writer: Brian Bendis Artist: John Romita Jr.

This title is just so strange that I can’t quit it. Unlike New Avengers with all it’s mystical Dr. Strange stuff, this title revolves around time travel and crossing dimensions and realities. Bendis is going for broke with this whole storyline, and for some strange reason, I find that it works. It works really well as a matter of fact. Romita Jr. isn’t my favorite artist, but there’s no denying his popularity among the masses. He is the kind of artist that bridges the gap between the old school and new generation of artists. He’s drawing the hell out of some of these pages, including a spread that made me play a game of “find the character” for about ten minutes. Fun Stuff, and I look forward to more.

Batman #702 Writer: Grant Morrison Artist: Tony Daniel

Speaking of Strange, A Grant Morrison comic came out this week! Just as good as the first issue, if not better, this sheds some light on everything happening in The Return of Bruce Wayne and how it links to Final Crisis. I’m always sure G-Mo knows what he wants to do, but the details are sometimes lost, and this ish helps clear some of those parts up. Daniel has definitely been getting better, but the stuff initially was complete crap, so that’s not saying much. Morrison goes back to his Batman and Robin title, while Daniel starts writing Batman again next month, which I’m not sure is that good of an idea. But we’ll just have to wait and see; if Daniel keeps improving it could at least be a fun book for a few months.

X-Factor #208 Writer: Peter David Artist: Emanuela Lupacchino

Oh X-factor… why must you always be so shockingly good? This issue is no exception, and there is many different things to like about it. David always creates issues that will work for new readers and for those of us who have been attached for a while. There’s 6 (more?) easily accessible trades to go back and get, but the previous issue is also a great jumping on point. I don’t want to spoil anything at all so I’ll just say the cover is accurate, but there’s just so much more. So very much more. Not to mention that it’s also very nice to look at with Lupacchino drawing the crap out of it. Great great stuff, and still my favorite current X-book.

Stuff Worth Noting (Not the best, but you still should know it came out)

Action Comics #892 Writer: Paul Cornell Artist: Pete Woods: Still winning for the craziest comic I’ve seen in a while. Fun stuff, but just not quite for me.

Green Arrow #3 Writer: J.T. Krul Artist: Diogenes Neves: Still better than what it came from, but just not quite great, bogged down by Brightest Day, I think.

Captain America #609 Writer: Ed Brubaker Artist: Butch Guice: I love Brubaker’s Cap, I love Baron Zemo. There’s really not much more to say than that.

Wonder Woman #602 Writer: J. Michael Straczynski Artist: Don Kramer: Unlike JMS’s Supe run, I find this working really well. A pretty kick-ass Wonder Woman story, if you ask me.

Curse of the Mutants: Blade Writer: Duane Swiercznski Artist: Tim Green: A very solid and interesting story. By the end I was just wondering why it was necessary.

Deadpool Team-Up #890 Writer: James Asmus Artist: Micah Gunnell: An unknown team makes a hilarious Machine Man team up. Very well done.

Echo #24 Writer/Artist: Terry Moore: Still great. Apparently this is coming to an end soon. 30 issues of Sword, 30 issues of this, and like 8 of Rasl? Life’s not fair.

Astonishing X-men #35 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning: Surprisingly awesome, but ruined by its delays. A couple of amazing ideas thrown out there, but it just doesn’t work if I can’t remember past issues.

Superman/Batman #75: Writer/Artist: Various: Worth it for the sweet 2-page spreads. The opening story didn’t quite work for me, and the $5 price tag hurts too. But a Calvin and Hobbes reference? Good stuff.

The Weak of the Week (definitely not the best, if ya know what I mean)

Dark Wolverine #90 Writers: Daniel Way & Marjorie Liu Artist: Mirco Pierfederici

Just… blech. This series has fiddled around waiting for the beginning of Wolverine’s new direction and it’s led to mediocrity like this. However, they call this issue a prologue, meaning it’s the beginning of a story, for the last issue of the series. So if ya did like it, pick up that new Daken series. As for me? No thank you.

Justice League of America #48 Writer: James Robinson Artist: Mark Bagley

Clearly weighed down by it’s need to link to Brightest Day. This latest JSA/JLA crossover should have been much better, and the solid team involved has really let me down. I don’t really feel much of anything about it except a sad sigh. Both JLA and JSA used to be WAY better than this, and it doesn’t look to be getting good any time soon.

Detective Comics #868 Writer: David Hine Artist: Scott McDaniel

Remember how awesome JH Williams III was on this book? Well now we have McDaniel to take a giant dump on all that greatness. Seriously, this story is just terrible, with absolutely no point. Fake Jokers and fake Batmen killing each other. Ok? Thanks? Not worth it at all, and I hope it gets better soon.

That’s it! Now I’m going to sit around watching the Justice League cartoon, because I can.

“The” Dan Jacka

Best of Phoenix!

Marsha — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:45:22 +0000

Thanks to great customers like you we have been named New Times “Best of Phoenix” Best Comic Shop over ten times! The 2010 nomination voting is now over, and we are once again a finalist. THANK YOU! The final voting for 2010 “Best Of Phoenix” Best Comic Shop has now begun. Vote here, category #82. Voting ends Sept. 19th.

DEAL OF THE WEEK 8/24/10

Marsha — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:48:38 +0000

We are doing some rearranging again:) We have been getting in 1000′s of comics a week and we need to make room for more amazing inventory. So this week buy $75.00 or more on ANYTHING, and your DEAL OF THE WEEK will be 25 FREE COMICS from the discount comic room. This offer valid 8/24/10 through 8/31/10 and only if you mention the DEAL OF THE WEEK.

Phil’s Reviews — Stuff I Bought #177

Phil — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:00:34 +0000

Not a very big week for comics, sadly, but let’s see what stood out:

Amazing Spider-Man #640 — Writer: Joe Quesada; Art: Paolo Rivera

Give Marvel credit here: they didn’t take the easy way out with this story, by using Peter and Mary Jane’s missed wedding day as an excuse to say “and then everything was changed.” Instead, they’re trying to establish two Spideyverse points: (1) although there was no marriage, everything with the couple pretty much happened as in “real” continuity otherwise, so all your back issues are still good, as long as you squint a little, and (2) that Mephisto thing? Only a tiny little nudge, the day of the almost-wedding; hardly worth mentioning. Instead, years later bullet-wounded Aunt May gets saved at the last minute by the power of “love” (which, in storytelling terms, is much more uplifting than by the power of “Satan”), and the secret-identity repair ends up being a Dr. Strange/Illuminati deal. This is, in effect, a retcon of the original retcon (you can’t tell me this was the plan from the beginning of “Brand New Day”; there was no plan back then, other than “change continuity and then figure it out later”), and, in retrospect, probably the way the editors wish they’d done it from the beginning. Still doesn’t make a lick of sense (and try explaining it to someone who last read a Spider-title, say, ten years ago), but it’s at least a basis for moving on — although there’s still a deal with the devil at the core of all of this, however hidden, and that’s going to have to be taken care of some day….

Fables #97 — Writer: Bill Willingham; Pencils: Mark Buckingham; Inks: Steve Leialoha and Dan Green

We get the end of Rose Red’s backstory (quick summary: she was a total bitch, but she had her reasons), and, in the present, she finally gets her act together — and just in time, too, as the other Fables are all plotting and squabbling, and the new Adversary’s influence continues to grow. Well-told and fascinating as ever — and about to be the first exclusively-Vertigo title to reach 100 issues, a tribute to its solid concept, expressive art and endlessly-cool characters.

Secret Avengers #4 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Art: Mike Deodato Jr.

On Mars, Richard Rider’s exchanged his Nova helmet for the Serpent Crown, so Steve Rogers has to step up, connect with the Worldmind and become… Nova-Cap, or something (no spoilers here, since this is all spelled out in the cover image, right?). Fun Avengers-type adventure, with lots of characters and costumes and punching and intrigue, and Deodato continuing to prove a good choice as artist; his ability to draw both action and human expressions effectively makes a good match to Brubaker’s strengths.

New Avengers #3 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Pencils: Stuart Immonen; Inks: Wade von Grawbadger

Same as above, although not quite as satisfying as Secret Avengers — the trademark Bendis dialogue and character interaction are still high points, but (1) Immonen’s individual panels and splashes are fine, sometimes even better than that, but somehow he’s not as good at communicating the flow of action between the panels, and (2) the reveal of the Bad Guy is… not very satisfying (it’s one of those “Wha?” Bendis reveals that may or may not mean what it seems, though, so we’ll have to wait and see — this looks to be a trade-paperback story, so it’ll be six issues, and we’re only on #3…).

Uncanny X-Men #527 — Writer: Matt Fraction; Pencils: Whilce Portacio with Leonard Kirk; Inks: Ed Tadeo, Leonard Kirk and Jay Leisten

Meh — Emma dines with Tony Stark and Namor (no, not at the same time), and runs a few errands, while Hope activates/fixes another mutant. Not helped by the art, which looks rushed (all those inkers — plus, Portacio’s pencils seem to me too sketchy, and border on ugly, even under the best circumstances). Fortunately for Marvel, comics being serial soap operas makes it easier to get a buyer for issues like this — fans who’ve enjoyed the previous issues, and know they’re getting the next ones, can’t stand the idea of a gap, especially when the story moves forward at least a little.

Highland Laddie #1 (of 6) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: John McRea and Keith Burns

A Boys spin-off, featuring Hughie returning to the Scottish village where he grew up. Ennis likes to do these side projects to his main stories – Preacher had a lot of ‘em, and even Punisher had the Barracuda mini — but despite the wee brae Scots dialogue this first issue didn’t quite click for me: the now-grown childhood friends are weird in, for Ennis, very standard ways, and the whole Hardy Boys mystery setup seems unpromising. Also: six issues? Really? There’s the curse of the trade again, because having enough pages to make this a stand-alone book seems like the only justification for stretching it out that far, when three or four issues would have been plenty. OK, it’s only the first issue, and it’s Ennis and McRea doing lots of bar scenes (causing happy flashbacks to Hitman), so there’s hope that it’ll end up a wonderful and essential addition to the Boys canon — but here’s hoping it steps up its game quickly.

Stuff I didn’t buy, but wanted to talk about:

Ex Machina #50 (of 50) — Writer: Brian Vaughan; Art: Tony Harris

Final issue. Unlike Vaughan’s Y, The Last Man, this series didn’t work for me — it stalled out in the early 20s, with all the flashbacks and alternate-history stuff and coy hints about other-dimension invaders, and while I kept skimming the issues to see what was going on it just never got me convinced to start buying it again. This conclusion doesn’t make me regret that choice — it’s depressing, for one thing, paying off on the first pages of the book’s very first episode, where Mitch Hundred warned us that his story was a tragedy (it turns out to be a political allegory, where the elected official wins the battle against the outside adversary — maybe — but loses the war with himself and his own ideals, in particularly shocking and self-serving ways). It also feels too crammed and rushed, with so many event summaries and twists and psychological reveals that it all becomes a jumble; a few more issues to stitch everything together might have helped. It’s not horrible — Vaughan’s far too good a writer for that — and maybe my reaction is colored by my (childish) desire for happy, optimistic endings, and maybe rereading all 50 issues would make the structure and themes work a lot better, but for now I’m going to have to chalk this one up as a noble failure

Wolverine: Weapon X #16 — Writer: Jason Aaron; Art: Davide Gianfelice

Logan fulfills a promise to his dead pal Nightcrawler, and learns about himself, and about faith, in the process. Eeesh: just the kind of standard-ass sentimentality that Aaron is usually so good at avoiding, with his cynical B-movie humor and energy. Nightcrawler fans will want it, and might even shed a tear, but it just felt like treading water from here.

It Came From the Back Room #3

Phil — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:07:21 +0000

Standard recap: I’m slowly going through AABC’s one-million-plus back-issue room, restocking the boxes on the sales floor and pulling stuff to sell as discount/overstock/special items. At my speed (especially with the school year now starting up again), this amounts to a two-year project, and I’m currently on the letter “N.” Here are some of the titles I’ve been encountering:

New Mutants

This is Volume #1, the one that went 100 issues, and which counts as the first Uncanny X-Men spin-off title. Claremont and artist Bob McLeod created the younger mutants of the title and published their first adventure as Marvel Graphic Novel #4; the comic itself, pictured at left, was cover-dated March, 1983. McLeod is replaced by Sal Buscema as penciller by issue #4, although he continues to do inks for a few more issues, but Claremont continues as writer up through issue #54. It’s very much part of the early-’80s Claremont traveling mutant circus, with the same strengths (and weaknesses) that are on display in Uncanny, although the younger characters create a lot more emphasis on coming-of-age stories and adolescent angst.

The biggest change in the book’s early years comes with issue #18, when Buscema’s solid, clear house-style art is replaced by Bill Sienkiewicz, who adopts a (then) wildly-experimental, impressionistic style that caused massive reader debate (on the letters page, since there was no Internet back then; if there had been, the art debate would have kept flame wars going for months). Sienkiewicz’s energetic experimentation really gooses the stories along, and between the introduction of the alien Warlock, the fight with Professor X’s insane son Legion, and the whole Fat Karma thing, there’s plenty of entertainment until he leaves with issue #31. Subsequently, the title settles down, with a succession of artists — Steve Leialoha, Mary Wilshire, Rick Leonardi, Jackson Guice — until Claremont leaves as writer and is replaced by Louise Simonson, who shepherds the title along, mostly with Bret Blevins but with the occasional interesting fill-in (John J. Muth with issue #62; John Byrne on #75) until issue #86, when a total rookie artist — one Rob Liefeld — shows up.

Liefeld has tons of youthful enthusiasm, little regard for the finer points of penciling (like, say, anatomy), and a number of ideas for characters that he’s been doodling since high school study halls; the first, Cable, shows up in issue #87, and a number of others — Gideon, Domino, Shatterstar, and especially the sarcastic mercenary assassin, Deadpool — show up in the three-part story that ends the title’s run, starting in issue #98 (no, that one isn’t in the discount bins; it’s by far the most expensive book of the run now, with Wizard pegging a NM copy at $90. I kept hoping to come across a forgotten stash of them in the back, but no such luck…).

Namor is the other “N” title this time, and is a ’90s title, as opposed to New Mutants‘s ’80s sensibility. That isn’t apparent at first, though — for the first 25 issues, it’s a John Byrne project, both art and story, and showcases Byrne’s super-tight art and big-idea plotting (including Namor against a literal corporate headhunter in issues #8 and 9, involved in an Invaders reunion in #10-12, and, most notably, against a resurrected Iron Fist — who’d been killed off in his own title, in a particularly stupid story — and Wolverine in issues #21-25. At that point, Byrne gave Namor amnesia, relinquished the art chores to newcomer Jae Lee (while remaining as writer), and embarked on an eight-issue quest story.

Lee’s art is when the book’s style enters the ’90s, because it’s the kind of scratchy, murkily-rendered effort that the early Image creators were popularizing then. Today, it’s… interesting, but doesn’t hold up that well (in contrast to Byrne’s still-fresh-looking work); the profusion of extra ink lines, the lack of background detail, and the overall grimness of approach make it too sterile. Byrne leaves with #33, to be followed as writer by people like Bob Harras and, later, Glenn Herdling, and the title sinks slowly into mediocrity, dying with a whimper a few years later. Still, those first 33 or so issues are a bargain if you can find ‘em cheap enough — ironically, of course, the very point of this post….