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| Web of Fear |
Web of Fear's Reviews!OK. In response to the other thread, here's some of my nonsensical ramblings.Bone: One Volume Edition Written and drawn by Jeff Smith Between 1991 and 2004 Jeff Smith wrote and drew 55 issues of Bone. During the same period of time, whenever I saw a copy of this on the shelf of whatever comic shop I patronised at the time, I passed it by, rather put off by the cutesy Disney-esque characters, despite hearing only good things about it. My resolve was worn down in 2004 with the publication of the one volume edition, clocking in at about 1,300 pages and collecting all 55 issues. Lacking anything to else read, with some serious persuasion by the then owner of my LCS, and for a decent price, I picked up this doorstopper volume. Within a few pages I was hooked and wondering why I hadn’t been reading this a long time ago. On the upside, though I got the read the whole story in a short space of time, rather than over 13 years ….. So what’s so good about it? The three main characters are the Bone cousins; the good natured Fone Bone, the selfish, scheming Phoney Bone, and the silly, carefree Smiley Bone. Due to one of Phoney’s schemes backfiring, the cousins have been run out of their hometown of Boneville, and find themselves lost in a desert, before a swarm of locusts gets them further lost and separated in a strange valley, populated by talking animals and humans. It’s not long before it’s apparent that there’s something sinister going on in the Valley. Almost immediately, strange creatures are looking for Phoney Bone, while other strange creatures have them under the protection. Fone Bone finds refuge with Thorn, a young girl, who lives with her grandmother, Gran’ma Ben. Thorn is troubled with strange dreams of dragons, while Gran’ma Ben clearly knows more than she’s letting on. The essence of the story of Bone is fairly simple; sinister powers want to awaken a terrible, ancient evil. However, there’s a long way to go, both physically and metaphorically, to get there as there’s a number of adventures to be had and characters and relationships to unfold. The initial tone is fairly light and comedic, while things darken (and get downright macabre in some places) as the story progresses. Not that the darkness is far away from the comedic moments, or vice versa, so there is a nice balance to the tone. There’s plenty of well timed comedy action sequences, Phoney’s attempts to rig the annual Valley highlight, the Great Cow Race (as well as his other backfiring schemes), Fone Bone and Smiley Bone’s encounter with Rock Jaw and the secret to why Phoney Bone is being hunted down. Despite the Disney-ish art style there’s some grotesque moments too. The leader of the rat creatures, Kingdok has a fair share of indignities heaped upon up him, and Kingdok’s superior, The Hooded One, is pretty ghoulish. Most of book seven, Ghost Circles, is pretty bleak. The story’s full of great supporting characters, Ted the bug, Phoney’s nemesis and Gran’ma Ben’s old flame, Lucius Down, the aloof Roque Ja (or “Rock Jaw”) Master of the Eastern Border and the ever present, quiche obsessed stupid, stupid rat creatures. As things move along we find out more about the characters, and there’s nice development in both the characters and their shifting relationships. There are also a couple of ill tempered giant bees in there for good measure… As well as writing all of this, Jeff Smith provided the black and white art as well. It’s crisp and clean though out and with some brilliant sequential segments, tiny movements telling the story without words. What I enjoy most about the artwork is the use of perspective. Quite often we’re shown things at a distance, particularly the surrounding menace at the outset, or the isolation that some of the characters start to feel as the story develops. To the best of my recollection, this is the only book I have ever persuaded a non comic book reading friend to take up. He thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that he said he finally understood why comic readers got upset about changes in movie adaptations, and when he read that Smith had recently done a deal for the movie rights, his reaction was to express concern that the studio wouldn’t “mess it up”… I don’t think I can do justice to 13 years of work in a few paragraphs, save to say this is one of my favourite titles on the bookshelf, and I’d heartily recommend this to anyone. Get some quiche in as well! |
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| Web of Fear |
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Volumes 1 and 2
Written by Alan Moore Art by Kevin O’Neill I’ve chosen to review the two volumes together. Volume 1 has a cliff-hanger ending that leads directly on to Volume 2, as well dropping a number of clues of things to come. Both volumes also very much fit together as one story arc, charting the rise and fall of the late 19th Century League. Firstly, abandon any preconceptions you may have of the League based upon the farcical movie of 2003 starring Sean Connery. The movie takes the central characters and concept of the comics - the League is a long established institution of "extraordinary" individuals who from time to time are gathered together by British Secret Intelligence to combat threats to the British Empire – but that’s about it. To judge these comics based on the movie would be like judging Batman based on the Batman & Robin movie. For those of you who may not know, all the characters are creations of other authors who all exist in one single cohesive fictional universe, with the League in these two volumes comprising Mina Murray (Dracula), Allan Quartermain (King Solomon's Mines), Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under The Sea), Hawley Griffin (The Invisible Man) and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. Volume 1 spends some time opening with the recruitment of the team, before the purpose of their mission becomes known to them; to investigate the theft of the levitating metal Cavorite from British scientist Selwyn Cavor, who is planning a lunar expedition to mark the turn of the century. The trail leads through the squalor of Limehouse, to a mysterious Oriental “Devil Doctor” (an unnamed Fu Manchu, for copyright reasons), and to a threat more serious than any of the League could originally have imagined. Volume 2 is set against the background of H G Wells’ War of the Worlds, opening with a lengthy prologue on Mars, before returning to more familiar territory, where the League begins to rapidly fracture. Mina and Allan are dispatched to Sussex to find a mysterious doctor with something essential to British efforts to repel the Martian invaders, while the remainder of the group deals with both internal treachery and assisting the military. The League can be enjoyed simply as a “rousing and invigorating narrative”. The characters are sent on a series of well crafted adventures, against a series of worthy foes, and alliances are made and broken. As with any good ensemble piece, each of the characters has their part to play, and all have their chance to develop and expand from their literary origin. However, there is much more to the League than straightforward action and adventure. Between them, Moore and O’Neill have shoehorned in a phenomenal number of references to other works of fiction, ranging from a 7 page cameo from Sherlock Holmes, to blink and you’ll miss them appearances from a myriad of characters, and even objects, from other fiction. Even being able to identify a handful of the references adds to the enjoyment, and shows how much effort and planning has been undertaken by the creators. To those who want to delve deeper into those references, I would certainly recommend Jess Nevins’ unofficial companion volumes “Heroes and Monsters” and “A Blazing World”, which detail the references, as well as containing contributions from both Moore and O’Neill. Kevin O’Neill’s art is something that I struggle to define. It almost has a rough, sketchy look to it, but at the same time it’s very detailed. There’s a huge amount of background detail in most pages, whether it be the Devil Doctor’s lair, advancing Martian armies or panicked Londoners fleeing the city. It also conveys great subtlety, a scene in Volume 2 between Mina and Hyde being a particular favorite. There are several sections in both volumes without any text (or any English text) but filled with superb sequential artwork, a descent into the Martian canyons and a restless Mina roaming the corridors of an inn, further favorites. To focus purely on the traditional comic section of the League is to omit half the material on offer. Each volume contains large prose sections; the penny dreadful “Allan and the Sundered Veil” in Volume 1, and “The New Traveler’s Almanac” in Volume 2. The Sundered Veil recounts an out of body experience of Allan’s; while the Almanac is a tour of the League’s fictional world. These are, admittedly, dense reads, and often people pass them over. I must admit that I didn’t initially understand the Sundered Veil story as I was unfamiliar with a number of the references, and it’s rather metaphysical. There’s more humour in the Almanac (I’ll never quite think of Santa the same way) and it’s easier to follow. Both contain tantalizing references to future and past adventures of this League that will most likely never be seen in comic book form, as well as other Leagues (and equivalent leagues of foreign powers). Plus, Moore and O’Neill are clearly in no hurry to publish further volumes, so you may as well enjoy what you can. And if that wasn’t enough, each volume has few miscellaneous items – a paint by numbers portrait of Dorian Gray, a somewhat improbable origami Nautilus, and best of all the “morally instructive” Game of Extraordinary Gentlemen! These don’t add anything to story, but do add to the overall sense of fun in the world of the League. There’s really no one I would not recommend these to, but fans of the original source novels and the literature of the time in particular ought to enjoy the world of the League. So as proof of your loyal citizenship, I urge you to seek these out. God save the Queen! |
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| Web of Fear |
Kick-Ass; or Mark Millar’s other comic
With the hoopla surrounding Mark Millar taking over writing duties on Marvel’s first family, the release of his creator owned title (with John Romita Jr) at the same time has been somewhat overshadowed. I was anticipating Kick-Ass more than Millar’s FF. JR Jr’s been a favourite of mine since his Daredevil days, and the Millar/Romita combo brought us Wolverine’s “Enemy of the State” storyline, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The main character, Dave Lezewski, is a fairly average teenage school student. Out of nothing other than boredom, and with no special training or abilities, he dons a wetsuit and starts patrolling the streets. His first encounter, with three kids spray painting graffiti onto a wall, is a disaster, and he is beaten within an inch of his life. He survives, and is hospitalised. After months of surgery, treatments and therapies, he’s back on his feet. Despite realizing he’s lucky to survive, he dons his home made costume a second time, and starts patrolling again. This time he’s caught up in a chase involving three gang members, and is more successful, managing to fight off the pursuing gang, but again taking a pounding. He’s also watched by a crowd cheering him on, and it looks like the mobile phone camera footage being taken by a crowd member is going onto YouTube. Kick-Ass promised a realistic take on the superhero genre, and with the cover containing an “explicit content” warning, you could tell that take was going to involve bone crunching violence. Let’s face it, anyone taking on real life criminals will need a bit more than a fancy costume and a selection of witticisms to survive. In its two issues so far, Kick-Ass delivers what it says on the label. The fight sequences are incredibly brutal, and you can almost feel every hit, but the question I find myself increasingly pondering is; why is Dave doing this to himself? Issue #1 opens with Dave being tortured in a way that, chances are, will stop him procreating (probably no bad thing), with the current events being told in flashback. So far the events leading up to that have not been explained, but from what we’ve seen, Dave survives more by luck than anything else. I can accept boredom, and a wish to find out, as an initial motivation to become a have a go hero, but his desire to carry on, when he knows how lucky he was after the first time, is inexplicable. Interestingly, Dave can ascribe no motive to his own actions either, suggesting that either Millar couldn’t come up with a motive, or he’s written a character who is, basically, nuts …. Finding a plausible motivation for a character to dress up as a spider/bat/other and beat up bad guys has provided fertile grounds for comic book writers for years, and I don’t think that anyone’s hit on boredom, or being a bit strange, as a motivation before. Probably for good reason, as (so far) Dave is a character whom I find it difficult to identify with, sympathise with, or even root for, as his actions are essentially meaningless. Of course, as General “Buck” Turgidson says, don’t rush to judge before all the facts are in, and this is only the second issue. I’m still in for the next couple of issues at least to see where this goes. However, if Millar’s answer to the question “What would motivate a real life superhero?” is “They’re not playing with a full deck”, I’ll be very disappointed, as I knew that already. |
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| Web of Fear |
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier HC
Don't bother reading this - you can't buy it! Written by Alan Moore Drawn by Kevin O’Neill The second volume of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LOEG) ended with the words “There now follows an intermission”. And what an intermission it was. Originally solicited by DC/Wildstorm for publication in summer 2006, the release date was repeatedly put back until it finally came out in November 2007. Only in America. Due to some copyright complication, in August 2007 it was announced that the Black Dossier would not be released outside of the United States. Appropriately enough for a spy themed book, acquisition of this HC does require some covert skills. So was it worth the wait? For those not familiar with the comics (which are nothing like the film of the same name), the League is a long established institution of "extraordinary" individuals who from time to time are gathered together by British Secret Intelligence to combat threats to the British Empire. The trick is that almost all the characters are the creations of other authors. So far the two published stories have focused on the late 19th Century League (comprising Mina Murray (from Dracula), Allan Quartermain (from King Solomon's Mines), Captain Nemo (from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea), Hawley Griffin (from The Invisible Man) and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (from, well, you know)) who have in turn investigated the theft of the levitating metal Cavorite, and been involved in the efforts to repel the Martian invasion of England. Having left the League in 1898 at the end of the second volume, the Dossier picks things up in 1950’s England following the collapse of George Orwell’s “Big Brother” government. Mina and a rejuvenated Allan are disavowed former agents of the League, who steal the titular Black Dossier. The authorities then pursue them by employing a young secret agent named Jimmy with an eye for the ladies and a taste for vodka martinis, an unmarried Emma Peel and Bulldog Drummond. It didn’t take long to work out that the Dossier is very different to the previous volumes of the League. The previous volumes were very much “Victorian Avengers”, albeit a highly dysfunctional Avengers group, with a relatively straightforward narrative. The Dossier is a much more complex conspiracy narrative, which I haven’t fully grasped after only one reading prior to writing this review. Those familiar with Watchmen will recall the inclusion of the narrative texts between the chapters, and those are present in the Dossier, though with the trick that the characters in the book read the pages of the Dossier the reader is then presented with. Unlike previous volumes, which had the narrative texts at the end, these segments are much more part of the story. The Dossier ends with a rather bizarre sequence set in “The Blazing World” for which the reader is provided with a pair of 3-D glasses. Really. At this point the book lurches from a spy thriller to something else altogether, where Moore seems to venture his theories about fiction generally. Pretentious twaddle or inspired insight? Not sure, it’ll probably take a few more reads to reach a conclusion. With Moore you can normally expect the unexpected, and with the Black Dossier he delivers with something that is probably as brilliant as it is frustrating. Existing League fans will want to snap this up (and those outside the US will need to make an extra effort). For those unfamiliar with the League this is not to place to dive into the Blazing World, but I would heartily recommend the first two volumes. Rule Britannia! |
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| Batmanuel |
Thanks John.
and really exellent choices if you dont mind me saying so, the loeg and bone reviews have been added to the main site... see them here and your kick ass review will follow soon. Thanks again 
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| CatFang |
Excellent reviews, WebofFear.
I have had the collected Bone for ages and not got round to reading it yet, but this has made up my mind that it should be the next thing on my list - although it looks very heavy to take on the train! Great job at doing the impossible and neatly summing up the action and the feel of LOEG as well. |
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| Web of Fear |
Thanks for the kind words chaps.
CatFang - Glad you've been persuaded to read Bone next, though it's not exactly "light" reading. 
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| Xeall |
wow buddy you really went to town with that one. Thanks for taking the call.
Also glad you reviewed kick ass, i really didn't want to touch that one. although i think it would be nice to have to veiws on the same comic. Thanks again pal |
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| Reaper |
Like the Kick-Ass review, made some interesting points. | ||
| Web of Fear |
Thanks! | ||
| CatFang |
Started the collected Bone this morning on my ride to work. Really into it already. The linework is beautiful. I love the Red Dragon and the Rat Creatures. | ||
| Web of Fear |
Glad you're enjoying it!
When you're done, there's the two prequels, Rose and Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, though they are less weightier tomes and there's also an Art of Bone coffee table book. They're all well worth getting IMO. |
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| CatFang |
I finished it over the weekend. It was truly awesome
I'll have a look out for the other stuff as well. Now I am worried about the film 
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| Batmanuel |
Cat
while you are looking, check out Pride of Baghdad. its got nothing at all to do with Bone, but it is very very good. |
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| Web of Fear |
Glad you enjoyed it.
There was a previous attempt to create a film version, but it didn't happen for the usual "creative differences". There is an unsourced statement on the ever infallible Wikipedia that the Bones would be voiced child actors, and features songs! 
If that's true, thank goodness it never happened! |
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| CatFang |
*shivers* I have an ideal candidate to play the rat creture who likes quiche, though, he is sooooo like one of my cats! Just have to teach him to talk. |
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| Web of Fear |
They're back!
RASL Written and drawn by Jeff Smith Cartoon Books First off, I’m going to try and avoid making comparisons to the title for which Jeff Smith is most well known, Bone. I’ve drawn a few parallels already, but I’m sure there will be plenty of those elsewhere, so I'll avoid posting them here. Four years after finishing his epic, Jeff Smith returns to the world of writing, drawing and publishing his own title. While Bone belonged to a world of dragons and princesses, RASL (pronounced “Rassle”) establishes its own credentials as a sci-fi noir, as the central character is an inter-dimensional art thief. Yes, you read that right. RASL uses an “immersion suit” (resembling four large jet engines strapped to his shoulders and knees and an Aztec mask) and uses the technology to power though realities, known as the Drift. There he steals valuable artwork from another reality, cheekily spray paints his initials on the wall, before returning home with it. Back home, there is another original that no one misses. Of course, it’s not that simple. The process of travelling between realities is incredibly physically painful and also appears linked to RASL’s state of mind. It also seems that a mysterious reality hopping organization referred to as “The Compound” is chasing RASL, when a stranger with a peculiar face shows up, without warning and the clear intention of sending RASL to the mortuary. In the two issues so far, there’s plenty of questions raised (which I’ll leave out here for the sake of not including too many spoilers), so already there’s a lot to look forward too. Bone took some directions that I didn’t expect when I started it, and hopefully RASL will do the same. Jeff Smith’s black and white art is crisp and clean, with nice use of shadow and silhouette. Issue 1 is interspersed with a nice wordless sequence of RASL idly throwing pebbles into a lake, the ripples spreading out, hinting at portentous events ahead. I’m very much enjoying find out about a totally new character, and it's tightly paced so far. With issue 2 just out, and issue 1 going back to the printers, this is an ideal time to don your immersion suit and enter the Drift. I have high hopes that the ride will be worth it. |
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| Web of Fear |
Jeff Smith interview about RASL
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=139951 |
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| Batmanuel |
Very nice review john, Thanks, and as the huge Bone fan that i am,
and although i haven't read RASL, its nice to see these comments Its nice to read this report, and reminds me of my own comments on Terry Moores Echo, looks like Jeff Smith is also not a one trick pony. |
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| Web of Fear |
Thanks. Feel free to post it in the reviews on the WC homepage.
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| Web of Fear |
They're back again!
Batman: The Killing Joke – Deluxe Edition Written by Alan Moore Art by Brian Bolland Published by DC Comics What can be said about The Killing Joke that hasn’t already been said? It routinely pops up in various lists as one of the best Batman tales and it's very dark and somewhat disturbing. One of the key characters suffers a fate that had repercussions across the Bat universe, which remains in place. It includes a possible origin for the Joker, and Batman attempts to prevent one of them having to kill the other. All this and it’s only 48 pages long. Oh, and Alan Moore hates it. It’s long been out of print, which given all this is surprising, but as I already had a copy, news of the reprint didn’t bother me too much. Never mind the hardback cover and extra story, or that Brian Bolland had re-coloured it the way he wanted; I wasn’t going to let DC make me shell out again. Then I found a display copy and saw the “flashbacks” had been redone in a muted grey with only one or two items in red, the shrimps from the bar scene, or the Red Hood’s, er, red hood whereas before the scenes were in a sickly yellow tint. So I picked it up, enjoyed the story again, and then compared the difference in the colours between the new version and the original. What a difference. Gone are the yellows, which permeated the original version, and the whole thing in now toned down to a much more muted and naturalistic lighting effect, but where the colours are vivid, they are of a much more dramatic impact. The new hardcover format is nice, and there’s also a well written Tim Sale foreword, and Bolland afterword. Even the short story at the end “An Innocent Man” written and drawn by Bolland is quite chilling. All in all, an excellent product. If you don’t own a copy of The Killing Joke, or just have the original version, pick this up. You’ll either enjoy a fine tale for the first time, or a much improved version of the same. |
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| Reaper |
Why does Alan Moore hate it? | ||
| Web of Fear |
In an interview I read, it's because he doesn't own it, and DC can do whatever they want with it without consulting him. Here's the excerpt
Link to the full interview (worth reading): http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=7895 |
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| CatFang |
Great article. Lots to look forward to there for the coming year, that's for certain.
I certainly applaud what Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie were trying to achieve, although it didn't really work for me. The set of hardbacks is a gorgeous collection though. It's very difficult about these rights issues from back in the earlier years of comics. By today's standards these contracts would be considered unfair, and no one would sign them, but if that was the deal you were prepared to accept then, well you can't really expect companies to fall over themselves to undo something that made them a lot of money. Of course, you might think that maintaining good relations with some of the best talent in the world so that they will continue to work for you, and not blacken your name to consumers and new creators entering the field might be worth more in the long run 
It doesn't sound to me like he hates the work he did, though, just that he disowns it on principle. The new Killing Joke is truly a lovely thing though. It makes it difficult to buy things where you know the creator is not happy/compensated...but I am weak and want the pretty things. |
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| Batmanuel |
Thanks for the new review, i will with your king permission post this on the main site, in time that is
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| Web of Fear |
Anyone who asks me for a comic recommendation will inevitably have me enthusing about both The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Bone within seconds.
So when I was in London the other day I picked up two things which interested me as a fan of both works, Jeff Smith: Bone and Beyond and Scarlet Traces. Here’s my musings on both. Jeff Smith: Bone and Beyond Various authors Published by Wexner Center For The Arts The Wexner Center in Ohio recently hosted a display of the same name as this book. As my chances of getting to the exhibition were always rather slim, I was pleased to read that the exhibition catalogue was available, so I got a copy off the shelf as soon as I saw it. It’s a nicely presented hardback book, and a good companion volume to Dark Horse’s Art of Bone book. While the Art book contains lots of sketches and the like, it’s somewhat light on analysis of the 1,300 plus pages of dense story. This book is almost the polar opposite. Very little (if any) artwork I haven’t seen before, but lots of discussion about the storytelling and artwork in Bone, and a good look at the influences, particularly newspaper cartoon strips. The main chunk of the book is a frank interview with Smith himself about his influences and crafting his magnum opus, which I found fascinating. Neil Gaiman offers a retrospective, while Scott McCould makes some prudent observations about the subtleties of the artwork. What I did find a slight oddity in the book is a lengthy chapter about Carl Barks’ Uncle Scrooge stories (not something I’m familiar with). It traces how these influence the creation of the greedy Phoney Bone, as well as the dynamic of his relationship with his cousins Fone and Smiley. However, it also recounts quite of few of the duck’s adventures, and could have been shortened a bit. However, this is only a minor quibble, and I did gain some insight from this. Nonetheless, I will certainly be adding this to my recommendations for those who want to know more about the origins of Bone. Onto my second purchase. Scarlet Traces HC Written by Ian Edginton Art by D’Israeli Published by Dark Horse Comics As a fan of H G Wells’ The War of the Worlds, Victorian crime stories as well as the LEOG, this seemed ideal. Set ten years after the Martian Invasion is over, England has recovered. Not only has it recovered, Britain is stronger than ever. Martian technology has been salvaged and mastered by the British, so now homes are heated by the heat ray, and cars and hansom cabs scuttle along on spider like legs. Britain uses the technological superiority to (rather ruthlessly) maintain the Empire. When mutilated bodies start to wash up in the Thames, retired soldier Robert Autumn and his manservant Archie Currie are drawn into a conspiracy that leads to a dark secret at the heart of the Empire (don’t they aways). The story is slim, so to say more will give too much away. The artwork is bold, clean and colourful. The project was originally going to be a web based animation that fell through, and that shows in the art. The adaptations of the Martian technology are ingenious (including some mini tripods cleaning London’s flying rats away). The story is clever, and I like many of the concepts, but frankly moves too quickly. I read it all on the train on the way back home. This is my main gripe with the book – it’s too short. Everything moves along at a breakneck speed, and there seems like there’s hardly any time to get to know characters, or for those characters to develop. Perhaps other than the relative twist in the ending, the characters did seem a little clichéd. Plus, the conspiracy seems to be unravelled with such relative ease that one wonders how the regular authorities missed it, or how it was covered up to begin with. In fairness, there is another volume that takes up events after this story that I have yet to read. I probably will get this in due course, but I wasn’t so gripped by the story that I wanted to rush out and get hold of it immediately. This just wasn’t as satisfying a read as I had hoped for. |
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| Web of Fear |
Madame Mirage TPB
Written by Paul Dini Art by Kenneth Rocafort Published by Top Cow Quick review here. Picked this up from my LCS for a reasonable price and it’s quite good value for money. This collects 6 issues, an entire arc, with a complete cover gallery in a nicely presented trade. It’s set in the future where meta humans have been banned, and the bad guys hire out their services to the highest bidder. That is until Madame Mirage shows up. She’s a buxom brunette (hardly surprising in a Top Cow comic) in anachronistic 40’s clothes, who’s capable of kicking serious bad guy ass. It’s pretty clear that she’s out to take down the bad guys, and has more than a secret or two of her own to share as she works her way up the bad guys food chain. There’s lots of action, and Mirage’s abilities make her an unpredictable opponent in fights. Rocafort’s artwork is nice, but somewhat typical of the Top Cow “house style” for want of a better phrase. Overall, I found the story a bit slight, but nonetheless enjoyable. Nothing outstanding, but nothing awful either. |
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| Web of Fear |
Scarlet Traces: The Great Game HC
Written by Ian Edginton Art by D’Israeli Published by Dark Horse Comics On a trip up to London for a really dull work related meeting, I wandered into the comic shop where I bought the first volume of this story and its Martian related hi-jinks, and decided that I may as well get the second volume and see what I made of it. So here’s my not very anticipated sequel review, of a sequel I myself wasn’t much anticipating. The first volume ends with the British Empire declaring war on the Martians, and this picks up the story 20 years later. The war has ground to a bloody standstill, and Britain is becoming politically isolated on Earth, as the death toll mounts and there is no end in sight. Other countries wish to withdraw from the Empire, so they can recall their troops. Yes, I know ….. Hero from volume one, gentleman adventurer Robert Autumn, reappears and commissions our plucky heroine, photographer Charlotte Hemming to go to Mars and find out some fundamental truths about the war. Like the first volume, there’s a nasty secret to unearth … Once more the artwork is nice, and again there some creative uses of human adaptation of Martian technology, as well as some Dan Dare references and some superb Martian vistas. There’s even a couple of Doctor Who in jokes … What let the first volume down for me were the speed of the plot, and the lack of character development. With one main character in this story I found that story aspect more satisfying. The pace also seemed more relaxed, but I still think it raced to something of a conclusion in the final chapter. Don't get me wrong, it's best that a story isn't padded, but this still seemed hurried. Nor did I think that the political subtext about the Martian war was anything particularly insightful, or anything that hadn’t been attempted in other media. Overall, the two volumes do make a good story, but not one that in all honesty I think will be high on my list of comics to reread anytime soon. |
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| Web of Fear |
Michael Turner’s Fathom: Definitive Edition TPB
Published by Aspen Written by Michael Turner and Bill O'Neil Pencils by Michael Turner While Top Cow’s Witchblade was the late Michael Turner breakout title, Fathom was his first creator owned title. Fathom debuted in 1998 and I imagine was originally greenlit by Top Cow to capitalize on the success and popularity of Turner’s style on Witchblade, but Aspen Matthews (the main character) and her undersea world were taken by Turner and used as Aspen Comics flagship title when he went solo in 2003 (after some legal wrangling with Top Cow). The title was co written by Turner, who was no stranger to writing having assisted with the plotting of Witchblade. This Definitive Volume could be Fathom: The Top Cow Years. It collects pretty much everything published under the Top Cow banner; issues 1 to 11, and extracts of 12, 13 and 14. In addition, there are some rarities; issues 0, 1/2, Aspen: The Extended Edition (launching Aspen Comics in 2003), cover galleries, swimsuit editions, trading cards, and a few sketches. Additionally there are introductions and forewords from Michael’s co collaborators. Phew! From her introduction in the first nine issue story, Fathom may seem no different to the titles typical of the time. Aspen Matthews is a young, attractive, sassy brunette. She’s a marine biologist, surfer and a former Olympic swimmer – so there’s lots of opportunity to draw her in her swimwear. However, I don’t think you have to get too far into this to realize that this distinguishes itself quite nicely from other 90’s “bad girl” titles. For starters, she’s not really a “bad girl”. The opening sequence shows Aspen’s first memory – appearing on a ship that’s been missing for 10 years. She wasn’t on the ship’s manifest. She feels a strange bond to the water, leading her to her chosen vocation and hobbies. Aspen is offered the chance to participate in a research project at the bottom of the sea, and discovers some startling truths. There are two worlds, the one we know, and the one below – to quote Full Circle, the prophetic poem that runs thematically through the story. Humans aren’t the only people on the planet. The undersea world is also occupied. And these undersea dudes aren’t happy with what we’ve been pumping into their backyard, and they’ve decided enough is enough. Of course, there are more than a few humans who know about this and have decided that a spot of pre-emptive action is required. And one of those humans is a US Navy Admiral with some serious hardware at his disposal. So with the two sides poised, it really doesn’t help that due to a serious f**k up by a Navy pilot who disobeys orders, the research facility Aspen has newly arrived at is destroyed with the loss of all life – except Aspen. It turns out that Aspen is in reality one of the underwater race (known as the Blue in Volume 2), though brought up by humans; child of two worlds (another theme of the poem). And various factions are after her – the enigmatic Cannon Hawke, the charismatic Killian, and the goofy Chance, the pilot who destroyed the research facility. Aspen becomes involved with all of them, and the mysterious Blue Sun. Once all this is resolved there’s a second two part story, a light hearted tale as Aspen investigates strange sea creatures with the help (or quite possibly hindrance) of a schizophrenic seafarer and his bizarre ramshackle submarine. All good, silly fun. The third story is extracts from the final three Top Cow issues. The original comics saw Aspen team up with Sara Pezzini, the wielder of the Witchblade and Lara Croft, everyone’s favourite Tomb Raider. Presumably for copyright reasons, the story has been reworked to remove both Sara and Lara, and it’s now Aspen on her own in the chilly Arctic waters. Perhaps a little disappointing it’s not the full story, but one has to be realistic about these things, and the reworked story does hold together quite nicely. Finally there’s then the Aspen: Extended Edition story – effectively a short set up for Volume Two, which was published under the Aspen banner – seeing the introduction of Kiani and the Black, another undersea race. Of course, what Michael Turner was most well known for was his artistic style, and that’s is on display in abundance in this volume, there are pages of creativity in the designs of the undersea people’s costumes and weaponry, bizarre sea monsters, human hardware, underwater vistas and tranquil ocean sunsets. It may be a cliché, but I do regard Michael Turner’s creative vision as being unique. Then there are the ladies. Yes, they make look like they all have an eating disorder, but most of the men look like they spent all their waking time working out. Comic artwork has never been about photo realism, and for me anyway, the whole thing just looks so good on the page, especially with the fantastic colouring throughout, it’s never been something that I’ve been bothered by. Credit also has to be given to the writing. The main story is really quite a complex tale, of discovery, shifting allegiances, complex morality and international tensions, and there’s a nice sense of humour at play in the short story. The pages are full of dialogue, and it’s good to see a comic writer, well, write. It was such a shame that Michael Turner passed away, as I would have loved to see what other worlds he had in mind in the years to come. This is my favourite Turner work, and I’m glad to see it receive such top notch treatment. It is a fine tribute to the talents of Michael Turner, as both writer and artist. Of course, this wasn’t a one man show, and there were many other outstanding collaborators (got to mention the colours again) on the project, who all contribute to make this what it is, but from reading the forewords, it seems that this was Michael’s baby (and I hope I’m not out of place in say that). For me, this certainly justifies the price tag, and there’s plenty to get to grips with, both to look at and to read. RIP Michael. |
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| Batmanuel |
Thanks for the great review, always a pleasure, never a task to read
i have now placed this on the site with a home page presence. |
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| Web of Fear |
Once more, they return!
Powers Volume 12: The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time TPB Written by: Brian Michael Bendis Art by: Michael Avon Oeming Published by Icon/Marvel With the release of this trade, Powers catches up with the monthly comics, with all published comics now collected in paperback format. From what I gather, the new story arc (intriguingly tilted simply “Z”) will see Powers re-launched as volume 3 (volume 1 published by Image Comics, volume 2 published by Marvel under its’ Icon imprint). So what does this story bring us? For those unfamiliar with Powers, a quick recap. Powers is set in a comic universe superficially similar to the main Marvel or DC universes – superpowers and costumed heroics are part of everyday life. However, the focus for some time has been on two Detectives; Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim. They are assigned to a “Powers” Unit that investigates crimes with a superhuman element. This generally involves taking them into dark and sordid places, and tending to focus on Police procedure. That said my favourite Powers trades (Forever, Cosmic and Secret Identity) have been pretty radical departures from that. More recently, Deena has become infected with a Powers virus (granting her abilities – outlawed in the Powers universe), and has been keeping this secret from those around her. Her troubles have increased as she has become subject to Internal Affairs investigation concerning her possible involvement in the death of a mob boss, and she has gone AWOL. This story picks things up from there, as Walker is assigned a new partner with an agenda of her own and the latest crime spree hits the city. Young girls are being abducted, murdered and their bodies found dressed in superheroes costumes. Obviously, there is a public demand for swift justice and Walker is assigned to case, returning to more familiar Powers territory. Walker quickly runs into his former MIA partner who is involved in this in some way. To say much more on the plot will give too much away, but this arc does bring together a number of plot stands that have been left open for some time, including some back as far as the very first story published under Image. Like all Powers stories, the plot moves along at a nice swift pace, and features the trademark foul language, graphic violence and sexual content. Oeming has developed a consistent Powers style at this point, reminding me somewhat of the Bruce Timm influenced Batman cartoon, with very nice use of dark and shadow, emphasizing the underworld tones of the story. However, as this story ties up a number of issues that have been outstanding for some time, I did find myself reaching for the old TPB’s to cross reference the events in this trade. From that perspective, I wouldn’t recommend this trade as being the best place for new readers to start. It did somewhat slow the read down, as I was struggling to remember details from years ago. However, on reflection, you often get out of things what you put into them, and I did find this a more satisfying read as a result. What is a bit of an oddity is the reprint of 2008’s Powers Annual, detailing a (very) old Walker tale. Nice that it’s there, but it’s slotted in right between two parts of the main story arc, when it doesn’t seem to fit there. It’s easy enough to flip past and read later, but I’m not sure why it isn’t put in the back of the main story… If you have been following Powers on a casual or regular basis, pick it up, as it probably is an essential read to understanding the Powers Universe, as well as tying up old loose ends. There is also something of an “end of an era” feel to it. To the new reader, looking for a different take on capes and tights, this one will best be saved until you’ve read a few of the other trades - start with Volume 1 “Who Killed Retro Girl?”. |
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| Batmanuel |
Lovely, these will be going onto the whatevercomics review section asap.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thought with us
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| Web of Fear |
You're welcome.
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| Web of Fear |
Well, since I got it:
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910 Written by Alan Moore Art by Kevin O’Neill Published by Top Shelf/Knockabout Comics On the last occasion new League material was available, due to some copyright snafu, it wasn’t officially available outside the US. As a result everyone who wanted it (and wasn’t American) had to get it unofficially, which quite frankly wasn’t too hard. Nonetheless it did mean an extra wait on something that fans had already been anticipating for some time. It’s therefore with a certain amount of glee that I’ve been able to get hold of an advance copy of the latest offering, as a comic shop in London had a batch flown over a couple of weeks ahead of the general release, and even got Messrs Moore and O’Neill to sign them for those that turned up, myself included. 2007’s Black Dossier proved somewhat divisive amongst readers, focusing on League stalwarts Mina Murray and Allan Quartermain in an espionage themed tale set in the 1950’s. The Dossier also featured a lot of prose interwoven with the comic story, giving a history of the League. Part One of Century returns to the slightly more familiar times and narrative structure of the first two volumes. Twelve years after the failed Martian Invasion, the revised League now consists of Allan and Mina, accompanied by Viginia Woolf’s immortal, gender changing, Orlando, E W Honung’s gentlemen thief A J Raffles and William Hodgson’s occult detective, Thomas Carnacki. At the time of the coronation of the new King, Carnacki has a prophetic dream of a cult seeking to bring about a “Moonchild” and an era of chaos and destruction (thanks for that guys), so the League sets off to investigate. Meanwhile, estranged former League member Captain Nemo argues with his daughter, and she subsequently flees to London. Of course, paths start to cross and those pesky prophecies never quite mean what you think they do … The return to a more familiar setting and form of storytelling is something that those who didn’t like the Dossier will probably welcome, but don’t get too comfortable as Part Two will leap forward to 1968, and Part Three to contemporary London. Although it’s been structured in such a way that this is a complete story in itself, we all know that it’s a three-parter, and thus there is a sense at the end of the book that things are really only just beginning. The plot is satisfyingly complicated, more so than Volumes 1 and 2, as a lot of time is devoted to setting up the remaining two issues. Although I read the whole thing in the queue for the signing, it took a second, proper sit down, read at home to grasp fully what was going on. The curiosity in this issue is that a couple of the characters comment on the action in the form of song, with Moore apparently influenced by “Threepenny Opera”. This isn’t something I’m familiar with, and according to the always reliable Wikipedia, these are re-workings of the lyrics of existing songs. I’ll need to do a bit of research, and being familiar with the rhythms of the songs probably would have made for easier reading. A criticism many had of the Dossier was the copious amounts of nudity and sexual content, not so much in the comic narrative, rather in the prose and accompanying illustrations. That’s been reigned in considerably for 1910, though the turning point of the issue is a repellant sex act, but we’re spared actually witnessing it, and the consequences are devastating for all concerned. O’Niell’s style on these books is well established, crammed with detail and littered with bizarre buildings, technology, obscure and not so obscure fictional references. I particularly liked the sequence of the bizarre arrival and departure of “The Prisoner of London”, but I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t any sequences akin to the descent into the Martian valley, or Hyde brooding, both from Volume 2. As ever the book ends with a narrative section, this time entitled “Minions of the Moon”. From reading in advance, I had thought that this would be similar to Volumes 2’s Traveller’s Almanac (an account of the League’s fictional world) but instead it seems to be both an account of what happens after the end of this book and gets the reader ready for Part Two. I found this to be somewhat more reader friendly than some of the prose in previous Leagues and we even catch up with an old fiend from Volume 1. All in all, this seemed a logical continuation of the Nineteenth Century League, instantly more enjoyable than the Dossier and, I suspect, will be less divisive amongst readers. Although I’ve drawn a lot of comparisons with previous Leagues, and this part is superficially similar to the first two volumes, I rather suspect that when all three parts are finally in our hands, the whole experience will be very different to what has gone before. I certainly hope so! Existing League fans won’t need me to tell them to get this, and I do think it represents good value for money in these tight economic times, coming at a nice price and crammed with story, art and in a nice bound format. I do wonder if, unlike Volume 2 and the Dossier if this is something that readers new to the League could use as a “jumping on” point, with no prior knowledge (although you’d get lost reading Minions of the Moon). But frankly, why would you want to do that, as all the other books are ready obtainable at good prices? Long live the King! |
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| CatFang |
Really looking forward to this!
The Geek Syndicate boys were at the signing and got some comments, and some chuckling, out of Alan Moore and Kev and O'Neill. They are so wise, those two With all these reviews I feel like doing some more Blasts From The Past again.
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| Web of Fear |
Like a bad penny, they're back again, with another Alan Moore review.
From Hell Written by Alan Moore Art by Eddie Campbell Published by Top Shelf If you are only interested in comics about brightly clad, buff bodied superhumans, stop reading now, as this book won’t interest you. Seriously. It’s over 500 pages long and all in black and white. The key characters are old and out of shape. Still here? OK then. Between 1991 and 1996 (1998 if you count an appendix) his dark imperial majesty Alan Moore teamed up with Australian based artist Eddie Campbell to produce From Hell. This was a limited 10 part series looking at the crimes and motives of the infamous unsolved “Jack the Ripper” murders. In case you’ve been living in a cave all your life, in the autumn of 1888 in the Whitechapel area of the east End of London, five prostitutes were brutally murdered and subject to varying degrees of mutilation. The horrendous murders, all deemed to be the work of one killer, were never solved. Consequently, this has sparked a considerable amount of interest from professional and amateur detectives alike, endless conspiracy theorists and of course, writers of fiction. Jack has ripped his way through all manner of comics, books, TV shows and movies. He’s met Sherlock Holmes, H G Wells and even Captain Kirk! So given that Jack the Ripper has been done to death (sorry) what’s different about From Hell? For starters, in From Hell there is no mystery of who the Ripper is. Every other Ripper story I’ve seen a whodunit, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Here, taking his culprit from Stephen Knight’s The Final Solution Ripper theory, Moore introduces the Ripper as Royal Doctor, Sir William Gull in the second chapter. The book then follows Gull from his conception of the crimes, to their planning, their commission, and the impact out of their completion, both to Gull’s mind (in increasingly odd ways) and society. Moore weaves a number of Ripper theories, historic records and (by his own admission) his invention into his own theory. This theory probably holds as much water as my colander, but it’s no better or worse than anyone else’s theory, and it is all presented in a gripping, believable fashion. The amount of research carried out is very impressive given there is 50 odd pages of notes at the back of the volume, and even Moore says he has left things out from those notes. Making Gull the central character must have been ideal for Moore. Gull was a Freemason, and Moore is a well know dabbler in magic. Gull is attributed an obsession for symbol and ritual, providing Moore when plenty of opportunity to show off and expand on these and the meanings that lie within. Or maybe just make it up. Who knows? Nonetheless, it provides a suitably bizarre motive for crimes that (hopefully) most people will be will be unable to fathom. The story is filled out with a variety of supporting characters, Gull’s unwilling accomplice, coachman Netley, workmanlike police inspector Abberline, and the unfortunate five victims. There are also a few visits to Queen Victoria and John Merrick, the Elephant Man. We get to meet the whole spectrum of Victorian society, and a sense of how vast the divide between rich and poor was. Indeed, one lengthy sequence contrasts Gull and the prostitutes going about their day to day existence, Gull shown in soft pencils, the prostitutes in a much harsher technique, underlining this vast social gulf. Campbell provides dark, dirty scratchy pencils. Don’t be put off by a quick flick through the pages in your LCS – you get used to them. They capture the underbelly of society where the Ripper carries out his work, be it courtyards or the squalid rooms where the prostitutes ply their trade. A number of sequences pass wordlessly and to great effect, in particular the ninth chapter (showing the final and most horrific of the Ripper crimes) is told almost exclusively through pictures alone. In 2001 the story was turned into a movie starring Johnny Depp’s facial hair and Heather Graham’s cleavage. Despite taking the name, central theory and a number of the scenes from the comic, it shifted the emphasis away from Gull and onto Abberline’s detection efforts. Thus, immediately losing what made the comic so unique in the first place. Still, Moore’s original vision was something that would never have made it into a mainstream Hollywood movie anyway … It’s not for everyone. Be warned, it’s extremely graphic, both in terms of the violence, details of dismemberment, but also sexually. Adults only. However, if you want to read a skillful collage of historical fact, conspiracy theory, social commentary, magic, time travel and pure fiction check it out. The current edition from Knockabout has been somewhat “cleaned up” and printed on better quality paper than my old movie tie in edition, considerably improving the appearance of the artwork. I have a nifty hardback version, which is a limited edition release. At the time of writing, I haven’t been able to establish if this is still available. |
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| Web of Fear |
I'm reviewing a Marvel comic. Yikes!
Black Widow: Sting of the Widow Written by Stan Lee, N Korok, Gary Fredrich, Mimi Gold, Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway Art by Don Heck, John Romita, John Buscema & Gene Colan Published by Marvel With Scarlett Johanson squeezing her curves into a catsuit to play the Black Widow in the upcoming Iron Man sequel, Marvel is taking this opportunity to promote its leading ex Soviet super spy. With not one, but two limited series in the offing, this hard cover takes a retrospective look at some of the key moments in the Widow’s history. It kicks off with Tales of Suspense #52, Natasha’s (or Lady Natasha, as she seem to go by in this book) first appearance. She is recruited by those dastardly Reds to help recover a Soviet defector now working for Tony Stark. Frankly, a first appearance is all this, as the Widow is team up with a Russian strongman, who frankly hogs all the action going toe to toe with Iron Man. Still, a first appearance is a first appearance. Things then leap forward to Amazing Spider-Man #86. At this point the Widow has been about in the Marvel Universe for some time. The key Widow moment in this issue is the ditching of the original costume for the more familiar simple black catsuit. A considerable character design improvement in my view, seeming more striking and deadly than the somewhat silly fishnet tights, mini cape and mask she had up until this point. With a new costume, the Widow decides to go square up to Spidey (who’s not feeling too good) to, apparently, “discover the secret of his powers”. Whatever. They fight, it’s nothing special, but there is always the fun of Stan Lee’s verbose narration, and John Romita Sr on art duties. Amazing Adventures #1 to 8 is the real curiosity of this book. For once, it’s the Widow on her own, and not crashing someone else’s title. In the first four issues a group of kids who force local hoods out of a building, which they then illegally occupy, but to help feed disadvantaged locals. The roughs they took the building from want it back, and the legal authorities want to evict them. Nat gets involved to help the kids out, putting her between the law and the criminals. Obviously it’s an attempt at social commentary, but the kids we are meant to be sympathetic with, erm, aren’t. In the next three issues, Natasha altruistically helps an attempted suicide, discovering the criminal life he has fallen into. She becomes again involved and begins to develop a notion that she is cursed and everyone around her will die. It seems to be another social commentary, which again falls a bit flat. Amazing Adventures #8 has Natasha fighting a superpowered serial killer with a grudge against Russians, and that’s about all there is to say. Daredevil #81 is the first meeting of Daredevil and the Widow, with the Widow later becoming a frequent player in the DD universe. Widow saves DD’s bacon at the start of the issue, then she teams up with DD to foil a bank raid by the Owl. Similar to the issue of ASM, it’s nothing special. Lastly, there’s a couple of excerpts from OHOTMU. Strangely, the picture of the Black Widow is from her even later, short hair era. All in all, it’s something of an oddity. Perhaps a good illustration that what might be a key moments in a character’s history, might not necessarily make great story telling. |
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