Web of Fear's Reviews!

Web of Fear · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 9:48 pm Post subject: 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 · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 9:49 pm Post subject:

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 · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 9:51 pm Post subject:

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 · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject:

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 · Mod Joined: 20 Oct 2006 Posts: 2484 Location: Canterbury

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 Very Happy

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CatFang · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:43 am Post subject:

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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Cy Dethan's Awesome Website

Web of Fear · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 1:03 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the kind words chaps.

CatFang - Glad you've been persuaded to read Bone next, though it's not exactly "light" reading. Smile

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Xeall · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 10:23 pm Post subject:

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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Ninjarific

Reaper · Uber Geek! Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 3624

Like the Kick-Ass review, made some interesting points.
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Pro Massacre Boy!

Web of Fear · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 7:45 am Post subject:

Thanks!

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