Avengers vs. X-Men #4: Somehow, even though so little happened, I ended up liking this issue slightly more than the previous three. Partly it was John Romita, Jr. who, despite some noticeable mistakes (the guy cannot get a handle on Colussus' helmet, huh?) generally delivered stronger work than before. The Polar Bear was nice looking, and Romita seems to have finally pinned down Hope. Mostly, though, I just enjoyed the Hope-Logan interactions as written by Jonathan Hickman. To my knowledge, he's fairly new to these characters, but I warmed to them. For a while, anyway. In the end it all got ruined because Wolverine decided that being a dick on the Moon is somehow different/better than just doing it on Earth, and then there was some dumb yelling, and then we were done. The middle was also weak, showing us tiny and often poorly-drawn glimpses of fights taking place in other titles. Still unimpressive overall, but just the tiniest bit less so than the earlier issues.
4.0/10
Birds of Prey #9: I understand that, ostensibly, Birds of Prey lives within the bat-family of titles. And it takes place in Gotham, too, so I see the argument for including it in the "Night of the Owls" crossover. However, so much about this issue felt forced: their reasons for joining the fight, the solution they reach to kill the Talon, and especially the incredibly rushed ending. Travel Foreman is a welcome addition, and draws the hell out of the Talon, so if upcoming villains can similarly fit his style I think he's going to elevate the series overall. He did make Starling a bit more scantily-clad than necessary when seen through the Talon's twisted perspective, but he killed it with Katana and Canary both, so I think I can let that slide. But all Foreman got to draw here was one long, drawn out fight, and no matter how good that looks it gets boring. Hopefully once Duane Swierczynski doesn't have to shoehorn a crossover story in, he can return to the excellent superhero action-thriller he's been writing all along.
5.5/10
Daredevil #13: I just don't think Khoi Pham is right for this title. He did an OK job with Daredevil himself, but his Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock are both failures. And the panel where we see things as they look through Daredevil's pink sonar-vision things was a mess. Come to think of it, the New Avengers didn't look too great, either. Though not quite as bad as his first time on the title, Pham still feels like a poor fit here. Unfortunately, the story doesn't do all that much to help. I'm not a big fan of trick endings, but more than that, the whole thing felt more complicated than necessary, particularly when Daredevil ended up giving the drive to someone who asked for it ages ago. I know DD wanted to give Megacrime a new target, but I just wasn't thrilled with the solution Mark Waid cooked up. Still, Waid has earned a lot of credit with this title so far, and now that the Omega Drive stuff is winding down I'm anxious to see what's next. Plus, you know, DD in Latveria intrigues me...
4.5/10
Hardcore #1: A fairly standard first issue: introduce the high concept, the good guy, the bad guy, and the hook. I guess it's not totally obvious yet if Drake or Markus will be the ultimate hero of this tale, or if either of them even will be, but for the time being the roles seem set. The basic premise is a pretty cool bit of spy sci-fi, and Robert Kirkman introduces it clearly, but the exposition is largely delivered through kind of lame dialogue. While overall the character voices are strong, in those moments where they are explaining the concepts or their own actions they sound unnatural. Brian Stelfreeze handles the action scenes and the sci-fi elements all very well, and brings a nice energy to the overall feel of the book. His characters have some generic details, like facial shapes and glasses and such, but we know who's who and there's a lot of fun, entertaining stuff. I'm definitely curious to follow the title from here.
6.0/10
Hellblazer #291: I see why this is officially the epilogue to "Another Season in Hell" but truthfully it's more of a standalone story. A really good one. Constantine assembles a simple enough plan to take down his evil twin, puts it into action, and succeeds. Sometimes it's nice to just watch the hero win. Sometimes it's what they and the reader need. And it always feels good to have a major plot thread like this finally reach its resolution. Gemma is seemingly shuffled off the board for the time being, after being an integral part of the cast for a long stretch, and it feels not just right but good to see her go. First, of course, we get to see her torture the shit out of her own personal demon, and that feels just as good as her departure. Gael Bertrand really knocks out the artwork during Gemma's attack, and actually did a pretty fantastic job all over. At first his style was a bit jarring, but once I settled in it felt totally fitting. In a story about luring out a demon, Bertrand makes everyone looks a bit demonic, which sets a nice mood. Peter Milligan continues to tell wonderful tales of dark magic and violence and the Constantine clan, offering up a done-in-one story that still has major significance for the larger series.
8.5/10
Saga #3: Yes, this series is Brian K. Vaughan's idea, but make no mistake, Fiona Staples is the reason it is so excellent. Vaughan kicks ass in his own right. He keeps us plugged in to all the previous characters and advances their stories while still primarily using the issue to introduce Izabel, the ghost girl with no legs from the cover. And Izabel is a lot of fun. She's perhaps a bit of an archetypal chatty teen, but her history is interesting and I appreciate her go-getter attitude. I also continue to love The Will, and adding a bit of bitter romance to his character through The Stalk was a brilliant development. However, as I said, Fiona Staples' art is the reason to be reading this book. I finally realized it when I got to the page of The Will eating cereal with his cat. It so perfectly set the mood of the character for the conversation that followed. But really everything Staples draws, right down to her awesome colors, is breathtaking. Even the violent bits soothe the eyes. Vaughan and Staples are carefully constructing a universe together, and so far it looks and feels amazing.
8.0/10
Scalped #58: Very much a middle chapter, Scalped #58 is great, but the actual events of the issue didn't wow me. Important and heavy stuff happened, yes, but really Jason Aaron just turned the temperature up a little bit on all the chaos, bringing things that much closer to truly bubbling over. The cast seems to be getting set up for a final confrontation of some kind where everyone is trying to kill everyone else, but in this issue all we get are a few small moves in that direction. Important moves, yes, but small ones, like Dash learning about his child or Dino proposing an attack on Red Crow. Still, with only two issues left, Aaron and artist R.M. Guera both clearly know what they're doing from here on out. Guera brings his typical A game, which I mention as a courtesy since it's basically a given that any issue of Scalped which he draws will look phenomenal. Guess what? This one does, too. As big a void as it's going to leave, I'm more excited to read the conclusion to Scalped than anything else currently coming down the pipeline.
7.5/10
The Shadow #2: Garth Ennis' take on The Shadow is superb. Lamont Cranston is a no-nonsense, no-mercy kind of hero, who feels a genuine hate toward his foes. He acknowledges a certain darkness within himself, and embraces it, gladly giving up his own soul to fight the good fight. He's also a total badass, able to handle himself in a fight on an airplane where he is outnumbered and outgunned. And the details of his powers that we discover this issue make him all the more terrifying and fascinating. Ennis also writes a fully-realized and highly-likable Margo Lane. She's strong and capable but ultimately kind, an ideal counterbalance for Cranston whose just strong and hard from head to toe. They're a fun couple, and as we learn about them they also learn about each other. Aaron Campbell has a few rough moments on art, but mostly triumphs. The champagne glass in the eye is a great image, as are the fire extinguisher going off and The Shadow's initial entrance. Campbell is a talented noir artist, which is, of course, exactly what this story calls for. The Shadow is very quickly climbing up the list of my current favorite titles
8.0/10
Thunderbolts #174: A very Thunderbolts kind of ending, to be sure. Fixer being at the heart of the story helped with that, as did Jeff Parker's skillful use of his entire enormous cast. Parker and artist Declan Shalvey both have clearly hit a real groove with this series, and I am relieved the name change doesn't mean a change in creative team or, necessarily, cast. There will be additions, but based on this issue pretty much all the old-timers are sticking around, somewhen or another. That's definitely good news, but I appreciate that the end of the title Thunderbolts included the end of one its founding character's stories. An intelligent and satisfying way to make the transition.
6.5/10
Uncanny X-Men #12: So, why is Cyclops comfortable with ALL OF THE OTHER CHILDREN being in Avengers custody, but not Hope? I get that he wants the Phoenix to get to her and is afraid the Avengers will prevent that or whatever, but it still felt like it undermined his position somewhat the way he so forcefully brushed that topic aside. That's just one small gripe, and truth be told I have many. This title seems to really suffer from being forced into a crossover, because so far all that its tie-ins have offered is a bunch of fighting with no victors and no point. Visually, Greg land continues to underwhelm, particularly with Hepzibah and Namor. Their faces kept bothering me, as did their less-than-witty flirting from Kieron Gillen. The saving grace of this issue was the Tabula Rasa guy (whose name escapes me or maybe doesn't exist). He had some really fun bits all throughout, and his final assumption that all this fighting would lead to mating was awesome. A perfect little fuck you to the whole event. Even if that's not the intention, that's how I choose to read it.
4.5/10
Wonder Woman #9: So, so frustrating. I know Brian Azzarello likes wordplay, but Strife's stupid little turns of phrase alone made me want to pull my hair out. As if that wasn't enough, Tony Atkins doesn't make her look nearly as cool or powerful as when Cliff Chiang is drawing. And she's on practically as many pages as the title character. Speaking of, Diana was especially passive here. I'm starting to find this take on the character less of a stoic badass and more of an impossible-to-read, weird sort of blank slate. Her conversation with Persephone was as dull as it was uncomfortable. Ditto her chat with Hades at the end. Meanwhile, we meet not only Persephone but Aphrodite, Hades' father, and those weird dog-women maidens, too. I assume they have names from classic mythology, but I don't know 'em. The point is, Azzarello is piling on new characters, racing through his mission of building a complex world for the gods of Wonder Woman, and sacrificing storytelling along the way. This series impressed me so much when it started that I have tried to stick with it in these recent, rocky months, but this was a definite low point.
3.5/10
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Doesn't He Seem Familiar?: The Many Faces of the Unknown Soldier
The Unknown Soldier is a classic DC property, a character who became popular enough in the '70s to take over the title of Star Spangled War Stories and make it his own. I have extremely limited experience with this original incarnation, only grabbing a spare issue here or there when I find it, but I've read all three versions of the title that have been published since. Now that Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are once again re-envisioning the so-called "Immortal G.I." as part of The New 52's Second Wave, I thought I'd take a look back at the preceding series from authors Jim Owsley, Garth Ennis, and Joshua Dysart to see what they share and where they differ. What has The Unknown Soldier meant over time, and how has he changed? Of course, there's the ever-present notion that one man in the right place can change a war, but the similarities are deeper than that. There is an insanity, a righteous but often blind rage that seems to be a necessary component, or at any rate a consistent one. But the victims of that rage vary, as do the reactions of each series' main character to their personalized brands of madness.
That madness is generally fueled by the same thing: trying to escape an inescapable situation. In Owsley's series, the Unknown Soldier continually attempts to quit his job. He lasts a little bit longer each time, but is always sucked back into the killing one way or another, because it's all he knows. And because there are several high-powered individuals who refuse to leave him alone. Ennis' Soldier also wants out, and his entire story is based on him trying to find an adequate replacement. He still believes in the need for an international enforcer of America's might and will, but can no longer personally live with the incessant war and lies. Finally, there is Dysart's version, who is by far the craziest of the three. In many ways, Dysart's whole run is a character study of a man slowly but oh-so-steadily going insane. So rather than merely trying to get out of the job, he is fighting to escape the persona of the Unknown Soldier and return to that of pacifist and healer Dr. Lwanga Moses. For all three, the constant violence becomes overbearing, but their methods for trying to bring it to an end are quite different.
Naturally, none of them succeed. Owsley's guy strikes back against the people who control him, but even once they're dead his final sentiment is, "The war goes on." The potential replacement in Ennis' series, CIA Agent Clyde, kills himself in defiance of the Soldier's wishes. And by the end of Dysart's book, Moses gives himself up entirely to the voice in his head who, once in control, remembers that Moses was an invented personality anyway. The Unknown Soldiers all futily thrash against their cages, sometimes upsetting or frightening those around them, but never truly freeing themselves.
The other side of this coin, though, is that in all of the Soldiers there exists the contradictory belief that some of the killing they do is justified, even necessary or good. For all their supposed desire to escape, they also find joy in war. It makes sense to them, it's what they've been groomed for, and even if the people in charge of them are despicable, the opposing forces are often many times worse. So what we get is a character not only at war with the world, but at war with himself, simultaneously depending on the violence and trying to get away from it. Owsley and Dysart's characters both seem to take things moment-to-moment. One day they're retiring to a house in the sticks, or working as a doctor, or announcing out loud that they're through with all the death. Then some villain pisses them off or provokes them and they change their minds entirely and switch back into vicious killer mode, often fighting more fiercely and determinedly than ever before. And often openly admitting to themselves that they like it, even reveling in it. The internal conflict for Ennis' version lies, as I've said, in the fact that he thinks of himself as a necessity but can't stand to play his part any longer. So he sabotages himself, trying and failing for, we learn, the second time to select a successor.
Why is it, exactly, that the Unknown Soldier always struggles with these opposing wants? Is it impossible to imagine him as a Punisher-esque anti-hero who fully believes in killing the bad guys? Or alternatively, can we not picture him as a wholly unwilling agent of an overbearing, bloodthirsty government or agency? All of the other elements of the character could, in theory, remain: his namelessness, his seemingly superhuman skill, the respect and fear he commands with his presence, even his insanity. Yet all the writers who have offered their take on the Soldier have held onto this notion that he is a character torn, a man at odds with himself, wishing to escape the never-ending war that is his world but not knowing how to live a life free from bloodshed. Is it coincidence, or is this duality in some way essential to the spirit of the timeless, faceless warrior?
In the fourteen pages we've seen so far, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray certainly seem to be going in a different direction. All the craziness is apparent in their Solider, as is his righteous anger and the pleasure he takes in killing his foes. But rather than feeling trapped, this newest incarnation actually forced his way into the war after the military turned him down. He is the Unknown Soldier all his of predecessors were scared they'd become, a voluntary weapon in the arsenal of his superiors. This is mostly speculation, of course, as we've had only the briefest introduction, but if that is indeed the route Palmiotti and Gray have decided to take, I'll be curious to see how it holds up. Is removing the trying-to-escape aspect of the character an improvement, a detraction, or just an interesting and unusual choice? Certainly it gives me hope that this version might be more popular or successful than those which have come before, if only because it's trying something new.
That madness is generally fueled by the same thing: trying to escape an inescapable situation. In Owsley's series, the Unknown Soldier continually attempts to quit his job. He lasts a little bit longer each time, but is always sucked back into the killing one way or another, because it's all he knows. And because there are several high-powered individuals who refuse to leave him alone. Ennis' Soldier also wants out, and his entire story is based on him trying to find an adequate replacement. He still believes in the need for an international enforcer of America's might and will, but can no longer personally live with the incessant war and lies. Finally, there is Dysart's version, who is by far the craziest of the three. In many ways, Dysart's whole run is a character study of a man slowly but oh-so-steadily going insane. So rather than merely trying to get out of the job, he is fighting to escape the persona of the Unknown Soldier and return to that of pacifist and healer Dr. Lwanga Moses. For all three, the constant violence becomes overbearing, but their methods for trying to bring it to an end are quite different.
Naturally, none of them succeed. Owsley's guy strikes back against the people who control him, but even once they're dead his final sentiment is, "The war goes on." The potential replacement in Ennis' series, CIA Agent Clyde, kills himself in defiance of the Soldier's wishes. And by the end of Dysart's book, Moses gives himself up entirely to the voice in his head who, once in control, remembers that Moses was an invented personality anyway. The Unknown Soldiers all futily thrash against their cages, sometimes upsetting or frightening those around them, but never truly freeing themselves.
The other side of this coin, though, is that in all of the Soldiers there exists the contradictory belief that some of the killing they do is justified, even necessary or good. For all their supposed desire to escape, they also find joy in war. It makes sense to them, it's what they've been groomed for, and even if the people in charge of them are despicable, the opposing forces are often many times worse. So what we get is a character not only at war with the world, but at war with himself, simultaneously depending on the violence and trying to get away from it. Owsley and Dysart's characters both seem to take things moment-to-moment. One day they're retiring to a house in the sticks, or working as a doctor, or announcing out loud that they're through with all the death. Then some villain pisses them off or provokes them and they change their minds entirely and switch back into vicious killer mode, often fighting more fiercely and determinedly than ever before. And often openly admitting to themselves that they like it, even reveling in it. The internal conflict for Ennis' version lies, as I've said, in the fact that he thinks of himself as a necessity but can't stand to play his part any longer. So he sabotages himself, trying and failing for, we learn, the second time to select a successor.
Why is it, exactly, that the Unknown Soldier always struggles with these opposing wants? Is it impossible to imagine him as a Punisher-esque anti-hero who fully believes in killing the bad guys? Or alternatively, can we not picture him as a wholly unwilling agent of an overbearing, bloodthirsty government or agency? All of the other elements of the character could, in theory, remain: his namelessness, his seemingly superhuman skill, the respect and fear he commands with his presence, even his insanity. Yet all the writers who have offered their take on the Soldier have held onto this notion that he is a character torn, a man at odds with himself, wishing to escape the never-ending war that is his world but not knowing how to live a life free from bloodshed. Is it coincidence, or is this duality in some way essential to the spirit of the timeless, faceless warrior?
In the fourteen pages we've seen so far, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray certainly seem to be going in a different direction. All the craziness is apparent in their Solider, as is his righteous anger and the pleasure he takes in killing his foes. But rather than feeling trapped, this newest incarnation actually forced his way into the war after the military turned him down. He is the Unknown Soldier all his of predecessors were scared they'd become, a voluntary weapon in the arsenal of his superiors. This is mostly speculation, of course, as we've had only the briefest introduction, but if that is indeed the route Palmiotti and Gray have decided to take, I'll be curious to see how it holds up. Is removing the trying-to-escape aspect of the character an improvement, a detraction, or just an interesting and unusual choice? Certainly it gives me hope that this version might be more popular or successful than those which have come before, if only because it's trying something new.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Smatterday 05/12/2012
R.I.P. Tony DeZuniga
Jonah Hex co-creator and all-around talented artist Tony DeZuniga died on Wednesday at age 79. He'd been in critical condition since last month, and had been fighting something of an uphill battle, but his death is no less tragic because of it. My thoughts go out to him and his family.
Classic Literature Goes Graphic
This month sees the release of the first volume of the Graphic Canon. It's a pretty cool project, taking a bunch of talented comic artists and having them create graphic versions of classic literature. Seems to be going chronologically, and is pulling all sorts of different pieces of the "canon" from all over the world. Ambitious, bizarre, and full of new comic art! Hooray for trying things!
Selling Like Hotcakes
Two bits of comicbook sales news/info that caught my eye this week. The first was this awesome, super-expensive sale of Batman #1. Way to raise the bar, rich anonymous comicbook collector! Secondly, mixed in with all the buzz and positive reviews generated by the Avengers movie, there's been some chatter about how this won't necessarily translate to increased comicbook sales. What people keep pointing out, though, is that the exception to this rule is The Walking Dead TV series. Which at first confused me, but the more I read/think about it, the more it makes total sense. Ongoing comicbooks and TV series are both serialized mediums, so fans of the show are used to getting a long, developing, linear story and bound to want more of it in between seasons. Whereas Avengers movie fans who aren't existing comicbook readers may not be as interested in investing an indefinite amount of time and money into following even one Avengers title. It's too bad ticket sales don't mean comicbook sales, but I get it.
Speaking Of...
I still haven't seen the Avengers movie myself, but I totally plan to within a week, and when the time comes I am definitely on board for the recent movement to match the price of my tickets with a donation to the Hero Initiative. With all the continuing, intelligent, awesome discussion going on about creator's rights these days, it seems important for each and every fan of the comicbook medium to do what we can, to keep the momentum going so that hopefully, someday, somebody won't get screwed by the Big Two. And for the love of God don't buy Before Watchmen. Any of it!
One Last Awesome Thing
And eight-year-old Batman saves the day. Yes. Yes everywhere.
Jonah Hex co-creator and all-around talented artist Tony DeZuniga died on Wednesday at age 79. He'd been in critical condition since last month, and had been fighting something of an uphill battle, but his death is no less tragic because of it. My thoughts go out to him and his family.
Classic Literature Goes Graphic
This month sees the release of the first volume of the Graphic Canon. It's a pretty cool project, taking a bunch of talented comic artists and having them create graphic versions of classic literature. Seems to be going chronologically, and is pulling all sorts of different pieces of the "canon" from all over the world. Ambitious, bizarre, and full of new comic art! Hooray for trying things!
Selling Like Hotcakes
Two bits of comicbook sales news/info that caught my eye this week. The first was this awesome, super-expensive sale of Batman #1. Way to raise the bar, rich anonymous comicbook collector! Secondly, mixed in with all the buzz and positive reviews generated by the Avengers movie, there's been some chatter about how this won't necessarily translate to increased comicbook sales. What people keep pointing out, though, is that the exception to this rule is The Walking Dead TV series. Which at first confused me, but the more I read/think about it, the more it makes total sense. Ongoing comicbooks and TV series are both serialized mediums, so fans of the show are used to getting a long, developing, linear story and bound to want more of it in between seasons. Whereas Avengers movie fans who aren't existing comicbook readers may not be as interested in investing an indefinite amount of time and money into following even one Avengers title. It's too bad ticket sales don't mean comicbook sales, but I get it.
Speaking Of...
I still haven't seen the Avengers movie myself, but I totally plan to within a week, and when the time comes I am definitely on board for the recent movement to match the price of my tickets with a donation to the Hero Initiative. With all the continuing, intelligent, awesome discussion going on about creator's rights these days, it seems important for each and every fan of the comicbook medium to do what we can, to keep the momentum going so that hopefully, someday, somebody won't get screwed by the Big Two. And for the love of God don't buy Before Watchmen. Any of it!
One Last Awesome Thing
And eight-year-old Batman saves the day. Yes. Yes everywhere.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Pull List Reviews 05/10/2012
Batman #9: Well, the giant bat-armor from last month was sort of a bust, huh? I was really hoping Bruce had some kind of awesome contingency plan in place that involved the awkward metal suit, but, alas, it was just an awkward metal suit to fight in. Still, it was nice to see Batman's rage unleashed, and to finally give him some useful knowledge about the Court of Owls. Now maybe he can kick some ass and lay this story to rest for a while. Greg Capullo's art was actually somewhat more contained/restrained this month, which was interesting since Scott Snyder's script was mostly about Batman cutting loose and tearing mercilessly into the Talons. I'm not complaining about the art, because there's still a lot of great imagery, like the bat swarm or the dinosaur foot stomp, but if there was ever a time for Capullo to let his line work go a bit crazy, it seems like it would have been this issue. The backup feature I enjoyed a bit more than the main story, perhaps just because I love Alfred so much that any insight into his personal or familial history is welcome. And that final image of the Talon in the rain is stunning. Rafael Albuquerque continues t be an ideal Batman artist, highlighting the shadow and fear inherent in that world.
6.5/10
Fairest #3: I find Fairest #3 to be particularly challenging to review as a whole. As has been the norm with this title for all three installments, we have here an example of some truly excellent artwork that is telling just a dreadfully boring story. We have no reason to care about any of the characters, and in the case of the guy who does the most talking (a bottle imp named, I believe, Panghammer), we don't even have a convincing reason to like him. Even he knows he's a pain in the ass, and the story he's narrating to the rest of the cast would only be interesting if it wasn't being pointlessly drawn out. A series full of misfires from Bill Willingham so far, and if I didn't already know he'd be leaving the title fairly soon (along with his dumb, dumb crop of characters) I might well be dropping Fairest from my pull list. However, the saving grace continues to be Phil Jimenez's pencils, as well as the ink and coloring work by Andy Lanning, Mark Farmer, and Andrew Dalhouse. Whether it's a sentient flying boat, a royal hall filled with a bright and blustering party, or just The Snow Queen and Panghammer surrounded by whites and blues in her palace, every single page has art worth a second (or third or fourth) look. It's sort of astonishing how far from each other the story and the art are in terms of quality. How, exactly, did a script so bland inspire such lovely visuals? Anyway, that seems to be par for the course on this title.
4.5/10
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #9: I have complained a couple of times about the change that took place when this title started using Walden Wong to ink Alberto Ponticelli. This month, we have a new inker, Wayne Faucher, and I think with him we've found a happy medium that (hopefully) we can all agree on. Not quite as wild as when Ponticelli inks himself, but without muting the energy which his pencils always bring to the table.
Now that that's out of the way, I'll say that this was an exceptionally fine issue of Frankenstein all over. The title has always been a string of monster battles for Frank to fight, with each new enemy causing him to question/examine himself in some new light. This issue is no exception, and tells a tidy little tale of Frank and Dr. Mazursky battling against the forces of The Rot (from Animal Man and Swamp Thing). Unable to simply kill his foes in the usual fashion, Frank goes to an extreme measure, calling in a "blackbomb" which only targets living things and therefore does not hurt him. However, this causes him further frustration/sadness, because he is forced to admit that he is not really "alive" in, at least, the scientific sense. It's a quick but effective tale, and it serves to advance Frank's relationship with himself, S.H.A.D.E., and Mazursky all. And the Ponticell-Faucher-Villarruba art team comes through as well, like I mentioned. Particularly the splash where Frank and Nina find the corpse of the cop they're looking for. I want that as a wall-sized poster.
7.5/10
Higher Earth #1: If the concept behind Higher Earth interests you---a whole bunch of Earths in different universes that each have their place in a hierarchy of Earths---then you'll no doubt enjoy this first issue, since most of what it does is to introduce that concept. Luckily, it does interest me, and Sam Humphries makes the intelligent decision to have one of his main characters, Heidi, know as little about the details of the book's reality as the reader. She stands in for us, and like he is for Heidi, the nameless man who comes to save her from her Earth is an intriguing enigma, yet somehow easy to trust with his mater-of-fact attitude and battle-readiness. Francesco Biagini's artwork is similarly direct, always expressive and effective, but never especially impressive. He does some cool stuff with the edges of his panels and other kinds of layout moves, but otherwise it's fairly middle-of-the-line work. I'm excited to see this series develop, assuming it lasts long enough to do so, but Higher Earth #1 is no more than a simple, clean, clear introduction to the key players and ideas that will move the story forward.
6.0/10
Morning Glories #18: My aggravation over the snail's pace at which this series drags on is well-documented, and Morning Glories #18 is no exception. Virtually ignoring the previous issues of this arc (and, by the way, wasn't "P.E." supposed to conclude this issue, not the next one, originally? Am I making that up?), Nick Spencer decides to instead switch focus back over to Jun. I have long thought of Jun as the most interesting of the Glories, and I really liked his interactions and the development of his romance with Guillaume, but at the end of the day it was mostly more cryptic nonsense, spouting of meaningless mottos, and characters with unclear motives. Plus I get especially annoyed by Spencer when he actually has a character talk about the lack of answers in Morning Glories, which he's done several times, and does with Abraham here. Stop making excuses for yourself, jerk, and just tell your damn story already! Joe Eisma is Joe Eisma, reliably turning in consistent work on this title since the beginning. It never gets any worse or any better, it's just what Morning Glories looks like. At this point if another artist came in or if Eisma changed his style too much, I feel like it would be jarring, because the look of this book is so firmly established now. As is the narrative style, and it happens to be one which drives me kind of crazy.
4.5/10
Ultimate Comics Ultimates #10: Sam Humphries joins Jonathan Hickman on writing duties with this issue, but it's not an obvious shift in tone. I suppose there's slightly less action this issue than in many of the preceding nine, but that has more to do with where we are in the story, I suspect, than because of the addition to the writing team. Either way, a thoroughly entertaining issue. It took time at the beginning to bring home the full effect of the attack on D.C., and still managed to advance each of its characters and plots point forward, however slightly. And it's fun to watch the Ultimates battle against S.H.I.E.L.D. on top of everything else, especially now that they are so fractured. The City continues to be a unique threat, provoking bold reactions from our heroes that make for great superhero fare. Luke Ross, on the other hand, was somewhat uneven on art, mostly struggling with figures who were in motion. It wasn't a huge detriment here, and it's not like he messed it up every time, but there were several awkward or impossible poses, and in an issue with heavier action I'm nervous about how Ross will perform. Hopefully Ultimates #10 will be the exception, rather than the rule. Beyond those specific things, though, totally serviceable artwork and a fun, logical chapter in this grand tale.
6.0/10
Ultimate Comics X-Men #11: Here, we have a similar waste of story space from Spencer as in Morning Glories above, but with a slightly stronger showing from Paco Medina on art. Not a lot of new information here, or any real character insights or developments. Primarily just a series of checking in scenes for each bundle of characters, watching them each react in turn to the horrendous Sentinel attacks. It's an alright story, just lacking in meat or even much flavor. Nothing unexpected happens, we hear about the Southwest United States getting jacked up way more times than we need to, and then we get an ending that seems pretty mundane considering the work the Sentinels do in the rest of the issue. Medina, however, draws the crap out of those Sentinels, from their two-page spread at Camp Angel to those creepy pages where we see shots of several cities burning, to the reveal on the final page. He doesn't do a remarkable job with the rest of the issue, nor does he do a bad one, but for some reason I really enjoyed his Sentinel-based pages. Otherwise a bland offering.
5.0/10
Uncanny X-Force #25: A fascinating and well-written examination of the motives of each member of X-Force. Even Deadpool, in his own warped way. For a title that is clearly ramping up for something big---notice Genesis and Angel returned in this issue, and whoever's behind this White Sky/Omega Clan situation is bound to have other things in play, plus Rick Remender has been saying so in interviews---it's a smart move to take a minute and remind the readers why these characters are on this team. Or in some cases, why they're not on the team anymore (for now). Remender, as he has from the beginning, knows exactly how to handle his cast, and gives each of them a moment to shine. Fantomex gets the least of it, but his few lines and final action speak volumes. Wolverine, the leader and only remaining founder of the team, as well as the most direct connection to the new Omega Clan, gets the most time in the spotlight, and it is time well used. He deeply but quickly examines the many complicated reasons he has for keeping X-Force alive, and they all make sense and ring true in his voice. It's compelling stuff, aided in no small way by Mike McKone's drawings and Dean White's colors. Their best moment as an artistic team has got to be the two-page spread of the White Sky Showroom, but they also knock it out of the park on the introduction of the Omega Clan and Nightcrawler's flashback panels. There is one terrible drawing of Beast, but otherwise a strong performance across the board. And then, if McKone doesn't do it for you, there are some twenty extra pages of Jerome Opeña art as well, his and Remender's first Wolverine and Deadpool stories. Opeña's art is less stylized here than it has been on Uncanny X-Force, though that may have something to do with the coloring. But it's still quite good, and the stories are fun if simple, as any comicbook shorts are bound to be. Overall, a fitting anniversary issue, and one that excites me for the future of this title in a way I haven't felt for a while.
7.5/10
Wolverine and the X-Men #10: Two unexpected things happened for me while reading this: I loved Chris Bachalo art, and I agreed with Cyclops. The Bachalo thing was a pleasant surprise, as more often than not I find his style confusing and/or off-putting. But Krakoa rising up, that super-complicated two-page spread with like a dozen tiny panels and a couple huge ones, and especially the very opening page were all great. As for agreeing with Cyclops, I still mostly just feel like, "Why can't they all just work together? Why wouldn't they want to?" But Scott's arguments to Logan sounded far more reasonable and well-thought-out than anything he's said in a while. Not all of it, mind you, but enough of it that by the time Wolverine was losing staff members to the other side, I was totally rooting for them over him. Here's a question, though: when does this issue take place? After the fight on Utopia, but before Wolverine is thrown from a plane? Hardly seems like he had time to do all of this in between those two events. And also that would make Rachel Grey's role in AvX #3 confusing as hell. But if this after he gets back from the plane...why isn't he more pissed off at the Avengers for throwing him from a plane? Right? I also don't understand when, exactly, Cyclops had the time to make this visit, but I'm hoping AvX #4 can shed some light. I don't know if I expect it, but I'm hoping. Aside from that bit of confusion, though, I was impressed by Jason Aaron's script for it's take on the mutant side of things, and impressed by Bachalo's art for not bothering me for once. So...impressive issue.
7.0/10
6.5/10
Fairest #3: I find Fairest #3 to be particularly challenging to review as a whole. As has been the norm with this title for all three installments, we have here an example of some truly excellent artwork that is telling just a dreadfully boring story. We have no reason to care about any of the characters, and in the case of the guy who does the most talking (a bottle imp named, I believe, Panghammer), we don't even have a convincing reason to like him. Even he knows he's a pain in the ass, and the story he's narrating to the rest of the cast would only be interesting if it wasn't being pointlessly drawn out. A series full of misfires from Bill Willingham so far, and if I didn't already know he'd be leaving the title fairly soon (along with his dumb, dumb crop of characters) I might well be dropping Fairest from my pull list. However, the saving grace continues to be Phil Jimenez's pencils, as well as the ink and coloring work by Andy Lanning, Mark Farmer, and Andrew Dalhouse. Whether it's a sentient flying boat, a royal hall filled with a bright and blustering party, or just The Snow Queen and Panghammer surrounded by whites and blues in her palace, every single page has art worth a second (or third or fourth) look. It's sort of astonishing how far from each other the story and the art are in terms of quality. How, exactly, did a script so bland inspire such lovely visuals? Anyway, that seems to be par for the course on this title.
4.5/10
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #9: I have complained a couple of times about the change that took place when this title started using Walden Wong to ink Alberto Ponticelli. This month, we have a new inker, Wayne Faucher, and I think with him we've found a happy medium that (hopefully) we can all agree on. Not quite as wild as when Ponticelli inks himself, but without muting the energy which his pencils always bring to the table.
Now that that's out of the way, I'll say that this was an exceptionally fine issue of Frankenstein all over. The title has always been a string of monster battles for Frank to fight, with each new enemy causing him to question/examine himself in some new light. This issue is no exception, and tells a tidy little tale of Frank and Dr. Mazursky battling against the forces of The Rot (from Animal Man and Swamp Thing). Unable to simply kill his foes in the usual fashion, Frank goes to an extreme measure, calling in a "blackbomb" which only targets living things and therefore does not hurt him. However, this causes him further frustration/sadness, because he is forced to admit that he is not really "alive" in, at least, the scientific sense. It's a quick but effective tale, and it serves to advance Frank's relationship with himself, S.H.A.D.E., and Mazursky all. And the Ponticell-Faucher-Villarruba art team comes through as well, like I mentioned. Particularly the splash where Frank and Nina find the corpse of the cop they're looking for. I want that as a wall-sized poster.
7.5/10
Higher Earth #1: If the concept behind Higher Earth interests you---a whole bunch of Earths in different universes that each have their place in a hierarchy of Earths---then you'll no doubt enjoy this first issue, since most of what it does is to introduce that concept. Luckily, it does interest me, and Sam Humphries makes the intelligent decision to have one of his main characters, Heidi, know as little about the details of the book's reality as the reader. She stands in for us, and like he is for Heidi, the nameless man who comes to save her from her Earth is an intriguing enigma, yet somehow easy to trust with his mater-of-fact attitude and battle-readiness. Francesco Biagini's artwork is similarly direct, always expressive and effective, but never especially impressive. He does some cool stuff with the edges of his panels and other kinds of layout moves, but otherwise it's fairly middle-of-the-line work. I'm excited to see this series develop, assuming it lasts long enough to do so, but Higher Earth #1 is no more than a simple, clean, clear introduction to the key players and ideas that will move the story forward.
6.0/10
Morning Glories #18: My aggravation over the snail's pace at which this series drags on is well-documented, and Morning Glories #18 is no exception. Virtually ignoring the previous issues of this arc (and, by the way, wasn't "P.E." supposed to conclude this issue, not the next one, originally? Am I making that up?), Nick Spencer decides to instead switch focus back over to Jun. I have long thought of Jun as the most interesting of the Glories, and I really liked his interactions and the development of his romance with Guillaume, but at the end of the day it was mostly more cryptic nonsense, spouting of meaningless mottos, and characters with unclear motives. Plus I get especially annoyed by Spencer when he actually has a character talk about the lack of answers in Morning Glories, which he's done several times, and does with Abraham here. Stop making excuses for yourself, jerk, and just tell your damn story already! Joe Eisma is Joe Eisma, reliably turning in consistent work on this title since the beginning. It never gets any worse or any better, it's just what Morning Glories looks like. At this point if another artist came in or if Eisma changed his style too much, I feel like it would be jarring, because the look of this book is so firmly established now. As is the narrative style, and it happens to be one which drives me kind of crazy.
4.5/10
Ultimate Comics Ultimates #10: Sam Humphries joins Jonathan Hickman on writing duties with this issue, but it's not an obvious shift in tone. I suppose there's slightly less action this issue than in many of the preceding nine, but that has more to do with where we are in the story, I suspect, than because of the addition to the writing team. Either way, a thoroughly entertaining issue. It took time at the beginning to bring home the full effect of the attack on D.C., and still managed to advance each of its characters and plots point forward, however slightly. And it's fun to watch the Ultimates battle against S.H.I.E.L.D. on top of everything else, especially now that they are so fractured. The City continues to be a unique threat, provoking bold reactions from our heroes that make for great superhero fare. Luke Ross, on the other hand, was somewhat uneven on art, mostly struggling with figures who were in motion. It wasn't a huge detriment here, and it's not like he messed it up every time, but there were several awkward or impossible poses, and in an issue with heavier action I'm nervous about how Ross will perform. Hopefully Ultimates #10 will be the exception, rather than the rule. Beyond those specific things, though, totally serviceable artwork and a fun, logical chapter in this grand tale.
6.0/10
Ultimate Comics X-Men #11: Here, we have a similar waste of story space from Spencer as in Morning Glories above, but with a slightly stronger showing from Paco Medina on art. Not a lot of new information here, or any real character insights or developments. Primarily just a series of checking in scenes for each bundle of characters, watching them each react in turn to the horrendous Sentinel attacks. It's an alright story, just lacking in meat or even much flavor. Nothing unexpected happens, we hear about the Southwest United States getting jacked up way more times than we need to, and then we get an ending that seems pretty mundane considering the work the Sentinels do in the rest of the issue. Medina, however, draws the crap out of those Sentinels, from their two-page spread at Camp Angel to those creepy pages where we see shots of several cities burning, to the reveal on the final page. He doesn't do a remarkable job with the rest of the issue, nor does he do a bad one, but for some reason I really enjoyed his Sentinel-based pages. Otherwise a bland offering.
5.0/10
Uncanny X-Force #25: A fascinating and well-written examination of the motives of each member of X-Force. Even Deadpool, in his own warped way. For a title that is clearly ramping up for something big---notice Genesis and Angel returned in this issue, and whoever's behind this White Sky/Omega Clan situation is bound to have other things in play, plus Rick Remender has been saying so in interviews---it's a smart move to take a minute and remind the readers why these characters are on this team. Or in some cases, why they're not on the team anymore (for now). Remender, as he has from the beginning, knows exactly how to handle his cast, and gives each of them a moment to shine. Fantomex gets the least of it, but his few lines and final action speak volumes. Wolverine, the leader and only remaining founder of the team, as well as the most direct connection to the new Omega Clan, gets the most time in the spotlight, and it is time well used. He deeply but quickly examines the many complicated reasons he has for keeping X-Force alive, and they all make sense and ring true in his voice. It's compelling stuff, aided in no small way by Mike McKone's drawings and Dean White's colors. Their best moment as an artistic team has got to be the two-page spread of the White Sky Showroom, but they also knock it out of the park on the introduction of the Omega Clan and Nightcrawler's flashback panels. There is one terrible drawing of Beast, but otherwise a strong performance across the board. And then, if McKone doesn't do it for you, there are some twenty extra pages of Jerome Opeña art as well, his and Remender's first Wolverine and Deadpool stories. Opeña's art is less stylized here than it has been on Uncanny X-Force, though that may have something to do with the coloring. But it's still quite good, and the stories are fun if simple, as any comicbook shorts are bound to be. Overall, a fitting anniversary issue, and one that excites me for the future of this title in a way I haven't felt for a while.
7.5/10
Wolverine and the X-Men #10: Two unexpected things happened for me while reading this: I loved Chris Bachalo art, and I agreed with Cyclops. The Bachalo thing was a pleasant surprise, as more often than not I find his style confusing and/or off-putting. But Krakoa rising up, that super-complicated two-page spread with like a dozen tiny panels and a couple huge ones, and especially the very opening page were all great. As for agreeing with Cyclops, I still mostly just feel like, "Why can't they all just work together? Why wouldn't they want to?" But Scott's arguments to Logan sounded far more reasonable and well-thought-out than anything he's said in a while. Not all of it, mind you, but enough of it that by the time Wolverine was losing staff members to the other side, I was totally rooting for them over him. Here's a question, though: when does this issue take place? After the fight on Utopia, but before Wolverine is thrown from a plane? Hardly seems like he had time to do all of this in between those two events. And also that would make Rachel Grey's role in AvX #3 confusing as hell. But if this after he gets back from the plane...why isn't he more pissed off at the Avengers for throwing him from a plane? Right? I also don't understand when, exactly, Cyclops had the time to make this visit, but I'm hoping AvX #4 can shed some light. I don't know if I expect it, but I'm hoping. Aside from that bit of confusion, though, I was impressed by Jason Aaron's script for it's take on the mutant side of things, and impressed by Bachalo's art for not bothering me for once. So...impressive issue.
7.0/10
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Superb Heroes: The Maximortal
Superb Heroes is a
semi-regular column celebrating comics that are exemplary and/or exceptional in
their treatment of superoheroism.
Superheroes and comicbooks are obviously, inescapably linked. They helped to popularize each other, and even in this current environment of incessant new movies and TV series, we all know that comicbooks are the true stomping ground of the spandex-clad superhuman. In his seven-issue series The Maximortal, writer/artist Rick Veitch explores the concept of the superhero, the history of the comicbook industry, and the ties that bind them together in a vicious, hilarious, intelligent and original way. Breaking the usual mold, Veitch's superpowered characters are morally ambiguous, their origins and motives more complex than we're used to. Comparatively, the regular humans he focuses on fill the more traditional comicbook hero and villain roles, with their direct, simple belief systems and constant battle for power. The end result is an incredible examination on the effects that superheroes have on people, in their own worlds and in ours. They have power over us beyond their actual "powers," which Veitch simultaneously celebrates, condemns, and perverts in The Maximortal, making it a thorough and thoroughly enjoyable discussion of superheroism's importance and potential.
The titular "maximortal" is Wesley Winston, a child in mind and appearance, but possessing superhuman strength, flight, shape-changing abilities, heat vision, and physical invulnerability. At first glance, Wesley appears to be no more than a slight twist on Superman. He even crashes to Earth in a mysterious protective vessel and is discovered and adopted by a poor, rural couple. But as the series advances, Veitch pulls Wesley further and further from the Man of Steel, and in the end True-Man (Wesley's superhero moniker) is more a physical manifestation of the concept of superheroism than he is a parody of any particular character. That's a very literal statement, because we come to learn that Wesley's "origin story" is, essentially, that a fictional version of True-Man grew to be so popular, the idea so universal, that it actually became reality. The mass social belief in the character gave him life. Then in a classic time paradox, the now-living True-Man went back in time, slept with a human, gave birth to himself, and then launched himself into space so that he could someday return and be discovered. In other words, the conclusion to the series is the same as the beginning of the series, with True-Man's origin an infinite loop of self-creation. After all, not only did he birth himself, but the whole reason he becomes True-Man is that, as Wesley, he sees a True-Man comicbook and decides to take on the look and persona of the character. So True-Man parents Wesley, who then becomes True-Man.
No doubt that all seems a bit confusing, but it is to Veitch's credit that he explains it fully and carefully within The Maximortal, taking his time with each piece of the puzzle so that by the final issue we've already more or less figured out the cyclical nature of Wesley's life. Then in that final issue, Veitch spells it out for us plainly, just in case. And even without the never-ending circle that is his creation, Wesley is just as fascinating and unique a superhero, because despite his immense power he is still a child. He has a child's innocence, ignorance, and fluid morality. This leads him to murder his adopted father, and then an entire California town, not out of malice or anger but because he doesn't fully understand what he's doing. While most superheroes are informed by their childhoods, Wesley's childhood is informed by his superpowers, and so in his early years he isn't really a hero or a villain in the classic sense, but more a force of nature in human form. It is only much later, after he has been trapped and used by humanity for years, that he decides to take up the fight for good and righteousness.
This narrative of a child slowly but steadily being transformed into a hero is the main focus of The Maximortal, the strongest and most consistent through line from issue to issue. And honestly, I imagine it would be more than enough to tell a meaty, awesome story on its own. But Veitch doesn't stop there, as his bizarre tale is also populated by non-powered characters whose beliefs and personalities line up much more succinctly with what he think of as archetypal superheroes and villains. Primarily we see this dichotomy between Jerry Spiegel and Sidney Wallace. Spiegel is the writer who creates the True-Man comicbook, and while the real-world Wesley is amoral and destructive, Spiegel actually embodies all of the virtues he includes in his version of the character. Truth, justice, the rights of the common man---all of these things are near and dear to Spiegel, and he writes his stories not for any selfish dreams of fame or recognition, but because he feels the world needs a hero like True-Man to lead the charge against corruption and evil. Sid Wallace is Spiegel's publisher and, for all intents and purposes, his arch-nemesis. A power-hungry maniac who also happens to be overcompensating for crushed testicles, Wallace rips Spiegel off, stealing credit for the creation of True-Man and getting filthy rich off the royalties. The two butt heads several times, and each time sees Wallace with a little more power than he had before, and Spiegel with a little less. Plus Wallace gets to use as many dirty tricks as he likes knowing full well Spiegel will never stoop to that level, and therefore never be a threat. They represent creativity vs. capitalism, truth vs. lies, the little guy vs. the corporation, good vs. evil, and any number of other well-worn conflicts. Like the characters of countless superhero comicbooks, Spiegel and Wallace are two extremes battling against one another. The only difference is that they don't have superpowers, code names, or costumes. Though Spiegel does ultimately don a True-Man costume to confront and, he hopes, defeat Wallace once and for all.
The point of all this is that True-Man is an idea so big he can inspire genuine heroism (Spiegel) while simultaneously fueling greed (Wallace). And the point of The Maximortal as a series is, to my mind, that all superheroes, indeed superheroism in general, will naturally and necessarily influence the world in both good and bad ways. The characters themselves, the values and causes they espouse, are theoretically the best aspects of humanity, and therefore could and should promote those aspects within us as readers. But of course, there is an industry behind the telling of these fables, and so they're often used not so much to point mankind toward good, but to further the goals of a few publishing companies (namely, sales). Even if we leave the comicbook industry out of it, the much bigger threat of superpowers, as Veitch takes pains to point out, is that were they to ever truly exist in our world, they'd be far more likely used as tools of war and/or commerce than forces for justice or peace. As concepts, superheroes and the stories around them are easy to fall in love with, in The Maximortal so much so that they bring themselves to life. In practice, though, even True-Man isn't safe from man's corruption and greed. It isn't a overwhelmingly positive message, but its apt, and it argues as much in favor of superheroes as against them. No easy task, but Veitch is more than up it.
The Maximortal has so much great stuff I haven't even touched on here, but I think I've said what I wanted. Seriously, though, there's a whole story about Wesley being used as part of the A-Bomb in WWII, and another one about the actor who plays True-Man in the movie version and how the character takes over and eventually ends his life. Then, of course, there is El Guano, an even more mysterious and non-traditional superhuman character who plays a major role in Wesley's life. It's all excellent, and all totally on-message with what I've discussed above, but the overall effect is the same. Veitch holds everything we know about superheroes and the comics they live in under a bright, unblinking light. What he finds isn't always pretty, but it's always worth the look.
The Maximortal was published by King Hell Press in association with Tundra Publishing, Ltd. (#1-6) and Kitchen Sink Press, Inc. (#7) and is dated August 1992-December 1993.
Superheroes and comicbooks are obviously, inescapably linked. They helped to popularize each other, and even in this current environment of incessant new movies and TV series, we all know that comicbooks are the true stomping ground of the spandex-clad superhuman. In his seven-issue series The Maximortal, writer/artist Rick Veitch explores the concept of the superhero, the history of the comicbook industry, and the ties that bind them together in a vicious, hilarious, intelligent and original way. Breaking the usual mold, Veitch's superpowered characters are morally ambiguous, their origins and motives more complex than we're used to. Comparatively, the regular humans he focuses on fill the more traditional comicbook hero and villain roles, with their direct, simple belief systems and constant battle for power. The end result is an incredible examination on the effects that superheroes have on people, in their own worlds and in ours. They have power over us beyond their actual "powers," which Veitch simultaneously celebrates, condemns, and perverts in The Maximortal, making it a thorough and thoroughly enjoyable discussion of superheroism's importance and potential.
The titular "maximortal" is Wesley Winston, a child in mind and appearance, but possessing superhuman strength, flight, shape-changing abilities, heat vision, and physical invulnerability. At first glance, Wesley appears to be no more than a slight twist on Superman. He even crashes to Earth in a mysterious protective vessel and is discovered and adopted by a poor, rural couple. But as the series advances, Veitch pulls Wesley further and further from the Man of Steel, and in the end True-Man (Wesley's superhero moniker) is more a physical manifestation of the concept of superheroism than he is a parody of any particular character. That's a very literal statement, because we come to learn that Wesley's "origin story" is, essentially, that a fictional version of True-Man grew to be so popular, the idea so universal, that it actually became reality. The mass social belief in the character gave him life. Then in a classic time paradox, the now-living True-Man went back in time, slept with a human, gave birth to himself, and then launched himself into space so that he could someday return and be discovered. In other words, the conclusion to the series is the same as the beginning of the series, with True-Man's origin an infinite loop of self-creation. After all, not only did he birth himself, but the whole reason he becomes True-Man is that, as Wesley, he sees a True-Man comicbook and decides to take on the look and persona of the character. So True-Man parents Wesley, who then becomes True-Man.
No doubt that all seems a bit confusing, but it is to Veitch's credit that he explains it fully and carefully within The Maximortal, taking his time with each piece of the puzzle so that by the final issue we've already more or less figured out the cyclical nature of Wesley's life. Then in that final issue, Veitch spells it out for us plainly, just in case. And even without the never-ending circle that is his creation, Wesley is just as fascinating and unique a superhero, because despite his immense power he is still a child. He has a child's innocence, ignorance, and fluid morality. This leads him to murder his adopted father, and then an entire California town, not out of malice or anger but because he doesn't fully understand what he's doing. While most superheroes are informed by their childhoods, Wesley's childhood is informed by his superpowers, and so in his early years he isn't really a hero or a villain in the classic sense, but more a force of nature in human form. It is only much later, after he has been trapped and used by humanity for years, that he decides to take up the fight for good and righteousness.
This narrative of a child slowly but steadily being transformed into a hero is the main focus of The Maximortal, the strongest and most consistent through line from issue to issue. And honestly, I imagine it would be more than enough to tell a meaty, awesome story on its own. But Veitch doesn't stop there, as his bizarre tale is also populated by non-powered characters whose beliefs and personalities line up much more succinctly with what he think of as archetypal superheroes and villains. Primarily we see this dichotomy between Jerry Spiegel and Sidney Wallace. Spiegel is the writer who creates the True-Man comicbook, and while the real-world Wesley is amoral and destructive, Spiegel actually embodies all of the virtues he includes in his version of the character. Truth, justice, the rights of the common man---all of these things are near and dear to Spiegel, and he writes his stories not for any selfish dreams of fame or recognition, but because he feels the world needs a hero like True-Man to lead the charge against corruption and evil. Sid Wallace is Spiegel's publisher and, for all intents and purposes, his arch-nemesis. A power-hungry maniac who also happens to be overcompensating for crushed testicles, Wallace rips Spiegel off, stealing credit for the creation of True-Man and getting filthy rich off the royalties. The two butt heads several times, and each time sees Wallace with a little more power than he had before, and Spiegel with a little less. Plus Wallace gets to use as many dirty tricks as he likes knowing full well Spiegel will never stoop to that level, and therefore never be a threat. They represent creativity vs. capitalism, truth vs. lies, the little guy vs. the corporation, good vs. evil, and any number of other well-worn conflicts. Like the characters of countless superhero comicbooks, Spiegel and Wallace are two extremes battling against one another. The only difference is that they don't have superpowers, code names, or costumes. Though Spiegel does ultimately don a True-Man costume to confront and, he hopes, defeat Wallace once and for all.
The point of all this is that True-Man is an idea so big he can inspire genuine heroism (Spiegel) while simultaneously fueling greed (Wallace). And the point of The Maximortal as a series is, to my mind, that all superheroes, indeed superheroism in general, will naturally and necessarily influence the world in both good and bad ways. The characters themselves, the values and causes they espouse, are theoretically the best aspects of humanity, and therefore could and should promote those aspects within us as readers. But of course, there is an industry behind the telling of these fables, and so they're often used not so much to point mankind toward good, but to further the goals of a few publishing companies (namely, sales). Even if we leave the comicbook industry out of it, the much bigger threat of superpowers, as Veitch takes pains to point out, is that were they to ever truly exist in our world, they'd be far more likely used as tools of war and/or commerce than forces for justice or peace. As concepts, superheroes and the stories around them are easy to fall in love with, in The Maximortal so much so that they bring themselves to life. In practice, though, even True-Man isn't safe from man's corruption and greed. It isn't a overwhelmingly positive message, but its apt, and it argues as much in favor of superheroes as against them. No easy task, but Veitch is more than up it.
The Maximortal has so much great stuff I haven't even touched on here, but I think I've said what I wanted. Seriously, though, there's a whole story about Wesley being used as part of the A-Bomb in WWII, and another one about the actor who plays True-Man in the movie version and how the character takes over and eventually ends his life. Then, of course, there is El Guano, an even more mysterious and non-traditional superhuman character who plays a major role in Wesley's life. It's all excellent, and all totally on-message with what I've discussed above, but the overall effect is the same. Veitch holds everything we know about superheroes and the comics they live in under a bright, unblinking light. What he finds isn't always pretty, but it's always worth the look.
The Maximortal was published by King Hell Press in association with Tundra Publishing, Ltd. (#1-6) and Kitchen Sink Press, Inc. (#7) and is dated August 1992-December 1993.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Smatterday 05/05/2012
Happy Free Comic Book Day!
So today is Free Comic Book Day, which is always tons of fun. Every publisher on the planet puts something out for free, in the hopes of getting us all to buy more of their stuff throughout the year. Comicbook fans all over the country get to be the belle of the ball, with new suitors on all sides vying for our attention. I love it. Plus this year it's just one day after Star Wars Day, which is total gravy. Personally, I've got two different shops to hit up today, and I can't wait.
The Ghost of FCBD Past
The other thing that's so nice about FCBD, now, is it's been going on for years. To me, it feels like a legitimate holiday, partly because FCBD played a pretty big role in my own comicbook fandom. Though I've been reading comics off-and-on since I was just a wee lad, it was actually Blackest Night #0 that pulled me back into the world of serious, weekly collecting. Which, of course, is precisely what it wanted to do. I no longer follow the Green Lantern family of titles, but I did for a while there, and I've been an avid and consistent consumer of comicbooks ever since.
Stan, Stan the Lawsuit Man
So Stan Lee finds himself embroiled in a lawsuit over POW! Entertainment. The man is a lawsuit magnet, apparently, which is just a bummer. I mean, the guy's a living legend, and so many people owe him so much...can't we let him put out the few comicbooks he's still involved with in peace? I don't pretend to understand the details, so maybe Lee deserves all this, but I choose to believe he's a kind, aging genius whom the world has decided to take advantage of. I'm probably way off, but I don't care. You get 'em, Stan!
Avengers Review Round-Up
I haven't seen The Avengers yet, but everybody else has, so I've read a whole helluva lotta reviews of it. Won't you join me?
MTV
Vancouver Sun
CarlsbadPatch
New Yorker-This one feels particularly stupid. To me, anyhow.
CBC News
LA Times
Examiner
CNN
CinemaBlend
DeadSpin
Comic Book Movie
Tim Hanley
CBR
People
Rotten Tomatoes
So today is Free Comic Book Day, which is always tons of fun. Every publisher on the planet puts something out for free, in the hopes of getting us all to buy more of their stuff throughout the year. Comicbook fans all over the country get to be the belle of the ball, with new suitors on all sides vying for our attention. I love it. Plus this year it's just one day after Star Wars Day, which is total gravy. Personally, I've got two different shops to hit up today, and I can't wait.
The Ghost of FCBD Past
The other thing that's so nice about FCBD, now, is it's been going on for years. To me, it feels like a legitimate holiday, partly because FCBD played a pretty big role in my own comicbook fandom. Though I've been reading comics off-and-on since I was just a wee lad, it was actually Blackest Night #0 that pulled me back into the world of serious, weekly collecting. Which, of course, is precisely what it wanted to do. I no longer follow the Green Lantern family of titles, but I did for a while there, and I've been an avid and consistent consumer of comicbooks ever since.
Stan, Stan the Lawsuit Man
So Stan Lee finds himself embroiled in a lawsuit over POW! Entertainment. The man is a lawsuit magnet, apparently, which is just a bummer. I mean, the guy's a living legend, and so many people owe him so much...can't we let him put out the few comicbooks he's still involved with in peace? I don't pretend to understand the details, so maybe Lee deserves all this, but I choose to believe he's a kind, aging genius whom the world has decided to take advantage of. I'm probably way off, but I don't care. You get 'em, Stan!
Avengers Review Round-Up
I haven't seen The Avengers yet, but everybody else has, so I've read a whole helluva lotta reviews of it. Won't you join me?
MTV
Vancouver Sun
CarlsbadPatch
New Yorker-This one feels particularly stupid. To me, anyhow.
CBC News
LA Times
Examiner
CNN
CinemaBlend
DeadSpin
Comic Book Movie
Tim Hanley
CBR
People
Rotten Tomatoes
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Pull List Reviews 05/03/2012
Animal Man #9: In terms of story, pretty damn boring. I mean, yes, everything we see here is probably necessary. We certainly had to learn what Buddy "dying" at the end of last issue meant and where it would lead. But this issue is literally just characters traveling without getting anywhere, which makes for a less-than-thrilling read. Steve Pugh's art continues to suit the title perfectly, and there are numerous stunning visuals in Animal Man #9: the Bone Orchard, the Shepard, the Island of Decay or whatever it's called. Detailed and compelling images, to be sure, but the story they're telling this month is lightweight at best.
6.0/10
Avengers vs X-Men #3: So, when this event started, despite my general hate of massive events, I was devoted to reading all twelve issues of the main title. No tie-ins from series I wasn't already reading, none of the AvX: Vs. stuff (it's a cool enough idea but I don't care to spend my money on it), just one, fifty dollar, six month commitment. So here we are at issue #3, only one-fourth of the way to the finish line, and I find myself already so underwhelmed by what I've seen that I am seriously considering dropping this title outright. This issue, written by Ed Brubaker and still haphazardly drawn by John Romita, Jr., felt like so much wheel spinning. The Avengers and X-Men talk to each other, then the X-Men run away and the two teams talk privately, then Captain America becomes an even bigger asshole than Cyclops, for no reason other than to give readers the cheap thrill of watching Cap throw down with Wolverine. And even that fight is uninspired and ends in a stupid, stupid way. I'm not sure what exactly I want from this title, but it is most assuredly not what I've been getting.
2.0/10
Blue Estate #11: I appreciate that here, as the "first season" comes to a close, Blue Estate didn't bother with any new complications or twists. It's been full of them up to this point, and has done a great job of juggling all the balls in the air, but with only one issue left before this story concludes I was glad to have a more straightforward installment. Also, Clarence and Rachel finally getting together was a big moment, and their relationship is just as strong and as much fun face-to-face as it has been during all their previous phone conversations. Maybe more so. Blue Estate #11 is a lot more action than story, it's true, but this final, enormous fight scene between the two crime families has been a long time coming, as has the Clarence-Rachel team-up, and it is all well-executed here. I've never been wild about the art style in this book, put together by a team of artists under Victor Kalachev's guidance, but it's certainly reliable, it tells the story clearly, and in the midst of this termite-infested gun battle it even heightens the chaos. Not bad at all.
7.0/10
Daredevil #12: The friendship between Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson has always been an excellent one, and in Daredevil #12 we get a bit of an origin story for the two old chums. It works well, with the right blend of humor and sincerity, even if it doesn't teach us a lot of new information about the characters. The same is true of the present-tense date between Murdock and ADA Kirsten McDuffie, a blossoming romance I am actively rooting for. Chris Samnee's artistic contributions are solid as well, clean and crisp and fitting. Not a fan of those last few pages. I mean, if Black Spectre can be "reborn" so quickly, then why did "The Omega Effect" happen at all? Why is the Omega Drive even a threat to these megacrime organizations if one of them can so easily bounce back? But since that ending was basically disconnected from the rest of this issue, I'll ignore it for now and focus on the excellent personal stories Mark Waid tells instead.
7.5/10
The Defenders #6: What is going on with this title? Remember just a few issues back when it was an awesome, end-of-the-world, madcap adventure series? Now that Matt Fraction has changed his focus from The Defenders defeating a clear threat to The Defenders stumbling over an enormous cosmic mystery, it seems like the series has lost its juice. Fraction still has a really good handle on the voices of his cast, and I got some laughs out of Iron Fist and Silver Surfer trying to communicate. But beyond that, this was mostly a bizarre and not-that-entertaining history lesson coupled with some semi-educated guesses about what these concordance engines might be/do. And Victor Ibañez, while not doing a necessarily bad job, definitely brings us one of the worst-looking issues of The Defenders to date. The monster Silver Surfer turned into was alright, but the whole thing was a bit cartoony without really committing to that style, and the overall effect was big time meh. Meh everywhere.
4.5/10
Dial H #1: As far as first issues go, Dial H #1 is simply marvelous. From the very opening scene, China Miéville expertly introduces us to the strange and depressing world in which this series takes place, and I would like to spend as much time there as possible. Our main character, Nelse, is perfect. He's depressed and maybe even a little hopeless, but a genuinely kind man and good friend, which makes him an ideal candidate for these numerous bizarre superhero identities. And the heroes themselves, in this first issue anyway, were logically connected to Nelse, one having cigarette-related powers and the other having sadness-related powers. The real treat, though, is how Miéville handles the psychological aspects of Nelse's transformations. While it never stops him from fighting evil or accomplishing his goals, it was nice to see the confusion and disorientation that come with suddenly taking on a new persona and set of powers. And Mateus Sanolouco's art complements the story perfectly, adding a gritty reality to things and launching the madness into the stratosphere when needed. There were some really excellent villains introduced as well, and others only hinted at, so it seems evident that Dial H has big plans for itself. I, for one, can't wait to see how they unfold.
8.5/10
Earth 2 #1: James Robinson uses an interesting approach in this debut. Rather than fully introduce us to the characters who will star in Earth 2 (we see a little of three of them at the end) he takes almost the entire first issue to instead teach us the history of this alternate reality. It's an awesome little tale of struggle and sacrifice, of an inter-dimensional war and the heroes who fight it, and of how Earth 2 lost its first wave of superheroes five years ago. So now we're set up to see who will take their place, and as anxious as I am to meet them, I still had a pretty great time reading what was, basically, this prologue to their future adventures. Not least of all because of Nicola Scott on art who, even if there are a few smaller panels with awkward expressions or angles, generally kicks ass. So much of this issue is huge, high-powered, chaotic violence, but Scott never loses us in the insanity, and makes all three of the DC Trinity look good in spite of some lame costume redesigns. And those moments with Mercury were spectacular. Pretty good opening chapter, even if all the main characters in it were killed off by the end.
7.0/10
G.I. Combat #1: Both the "War that Time Forgot" and "Unknown Soldier" features felt they like suffered from having to share this title with each other. The former, essentially, did nothing except for introduce its concept in the most basic way: soldiers find dinosaurs and fight them. Little else to say about that, except that Ariel Olivetti can draw some damn convincing dinosaurs. On the "Unknown Solider" side of things, it was kind of the opposite problem: too much going on in too little a space. Plus the jumps in narrative point of view were awkward, and I still do not understand how, exactly, this guy ended up riding with the U.S. military. I hope at least one of these stories can find its legs, and fast, because all this opening issue did was briefly introduce us to the main ideas behind each feature and nothing else. Nothing to come back for, yet.
5.0/10
Green Arrow #9: No surprises here, as Ann Nocenti continues to tell one of the most confusing, least interesting comicbook stories I've ever read. Even worse this month, we get her pathetic attempts at writing old-West-style dialogue, which she simply does not grasp whatsoever. I've been really enjoying Harvey Tolibao's art since he joined Green Arrow, but under Nocenti's breakneck pacing, his fluid line work starts to feel a little overwhelming. Like the images themselves are being swept up in the ridiculousness of the narrative. I'm hoping the next arc can take a quick breather, settle into some kind of real status quo for Green Arrow and then go from there in a better direction. It's a creative team with definite potential, but so far they've been dropping the ball in a significant way.
2.5/10
Pigs #7: For a long time, Pigs frustrated me. I wanted it to be about the complex moral and emotional issues inherent in being a sleeper agent. That seemed like what is was setting itself up to be, and the idea thrilled me. What we've been getting instead is more of a blockbuster spy action series, and if you read it at that level, it's fairly high-quality stuff. The break-in and subsequent violence in this issue were inventive, well-drawn, well-paced, and even pretty humorous when they wanted to be. That's absolutely all Pigs #7 has to offer, and I wish it had more. I feel like it wants to have more. But my theoretical vision of this series is not the scale by which it should be judged, and as far as shoot-em-up spy stuff goes, Pigs is doing a consistently enjoyable job. I will say that the cover positively sucked and made no sense, and that in the flashback sequences drawn by Will Sliney I could not get over the stupid way he draws a bunch of weird lines on everyone's noses. But the main narrative was what Pigs has been for a while: a group of young assholes raising hell and killing folks. No more, no less.
5.0/10
Swamp Thing #9: For the second month in a row, art trumps story in Swamp Thing. Lucky for us, Swamp Thing #9's art is even better than last issue's, from both Marco Rudy and Yanick Paquette. The two are an amazing match, and the transition from one to the other is hardly noticeable. And every single page has something astounding to stare at, even if its just the layout (although it's never just the layout). I would like Scott Snyder to maybe pick up the pace a bit, and some of the stuff in this issue was kind of lame, like the trick with the canned peaches or the totally predictable and long-ago announced "cliffhanger" at the end. But Alec and Abigial are good together, and their reunion felt earned, so I was glad for that. Really, though, it's all about the art with this series. And the art is fucking great.
7.5/10
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #10: Pretty good issue, if badly paced. The discussion Miles and his Uncle Aaron have is definitely interesting and important, but I felt like it took too long. Bendis loads the first two-thirds of the script with this conversation, and while he can write dialogue for days, I wish he'd cut it down a little here. The scenes that followed---Miles considering going to The Ultimates, Miles at home with his parents, Miles actually deciding to go after the Scorpion---all deserved a page or two more than they got, and I think that space could easily have been found by trimming the opening chat. Still, I am excited to see how this Scorpion story unfolds, and David Marquez did an impressive job on art duties as always, keeping me interested in the Miles-Aaron talk even as it started to drag. Hopefully more goes on next time.
6.0/10
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The Cheese Stands Alone: 100 Bullets #38
The Cheese Stands
Alone is a semi-regular column featuring examinations of single issues that can
be understood and appreciated on their own, without reading any of the
preceding or following issues of the series.
Cole Burns will always be my favorite Minuteman. I'm sure it's partially because he's the first one we meet, and maybe somewhat because he has the coolest codename ("The Wolf") but mostly Cole just won me over with his understated swagger and love of fine tequila. So in a series with numerous successful standalone stories, I choose 100 Bullets #38 at least in part because it is a Cole-centric issue. And a hell of a fine one, too.
Titled "Cole Burns Slow Hand," 100 Bullets #38 actually tells two complete stories that are largely self-contained, only tying together through the titular character in the final six pages. Each of the two tales is pretty straightforward and familiar---a man rejected by his former lover and an armed robbery at a bar---but they're told so tightly and laced with such humanity and humor that they hit the reader hard and remain memorable long afterward.
The robbery portion of the narrative has an interesting shape to it. What at first seems like a pair of hardened criminals pulling an easy, small-time caper slowly reveals itself to in fact be two total amateurs losing all control over a simple crime. As Joe and Ronnie's complete lack of preparation and skill becomes more and more apparent, the tension in the room gradually builds. The hostages don't know what to expect from these half-cocked masked men, and the crooks themselves fall victim to infighting, steadily exacerbating an already tenuous situation. It's very well-scripted, but the real star of these scenes is artist Eduardo Risso. The perfectly menacing-yet-comical animal masks worn by the robbers, the goofy-but-sincerely-terrified bartender, the dirty looks passed between Ronnie and Joe, Cole's face when they open the door and point a gun at him---all of these purely visual details enrich and enliven what could've been an overly dark or ridiculous story in the hands of a less capable artist. That's not to say writer Brian Azzarello doesn't shine in the bar scenes, too, but where his script really pops off is in the other half of the issue, the conversation between Cole and his lost love Sasha.
All it takes is two lines, one from each character, and the relationship between Cole and Sasha is fully explained to the reader. He lobs a bit of sexual innuendo her way, and not only does she dodge it entirely, she immediately goes on the offensive, trying to get him out of her apartment since he no longer has a place in her heart. From there what we get is Azzarello writing some of his best, most human dialogue. Cole tries every tactic he can think of to talk Sasha back into loving him, and Sasha steadfastly refuses, explaining to Cole that after the damage he did the first time out and the amount of time that's passed since then, his shot at a second chance is long dead and buried. Their back-and-forth is so quick, so casual, so full of quips and jabs and things unsaid or half-said, it is immediately clear how well these two knew each other once, and also how strained things are between them now. We don't get all the details of their past romance because we don't need them, and because this issue isn't really about their history. If anything, it is about their futures, their ability to get over each other and move on. Sasha, through what was clearly great effort, has already brought herself to a place where that's possible, and so she never buckles to Cole, always ready with an answer to his various pleas. And as their conversation develops, we get to watch Cole himself arrive at a similar place. He may not be happy about it, but in the end he truly and fully accepts that he lost Sasha forever, and when he does leave, the long-term finality of the exit is clear.
And then he wanders over to the bar, and we get one of the most satisfying conclusions of all time. Everybody gets just what they deserve in the end: Joe and Ronnie die, Sasha is free of Cole for good, and Cole...well, Cole goes right back to being the cold and efficient killer he was trained to be. If there is any way in which 100 Bullets #38 doesn't work on its own, independently from the rest of the series, it's that the end of the issue might be a tad confusing if you weren't familiar with Cole as a character beforehand. How, exactly, did this random guy manage to take down two armed felons who had the drop on him? But I would argue that, really, the final scene could just as easily clarify who Cole is as cloud the issue. It makes us all the more relieved that Sasha didn't take him back when we see him in the role of a merciless, callous, talented murderer. At the same time, because Cole's killing was not only in self-defense but also in defense of everyone else in the bar, and because Ronnie and Joe are such irredeemable characters, having Cole take them down in the end casts him, ultimately, as a hero. Well, hero of the robbery story, anyway.
And therein lies the true genius of "Cole Burns Slow Hand." The main character gets to be the bad guy in one of its narratives and the good guy in the other. We are most certainly not upset to watch Cole leave Sasha's place, but we are equally pleased to see him arrive at the bar. Like many people, he's not particularly likable or despicable. He's human, as are all of Azzarello's characters, and that means he brings the good with the bad like the rest of us.
There's a lot more I could discuss in this issue, because it really is brilliantly crafted. Like how deliciously paced the whole things is, never spending more than two or three pages at either location until the very end when the two tales collide. Or the awesome transitions Risso throws in, like when a smack or a fist clench or outstretched arms carry over from one story to the other. Or how when Sasha first enters her apartment, we hear Joe off-panel saying, "...and nobody gets hurt," so we know right away that Sasha is going to get hurt before the issue concludes. From the very beginning to the incredible closing line, 100 Bullets #38 is a fun, well-paced, thoroughly enjoyable read. But you don't have to take my word for it, because you can read and fully appreciate every page of it yourself right now.
100 Bullets #38 was published by Vertigo comics and is dated October 2002.
Cole Burns will always be my favorite Minuteman. I'm sure it's partially because he's the first one we meet, and maybe somewhat because he has the coolest codename ("The Wolf") but mostly Cole just won me over with his understated swagger and love of fine tequila. So in a series with numerous successful standalone stories, I choose 100 Bullets #38 at least in part because it is a Cole-centric issue. And a hell of a fine one, too.
Titled "Cole Burns Slow Hand," 100 Bullets #38 actually tells two complete stories that are largely self-contained, only tying together through the titular character in the final six pages. Each of the two tales is pretty straightforward and familiar---a man rejected by his former lover and an armed robbery at a bar---but they're told so tightly and laced with such humanity and humor that they hit the reader hard and remain memorable long afterward.
The robbery portion of the narrative has an interesting shape to it. What at first seems like a pair of hardened criminals pulling an easy, small-time caper slowly reveals itself to in fact be two total amateurs losing all control over a simple crime. As Joe and Ronnie's complete lack of preparation and skill becomes more and more apparent, the tension in the room gradually builds. The hostages don't know what to expect from these half-cocked masked men, and the crooks themselves fall victim to infighting, steadily exacerbating an already tenuous situation. It's very well-scripted, but the real star of these scenes is artist Eduardo Risso. The perfectly menacing-yet-comical animal masks worn by the robbers, the goofy-but-sincerely-terrified bartender, the dirty looks passed between Ronnie and Joe, Cole's face when they open the door and point a gun at him---all of these purely visual details enrich and enliven what could've been an overly dark or ridiculous story in the hands of a less capable artist. That's not to say writer Brian Azzarello doesn't shine in the bar scenes, too, but where his script really pops off is in the other half of the issue, the conversation between Cole and his lost love Sasha.
All it takes is two lines, one from each character, and the relationship between Cole and Sasha is fully explained to the reader. He lobs a bit of sexual innuendo her way, and not only does she dodge it entirely, she immediately goes on the offensive, trying to get him out of her apartment since he no longer has a place in her heart. From there what we get is Azzarello writing some of his best, most human dialogue. Cole tries every tactic he can think of to talk Sasha back into loving him, and Sasha steadfastly refuses, explaining to Cole that after the damage he did the first time out and the amount of time that's passed since then, his shot at a second chance is long dead and buried. Their back-and-forth is so quick, so casual, so full of quips and jabs and things unsaid or half-said, it is immediately clear how well these two knew each other once, and also how strained things are between them now. We don't get all the details of their past romance because we don't need them, and because this issue isn't really about their history. If anything, it is about their futures, their ability to get over each other and move on. Sasha, through what was clearly great effort, has already brought herself to a place where that's possible, and so she never buckles to Cole, always ready with an answer to his various pleas. And as their conversation develops, we get to watch Cole himself arrive at a similar place. He may not be happy about it, but in the end he truly and fully accepts that he lost Sasha forever, and when he does leave, the long-term finality of the exit is clear.
And then he wanders over to the bar, and we get one of the most satisfying conclusions of all time. Everybody gets just what they deserve in the end: Joe and Ronnie die, Sasha is free of Cole for good, and Cole...well, Cole goes right back to being the cold and efficient killer he was trained to be. If there is any way in which 100 Bullets #38 doesn't work on its own, independently from the rest of the series, it's that the end of the issue might be a tad confusing if you weren't familiar with Cole as a character beforehand. How, exactly, did this random guy manage to take down two armed felons who had the drop on him? But I would argue that, really, the final scene could just as easily clarify who Cole is as cloud the issue. It makes us all the more relieved that Sasha didn't take him back when we see him in the role of a merciless, callous, talented murderer. At the same time, because Cole's killing was not only in self-defense but also in defense of everyone else in the bar, and because Ronnie and Joe are such irredeemable characters, having Cole take them down in the end casts him, ultimately, as a hero. Well, hero of the robbery story, anyway.
And therein lies the true genius of "Cole Burns Slow Hand." The main character gets to be the bad guy in one of its narratives and the good guy in the other. We are most certainly not upset to watch Cole leave Sasha's place, but we are equally pleased to see him arrive at the bar. Like many people, he's not particularly likable or despicable. He's human, as are all of Azzarello's characters, and that means he brings the good with the bad like the rest of us.
There's a lot more I could discuss in this issue, because it really is brilliantly crafted. Like how deliciously paced the whole things is, never spending more than two or three pages at either location until the very end when the two tales collide. Or the awesome transitions Risso throws in, like when a smack or a fist clench or outstretched arms carry over from one story to the other. Or how when Sasha first enters her apartment, we hear Joe off-panel saying, "...and nobody gets hurt," so we know right away that Sasha is going to get hurt before the issue concludes. From the very beginning to the incredible closing line, 100 Bullets #38 is a fun, well-paced, thoroughly enjoyable read. But you don't have to take my word for it, because you can read and fully appreciate every page of it yourself right now.
100 Bullets #38 was published by Vertigo comics and is dated October 2002.
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