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Wed Jul 30, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Review: 'The Number' by Thomas Ott
Wordless tale of horror is Swedish artist's first graphic novel
The sequence of numbers 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 sit at the top of each page of the superlative new horror graphic novel The Number
Those repeated numbers create a cadence to the book, a dark rhythm drummed into readers' heads that's further instilled through Ott's consistent use of four panels per page.
The wordless story follows a prison executioner who discovers a slip of paper marked only with the previously mentioned number. As the man notices bits of the number turning up in his life, he decides to place his fate in the number, taking it for a wild ride of good luck.
But after a night of gambling success, the man wakes to find the dream turned ugly, and the number only leads him farther into darkness.
It's not terribly difficult to predict where things end up -- after all, the book begins with the quotation "Good people are always so sure they're right," from a woman who was executed in prison.
The worthiness of the book lies instead in the way in which Ott unspools his protagonist's demise. The story moves along briskly, and Ott transitions effectively from the sedate beginning into the surreal and terrifying conclusion.
Tue Jul 29, 2008 — by Andrew Wheeler
Review: 'The Country Nurse' by Jeff Lemire
The Essex County Trilogy comes to an almost-happy ending
Essex County Vol. 3: The Country Nurse
By Jeff Lemire
Top Shelf, October 2008, $9.95
The finale of the “Essex County” trilogy – which will be available in October, so start saving your pennies now – draws together the first two graphic novels in the series, but at the expense of not being as coherent as a story itself. It has two main plot threads – one set in the modern day, following the nurse of the title, and one in 1917.
The modern plot is similar to the frame story of the second volume, Ghost Stories
The other plot starts off about young Lawrence Lebeuf, a twelve-year-old orphan at an isolated orphanage deep in the woods. (Was it really common to have orphanages out in the middle of nowhere, staffed only by a nun and a caretaker? I guess it exemplifies “out of sight, out of mind.”) The orphanage is run by Sister Margaret, and the caretaker is a scruffy man named Charles Gerrard. Lawrence is something of a protégé of Charles’s; he’s the oldest of the orphans and Charles talks to him quite a bit about what he should do when he soon leaves the orphanage.
Continue reading Review: 'The Country Nurse' by Jeff Lemire ›
Mon Jul 28, 2008 — by Andrew Wheeler
Review: 'Swallow Me Whole" by Nate Powell
Insects and obsessive teenagers in the American South
Swallow Me Whole
By Nate Powell
Top Shelf, September 2008, $19.95
Ruth and Perry are stepsiblings, somewhere in the South – people say “shoore” for “sure,” biology teachers can’t even say the word "evolution," and the kids’ slowly-dying, live-in grandmother is called “Memaw.” It also seems to be sometime in the late ‘80s, from the clothes and the music and the hair.
And they’re both – how should I put this? Oh, let’s use the jargon – both are very far from neurotypical. Perry hallucinates a tiny wizard who makes him draw incessantly for “missions.” And Ruth may even be schizophrenic: she hears voices and feels patterns in everything around her, particularly with insect swarms. She has a huge collection of insects in jars in her room; she’s stolen at least some of them from school, but it’s not clear where they all came from. When she finally has a break at school and is taken to the nurse’s office, the school cop immediately assumes she’s high and starts loudly questioning her about drugs – she doesn’t get diagnosed has obsessive-compulsive for several days.
Swallow Me Whole is a slow, swirling, uneasy book, centered mostly on Ruth and her efforts to live in the world – talking to her Memaw, getting a work-study job at the museum, trying not to be swallowed up by the massive swarms of insects that comfort her and that may, or may not, be real. (Don’t decide either way until you get to the end.) It begins with a few short scenes set about five years earlier, when Ruth and Perry are both pre-teens and Memaw’s hospitalization ends with her moving in with them and their parents. From there, it’s hard to say how much time Swallow Me Whole covers, since there are no external markers. They go to school but we don’t see school begin or end for the summer. We don’t see the seasons change. Scenes could be separated by a day or three months. It’s all now; it’s all happening, like life, one thing after another after another.
Continue reading Review: 'Swallow Me Whole" by Nate Powell ›
Mon Jul 28, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #12 - "The Stolen Earth"
It's world-shaking!
The hit BBC series Doctor Who
Every week, I'll do my best to go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the "sonic screwdriver" equivalent might be) and call out the highlights, low points, continuity checks and storyline hints I can find to keep in mind for future episodes. I'll post the review each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before I spoil anything.
Missed a week? Check out the "Doctor Who in Review" archive or check out any of the past editions of this column via the links at the end of this article.
Keep in mind, I'm going to assume readers have already watched the episode when I put fingers to keyboard and come up with the roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!
Let's begin now, shall we?
Season Four, Episode #12: "The Stolen Earth"
Continue reading Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #12 - "The Stolen Earth" ›
Sun Jul 27, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Review: This Week in Trinity - Part 8
Your weekly dose of DC's big three
As Comic-Con starts to lull into submission (begin your hype for '09!), I finally get a chance to sit down with the latest issue of DC's weekly Trinity and ask myself again why I ever agreed to do weekly reviews.
Yes, the series is still so much better than Countdown that it's useless comparing the two, but after last week's big explanations of some of the major mysteries, issue eight has no tension among much weirdness.
We start off with Morgaine Le Fey, Enigma and Despero all hanging out on the largest moon of Itatoq (funny, I'm vacationing there this winter). Because they're villains, a fight ensues, but after some "We're all so evil" dialogue the three agree to form their own evil threesome.
At their disposal is the Cosmic Egg, which confused me, since last issue seemed to imply the JLA had the egg (and the villain inside it) stashed somewhere safe. Apparently they stashed it on the largest moon of Itatoq (miles and miles of sandy beaches!).
After that are scenes of the heroes going about their lives, still filling the generic roles prescribed to them by the universe (aka Kurt Busiek). Bruce is sleuthing, Clark is fighting robots and Diana is... shopping. Ahem.
Sat Jul 26, 2008 — by Van Jensen
The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 26
Rounding up the latest issues
Wait a second, reviews of actual comic book? Isn't Comic-Con going on?
Yes and yes. I made it to the comics shop a bit belated this week on account of the San Diego craziness, but apparently real comics came to real comic book stores this week, although it was an understandably small batch. That being the case, it's a somewhat truncated Weekly Haul this time around.
Book of the Week: X-Files #0
Comic adaptations are always tricky, as the art can go too far into trying to perfectly recreate actors and the writing can fall flat. But this issue reads and looks just like a classic episode.
Scully and Mulder investigate a series of weird deaths, where victims have no signs of injury or illness. Turns out there's something playing the possession game, which puts the heroes into a fun game of chess with the invisible adversary.
It's strong throughout, but the final reveal is a doozy, making it a must-read for fans.
Runners Up:
Daredevil #109 -- This arc is (finally) all about Matt getting his life back on track, but of course he can only do so while bringing some gangsters, the FBI and the CIA down on his head. A tense read, as Matt and his crew pull themselves further into danger's path with each page.
Invincible #51 -- Lots of daddy issues surface as Mark shows Oliver the superhero ropes and they each get a new costume (in a sequence fairly ripped out of The Incredibles). A few big plot developments, but mostly this is Robert Kirkman doing the teenager-as-superhero thing better than it's been done since Ditko's Spider-Man
Continue reading The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 26 ›
Fri Jul 25, 2008 — by Andrew Wheeler
Manga Friday: 'Me and the Devil Blues'
A big book about the life of Robert Johnson
It’s unofficially been Blues & Jazz week here in my reviews – and, if you’re wondering how Erotic Comics
Me and the Devil Blues, Vol. 1
By Akira Hiaramoto
Del Rey Manga, July 2008, $19.95
If you know anything about Robert Johnson – the archetypal bluesman, who came out of nowhere to record 24 songs and then die young – it’s that he sold his soul to the devil, one night at a Mississippi crossroads, to get his amazing ability to play and sing. Is it true? Well, it’s a damn good story, and that’s what matters most.
Speaking of damn good stories, Akira Hiramoto weaves one here, drawing from the legends and few known facts of Johnson’s life and bringing in careful research on the rural Mississippi of the ‘30s, plus his own speculation and fiction. In a life as full of holes and mysteries as Johnson’s, the only way to tell a story is to make it up.
Hiramoto starts his story in 1929 with a young man called RJ, who works on a plantation, dreams of becoming a bluesman (though he’s not very good at singing or guitar playing), is harried by his domineering sister Bessie, and loved by his pregnant wife Virginia. He sneaks off to the local juke joint just about every night, to drink, talk with his friends, and hear the blues. He keeps trying to play, but never gets far – he really is lousy. The traveling bluesman Son House tries to explain to RJ what the blues is, but RJ doesn’t quite get it.
Wed Jul 23, 2008 — by Andrew Wheeler
Review: 'Erotic Comics' by Tim Pilcher
A history of the stuff sold under the counter
Erotic Comics: A Graphic History from Tijuana Bibles to Underground Comics
By Tim Pilcher with Gene Kannenberg, Jr.
Abrams, March 2008, $29.95
We’ve reached an interesting point in modern culture, when even something as disposable and downmarket as sexy comic books can be the subject of a classy art book from a major publisher. Abrams is about as respectable an art-book publisher as you could find; they’re the official book imprint of both the Whitney and Guggenheim museums. And they’re also the publisher of Erotic Comics, a well-crafted and thoroughly conventional art book with lots of pictures of comics panels featuring people at least half-naked – if not actively engaged in various lascivious acts.
Erotic Comics is, except for the smutty pictures, an absolutely standard coffee-table book – printed at a large but comfortable size, not too expensive, with several color reproductions on each spread, occasional background images as well, helpful, detailed captions, and a body text that’s thin beer but perfectly acceptable. It makes no sweeping claims for the field of erotic comics, and is content mostly to show some pictures and retell the same old stories about the men who drew them.
Tue Jul 22, 2008 — by Andrew Wheeler
Review: 'Bluesman' by Vollmar & Callejo
Twelve bars of sorrow and dread in the Mississippi Delta
Bluesman
By Rob Vollmar and Pablo G. Callejo
NBM, August 2008, $24.95
Bluesman was published once before, as three album-sized collections, but this is the first time the entire story has been collected between two covers. It’s a moody tale, told in black and white – but mostly in grays, from the background to the characters.
Lem Taylor is a blues guitarist, wandering through the rural Mississippi Delta in the late ‘20s, hungry and foot-sore. With him is a blues pianist, Ironwood Malcott, and together they make some excellent music. But that doesn’t put food in their bellies half the time, let alone a roof over the heads and a bed at night more than every so often.
As the book begins, their luck is beginning to look up: they get a decent gig at a popular juke house called Shug’s and are invited up to Memphis to record some sides by J.L. Dougherty, a traveling salesman who also acts as a talent scout.
Mon Jul 21, 2008 — by Rick Marshall
Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #11 - Turn Left
The best intentions of bugs and Billie Piper...
The hit BBC series Doctor Who
Every week, I'll do my best to go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the "sonic screwdriver" equivalent might be) and call out the highlights, low points, continuity checks and storyline hints I can find to keep in mind for future episodes. I'll post the review each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before I spoil anything.
Missed a week? Check out the "Doctor Who in Review" archive or check out any of the past editions of this column via the links at the end of this article.
Keep in mind, I'm going to assume readers have already watched the episode when I put fingers to keyboard and come up with the roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!
Let's begin now, shall we?
Season Four, Episode #11: "Turn Left"
Continue reading Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #11 - Turn Left ›
Fri Jul 18, 2008 — by Matt Raub
Review: The Dark Knight
The Caped Crusader delivers once again...
Considering the amount of massive blockbusters that have disappointed the fans this year, it is safe to say that all of your expectations will be met going into this movie. The Dark Knight delivers on so many levels that it becomes hard to critique it, and all that's left is pure childlike enjoyment for approximately two hours.
Those of you who are unaware of the plot for the sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins
[SPOILER WARNING: READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK]
Fri Jul 18, 2008 — by Andrew Wheeler
Manga Friday: High School!
Three books about the best/worst time of our lives
Ah, high school! The greatest time of our lives, right? The time when we all were either on the student council or locked in a life-or-death struggle with the evil student council, when we harnessed powerful robots to save the world, and when the most attractive member of whatever gender we fancied suddenly fell into our laps.
What? High school wasn’t like that for you? You should have been smart enough to go to a manga high school…
Kujibiki Unbalance, Vol. 1
Story by Kio Shimoku; Art by Koume Keito
Del Rey Manga, July 2008, $10.95
It would be very unfair of me to pick on Kujibiki Unbalance for being silly, since it’s whole purpose is to be silly: it’s the fictional manga series beloved by the main characters of another manga series, Genshiken. As such, it was designed to be full of clichés and way over the top. But being less than serious doesn’t keep Kujibiki from being a lot of fun.
Chihiro is the nebbishy hero – he’s had bad luck his entire life, and is otherwise the epitome of the plucky but downtrodden shonen shlub. That all changed when he was chosen in a lottery to attend the ultra-prestigious and powerful Rikkyoin High School…and then learned that everything at Rikkyoin is determined by lottery.
He’s quickly chosen as student council president, with his long-time platonic best friend (and source of a whole lot of panty shots) Tokino as his VP. The secretary is a cold, bossy, super-genius named Renko, who’s been at Rikkyoin since kindergarten and is always accompanied her her home-made super-robot slave Kaoruko. And the treasurer – well, that’s what the first story is about: finding the treasurer so that the whole new council can go present themselves to the outgoing council.
Thu Jul 17, 2008 — by Andrew Wheeler
Review: New 'Fables' & 'Jack of Fables' Volumes
On Good & Bad Princes
Fables is one of the big successes of the current version of the Vertigo line, where every book has a Hollywood-style high concept: all males on Earth are killed – except one!; New York’s mayor can talk to machines!; Refugee fairytales live in the modern world! And, in another Hollywood-esque twist, Fables even has a spin-off of its own, like Diff'rent Strokes
Last month, both the parent and spin-off series had new collections, with titles that implied a connection. So let’s look at the two of those books together:
Fables, Vol. 10: The Good Prince
By Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and others
DC Comics, June 2008, $17.99
Fables, as you might know, is a series in which all of the folkloric and fairy-tale characters that you’ve ever heard of are real, and originally lived in an array of alternate worlds. But “the Adversary” – whose identity was revealed a few volumes ago – led huge goblin armies to conquer nearly all of those worlds, sending a few (but mostly very well-known) Fables to our world, to live in secrecy in an enclave in New York City.
More recently, the cold war with the Adversary is beginning to heat up, with Fabletown’s leadership striking alliances with the “Cloud Kingdoms” (you know, where the beanstalk led?) and with the as-yet-unconquered world of the Arabian Knights. (There’s also an unsubtle parallel between Fabletown and Israel that Willingham is a bit too fond of.) As we hit this tenth volume, we know that the Adversary is building for a major attack three years from now, and the characters of Fables learn that quickly as well.
The last storyline, Sons of Empire, served to ratchet up tension, but The Good Prince goes the other way; Flycatcher – Prince Ambrose, the Frog Prince – has finally regained his memory, and is grieving over the loss of his family centuries before. But Red Riding Hood goads him out of his misery, and he rushes off to get fighting lessons from Boy Blue.
Continue reading Review: New 'Fables' & 'Jack of Fables' Volumes ›
Thu Jul 17, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Review: This Week in 'Trinity' #7
Your weekly dose of DC's big three
This issue is titled "A third symbol now..." but a more accurate one would be "OK, so here's exactly what's going on."
For six issues, Trinity was a fairly opaque book, with several seemingly disparate storylines and a completely mysterious large threat -- the one screaming "Let me out!" in issue one.
What do we know now?
All the "disturbances" from issue two are an unknown form of primal energy. "Creation energies." The heroes quickly put two and two together and check on Krona, that Oan who tried to manipulate the beginning of the universe and accidentally created the multiverse (check out Crisis on Infinite Earths
Later in the book, it's revealed that Krona is in fact the mysterious shouter of "Let me out!" that the trinity has been hearing. And, it's a bit hard to decipher, but it appears that he's getting close to escaping from the cosmic egg, if he hasn't already.
The heroes are gathered to talk about all the goings on. They figure out the rash of museum robberies has all been to obtain wands, swords, pentacles and cups, which happen to be the four suits of the Tarot. Which leads them to Tarot, the girl who was kidnapped last issue by Morgaine Le Fey's monsters.
They also have a third symbol appearing on Wonder Woman's scar. The three are ancient Egyptian symbols: Strength, the high priestess and the world. Three symbols tied to our three heroes.
Thu Jul 17, 2008 — by Van Jensen
The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 17, 2008
Rounding up the latest comics issues
A couple disappointments and a near no-show from DC aside, this was a pretty good week in comics, especially outside of the mainstream superheroes.
Still, this week more than anything is just a little whisper, as all eyes are on San Diego for next week's Comic-Con. All the same, books came out, so on to the reviews...
Book of the Week: Mice Templar #5
Last issue, it started becoming clear that writer Bryan J.L. Glass was veering away from the expected route of the young protagonist realizing his great destiny and triumphing over evil.
This issue, any and all signs of the archetypal fantasy narrative have been thrown clear out the door. Paradigms change in a big way for Karic, and to write anything about it would be to spoil the fun.
Mike Oeming is once again top-notch on art, and really the only question left is how many times the creative team can keep raising the bar.
Runners Up:
Captain America #40
Cap sees the big fight between Bucky and the new impostor (the old Nomad), but the real bout to watch is that between Sharon and the Red Skull's daughter. Ed Brubaker uses his skil with pacing to tell both stories at once, using each to heighten the drama of the other. And the ending? An out-and-out punch in the stomach moment.
Omega the Unknown #10 -- The weirdest Marvel series in a good, long while finally ends, with Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple taking a bow with a nearless wordless denouement that comes straight out of David Lynch's oddball mind. It's a fitting conclusion to the series, which was enigmatic for the whole trip.
Continue reading The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 17, 2008 ›
