Category: Reviews

Review: ‘Love & Rockets: New Stories #1’ by The Hernandez Brothers

Review: ‘Love & Rockets: New Stories #1’ by The Hernandez Brothers

 

Love & Rockets: New Stories #1
By The Hernandez Brothers
Fantagraphics, July 2008, $14.99

It’s hard to believe [[[Love & Rockets]]] has been around for twenty-seven years now – longer than any of its peers in the “indy” comics world, and longer than a lot of “mainstream” comics characters as well – but dates don’t lie. This trade paperback marks the beginning of a third series of things called “Love & Rockets” – the first was magazine-sized, and started in 1981 (though it shrunk to the size of a regular comic eventually), and then the second was the re-launch of the comic in 2001 for the twentieth anniversary.

This time around, Fantagraphics and the Hernandezes have bowed to the winds of the comics world – the new Love & Rockets will be an annual hundred-page book, rather than a more frequent and smaller pamphlet. And so this book contains exactly fifty pages of comics each from Jamie and Gilbert Hernandez – with prodigal brother Mario turning up to script a six-page story for Gilbert’s art.

Love & Rockets has always swung between the dramatic and the silly – sometimes story-by-story, and sometimes in the space of a single panel. This volume isn’t entirely on the silly side, but it definitely tilts that way, with the first two parts of a long oddball superhero story from Jaime and some shorter, mostly minor pieces from Gilbert, probably unrelated to his major ongoing plots and characters.

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Review: ‘Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft’

Review: ‘Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft’

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft
By Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
IDW Publishing, October 2008, $24.99

Horror in comic books have always been an uneven affair.  These days, horror comics tend to feature zombies or H.P. Lovecraft adaptations but there’s so much more that can explored.  Fortunately, Joe Hill doesn’t mind going where others fear to tread.

His [[[Locke & Key]]] miniseries at IDW was a chilling affair, as much for its fresh take on the supernatural as for the superb art from Gabriel Rodriguez.  The six issues are collected today for the first time in a handsome hardcover volume that comes well recommended.

Too often horror offers you stock characters in a stock situations and how A Meets B is about the only variable.  You tend not to care a whit for the hero or victim and too often gore for gore’s sake overwhelms the storytelling.  Hill, instead, takes his time setting up the characters, the Locke family, and as wee progress through the 158 pages, we learn things.  As a result, we get to care for the three children whose father dies at the story’s beginning.  There’s Ty, the eldest who is conflicted over the father he had come to hate; Kinsey the young teen figuring out her place in the world and young Bode who becomes our focal point.

After their father is killed, Nina takes her children to live with her brother-in-law at Keyhouse in Lovecraft, MA. The large ramshackle property comes complete with a well house and its while visiting there that Bode comes in contact with a spirit. The growing relationship truly begins our story as the secrets of the Locke family and their connections to the other residents of the small island town are doled out in bite-sized chunks. 

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Review: ‘Fringe’ Episode #104

Review: ‘Fringe’ Episode #104

Note: Click here for last week’s mystery!

Autopsy Report: "The Arrival"
In Brooklyn, New York, an entirely bald man called The Observer watches in anticipation as a construction site suffers an explosion. The cause is an egg-shaped capsule, sitting perfectly still. The Observer calls someone and says: "It has arrived." Later, the device is delivered to a warehouse in Chelsea, Massachusetts, where Philip Broyles shows it to Olivia Dunham and Peter and Walter Bishop. Walter has an idea of what the object is, and desperately needs it moved to his laboratory. He reveals that he had worked on an experiment involving subterranean torpedos that could go straight through the Earth, but it’s still too early to say whether this is the same cylinder. Olivia is sent to meet with her old friend Jacobsen who was involved in a very similar case several years prior. He warns her to stay away from this assignment.

Later, Jacobsen is assaulted by a man with a strange explosive gun. The gunman uses a telepathic device to translate Jacobsen’s thoughts, learning that Olivia knows where the cylinder is now located. Olivia learns that the warehouse originally holding the capsule has been attacked, by the same man who tortured Jacobsen. On hearing this, Walter tranquilizes Astrid and steals the cylinder away from the laboratory. He later meets up with The Observer, who thanks Walter for relocating the cylinder. Elsewhere, Broyles and Olivia discuss The Observer, who has been spotted at over three dozen incidents tied in with The Pattern. They have no idea who or what he is.

Walter is arrested and questioned by Peter and Olivia. He tells them of The Observer, and yells at Peter for being too narrow-minded all the time. Peter decides that he’s done with this Pattern business and leaves. He’s attacked and tortured by the gunman from earlier. Even though Peter doesn’t know where the capsule is located, the gunman is somehow able to glean the information from Peter’s brain. Olivia tells Walter that Peter’s been abducted, and Walter is worried that the gunman will know how to get the information from Peter. He offers Olivia the location of the capsule.

The capsule is buried at the gravesite of Robert Bishop, Walter’s father. Peter is forced to uncover it, and the gunman runs off with it as Olivia chases him. She shoots him from behind, but before she’s able to uncover the capsule, it torpedos straight down into the ground. The Observer watches from a distance, and calls someone to say "Departure on schedule." Peter attacks The Observer and attempts to question him, but The Observer mimics every word he says as he says it. Finally, The Observer shoots him with some sort of sonic weapon and runs off. Recovering in the hospital, Peter declares to Olivia that he wants to stay and figure out what this Pattern is. Walter reveals to Peter that when he was a boy, they were in a horrible accident where they nearly drowned in freezing water. The Observer pulled them out and saved their life. Somehow, Walter knew that by hiding the cylinder, he was repaying his debt to the bald stranger. He also reveals how Peter was able to know the cylinder’s location: "Ideas can be absorbed by osmosis and proximity."

Olivia finally returns home after days of strange, strenuous work. Waiting for her in the kitchen is Agent John Scott, who Olivia believed to be dead. Looks like bedtime’s gonna have to wait.

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Review: ‘Gus and His Gang’ by Chris Blain

Review: ‘Gus and His Gang’ by Chris Blain

Gus and His Gang
By Chris Blain
First Second, October 2008, $16.95

There must be some reason why the good Western comics – hell, pretty much all of the Western comics – of the past three decades have all come from France, but I don’t know it myself. France never had a West of its own; never had a frontier on its border to expand into. (Rather the opposite, actually – their big neighbor is Germany, which spent several hundred years trying to expand into them.) But there’s a streak of Western comics – about the American West, of course – from France going back through the “Blueberry” stories by Charlier and Moebius up to this book.

Well, whatever the reason, the French like stories about our Old West at least as much as we do, and now here’s another one: [[[Gus and His Gang]]], a collection of stories originally published between 2004 and 2007 about three outlaws and the women they pursue (and are pursued by). Gus, Clem and Gratt do rob banks and hijack trains – that’s how they make their living – but those things are mostly incidentals in these stories. These guys are much more concerned with getting a leg over – money never seems to be a problem (there’s always another bank to knock over), but sex always is.

Gus is the title character, the guy on the cover, and the ostensible leader of the three-man gang, but he has the worst luck with women of the three. The first story, “Natalie,” sets the tone – a woman from his past (he knew her five years before, in Cincinnati, when he was working in a wild west show) comes back into his life, and he chases around after her – as she leads him on by his exceptionally long nose – but doesn’t get anything out of it.

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Review: ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ Episode #204

Review: ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ Episode #204

Note: Click here to relive the past episode!

This Week’s Operation: “Alison from Palmdale”

Mission Briefing:

Cameron, whose been malfunctioning lately, goes amnesiac in a grocery store while having strange visions of the future. A woman identical to her in the future, named Alison Young, is captured by Terminators and interrogated about the whereabouts of John Connor. Eventually, Alison comes into contact with Cameron, who is trying to infiltrate John’s rebel camp. When it becomes clear that Alison won’t comply, Cameron breaks her neck.
 
In the present, Cameron begins to think that her name is Alison from Palmdale, California. She’s befriended by a troubled girl named Jody, who takes her to a halfway house. Cameron calls Claire Young, Alison’s mother, but she’s actually still pregnant. Later, Cameron leaves the halfway house with Jody, where John finds her and tells her what she really is: a killer robot from the frickin’ future. Cameron realigns her identity, but still decides to run away with Jody. They break into a home which turns out to be Jody’s, and Cameron realizes that Jody was going to leave her behind for the cops to take the blame. John shows up just in time to prevent Cameron from killing Jody. As they’re driving home, Cameron lies to John about a necklace she got from Jody, implying that her malfunctioning days are far from over.

Meanwhile, Sarah keeps Casey company at the hospital while doctors check on her pregnancy. Sarah meets Casey’s LAPD boyfriend, Trevor. Elsewhere, Agent Ellison accepts Catherine Weaver’s offer to join Zeira Corp to find and disassemble Terminators.

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Review: ‘Chuck’ Season 2 Premiere

Review: ‘Chuck’ Season 2 Premiere

chuckWith NBC going into the fall season with a fairly light deck, [[[Chuck]]] is the one fan favorite that makes sure to deliver on it’s promises (unlike another show involving superpowers). This season of Chuck is said to be bigger and more adventurous than it’s first, while bringing in some great cameos along the way.

We left off last season where Chuck was finally coming into his own as a spy-computer, assuming the Bond-style alias Charles Carmichael. The romance between Chuck and Sarah also spiced up, but could never be due to their job. Also, Adam Baldwin’s Casey was given instructions that a replacement intercept (the computer that is in Chuck’s brain) is being built, and when it is, he has to take Chuck out.

This season picks right up in the action as Chuck’s life is in danger by a new baddie, played by Michael Clarke Duncan. He explains basically the entire premise of the show, which is great for newcomers. Chuck, of course, escapes and the spy trio is now in possession of the piece they need to create the newest intercept. Chuck is told that once the machine is up and running, his duty as a spy supercomputer is over and he’s free to live his life. Meanwhile, they shadowy government figures have already told Casey that he is to assassinate Chuck when the machine is built. The episode on a whole held through from start to finish, setting up some great storylines down the road and coming together at the end of the episode like any spy serial really should.

A big step for season two is character expansion. Now that everyone is established, it’s time to take them all to new places. Casey goes through a conflict which shows a more softer side, while Sarah and Chuck grow closer together as a couple. Chuck also realizes that it may be time to move on from the Buy More and get a new job, which could mean “goodbye” to Morgan and the Nerds. This season could mean a lot more “whining and screaming” from Chuck and some action that we would expect from a Spy Comedy Series. Some great things to expect this season are cameos from both Michael Clarke Duncan and John Larroquette, A new job (with new skimpy outfit) for Sarah, and even a death (or two) from a major character.

Anyone who isn’t caught up on the show should do so by picking up the DVD (available now). The series isn’t heavy and overall fun to watch. Between the skimpy outfits, endearing lead, and a badass Adam Baldwin, there’s something in it for the whole family. Season 2 premieres tonight on NBC right before [[[Heroes]]] at 8pm ET. RATING 8/10

Review: ‘Dexter’ Episode #301

Review: ‘Dexter’ Episode #301

The Crime Scene: “Our Father”
From Showtime: “[[[Dexter]]] begins to question his blind loyalty to his father’s memory. In an act of spontaneity, he wonders whether The Code of Harry is a necessity anymore. Dexter’s relationship with Rita intensifies. Angel becomes Sergeant, replacing the deceased Doakes. Dexter goes to desperate measures to cover up his latest murder, while meeting assistant district attorney Miguel Prado, who has history with Lt. LaGuerta. Meanwhile, the team discover the victim of another killer, which could just be bigger than the Bay Harbor Butcher.”

Blood Spatter Analysis

[[[The Dark Defender]]] is back, and he’s ready to kick ass and take blood samples.

Last season, blood spatter analyst cum vigilante killer Dexter Morgan nearly found himself on the wrong side of a prison cell. Sergeant James Doakes discovered that Dexter was the man behind the grizzly Bay Harbor Butcher slayings. Luckily, Dex was saved by the belle, the highly obsessive Lila, who killed Doakes to prevent Dexter from being discovered. Not so luckily for Lila, Dexter murdered the woman for killing Doakes, but not before pinning the murders on the deceased officer. With that monkey off his back, Dexter was free to resume his vendetta against Miami’s criminal underground… and resume he has!

As the third season begins, Dexter reflects upon his highly successful summer. His game has stepped up in every sense of the word. He’s back in the killing business, taking out all new bad guys and making up for lost samples with a new blood collection. He’s also upped his acting abilitiy, particularly notable when Dexter poses as a junkie to attain recon on his next victim, a murdering drug dealer named Freebo. Dexter’s social skills are at an all time high as well, both around the Miami Metro Police Department and at home with his girlfriend, Rita. In fact, Dexter’s progress as a killer might be second to his relationship progress with Rita. Let’s just say that he’s had his hands very, ah, full.

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Review: ‘My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down’ by David Heatley

Review: ‘My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down’ by David Heatley

My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down
By David Heatley
Pantheon, September 2008, $24.95

Right at this moment, I know more of the minor details of David Heatley’s life than I do of my own. This is because I don’t typically spend my time obsessing about the minutiae of my past, while I have just spent several hours reading Heatley’s comics – in which he obsessively chronicles every tiny detail of his life (as organized into thematic categories) that he can possibly remember.

[[[My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down]]] collects many (all?) of Heatley’s previously published short strips, and organizes them into something like a memoir in comics form – but a memoir tightly focused and monomanically detailed in its chosen areas. It’s divided into five sections – Sex, Race, Mom, Dad, and Kin – and everything else in the world (including religion, which seems to be very important to Heatley) gets left out or included only at odd, disjointed moments.

Each section, except the last, starts off with a batch of dream comics. These are about as compelling as anyone else’s dreams ever can be, particularly since Heatley has a deliberately crude and flat style. He does generally draw his dream comics with larger panels and more varied transitions than his longer pieces, which gives them some more visual interest. But, still, they’re someone else’s dreams, filled with intensely personal imagery and characters that we don’t recognize (because we haven’t yet met them in the autobiographical stories). So they’re opaque at best, incomprehensible at worst.

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Review: Knight Rider Premiere

knight rider nbcIn an attempt to make up for NBC’s flop of a reboot last year with [[[Bionic Woman]]] comes the new and improved [[[Knight Rider]]] which is like the original series, but with a revamped KITT, a younger cast, a brand new back-story, and fantastic special effects, this show has the potential be a win for NBC’s fall lineup. Many will be going into this “pilot” with some hesitation after February’s TV movie (which was technically the pilot), due to the fact that the show lacked in story structure, was full of WB-level acting, and gave work to David Hasselhoff. Happily, this episode fixed many of those issues and made the hour mildly entertaining.

The story from the original movie is that terrorists go after and “kill” scientist Charles Graiman (Bruce Davison) who helped work on the supercar Knight Industries Three-Thousand, or K.I.T.T. (see what they did there?), which drives away to find Graiman’s next of kin; his daughter Sarah (Deanna Russo). They meet up and Sarah decides to go to her old flame for help, a renegade army ranger named Michael Traceur (Jason Bruening) who is in his own heap of trouble with a whole “the-government-erased-my-brain-not-unlike-in-[[[The Bourne Identity]]]” plot of his own going on. By the end of the movie, Michael decides to become an agent for the newly reformed Foundation (an updated version of the original show’s F.L.A.G.) and drive KITT permanently.

This first episode takes off right in the middle of the action, as main characters Michael and Sarah are on a James Bond-style mission when Sarah gets kidnapped and Michael and KITT go after her, when they learn that these mystery men were actually after Michael and what he “knows”. This triggers the running theme of the episode, as everybody is trying to obtain clearance levels that they don’t have. Lots of shtupping going on for one episode, as there is presumed sexual tension between Sarah and Michael, and also between some other nondescript characters back in what can only be described as the KITTcave.

The KITT effects are easily the coolest part of the show so far. With essentially a Transformer voiced by Val Kilmer, it’s a pretty good answer to the “futuristic” car we got in 1982. There are some great uses of modern special effects where the car can turn into a pick-up truck—and back again—without crushing the passengers inside! Granted, this makes the show basically a weekly 40-minute commercial for Ford, but it is still pretty cool for any fan of the original series who wanted more than a bunch of cool [[[Dukes of Hazzard]]] jumps and William Daniels.

The bad points: there are some very cheeky moments back at the “base” with the wacky super nerds (a stereotype NBC seems to love) throughout the show, which comes across as incongruous for the show’s dynamic. Three-quarters of the show consisted of shadowy government types, as the overall story of the first episode was the death of Michael Traceur and the birth of Michael Knight, which was originally helmed by Michael’s father, Hasselhoff.

The biggest weakness for the show by a stretch is certainly the amount of different elements that the show tries to cram into 40 minutes. With that said, there is still plenty of action to keep you entertained, but add that in with the government mystery storyline, Michael finding out who erased his memory and why, the “Sam & Diane” storyline between Sarah and Michael, the plucky sidekicks, a unnecessarily dominant Sydney Poiter (the daughter, not Mr. Tibbs) and the dry wit of Val Kilmer as KITT, it becomes too much to keep track of. Each element on it’s own would make for great B-story to go along with the weekly spy thriller of the show, but cramming all of this in at once only proves to be confusing and hard to keep straight. The show certainly has potential to make it farther than last year’s Bionic Woman, but may have trouble keeping it up for more than a season unless they can find some solid structure, drop a few secondary storylines, or at least bring Will Arnett back as K.I.T.T. RATING: 7/10

Review: ‘Fringe’ Episode #103

Review: ‘Fringe’ Episode #103

Note: Click here for last week’s mystery!

Autopsy Report: "The Ghost Network"

A man named Roy is having visions of terrible accidents and attacks before they happen, including the mystery of Flight 627. When he has these "feelings," he needs to draw the visions in order to get them out of his system. His latest premonition involves a man gas-bombing a bus that suspends all the passengers in an amber-like substance. Olivia Dunham and the Bishops investigate and learn that someone was trying to obtain an item from one of the passengers, secretly an undercover FBI agent. Olivia meets with the agent’s handler, who seems distraught over the agent’s death and goes to see her body.

The Bishops, meanwhile, meet with Roy. Walter discovers that Roy is tapping into something called the Ghost Network, a theory he and Massive Dynamic founder William Bell devised that there were certain wavelengths that information could be transferred on. Roy was a test subject of theirs, and was injected with a metal compound that turned him into a receiver of this top secret intelligence network. His premonitions occur because he intercepts the transmissions agents use on the Ghost Network.

Walter jerryrigs a way for Roy’s visions to be translated in spoken word rather than through illustration. In doing so, Roy picks up a signal suggesting that the dead FBI agent’s secret item has been found and is being exchanged at Boston’s South Station. Olivia figures out that the woman’s FBI handler must have removed the item from her dead corpse. She intercepts the handler, who is then shot by the other man in the exchange before throwing himself into the path of a moving train. With the culprit dead, Olivia obtains the sought after item and hands it over.

Meanwhile, Agent Phillip Boyles secretly meets with Massive Dynamic representative Nina Sharp. Phillip is irritated that Nina is trying to steal Olivia away from his agency. He nonetheless hands her an item, presumably the same item that Olivia recovered. Nina later takes the item to a scientist. The scientist is performing experiments on a very interesting test subject: a sedentary Agent John Scott, Olivia’s supposedly deceased ex-lover.

 

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