Comic review: Hicksville

I have heard good things about Hicksville ever since it came out but never tried it because it seemed to getting TOO much praise for critical circles, which can put me off. I was given the chance to try it out when Gosh! had it on sale for £5 (well, it would be a crime not to).

One of the reasons for not trying this before was the 'indie b&w art' vibe hanging over it. I don’t mind black and white art – my love for Usagi Yojimbo shows that – but I do mind art when I don’t like looking at. Dylan Horrocks style is very much in the camp of the scratchy autobiographical cartoonist that make my eyes water. However, it isn’t bad; rather, I had to adjust to the style as it tells the story.

Hicksville is a small town in New Zealand where Leonard Batts, a journalist for a comic magazine, is heading to find out more about Dick Burger (great name), a world-famous cartoonist and the richest, most powerful man in the comics industry. There, he finds that Hicksville is a little different – the library has a complete run of Action Comics, people all know about mini-comics and comics history – and everyone hates Dick Burger.

The fact that this book is about the comics industry is what made me want to read this, and yet it made me feel as if I don’t know anything about the history of the medium. (I thought Rarebit Fiend, the name of the local coffee shop, was referring to Rick Veitch’s comic, not realising it was an old newspaper strip by Windsor McCay). It is also about the nature of art, its interaction with the business world, and the reasons for being in an entertainment industry. It is thoughtful, poignant, intelligent, warm, funny, emotional and absorbing comic book that leaves an impact on you after reading it.

Even though I am not a great fan of the art style, Horrocks imbues a lot of feeling into his artwork, letting it tell the story and evoke feeling, rather than trying to impress. The characters are all individuals and the place feels real. New Zealand feels like an extra character in the story, which is something I would never think possible. But, then, I didn’t think it possible to create a story about art and the comic book industry set in an almost mythical small town. There are some allusions to art and history in general that I felt I missed out on, but I didn’t feel stupid by it; rather, I felt the sense of something bigger than just a comic book about people and the way that life gets in the way of things that matter.

Catching Up On The New Avengers

Finally, I got round to reading my back issues of the New Avengers. Even though I don’t have issues 7 and 12 yet, I read the rest as they aren’t story conclusions, and I assume I’m not missing vital information necessary for enjoyment.

The Sentry storyline (#7–10) is a strange attempt to integrate the metafictional character of Bob Reed, The Sentry, into the Marvel Universe. There is some silliness about mental blocks and such, and it’s all a bit of a stretch, but it’s enjoyable on the whole, and Steve McNiven’s art is very nice – smooth, strong lines, nice figurework and a freshness.

David Finch (a sort of modern-day Silvestri, with less cross-hatching and more solidity) is back on art duties for the Ronin storyline (11–13), which has lots of ninjas – Bendis likes ninjas, as you can tell from the Daredevil mini-series he did – which don’t really seem to be the level of villain one would expect the Avengers to fight. That’s about it for story (there was something about the Silver Samurai, but, you know …) The whole excuse behind it is for Bendis to use Echo, the character created by his best buddy, David Mack, something that is symptomatic of his choice of characters for this team (Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Spider Woman) who are only there because he really loves them. The most glaringly unnatural fit, Wolverine, should fit in with all the ninjas, but Logan just looks out of place here, and I don’t buy his just hanging out with this team.

Next up is the Spider woman story line, for issues 14 and 15, with the sumptuous lines of Frank Cho. His male figures look a little stiff and awkward, but who cares when he draws the ladies so beautifully (and with such improbable breasts and clothes)? Bendis does his spy stuff, another genre he loves, to do something a little different. Personally, I rather liked Jessica Drew back when Chris Claremont was using her in the X-Men (well, he had written a lot of her early stories), so I don’t mind too much seeing her in this setting, even if it doesn’t blend seamlessly.

Then there is part of The Collective storyline (prologue in 16 with McNiven art), in issues 17–19, with art by Mike Deodata. What the hell happened to him? His art looks like he’s turned into a Brent Anderson clone. It’s muddy and unattractively loose and is not nice to look at. Which is a shame, as it would distract from the story. I was warned by Anonymous that this wasn’t Bendis’ finest hour, and that’s the truth. When you use almost a third of an issue in splash pages and no dialogue to show the explosive arrival of the character, you know you are reading a ‘wait-for-the-trade’ story. The story involves fallout from the House of M, and the removal of the mutant genes from most of the population. Based on this, I don’t think that Bendis should be allowed to go near any mutant storyline in the Marvel U, especially in the Avengers.

I also had the annual, which was sweetly old-fashioned but with a modern polish, with lots of fighting and a wedding, and Ariel Olivetti’s rather good art being messed around by a plethora of inkers. An enjoyable tale, but perhaps not completely necessary for an annual.

The question I have to ask now is whether or not I continue buying the book in the monthly format. The line-up of artists look good, and Bendis might work better with the dialogue-centred stories that Civil War should bring (and stop him from coming up with such silly story ideas as The Collective). However, I did enjoy the Sentry, Ronin and Spider Woman stories – they worked well within the framework that Bendis has created for the series, there was humour and adventure and a different feel to them. Whether they should be part of the Avengers lineage is highly debatable (I’m not an Avengers fan, but even I can tell that this doesn’t feel like the Avengers), but the New Avengers is certainly something a little different from the usual Marvel team book. I'm even tempted to get The Illuminati. He must be doing something right …

Incoming Inventory – June 29

Usagi Yojimbo #94
I don’t have it in me to do Comics Activisim but, if I did, I would do it for Usagi Yojimbo. I have been a fanatic for the rabbit bodyguard since I discovered him sometime ago. I buy the singles, but also buy the trades as well, because it is just that good. According to ICv2.com, Usagi Yojimbo only made it to number 202 on the top 300 comics sold in April 2006 (just above PvP, another black and white comic I buy), selling just shy of 6000 copies. I think this is a terrible shame; Usagi is one of the satisfying comic book experiences, with great characters, wonderful stories and art that is deceptively brilliant. It is a book that can be given to someone who doesn’t want to read about the spandex set, and doesn’t rely on years of continuity to be able to understand it (although there is greater subtext if you have been lucky enough to be reading it). My girlfriend and I both eagerly await the latest fix, and hope that Stan Sakai keeps telling Usagi’s story for years to come.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes #19
This series has been a bumpy ride, especially in the middle, but the input of Supergirl has been a great shot in the arm for the book. If they could get either Kitson to stay on schedule (he and Waid work well together) or just get an art team that maintains the visual element from month-to-month, it could be something special.

PvP #27
I haven’t been enjoying the recent Shecky storyline in the online strip, but that doesn’t stop my overall enjoyment for the series. Apart from the price difference, there isn’t much difference between the singles and waiting for the trade, as the comic book already collects strips from the website, effectively making it trade of sorts.

New Avengers #21
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I wasn’t able to get to the shop for last week’s haul, which had some sweet books in it, including the last issue of this title in fact. To make up for it, I’ve been cracking into the recently purchased back issues of this book (I’m still missing #7 and #12), and finding that it’s quite a good little read. It probably helps that I’m not an Avengers fan of old, so Bendis is able to tell a superhero team tale (with a very odd assortment of characters, it has to be said) with a bit of SHIELD stuff thrown in, drawn by some nice artists. I hope to review them soon, after I’ve finished reading them all, which will also mean that I will be up-to-date enough to be able to read this issue, drawn by The Man, Howard Chaykin.

Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #6
Explodo. Comedy. A soundtrack of mad giggling and bemused fanboys. This what I want from my monthly fix of mainstream comics; fun stories, engaging characters, cool dialogue and funky art. Bring on the purple pants!

Runaways #17
So, there’s a death coming up in the book, which I hope will bring back some of the spark that has been missing in this book for me of late. I don’t want Vaughan to use death regularly (Alex’s death was quite a shock in the first season), so I hope he isn’t falling back on old ideas, but he has a knack for doing things a little different, so there is optimism.

X-Factor #8
Although I will admit to having a soft-spot for David’s use of characters from his previous X-Factor days, I still enjoy this book for what it is, the Marvel mutants' version of Angel. If they could decide on a regular artists, I would be even happier (ideally, it would be Sook but, as that isn’t going to happen, I’ll take Olivetti after the good job he did on last issue). Last issue was also enjoyable for seeing what Singularity Investigations is all about, so I hope that David keeps up the momentum.

Are You Going To Buy Comics To Review?

The weekend didn’t quite turn out the way I had anticipated; I couldn’t get my comics and haven’t read my New Avengers back issues yet, so I’m just going to groove on a wave of unrelated synaptic firings.


Because I have a disturbing weakness for watching really bad films about strong females in sexy outfits being violent in genre action flicks (cough, Ultraviolet, cough), and because I rather liked Equilibrium, I bizarrely want to see Ultraviolet, even though I know it will be bad (Empire says so, and Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t lie). However, I don’t want to pay good money to see it – that would be stupid. The only problem is that the film is only on in two cinemas in the centre of London; it would appear that everyone knows it is going to be a big pile of poo and decided not to book it in their theatres. This I find rather funny.


Thanks to John at Soreeyes pointing out that Battlestar Galactica was starting on Sky Three (first shown on Thursday but repeated on Saturday), I was able to finally catch the show that has been getting nothing but good reviews. This didn’t prepare me for the quality of the stuff in this double episode, which got me immediately hooked and jonesing to see more. The only question I had was, 'Why Sky Three?' Surely this has Sky One written all over it? Anyway, I don’t care – really good stuff, and the mini-series DVD is now on my rental queue.


I saw Broken Flowers on DVD; as my girlfriend put, I’m glad I didn’t see that in the cinema. Watching it drained any desire in me to write a review, which would probably have included phrases such as ‘slow’ and ‘why have famous actresses doing nothing more than cameos?' (Chloe Sevigny and Tilda Swinton barely get more than a few lines of dialogue). So, other than to say that it was well made and Bill Murray is always watchable, I hope I never see the film again.


Happy 2-year blogiversary to the incomparable Tom The Dog, writer of many quality posts and a man with impeccable taste.


I wanted to have a link somewhere to the FilmWise invisibles site, because I had forgotten about it and recently rediscovered it. A testament to the power of film and the power of Adobe Photoshop.


I had a moment of comedy expectations leading to disbelief over the weekend. There was an advert on television. It was three pretty lasses singing a cover version of Scarborough Fair while wandering around a forest. It then cut to the same girls in different flowing dresses and perhaps a different forest, but this time they were singing a cover Kiss From A Rose. There wasn’t a voiceover, and it looked really bizarre; so bizarre, in fact, I was convinced it was a piss-take, hopefully leading into the announcement of a new comedy show. Except, it didn’t. It announced that it was the new CD from Triniti, a trio of Dublin colleens, who actually exist – here is their official website, and here is the video of their latest song. I was stunned by it. I thought it had to be a joke, there was no way it could be real. You know what it reminded me of? That bit in Blackadder II, the Bells episode, where Blackadder is walking along to a K-Tel-like advert for love songs: 'My Love is a Prick (On a Tudor Rose), Hot Sex Madrigal in the Middle of my Tights and many, many more ...' BUT THIS WAS GENUINE!


Hopefully, I will actually get around to reading some comics and doing the whole reviewing thing I seem to enjoy so much. Feel free to join me.

Comic Review - JLA Classified: New Maps of Hell

JLA Classified: New Maps of Hell
by Warren Ellis and Jackson Guice

You know what I don’t like? Fucking ugly covers that are not at all indicative of the interior art. That is an ugly picture; the garishness of the other five covers would be enough to put me off buying the singles, if I wasn’t a man who waits for trades. It’s the stuff of nightmares.

Anyway, the rest of the book. Warren Ellis turns his storytelling towards the mainstream, giving us a JLA story that requires the whole of the team to take part (rather than a feeble enemy that Superman could take on his own.) He starts with a mystery – Lexcorp employees are dying – that is investigated by Clark and Lois. The sexy banter between the two is hilarious, and I would pay to see a comic with these two doing their Sorkin via His Girl Friday dialogue on a monthly basis. As this is Ellis, we also see Perry White as Ellis Editor, but I find that funny, so we’ll let him off. (He must have had a really bad experience with an editor to keep on doing this.)

Then, to keep the kids interested, we see Batman (all scarred and serious) getting tooled up, one of the Paradise Islands explode (Bring The Explodo!), Flash notified of trouble by his wife (with some Ellis poetry: 'Three steps. River of speed. I’m the Flash.') and Kyle as Green Lantern turns up. Ellis deliberately avoids the vestigial problems of Aquaman by cleverly ignoring him completely. Ellis has a good handle on the characters, using the dialogue to give you enough information so fairly new readers won’t be lost, and giving them their correct and individual characteristics.

Jackson Guice does a good job on art (even though he could draw stick figures and it would be better than the covers), given room to breathe with some money shots (Superman flying, Wonder Woman flying, the Flash speed) but still telling the story. It’s not the same quality of gorgeousness that I remember from his Crossgen days on Ruse, but the scratchier feel suits the story. The wordless pages as the JLA go to meet Lex Luthor as President in the White House are done very well, and brought a smile to my face.

The story itself is an Ellis twist on the classic tale of the heroes being trapped in their own nightmares, with a modern flavour (ideas as memes, a Global Frequency feel to the Oracle side-plot) that makes things interesting. The team is sequestered by the villain of the piece – Z, an Authority-like bad guy, with little backstory and a simply defined goal of killing the planet, and enjoyable dialogue: 'Excellent. You bring me determination and novelty. I love you.' I don’t know if Ellis has never read this story before, or he thought he had a way of telling it differently, but it does work, despite the familiarity. The heroes are intelligent in their specific ways (I liked the Superman bit, for example), and we get a great line from J’onn: 'We’re the Justice League. We’ve beaten up real gods and made them cry. You are nothing to us.' In fact, there is some nice dialogue throughout, my personal favourite being, 'Stand by for broadband telepathy'.

Ellis may profess to not like superheroes, but he seems to understand them and provide good stories for them to inhabit. His desire to see how comics work allows him to see past the nostalgic connections some writers suffer from, and work out what they are about (even if, in this case, he is following on from Grant Morrison’s interpretation of the JLA: they are the big guns, and they should only be brought together for big, proper reasons, in large fights for drastic circumstances). Enjoyable, mainstream entertainment. Now, if I could just remove the reprinted covers from this trade …

Links. Links. Glorious Links

There is a trade paperback review that will be up shortly, but I felt compelled to do some linking to a few things.

The main reason for me doing a links post today was discovering this post yesterday, quite possibly the single funniest thing I’ve read, ever, on a blog (please note, this statement may not actually be true) (via the mighty Warren Ellis):

'Born in a laboratory! Forged in pain! A thirst for blood...and rape! Rapebear!'

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Tom, who is funny and has excellent taste, hates on some classic films in this post. I replied here, writing enough for an entire post in a comment, which I don’t usually do, but I can run my mouth off when I get going, especially when I share the same level of anger at the undeserving success of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (or, as Tom calls it, My Big Fat Boring Stupid Unfunny Greek Wedding)

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It’s always good to see a blogger last the year, so Happy Bloggiversary to Tom Foss.

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Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips will be bringing the creator-owned Criminal to the stands in October, which you can read all about in this Newsarama post, or see the PDF (usual warning of large file; you can see the same preview material in the news item).

This is a brave thing; a straight crime comic. From Marvel. Can this work? I really don’t know. I’ll be there for it, but it looks like it is going to struggle – look what happened to their excellent Sleeper, and that had superheroes in it. It’s something that Ed is worried about too:

I know people like to wait for trades or hardbacks or some kind of collection, but I'm telling you right now, this book is being built for the single issue fix. And if you jump on from the beginning Sean and I guarantee you a great fix every month. We need you to be our partner in this, because this is a book we really want to keep on with. So, if you're a fan of my stuff, and you dug Sean's art on Marvel Zombies, or you're one of our faithful readers from the Sleeper days, buy Criminal in comic form. We're going out of our way to include extras in the single issues, back-up stories, articles by me and others about the crime genre. We're going to create a book that's worth the money, and I honestly think that's something the comics market can support on a monthly basis.

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I can’t resist this blatantly obvious piece of headlining but – Good news, everyone! Futurama is renewed. While there will be the worry that it might not be as good as it was the first time round, it is still a good day when quality is rewarded. I thought they were going to be making a film, but new Futurama is new Futurama.

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I don’t know why Chris’ Invincible Super-Blog hasn’t impacted upon me before, but an off-the-cuff remark from Dave Campbell made me check it out properly. I should have done it sooner, because he is fucking funny, he’s slightly deranged (in a good way), he loves comics with a wonderfully disturbing passion, and he has good taste. The thing that did it for me, without having to discover all of these things about him, was his sweeeeeet logo:







(Hope he doesn't mind me putting it in this post.) 'Your daily shot of Karate Bearfighting'. Now that is Fried Gold. Go and read him if you are not already doing so.

Television: Saxondale

Saxondale is the new 7-part series from Steve Coogan, the man behind Alan Partridge. Although he probably doesn’t want that as his epitaph, it will be, as Partridge is one of the great comedy creations, starting out on radio, in On The Hour and Knowing Me, Knowing You …, through the television incarnations. He has created other memorable characters, notably Paul and Pauline Calf, and some not so memorable characters (in Coogan’s Run and, most infamously, Tony Ferrino), but he is very good at what he does, which is inhabiting odd people and making them funny, tragic and real.

It is a surprise, though, to see him back on the small screen in a co-written sitcom. His ventures onto the big screen (the good – A Cock and Bull Story, 24 Hour Party People; the okay – The Parole Officer, Coffee and Cigarettes; and the not so good – Around the World in 80 Days) suggested that film was where his career was heading. I’m not complaining that he has decided to change his mind, because Saxondale is the best new comedy on television this year.

Tommy Saxondale is a former roadie (the non-cliched version, if you read this article from The Guardian), now pest controller, with anger management issues. He has an ex-wife after 20 years of marriage, owns a Mustang, and lives with his new girlfriend, Magz (Ruth Jones, recognisable as the long suffering barmaid, Myfanwy, in Little Britain), who makes rather odd t-shirts. Other characters include the deliberately annoying Vicky (Morwenna Banks), the receptionist who sorts out the work for Tommy, and Raymond (Rasmus Hardiker), who becomes Tommy’s newest assistant, allowing the audience a viewpoint of this new world.

This episode introduces us to the characters well, sets up the world in which they habit, and makes the crucially important job of remembering to be funny. It is not perfect off the bat, much like The IT Crowd but, like that sitcom, the potential is there and the characters are amusing. Saxondale, while having some character traits in common with Partridge, such as the love of cars and the short temper, is a different type, with a sense of humour, some intelligence and is a pro-active participant, rather than just a reactionary character. Some of his lines are hilarious, especially the scene at the end confronting the animal protesters at the pigeon job, meaning that this show is warming up to be the comedy highlight of the summer. (It seems a little odd that the programme is being shown in June, especially with little publicity, but what do I know about marketing a sitcom?) Now, all they have to do is get the wig and beard right from show to show, so it doesn’t look rather odd (as it did in the clip for next week's show).

Marvel Solicitations and Incoming Inventory

Marvel solicitations for September here.

Like the DC soliciations, a selection rather than a long rundown:

Ultimate Spider-Man #100

I don’t read Ultimate Spider-Man (although I did start out reading it), but you have to admit that it’s an impressive feat for the same creative team to continue for 100 issues straight in this day and age, especially on a Marvel book. It could be said that it is an easy job, retooling the old stories for a modern audience, but Bendis and Bagley have been doing a great job on this title for quite some time, and that deserves respect.


1602: Fantastick Four #1 (of 5)

What a gorgeous cover from Yu. I have no idea what the interiors are like, but that sure does look purty … Normally, a money-grabbing spin-off from a Neil Gaiman concept wouldn’t have me interested, but this is written by Peter David, a man who has shown he can write well in most comic book genres, and the Fantastic Four from that series warranted a further look. And with special guest star, William Shakespeare!



Stan Lee Meets Dr Strange

Damn, that Davis can draw! I really dislike Lee’s writing, but I’m seriously tempted to buy this book solely for the art. Alan Davis is my favourite artist of all time, and this cover shows you why. Isn’t that beautiful? He draws superheroes perfectly. The idea of these stand-alone specials celebrating Stan Lee and his place at Marvel is actually a nice idea (which would be made better if they had something similar for Jack Kirby), if it wasn’t for the fact that Lee gets to fill pages with his diabolical dialogue and tell-tell-tell expository panels. Still, I can always just white them out so as not to be distracted from the artwork …


Punisher War Journal #1

I don’t know why this is needed when Ennis is doing such a fine job with the character, but, if they must, then they have at least done something different by giving it to Matt Fraction. His love of violence and humour make him a good fit, and it will be interesting to see his indie sensibility on such a mainstream character. Olivetti should be a good match, with his detailed and muscular yet slick art, so this has the potential to be something different.

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Incoming Inventory – 22 June


All Star Superman #4
The internet weeps tears of joy as a new issue of Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely is welcomed into the world. This is just dazzling good comics, and we are lucky that DC finally saw sense in letting Grant get his way with the big guy.

Ex Machina #21
Ex Machina twice in two weeks; Monsieur Ambassador, you are spoiling us … The regular team bring us the continuing adventures of Mitchell Hundred with the necessary Mature Readers tag, for content and quality.

Casanova #1
Matt Fraction again, this time bringing us the contents of his brain in comic book form, in the Fell format no less (but with even more pages; we are so lucky). This looks like it will be quite spectacular. Don’t take my word for it; Warren Ellis commands you buy it, so you have no choice.

New Avengers #20
It is my intention to finally get up to date on this series and sort through the boxes in the attic for the rest of this series, just so I can actually read this book when it comes out. I like a bit of Bendis, and I enjoyed the first trade, helped by the fact that I’m not an Avengers fanboy. I hope it’s good after waiting to read it all this time …

Ultimates 2 #11
Talking of long waits, here is finally another issue of Ultimates. Hitch’s art always make it worth the wait, and Millar has been going strong on this title (especially compared to some of this other stuff), so it’s time for another issue of one of the best mainstream superhero titles being published at the moment.

DC Solicitations and Other Comics Business

DC solicitations for September can be found here.

I thought I’d try something different, and point out a handful of interesting new things from the massive listing of new product from DC, rather than go through the whole thing in detail.

In reverse list order:

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (HC)

Bill Willingham tells a collection of short stories, in the parameters of a Fables riff on Arabian Nights, illustrated by a host of brilliant artists (including the cover artist, James Jean). Fables has been consistently entertaining and enjoyable, so this is an essential purchase. However, I am not a particular fan of hardbacks (I’m weird), so I might have to wait for the inevitable soft cover, but $19.99 for 144 pages of quality comics is not a rip-off. I’ll have to wait a long while, as this is advanced-solicited for October.


The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier (HC)

Another advance-solicitation, this is the pick of the bunch. Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill bring us 208 pages of the LOEG in a single graphic novel, rather than the six-issue series previously. It thematically links to the Fables HC, as it uses the story as an excuse to tell more stories, as Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain read the Black Dossier of the title for answers to help them save the day, a book detailing the hidden history of the League. This will undoubtedly be more brilliance from Moore and O’Neill, with lots of extras to make the purchase worthwhile. My hardback idiosyncrasy may be in trouble, as I don’t know if all the extras will be maintained in a soft cover, especially the hilarious thought of a Tijuana Bible insert. $29.99 gets you a huge slab of comic book genius.


Wildcats: Wildstorm #1

Two words: Grant Morrison. That’s all the reason I need. It helps that it is drawn by Jim Lee, one of my favourite artists, but it’s the thought of Grant doing his thing on an ongoing superhero franchise with little baggage. I’m giddy with glee at the thought of what he could come up with; I’m so looking forward to it, I can ignore the dullness of the cover. Hopefully, the interiors are more snappy. The only negative will be the bimonthly schedule, but Desolation Jones does okay with the same schedule (and what schedule does Planetary call itself? Annually?), so I can wait for quality.


JLA Classified #26 & 27

Howard Chaykin writes a 6-part Justice League story, Sacred Trust, starting in issue 26. I can’t recall Chaykin writing the Justice League before, but I am no historian. Seeing his twisted sensibilities on the JLA seems bizarre, but intriguing at the same time. In an ideal world, he would draw the series as well, but I’ve no complaints with Killian Plunkett on pencil duties, who has a wonderful style and energy to his work. I shall no doubt buy this in the trade format, because that’s the kind of penny-pinching, pamphlet-killing sod I am, but mention must be made for it now.

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Other comics business:

Warren Ellis talks primarily about Desolation Jones in this interview at Newsarama. However, it turns into a chat about studying the comic page in order to tailor his story to the artist’s strength – in one paragraph, he just nails the qualities of some of the artists he has worked with (Cassaday, Robertson, Doran, McNeil) so perfectly, it’s spooky. It’s fascinating stuff, giving a great insight into his working process and into the understanding of creating comic books. This awareness and appreciation of what he does is one of the reasons why I enjoy Warren’s work; this post on his website talks about his thinking regarding the writing of a half-hour pilot for a new television series he has created, and it’s also a indispensable insight into the creative process.

In a similar vein, this interview with Scott McCloud in the Webcomics Examiner (found via Scott Kurtz), is primarily to talk about his new book, Making Comics, but also talks about the different forms of creator (the Classicist, the Formalist, the Animist, and the Iconoclast) that is fascinating reading. McCloud’s Understanding Comics is required reading for anyone interested in the way comic books communicate their ideas, and it looks like this new book will find a place on my shelves due to its requisite status.

Newsarama gets a big mention, among some big names, as one of Entertainment Weekly’s top entertainment websites (via The Beat). I’ve always had an ever so slight preference for CBR, but that doesn’t mean I’m a CBR zombie to Newsarama’s detriment. Congratulations to the team for making the list, and keep up the good work.

Talking of CBR, this news item tells me why Chaykin won’t be able to draw the JLA story: he’s drawing the new Blade series. The sketch is pretty damn cool, as any sketch from Chaykin would be, and it makes me seriously consider picking up the book just for the art, even though I have no special affection for the character, or know anything about the writer.

Comics for 15 June

Fables #50
Definitely my book of the week. And a double-sized, special issue that is not only good but also uses the occasion for scope and a special event in the story. The book tells of the Bigby’s mission, a cracking adventure in the Adversary’s realm, via the Cloud Kingdoms of the giants, with plenty of death, explosions and derring-do. Then we are treated to the, quite appropriately, fairy-tale wedding of Bigby and Snow White, which bought a smile to this jaded old man, and we discover the whereabouts of their missing seventh child. This has all the ingredients I ask for in my comics: strong narrative, interesting characters and good dialogue, wrapped in a genre cover. I don’t particularly like the way the art seems to have turned a little blocky and hard around the edges, which I think is to do with the inker, but that might be just me. Top marks.

Ex Machina Special #2
The concluding part of the extended flashback story of The Great Machine, as he deals with a character trying to become his arch nemesis. As usual, Vaughan brings his film school tightness to proceedings, telling the story through character and dialogue, with the softer pencils of Sprouse visualising the tale. I particularly enjoy the Mayor Hundred character due to the fact that he uses his brain, not in the Reed Richards uber genius way, but in an accessible way through his engineer training. Even the way he eludes the DJ trying to trap him into a 'When did you stop beating your wife' corner shows a thinking man, which is something I find pleasantly aspirational.

Squadron Supreme #4
I am in two minds about Squadron Supreme. On the one hand, it is well written and well drawn, and seems to be laying the groundwork of the plot nicely, while investigating the characters involved. On the other hand, I am not enjoying the strong-women-because-of-rape nature of the Inertia character. Now, I can’t imagine what it is like to be raped, and wouldn’t wish it on anyone, so I don’t see why it has to be used as an origin story for a character. It has appeared as backstory in other characters, such as the recent nonsense with Black Cat by Kevin Smith, to the extent that I have seen people post that it is a cliché, which is perhaps overreaching. However, just because it can be used as somebody’s history, doesn’t mean it should. It is made even more unnecessary by the very clichéd aspects of the character’s youth, with a protective mother and a preacher father who also uses his position of religious authority to have sex with women in his congregation. It all seemed so formulaic from JMS, which was the most disappointing aspect. If only Frank didn’t produce such great art, it would be easier to decide whether to dump this or not.

[See Jake's post, strangely at both Ye Olde Comick Shoppe and 2 Guys Buying Comics, for a sharp and sarcastic take on this particular issue]

100 Bullets #73
See previous comments on 100 Bullets, namely: street-smart dialogue; sharp, fully realised characters; gritty, noir trappings; effortlessly cool artwork.

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The other bit of business of the day: a very fond farewell to Ninth Art, the consistently thoughtful and enjoyable site dedicated to the medium of comic books, which has its last update today, with this their final article. They will be sorely missed.

Q&A: Aunt May

May Reilly Parker is an annoying, yet seemingly indestructible, old woman. She currently lives in Manhattan, with her nephew, Peter, and his wife, Mary Jane, after living for many years in Queens.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Before the destruction of my house, it was sitting out in the garden with my family.

What is your greatest fear?
Something bad happening to Peter.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Frailty.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Rudeness.

What has been your most embarrassing moment?
Finding out that people had thought I had died, when it had been a genetically altered actress. What a mix-up that was.

Where would you like to live?
Queens.

What makes you depressed?
Thinking about dying again.

Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Rosemary Harris.

What is your most unappealing habit?
Putting my hand to my mouth and going ‘Oh!’

What is your favourite smell?
Home baking.

What is your fancy dress costume of choice?
Fancy dress is for young people and superheroes, dearie.

Radiator or air conditioning?
Radiator; I can never seem to stay warm.

Is it better to give or to receive?
What a silly question, of course it’s better to give than to receive. You’re not very clever, are you?

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Clinging onto the memory of my dead husband, even after 40 years.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
It will always be my Ben, even though he’s dead.

Which living person do you most despise and why?
It used to be Spider-Man, but now I think it’s that horrible little man, J. Jonah Jameson.

Have you ever said 'I love you' without meaning it?
How dare you! You are so impertinent.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
'Oh my!'

What has been your biggest disappointment?
Finding out that ‘death’ has no real meaning in the Marvel Universe, unless your name is Ben Parker.

What is your greatest regret?
Not having the chance to say goodbye to Ben.

When did you last cry, and why?
Oh, I cry all the time. You don’t get to my age and suffer all that I’ve been through without shedding a few tears.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
The eradication of all supervillains.

What keeps you awake at night?
Peter not being home yet.

How would you like to be remembered?
As a strong and independent woman, rather than an embarrassing anachronism kept around because some people mistakenly believe that I serve a point.

[Edit: to change the former Parker residence to Queens, thanks to Max.]

Running On Empty

I got nothing today.

I feel bad about it. I didn’t know what to write about. I think it’s because I’m more a reviewer than anything else. I love talking about things I have seen or read; it’s something I’ve always done.

When I was younger, I wanted to be Barry Norman (no relation) doing the Film programme on BBC1. What a great job; being paid to watch films and then talk about them. Fantastic.

Obviously, life didn’t work out like that, hence this blog. And the reason for this post is that I haven’t seen a film or read a comic recently for the purposes of reviewing.

Not that I’m not reading or seeing things. My commute to work means my book reading is going strong. For example, recently I’ve read:

The Thursday Next novels (funny, charming, whimsical, with a great alternate history involving George Formby becoming President of England for life, and a great way with names, such as Schitt-Hawse)

The His Dark Materials trilogy (a wonderful story, mixing fantasy, quantum physics, religion, the concept of growing up, parallel worlds, the personification of souls as personal daemons, among many other things, told in a cracking adventure)

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (a charming tale of magic and history in England in the 1800s, told in a whopping 1000 pages of Victorian-like prose)

Charlie Brooker’s Screen Burn (a compilation of his scathingly funny articles from the Guide section of the Saturday Guardian for the last five years)

Peter Biskind’s Gods and Monsters (a collection of his essays, the early ones being particularly dour politically oriented stuff that was hard to get through)

Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of Comics (a fascinating look at the creation of the comic book industry, with particular emphasis on Superman)

That’s just off the top of my head; I’m probably forgetting a few. However, writing a book review is hard, which is why I’ve never tried it (because I am a coward), so I don’t bother talking about them.

I’ve also been watching films on DVD and tape, but not to a degree to write about them: The Corpse Bride was a slim tale, told well, but not overly engaging; Red River, which took me a long time to get round to seeing, was worthy of its classic status (and I’m amazed that it was Montgomery Clift’s first film); Rabbit Proof Fence, which was worthy and well done, if a little dry; Closer, which was a good, if depressing, film that I never need to see again; The Aristocrats, an interesting look behind the scenes of the comedian, which might had more impact if I was more familiar with some of the American comedians in the film.

In the world of comics, there should be plenty to talk about but I don’t feel connection to the mainstream action of the moment. Contrary to popular opinion, I always found the first Superman film merely watchable, ruined by the bloody annoying and stupid ending, but I don’t revere it the way so many others do, meaning that I am only vaguely interested in Superman Returns. The spoiler ending of Civil War #2 doesn’t really affect me, as the character is one that I have never been emotionally connected to, and it doesn’t feel like it will stick; all the big events that seemed design to get press attention (as this did, in the New York Post) never last, like Superman dying and Batman’s broken back. I don’t know if I’m just getting old or if it is to do with the fact that telling a good story that also happens to be the spine for company wide crossovers, such as Civil War or Infinite Crisis, are mutually exclusive; trying to tell a satisfying narrative that sets up the new status quo for a continuing medium is tricky enough, without it being the event that the company wants it to be.

(Edit: additional note that the BBC is reporting on the Spider-man reveal here. Now I know it's real.)

The recent elevation of the crossover mini-series to major events is a curious thing, as it is trying to be the summer blockbuster but comes off as a sweeps week stunt (the US television spectacle where, as I understand it, guest stars and major events of a series are all thrust into shows in specific months in order to get the highest ratings, as these are the ratings that dictate how much the networks can charge for advertising in their programmes). Heavy promotion in the comics and on the web, hopefully pick up some outside press coverage, boost circulation numbers, create something they think the fans will want, give the comic blogosphere something to post about; it all seems a little wearisome and a bit desperate, even if it does show some effort on the part of the two majors, other than throwing enough shit at the wall and seeing what sticks.

So, this is what I write about when I don’t have anything to write about. If only I could invest this sort of energy in writing things I want to write about …

Incoming Inventory and Bonus Links

Incoming Inventory

100 Bullets #73
I’m seeing this series through to the end, rumoured to be the appropriate issue 100, and enjoying it as it comes out. It probably reads better in the trades, but it’s too late for me to switch now.

Ex Machina Special #2
Ex Machina was easily one of the best new series of last year, so any more Ex Machina comics are warmly welcomed in the Clandestine Critic household. Sprouse brings his usual quality to the Mayor Hundred universe; could this be the start of other artists interpretations of The Machine?

Fables #50
Three cheers for Fables reaching the half century. A new Vertigo series is always facing an uphill struggle to keep going, so I’m very glad that this is doing so well (with a special and a spin-off confirming this). Hope Willingham keeps up the quality in the next 50.

JLA Classified: New Maps of Hell
My devotion to Warren Ellis wasn’t enough to make me buy this in the singles format, but the aggressively priced trade is perfect for me. Good reviews of the tale, as well as the fact that I am an Ellis whore, mean that I’m looking forward to picking up this solid chunk of comic goodness.

She-Hulk TPB #3: Time Trials
I want to buy this, but $14.99 for five issues means that it’s the same price as if I bought the comics. Damn you, Marvel! Trades are supposed to be cheaper than buying the comics, you money-hungry bastards. Give me my cheaper trades!

Squadron Supreme #4
After last issue’s change of tract, from slightly clichéd superhero tropes to a polemic on American involvement in Africa, I have renewed hope for this title, despite not being happy with the change from a MAX title. JMS still appears to be heading for thoughtful superheroics, which is what I’m reading it for, and Gary Frank is still on top form.

Ursa Minors #1
This is a possibility, based on the good vibe I’ve picked up from the web, the wonderfully bizarre premise of the series, and this preview. I’ll take a look at it when I’m in the shop to decide.

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Linky-linky

LinkMachineGo (does the person have a name?) does the ‘100 Reasons Why I Love Comics’ post; I particularly like 'Gaze into the fist of Dredd!' reference. It’s rather strange seeing this on the site because, as long as I have been reading it, LinkMachineGo has been a very interesting links site (the original definition of a blog), and I have been directed to some great things by the choosiness of the links, covering London, Comics, Film and other wonderfully bizarre stuff. As with the links, we share similar tastes in common, although my list was quite different.

Greg posts a handy collection of links of his Comics You Should Own column. He’s been doing this for a while, back on his own blog, Delenda Est Carthago, now regular on PopCultureShock, and it’s very interesting. He’s going alphabetically, only on the ‘D’s, so he’s got a lot more to recommend. I don’t agree with all his choices (although the PAD Aquaman & Atlantis Chronicles were good, I don’t think they are Comics You Should Own; I was also quite disappointed by Camelot 3000, despite the lovely Bolland art, but I think I’m in the minority), but the majority are very good comics, and Greg writes engagingly about them all.

Finally, an image. Newsarama provides this cover by Jim Lee to the new Grant Morrison-written WildCATS. Now, I love Jim Lee’s art (as mentioned in this post), but this is quite a dull cover. It doesn’t really capture any sort of feeling, or give any kind of mood. It doesn’t scream, 'BUY THIS! IT WILL BE COOL!' I will be buying the book, obviously; it is written by GM and drawn by Lee, so how could I not. However, I hope the interiors are more interesting than the exterior.

Some Images That Tease A Future Post

Film review: The Da Vinci Code

When I was a little younger than I am now, when my hair had less grey and I could stay up late without getting a headache the next morning, I found out about the Holy Grail conspiracy. I can’t recall the exact sequence of events, but they revolved around my turning away from being a practising Catholic, The X-Files leading me to discover the then 50 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time, and the Preacher comic by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. I thought it was hilarious; Jesus didn’t die but lived, married Mary Magdalene and had children. It was a great idea, with flimsy evidence and a ton of conspiracy theory nonsense. It made me laugh. If I’d known that it would lead to a dull fiction author writing an apparently badly written novel about it that would dominate the book charts for months, selling millions of copies, and being turned into a very average film starring Tom Hanks I’d have, well … I would have probably made a long shot bet on the outcome so I would be very rich now, but I also would have thought it completely ridiculous.

No prizes for guessing that I haven’t read the book. So why did I go to see the film? Well, the inherent silliness of the premise has always appealed to my recovering Catholicism, and there wasn’t anything else on (literally; every cinema seemed to be showing this, to the detriment of other films). I liked the actors involved (Hanks, Tautou, McKellen, Bettany, Molina, Reno) and, despite it being written by the dreaded Akiva Goldsman, it was directed by Ron Howard, a safe pair of cinematic hands (sorry for the football reference; it is the World Cup at the moment, you know).

Seeing this film was evidence that one shouldn’t trust one’s instincts. The story is not sufficiently silly for me to have some fun, the majority of the actors appear to taking a holiday while filming, and Howard goes through the motions, forgetting to bring any thrills to what is allegedly a thriller. The script, as expected, was quite dire, with Goldsman doing his usual workman-like job of perfunctory ordinariness; if this film is the book on celluloid, then it beggars belief that so many people bothered reading it.

Regards the plot, well, there’s a chore. Let’s see: Tom Hanks is Robert Langdon, a ‘symbologist’ in France doing a book tour. He is called in by the police when a body is discovered in The Louvre, due to the bizarre symbols and codes contained on and around it. However, unknown to him, he is the chief suspect, which he discovers when Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), a cryptologist with the French police, helps him escape, but not before they unravel the clues left by the corpse, which turns out to be Sophie’s grandfather, killed by an albino monk called Silas (Paul Bettany), who works for Bishop Aringarosa (Alfred Molina), a member of the Opus Dei, a secret organisation within the church. Silas has been killing members of the Priory of Sion, protectors of an ancient secret that could destroy the church. Pursued by the fanatical head of the French equivalent of the FBI (Jean Reno), Langdon and Sophie must unravel the clues left to them, with the aid of an eccentric English authority on the Holy Grail conspiracy (Ian McKellen), to prove his innocence and discover the secret.

It sounds like it might be interesting, but the abundance of plot in the film (the book has been condensed into a solid two-and-a-half hours) means that there is no breathing space in a story that is all chase, exposition, historical revelations and people talking in Latin. Hanks gives an unusually flat performance, Tautou seems ill at ease in this blockbuster (despite being comfortable with English in Dirty Pretty Things), Reno is called on to just glower, and Molina pulls menacing faces. Bettany is more believable as the murderous monk, and McKellen has fun with his character, but that’s all. The film is very po-faced, with nothing in the way of genuine humour to lighten the pace (probably in case it appeared to mock the book), and story plods on and on, until it just stops. Some of it is very silly (when Silas and Molina meet their fates is particularly nonsensical), and the tourist board approach to filming the locations is lazy (and rather odd, like Hanks and Tautou on a double-decker bus). The flashbacks in the film, to ancient times, are probably the best things in the movie, showing something close to imagination, but you’ll be squirming in your seat for it to be over long before anything that interesting comes along. But, then, reviews are pointless for this film; if you want to see it because you liked the book, you will enjoy the film no matter what. Save it for watching on DVD or even on television, when it no doubt will become a Christmas regular (just for the irony).

Rating: DA

Here We Go - The World Cup

To those who read this blog for pop culture ramblings, I apologise for the lack of relevance to comics, cinema and comedy in this post. For the World Cup is upon us, and I had to mention it.

The World Cup is a huge event. When I talk about the World Cup, I don’t even think about adding ‘football’ to the title (or soccer, if you are American – I’m not one who gets in a twist about Americans calling the beautiful game soccer, as it is was used in the early days to describe the game in the UK, so it’s not really a big deal. The thing I don’t get is why American Football is so called, seeing how the game is spent mostly with the ball in the hands, only very rarely actually connecting with a foot. But never mind.)

I was working and living in the US during the last World Cup; even though America has a rather good side, there was no build-up to the tournament. The rest of the world goes crazy for the World Cup; it took the USA side winning some games for it to be mentioned in papers over there. Strangely, as the tournament proceeded and I wore my football-like t-shirts to work, people began to ask questions about it, and the non-Americans at work were already becoming more united due to the camaraderie of the game. Even more bizarrely, the American with whom I talked about the games the most was an 18-year-old female student, doing a placement course prior to going to college. She played the game, so understood the intricacies, but it was still an odd situation, having post-match discussions with her.

The World Cup is an excuse to revel in football and feel the spirit capturing the globe, as football-crazy supporters paint their faces, spend too much money for tickets and have the time of their lives (until they get knocked out in the first round). It is a magical feeling, a sensation linking all of us despite the problems in the world. Watching a great game, and the troubles melt away, if only for 90 minutes.

Watching the World Cup has been a special event that marks the passage of my life:

Espana 1982 – a boy about to become a teenager watches some fluent football, wanting to have a France–Italy final so that the two best teams could have the perfect final, only for a German keeper to ruin the dream, salvaged by Italy thumping the Germans in the final.

Mexico 1986 – a teenager doing his ‘O’ levels, but wanting to watch the World Cup instead, seeing Maradonna being brilliant and cheating at the same time, as Argentina go on to win the cup, and the world gets the Mexican wave.

Italia 1990 – at university, seeing David O’Leary score a penalty for the Republic of Ireland to take them to a quarter final with Italy, while England make the semi-finals, only to lose out on penalties, and Gazza crying, and the dull final between Germany and Argentina, settled by penalties, the theme of the tournament.

USA 1994 – post-graduate years, not being able to bunk off to watch all the games anymore, England not qualifying, Republic of Ireland beating Italy in the opening round, feeling that I am not a young man anymore.

France 1998 – working in a job, doing a sweepstake between colleagues, seeing England beaten by the old enemy Argentina on penalties and Beckham sent off, and Brazil collapsing in the final due to a sick Ronaldo, France finally winning the trophy they should have won in the 1980s with Platini.

Korea/Japan 2002 – getting up stupidly early to watch the games in a friend’s house with pay-per-view, going to work in a country that mostly didn’t get it, feeling a connection to my roots and the beautiful game again, with Korea playing amazingly, seeing England beat Argentina, but flopping to Brazil embarrassingly with no energy in the legs, who go on to win the tournament.

Now, Germany host the tournament, so I’ll be able to see the games easily (especially with the BBC to broadcast them over the net during work time, where I have a broadband connection), and hopefully watch quality games with beautiful goals and minimal negativity, to feel a country and a world united by the love of a stupid game involving 22 men kicking a ball around a piece of grass in glorious sunshine or dazzling floodlights, and cheering and singing and shouting and complaining. World Cup 2006 – bring it on!

To keep connected, FIFA have an ugly-looking official site here, but I’ll be keeping tabs at the BBC here, which does things with a bit more class. A note of warning – comics and films may suffer during the next month or so.

No Comics Again? Am I That Unlucky?

No new comics again this week. I’m getting worried I’m not buying enough comics. Not that my bank balance is complaining, stingy bastard that I am, but it’s weird that I’m not getting a regular dose of the new comic book.

Is it just my turning into a grumpy old git, moaning about how things were better in the old days? (Not really; old comics could be shit as well, and it’s only me blogging that makes me more aware of my comics-buying habit.)

Or is it just coincidence, a couple of weeks without anything on my subscription list for me to pick up at the shop? Probably. I know I should use the ‘saved’ money (as if) to try something new and different and support the industry, but, without the impetus of books that I know I want to read, it’s hard to make blind leap on the basis that I MIGHT find something good, possibly, maybe, perhaps.

Anyway, it’s not that I’m losing my love of comic books or getting burned out by them, so it’s not the end of the world. It just gives me more time to read some old stuff and perhaps write about it, seeing if they hold up, or if they should end up in the Trimming the Collection pile.

So, to distract you from lack of content, I point you in the direction of other things to amuse and entertain.

Brian at CSBG points you in the direction of a very funny House of M parody done with action figures.

And Paul O’Brien talks about his favourite comics over at Ninth Art.

I hope that keeps you busy for a while.

More Comic Reviews (Sign of the Apocalypse)

I handled a certain selection of my 3-week haul in the previous post, so this next batch are linked by being more traditional, lighter superheroics and comics.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes #18
Adam DeKraker does a nice job of pencils over Kitson’s layouts this month (can he do a continuous run on this book? Is he only good for Waid-written limited series?), which continues the story of the current Supergirl (whatever this incarnation is nowadays, I’ve stopped keeping track) in the LSH future (including a full-page spread referring to Infinite Crisis, I think; I only recognise it from reading the news sites). There is also the reveal of Brainy attempting to return Dream Girl’s soul to her body, rather than just simply bringing her back to life, which is an interesting twist on the obvious. Waid has some fun with the group this month, with some fun dialogue and sight gags, which hopefully means that the spark is back in his writing.

Runaways v2 #16
The lack of spark in Runaways continues in this issue. I just re-read it for the purpose of capturing my thoughts on it, and the flick through didn’t engage me again, which is not a great sign. The dialogue, albeit effective and pacy, doesn’t sing with the earlier Vaughan style, and the story seems to be taking a long time to get anywhere interesting. Alphona keeps things visually arresting with his unique style (I particularly liked the pixies conjured to locate the spy) but it doesn’t make for a satisfying read (my expression of the moment, it seems), a charge that wasn’t levelled at Vaughan until recently. He used to remember that each comic should be worth the £2 (or $3 plus tax) that was spent on it, but he appears to have forgotten that of late. Talking of which:

X-Men/Runaways in Marvel’s Free Comic Book
A big thank you to the wonderful chaps at Gosh!, my LCS, for sticking this in my sub box without me asking for it. A pleasant surprise from the best comic shop in London. To the story; completely silly and pointless. The X-Men act out of character for the sake of a meeting with the Runaways. A waste of time, except for the delightfully cartoony and funky art of Skottie Young, who has a very nice handle on the X-Men, and some great dialogue from Vaughan, more like his old self than the current comics. There are some great lines in the story, that make up for the implausibility of the actual plot. The rest of the comic is a shameless exercise in ruining the reading process, but it was free, so I can’t complain.

X-Factor #7
Olivetti’s art seems more suited to X-Factor than Calero, which gets this new arc off to a good start. I understand that PAD is a fan of the television series Angel, which provides a template for this comic; a central character funding a strange group of people investigating unusual things. Singularity Investigations continue the connection, as they are the Wolfram & Hart equivalent, and PAD has them invite Madrox in for a chat, while Siryn blithely refuses to believe that her father, Sean Cassidy, aka the X-Men Banshee, has been killed, nicely playing on the fans’ expectations of the news (echoing PAD’s own line: 'I sometimes think that in mutant heaven there are no Pearly Gates, merely revolving doors.') I think that PAD is going a little slowly for a new book that has to make an impact, but I’m enjoying the ride (for the most part) and hope to continue to do so.

PvP #26
I remember discovering PVP back in 2001, and devouring the archives of the online strip. It was funny, had great characters, had a nice line to the artwork, riffed on pop culture a lot, and was my introduction to the world of the webcomic. I like having the paper version of the strip as well, as I feel better about giving Kurtz money for all that entertainment he provided for free. However, not all of the storylines work for me. This is not a criticism, per se; he shouldn’t be writing his strip to entertain all the people all the time. This issue is one of those times. I flicked through this, without much in the way of emotional involvement, with the odd chuckle here and there at a particularly good line, but nothing more. In a way, PvP is like an enjoyable sitcom – you enjoy it, but not every episode will be a belter. The quality of Kurtz’s work isn’t in question, just the area in which he took the characters. I don’t feel much for his back-up strip set in fantasy/D&D territory; it’s just me. I still look forward to the next issue.

Jack Staff #10
I think I’m losing my patience with Jack Staff. It is not the very long delays between issues (number nine was in October of last year), although that doesn’t help. It’s the feeling of an anthology that isn’t going anywhere, and is taking a ridiculously leisurely time getting there. Admittedly, Grist’s art is as good as ever, and the Alan Moore-alike, Morlan the Mystic, is rather funny, and the main story has a nice Kane feel to it, but it isn’t doing its job of satisfying me with a single comic. If I’m going to continue to buy this book, I want to feel that it is worth my hard-earned money. At the moment, it isn’t doing that. Much as I don’t want to do it, I fear I shall have to give it until issue 12 (whenever that may appear) to determine its monthly purchase fate.

Comic Book Reviews. Yes, I Know.

SHOCK! HORROR! CLANDESTINE CRITIC READS AND REVIEWS COMICS!

Fell #5
Another brilliant issue of Fell, the greatest comic not actually a TV series. The classic interview dialogue between suspect and the NLP-knowledgeable Fell is just a joy, seeing him play the smart man to the disturbed perp, with lovely little pieces of ‘stuff’ along the way, like crazy people smelling different. (This is a nice article about NLP and Paul McKenna from The Guardian.) Templesmith keeps the visual interest up with the sketchy way he draws the characters, letting the dialogue tell the story but knowing when to open up and mostly keeping it tight on the two characters. Great stuff. The notes at the end make me want to go out and study Eisner, which is a bonus.

Nextwave #5
Oogliooglioogli. Indeed. This is the comedy yang to the serious yin of Ellis; taking the piss while enjoying himself. Seeing a Celestial doing the ‘loser’ sign to Aaron was hilarious; ‘widdle cuddly bears … of death?’; ‘fear my robot head’; the assault Pterosuit flock; ‘Schrodinger’s death!’; ‘go back to Avengers Mansion, and make my dinner’ – all comedy gold. Ellis uses the flashback/cutaway as effectively as Spaced or Scrubs, making this the most fun coming out of the House of Idea apart from She-Hulk. He is matched, as always, by Immonen on cracking form, bringing the wonderfully stupid ideas to life, mixing action and comedy deftly. Here’s hoping they stay on for longer than the planned year.

Powers #18
This issue sees the conclusion to the latest arc, where Deena has gotten darker with powers and Christian has become what is basically the Green Lantern of the Powers universe, opening up interesting areas for Bendis to take the characters. This storyline always started each issue with a not-funny rant from someone standing at a mic on stage at Club Cinderella; it has been the weakest part of any Powers narrative I can remember (even the monkey sex issue), and it seems that it was only used as a pointless device so that we could have the reveal in this issue of the woman telling the story being the same woman who saw the murder that started the investigation, and is now starting a relationship with Walker. This seems a very silly coincidence for the end of an arc, but I’ll give Bendis the benefit of the doubt, as I did for the monkey sex story, because he always does a little bit better on this book. Oeming on art duties keeps up his level of quality, right from the cover, with its matching of the Blade Runner DVD cover, even down to the same lettering for the writing, the rays of light, Kara replacing a flying car, even the faces at the bottom. The double spread of head shots, making someone talking look interesting, a hero with his brains blown out, the montage of Deena’s thoughts – he does it all and keeps on coming.

Squadron Supreme #3
I was worried that JMS was going clichéd on us, with the team fighting itself because of some sort of psychic enemy but, apart from a bit of in-fighting (and an interesting aside into the connection between Hyperion and Dr Spectrum), the issue is mostly an excuse to attack the US foreign policy, which is something I wasn’t expecting. There’s a little bit of ham-fisted take on being black in a white world, but at least the intent is in the right place. Burbank, the ‘smartest person here’, is becoming incredibly annoying, while the other characters have yet to develop anything resembling a personality (and, as Greg wrote, rape is not a character trait). I’m still enjoying the series, especially with Frank’s tight art helping it go down so smoothly, but I’m wondering if this would read better in the trade, which is a sad reflection on the current state of the comic book industry.

Also in this selection of what I categorise as similarly themed comics was 100 Bullets #72, which defies reviewing on a single issue basis – you know the score: hard-boiled dialogue from Azzarello, moody art from Risso – even though each issue has an episodic, televisual feel that is more satisfying than Squadron Supreme on a monthly basis. And Queen & Country #30, which I’m holding off reading until I at least read