From A Library: Various Trade Paperbacks

I have been enjoying the delights of the library's reservation system and reading an odd selection of comic books in trade paperback form. The notes I made on each didn't quite gel into full discussions about them, but I wanted to collect them in one space together, so here they are.

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Super-villain Team-up: MODOK's 11

Issues 1–5 by Fred Van Lente and Francis Portela

I saw this on the shelf in the library and I had to read it because it's such a good idea: MODOK gets a bunch of supervillains together for a heist, with all the double and triple crossing you would expect, and a lovely twist in the end. Van Lente brings a clear and fun approach to the writing of a fun little book – there are some great jokes and he keeps the twisty plot clear and well explained throughout. The art is very nice – Portela has a similar style to Andrea DiVito in places, with good facial expressions, good choreography, clear panel transitions and a nice style. This is a good little story – and there is even a hint of a Watchmen reference, specifically to Jon Osterman when he returns as Doctor Manhattan, with the humanised Living laser. But the best aspect is the humour: 'All hail MODOK!' 'Yes! All hail me!'

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Counter X Volume 1

X-Force #102–109 Plot by Warren Ellis, script by Ian Edginton, art by Whilce Portacio (#107 by Ariel Olivetti, #109 by Enrique Breccia)

I do enjoy the work of Warren Ellis but I can't enjoy everything does: case in point, is the Counter X work. Ellis was given the reins of three titles – X-Man, X-Force and Generation X – and he plotted their direction, leaving the scripting to Steven Grant, Edginton and Brian Wood respectively. They were probably dense notes but, as can be seen from this collection, it doesn't spark – the stories read like someone doing an impersonation of Ellis. The plots are typical Ellis: government stuff goes bad, San Francisco is turned into a centre of mutation, there is a killer with the mutant gene for murder, there is an alien thing that is a very silly MacGuffin. Each issue feels fleeting and insubstantial, with Edginton providing Ellis-like dialogue that borders on the silly. Things are made worse by the art from Portacio – I have an undeserving soft spot for his art from his days on X-Factor, even though I know he is a technically poor artist: he can't maintain likenesses, very odd camera choices, a seeming inability to draw backgrounds (leaving them white instead) and drawing the ugliest and oddest faces around. Tabitha comes off worst, looking like a drag queen at times; Warpath's body size changes from panel to panel, ending up impossibly wide on some pages; Sam seems to age from issue to issue, and Portacio can't even keep Sam's beard shape on the same page. There are some pages, particularly in the action scenes, where you can't even tell what exactly is going on. It's really quite bad – it makes you wish that Olivetti provided more than just the fill-in issue. I can see why this series didn't do so well.

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Green Lantern: No Fear

Green Lantern #1–6 and Secret Files and Origins 2005 by Geoff Johns, Carlos Pacheco, Ethan van Sciver, Darwyn Cooke and Simone Bianchi

Having read and enjoyed the reintroduction of Hal Jordan to the DC universe as a Green Lantern, I thought I'd try the continuing series to see where it goes from there. The book isn't helped by the inability of one artist to stick around for the job – even though Pacheco, Sciver and Bianchi are excellent artists in their own right, their styles jar with each quite drastically, making for an uneven visual feel for the book. It also appears that Johns seems to work better with a complete story than on the serial material – too many balls in the air trying to set up new plots leaves less focus on the main storyline itself.

After the recap of the origin from the Secret Files book, illustrated by Cooke in his very appropriate for the story style, this sees Hal go back to being a test pilot (where his new competition is a woman) and back to Coast City, where he ends up fighting a Manhunter with a Power Battery in its head, the Air Force is rebuilding Abin Sur's ship, he visits Hector Hammon in jail, fights a super-evolved shark and the Black Hand. This is a lot but it still feels uneven and unfocussed.

As mentioned, the artists do good jobs – Pacheco's work is beautiful, soft, classical; Sciver is detailed, content-rich panel; Bianchi is ethereal, painterly, otherworldly – but it makes for a chaotic trade paperback as you jar from one to the next. The other aspect that is unsettling is the violence – the evolved shark has a man's head and arm clearly in his mouth, in Sciver's detailed artwork: why is this necessary? I think we got the point that he'd been eaten when he disappeared under water and the blood appeared ... This isn't awful comics by any means, but it doesn't make me want to read any more issues of the continuing series, so it can't be considered a success.

Film Review: In The Loop

The list of film spin-offs from British sitcoms is not pretty (see this list at Wikipedia; for the record, I haven't seen the League of Gentlemen film, and I was never a big fan). Apart from the Monty Python boys, even spin-offs from sketch shows haven't been good. Therefore, even though The Thick Of It was an excellent programme, the prospects of the ensuing film being any good were slim. Fortunately, the people behind the film neglected to pay attention their history and have created a great film.

Instead of being a direct translation to cinema, the film takes the most fascinating character, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), the Prime Minister's press co-ordinator – i.e. fascistic and bullying spin doctor – and lets him loose on a larger arena: the United States of America. Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) is an incompetent minister who, when asked unscheduled on a radio show about the possibility of war, says that it is 'unforeseeable'. This small oral faux pas inadvertently paves the way to war, as Foster is sent to Washington and New York with his new aide Toby (Chris Addison), who cocks things up even more while trying to do the right thing. Dodgy dossiers, angry constituents (a lovely cameo from Steve Coogan), a peace-loving general (James Gandolfini on fine comic form) and vote-fixing at the UN all add up to an intelligent and scathing satire on politics and war, but without actually mentioning Iraq at all.

Armando Iannucci, along with the team of writers from the television series, have created something extremely special with this extended and expanded story. The scope is larger and the threat greater but it doesn't mean that the focus on the characters is lost. Because it is the wonderfully sweary Tucker, played with demonic glee by Capaldi, who leads the show of an ensemble of good actors playing their parts (along with some improvisation to capture the real feel of the moments). There are parts for actors from the television show in different form (apart from Paul Higgins, who reprises his role as Tucker's right-hand man, the vicious and super-sweary Jamie MacDonald) but it is the vituperative invective that spews forth from his mouth that is the main attraction. The face-off between him and Gandolfini's general is a highlight because Tucker is used to ministers and journalists giving into him but not the general; Tucker gives as good as he gets, but is more angry about being called 'English' by the general than anything else (Tucker is Scottish). Extremely funny, extremely smart, extremely sweary – In The Loop is the sort of British comedy to be proud of, up there with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz in the list of great recent British comedy films.

Rating: DAVE

Book Review: Every Last Drop

Or, the fourth Joe Pitt book by Charlie Huston.

Having loved the first three Joe Pitt novels, it goes without saying that I was going to enjoy this book. It is surely the sign of a good book that it entertains you throughout but leaves you almost angry at the end because you want to read more. Of course, this feeling is amplified by the inclusion of 'extras' at the end of the book, which give you the impression that there are more pages to read than there are in the actual story. This frustration is more ironic when the extras are the first chapter in a book you have already read (in this case, The Devil You Know by Mike Carey). Nonetheless, Huston writes the hell out of the next chapter in the life of Joe Pitt, making the wait for the final book in the cycle even more excruciating.

Every Last Drop sees Pitt hiding out in the Bronx, a year after the events of the third book (which precipitated his exile from the island of Manhattan after burnt all this bridges with the only people who cope with his rogue status among the clans of New York). The Bronx is a wilderness in terms of vampyres, and Pitt is scraping by in his bid to survive. Obviously, things change when he is offered an assignment by the head enforcer of The Coalition, Predo, to spy on the girl he helped in one of the earlier novels, who has now formed her own clan with the aim of finding a cure for the vyrus. In doing so, he discovers the secret behind where The Coalition (who have about a thousand members) gets all their blood, which changes everything for everyone for ever ...

The idea behind these books is a great one – hard-boiled noir set in the world of vampirism in the modern day – and the execution is flawless. Huston writes a fully realised world of characters and detail and with a great central protagonist, and he does it with razor-sharp style – if you read the words out loud, you'd probably cut your tongue. To be able to tell such an engrossing tale in such a gripping fashion is quite a skill, and Huston never lets up or loses his way. He even manages this while seemingly handicapping himself by not indicating who is speaking dialogue – he sets it apart with a long dash but there is no 'said Joe Pitt' afterwards. Yet the reader never loses the plot, helped by everyone having identifiable speech patterns and his storytelling ability.

The book is a great chapter in the storyline but it doesn't quite compete on its own terms – it is very much the penultimate book, as plot strands are put into place, people are moved into position, and everyone important to the mythos that Huston has created is given some screen time to find out where they are one year after the last book. There is even time to discover a feral group of vampyres in the Bronx. But the book seems to exist only to reveal the secret of the blood that will initiate the events of the final instalment, which can't arrive fast enough. Again, I look forward to seeing the conclusion of Pitt's story but at the same time wanting more of his adventures. I hope the wait isn't too long.

Comics I Bought 23 April 2009

Avatar should sort out their distribution times: two weeks after Ignition City #1 shipped, Ignition City #2 is scheduled to arrive in comics shops. As it is, UK didn't get their consignment, which meant that I get a bit more breathing space until the next issue. However, for one of the smaller publishers, it's not a smart to effectively dump onto the market the work of one of the most popular comic book writers who regularly works in the creator-owned and independent section of the market. Not that I'm telling William Christensen how to do his job or anything ...

Detective Comics #853
A few weeks later than originally scheduled (to contrast with the point of my opening paragraph), this comic sees the concluding part of 'Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?', the two-part eulogy to Batman by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert. Having revealed in his Twitter feed that the person accompanying Batman in his journey after death in this story wasn't Death herself, I immediately thought that it was his mother. And I was right. But that was the only good feeling I got from this book. The consensus from scanning the internet is that people enjoyed this story (even shedding manly tears at the ending) but it did absolutely nothing for me – there are nice references to old stories, some nice visual flourishes from Kubert, and a nice summing up of who Batman is, but it never felt like a special story or a touching tribute. It felt like padding, with the splash pages of saying goodbye (and then returning back to the beginning, as all stories about serial characters must do) – they even had to pad out the book itself with sketches. I'll admit I may be missing something, but I should at least feel like a good story has been told. Which didn't happen for me.

Ex Machina #41
Ex Machina continues its high level of quality of writing and art, although it is obvious that the book is heading towards the finish line as Mayor Hundred lays down a self-induced ultimatum and the plotting against him is given a boost. The two-edged sword of a good book with a fixed end in sight – finishing brings resolution and purpose to the story, but you'll miss the quality and enjoyment – is one I shall try to cope with, but at least I know that it will go out on a high, even if Vaughan and Harris try to shock us with rather gruesome pages such as the full-page splash at the end of this book. Still, an entertaining book with a strong point of view and a message to convey that does well in the current market is something to be lauded.

Jack of Fables #33
Part two of The Great Fables Crossover sees Bigby and Snow visit Jack in his own book to get more information on the the threat to the characters. Seeing that the crossover is supposed to turn Fables readers into Jack of Fables readers, one would expect this issue to be the best issue of Jack of Fables possible. If that's the case, the crossover has failed before it has begun – the reader is dumped unceremoniously into the middle of current Jack status quo, with all the characters that entails (it's only from reading some of the trades that I don't feel completely lost [my review of first trade] [my review of second trade]). The villain of the piece is shown to be dangerous but without a justification as to why it is specific to the Fables. As I mentioned before, the trouble I had with this book was my instant and continued dislike of the central character, and this hasn't been changed on this reading. Yes, it's funny for the fourth wall joke at the end, but that's not enough for a book to survive (just ask She-Hulk or Ambush Bug). And what the hell was with that six-panel page of a pig talking in a foreign language and a small blue ox? Was he translating? Was there an in-joke I was missing? Do you want people to read this book? I'll keep reading this for the crossover but I won't be around afterwards.

No Hero #5
The new hero Josh, still suffering from the effects of the designer drug that gives him superpowers but that has also turned him into a freak, gets to feel like a hero after a walk through San Francisco, but things aren't quite as simple as that. This is a very strange but very interesting story of a modern creation of superheroes by Ellis, which I'm enjoying but not loving. The ideas, execution and art are all good but it doesn't connect in the same fashion as other Ellis works. The fact that it will be a complete story means that a resolution is coming and a sense of what it's all about should emerge, but I don't what that is yet.

An Apostrophe Of English Fails?

A change of pace today: some terrible photographs from my mobile phone of typographic errors I've noticed recently.

I follow the English FAIL blog, GrammarBlog and Apostrophe Abuse (which are all derivations of the FAIL Blog), which probably inspired me to take the photos in the first place. You can blame them.

The capturing of typos may seem to be a little snobbish, linguistically speaking, but it amuses me and that's all the justice I need. Not that I am perfect myself (you could probably find many errors littered throughout this blog, if you were to take the time to peruse it) but then I'm not getting PAID to create words on a professional basis for somebody else.

I'll start with a few abuses of the poor apostrophe, which is really getting fisted by the world.


The grocer's apostrophe always makes me wonder how people thought it would help; it's leaving it out that irritates rather than amuses. The first is from a church hall; the second is more worrisome because it is a notice for an art shop. The following does The Double: the omitted apostrophe for the first word has been stolen by BBQ.

The next is a Spelling Fail; I do feel a little guilty for this, found in the window of a local pub, because it was for charity. However, charity doesn't excuse complete stupidity.

The next is a WTF? from Westfield, the largest shopping centre in Europe (apparently). Obviously, not the deliberate reverse 's' in the logo, but the lack of the word 'be' in a sentence of six words. Quite impressive.

The final is one that I'm surprised isn't on any fail blog: I recommend people click on the six charity sites that are part of The Hunger Site, but they all have the same lack of basic English (and a preposition) in Step 3. I thought the irony was richest on The Literacy Site.


A return to normal waffling about comics, books, films and comedy tomorrow, now that I've got that out of my system.

From A Library – The Incredible Hercules: Against The World

Incredible Hulk #112, Incredible Hercules #113–115 by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente and Khoi Pham, and Hulk Vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente and various artists

If you spend enough time reading comic book blogs, there is only so much internet buzz you can ignore before you have to give in and try the book in question. The Incredible Hercules is one of those books. Now, the difficulty with picking up a book about Hercules is the main character himself: I've never had the slightest interest him (and seemingly the rest of the comic book-buying public: he's had three limited series to call his own since he was created back in 1965, suggesting that he although he might be good as part of a team, he hasn't got what it takes to be a lead character in an ongoing series of his own); those ridiculous leg strappings, the silly speech mannerisms, the drinking, the general stupidity all combine to make a Hercules a bit of a joke in the Marvel universe. That's a lot of inertia to overcome before I try a book where he's the lead.

It's a good thing I took in what those bloggers were saying because this is really rather good: entertaining comics doing something substantial with someone I don't care about to the extent that I want to know what happens. Pak and Van Lente have given the 'three-thousand-year-old Greek demigod' some gravitas and depth but with humour as well (SHIELD is after Hercules for fighting on Hulk's side during World War Hulk; when they catch up with him, he bombards them with a cask of merlot). Hercules has an anguished back story – he killed his own wife and children due to an unstoppable bloodlust put upon him by the goddess Hera, which is quite harsh but fairly normal for those wacky Greek gods. Relating this and tying in with his mythological stories, the authors have created somebody with more dimension than any other Hercules story I've read (although that's not many). The Twelve Labours play an important role in the story: Ares, his older brother and now official Avenger, is still angry about 'the stupid birds', where Hercules saved the peasants of Arkadia from Ares' man-eating birds at Lake Stymphalis for the sixth labour. Ares now keeps a Hydra for its blood because it was the only thing to kill Hercules before, so that he can hurt his brother solely because humans hate Ares and love Hercules. Sibling rivalry, eh? When Ares uses it on Hercules to subdue him as part of an Avengers mission, it only drives Hercules crazy, making him unable to recognise reality and thinking he's back in the past (he is helped out by Black Widow, who is supposed to be capturing him but was the leader of The Champions when Hercules was on the team and she read all the mythology books she could find in order to understand him). As Walt Simonson proved with The Mighty Thor, the successful incorporation of the mythological and modern superheroic elements into a character with that background is the best way to revive and invigorate them.

The other aspect of the story is Amadeus Cho, boy genius, who is friends with Hercules – he is a great new character, smart yet still a teenager, who we can see is not happy about the accidental death of his puppy but doesn't know how to deal with it. He is funny, brilliant, sullen, insolent, interesting: the two of them make for a great pair.

The art by Pham works well because it seems to have a slightly different feel for the modern scenes and the flashbacks to the mythological scenes, so you can tell which is which (even without all the togas). He has a light touch, if a little raw and cartoony in places, but it adds to the charm. The four issues he does in sequence provide a consistent visual stamp for the characters and the setting, and he is able to strike the right facial expression for the comedic moments which rely on them. He can only get better with time, but there's a good bit of raw talent, so his art can only get better.

The real stars are the authors, however, who do a great job of mix myth and Marvel, characterisation and comedy, action and emotion. I don't know why they work on this book as a team when they write so much other material on their own, but I hope they keep up the partnership for this book. I'm not sure if they get the balance right on the special included at the end of the trade – the first meeting between Hercules and Hulk – which has a point to make about who Hercules is as a character, but it isn't helped by the deliberate use of multiple artists to illustrate different sections; it didn't work as well for me, although it's not an awful comic book. I hope this is just a slight blip on the radar and that the rest of the series is more like the rest of the book, something I look forward to discovering.

Film Review – Crank: High Voltage

I would never have watched this film in the cinema if I didn't have an unlimited pass I pay for – I certainly didn't watch Crank at the cinema; hell, I watched it on DVD and didn't think that there could be a sequel, let alone harbour a desire to watch one. I just wanted to experience seeing a brainless film on the big screen. And it was an experience. And it was brainless.

Crank: High Voltage could almost be equated with Quantum of Solace (but this is the only way they compare) in that it is a film that follows on immediately from the events of the original film. In Crank, the improbably named Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is a hitman who is injected with a poison that will cause his heart to stop unless he keeps his adrenaline levels high. This he does by stealing drugs from a hospital, getting a hit from a defibrillator, picking fights with gangsters, fighting with the police and, famously, having sex with his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) in public. At the end of the film, he killed the man responsible for poisoning him by snapping his neck as they both fall out of a helicopter from a great height. Which is promising for a sequel, except they had him blink to suggest that the adrenaline was still working.

The fall from the helicopter is recreated at the beginning of Crank: High Voltage in old-school computer game format, which lets you know that normal rules of cinema do not apply here. Not that they really applied in the first film, but the sequel is so mental (in the British sense of the word) it makes the original film look quaint and old-fashioned. Narrative sense, logic, plot cohesion, characterisation, a rational view of women – all these things are discarded in favour of balls to the walls action nonsense. The whole point of this film is to outdo the antics of the first film: instead of a poisoned heart requiring adrenaline, this film sees the Chinese gangs take Chev's heart out and replace it with an artificial one that constantly requires recharging. This sees him sticking his fingers in cigarette lighter sockets, being charged up by a car battery (as in the poster), or grabbing mains electricity, or (because, in movie world, static electricity works just as well) rubbing himself up against people, including an old woman, even with the friction of sex in public with Eve (with pixellated genitals). These are interspersed with manic shoot-outs, which include the 'humour' of a stripper's silicone breasts being punctured by a bullet – the only way women are represented in the film are as semi-naked strippers, prostitutes or delirious Asian women (Bai Ling has a role in the film as an English-mangling prostitute, with acting direction seemingly to be as annoying as humanly possible). There is even a flashback scene where a young Chev is on a talk show with his mum (played by Geri Halliwell), where we find out that (a) Chev was always a nutter and (b) the kid playing him as a child does the worst cockney accent EVER on celluloid – yes, even worse than Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins.

The only thing that makes this film worth watching is Statham – he plays the role completely straight and sells every stupid and inane set piece by sheer force of will; he is a shredded man of action who understands his place in the film and brings a certain action man charisma to the screen that has seen him through the likes of the three Transporter films. Because the writing and directing of the film are not particularly concerned with making good cinema or even a movie – Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have created a video game in filmic form as the player moves from level to level with villains and twists and lapses of logic that normal film critics wouldn't even call 'comic book'. A man who was killed in the first film is kept alive as a head in a liquid-filled container; Chev and the man who has his heart have a fight but as enlarged versions of themselves as if they were Godzilla; the final shoot-out sees a gang of black gay men, a group of strippers and the henchmen shooting at each other across a swimming pool (I think they've been reading too much Frank Miller, if you ask me ...) But, a film where a man cuts off his own nipples to atone for his incompetency, David Carradine is ancient Triad leader who is the recipient of Chev's heart (in make-up to make him look Chinese), and Statham sticks a shotgun up a gangster's arse isn't really dealing with reality. The idea is to switch your brain off, preferably be a young male (the casual sexism in both this and its predecessor makes me feel very uncomfortable) and enjoy some cinematic mayhem. Your mileage may vary.

Rating: DA

Comics I Bought 17 April 2009

A Bank Holiday weekend meant a delay to the arrival of this week's comic books, and nice weather meant a delay to my sitting my lazy arse down and writing a few words about them. Seems appropriate, and it was also needed because it meant I could try and come up with some thoughts about a book that has come to an end after a very long time.

100 Bullets #100
The final bullet is here and it's still hard to digest – after so long, following it from the beginning, seeing it evolve from a great concept into something more complex and labyrinth, it's a shame to see it end. However, it goes out in style, with twists and turns, gunplay, surprises, power plays, and and ending. It's an amazing feat, the same writer and artist on a book for the entire run, and it's an amazing end. I know that I've missed all the connections to all the characters throughout the story in the final issue but that will just mean that I'll enjoy re-reading the entire series again, knowing that it ends well. A fantastic final issue (only spoiled by having the preview of The Unwritten at the end – I thought there was more 100 Bullets story). Well done, Messrs Azzarello and Risso, and thank you.

Fables #83
The crossover begins. I shall probably succumb and buy the whole thing as it comes out (although I won't be buying Jack of Fables afterwards, which is the entire raison d'etre for this crossover) but at least it has started out okay: a new religion seems to be starting around Blue, Bigby and Beast get it on (and Snow White is even more fearsome in her own way), Jack phones in a warning to kick off the crossover, and Mister Dark is affecting more than just Manhattan ... That's a whole lot of story and indication of more good things, the usual sterling job from Willingham and Buckingham; let's hope the next part doesn't mess it up.

Incognito #3
It's a confirmed fact that Brubaker and Phillips produce great comic books, but the extra dimension they bring to Incognito is humour. This is hilarious. The deadpan narration ('I was having trouble figuring out how to kill my best friend.'), the dealing with Farmer's landlord, the names (Ava Destruction, Zoe Zeppelin) – it's great. The story is excellent – that goes without saying – and I can't wait to see what happens next, especially after the way things kicked off at the end when Zack's old friends showed up, but both writing and art have a lighter touch and sensibility than the more serious Criminal, which can only be a good thing.

X-Factor #42
Beneath the pages for a very nondescript cover is another great issue of X-Factor: Peter David mixes up the story strands (sending off Guido and Rictor after the priest dupe of Madrox, Longshot trying to protect a woman who finds herself uncontrollably attracted to him, Madrox in the future with Layla, Siryn and Monet get a visit from Val Cooper, Longshot seems to display a power I've never seen before, and a surprise for the last page) and displays his humour more prominently than normal (jokes about protection, sentinels, vomiting, Buffy, Madrox insulting Cyclops, and some great banter between Siryn and Monet). But we still can't get a decent artist to do an entire issue on a consistent basis – please sort that out?

From A Library – Justice League of America: The Tornado's Path

Justice League of America # 1–7 by Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes

If there is an example of the difference between reading something in the single issues and reading the trade in one sitting, this story should be on the reading list. I remember the reviews of almost anger and disbelief when people read this when it came out – it's just them talking to each for pages and pages! When is there going to be superhero action? - but reading the trade eliminates any such problems. Because this is meant to read in one sitting, not because of the 'padding for the trade' excuse but because it's a genuine novella. Meltzer is a novelist by trade and it shows; it showed in Identity Crisis (even if I didn't ultimately enjoy it, I could enjoy the well-constructed murder mystery with a love of DC history and a great handle on the characters within that universe [LINK]) and it's the same here.

The story is told from a novelist's approach: there are beautiful character moments for all the major players, as the author tells the story from different perspectives and gets inside their heads, and they feel so completely perfect and defining; the multiple narrative captions show insight and move the story along in emotive and thoughtful manner; there is the use of history to enrich the story (Starro, Grundy, Ivo, Morrow, Amazo), which is both a tribute but also an organic part of the narrative. Also, this is a labour of love – Meltzer loves the notion of assembling a new Justice League of America and what it means as an ideal, what it means to the people in the League and outside it, and you can feel this adoration and admiration for the source material and the concept, and the emotions they bring – the reactions of Dinah and Hal to Roy 'graduating' to Red Arrow are powerful and genuine.

The approach balances the author's fanboy side of 'bigging up' the characters he wants in his league and justifying them: Black Lightning, Vixen, Hawkgirl and Red Tornado aren't the names I would think of for the JLA but Meltzer makes it work within the context of the story. He obviously loves the Tornado – the old comics mean a lot to him, referenced so blatantly here – but he is able to convey that love in an enjoyable story. Yes, there are many pages of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman (or Kal, Diana and Bruce, as they constantly refer to each other; I believe it makes them more genuine and I think it is how they would talk to each other) talking about who should be in the team and why, but it's charming, and you don't need to have fights on every page (that was Morrison's JLA).

Benes does a fantastic job here – yes, he loves drawing the female bottom more than is healthy for an adult man in a professional career (there is a double page where the Black Canary, in her fishnet stockings remember, is attacking a Tornado robot that is focussed on her backside, specifically by having her moving from right to left on the spread, so your eyes sees her derriere first and forget to look at the right side of the page) and he loves to draw female cleavage falling out of costumes (the amazing triple-page fold-out spread of the photo of the new Justice League, with photos behind them of previous teams from covers of their books, is nearly ruined by Benes drawing Vixen's breasts practically bursting from the skimpy top); however, he also draws men in an equally hyperrealised manner as well (if less lascivious and sexist), and just needs to curb his T&A fetish. He handles the talky scenes and the panels filled with many captions, as well as the action scenes; there is even some nice design, such as the double page of Amazo and Tornado in split panels followed by the 6-grid-panel page where they mirror each other. Importantly for this story, he nails the emotions brilliantly – there are lots of moments that he captures and makes them real, which is tough in comic books. He stepped up and did a great job, making this Justice League look good (and perhaps a little too sexy).

I only had the one qualm in the book – Grundy pulling off Tornado's arm when he has become human was quite gory for no particular reason, and feels over the top for an all-ages book. However, I can just about forgive this in such a good story – a true love letter to the history of a well-loved superhero team and to one character in particular. Whether or not Meltzer is able to continue writing an ongoing serial is another matter, but he can keep on writing these graphic novellas for a long time.

Comics I Bought 14 April 2009

The title for this post should be 'Comics I Bought 9 April 2009' except that I couldn't get to the shop on Thursday, and I've been doing some serious relaxing over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, so I hope slack can be cut in my direction.

Captain Britain and MI:13 #12
I really hope that it's not just British people enjoying this book because it would be a shame to miss out: Paul Cornell has found his feet quickly on this series and is writing a storyline that feels 'classic' – it's not tied into crossovers, it has brains, it has action, it has characters affected personally while in the midst of a huge national threat, and it has levels of plot development where plans and counter-plans are being laid out in a way I haven't seen for some time in a Marvel book. Leonard Kirk is pencilling this just perfectly (I was glad he could pencil the whole issue this time) and there are lovely moments of humour that emphasise the Britishness ('Well...You really are British.' and 'How many of you take sugar?' to name but two) to counteract the horror of the situation. This book is a well-done superhero comic book and I hope it gets another year at least – it certainly deserves it.

Doktor Sleepless #12
I'm starting to have my doubts about this book, which is never a good sign. There is a lot going on this issue (gang violence, the situation being explained in a more natural manner – compare with Ignition City – a change to the status quo with Sleepless providing free healthcare) but it didn't engage me as much as earlier issues. Everything is ticking along much as before but it didn't quite have the spark I've come to expect from Ellis. There is an idea behind this all and a complex infrastructure to this world he has created but perhaps this is an instance where reading it in instalments isn't as rewarding as reading it as a whole.

Ignition City #1
This was the book I was most looking forward to because it's a new Warren Ellis book with a great concept – the place where the space heroes go afterwards; or Deadwood meets Buck Rogers – and art by Gianluca Pagliarani, whose art on Ellis' Aetheric Mechanics was great. And, having read this issue, I'm still intrigued to see what happens; however, the execution wasn't as good as I automatically assumed it would be. Pagliarani's art is still a good job (the city reeks of despair and decrepitude) but it doesn't feel as tight as on Aetheric Mechanics; the linework doesn't feel as tight or as certain. More unexpected is the blatant exposition from Ellis as he lays things out in a letter from the main character to her mother – it was so obvious, it really knocked the story off its rails. The rest makes up for it by being pretty funny, with lots of scatological humour, and the scenario is a fascinating situation, but it needs to be a lot slicker next issue.

Killer of Demons #2
This issue continues all the good work from the first issue – Yost takes into account that his main character Dave may just be insane (because he's seeing demons everywhere and is killing them on the orders of an angel), while still providing over-the-top violence and laughs (and a nice twist in events when he reveals what Rachel, Dave's girlfriend and police officer, does when she discovered some incriminating evidence); he even makes up for the cliché of the 'hot chick in mini-skirt, tank top and leggings is also a kick ass fighter' with a joke at its expense ('Wow. I feel kind of dirty just looking at her.') and a ridiculously hilarious way for her to die. Wegener does a great job, mixing humour with great action – I'm going to have to check out his earlier work because he's got the stuff. I hope this finishes satisfactorily in the final issue – they can keep on with the character, but I want a complete story in this three-issue mini-series first.

Film Review: Monsters Vs Aliens

Monster Vs Aliens is not the greatest CGI animated film to make it into cinemas but it is the first to blow my mind with 3D, and it is this that brings all the joy to the enjoyment of the film. Much like Mark Kermode, I was unhappy that the cinema charges extra for the glasses required to watch the film (and you have to pay for them each time you see a 3D film in the cinema, even if you use the old ones again – erm, has nobody told cinema about recycling and climate change?); however, it did mean fewer adverts before the film and all the trailers were in 3D, so there's a balance.

The story sees Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) turned into a 50-foot woman when hit by a meteorite. She is captured by a branch of the US military and kept 'detained' with other monsters: B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), The Missing Link (Will Arnett), Dr Cockroach (Hugh Laurie, using his English accent) and Insectosaurus. They are to be kept here forever, until an alien invades (to extract the energy from Susan) and the government runs out of options to save the day ...

The film tries to maintain a balance of making a film for both kids and adults but doesn't succeed – there are silly jokes and the 3D but then there are film geek references which the kids won't get (all the monsters are from classic 1950s B-movies). The large number of screenwriters suggests there was a lot of polishing to get the jokes funny, and there are comedy actors aplenty to help things along. However, it's not particularly memorable as a funny or novel film; the reason to see this is 3D.

I once saw a film with 3D in the cinema – Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone – and it put me off seeing 3D films. I have a vague memory of a grungy laboratory and somebody pointing out of the screen, but that's about it. Not a good experience. So I wasn't expecting much from this. It's nice to be proved wrong. From the start you can see it's not just about pointing out of the screen (although there is a ball-on-elastic being hit with a table tennis bat straight out of the screen – Kermode says it's a reference to an old 3D film, but you'll have to take his word for it) when we start in the middle of space, the camera afloat in the middle of the rings of a planet like Saturn: the depth of vision and effect is beautiful. It is this illusion of immersiveness that is most impressive – a scene where trees are hit and leaves fall, you can see the difference between ones falling close by and those behind the characters on the screen, and it's quite beautiful. Of course, there are still the shots of things blowing up out of the screen – there's a shot at the end when Susan has grabbed the rest of the monsters and is escaping from the exploding ship and is diving straight into the screen that is particularly effective – but there is a balance between the 'making-the-kids-scream' shots (it was half-term, so there were enough kids in the audience to be scared by things coming out of the screen) and creating an interesting visual experience. As someone who doesn't wear glasses, it was a little strange to wear these special glasses for so long (although, thankfully, we have evolved past the cardboard specs with a red filter and a green filter in different eyes), but you don't mind when you are being entertained so much. It's a brisk 90 minutes of enjoyable film – nothing epoch-shattering but a lot of fun while you are in your seat. And, after some of the films I've seen recently, that's a good thing.

Rating: VID (but DAVE for the 3D)

From A Library – Green Lantern: Rebirth

Green Lantern: Rebirth #1–6 Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver

Having enjoyed Geoff Johns' Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes [LINK], I've become inclined to try more of his work (via the library, naturally). I've never been a particularly big fan of Green Lantern, I don't really care about Hal Jordan versus Kyle Rayner, so I can be considered a clean slate for this story, which is the return of Hal Jordan to the position of Green Lantern. It is essentially a six-issue reset button for the character – this is far enough but it had better be a good story and it had better be told well. Fortunately, this series is a success on those counts.

The debate over turning the Silver Age Green Lantern Hal Jordan into the villain Parallax has raged since it happened back in 1994. It's amazing to think that, 15 years ago, a publisher would decide the best way forward for a beloved if poor-selling character would be to eliminate them and start again; now, the entire point of mainstream superhero comic books is to go out its way to keep the purest version of the original character (see the One More Day storyline for Spider-Man, where he gets to wish away his marriage so that Joe Quesada can have the single and hapless Peter Parker back again). Whether or not it's best to have Jordan back as a Green Lantern is for others to decide (although the current storyline seems to be selling well for DC, so the fans must want it), but at least he's not the Spectre anymore ...

To accomplish the task of returning the Green Lantern status quo (including reverting Guy Gardner from his Warrior persona to his old GL version), Johns finds a way to explain away the who Parallax thing – basically, it wasn't Hal, it was a sentient being made of the yellow spectrum of living fear from the dawn of time called Parallax, who was contained in the power battery by the Guardians to contain his destructive nature, hence the yellow impurity in the rings. Parallax is linked to Hal's soul, which is linked to the Spectre, giving him immense power when he is woken by Sinestro (who was though dead by Hal/Parallax's hand). So, everything gets restored, the impurity is removed, Hal is back with his ring, the Green Lantern Corps is brought back, Coast City is restored (after its destruction by Mongul back in 1994) and, more importantly, Kyle Rayner isn't killed off – Johns keeps him as a Green Lantern, which was the sensible thing to do for a character who has been the Green Lantern for the past 15 years.

The details are important but I don't want to discuss them because the heart of the matter is that the story is done well and we are made to care about Hal and his unswerving nobility – he does the heroic thing because it is the right thing to do. Johns understands this and makes it feasible, not corny; heroism is a good value and should be inspiring. He provides the characters with moments (although he can veer into corny, such as the line about the baseball team's motto, 'Aim for the stars') to emphasise this, such as John sussing Batman's dislike of Hal (because Hal has no fear, Batman's main weapon), or Ollie shooting an arrow out of Hal's ring and explaining how hard it was to force his will power through the ring, or Hal's return to the scene ('Get the hell away from him.'), or even his training with the arrogant Sinestro (Sinestro: 'Never challenge those more powerful than you.' Hal: 'Umm ... yeah. That's not gonna work for me.'). There's even a nice moment between Hal and Kyle, before the Lanterns team up to beat the menace; there's even time for a silly joke that's a throwback to the early Giffen & DeMatteis Justice League, as Hal knocks down Batman with one punch.

Sciver does a good job here as well – the Lantern logos in front of the logos on their costumes looks a little silly but it really works. His overly detailed art can be a bit much at times, but he can match the scope and imagination of the Lanterns fighting with their rings: they have to look cool doing it, otherwise it's a complete waste of such a great concept. He makes them look heroic and determined and sleek: all the things a superhero should be, but he can also draw real people and proper backgrounds and tell a clear story. Together, he and Johns have created a very good story that brings back Hal in the best possible way. And you can't ask for more than that.

From A Library – Blade: Undead Again

Blade #1–6 by Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin

A confession: apart from his appearances in Captain Britain and MI:13, I've never read a Blade comic, or even a comic book with Blade in it. Like most other people, I'm more familiar with Eric 'Blade' Brooks via the films (first one good, second one better, third one awful). Therefore, Guggenheim has a tough job on his hands: make the reader care about Blade; keep an ongoing series something people have to read, and make it really good (because a new series starring a character who isn't a fan favourite or spun out of a major crossover is dead cert at the moment, isn't it?).

To stack the odds in his favour, he's been gifted with a top-class artist: Howard Chaykin, although I can't believe the man who created American Flagg! is bringing his snazzy pencils to the vampire end of the Marvel universe. But, damn, if he doesn't make it look good – the dynamics, the design element, the sheer coolness, it's some great-looking comics. There's a two-page spread at the end of the first issue (after a full page of Blade falling through glass into a helicarrier full of SHIELD agents turned into vampires) which is is two long panels on either side of six wide panels in the middle with the action occurring perfectly down them that is a fabulous piece of design. It's also bizarre to see Chaykin drawing Dr Doom (or Morbius the living vampire, for that matter); it was bizarre enough seeing him pencilling Wolverine [LINK] – which Guggenheim was also writing: has he got something on Chaykin to work with him? Whatever reason exists to bring back the sharp and superior artwork of Chaykin back on a regular basis, I'm glad to see it again.

In addition to the great visuals, Guggenheim has done a good job with the story. He uses the same trick he employed with his Wolverine story: a current storyline with flashbacks to Blade's early days to fill in the blanks and provide us with more history for the character. As far as I'm concerned, Blade is a blank slate, so Guggenheim can do what he wants (although the 'Soho, England' part seemed a little odd). He also opts for the one- and two-issue stories, not getting bogged down with arcs for the trade (although it means the end of this trade finishes in the middle of a story).

The first issue has a Spider-Man cameo as a brief vampire (apparently, the radioactive blood will kill the vampire enzymes – bit of a cheat for a guest star on the front cover), Dracula, the aforementioned SHIELD helicarrier full of former SHIELD agents trying to kill Blade: it's action packed, to say the least. The second issue has the appearance from Doom (and his mother in the past, in a rather odd story for what I think of as a Blade story), followed by an issue that examines how Blade survives in the modern world when he is arrested for murdering a vampire (there is no body and CCTV can't pick him up, but it allows for nice details to be related). The fourth story is a bit silly: Blade fights a demon who can shift souls, who starts off in a department store Santa. The next story sees Wolverine guest star: surprise, surprise, Blade and Wolverine met each other a long time ago; the final issue is about Blade's history, but it goes a bit off the rails when Blade chews off his own left hand in order to escape a very strange trap. This seems rather mad and a desperate cry for attention: look at this, fanboys – Blade's bit off his hand! (Did we learn nothing from Aquaman and the harpoon?)

I do feel for Guggenheim: he's put a lot of effort into this series, coming up with a different approach to Blade, working to make him an interesting character who can work on his own but also in the Marvel universe. The dialogue is sharp, he found a good voice for Blade, the plots are well constructed and he has a strong idea of what he wants to do with in a situation which he must have known was going to be a loser (the series was cancelled after 12 issues). He may not have lasted long but he did some good work, and I'd read the second trade if I can get my hands on it, especially knowing that Chaykin draws the whole thing. Damn, I love his art ...

Book Review: Patriot Acts

By Greg Rucka

My latest 'Look at me, I read books with no pictures as well' post is still linked to comic books: it was comics that introduced me to the novels of Greg Rucka, and that is one of the many things I for which I can thank them. Although I loved his great Queen & Country novels (at least, I think you can get that message from my appallingly written post about them [LINK]), it is his Atticus Kodiak novels that are even better. Starting out as stories about a bodyguard ('personal protection service') with a great name, they were great thrillers based on realism and detail with a fascinating central character, an interesting supporting cast and a level of understanding and research – but without being dry or boring – all of which was cased in Rucka's sharp, clean, precise prose, with flashes of warmth and humour.

As with all series of novels – this is the sixth in the series – the central character must progress and evolve; in the case of Kodiak, it took a strange but logical turn when his world mixed with that of an assassin, known as Drama, one of The Ten (the world's elite murderers for hire), which led to this book. It follows on from the events of previous novel (Critical Space), as he and Drama (aka Alena) escape from the threat on their lives and learn of the people responsible and the levels of power to which they are linked.

The amazing ability of Rucka is to combine telling a gripping tale in a world just outside that which we know but to fill it with facts that enhance the story and make it more believable. From little things (Kodiak and Alena don't drink caffeine because it drains the adrenal gland, and they need all the adrenaline to survive) to the logical explanation of the way in which the underworld operates (there is a chapter explaining how a trained military killer goes freelance and obtains a lawyer to be their contact that is practically a manual, even though it isn't real). This balance is amazing, especially when creating the suspense scenes requisite in a thriller: at the start of the book, there is an ambush on Kodiak that is an intense set piece, even though you know he can't die because he's the narrator (the book is told in a first-person narrative). The precision in his plotting is excellent as well, as the narrative progresses intelligently and inexorably – you can't escape the grip it has on you.

If there is one tiny fault, if it can be called that, it is the requirement for a woman who was an important part of Kodiak's life has to die as part of the plot. It's not Women in Refrigerators but, as I get older, I find that I have lost my stomach for the 'woman dies to get hero angry for revenge' plot line – even though I love the Bourne films, the second film loses something by forcing him back by killing Marie (and my girlfriend can't watch it, or any film where this sort of thing happens). However, this is a very minor qualm in an excellent book, which is taut, gripping, emotional and powerful, and displays Rucka's skills as a thriller writer once again.

Comic Book Review – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier

By Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill

Don't say I'm not on the cutting edge of reviewing ... This was a Christmas present from my better half – the hardcover version with O'Neill's signature inside – so I've been taking my time and enjoying it. Because it's a fascinating book.

The Black Dossier isn't really a story, even though it tries to present itself as if it is a straightforward narrative (a theft followed by a chase and escape), so it doesn't make for a satisfactory adventure tale. However, that's not what it is supposed to be about – it's a wonderful and entertaining book about narrative and the enjoyment of fiction itself.

The point of The Black Dossier is the attention to detail in the book, even in the insignificant matters: the credits are presented in the form of a London Underground map, with the contributors are the termini and the stops on the way describe them (stops for Moore are Higher Brow and Very Cross; O'Neill has Ink Staines and Whiteout City), with joke stops such as Arson Elbow, Tooting Bottom and Court Short. Notes tell us that ABC is 'Closed for the duration' and O'Neill is 'Subject to delay at all times'. And this is just the start of the book.

The book's narrative thrust is set in 1958, in an England slightly different to our own history due to the events influenced by fiction that Moore has interweaved into his amazingly detailed timeline. An unnamed but easily identifiable James Bond (oafish, thuggish, sexist) takes a young woman to Military Intelligence HQ at Vauxhall, except the young woman is Mina Harker (with the hilarious pseudonym Oodles O'Quim) and she deals with Bond, and steals the dossier with the aid of a young Allan Quartermain.

Because Mina and Allan read the dossier, we get to read the dossier, which is basically the history of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that Moore has worked out for these fictional versions of fictional characters. These are not a story, they are just information told in the form of spot-on pastiches of various styles of literature: the life of Orlando is told in the form of a 1953 picture story (a very large story, as it covers all the history of the past 3,000 years); a lost Shakespeare first folio describing the start of 'Prospero's Men'; the illustrated new adventures of Fanny Hill; Victorian prose for the memoirs of Campion Bond, who formed the first Murray group (as our League is described), which fills in a lot of detail; postcards of Mina's travels; the hilariously titled 'What Ho, Gods of the Abyss' as Bertie Wooster meets the world of Lovecraft, in an adventure handled by a later Murray group; a chapter of a Beat novel about Mina and Allan; a Tijuana insert about 'SexJane'; before finishing the book with a 3D section in Blazing World.

It's an incredible achievement and a fascinating book, displaying Moore's talent for mimicry and O'Neill's ability to draw anything, even if his square and harsh anatomy has always looked a little ugly to my tastes, which means the sexy sections are not quite as alluring as they should be. He's a talented artist but I've never really liked his style (I always associate him with Nemesis in 2000AD) and it doesn't vary as much for the different sections as other artists would. Each of the individual parts are enjoyable, with the exception of the Beat novel chapter – I have to confess I couldn't get through more than a few sentences before giving up (and I now know that I don't want to read Beat novels); I think the tedium of this chapter was the reason for the Tijuana insert in the middle of this bit. The comic book part is also fun, with references to other fictional narratives: references to the Prisoner, Dan Dare, 1984, Gulliver's Travels, Triffids, The Third Man, The 39 Steps, Billy Bunter, the Men from UNCLE, to name but a small number (you need annotations to get the most out of this book). It is also funny, which is something people forget about Moore: he has an impish sense of humour and he should be allowed to indulge it once in a while – not everything has to be serious. This isn't going to be on lists of Moore's best works but it is a typically excellent book, even if it is such a curio. It's a wonderful companion piece to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen mini-series and I'm glad he got DC to pay for it after all they've done to him – who else would have been published the glorious 3D section (which is fabulous)? If you love the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, you'll love this book.

Film Review: The Damned United

As I said in my review of Frost/Nixon, I now have to see Michael Sheen films, especially when he is the lead and playing such a notorious real person as Brian Clough. The film is mainly about the 44 days in which Clough became manage of Leeds United in 1974 – he was following the beloved Don Revie (Colm Meaney), who had turned the club into the best team in the league and the most successful in its history before accepting the job of England manager, but Clough had also stated in the media how he thought Leeds were a dirty, cheating side who played ugly football. Not exactly the optimum conditions for the new manager ...

The film switches back and forth between 1974, as the Leeds players refuse to accept him and the team has their worst start to a league campaign in 20 years, and 1968, showing how Clough (with his assistant manager Peter Taylor, played by Timothy Spall) took Derby County to the top of Second Division and then to win the First Division. He is an extremely charismatic but arrogant man, always challenging the Derby chairman (played by Jim Broadbent) but who couldn't argue with his results nor his tough-but fair approach to managing, even if he seems to love the media more than he should (he keeps the Leeds board of directors waiting while he does a television interview first). Having clashed one too many times with the chairman, he resigns knowing that it won't be accepted because of his success – only for Broadbent to use it to finally get rid of him. Taylor gets him to accept the job of managing Brighton (who are languishing in the Third Division), but it is a step down, so he is only too happy to accept the job at Leeds.

The film is about one man's hubris and his overwhelming desire to make Revie pay for the perceived slight of not shaking his hand when Leeds visited Derby for a cup match. He can't see all the bad choices he is making at Leeds or how wrong he is for the club. Part of this is to do with his relationship with Taylor – Clough may be good but he needs Taylor to help him do the job, but it is also about how they are so close from working together that they make a dysfunctional married couple. To make this work, you have to believe in how Clough interacts with other people, and this is what Sheen does. It's more than an impression (although it is an excellent approximation) because Sheen acts the part, which is the tricky part – you believe the arrogance and the passion and the lows. He dominates the film and the film is all the better for it – when the film ends (with Clough admitting his faults to Taylor and asking him to work with him again), it is not enough and you want more, especially as you know that his greater success was yet to come at Nottingham Forest.

The film is adapted from a much darker book by David Peace into a much more enjoyable period piece by Peter Morgan; it takes a few liberties with the exact timelines to make moments more dramatic, but you don't care because the film is so good. The football in the film is downplayed – it is practically impossible to recreate football action on film, as many other films have shown – which is for the better, with real action and television footage bolstering the film more than anything artificial could. It also helps if you enjoy football but the film is still entertaining without prior knowledge of the game. Tom Hooper ably directs the film, and Spall and Meaney are great in their roles, but it is Sheen's film – he is electric and hypnotic in the role, bringing the famous Clough lines to life and humanity to a man who was always larger than life.

Rating: DAVE

Comic Book Artist: Chris Sprouse

Chris Sprouse isn't one of the flashy artists who work on a professional basis in comics but his solid, clear, crisp linework with his statuesque anatomies are the epitome of excellent comic book storytelling. The first work I saw by him was in 1993: Legionnaires, the spin-off of the teen version of the Legion of Super Heroes (part of the Keith Giffen 'Five Years Later' revamp), where his buoyant and bright art was the perfect choice. Previously, he had worked for DC on various things, including Hammerlocke, and he worked on various one-shots for various publishers after that.

His work at Awesome Comics on New Men led to him working with Alan Moore on his excellent Supreme series (a vast improvement on some of the more Imagey artists who had been working on the series). This, in turn, led to his working with Moore on his new ABC line, with his delightful run on Tom Strong – Sprouse's work set the tone for the pulp throwback, with the way he drew elongated bodies and the fabulous architecture of Millennium City.

Since then, he worked on Ocean, the sci-fi action mini-series with Warren Ellis (which is turned into a film), started the Midnighter solo series with Garth Ennis, two of the Ex Machina Specials by Brian K Vaughan, the 8-part series Number of the Beast with Scott Beatty at Wildstorm, among various other issues for the big two. You don't get to work with Moore, Ellis and Ennis without being able to bring the goods.

You can see more of his art at the Comic Art Community [LINK]. As always, there is a list of his books at the Comic Book Database [LINK]. He has a blog with his wife where he occasionally posts pencils, sketches and finished art [LINK], and there is a specific blog dedicated to selling his art, which contains a lot of interior art [LINK], and even a MySpace page (which he admits to not updating) [LINK].

Comics I Bought 2 April 2009

Comic books, you say? Well, yes – after three film reviews, two television sitcoms and talking about an art exhibition I saw, you'd be forgiven for thinking that I'd forgotten all about comic books. The last mention was talking about a comic book artist I like, and that hardly counts ... I didn't get the chance to pick up Usagi Yojimbo last week – it was only one book, which I knew was going to be (a) good and (b) held for me until I arrived, so I didn't feel too bad – but the balance is struck by the fact that Killer of Demons #2 didn't arrive (at least not at Gosh! Comics). Onto the reviews.

The Boys #29
Ennis reaches the end of We Gotta Go Now, which could have been an issue or two shorter, but it ends with a bang, or rather a lot of bangs, as Robertson returns to draw many pages of ultraviolence. Robertson's depiction of gore always seems so realistic, it sometimes seems strange that he draws superhero comics so well. And the justification for the violence is provided when we, and Voight-American, learn the truth about Godolkin and his G-Men. In a way, I was surprised by the reveal, thinking it a little obvious for Ennis, but he makes it believable and palpable, which is all part of his skill.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #24
Jim Kreuger and Cliff Richards come on board for an issue focussing on Faith and Giles. A breather episode is fine but I didn't enjoy this. It starts from the cover: Jo Chen gives Faith a breast job to Eliza Dushku, which is a shame. The interior art by Richards vaguely resembles the characters but is inconsistent; I'm not even sure exactly how Faith defeated the monster at the end – did she bash it with the crossbow? How did that work? The story is quite flat and predictable, with no flashes of anything to make it memorable. I can't recall anything I've read by Kreuger that has stuck with me, although I never read the Earth X stuff with Alex Ross, which apparently is what classifies him as a 'top list' writer, and this doesn't dissuade me of that opinion.

Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye #1
Grant Morrison gets accused of writing impenetrable comics, which is nonsense. However, I read this comic and I didn't really understand what was going on. Not what was happening in the issue – Cameron Stewart's thick-lined art is clear and expressive, but what the story was about. Personally, I blame Jog – his casual thoughts on the first series made me read the book looking for other meanings and it came up blank. Seaguy is an unhappy man who wants to be a hero in a suspiciously perfect world who just misses his dead friend, something people in power don't like. And that's all I got – my ability to see deeper meaning is obviously weak. Ah well, at least I liked the 'visible thought precipitation' of Prof. Silvan Niltoid. I shall look to Jog for understanding ...

Usagi Yojimbo #119
The comic from last week is the best of this week. Stan Sakai started off this multi-part story with an air of menace and threat, but this issue felt more light-hearted in tone, even though our protagonists are attacked by zombies (I never thought I'd see samurai zombies in Usagi Yojimbo ...). This is highlighted by the original cover design, which is included in the back, where the zombies are attacking Usagi, crying, 'Brains!', except for one crying, 'Grains!*, the asterisk footnote stating he is a vegetarian zombie. There is an hilarious panel where Usagi chops the heads of three zombies in a row, and the sound FX is 'Chop – Choppity – Chop'. Action, comedy, peril, resolution, enjoyment: Stan Sakai – don't you ever change.

TV: 30 Rock Season 2

It took a long time for Channel 5, sorry, Five to start airing the second season of 30 Rock (and they've buried it on one of their silly offshoot digital channels, Five USA – what a stupid name – which annoyingly has one of the worst receptions on our DVR, thus causing the signal to scramble and lost words, sentences and even bits of scenes), and they think they're making up for it by airing double episodes, but at least I'm getting to watch it in an entirely legal and free fashion.

I loved the first series [LINK] and the second season, although shorter due to the writers' strike, is even better. Tina Fey is cuter (and more comfortable acting) as Liz Lemon, Alec Baldwin is brilliant and having a ball as Jack Donaghy (impersonating Nixon, doing the various voices of Tracey's family in an improvised therapy session, sparring with Jerry Seinfeld), Jack McBrayer as Kenneth is flourishing, Tracy Morgan is even more absurd as Tracy Jordan, and the range of guest stars is impressive: even though Seinfeld can't act, it was funny seeing him pimping his film and Fey doing an impression of him; Carrie Fisher was great a writing idol of Liz (and kudos for uttering the line, 'Help me Liz Lemon, you're my only hope!' in such wonderful fashion); Steve Buscemi, David Schwimmer, Edie Falco – looks like somebody bought in a lot of favours.

But the important thing is that the show is constantly funny. I think this is because of the background of working on the sketch-based SNL – one of the things that people said about Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (another show I loved [LINK]) was that the skits weren't funny, which entirely missed the point, because that's not what it was about, whereas everyone said 30 Rock was funny straight away. This is because the sitcom is just condensed skits, looking for the zinger, using all the forms of comedy available to get the laugh: outrageous humour ('We used to call this the Jew Room.') or lowbrow humour (doing fat jokes in the first few episodes when Jenna has put on weight from being in Mystic Pizza: The Musical) or I-can't-believe-they-went-there jokes (MILF Island) or clever humour (Jack Donaghy: 'Look how Greenzo's testing! They love him in every demographic – coloured people, broads, fairies, commies. Gosh, we gotta update these forms.'). I can't remember a sitcom that was this consistently funny and sharp.

It helps that the characters are easily defined and delineated, yet can be empathised with; even Baldwin is sympathetic as the controlling network executive. The big cast doesn't always get the air time the credits would suggest: Scott Adsit and Judah Friedlander have their names up front, but the show is mostly about Liz, Jack, Tracy and Jenna, with a bit of Kenneth to tie them together. However, that is only a small flaw in a programme that is laugh-out loud funny, tightly written and polished until it gleams. Bring on season 3 – I just wish it wasn't on Five USA ...