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| Wednesday, January 27, 2010 01:22 PM |
| The Take |
 by Fëanor |
Fëanor's (semi-)weekly comic book review post.
This post covers new releases from the week of 1/20, plus another, older book. Beware spoilers!
Back issues and old data
Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan
This huge, beautiful book is a random collection of issues of the licensed Japanese Batman comic that came out in the late '60s, and which was largely unknown in the West. In fact the comic was nearly lost in Japan, as well, and the folks who put this book together (Chip Kidd, Geoff Spear, and Saul Ferris) had a hard time scrabbling together enough issues to make it worthwhile, and that were in fit condition to be photographed. Because they got the comics from here, there, and everywhere, some of the stories pick up in the middle of an arc, and others leave us with agonizing cliffhangers. Interspersed between the comics are full-color photos of Japanese Batman memorabilia from the same era.
The Batman manga was produced to cash in on the popularity of the Batman TV series, and it was drawn and written by Jiro Kuwata. Kuwata was given a stack of American comics to base his work on, but all he took from these were some basic characters and story ideas. His plots and his artistic visualizations of the characters are therefore almost entirely original. He even created a series of brand new villains for Batman and Robin to face off against - like the unkillable Lord Death Man; the incredibly powerful Go-Go the Magician (whose "magic" really comes from a weather-controlling gadget he stole); the super-intelligent gorilla named Karmak, AKA Professor Gorilla; and an evil mutant that wants to destroy humanity.
The plots are simple in construction, but full of exciting action and fantastic ideas, and the visuals are wonderful. Kuwata's Clayface, instead of just turning his fists into hammers and impersonating other people, transforms into a giant bird, a praying mantis, a pterodactyl, a statue, a drill, a sea monster, Pegasus, a giant beetle, and on and on. And in the insane climax of Clayface's origin story, Batman briefly shares the villain's powers, and beats him at his own game.
The comics are enormous fun, and it's interesting also to read the random trivia that was printed in the margins of nearly every page, and to see some of the truly odd Batman memorabilia that was sold in Japan. One thing that really struck me about these toys is how they almost always get the colors of Robin's outfit correct, but often choose random, totally inaccurate colors for Batman's outfit.
These comics are not complex or clever or realistic, but they are blazingly fast-paced, crazy imaginative, and totally entertaining. Kidd suggests that a sequel is in the offing, so I'll be on the lookout for that.
Thumbs Up
New releases
Captain America #602
Wow. I mean... wow. Brubaker has taken the crazy '50s Cap and put him at the head of an army of teabaggers, whom the real Cap must now oppose by going undercover. The last arc was basically Cap versus the economic crisis, and now we've got Cap versus the teabaggers. Crazy stuff, man. I don't know if I like it or not yet, but Brubaker sure has some balls on him. Meanwhile, there's now an ongoing backup story in this title following Nomad. It's pretty cheesy and bad.
Thumbs Sideways
Dark Avengers #13
I haven't really liked a lot of the things Bendis has been doing with the Sentry, but I've been hanging in there anyway, waiting to see if maybe he was going somewhere interesting with all of this. Looks like we're finally getting near that ultimate destination, but I don't know if "interesting" is the word. More like "ridiculous" and "confusing." I mean, I wasn't sure it was even possible to muddy the waters any further regarding the Sentry's origin and identity, but Bendis has managed to do so here. Now we've got the suggestion that the Sentry is actually a worthless junkie scumbag addicted to super serum. Or maybe he's actually the God of the Old Testament. Or maybe he's actually Galactus. What?! I mean, seriously, WTF? This is nonsensical garbage.
Thumbs Down
Gravel #16
Here we take a break from the over-arching plot to do a one-shot murder mystery/ghost story. Then at the end the over-arching plot intrudes again, as Gravel gets warned once more not to interfere in affairs that don't concern him. It's a reasonably engaging story, but overall a bit disappointing. There's just nothing particularly fresh or creative here. Plus, I have my usual complaints about Mike Wolfer's ugly art.
Thumbs Sideways
Incorruptible #2
In this issue, we learn a bit more about the nature of Max Damage's powers, he takes another shot at being a superhero crime-fighter (it doesn't go so well), and then he stumbles on the trail of a supervillain and what I assume will be the first story arc. I'm finding the comic pretty interesting so far, but I still feel like I'm waiting for it to really grab me. Of course, it took a while for Irredeemable to grab me, too, so we'll see.
Thumbs Up
Joe the Barbarian #1
The premise of this comic - a kid has a vision of a fantasy world which could be real, or could just be a dream brought on by diabetic shock - is kind of an old story and wasn't particularly attractive to me, but the fact that it's written by Grant Morrison and cost only a buck made the book irresistible. In typical Morrison style, the comic dumps us right into the middle of the action and moves at a quick, staccato pace, using no narration and the absolute minimum amount of dialog to tell its simple story, forcing you to fill in the blanks. The premise, as I said, is a rather old and creaky one, and our main character is such a standard stereotype in so many ways - from his family situation to his nerd status at school - that it's easy for Morrison to tell us everything we need to know about him in a handful of panels. All that being said, the story is delivered with subtlety and skill by a master, who knows that most important art of writing: when not to say anything. I particularly like the choppy editing in the final sequence, as we jump back and forth between one world and the other. Also, there's the strong suggestion that future issues of the title will involve all your favorite characters from all your favorite franchises battling it out in an epic war, and that's pretty exciting.
Thumbs Up
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #2
The people infesting the station are treasure hunters, seeking a map supposedly hidden on DS9! I kind of figured. Oddly, this is identical to the plot of a Muppet comic I was reading recently. Anyway, I suspect Quark created the rumors about the map just to bring in more customers, but we'll see. A couple of odd things about the art in this comic: artist Fabio Mantovani must have a thing for Major Kira, because every time she appears, she's ridiculously over-sexualized. I know that's not exactly surprising to see in a comic book, but still. The other weird art thing: in one of the panels where Ben Sisko is shown talking to Gul Dukat, Sisko looks like he's roaring in a fit of rage, but it's completely out of context to what's actually happening in that panel.
Despite the not particularly creative plot and a few odd bits of art, I'm still enjoying the comic.
Thumbs Up
Star Wars: Dark Times #15
It's been a loooong time since I read an issue of this comic, but luckily it was easy enough to drop back into the story. I'm really enjoying the subplot involving all the intrigue and machinations between the Emperor and Vader. I like that the injured kid isn't an innocent, but is instead dumb and violent and ungrateful, and all-in-all a product of his environment. I also really like Jennir's status as a fallen Jedi - the way he's walking the line between the light and dark sides, and the totally bad-ass, Fistful of Dollars way he's working these two gangs against each other. And of course I love his bitter, sarcastic droid.
It's so nice to have a decent Star Wars story to read!
Thumbs Up |
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| Tagged (?): Avengers (Not), Batman (Not), Brian Michael Bendis (Not), Captain America (Not), Comic books (Not), Ed Brubaker (Not), Grant Morrison (Not), Gravel (Not), Mark Waid (Not), Siege (Not), Star Trek (Not), Star Wars (Not), The Take (Not), Warren Ellis (Not) | |
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Jim Genzano's books on Goodreads
