Time for more comic reviews …
Lone Wolf & Cub Vol. 22 (Dark Horse)
The tale of the ronin assassin and his child, both on the path of meifumado on the way to vengeance continues to pick up the pace. Brutal, beautiful, touching and terrifying in turns, the story has slowly but surely moved from a series of slice-of-life episodes around Japan to a continuing story, as events build into the climactic confrontation between Ogami Itto and his nemesis Retsudo Yagyu. This is a glorious book that just keeps getting better, and darker, as it progresses. I’ll be pleased to have the whole run in not too much longer.
As I look at the above synopsis, I realize I’m not telling it all by half. Kazui Koike is crafting an epic tale of vengeance, violence, and virtue here, stretching over a massive run of comics. Goseki Kojima’s art captures the action, the emotion, hyper-real and yet, sometimes, hopefully, cartoony in the face of the blood and gore of a samurai epic. This work was the loose inspiration for Road to Perdition, and as rich and scenic and gorgeous as that movie (and its graphic novel source) was, LW&C is even moreso.
Read it.
Animal Man: Origin of the Species TPB (Vertigo)
Grant Morrison cut his teeth on Animal Man, a second-string hero with an absurd power (by contemporary standards), doing so by strectching the narrative bounderies of comics — dealing with family, dealing with the very nature of existence (particularly for a comic book character). Throw in some healthy dollops of Animal Liberation propaganda, and you’ve got something that’s alternately interesting and irksome. The art, by a variety of artists, is mediocre, but given the possible alternative that Morrison could have used (wild, bizarro, Sienkiwicz-style abstracts), we’re probably just as well off.
The George Perez Newsletter #3 (Tony Lorenz)
George Perez, with his intricate detailing< love of crowd scenes, and heroic realism, is hands-down my favorite artist in the field. A few years back, he self-published a couple of issues of "Crimson Plague," about an experimental woman whose blood was virulently deadly. This edition of the Newsletter (100 pages long, squarebound) focuses on that limited run story, including Perez' unprecedented population of the story with renditions of volunteer "cast" members.
Perez’ art is spectactular, as always, though the book itself is about what you’d expect of a fanzine. I’m not sure it was worth the purchase price, but if I ever get back into the drawing biz, I’ll be using this as a “swipe” file.
Out There: The Evil Within TPB (DC)
This volume collects the first six issues of the series by Brian Augustyn and Humberto Ramos (of Crimson fame). In some ways, it’s another variation of the Buffy riff (high school kids up against the supernatural), but Augustyn and Ramos inject it with new life. Ramos’ artwork is something of an acquired taste, very cartoony and manga-like, but if you get past that, it’s a gripping story of the first (surprisingly short) story arc of this ongoing series.
Daredevil: Wake Up TPB (Marvel)
Okay, David Mack is the sort of artist I’d expect Morrison to use today if he was to take up Animal Man again. Instead, Bendis uses him for this arc from Daredevil, #16-19. The wildly changing art style is pretty to look at, but, frankly, gets in the way of the story, where reporter Ben Urich is trying to figure out what happened when a young boy witnessed Daredevil’s fight with the boy
s father, Leap Frog. That the story is not all that much to begin with doesn’t help.
And now for the short subjects …
- Supergirl #72 (DC): Supes deals with the chaotic time shifts she’s evidently causing herself, Buzz makes a deal with the Devil, Mary Marvel (!) kicks butt, and Bizarro Supergirl sets off a chain of events. Peter David’s stretching this arc out a bit too long, but it’s still entertaining.
- Legion #10 (DC): A new leader is elected (one of the Legion’s more enchanting traditions), and the Robotica menace gets more menacing. Good stuff, but I’ve given up on Legion being something that is “new reader friendly.” You just have to plan on reading a bunch of it. It’s worth it.
- Hellboy: The Third Wish #1/2 (Dark Horse): It’s Hellboy in Africa (for a while). It’s good. It’s too short.
- Amazing Spider-Man #43 (Marvel): Doc Ock as the sympathetic character? JMS pulls it off with elan, as well as the funniest “Oh My God, Somebody’s Going To Discover My Secret Identity” scene in a long time courtesy of Aunt May. This book is drop dead living proof why the “Ultimate” line is, ultimately, unnecessary. All you need is good writers and good artists.
- Queen & Country #10 (Oni): An assassin is dropped into Iraq. And all the folks at home can do is wait. I don’t care for Leandro Fernandez art on this book, but it’s temporary, and Rucka’s story carries it through. Good stuff.
- JSA #38 (DC): Hard to believe this book has been running for three years and that the quality is still going strong, in writing and art. This issue focuses on the new Hourman, and, particularly, on fathers. Solid super-team action.