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Review- Phonogram: The Singles Club #7

The best pop albums always have a killer last song, the perfect track to end an album while leaving you wanting more.  That's what Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie do with Phonogram: The Singles Club #7; they deliver the perfect single to their series.

In Phonogram: The Singles Club, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie have shown us a number of characters during a night of music and magic, each with their own issues and personal hangups.  Almost no one who has highlighted during the series is who they want to be.  From the club DJ Seth who wants to be in more control than he really is to queen bitch Emily Aster, who sees her true self every time she looks in the mirror, they all want to be someone or with someone different than they are.  That's why David Kohl, the "hero" of the first Phonogram series Rue Brittania, is only a supporting character here; we know Kohl and he's perfectly happy with who he is.  In the seventh and final issue of The Singles Club, Gillen and McKelvie make Kid With Knife, who at best is Kohl's sidekick and at worst his flunky, the main character.  Like Kohl, KWK knows who and what he is.  He isn't a phonomancer (a music-based magician) but he doesn't need to be.  After Kohl tries to explain to KWK how to listen to a song to harness it's power, how to focus on the song and to let it possess you, KWK laughs off the instruction.  "That's magic?" he wonders.  "Hell, everybody does that."  And just like that, KWK puts every other pretender and wannabe character in this series in their place, showing that they're hardly as special as they wished they were.

For the rest of KWK's story, Gillen and McKelvie wordlessly follow him as he does what everyone does when driven by the music; he tries to pick up a couple of girls, gets into a fight and gets chased through the streets, goes to the club, dances and finally does get to take a girl home at the end of the night.  Maybe for a phonomancer, it's a night of magic but for KWK, you get the feeling it's just a night like any other, magic or not.  In the other issues of this series, Gillen has tried to show the characters using their "magic" to make a better night or even a better life for themselves.  But, in the end, all of their effort usually produced nothing other than the realization that maybe their magic wasn't strong enough.  For KWK, the night is not about the magic but it is about the night and what kind of trouble a boy could get into with just enough power and self awareness.  The magic that Kohl teaches KWK means nothing.  It's just the same thing that he does every night.  It may be magic or it may not be.  It not nearly as important as who you are and what you do. 

McKelvie and colorist Matthew Wilson create the rhythm this issue as they bring Gillen's mostly wordless script to life.  McKelvie tells the story through his characters faces and body language.  It's been a strength he's shown often during this miniseries but it's crucial here as he's creating for us Gillen's story.  McKelvie has to show us what the characters are doing and even what they're saying to one another in this story, occasionally relying on hilarious pictograms to substitute as actual dialogue.  As well as delivering the story, McKelvie and Wilson create a buzz in this book.  KWK is buzzing throughout the issue and it's contagious to the reader as the storytelling in this issue creates a sound all its own.  It's not a sound of words and voices but a sound of color and of an unheard music.  This issue is that perfect instrumental piece that closes out a great pop album.  The singer (or maybe the writer in this instance) takes a break and the musicians (or in this case, the artist and colorist) take center stage and just create a whole new experience solely with their instruments.  As Gillen tells us in the backmatter of this issue, "sometimes actions do speak louder than words."  If that's true, this is one loud comic.


Gillen gets his shot as well with four short stories in the end, illustrated by Nikki Cook, Becky Cloonan, Andy Bloor and Sean Azzopardi.  All of these short stories during this series have been nice little character pieces, such as when David Kohl tries to explain The Talking Head's "Once in a Lifetime" lyrics to some unsuspecting party goer.  Built around music or dancing, these stories show how so much of our lives are either explicitly or tangentially tied to music.  They're fun b-sides to Gillen and McKelvie's singles. 


Phonogram: The Singles Club #7

"Wolf Like Me"

Written by: Keiron Gillen

Drawn & Lettered by: Jamie McKelvie (art assistance by: Julia Scheele)

Colored by: Matthew Wilson


"The Queen is Dead"

Drawn by: Nikki Cook


"Blood Mountain"

Drawn by: Becky Cloonan


"30"

Drawn by: Andy Bloor


"Once In A Lifetime"

Drawn by: Sean Azzopardi


Weekend Reading-- Jonah Hex

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I've got a really strange and warped collectors mentality.  I've picked up a handful of issues of Jonah Hex, mostly the ones drawn by Jordi Bernet, Darwyn Cooke and J.H. Williams III but I always kind of just wrote the book off if it wasn't being drawn by those three.  For some reason, I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray's writing could actually be good if the story wasn't drawn by one of those top notch artists.  But I also want their stuff in collected form, rather than in the regular issues (that's just the way that I roll nowadays) so I had this weird collection of only a couple of Hex trades but I wanted to pick up more to get more of Bernet's artwork.  So instead of just picking up a random trade that had Bernet artwork, I had to go back and get the first two volumes of the series, which feature fine art by Luke Ross, Tony Dezuniga and Paul Gulacy but no Bernet.  Eventually I'll get to the Bernet stuff.

I started reading the first collection, Face Full of Violence, last night and the writing on it is pretty nice.  Palmiotti and Gray know how to write strong but short tales, really getting to the heart of the matter quickly, resolving it and then moving on to the next story.  And the Luke Ross artwork is just stunning, leaps better than the stuff he's turning in on Captain America I think.  Also, after seeing the Tony Dezuniga drawn issues, I need the Jonah Hex graphic novel that's coming out next month drawn by him.  He's got such a unique and energetic style that I don't think I've ever really noticed before.

Review-- Question #37

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While the dead have been rising as Black Lanterns in DC's Blackest Night for the past several months, it has been a gimmick more than anything else, something to shock and awe the audience more than anything.  For the compulsive fan, it's been fun to play a weird version of "Where's Waldo" with DC's dead characters, trying to find the Black Lantern version of Vibe buried in a background somewhere as if his inclusion in the series would be Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis's blessing on the character.  The Black Lanterns have been running around but used in kind of tawdry ways as the villain du jour of the DC universe.  In Question #37, a long defunct title that gets one more issue thanks to Blackest Night, current Question writer Greg Rucka is joined by the writer of the classic 1980s Question series Dennis O'Neil to give us a story about people who are seeking out the Black Lanterns; the people looking for answers to their own questions about life and death.

In this issue, two of O'Neil's mainstay characters from his series, Aristotle Rodor and Lady Shiva, have their own questions that need answering by Vic Sage, the original Question who slowly and painfully died of lung cancer in 52.  Both want to know what is there beyond this mortal life we all share.  What exists beyond life is a natural question and with the dead rising, it seems like a perfectly good chance to find answers to that question.  With the resurrection of Vic Sage as a Black Lantern, Rucka and O'Neil don't even really try to provide an answer for that question.  Instead, they explore the people who are asking it. 

Much like O'Neil's classic run on The Question, the story ends up being a more spiritual journey than a physical one.  Of course with this being a superhero comic book, there's the prerequisite fight but it is not just another iteration of the living versus the dead that we've seen over and over again.  The fights help highlight the internal struggle of Rodor and Shiva, becoming much more metaphoric and poetic.   Both characters are seeking out a resurrected Vic Sage because they have their own questions and doubts that they hope he can answer for them.  They need Vic because they believe that he will finally be able to provide answers to their questions.

While Rucka and O'Neil provide all the metaphors and philosophy in the script, penciler Denys Cowan and inker Bill Sienkiewicz provide the action and the fighting.  The story is told through a rain-drenched fight between the dead Vic Sage, Renee Montoya and Lady Shiva.  Cowan has always been great at drawing people fighting.  He gives his characters a grace and poise, capturing the perfect moment of a punch or a kick.  Sienkiewicz adds great texture to Cowan's pencils, perfectly embellishing Cowan's artwork.  The Question #37 is a great example of how a penciler and inker should work together, which the distinct style of both clearly showing through but never conflicting with each other. 

Even though Victor Sage died a couple of years ago in the pages of 52, The Question #37 feels like the real send off to the character.  In this issue, we get to see Rodor and Shiva let go of Victor and maybe finally come to some kind of peace but we also get to see the two key creators of The Question, Dennis O'Neil and Denys Cowan, along with Rucka and Sienkiewicz, have their final say on Vic Sage and The Question. 

The Question #37
"One More Question"
Written by: Dennis O'Neil & Greg Rucka
Penciled by: Denys Cowan
Inked by: Bill Sienkiewicz & John Stanisci
Colored by: David Baron
Lettered by: John J. Hill

Review-- Criminal: The Sinners #4

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"You're an idiot."

"You're the one getting in gun fights."

"Are you a complete idiot?"

"Take him."

In Criminal: The Sinners #4 everything seems to point to the same conclusion; Tracy Lawless is an idiot who's completely over his head.  This is the "oh crap" issue of this Criminal storyline as everything Tracy has been trying to do just completely falls down around him.  Ordered by this boss Mr. Hyde to find out who has been killing Hyde's men, Tracy just fails at every step. He can't get away from an army C.I.D. Special Agent without getting shot and aid from some kid on a scooter.  When he has to call someone to help him, he screws up and reveals an affair he's having that could get him in a lot of trouble.  He doesn't listen to someone who just wants to give him some advice and help.  And, in the end, he ends up getting a Japanese mob boss killed, which doesn't really sit well with the Japanese mob.

So, yeah, Tracy is kind of an idiot but that's what Criminal is about.  When you look at most of the stories that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have told in Criminal, the main characters have these big blind spots in their lives that have them make stupid and dangerous mistakes.  Leo Patterson, Tracy and Jacob Kurtz, the three main characters from the larger Criminal stories, have all made stupid mistakes that end up costing them dearly.  Criminal isn't about the winners or the guys who do everything right.  Instead, we see the losers and how they just continue to get pulled down by their own mistakes.

As we see everything that Tracy is trying to work for in Criminal: The Sinners #4 fall apart, there should be a feeling of "haven't we seen this before" because we have.  We've seen this in every Criminal story, where the losers continue to lose.  Brubaker and Phillips keep it feeling new and fresh by how they tell the story.  In this issue, it isn't just one thing that goes wrong but everything.  The tension of this story is created by watching Lawless just completely and utterly fail to to anything, even as we're kind of pulling for him to find something that he can be victorious in.  There's never the feeling that Lawless is a complete and utter loser; he just can't get out of his own way and ends up tripping over himself, falling further and further into a black hole. 

Criminal: The Sinners #4
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Sean Phillips
Colored by: Val Staples

Weekly Comic Shopping List 2/10/10

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  • Daytripper #3--  An enjoyable series so far.  As always, the art (mostly Fabio Moon I think but with some parts done by Gabriel Ba) is lovely but I wish that Dave Stewart's colors could show up a bit better on the Vertigo paper.  Like so many Vertigo books, his colors are coming out a bit muddy in this book.
  • Madame Xanadu Vol 2 Exodus Noir TP-- I really enjoyed the first volume of Matt Wagner's take on Madame Xanadu and want to see the Michael Kaluta artwork in this book.  I think this book has an appearance by Dian Belmont (of Sandman Mystery Theater fame) and I can't wait to see her again. 
  • Phonogram 2 Singles Club #7--  For some reason, when I hear the title "Wolf Like Me," all I can think of is "Hungry Like the Wolf."  Maybe Gillen and McKelvie are doing a Duran Duran issue.  I don't really know.  All I know is that I get sad every time I read how this may be the last Phonogram book.  I liked the first volume of stories but The Singles Club has been an excellent series and show how much both creators have grown and developed since Rue Britannia.  I can't wait to have the collection of this book on my shelf.  It'll get read over and over again.
  • Newave Underground Mini Comix Of The 1980s HC--  Underground comics are one of my big blind spots when it comes to the history of comic books.  I may try to pick this book up at some point to read some of this stuff.  Or maybe I should just go out and get an R. Crumb book instead.

Strange thought of the day

So I've been reading a lot of Morrison lately, primarily his non-mainstream work in Joe The Barbarian, The Filth and now Flex Mentallo. In each story, Morrison's childhood fantasies and heroes try to break through into the "real" world. Another writer I've been reading a lot of is Kurt Busiek, mainly his Astro City.

Driving around doing a few errands this morning, it hit me that the world that Busiek has created in Astro City is the world that Morrison is trying to achieve. The synthesis of a comic world and the "real" world is what Astro City is all about and it's what Morrison has been trying to create in his stories. Morrison's stories tend to be about the "birth" of such a world where Busiek's stories don't even ask about the origin of it and just accepts that capes and tights are flying around in the same world as you and me.

Does that mean that Grant Morrison wants to be Kurt Busiek?

A little weekend reading... Oliveri and Morrison

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Even though I've had it since it first came out, I finally started to read Mike Oliveri's The Pack: Winter Kill.  I'm about halfway through the book and it's a great, tight read.  And even though I'm halfway through it, I don't think I've gotten to the heart of the story yet, which is in no way a bad thing.  His quick, short chapters get you in and out of what you need to know and just don't give you time to let up and get tired with the story.  I can't wait to see more of what he does with these characters.  (And just to give brief disclosure, Mike is an online buddy, who I think I was in a fantasy football league with this year.  I know he was in the league and I think I showed up for one or two Sunday's this season.)

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After last month's Joe the Barbarian, I've gone back to read two of Morrison's more obscure but related titles; The Filth and Flex Mentallo.  I got through The Filth last weekend and dug out Flex Mentallo for this weekend.  The way that Morrison is playing with reality and childhood comic and toy fantasies in all three series link them together.  In all three series, our childhood loves invade the world in twisted and maybe even terrifying ways.  It's a shame that this series hasn't been able to be collected. 


Weekly Comic Shopping List 2/3/10

After Chris Marshall's interview with Fantagraphic's Kim Thompson, I ordered the new edition of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant.  I've never read much of Foster's work even though I've always known about it.  I finally got the book yesterday and was easily blown away by it.  I spent all night looking at Foster's pages and realized that so many modern artists that I like were heavily influenced by Foster.  It's a fantastic looking book.

On to this week's haul...

  • Demo Vol 2 #1-- Sometimes I can't figure out the way that my comic shop works.  Many a moon ago, I had the original Demo on my pull list.  I wonder if this one will still show up on it.  If not, I'm just probably going to end up tradewaiting this series and will read it sometime during the summer.

  • Sweet Tooth #6-- Here's another title I'm stuck on.  It's by a creator that I want to support but I think my enjoyment of it will be so much more when I can read a huge chunk of it.  If I end up doing another purge, I think this will be dropped as monthly book while I sit out and wait for the trade.  That seems to be happening to me a lot lately.

  • Dominic Fortune It Can Happen Here And Now TP-- I'm a Howard Chaykin fanboy so I'm looking forward to having a nice collection of his most recent story.  It was a nice pulpy story from Chaykin that ultimately ended up with a showdown in the Oval Office and using FDR as a weapon.  Fun stuff.

  • Criminal Sinners #4--  Even if I'm down on single issues, I'll never be down on this book.  Any day that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillip's Criminal is out is a good day.

  • Slam Dunk Vol 8 GN-- Still featuring fun basketball hijinks. 


Ken Grimwood's Replay-- the original Groundhog's Day?

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Ken Grimwood's 1986 novel Replay is one of those books that, even though I've read it only a handful of times in the last 20 years, has always stuck with me.  In the book, Jeff Winston, a 43 year old business man, dies at his desk one day only to wake up in 1963 as his 18 year old self.  He remembers everything about this life but here he is, reliving it and making many of the same mistakes again.  He continues to live out the next 20 some years until he reaches the day that he originally died and then dies again.

Only to again wake up in 1963 as an 18 year old.

This cycle plays out over and over again but Jeff learns that he can change his life.  In one life, he uses his knowledge of the future to make a fortune playing the stocks and gambling on sports only to lose it all when he dies when he dies and wakes up in his teenage bed again.  Over the course of the book, he lives every life from being a recluse to a rich man until he starts to notice that there are elements in his life that are new, elements in the world that he's never seen before.  Could there be other people out there like him, reliving the same years and changing the world as they go along?

Grimwood's story is a lot like 1993's Groundhog Day but instead of living out the same day like Bill Murray's character in that movie, he lives out a 20 year span of this life.  It's been a long time since I've read the book but I always really liked the concept of it.  It was enough to blow my teenage mind when it first came out and it's been one of those books that I think about all the time.  I should try to dig out my copy of it this weekend and read it again.

If you're interested at all, a current printing of Replay is available on Amazon.com.