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@ Popdose-- Grandville: Mon Amour

Here's a book where I really liked the story but didn't care much for the artwork.  And I usually like Bryan Talbot, too.

Of course, there is no rule saying that “the use of anthropomorphic characters shall be accompanied by meaning and allusions that must be clear to the audience.” Comics are filled with talking animal stories that have no hidden meaning behind them other than they’re animals that the artist liked to draw. The problem with Talbot’s character designs is there’s something lacking from his characters. There’s an odd sameness and repetition to the facial expressions of his characters that makes them feel a bit less than real, certainly less real than the wonderfully expressive Guarnido figures in Blacksad. There are two human characters who show up as henchmen in the stories and, with a few simple lines, the expressions that Talbot gives them puts to shame any expressions he gives to his main characters. The henchmen look less like typical Talbot characters and more like something that would have been drawn by Jacques Tardi. It’s a few quick lines on the page but those characters have so much more life and personality in them than LeBrock has in the entire book.

You can read the full review here at Popdose.

@Newsarama-- Batwoman #0 and Acme Novelty Library #20

Over at Newsarama, I've got two reviews in this week's Best Shots column, Batwoman #0 and Acme Novelty Library #20.

Batwoman #0

Greg Rucka made Kate Kane a fascinating character, full of all of these intricacies that often seemed contradictory but spoke worlds about her. Through her words and actions, she became one of the most refreshing new additions to the Batman family of characters. By telling the story completely from Batman’s perspective, Williams III and Blackman obscure those intriguing character traits of Kate and present her just another member of Batman’s entourage. After this issue, she’s merely just another Bat character, a member of his ever-expanding army. There are so many of them running around that she’s lost her individuality and intrigue.

Acme Novelty Library #20:
Jordon Lint’s life takes on a couple of interesting shapes. The first shape that Ware uses is a circle as he tells Jordon’s story from birth to death. This is the story of Jordon’s whole life so those are the natural beginning and end points to this story. Ware presents both in the same fashion, with a similar fade in and a dissolve accompanied by a jangle of panels and information. There’s the similar disorientation associated with both events, an awareness of time and space without the faculties to put them cognitively together. The way that Ware enters and exits his story with these events create a loop as if Ware wants to give Jordon another chance at life and another chance and actually being a nice person.

You can read the full reviews over at Newsarama.

Catching Up-- reviews at Popdose and Newsarama

With the holiday and other personal stuff going on, the last week or two have been hectic.  Here's a quick catch up on what I've been up to the last couple of weeks.

@Popdose-- The Last Days of American Crime

Tocchini tells Remender’s story through color. His lines appear quick, sketchy and minimalistic but they are just there to contain Tocchini’s colors, which I’m assuming he’s doing digitally. The colors that Tocchini chooses provide an unusual haze to the story, as if we’re viewing this story unfolding in front of us on a hot day where the heat may be playing visual tricks on us. Colors blend together as Tocchini establishes different color palettes for different scenes. He gives each scene its own distinct, visual tone through the colors he uses. Hot reds, cool bluish-greens and explosive yellows makes this a seductive book, where you can easily get lost in the range of colors that Tocchini gives Remender’s story.

You can read the full review here.

@ Newsarama-- The Sixth Gun #6:

The Sixth Gun #6 wraps up Bunn and Hurtt’s first story in this series.  Like their previous endeavor The Damned, The Sixth Gun is a strong synthesis of genres, blending the western setting with supernatural elements.  There’s a sinister playfulness in that kind that kind of genre mashing that carries over to how Bunn and Hurtt tell their story.  Whether it’s the expressive cartooning or the attempts at creating a larger story within the book’s regular format, The Sixth Gun #6 shows the near unlimited potential that Bunn and Hurtt have created in this book. 

You can read the full review of The Sixth Gun #6 here.

Two more reviews should be going up live at Newsarama later on today as I get back on this writing bandwagon.

@ Newsarama-- Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #6

And we all thought the concept of "Batman as a New God" was just ludicrous.

While it feels in many ways that this issue and Batman and Robin #16 form a solid conclusion to Morrison’s recent stories, they actually just close one more chapter of it, revealing the true threat through the Hurt/Darkseid connection.  Hurt has a power that not even the grave can contain but is he still a threat for Batman as Morrison has made him into a Fifth World god?  Through the “death” and “resurrection” of Bruce Wayne, Morrison has taken him from being a street level character and recast him as a Superman level hero, capable of defending the universe as much as he is of defending Gotham City.  There are parallels to be drawn as you Batman’s journey through time as a trip through Hell, as the character is trapped without his memory of his tools but still has his mind and his wits, which are his deadliest weapons.

You can read my full review if you scroll down a bit here.

@Newsarama-- Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale and Berlin #17

My first reviews went up at Newsarama this week, which is kind of exciting. 

Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale:  It’s really enjoyable to see how Samnee suggests the shapes and forms that he’s drawing and allowing Stewart to be a artistic partner by enhancing or completing the images with splashes of color.

Berlin #17:  There is little joy or hope to be found anywhere in Berlin #17 as Severing, looking haggard and lost, stumbles around city streets until he wanders into a Socialist Party recruiting and training center. It’s not quite clear why Severing goes there. Is he there by accident? Just to see if the Socialist Party has any answers for healing Germany? To join up? But just as he stumbled around the outside streets, he stumbles around the training center as he’s proudly shown just how young Socialists are being trained for the upcoming revolution. People are offering political solutions to Severing but he can’t accept them.

You can read both reviews here

@Popdose: Batman And Robin 16

I've spent too much time reading Grant Morrison lately.  In fact, to kind of unwind from other books, I'm rereading parts of his JLA run just to relax. 

Here's my thoughts on Batman and Robin #16:

As the title indicates, this book has been about Robin as much as it’s about Batman. This series has been about the redemption of Damien Wayne as he learns to be a superhero. In this issue, Morrison shows how much Damien has learned and grown over the past year without losing any of the pride or arrogance the character originally had. When he first appeared, Damien tried to be Robin, believing that it was his birthright; he’s Batman’s son so of course he deserved to be Robin. Now he tries to show his father that he deserves to be Robin because he’s earned it and has learned how to be a hero. When he chastises his father, it’s not out of pride or arrogance but because he’s scared that Batman will take the Robin costume away from him as if he doesn’t deserve it.

You can read the full review at Popdose.

Weekly Comic Shopping List 11/10/10

Let's see if we can bring back this weekly feature.

Currently readingDuncan The Wonder Dog--  I was hoping to write about this for Popdose this week but I may need to wait a week and wrap my head better around what Adam Hines is doing, with his tale of animal rights and political intrigue.  I'm about 150 pages into this tome and can't figure out quite what's going on yet but can't wait to turn to the next page. 

And here's what's coming out this week:

  • Batman Return Of Bruce Wayne #6-- I'm really excited to see the end of this series as Morrison shows that, if nothing else, he's an adventurous writer.  Someday I'll have to get into my whole Seven Soldiers/52/Final Crisis/Batman/All Star Superman cycle theory and how this has been one gigantic story.  Morrison is at least still carving out his own little corner of the DCU at least. 
  • Batman And Robin Deluxe Edition Vol 2 Batman vs Robin HC
  • Superman vs Muhammad Ali HC-- A friend lent me an original copy of this book earlier this year.  I can't say that it is the greatest story in the world but it does feature some great Neal Adams artwork.  There's two versions, a deluxe edition and a facsimile edition that recreates the size of the original book.  Get the facsimile one if you can.
  • Darkstar And The Winter Guard TP--  David Gallaher and Steve Ellis created a fun tribute to 80s era Bill Mantlo comics in this miniseries.  Event the art is reminiscent of Mantlo's frequent collaborator Sal Buscema.  Between this, Box 13 and High Moon, these two are becoming a couple of my favorite creators right now.
  • Spider-Man One Moment In Time HC-- Well, let's see how this one goes.  BND is almost over and so is my interest in buying any more Spider-Man books.  It's been fun.
  • Acme Novelty Library Vol 20 HC-- It's been two years since the last volume.  That volume was either one of the best or worst of Ware's series depending on who you listened to.  I really enjoyed his science fiction tale and the way he dovetailed it into the larger Rusty Brown book.  Everything I've heard about this volume makes it sound like one of Ware's best. 
  • Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec Vol 1 HC--  More Jacques Tardi is always a good thing.
  • Twin Spica Vol 4 GN--  I need to catch up on this series.  It's been a lovely, touching tale of growing up so far.

Catching up & Floppytown reviews

I know that this here blog has been a bit quiet lately, pointing more to writing I'm doing elsewhere on the web.  I'm writing for a couple of different websites now (Popdose, Floppytown and, starting today, Newsarama) so there hasn't been much time to throw up anything here other than the occasional collection of links.  Hopefully that'll change before the end of the year as I figure out A) how to better manage my time, B) what kind of stuff I want to do here and C) what kind of stuff I want to do at those websites.  I have ideas of where I want to take the regular reviews at Popdose but I don't know if I'm good enough of a writer to pull it off. 

So while I'm figuring all of that out, here are a couple of quick reviews I did for Floppytown:

  • Batman and Robin #15:   "Frazer Irving’s deliciously decadent art gives Morrison’s uncharacteristically thin story a density that I would have loved to see accompanied with Morrison’s more elaborate stories like Batman: RIP..."
  • Thor: Mighty Avenger #5:  " From his stranger-in-a-strange-land Thor to the debonair and regal Namor, Langridge is actually doing something new and fun with these great Marvel characters..."
  • Vision Machine #1:  "Somewhere on the cynicism scale between Warren Ellis and Cory Doctorow, Greg Pak creates a story that makes you reexamine your iPhones and Twitter feeds, wondering, just whose future are they truly benefiting?"
 I've been writing a lot about Grant Morrison's Batman lately and still have some thoughts that I need to get down for it.  Those may end up here in the next week or two.

@Popdose: The Outfit

TheOutfit_small.jpg

Writing about Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of Richard Stark's The Outfit, I figured out that it turns out sometimes it really is the singer and not the song:

These short parts of The Outfit are great because Cooke doesn’t have to worry about characterization or really advancing a plot. He can continue to demonstrate what a wonderful and versatile cartoonist he is but even this part gets off with a rocky start. The first job, a couple of guys robbing a gambling den, appears to be from Richard Stark’s own prose, just with illustrations by Cooke. Trying to look like an old true-crime magazine article, this prose piece kills off any momentum that Cooke was developing as it just completely loses the characteristics of Cooke’s own storytelling style. The way that Cooke tells the story, particularly some of the inventiveness in how he decides to draw or frame a scene, is abandoned for a section and Stark’s own terse prose takes over. Cooke has his own rhythm and cadence that he’s established in the beginning of this book and in The Hunter. Cooke doesn’t tell a story through words; that’s a novelist’s job. Cooke is a cartoonist who tells stories through pictures, not just illustrations.

You can read my full review of The Outfit at Popdose.