Perp's Comic Corner

[Perpetual Man]

I was recently asked to write the odd review for the odd comic that might catch my attention (The local comic book shop was the one requesting) and I thought I might as well post them up here as well. Respond or not, post your own, have fun!

Astonishing X-Men#25
By Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi

To start with let it be said that I have been reading the X-Men for a very long time. When I first started reading the adventures of Marvel’s Merry band of Mutants, there was only one title a month, and there was a lot of fuss about it being extended to two, as the New Mutants looked to debut. Chris Claremont was the uncontested master of mutant kind, and artists came and went.

Claremont has never really hit the same heights as he did back then, but those comics were something special, competing with any of the modern classics, every issue was something I looked forward to month after month, each issue was a pleasure to be savoured again and again. With Claremont’s departure, the expansion of the range, the X-MEN lost something, and although they never really lost their place as the best selling comic title, it was never as good again.

More recently that changed, the signing of top talents, ED BRUBAKER and MIKE CAREY to write the flagship titles made them more interesting, but even then it was still not quite as good as their work on other titles (CAPTAIN AMERICA has to be the best superhero comic on the market bar none).

And then there was ASTONISHING X-MEN the third main X-Title, introduced as a vehicle so that BUFFY creator JOSS WHEDON could write the X-MEN. With art by JOHN CASSADAY it was better than good, but there was still something missing – almost as though much as he loved the characters, WHEDON’s heart lived with other things – and an irregular publishing schedule didn’t help.

With the departure of WHEDON (very busy chap) he was replaced with writer WARREN ELLIS, with SIMONE BIANCHI on art. I picked it out to read on the bus on the way home and found something happening that had not happened in a long time. This was the X-MEN magic that had long been missing, to the point that when I had finished I wanted to read it again. It’s not just the art – this is superb the arrival of Storm on page 8 is wondrous - but ELLIS’ writing is on another level, the characters are individuals, the snappy interplay between them is enough to do what hasn’t been done in a long time – make the mutants human again. From new X-MAN Armor complaining about how lame her hero name is; to Storm lamenting that no one will argue with her now she is Queen of Wakanada; with Emma Frost simply stealing the show:
(Armor: I think I can see Logan approaching...
Emma: That could just be a wild ferret seen from afar dear. Is it pawing itself as it walks, as if it had great heaving nests of fleas in its more private areas?
Armor: Yes...
Emma: Then it’s Logan.)
To a story that has something more than mutants versus mutants, emphasising the new role the X-MEN have in San Francisco, this could well be the start of the second ascension of the X-Men and for once I can’t wait for next months issue....

 

[DeepThought]

I've not read Astonishing X-Men, OTOH I'm a big fan of Joss Whedon; loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity (TV series, hate adaptations of any sort). Astonishing X-Men is very tempting since Whedon is writing, perhaps I'll be convinced enough to pick them up in the future but for now still holding off...BTW very insightful and informative review, hope you write more.


Cheers, DeepThought

 

[Perpetual Man]

The early Joss Whedon issue are available as a graphic novel, and iroincally it is the earrlier ones that are the best - almost as if he was really excited and happy to be writing the comic - then as his interest wans during the run they seemed (to me at least) to lose some of that thrill. That changes again as he approaches the end and the last few issues 23-24 and the giant sized special are spectacular.

Allegedly Whedon hand picked and then convinced Ellis to follow on from him, and I think it was the perfect choice.

 

[Perpetual Man]

House Of Mystery (DC Vertigo)
By Matthew Sturges & Bill Willingham (Writers)
Reviewed by Tim James

The House of Mystery is a title steeped in history as far as the comics industry is concerned, going back as far as the classic EC Horror comics of the 1950’s; more recently it became part of the VERTIGO side of the DC universe residing as part of NEIL GAIMAN’S SANDMAN mythos, the home of CAIN, while brother ABEL has the House of Secrets.

This second house has already had a rather excellent series a few years ago, and so now it is the House of Mystery’s go. Written by the superb team of Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham (responsible for the superb FABLES spin-off JACK OF FABLES) with an array of different artists.

The story begins with a murder, but then it always does, as Cain murders Abel one more time, stalks out of the house to find that the house of mystery is gone…

Fig Keele is a young woman who finds herself having strange dreams, dreams of plans to a house that cannot exist, and somehow she finds herself drawn to the House of Mystery. It seems that the building is used much like a bar or hotel, filled with people who are both strange and mysterious. The come and go, filling out the rooms, and it is Fig’s interaction with them that is the basis of the first five issue story arc, but each issue one of these characters will start telling a tale, and off the issue goes with a new artist, before returning to the main story once again.

These tales are probably the meat of the issue and can be disturbingly horrific, or fantasy fun and after two issues it is certainly turning into quite a treat.

For me VERTIGO titles can be a bit hit or miss, sometimes a bit too experimental for my liking, but there is always something that I read and really enjoy, and just when it seemed that my regular VERTIGO intake was going to drop with the end of Y The Last Man, along comes this. It shows a lot of promise, well told and well drawn, and for those readers who prefer the VERTIGO material in graphic novel form and think that short stories might not translate, there is a strong story arc as well, as Fig begins to realise that she is meant to be a denizen of the house, and that means, despite all her desires to the contrary she is not allowed to leave….

Order the series or book those graphic novels now!

 

[Perpetual Man]

Wanted, 1985 and Kick Ass
By Mark Millar, J G Jones, Tommy Lee Edwards and John Romita Jr
It seems that there is always at least one comic book god on parade, or two that perfect team, writer or artist, who just sees to be able to do no wrong. At the moment there are a number of incredible writers out there, but the one that seems to be leading the group is Mark Millar.

It’s hard to say just when it was he climbed to the peak he, like many other of today’s top writers came from 2000AD and I can remember cringing whenever another Millar story came along. I just did not like them and when he first started to write in the US it was with other writers. But that was for Vertigo and it seems his home was always meant to be with superheroes, since hitting Marvel he has never really done anything but the most outstanding work and it just keeps getting better and better. He is most known (at the moment) for the writing on Ultimates 1 & 2, and it is indeed the coupling of his writing with Bryan Hitch’s art that made the series so powerful – they are currently working on the Fantastic Four, and in an interview Millar said all he wanted to do was get the sense of wonder and magic back, the kind of feeling that meant the reader go wow, when reading Kirby and Lee’s early material, and the end of their current, fifth issue certainly made me took my breath away!

But there are three other series that need to be mentioned – Wanted (art by J G Jones; 1985 (art by Tommy Lee Edwards) and Kick Ass (art by John Romita Jr.)

Wanted is the basis for the recent movie starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman but it is really nothing like the comic, although you can see the genesis of the movie in the first issue, it is almost unrecognisable by the end. It features a young man trapped in a dead end job, a life going nowhere who finds that he is in fact the son of a supervillain and that with the death of his father is expected to take his place as the greatest assassin in the world. The characters in this world are new villains, but you can see easily who they are based on. But in this reality the villains got bored with the continuous battles with the good guys and wiped them out! They then changed reality so no one would ever remember the heroes.

1985 could well be considered part of a thematic series by Millar; if wanted shows a world almost identical to ours with supervillains running things, then 1985 shows a real world where comic books are slowly creeping into reality. It is set back in 1985, the year of the original Secret Wars, the main character a young boy who is struggling with life around him and finding solace in the pages of comic books, but is stunned to see characters from those books appearing in the world around him.

Finally Kick Ass continues the theme. A young teen in the real world asks the question why are there not real costumed heroes and decides that there is no real reason for it, designs and dons a costume, and sets out into the night to fight crime.

All three series have the link, no matter the age of the central character they are raging against their situation in life, not at all happy with it, one a world where heroes have been removed and forgotten; in another where they are coming into the real world and finally where a person tries to be a superhero in the ‘real’ world.

All three series are superb and well worth a read. In my opinion Mark Millar may have been an average writer in the past, but in the world of Superheroes he is the current Superman.

Wanted is currently available as a graphic novel, as are his Ultimates series (some of these might have to be ordered), he is currently working on the two limited series Kick Ass and 1985 (which unjustly seems to be being overlooked) and is currently writing both Fantastic Four and Wolverine.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Uncanny X-Men 500
By Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction. Greg Land & Terry Dodson

Having started these reviews off with an X-title it only seemed right that I looked at another, especially such a landmark issue: UNCANNY X-MEN 500. Despite what it sometimes looks like, this is the preeminent X-book, it is the one where it all started back in 1963, was where the rise to popularity began in the late 70’s and early 80’s, guided by the hand of legendary scribe Chris Claremont.

There are many different stories told about how and why Claremont left the X-Men first time round, but it is safe to say the books were never the same after he was gone; even his return a few years ago was little more than an echo of the glory days.

Recently all the X-titles have been undergoing a renaissance, top name writers and artists are coming onboard, offering a glimmer of hope to the long time X-fans! In the case of Uncanny it is ED BRUBAKER who has been in control, and it tells. Greta story arcs, well written, with some good art to boot – but... and there had to be a but- the writing is not quite of the same level that BRUBAKER turns in on his other titles: DAREDEVIL and the near perfect CAPTAIN AMERICA.

Issue 500 though, well that has to be something special. It’s not quite a double-sized issue but there are more than the average pages, BRUBAKER does not write on his own, joined by co-writer MATT FRACTION (previously the duo worked together on IRON FIST) and art is supplied by GREG LAND and TERRY DODSON. It looks as though the stupendous LAND might not have been able to keep up with deadlines so DODSON stepped in to help out, he’s not a bad artist but it does stand out next to LAND’s style.

As far as the story goes it is a superb tale, setting up the new status quo for the X-MEN; their acceptance and new base in San Francisco, virtually all the classic X-Men are on display; a classic foe apparently repowered; sentinels and a few new decent plot threads introduced. So all in all it should be the second stupendous X-MEN book of the month – and if it was a standalone title it would have been, but the big problem is continuity. CYCLOPS formed the covert and brutal response team, X-FORCE while they were still in the ruins of the mansion and they have yet to complete their first mission, but there have been major changes to one of the characters; changes which are not shown in this tale; in ASTONISHING we seem STORM return to the team, the base completed, here she is active and the base is still being built; in YOUNG X-MEN all the former NEW MUTANTS are under assault from the team after apparently going bad – here CANNONBALL is a team member... Oh and there’s no mention of SKRULL’S anywhere!

These are just niggles and it is a good read... but it could have been better, with a bit of better editing... or a few less X-books on the market.