Category: Graphic Novels

By Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Phil Noto, Jordi Bernet, & David Michael Beck (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-786-0

Confident enough to apply fantasy concepts to this grittiest of human heroes, the assembled creators working on the current incarnation of Jonah Hex blend a darkly ironic streak of wit with a sanguine view of morality and justice to produce some of the most accessible and enjoyable comics fiction available today. In this collection, reprinting issues #19-24 of the comic book series, six discrete tales serve to how the ravaged and dissolute bounty hunter takes everything the universe can throw at him with the same irascible aplomb.

‘Texas Money’, ‘Unfinished Business’ and ‘The Current War’ are all illustrated by Phil Noto; compelling vignettes which well display the thread of black humour that runs through these stories. The first sees Hex hire out to notorious Saloon boss Wiley Park for a rescue mission only to become distracted by the West’s Most Inhospitable Brothel Madam. The second finds Hex paying for a little jest he had at Park’s expense, a truly iconic tribute to a classic Conan the Barbarian scene, before reuniting with an old stooge to settle all accounts with the Saloon owner.

Jordi Bernet handled the interlude issue, ‘Devil’s Paw’, a seemingly more traditional yarn of deserts and mesas, posses and “injuns”, but this dark tale of outrage and revenge is conceptually the most adult and brutal in the book, showing the inner core of righteousness that drives Hex, whatever his aspect and actions might hint to the contrary.

‘The Current War’ has an elegiac flavour of the Doomed Wild West and Hex gets an unsettling glimpse of things to come when he is hired to retrieve a prototype robot stolen from an inventor by Thomas Edison. Once more the cynical authorial voice of Gray and Palmiotti make this dark prophecy work in what should be an uncomfortable milieu.

Bernet returns to illustrate a superbly chilling tale of US Cavalry atrocity ‘Who Lïves and Who Dies’, to my mind the perfect modern Western tale before this volume concludes with a no-holds-barred supernatural thriller with art by David Michael Beck, ‘All Hallows Eve’.

Called to a haunted Saloon where ghostly spirit of Justice and sometime ally El Diablo (ISBN: 978-1-4012-1625-2) seeks his aid against the bloodthirsty Prairie Witch, Hex plus, in a delightful comic turn, cowboy vagabond Bat Lash, must defeat the harridan’s plot to bloodily sacrifice the entire town of Coffin Creek. In tone quite similar to a contemporary teen horror flick this too works perfectly as a vehicle for the best Western Anti-hero ever created.

Dark, bloody and wickedly funny this sly blend of action and social commentary is an unmissable treat for readers of an adult temperament and a open mind to genre-bending.

© 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Howard Pyle (Donning/Starblaze edition)
ISBN: 0-89865-602-8

People who work in comics adore their earliest influences, and will spout for hours about them. Not only did they initially fire the young imagination and spark the drive to create but they always provide the creative yardstick by which a writer or artist measures their own achievements and worth. Books, comics, posters, even gum cards (which mysteriously mutated into “Trading Cards” in the 1990s) all fed the colossal hungry Art-sponge which was the developing brain of the kids who make comics.

But by the 1970s an odd phenomenon was increasingly apparent. New talent coming into the industry was more and more only aware of only comic-books as a source of pictorial fuel. The great illustrators and storytellers who had inspired the likes of Howard Chaykin, Bernie Wrightson, Mike Kaluta, P. Craig Russell, Charles Vess, Mike Grell, and a host of other top professionals were virtually unknown to many youngsters and aspirants. I suspect the reason for this was the decline of illustrated fiction in magazines – and of magazines in general. Photographs became a cheaper option than artwork in the late 1960s and generally populations read less and less each year from that time onwards.

In the late 1980s publisher Donning created a line of oversized deluxe editions reprinting “lost” classics of fantasy, illustrated by major comics talents who felt an affinity for the selected texts. Charles Vess illustrated Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mike Kaluta did likewise with the script for the silent movie Metropolis, P. Craig Russell created magic for The Thief of Bagdad and Mike Grell took the biggest risk of his career by providing new illustrations (6 in colour and 15 black and white) for a fantasy masterpiece beloved by generations of youngsters.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood was first published in 1883, the first work of art prodigy and father of modern illustration Howard Pyle. A jobbing magazine illustrator, Pyle (1853-1911) gathered together many of the stories and legends about Robin Hood, translating them into a captivating ripping yarn for youngsters and furnished the book with 23 spellbinding pictures that created a mythic past for millions of readers. It became the definitive work on the character: all iterations since has been working from or in reaction to this immensely readable and influential book. If you’d care to see the marvelous original illustrations you should track down The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, a signet paperback (ISBN13: 978-0451522849) which accurately reproduces the 1883 edition complete with Pyle’s drawings.

Pyle was a master storyteller and an incomparable artist who produced many other books illustrated in his unmistakable pen and ink flourish, both adaptations of heroic stories and wholly original material. These include: Otto of the Silver Hand, Pepper and Salt, The Wonder Clock, Men of Iron, The Garden Behind the Moon, plus four books that delineated the life of King Arthur: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, The Story of the Champions of the Round Table, The Story of Lancelot and His Companions, and The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur.

Believe it or not though, these books are not his greatest legacy and achievement. Pyle was a dedicated teacher also. In 1896 he took a position at the Drexel Institute of Arts and Sciences in Philadelphia where the first students included Violet Oakley, Maxfield Parrish, and Jessie Willcox Smith. He held summer classes at Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania where the initial attendees included Stanley Arthurs, W.J. Aylward, Ida Daugherty, Harvey Dunn, George Harding, Percy Ivory, Thornton Oakley, Frank Schoonover and the just-as-legendary N.C. Wyeth (Dunn caught the bug here – becoming another dedicated educator passing on the spark and the drive to the next generation).

In 1903 Pyle founded his own art school in Wilmington, Virginia, and his dedicated, passionate and immensely talented followers became known as The Brandywine School. Why were they so successful and influential? In a word: Action. Before Howard Pyle illustration was formal, staged, lovingly rendered but utterly static. There was no more life than in a posed photograph of the period with all elements locked in paralysis. Pyle introduced flowing, dynamic motion to illustrated art. He created “Life”.

All of which is a long way of saying that this is a great book with sumptuous Grell illustrations – especially the six paintings (a luxury most publisher’s budgets wouldn’t permit very often in Pyle’s lifetime) and if you’re a fan of his work you should own it. However you might also want to track down a reproduction of the original (there are many) with those groundbreaking original drawings and enjoy the pictorial component which inspired Grell fully as much as that stirring prose.

Art © 1989 Mike Grell.

By Achmed Abdullah, illustrated by P. Craig Russell (Donning/Starblaze edition)
ISBN: 0-89865-524-2

This is a tenuous entry for a graphic novel listing, and potentially a controversial one, but other than all publishers’ motivation to turn a profit these editions of the late 1980s had a worthy purpose and an admirable intention. Donning’s Starblaze Editions began as a way of introducing lost classics to a new audience, by reproducing them with illustrations provided by some of the most respected names in comics. Their other selections were the silent film icon Metropolis by Thea von Harbou, illustrated by Michael Wm. Kaluta, Charles Vess’ illuminated A Midsummer Night’s Dream and controversially The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, by Howard Pyle with new artworks by Mike Grell replacing the author’s own groundbreaking illustrations: all household names but also tales that very few could admit to have ever actually read.

The Thief of Bagdad (and that’s how the West spelt it back then) began as a film by Douglas Fairbanks in 1924, with a screenplay by Elton Thomas, accompanied by a short story written by Lotta Woods. The fantastic and exotic tale of a common vagabond who wins a Princess was an eye-popping, swashbuckling blend of magic, adventure and romance which captivated the viewing public, leading to what was probably the World’s first ever novelisation of a movie.

Achmed Abdullah (1881-1945) was actually Alexander Nicholayevitch Romanoff, a prolific English author whose father was Russian Orthodox whilst his mother was a Muslim. Educated at Eton and Oxford, he joined the British Army, serving in France, India and China before becoming a jobbing writer of Crime, Adventure and Mystery tales, many apparently based on his own early life. He was also a screen-writer, with his most well-known success being the 1935 film, Lives of a Bengal Lancer (very loosely based on the novel by Francis Yeats-Brown).

As a book this is a cracking, spellbinding read and the illustrations are Russell at this flamboyant best. There are five vibrant full-colour plates and an additional ten large black and white line drawings combining the artist’s clean design line with a compositional style that owes much to the works of Aubrey Beardsley.

Whilst not really a graphic narrative, this book features all the crucial antecedents of one with the additional virtues of being a hugely entertaining concoction garnished with some of the best art ever produced by one of the industry’s greatest stylists. Believe me, you really want this book.

© 1987 the Donning Company/Publishers. Art © 1987 P. Craig Russell. All Rights Reserved.

UK EDITION

By various (Marvel/Panini Publishing UK)
ISBN: 978-1-905239-88-7

As the second Hulk film screened across the world Marvel quite sensibly released a batch of tie-in books and trade paperback collections to maximise exposure and hopefully cater to fans who want to follow up with the comics experience. Under the Marvel Platinum/Definitive Editions umbrella this treasury of tales reprints some landmarks by name-creators that whilst far from being “definitive”, do provide a snapshot of just how very well that simplistic man-into-monster concept can work.

In addition to a lavish and thorough career overview and origin in the extensive text features section this volume gathers the entire first issue by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman (which I recently reviewed more fully in Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk 1962-1964 (ISBN: 978-1-905239-89-4). This inevitable classic is promptly followed by Fantastic Four #25 and#26, a cataclysmic clash that had young heads spinning in 1964 and lead directly to the Emerald Behemoth regaining a strip of his own in Tales To Astonish.

In ‘The Hulk Vs The Thing’ and ‘The Avengers Take Over!’ by Lee, Kirby and George Bell (AKA a moonlighting George Roussos) – a fast-paced, all-out Battle Royale occurs when the disgruntled man-monster reaches New York and only an injury-wracked FF can halt his destructive rampage. More a definitive moment in the character development of the Thing, the action is ramped up when a rather stiff-necked and officious Avengers team horns in claiming jurisdictional rights on “Bob” (this tale is plagued with pesky continuity errors which would haunt Stan Lee for decades) Banner and his Jaded Alter Ego. Notwithstanding the bloopers, this is one of Marvel’s key moments and still a visceral vital read.

Herb Trimpe and Sal Buscema both drew long and well-regarded sequences for the Hulk’s monthly comic although their contribution is rather ignored these days. They are both represented by a single story here from Incredible Hulk #124 (cover-dated February 1970). ‘The Rhino Says No!’ is written by Roy Thomas with Buscema inking Trimpe in a tribute to The Graduate where the Leader and the aforementioned Rhino stop the wedding of Bruce Banner and Betty Ross.

Swiftly following is the first appearance of The Defenders from Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971) wherein the Hulk joins forces – grudgingly – with Dr. Strange and that ultimate anti-hero The Sub-Mariner to save the world from the deathbed master plan of demented super-scientist Yandroth. ‘Day of the Defenders!’ was again written by Thomas, pencilled by Ross Andru and inked by the legendary Bill Everett, and of course it launched one of the most successful team-books of the 1970s and 1980s.

John Byrne had a brief and controversial run on the Hulk in the 1980s, represented here by ‘Member of the Wedding’ from #319 (May 1986). Written and drawn by Byrne, with inks from Keith Williams it was another action-packed wedding issue.

From the immensely popular Peter David/Todd McFarlane run comes ‘Vicious Circle’ (issue #340, February 1988) wherein The Hulk – who has reverted to the less powerful but smarter grey version previously only seen in his very first appearance – ends up in an unwinnable fight with the X-Men’s Wolverine. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that Wolvie actually debuted as a throwaway villain in Incredible Hulk #180-181 in 1974.

Taking up a major portion of the book is the complete Future Imperfect miniseries originally released in December 1992-January 1993. Written by David and illustrated by George Perez it has the Hulk travel into the future to defeat his older, nastier self “The Maestro”, a tyrannical despot who has enslaved humanity.

This volume concludes with the latter part of a superb two-issue epic from Incredible Hulk Volume III, 2001. Paul Jenkins scripted the brooding and poignant ‘Always on My Mind’ (from issue #25) by John Romita Jr. and inked by Tom Palmer; but although visually stunning the story suffers from the exclusion of the first part (both can be seen in the recent Marvel Masters: The Art of John Romita Jr. (ISBN: 978-1-905239-73-3), and a less charitable reviewer might wonder why with such a wealth of great Hulk material around the editors chose to truncate something already in print in favour of something readers don’t have easy access to?

Still and all, this book has some classic moments, many wonderful creators and of course a humungous amount of carnage and destruction. What more can any fan want?

© 1962, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2008 Marvel Characters Inc. All Rights Reserved.

A BADGER GRAPHIC NOVEL

By Mike Baron & Bill Reinhold (First Comics)
ISBN: 0-915419-30-0

During the huge creative outburst of the early 1980s a number of quality independent publishers sprang up with an impressive variety of high quality concepts and packages. One of the very best of these was Mike Baron’s captivating psycho-warrior The Badger. Thankfully for those I can convert, those tales are being gradually collected by IDW Publishing and as I lay my hands on copies I’ll review them, but this oversized, slim tome might not make the cut, drawn as it is in the larger, squarer format that finally went the way of Betamax video tape in the early 1990s.

Norbert Sykes is a Vietnam veteran and martial arts devotee. On his return to Madison, Wisconsin after his tour of duty he was locked in an asylum where he met an immortal Celtic wizard named Ham. Together they escaped and teamed up for some of the strangest adventures in comics. As well as believing himself a superhero, Norbert has many other discrete, distinct personalities ranging from a little girl to Pierre the homicidal maniac rattling around in his battered skull. He can also communicate with all animals.

Hexbreaker was a tentative experiment in the new format of extended story “graphic novels”. Briefly, it relates how the Badger is invited to compete in a martial art tournament organised by the Black Lotor Liu Hu Society, who as Any Fule Kno are the secret masters of the World. Every century the 100 best fighters on Earth battle to the death and the winner/survivor receives one wish: anything at all, possible OR impossible.

As a westerner and certified lunatic, Norbert has to overcome s certain amount of graphically physical resistance just to get there and picks up the tragic and mysterious Dr. Mavis Davis along the way. Once there however, it seems a lot of old enemies have been waiting for him…

Baron’s love for Hong Kong cinema is evident in this glorious, manic riot of all-out action, but even so there’s a huge amount of comedy and character-play on show, and the denouement has lasting repercussions for the regular series.

This is a big box of comics delights: raw, frantic, captivating and beautifully illustrated for full-on fun and well worth tracking down for the red-blooded fightin’ man of your clan.

© 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Johns, Pacheco, Van Scriver, Cooke & Bianchi (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-204-9

Following on from his bombastic return in Green Lantern: Rebirth (978-1-84576-131-8) this volume recounts the further adventures of Hal Jordan, troubled test-pilot and inter-galactic policeman, in a series of short tales that reintroduce some of his oldest foes whilst re-establishing him as a major star in the DC firmament. Collecting issues #1-6 of the current monthly comic book with the addition of pertinent sections of Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins 2005, all the stories are written by Geoff Johns, and the eagle-eyed among you can probably pick up his first hints and plot-markers for both the Sinestro War and Final Crisis epics to come.

‘Flight’ is illustrated by Darwyn Cooke, providing some additional character-building flashbacks whilst fixing Hal’s current place in the hierarchy of GL’s currently on Earth. The eponymous ‘No Fear’ introduces the sexy rival jet-jockey Jillian “Cowgirl” Pearlman, the sub-plot of the slowly rebuilding Coast City (razed by the space-tyrant Mongul and now a new town seemingly incapable of attracting residents) and sees Hal’s new employers messing around with very dangerous alien technology that leads to an all-out battle with a new breed of robotic Manhunter, courtesy of Carlos Pacheco and Jesús Merino.

Ethan Van Scriver returns for the next chilling yarn as paralysed psychokinetic Hector Hammond and the super evolved predator The Shark find themselves victims of alien meddlers, before the dead and very unhappy Black Hand returns to genocidally stir the mix, lavishly rendered by Simone Bianchi, all ably assisted by inker Prentiss Rollins.

Green Lantern has always been a lynchpin of the DC universe and whilst these action-epics won’t win too many new readers, they do successfully provide the faithful readership with high quality superhero fare.

© 2005, 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Jan Strnad, Dennis Fujitake & Tim Solliday (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 0-930193-24-5

In terms of variety and creativity the 1980s were a fabulous time for comics, with an expansion in every aspect of the market, except general sales, where, in fact, the decline of all printed reading matter continued. Comics died as a mass-market medium, becoming too expensive to sell on corners and in general stores, but developed their own methods of direct distribution, allowing different formats and most especially a broader spread of genre and cross-genre storytelling. Artists too, for good or ill, were no longer tied to house-styles or chimerical fashion.

This lovely slim volume of classic fantasy comes courtesy of then-fledgling publisher Fantagraphics who have since gone on to become the leading proponent and champion of both the American industry’s most radical, experimentalists and the World art-form’s fascinating and endangered history and antecedents.

Best known for his television and film work today Jan Strnad worked sporadically with a number of leading comics figures such as Richard Corben. He garnered well-deserved praise and attention for the satirical science-fiction series Dalgoda, which he co-created with the wonderfully stylistic Dennis Fujitake, and wrote a number of short serials for the fantasy anthologies that sprang up with the rise of the direct market. Here in ‘Sea Dragon’ they combine to tell the salutary tale of Winston, a young Wyrmling who dared to aspire, and of his consequent fate in a glorious fairytale for modern kids of all ages.

This brief saga (18 pages) is accompanied by the far more traditional story ‘Goblin Child’ which expands on the theme of children stolen by the Night Folk to tell a truly moving and compelling tale of mother’s love, power, pride and sacrifice. It’s drawn by Tim Solliday, better known today as a painter and illustrator, in a loose, linear manner that evokes memories of Everett Raymond Kinstler and Roy G. Krenkel (people you need to look up NOW if the names are unfamiliar – this internet stuff’s great, innit?) and one of his early paintings adorns the back cover. His eerie black and white line-work is a perfect fit for the script and it’s a pure shame that he’s produced so few strips.

This delightful book is happily still available from the publisher – and, I’m sure, elsewhere – and will impress any story fan or aficionado of traditional fairytales as well as the usual comics suspects.

Sea Dragon © 1986 Jan Strnad and Dennis Fujitake.
Goblin Child © 1986 Jan Strnad and Tim Solliday. All Rights Reserved.