Category: Graphic Novels

By Chuck Dixon, Doug Mahnke & Sandra Hope (WildStorm)
ISBN: 1-84576-856-0

Short and sweet: this collection of the six-issue miniseries is a superb modern war story set in the final days of World War II featuring a number of characters such as Deathblow and Grifter who would eventually become mainstays of the WildStorm Universe. In this case however having no prior knowledge of the cast will work to your advantage since you’ll have no advance knowledge of who will survive…

As the Russians and American forces race to Berlin in deepest winter, a crack team of hand-picked specialists parachute into a secret rocket base directly in their path. The team has been ordered to capture scientists and technology. Should the booty be impossible to retrieve, at all costs it must be prevented from falling into Soviet hands…

As the hot war ends a Cold one begins the doomed team capably get the “Dirty Dozen” treatment in this gripping, twisty thriller from top creators who are specialists themselves in the field of all-out, testosterone fuelled action. This would make a perfect movie and many cinema-goers would love this brutal and bloody tale.

© 2006, 2008 WildStorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Maurice Sendak (many editions such as Puffin or Red Fox are available)
ISBN: 978-0-09943-292-0

If you don’t know the work of Maurice Sendak you’re denying yourself a profound experience. Born in 1928, this uniquely skewed genius has been creating wonderment for children of all ages for over half a century. Apparently after a brief period drawing comics, the Brooklyn born artist switched to children’s book illustration during the 1950s before writing and illustrating the astounding and controversial ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ in 1963. An instant critical success, after initial commercial resistance the book grew into a genuine modern classic.

Between illustrating other author’s work he – all too infrequently – continued to produce his own books. Among his other landmarks are the 1971 ‘In the Night Kitchen’ and the volume under discussion here. Sendak’s works are not what you’d expect of kids’ stories. They are often powerfully unsettling, even creepy, or resonate with a dark psychological disquiet underpinning them. The art is always beautiful – he is an absolute master of many styles and media – but sometimes it’s not an accessible or comprehensible beauty.

Nine year old Ida has been told to look after her baby sister but she is reluctant and when her guard is down Goblins steal her, leaving a baby made of ice in her place. Her father is still at sea and her mother in a daydream in the garden: thus she must pursue the Goblins to rescue the baby herself.

Often cited as the source for the film Labyrinth (although I’d imagine the author A.C.H. Smith takes umbrage at that) there are indeed many superficial similarities, but Sendak’s tale is subtle and truly beguiling, with no maudlin sentiment to temper the events, and with level upon level of meaning in these watercolours that just can’t be equalled in a budget-conscious, collaborative production like movie-making.

This is as close to pure, raw poetry that graphic narrative ever comes and I’m sure many college dissertations could be written on the symbolism on every page, in every well chosen word and fragment of lush picture. The author is reputed to have systematically reduced over 100 draft scripts to the telling 360 words rendered by calligrapher Jeanyee Wong and the minutiae of detail in each illustration is as information-heavy as any Bosch or Bruegel canvas. Referents have been identified for everything from Mozart’s Magic Flute to the works of the Pre-Raphelites (both art and poetry) to his own sister who had to baby-sit him when he was an infant.

This is a small booked packed and layered with meaning. Every detail of each luxurious, sumptuous, magnificent painting has deep meaning for the knowing and the curious. There is sheer artistic loveliness for those yet too young to find symbolism. It’s also a powerfully moving experience and a tale so very well told. An undeniable “must-see” for every devotee of graphic narrative.

© 1981 Maurice Sendak. All rights reserved.

(UK EDITION)

 

By Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Steve Ditko & various (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-905239-89-4

Despite covering three years of publication this chronological compendium only collects The Incredible Hulk #1-6 and Tales to Astonish #59-62, since the Jekyll-and-Hyde Jade Giant was one of early Marvel’s rare failures – possibly because it so resembled an old-fashioned “monster-mag” in a market frantically re-embracing the Super-Hero concept.

After six bi-monthly issues the series was cancelled and Lee and Kirby retrenched, making the character a perennial guest-star in other Marvel titles (Fantastic Four #12, Amazing Spider-Man #14, The Avengers from #1, and so forth) until such time as they could restart the drama in their new “Split-Book” format in Tales To Astonish where Giant-Man was rapidly proving to be a character who had outlived his time.

Cover-dated May 1962 the first issue saw puny atomic scientist Bruce Banner, sequestered on a secret military base in the desert, perpetually bullied by the bombastic commander General “Thunderbolt” Ross as the clock counts down to the World’s first Gamma Bomb test. Besotted by Ross’s daughter Betty, Banner endures the General’s constant jibes as the clock ticks on and tension increases.

At the final moment he sees a teenager lollygagging at Ground Zero and frantically rushes to the site to drag the boy away. Unknown to him the assistant he’s entrusted to delay the countdown has an agenda of his own…

Rick Jones is a wayward but good-hearted kid. After initial resistance he lets himself be pushed into a safety trench, but just as Banner is about to join him The Bomb detonates…

Miraculously surviving the blast Banner and the boy – Rick Jones – are secured by soldiers but that evening as the sun sets the scientist undergoes a monstrous transformation. He grows larger; his skin turns a stony grey…

In six simple pages that’s how it all starts, and no matter what any number of TV or movie reworkings or comicbook retcons and psycho-babble re-evaluations would have you believe that’s still the best and most primal take on the origin. A good man, an unobtainable girl, a foolish kid, an unknown enemy and the horrible power of destructive science unchecked…

Written by Stan Lee, drawn by Jack Kirby with inking by Paul Reinman, ‘The Coming of the Hulk’ barrels along as the man-monster and Jones are kidnapped by Banner’s Soviet counterpart the Gargoyle for a rousing round of espionage and Commie-busting. In the second issue the plot concerns invading aliens, and the Banner/Jones relationship settles into a traumatic nightly ordeal as the scientist transforms and is locked into an escape-proof cell whilst the boy stands watch helplessly. Neither ever considers telling the government of their predicament… ‘The Terror of the Toad Men’ is formulaic but viscerally and visually captivating as Steve Ditko inks Kirby, imparting a genuinely eerie sense of unease to the artwork.

The third issue presents a departure in format as the longer, chaptered epic gave way to discrete complete short stories. Dick Ayers inked Kirby in the transitional ‘Banished to Outer Space’ which radically alters the relationship of Jones and the Hulk, the story so far is reprised in the three page vignette ‘The Origin of the Hulk’ and that Marvel mainstay of villainy the Circus of Crime debuts in ‘The Ringmaster’. The Hulk goes on an urban rampage in #4’s first tale ‘The Monster and the Machine’ and aliens and Commies combine with the second adventure ‘The Gladiator from Outer Space!’

The Incredible Hulk #5 is a joyous classic of Kirby action, introducing the immortal Tyrannus and his underworld empire in ‘The Beauty and the Beast!’ whilst those pesky commies are in for another drubbing when our Jolly Green freedom-fighter prevents the invasion of Llhasa in ‘The Hordes of General Fang!’

Despite the sheer verve and bravura of these simplistic classics – some of the greatest, most rewarding comics nonsense ever produced – the series was not doing well, and Kirby moved on to more profitable arenas. Steve Ditko handled all the art chores for the final issue, another full-length epic and an extremely engaging one. ‘The Incredible Hulk vs the Metal Master’ has superb action, sly and subtle sub-plots and a thinking man’s resolution, but nonetheless the title died with this sixth issue.

After shambling around the nascent Marvel universe for a year or so, usually as a misunderstood villain-cum-monster, the Emerald Behemoth got another shot. Giant-Man was the star feature of Tales to Astonish but by mid-1964 the strip was floundering. In issue #59 the Master of Many Sizes was tricked by an old foe into battling the man-monster in ‘Enter: The Hulk’ by Lee, Ayers and Reinman; a great big punch-up that set the scene for the next issue wherein his second series began.

‘The Incredible Hulk’ found Banner still working for General Ross, and still afflicted with uncontrollable transformations into a rampaging, if well-intentioned, engine of destruction. The ten page instalments were uncharacteristically set in the Arizona/New Mexico deserts, not New York and espionage and military themes were the narrative backdrop of these adventures.

Lee scripted, Ditko drew and comics veteran George Roussos – under the pseudonym George Bell – provided the ink art. The first tale concerned a spy who stole an unstoppable suit of armour, concluding in the next episode ‘Captured at Last’. The cliffhanger endings such as the Hulk’s imprisonment by Ross’s military units would be instrumental in keeping readers onboard and enthralled. The last tale in this volume ‘Enter… the Chameleon’ has plenty of action and suspense but the real stinger is the final panel that hints at the mastermind behind all the spying and skulduggery – the enigmatic Leader – who in another volume will show why he became the Hulk’s ultimate nemesis…

These early tales are fast-paced, classically simplistic comics-in-the-raw and a testament to the abilities of the creators who wouldn’t let the monster die, and this lovely collection is a fun-filled ticket to easier, boisterously enjoyable escapist entertainment. What could possibly top that?

© 1962, 1963, 1964, 2008 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By Walt Simonson, Arthur Adams, Art Thibert & Al Milgrom (Marvel)
ISBN13: 978-0-87135-877-6

During the 1990s high-profile stunts were all the rage in comics as companies realized that a large sector of the buying public thought themselves “Investors”. A plot twist, a costume change, a different format or shiny cover (or better yet covers: plural), anything – just so long as The Press got hold of it – translated directly into extra sales. There are many stories and concepts from that era which (mercifully) may never make it into trade paperbacks and collections, but there are some that deserved to, did, and really still should be.

When Walt Simonson was writing (and usually drawing) the venerable flagship title Fantastic Four, his high-tech, high-tension saga was abruptly interrupted by a gloriously tongue-in-cheek graphic digression. Three issues, #347-349, poked gentle fun at the trend-meisters and speculators and consequently became some of the “hottest” comics of the year.

When a Skrull outlaw invades Earth, heavy pursuit is not far behind, so she attacks the Fantastic Four and seemingly kills them. Then disguised as Sue Richards she recruits the four best-selling heroes in the Marvel Universe – Spider-Man, The Hulk, Wolverine and Ghost Rider – to hunt down “the murderers” as The NEW Fantastic Four! Their hunt takes them to the bowels of the Earth and into battle with the Mole Man, and reveals some fascinating background into the origins of supernormal life on Earth.

What could so easily have been a cheap stunt is elevated not only by the phenomenal art of Arthur Adams (assisted by Gracine Tanaka) but also the lovingly reverential script, which references those goofy old ‘Furry-Underpants Monsters’ of immediate pre-FF vintage, and which is packed with traditional action and fun besides.

I can’t believe this fabulous gem is out of print, but at least it’s still readily available as a trade paperback (which isn’t such good news for a couple of guys I know who still have a few hundred copies of the comics…).

© 1990, 1992 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Dan Jurgens & Gordon Purcell (DC Comics)
ISBN 1-84576-482-X

One of the key set pieces of Infinite Crisis (ISBN13: 978-1-4012-0959-9) was the destruction of the city of Blüdhaven by the Society of super-villains, using the toxic monster Chemo as a high-altitude bomb.

One Year Later: The surviving population now huddle as dispossessed refugees around the ruined remnants, with Federal agents and US soldiers harassing or interning them, whilst undertaking secret missions in the poisonous and – oddly – radioactive rubble. Metagene mutations and other monstrosities are common, but well-meaning and determined superheroes are still being ordered to stay away by their own government.

Within the devastated city limits the enigmatic civil servant Father Time has his own draconian agenda, but subversive malcontents such as the Atomic Knights are sabotaging his plans, whilst among the dispossessed of the shanty-town outside the city walls new heroes with proud, Liberty-Loving and tradition-steeped names like Firebrand and Uncle Sam are no longer willing to accept oppressive government rule – especially when it’s their own.

This highly politicised drama is an intriguing vehicle designed to relaunch the Quality Comics heroes known as the Freedom Fighters into the new DC universe, with guest shots from the Teen Titans and Green Lantern plus the inevitable return of a long-lost hero to the fold, and as such is impressively ambitious. However, the events often seem to run away from scripters Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, and there’s an inescapable sense of confusion that spoils the show a little. It is however very engagingly illustrated by Dan Jurgens, Gordon Purcell and Palmiotti wearing his inker’s outfit.

Collected from the six-issue miniseries this book also ends on an unsatisfactorily unfinished note, as that series was designed as a springboard into other projects. If you followed Infinite Crisis this is a diverting side-story you’d probably enjoy, but I suspect its intrinsic merits will be lost on any casual readers.

© 2006, 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Liefeld, Napton, Altstaetter, Gomez & Micheletti (Maximum Press)
ISBN: 1-888610-01-8

I have perhaps an odd policy regarding reviews of comics and graphic novels. I really try to say positive things in an informative manner about the fruits of the medium I love. Simply put, I can’t understand why publishers don’t realise that they shouldn’t be enemies. I consider TV, Movies, Books, Games and everything else that keeps disposable income away from comics sales to be The Adversary, and want to do my bit to keep every benighted soul out of their clutches – and yes, I know many comics spring directly from those sources: but they’re judged as comics when I get hold of them here.

With such an ethos working I, frankly, don’t want to review anything that is absolutely, irredeemably awful. I want people to buy graphic narratives.

But I fully acknowledge that since there are many reasons a person might want a graphic novel, they might not be reasons or tastes I share. It’s all about the comics, OK?

So I’m reviewing this book reluctantly, and only due to continued requests from a friend or two.

In the mid-1990s Rob Liefeld had a very public split from the other Founding Fathers of Image Comics and went his own way with Maximum Press and later Awesome Entertainment. A high profile name, he secured the comicbook rights to the classic TV series Battlestar Galactica (this is the original iteration, not the 21st century reworking).

Whatever else you want to say about Mister Liefeld, he certainly loves his childhood influences. Collected in this volume are the first four issues of the comic he “produced” through the talents of co-writer and scripter Robert Napton, designer Karl Altstaetter, and art team Hector Gomez & Rene Micheletti, wherein the Rag-Tag fleet of human survivors finally find the lost planet Earth that they’ve been seeking for over twenty years.

The events and sub-plots are heavily dependent on a thorough working knowledge of the TV episodes, so if you know who The Seraphs, Lucifer VI, Baltar, Count Iblis and Commander Cain are you can just concentrate on the sheer daftness of the story and the annoying overuse of scratchy lines, odd poses, extreme Cropped Close-ups and superfluous, lazy single eyeball shots in lieu of the odd mid-shot or background.

When the heroes reach Earth, it’s the age of the dinosaurs, but a hidden pyramid/ship/tomb reveals two hibernating survivors of the mythic Thirteenth Colony of Man that the refugees have been hunting all these years. The ship is Eden and the hibernauts are named Adam and Eve. Then the Cylons show up and there’s loads of shooting and explosions.

Please don’t mistake me; I’ve seen – and defended – product just as weak as this on many occasions. But they at least were honest attempts that knew no better. This is glossy, slick, expensive, cynical rubbish that assumes consumers will settle for any old tat as long as the right names are on it.

I don’t suppose there’s ever much chance of even finding this book, but if you do, don’t buy it. Even if you possess the variant gene that craves and revels in the paradox of “So Bad it’s Good” or subscribe to the Razzies(â„¢) and all those other sentiments that applaud and garner amusement from the worst that Entertainment can offer, save your money for something good – or at least honest.

Satisfied now Mr S and Miss C?

Battlestar Galactica ™ & © 1995 Universal City Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By Christopher Gage & various (WildStorm)
ISBN: 1-84576-749-5

Disappointing umpteenth kickstart for the denizens of Jim Lee’s WildStorm universe characters – now, thanks to Infinite Crisis and 52, a bona fide element of the DCU – in which various heroes are transported to the near future by the reality bending sometime-WildC.A.T. Void. Of course it’s another dystopic disaster-area and each champion is tasked to return to their own critical point in time and prevent The End from happening.

The book is comprised of six single issues all written by Christopher Gage. Midnighter: Armageddon #1 is illustrated by Simon Coleby, Welcome to Tranquility: Armageddon #1 by Neil Googe, Horacio Domingues & Dan Davis, Wetworks: Armageddon #1 by Brandon Badeux, Gen13: Armageddon #1 by Jonboy Meyers, digitally inked and coloured by Tony Washington, Stormwatch PHD: Armageddon #1 by Leandro Fernández & Francisco Parozini and WildCats: Armageddon #1 by Talent Caldwell.

To add to the annoyance caused by this flashy, shiny, vacuous eye-candy is the obligatory cliffhanger ending. The resolution is saved for another book, someday, so in this rare incidence I’m suggesting you wait for that. If that’s any good you might then consider buying this pretty nonsense, if only for the sake of completeness.

© 2007, 2008 WildStorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.