COMICS: John’s Wednesday Winners for 5/13/09

This week boasts a slam dunk from legendary comics duo Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, the final issues of Super Human Resources and The Umbrella Academy, and a touch of class from Jane Austen by way of Nancy Butler and Hugo Petrus.  Let’s begin!

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century - 1910 (a.k.a. vol. 3 #1)

COMICS: John’s Wednesday Winners for 3/25/09

Boy, the days just fly by, don’t they?  I had intended to post several reviews over the past week, but this is my first real opportunity.  Here’s a quick look at some of this week’s comics:

Runaways #8

Occasionally the rest of the world DOES recognize great work!

I hadn’t planned on any more non-review posts today, but this article on ICV2 caught my eye.  Apparently YALSA (the Young Adult Library Services Association) named their list of the best graphic novels for teens and young adults.  I couldn’t believe how many great books are on there!  Highlights include Atomic Robo, The War at Ellsmere, The Umbrella Academy, Joss Whedon’s run on Runaways, Ed Brubaker’s incredible Captain America volumes, Gwen Willow Wilson’s Cairo, Mat Johnson’s Incognegro, Jessica Abel’s Life Sucks (which I’d like to read, one of these days!), both Invincible and Astounding Wolf-Man by Robert Kirkman, Geoff Johns’ incredible Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War, Gail Simone’s sleeper hit Welcome to Tranquility, as well as tons more stuff I didn’t recognize and the obligatory volumes of Naruto (which must be at least halfway decent since it sells a bazillion copies a month!)  This is very exciting, and I hope that more young readers will check out these works and discover that comics aren’t just for fanboys anymore.

COMICS: John’s Wednesday Winners for 1/28/09

Hey, everybody!  It was a light week for me at the ol’ comics shop this week, so this will be a fairly short post.  Let’s get things started!

Runaways #6

COMICS: John Reviews “The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1” by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

Alt. cover to Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1

It’s that time again, ladies and gentlemen!  My Chemical Romance front-man and aspiring comics superstar Gerard Way has teamed with industry legends Gabriel Ba and  Dave Stewart (who is quite possibly the greatest colorist in the history of comic books) to bring the world another chapter in the saga of those troubled twentysomethings, The Umbrella Academy. The name of the game this time is “Dallas,”  which resumes the story sometime after the events of “Apocalypse Suite,”  though it begins with a flashback to the Academy’s pre-pubescent days.

Ready, kids?  SPOILERS ON!

Seventeen years prior to the events of the first story arc, that heartless-yet-lovable Professor Hargreeves dispatches his team of adopted super-children to save America from yet another rampaging monument.  Things have taken a more patriotic turn this time around, and a gigantic stone Abraham Lincoln is tearing Washington apart.  Thankfully, Rumor saw enough episodes of “Super Adventure Team” and “South Park” to know that the only way to stop a gigantic rampaging Abraham Lincoln is with a gigantic rampaging John Wilkes Booth.  I’m fine for homages, but Mr. Way is just getting sloppy here.  Perhaps he didn’t know that this exact gag had been pulled on “South Park” years ago, and a slightly different version on my beloved “Super Adventure Team” years before that?  At least someone in the editorial staff should have picked up on this.  How many more gigantic rampaging Abraham Lincolns will I have to sit through?  Why no FDR robots with weaknesses to some sort of Polio computer virus?  Hmm, I’d better save that one for a rainy day…

Back in the present, the remaining members of the Academy have lost their way and begun to indulge in the vice of their choice:  Spaceboy is glued to the television (sloth), Seance is getting makeovers for his TV appearances (vanity), Number 5 is betting at the track (greed), Kraken is taking out his aggression on every street hood he can find (wrath) and Rumor is busy being jealous of Vanya’s intact vocal chords (envy.)  It takes until the last nine pages for the story to begin moving at all, as a cadre of time-travelling operatives calling themselves the Temps Aeternalis attack Number 5, not realizing that it is well within his power to kill them all.  Eight pages of the most beautiful carnage I’ve ever seen later, Number 5 discovers that one of the Temps Aeternalis managed to call for reinforcements before he died.  Judging by his reaction, the team of “Hazel” and “Cha-Cha” may be a force too powerful for even the Academy to handle.  Thus ends chapter one.

An interior page from Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1. Professor Pogo lives!

Okay, SPOILERS OFF.

While the writing style still feels like Gerard’s fanboy love letter to Grant Morrison and Wes Anderson, the highlight of The Umbrella Academy (for me) continues to be the unbeatable team of Ba and Stewart.  The last nine pages of action alone make up for the exposition-heavy opening (giant Abraham Lincoln battle notwithstanding.)  Stewart’s use of reds, oranges and yellows is truly a sight to behold, especially against a purple page backdrop.  The Temps Aeternalis uniforms are wonderfully designed as well (it actually took me a minute to notice that the “tiger stripe” pattern actually spells out the name of their agency.)  If you liked the first series, there’s no reason not to pick up this new arc.  If you missed the first series and are thinking of starting here, you might be a bit lost when it comes to the story.  There’s a recap page on the inside cover, but it can only give the reader so much information.  You’re better off picking up The Apocalypse Suite in trade paperback or in its super-spiffy slipcased hardcover edition.   If you just want to read a really breathtakingly good-looking comic, you will get your $2.99-worth here.

COMICS: John Reviews “FreakAngels Vol. 1” by Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield

Well, it’s been a while since my last review.  Be sure to learn from my mistake:  If you’re planning to write a review of something, don’t carelessly lend out your only copy to a friend!  I was certain I had accidentally left it on the bus one morning until a friend of mine returned it amidst a stack of comics I had lent her.  This means I won’t have to buy a new copy (yay for saving money!) but it also means I no longer have a good reason to buy the hardcover version.  But enough of this gay banter, it’s time to get down to business.

This is KK. She's a FreakAngel, and she can totally kick your ass.

The phrase “Post-Apocalyptic” almost immediately conjures images of a certain sort in potential readers’ minds: Desolate wastelands, motorcycles adorned with spikes, and scary-looking mutants wearing some strange amalgamation of football pads and scrap metal.  By no means does a “post-apocalyptic” future sound in any way like a place or time anyone would want to live (unless you’re already a mutant biker.  Way to be ahead of your time!)  With FreakAngels, Warern Ellis and Paul Duffield set out to turn the sterotypical vision of a post-apocalyptic future on its head, in terms of both setting and narrative.   The result is a relaxed, enjoyable trip into the most beautiful post-apocalyptic world I’ve ever seen, and the only one I’d ever want to live in.  Their synopsis says everything you need to know regarding backstory, and hints at the very unique nature of this story:

“23 years ago, twelve strange children were born at exactly the same moment.  Six years ago, the world ended. This is the story of what happened next.”

If you want a more straightforward story synopsis, here goes:  23 years ago, twelve children were born to different parents throughout the world.  Each one was born with uncharacteristically pale (though not quite albino) skin, as well as with the gift of limited telepathy and telekinesis. Six years ago, these twelve children were faced with an extraordinary ultimatum.  The exact details of the event have yet to be revealed, but the end result is that they were given a choice: Let the world continue as it is and give up humanity’s right to free will, or preserve people’s right to determine their own lives and endure a nearly extinction-level cataclysm.  They chose the latter, and now work to provide a safe and stable community for the few remaining survivors. (Incidentally, if you want a quick bio for each character, start here.)  Sure, some of you may exclaim, “Hey! He’s ripping off The Umbrella Academy!”  I wouldn’t go as far as to say that, but some similarities are certainly present (specifically, simultaneous birth of extraordinary-yet-weird children and an apocalyptic event.)

FreakAngels has its fair share of action, drama and suspense, but this is not your typical comic by any stretch of the imagination.  It feels like a glimpse into a real, (somewhat) fully-functional and fleshed-out parallel world.  Perhaps it’s because the story is designed to be read on the internet at FreakAngels.com, where Ellis and Duffield post a new six-page episode every Friday and don’t have to structure the story around comic or book publishing constraints.  It really feels as though they are taking their time with FreakAngels, and that they have enough material and story ideas to last more than a decade.  With thirteen main characters to develop and six years’ worth of backstory to reveal, Warren Ellis is able to concentrate on immersing the reader into the FreakAngels world at an organic pace, neither rushing past important details nor lingering in “filler Hell.” It’s first example of the famous “decompression” Brian Michael Bendis loves so dearly that I actually feel works properly for its medium.  It can get tedious when a monthly comic spends three issues on dialogue and character development with little to no plot advancement or action beats, but with FreakAngels you’ll never feel like you’ve gotten less than your money’s worth (largely because the web version is free.)

While its role as a webcomic is all well and good, there is much to be said for the print version of FreakAngels. Paul Duffield’s art is gorgeous enough to warrant not just a print version, but a high-quality hardcover.  The art looks heavily influenced by more intricately-drawn anime and manga, though I don’t know that medium well enough to determine which particular properties it resembles most.  Thank goodness for blogs’ ability to include pictures!  Something about Duffield’s illustration (and Alana Yuen’s colors) can make brutal war scenes seem beautiful.  In my mind, Sirkka’s gigantic machine gun makes no more than a light rustling sound as its darts rush their her targets.

Many of Ellis’s standard character traits are present in FreakAngels.  KK in particular feels like the latest in a long line of tough-as-nails subtle-as-chainsaws female characters (Jenny Sparks, Elsa Bloodstone, Channon Yarrow and Jakita Wagner all spring to mind.)  Amazingly, though, he injects an almost Runaways-esque innocence and charm into the character of Arkady, a young woman who suffered terrible drug-induced trauma and now is a few cards short of a deck.  Fans of Joss Whedon’s Firefly might see parallels between Arkady and River Tam, but the execution is different enough to convince me that she wasn’t a complete rip-off.  The dialogue is clever and snappy, but decidedly more realistic than in works like Transmetropolitan or Nextwave. It’s a testament to Ellis’s writing ability (and my constant suspension of disbelief) that FreakAngels makes a fantastic concept so darn believable.

FreakAngels is a rare treat in the world of action-packed summer blockbuster comics, and the first time I’ve read a Post-Apocalyptic story and thought, “Y’know, if this is what the end of the world is like, maybe it won’t be so bad after all.”  I don’t want to beg, but I strongly encourage you to go visit FreakAngels on the web and see it for yourself.  It’s free, after all.   I’ll leave you with one of my favorite pages, since I just can’t get enough of those aerial shots:

She flies through the air with the greatest of ease...

The Umbrella Academy is headed for theaters

For those who haven’t already heard, there is some big news in the comics-to-movies world this week: Universal Pictures has signed a first-look deal to bring Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy to the silver screen.  The rumors and speculation are flying fast and furiously, with big hollywood names such as Alfonso Cuaron (director of Y Tu Mama Tambien and Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban) and Diablo Cody (screenwriter of Juno) being tossed around.  There are also reports that Way himself has approached costume designer Colleen Atwood (lately of Sweeney Todd fame) for involvement in the picture.

While I personally feel that the best venue for an adapted version of The Umbrella Academy would be an animated series (better yet, an animated miniseries) I can understand Hollywood’s eagerness to pick up any and all comic properties that aren’t already the exclusive territory of Marvel or DC.  Umbrella Academy has the potential to be bigger than Hellboy II or Wanted, especially if the right creative team is given enough freedom (or, conversely, forced to be as true to the source material as possible) to make it more than an X-Men knock-off for the Hot Topic crowd.  Of course, I worry that Diablo Cody will have learned nothing from Juno and end up making Rumor the queen of snark and the only truly intelligent person in the universe, with the rest of the cast circling around her while trying not to bump idiotically into one another.  Then again, I’m not one to talk while Juno is still sitting unwatched in the middle of my DVD pile.

Discuss!

COMICS: John Reviews “Dynamo 5 Vol. 1” by Jay Faerber and M.A. Asrar

Dynamo 5: A Post-Nuclear Family

Much in the same way that Wanted and Abyss took the same premise (a son discovers his recently-deceased father was the greatest supervillain of all time, and wanted him to take up the mantle) and went in completely different stylistic and thematic directions, so too did Jay Faerber’s Dynamo 5 and Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy.  The shared premise this time around is of a team of young superheroes banding together to fight evil after the death of their father figure.  But while The Umbrella Academy felt like a mix of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol and Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tanenbaums by way of Tim Burton and Jhonen Vasquez, Dynamo 5 is a more traditional teen superhero blend of Stan Lee & Jack Kirby’s Uncanny X-Men and Marv Wolfman & George Perez’s New Teen Titans, with an updated perspective and hints of prime-time family drama (perhaps a bit like Party of Five, though I never watched that show.) Dynamo 5 takes a refreshing premise and turns it into a top-notch superhero comic full of action, humor, teen angst and intrigue.

The story of Dynamo 5 begins as follows: When Captain Dynamo – superhero defender of Tower City – dies in a hotel bed under mysterious circumstances (lipstick-borne poison, a.k.a. the “goodnight kiss,”) it’s up to his widow Madeline Warner to protect the city in his stead.  She does this by using his little black address book (discovered after his death) to track down five of his illegitimate children (apparently Captain Dynamo had more secrets than his identity!) and turning them from a bunch of angsty teens into a formidable force for good.  It’s no easy task, however, and the five children (hereafter known as the Dynamo 5) are more interested in their social lives than in working together and saving Tower City.  Like any teen superhero team, these kids are prone to laziness, infighting and impulsive behavior.

What follows is an enjoyable romp through Tower City featuring giant robots, romantic intrigue, shocking scandals, mutant lizards, government cover-ups, and a surprise visit from dear old dad himself (or is it?)  It’s a comic book through and through, but it’s a great example of the difference between “textbook” and “generic.”  There’s nothing shockingly new in the way of concepts here (though it’s worth mentioning that Dynamo 5 pre-dates The Umbrella Academy by almost a year,) but everything feels fresh and fun.  The Incredibles tore ideas wholesale from the pages of Fantastic Four, but it managed to do it in a way that felt new and exciting.

Artist M.A. Asrar does a fantastic job of showcasing Tower City and its inhabitants, both civilian and super-powered.  The whole book has a crisp, clean feel to it, almost like a 1990s Saturday morning cartoon.  The colors are bright, the action is exciting, the tense bits are dark without being gloomy, and it all has a completely different feel from its premise-brother The Umbrella Academy.

The success of a team book is predicated on the success of its characters in the eyes of the fans, and the Dynamo 5 are quirky and distinct enough to win readers over.  While I wasn’t blown away by nondescript spandex uniforms or the straightforward one-word code names (both are characteristic of publisher Image Comics) the characters’ personalities are what make them stand out.  Stereotypes are toyed with (such as the character of Scatterbrain, a football player who develops telepathic powers) and the team even has a sensible reason for being multi-racial (apparently Captain Dynamo believed in affirmative action, if you get my meaning!) Each set of characters has its own relationship and its own dynamic, and by the end I was invested in the story enough to add Vol. 2 to my to-buy list. Hopefully this has inspired you to check out Vol. 1 on your own.  Considering its discounted “gateway” price (Vol. 1 collects the first seven issues for only $9.99) it’s really quite a bargain, and worth a good bit more!