Comics Gal Reads

I have encountered many variations of both Holmes and his counterpart, Watson, in many forms over the years.  To memory, this is probably the most depraved version overall, but not the first time I’ve seen him portrayed darkly.

I loved the cover art, as I very much like the engraved style, and the spatter made it evident from the start that this would not be a frolic within the dectective realm.  I can understand and appreciate why that level of style was not used throughout, and the path that Omaha Perez chose still has elements of the engraved look with his use of line, in particular with his scratch board panels, in the black and white imagery within.

As to the characterizations, I can’t help but feel that this is a modern approach while trying to retain the feel of Holmes’ era.  Although historians have shown that many people of the Victorian Age were anything but prudish or restrained in reality, the time in which this book is being released may actually work against it.  We already know of things as are depicted in this book, so there is little suprise.  And many of the graphic works of today depict much of what is within this book.  But to anyone who has only known Holmes as the straight laced, intelligent self-proclaimed bohemian (for his time), eccentric though even he may be at times, I’m sure this portrayal may be a welcome change or a shock, depending.

As with most variations, Watson is seen as the clean up man, the connection man, at times, even the stand-up-and-fight-for-Holmes’-honor man, and the rarely acknowledged force behind the man who gets all the credit.  He does get to have a bit of his own fun, but at the end of the day, the focus is on Holmes, and he always bows to the whims of the man to whom he stands beside, and often behind.   I found Holmes to be quite a shallow character, and this may be as Perez intended, to show the farce of the relationship between the two as well as how they are perceived by the society in which they reside, and to introduce him as a man who has more luck than true talent. (the latter of which having been done before).  But I was hoping for a bit more.

The story itself I did enjoy.  To follow the thread of the consequences of Holmes’ actions was worth the trip in many ways, and I definitely laughed at some of the inferences and humor Perez created.  The slight twist at the end wasn’t overly expected, and, did at least hint to the possibility that Holmes does indeed have some cleverness after all.  (I’m trying to refrain from saying that there is a method to his madness, but although it seems trite to do so, I’m failing at a better way to say as much.) 

If nothing else, I will be looking up Perez’s other works to see where they may lead me.  This example of storyline and characterization might not have caught my fancy so much, but others may very well, especially if they are complemented by his art.

Unfortunately, I found this one first, and because I adored the art, plunged right in before I realized this book is the end to the Jenny Finn story.  Now I’m trying to hunt down the rest, and so far have only found the complete series in one binding, also by Boom! Studios (was tempted, but held off), so I’ll be trying to spend a bit more time tracking down the other pieces of the series in their single issue format (from doing some research, this might be tricky, since it changed publishing hands a few times, but I’ll still try).

So, even though I’ve read the ending first (something I try not to do if possible), I still could follow the story, which helped me along in not realizing right off the bat that I might be ahead of myself.  It was a great jaunt into a far out not quite of this world, but could be within the type of reality where some people really will hoist themselves off the floor with rope just to feel safe.  Fun and mysterious reading.

There is a small part of me that would love to see this done in full color, but the black and white images definitely worked, and I’m not entirely sure who to give credit where, given how the credits are outlined on the inside cover.

Mike Mignolia’s cover is superb, hinting and leading you into that world that isn’t quite right, and the cover colors just pop in all the right ways, and hang back when needed.

There are some single panels, that seem like panels that weren’t used, or are possible transitionals for this, and possibly other parts of this series interspersed within and also at the tail end of this book, and they are all signed by Troy Nixley, so I’m not totally clear on what Farel Dalrymple did on the book, but it’s great stuff, regardless.  I just wish I could give credit where credit is due.  I love all the steam-punkesque bits and pieces mixed in with a fairly realistic old world stereotypical feel, in ways that pique my interest without overloading my brain.

I also liked some of the subtle touches Ed Dukeshire gave to the lettering, specifically the sound effects scattered about, and put to good use.  Some differences are so subtle that they might even be overlooked, but his choices in when to go soft or hard, etc., seemed right on target to me.

I’m thinking that once I get a chance to read what I’ve missed, it will only flesh out what I’ve found here, which is a terrific story with some solid characters as I’ve been able to witness in this ish.  I’m very much looking forward to having the other parts that preceed this, in order to see where my hunches are right, and where I will be ultimately suprised.

A few quick last minute thoughts: I’m not sure if Facundo Percio did the inking, or Paul Duffield, but I definitely liked some of the ranges that were played with in terms of dead on shadows versus gradients, some of which should be credited to Duffield as the grades seem more often depicted through color. [note: Duffield was nice enough to respond to my copy of the review on the FreakAngels Whitechapel Forum, letting me know that he doesn’t do inks, and only worked on a run of covers for this, so credit is most likely Percio’s since he is listed as “artwork”.  I misread the inside credits where it said that Duffield was “original cover art and color” as him being the man behind the inside coloring–no pun intended.]  Overall, since I prefer seeing depth and texture, there were some really nice touches here and there, and as a general rule, except where already noted, I liked the look. (That hair! You can actually see pieces instead of just one big poof.)

I’m still very happily stunned with the cover. The hair alone is just a rich eye candy treat. (Yes, I know, enough about the hair–this is the last time I mention it, I promise.) And the peek at her outfit only makes me wish I could see how he would have handled her from head to toe.

One thing I’m still trying to figure out though…leather, PVC or latex? I’d guess latex mostly due to the coloration, but it seems a bit looser fitting, like PVC often is..what’s she’s supposed to be wearing? But sometimes folks overstylize leather too, so I really don’t know.

This will mostly likely be the last “behind the scenes” blog here for, well, possibly forever.

A while back, I got dragged (kicking and screaming, mind you,) to MySpace to help out someone who needed MySpace account holders to vote on his project that was part of a MySpace contest at the time.  I really had zero intention of even keeping the account once the contest was over.  But, as only social networking sites can do in their own little happy virus fashion (if such a thing does exist), is that folks who liked/reviewed/created/etc. comics were already finding me, and thus trying to friend me since we had something in common.  After the contest was over, I did move across country, which threw my world into a bit of a loop, and when I finally went back to delete (yes, I only went back to delete) the account, I realized I had a whole slew of people who had been checking my page out and wanting to be my friend.  Yes, some of them had nothing to do with comics, and were even downright spammers.  But, a lot of them weren’t.

So that got me to thinking, I’d been trying to think of a way to keep this blog more on target, and technically MySpace is not only the place for friends but also for networking.  So I didn’t delete the account, and I started learning how to be involved in the MySpace world.

Gratis, there are still things I cringe over.  (All these friends I wouldn’t know if I hit them with my car.)  And I’ve still not mistressed the art of comments, and still can’t decide whether one is obliged to comment when someone you request to friend you accepts you.  But there are fun elements as well, and, because MySpace has blogs, it solved the problem of how to keep this blog more focused on the reviews. 

Since I’ve been giving it a serious go, it’s been working pretty well.  So I’ve made up my mind for the moment to keep doing what I’ve been doing for roughly a month and change now.  Anything that normally would have been listed as Behind the Curtain will now be posted on my MySpace blog instead.  (There is a link to it on the right if you’re curious.)  I’m also using the blog to let folks know when I’ve written a new review here, which has also helped me reach a wider audience than I was before with relatively little effort on my part, other than blogging into more than one blog to post.

So there it is.  I’m not going to copy over and predate any entries from here over to there, because it just doesn’t seem that necessary.  But for anyone who hasn’t seen my MySpace blog, and wondered why things seem tapered down here from my usual non-review ramblings, now you know.

When recently reading some Savage Dragon comics, I remember a note that talked about all the other artists who have attempted the infamous “fin”.  When reading this comic, something I noticed right off the bat was the comment on the inside cover from Michael Dooney, added as a P.S. ”That fin is a bitch!”  So I guess it really is a challenge for those attempting to recreate the Savage Dragon look.  I think Dooney did a fine job capturing our main characters of the day, and re-creating the Turtles’ world as I remember it back then.

This comic harkens back to the days before color coded turtles, to when you either knew who they were by speech patterns, or at worst, you knew who carried which weapons, or you just didn’t.  The style is a bit more early turtle than dragon, loose and more comic than high art leaning, which sometimes is just what the Doc ordered.  It’s a joining of two well defined yet light spirited titles, and I think it works well.

Now I enjoy reading both Savage Dragon as well as TMNT, and feel that I have some familiarity with them and how they typical act, but I am not by any means a die hard fan of either.  Having said that, there may be those who felt/still feel that characterization was blundered here and there within this title, but to me, it sounded right, it looked right, and if I could have smelled those city streets, it probably would have smelled right too.

Aside from the slightly distracting reminder at the top reminding you (or informing you, as the case may be) that this is a CROSSOVER, the cover is sharp, promises high action, and is indubitably going to involve more than your average green-skinned folks.

The storyline opens up with the tail end of a battle, evidently won by our heroes of the day, Dragon and the Turtles.  True to form, Dragon wants back home now that he feels his work is done, and the Turtles want him to stick around because they just have that feeling that this ain’t over yet.

There are some of the expected references to freaks, double-takes, off-hand green skin jokes, etc., as it’s all part and parcel of the world of these beings.  But this is also not a comic book for those looking for a somewhat realistic setting, so would we as readers really expect anything less?  (And I love the first time the Turtles sneak off in this ish when the police show up, with Dragon commenting after he realizes they’ve gone, “Son of a gun, they really are ninjas!”  Sometimes, one character acknowledging something about another (or others) really does make sense, even if we already know what they’re just figuring out.)

Robert Jones’s inks have a slightly rough hewn feel to them, keeping things from even thinking about being soft and cute, and Eric Vincent’s coloring depicts a bright world where even the yellow splashes on the cityscapes don’t feel quite so warm either.  Overall, there is an undertone leaning towards an overall cool feel to emphasize a fun yet still hard luck city where the action takes place.  Mary Kelleher’s lettering is right on the money, right down to the sound effects, and emitted grunts leading the way for our imaginations to go to.  The choices made to differentiate emotion levels was also duly noted and appreciated along the way.  No one thing is overly done.

Virago as a character at this point leaves something to be desired for me, however.  Ok, so she’s a scantily clad perfect twin globe-boobed chick hell bent on creating mahem of some sort or another involving bringing statues to life, I get that.  But her early capture rather took me by surprise, and wondering where this is really going to go by issue 2. 

Time will tell on that count…as only time can do.

Before I get into what I thought about this comic, I think it’s fair to say that the Black Canary is a character I really liked back in the day, but in particular during my sort of drop off from regular reading of comics (save the Sunday funnies and a few comics I could get my hands on at times), she became a pleasant memory.  There was one year I had all the elements, save the neckpiece, to do a Black Canary outfit for an event, but for reasons that escape my memory, I didn’t do it, and actually don’t remember attending the event, whatever it was, which would explain why I didn’t.

Recently, having seen this title on the racks, I did a quick search and found myself getting slightly caught up on her world, only to find out that now it’s the daughter of the original.  I also saw some mention of a previous series that had to do with marriage and all sorts of interesting things, but in a sense, it did prepare me a bit for what I was about to read.  Meaning, things weren’t too much of a shocker in the change of what they’ve done since I last read a Black Canary related title (I’m pretty sure it was mostly JLA back then.), but also I already knew about some of the recent (to me) costume tweaks and such.  But what I read was enough to get me interested, so I bought what they had at Time Warp, #1 and #4, and I ordered #s 2 & 3 so I could get a chance to give the full run my attention.  (It is hard shelving a comic I’ve not read in order to read them in order, but it’s worse torture when you don’t know when those gaps might be filled.)

So it doesn’t interfere with the rest of what I’m going to say, I was briefly delighted, then not so much when I saw the mid section Mad series entitled “Mad about Hunger”.  I admit I was more than a bit tired when I was flipping through #1 which I just bought late yesterday, and I didn’t notice right off that it was an ad.  It didn’t take too long to see a theme, though, and I’m still not completely sure what the joke is about the third arm (it looks familiar somehow, but not really).  But it was kind of nice seeing some Mad artwork there.  I used to be an avid reader of Mad, even did a Mad style fold-in for an art project in high school once (and they’re not easy to do, I have to say!), but, like so many other fine comics, they fell to the wayside during college and I’ve not gone back looking for them yet.  The fact that it turned to be an ad was a bit of a let down.  I’ve made it no secret in other posts that I enjoy what I consider little bonuses of mini comics within larger comic formats (yes, even a single issue), and I thought it was damn refreshing to see Mad art in a DC Book.  But the fact that it was an ad did take the sheen off a bit.  And I’m sure it didn’t help that I just wasn’t getting the theme joke.

Having gotten that out of the way, I was relatively happy with what I found.  Since it’s got the Countdown tag on it, it’s obviously part of that larger effort that is going on right now, but being that I’ve been dealing more with just trying to bloody move in already, I’ve honestly not really been keeping up with whatever latest and greatest crossover hells may be going on in the world of comics right now.  Had I been, I’m sure I’d be a bit more clued in to whatever degree, with what’s going on with this mini-series.

I already knew my biggest disappointment ahead of time, but there, on the front cover, and hard to miss was a shot of one of the new boots.  I am a huge fan of bucket style boots, and although I 100% understand that during a modernization for her, it made sense to go with a more contemporary boot style, to see her without bucket boots is just a total bummer.  The gloves I don’t mind so much, and, really, I do prefer regular motorcycle jackets to the old bolero coat from way back when, and even though I think the bustier was way sexier, the bodysuit is a tad more practical, especially for any buxom lass.

But I am also a fan of cycles, so seeing her atop one, and larger than life in its perspective was a happy point.  The cover by Paulo Baron (?–I couldn’t find an inside cover credit, though it might be there, so I’m just going by the sig on the cover) looked sharp overall, she’s looks quite the strong figure herself, and the ghosted image of Green Arrow (another old fav of mine) promised potential interesting events to unfold, small child clinging to her waist notwithstanding.  I often hate plots that involve children, but this time she has a point that actually makes sense within a makebelieve world.  I hate when kids get brought in just for the cute factor, and this is not the case at all.  I also liked the color choices on the cover, strong but with some decidedly subtle tones.  The black roadsign bugged the heck out of me, especially because from the way it is drawn it looks like it should be the front of the sign, because I don’t know the back of any overhang sign that looks like that from behind, but I’m betting the usual colors were a bit too distracting otherwise–and if it was the front, the wording and yet another green to contend with might have been worse.

My happiest suprise was on page one, with a great shot of her bucket boots coming into view.  Did it confuse the heck out of me?  Yes!  But I got my beloved preferred styled boots back, so I just sucked up the style difference.  One last niggling costume thing and then I’m off the topic, was that for all the effort they put into her jacket to make it have depth, shape, tone, the neckband is just one swath of black in every instance I can remember–even closer shots.  Niggling, but it stood out enough, often enough, that it had to be said.

They do get into the mother/daughter issue right away, which had I not read up before hand, I would have undoubtably been greatful for as it set the stage in that regard right away.  It will be interesting to see where the relationship between she and Oliver will head in the course of this series.  It might be tough to build or sustain, given how short it is, unless they rely on elements built elsewhere.  So far, everything seems fairly straight forward and easy to follow.  As expected, there are a lot of plot points being established in this ish, and except for the ex, I’m following along with little pause. 

Green Arrow was a lot of what I expected, except where is his damn goatee?  Part of what make him be able to get away with the whole Robin Hood schtick is that sexy goatee!  Sheesh.  I was a bit put off by the oh-so-brief appearance of the JLA members, with the concept of the test, but, again, this is part of the problem with both minis and crossovers.  There’s a lot to jam in to keep it all connected at times.  But it did feel very token-ish, and I don’t wonder if it could have been handled better.

I do like the development so far of the relationship between Dinah and Sin.  Nothing too insane to accept at this point, given how much is spelled out in not a bad fashion, and although there will always be questions with super/enhanced/mutant powered kids as to viablility, they handled things ok aside from the collapsing of the playspace.  Star might be a really large city (I believe it’s based on Vegas if I’m any judge at all), but surely someone is going to want to know what the heck is going on there, or at least try to detain them.  Again, given the state of comics nowadays as far as whether or not they address real world issues as far as plot believeability, it just didn’t seem like the whole thing had to come crashing down.  Having her knock the head off the statue was enough by far.

When flipping back through, I found myself tending to prefer the contrast of coloring in the more costume related scenes.  There were ample opportunities to have the same type of pop in the everyday scenes, but instead the use of color was overly bold, and I would have liked to see at least some gradation of tone there as well, not necessarily to the point of making both sides of their world feel the same, but still.

As far as the inking style, I wasn’t inspired with the mostly full fills that I found overall.  There were some nice details brought out in some situations, but, again, as with the blocked color, I wasn’t seeing a lot of depth in the imagery.  Perhaps this is part of the modernization they’re going for, but it just didn’t float my boat.

Some of the panel layout was nice, but some white space decisions had me baffled (page 10 in particular).  I did very much enjoy some of the angles used, and some of the action lettering was very well done.  I’m not so sure how I feel about the Canary Cry soft washed edge white swirly effect, though–I guess I wanted, like the radiating lines behind her, something that had more of a sharp feel to it.  A cry is not a sing-song swirly thing.  It jabs, it cuts, even, as she notes ”at close range it’s like getting hit by a truck”, but it does not swirl.  It may be that they were going for concentric circles, but due to the nature of size choices, framing, and the soft edged shade effect, I’m waiting for it to start spinning when I’m looking at it.

I am very much looking forward to where this will be going, and to see what develops how (and not just in the plot), but unless there is any change of artists in the process, which I know it’s not likely, I also think the team, even if they want to play a bit, might not have the timeframe to do so.

Aside from the recovering from the writer’s strike and now facing a possible actor’s strike issues that the Justice League of America movie has already and is now facing, when I was reading the article, A Film’s Superheroes Face Threat of Strike, I found it interesting that they are considering dropping the “of America” part of the title for marketing reasons.

The project’s title has also undergone some rethinking over time. According to some involved with the film, the word “America” [sic] may drop out, to make the film more palatable abroad, an ever more important consideration for the big studios.

I honestly think this is ridiculous.  Why bother using the Justice League of America as a movie focus if you don’t really want who they are?  You kill the history when you make decisions like that.  There are so many other ways they could have made yet another supe movie who could have a worldwide appeal if they were so hung up on the word America.

Maybe America or even patriotism isn’t as hip as it used to be, but does this mean we can soon expect Captain America to be renamed simply Captain in order to make him have worldwide appeal?  (I know, I’m mixing worlds/universes/publishers/whatever now, but you see my point.)

Just to fulfill my own selfish notion, I’ll no longer be referring to my collection as a collection.  It will be my comics library.

I’ll see how it sits with me for a while.  I might go back, but who knows.

Changes to the site are coming soon, and before said changes are finished, I’ll actually be posting some more thoughts on comics I’ve read.  What a concept, eh?

During a conversation the other day, the concept that a Collector (yes, with a capital C) is someone who, if they actually want to read the comics, now waits for trades for the readable yet not single issue spine cracking, bums from friends, or simply buys two copies. 

That gave me pause.  I posed the question that even if I didn’t want a mint condition copy of every comic I’ve ever read, yet do go out of my way to find cross overs, fill serials, etc., then I wouldn’t be considered a collector because I don’t particularly care about mint?  “No,” the person replied, “you’re just a reader.”

Now, as someone who does try to take care of my comics, whether with sleeve & board, boxes, etc., this bugged me.  It’s not like I’ll just leave them on the floor or use them to wipe up a spill.  I have been known to have a heart attack when the scotch tape on the back of the plastic adheres to the cover (especially the front–augh!) when I’m pulling it out of the sleeve before replacing the tape with something better.

And, to be honest, the concept of being boxed into a title that was obviously considered more lowly made me bristle a bit.  Then it made me wonder if in fact, what I do is collecting or just reading/enjoying.  So, ever one to go to the source, I looked up the definition for both the word collector and collect.  And, point of fact, there is nothing within the definition of collect nor collector that infers any use of said object other than to gather that object for the sake of the object.  But at the end of the day, I do retain my collection.  I do not sell it, I do not throw them away or give them to someone else, except maybe to lend for a time.

It can be semantically argued that the purpose of my gathering comics is in order to use them, often again and again, but the truth is, the heart of the matter is that I do not collect for the sake of collecting, I collect to utilize the thing which I am collecting.

So, really, in a way, I feel that I have a higher purpose for that object as I am appreciating it beyond the mere value or bragging rights of its ownership.  I see it as more than something that must be, say, protected, preserved, or squirreled away for whatever purpose, financial or otherwise.

So what does that make me?  A collector with a lower case c?  Just a reader?  How about enthusiast?  That works for me.  Because I’m not just a reader.  I also enjoy the art.  I also talk about them, ponder them, share, etc.  I do more than just read them.  So enthusiast it is, then.  If the term collector (capitalized or not) should only be reserved to those whom place the object over its potential usefullness, then I’m not so certain I want to be grouped with them anyway.

Just my two cents.

Without question, this has been one of the hardest moves I’ve ever done.

Everything, despite the best attempts at planning, has taken longer than I wanted it to.

Good news is that things, a month later, are finally starting to settle down.

I’ve been picking up even more comics during the interim, and hope to start writing again here about comics soon instead of prattling on about why I’m not actually writing about them.

Organization can come later.  *laugh*