Krypton Rays Fuel my Cosmic Rocket Machine Suit

Hmm. Just what comics need, another blond, white icon.

I'm all for creating new female characters, but here - it only seems like we're losing one. If Spoiler is Batgirl - then DC loses the Spoiler (until someone new fills that costume).

And am I the only person who doesn't feel like taking a pre-existing female character and recycling her into a role most recently held by the only minority character in the Batman mythos - is not a step forward? 

Hello all,

I have twenty two pages from early this year that I was determined to finish, but I'm not confident that my inking style is appropriate for the book.

I'd like to get this issue finished once and for all though, so I need an inker. If you think you can handle this, or you know anybody you think could help - please contact redridcully@gmail.com.

And if you read what follows and you enjoy it - and if you're an artist who is you're looking to work with a writer - then this could be the start of a beautiful collaborative relationship. This is just inking, but it could be a way for us to get a sense of what it's like working together.

And if we do work well together, I have a lot of ideas both big and small that I could sorely use an artist on.

And you have my guarantee that whatever we collaborate on - I will pitch the hell out of it to everyone I know or meet within the industry.

Regards,

-M


( Words & Pencils )

Also - I'd like to point out that there is a very pencilly free comic under the above cut.

You know - I hate Torchwood. Or - that's what I would have said to you the day before yesterday. Now I’m eagerly anticipating the next season.


The BBC Sci-Fi television series ran for two seasons before returning for a recent third entitled Children of Earth. I watched most of the first season expecting the show to get good for some reason, and gave up around two episodes into the second, realizing that the shoddy writing wasn't likely to improve any time soon.

OLD TORCHWOOD

 

It's not that I didn't appreciate what they tried to do, I did! Torchwood took a couple of characters from the recent Doctor Who revival, teamed them up with some new characters designed to fit into the same world to form a ragtag team of paranormal investigators based in Cardiff of all places. Furthermore - it was intended to be a show for Adults - and I fancied the UK needed to be producing some darker, grittier Sci-Fi.

I'm a die-hard Who fan, which means that I cling onto the franchise in the face of frequent lazily written crappy episodes because occasionally it hits - and it hits hard. I see Doctor Who more for what it could be - or the potential it has than what it generally delivers - but I couldn't feel the same about Torchwood because they never seemed to deliver anything.

Among the qualms I had with the show are the generally aimless plots and the fact that everybody in Torchwood seemed to be bisexual with the over-active libido of a thirteen year-old boy. I have nothing against showing any kind of relationships or sexual acts when pertinent or even incidental to the plot; but the writers never built up to it - it all just seemed to happen very suddenly - like a Sci-Fi series has no room for romance.

That and it always seemed unlikely to me that out of the five main characters - not one of them was insecure enough with his or her sexuality that they'd shy away from same-sex relationships. I also felt like the flow of episodes in Torchwood were persistently interrupted to show two characters (often only distantly related to the show's plot) getting hot and heavy. Where were the reluctantly tolerant homophobes? This is Britain - not everybody is the accepting open-minded person they should be.

From an early point I became aware that the show was somewhat ethically bewildered. In fact – in the very first episode, the character Owen is shown using an alien perfume to make an uninterested woman want to have sex with him, in spite of being in a relationship. That – to me – looks like a high-tech date-rape. I thought when I saw that – so we’re not meant to like this sleazy little guy then? But in the very next episode (aired on the same night) we see Owen track down an old man who had once committed a date rape – and treating him with utter contempt. That might have been his chance to grow as a character – but there was no introspection there – no difficult and overwhelming self-discovery. Nothing. Just a hollow non-plot with no real meaning.

 

The producers of the show seemed to confuse the idea of creating mature fiction with creating immature fiction that happens to include sex and bad language. This wasn’t mature Doctor Who – it was just loud Doctor Who.

 

Anyway - bottom line - I didn't get it. The Sci-Fi was bad, as if to say; 'well it's really about character interaction' and the character interaction was bad as if to say; 'well what do you want from us? It's a Sci-Fi, not a Romanic Drama!'

NEW TORCHWOOD

BUT, the other day my friend Geoff Wessel and I were on the phone and he told me that the new series (Children of Earth) was really good - in spite of being a Torchwood series. I've been seeing advertisements all over New York City for it and dismissed it until now. I mentioned it to my wife - who had also heard good things, so we watched it.

Well...

I'm not sure why, or when it happened - but Torchwood got good. Really fucking amazing, in fact. I felt like they finally began to deliver the things that they set out to bring viewers. We watched in open mouthed awe as the creators took the show in unexpected and disturbing directions.


Instead of just being bad Doctor Who with sex and swearing, Children of Earth is its own deep and dark psychological and philosophical look at the Sci-Fi Genre, without all the boring Deus Ex Machina bullshit inherent in the previous seasons (and Doctor Who). There were in fact - no sudden easy ways out of the terrible quandaries put forth in this season, no miraculous machine or magic word that the main character remembers at the last minute employed to revert everything back to normal...

Every decision that the characters are forced to make are difficult, scary and eerily realistic - the kind of things that will have a lasting effect on the characters for a long time to come.

It seems to me that the show tried to borrow a little from Battlestar Gallactica, introducing a hitherto unseen political element to the throws – and edgier camera work to really bring the viewer into the scene. There also seemed to be elements of fictional works such as Watchmen, in that a similar large-scale ethical dilemma is posed. Finally I noticed that this show seemed to bring British Sci-Fi back to its roots, somewhat. It reminded me of shows like Quatermass  , or old BBC dramas that weren’t even necessarily Science Fiction.

 

 

None of that is a bad thing – because it stands out as an original work of science-fiction, haunting, daunting and far more intelligent than anything I’d ever expected to see in Torchwood.

 

As for the character development – well that was superb too. Both the heroes and the new villains tend to be portrayed as interesting and well-rounded human beings. In fact – I felt like the new supporting-characters introduced were every bit as interesting and important to the plot as the main characters.  I also learned more in five episodes about the old cast than I ever did in previous episodes of Torchwood.

 

 

Perhaps, again – as with Watchmen – the smallest characters tend to be the most interesting. Ianto’s family who attempt to defend a council estate from threats far larger than they are... a dim-witted policeman who just tries hard to keep up with the trouble… families, civil servants, doctors, politicians, they all bring refreshingly human undertones to this twisted story – showing that everybody from the top to the bottom of British society is rocked by the incredible circumstance they find themselves confronted by.

 

Furthermore, it’s accessible.

 

 New viewers don’t need to have seen anything to appreciate this – and disappointed old viewers (like me) can forget everything they ever learned about the show and start anew.

 

And it feels good to leave the past behind, because this is one of the best shows I’ve watched in a long time – and I’m truly looking forward to a new season.

 

Because, you know – I love Torchwood!

cdhooortw

doctorwho

torchwood

I've tried to encourage responses to my reviews and entries in the past - and I'd like to use Kryptonrays to inspire discussion and the free exchange of opinions on comics.

So how about you... yes YOU! How about you suggest a book for me to add to my reading list. Either a monthly title or a graphic novel.

Try to sell it to me with your reply and maybe I'll review it when I'm done.

REGARDS!

-M

I'm a little late on the bandwagon, but I just got around to reading the fantastic new Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

I love books where a writer manages to re-invent a concept by turning the dynamic we're used to entirely upside-down.

That's Comics 101. Stan-lee did it in the sixties when he put the 'human' into 'super-human' and Alan Moore did it in the eighties with Miracle man and Swamp Thing. The method is so well-recognized that when Moore appeared on the Simpsons in a recent season, he said this of Springfield's top-selling comic character - Radioactive Man:

'You like that I turned him into a heroin addicted Jazz critic who's not radioactive?'

That's the ticket. That's what makes us take notice, it's tried and tested - and no one rocks it quite like Morrison.
 
So the question is; what can you change about one of the best known comic characters in the world that won't destroy what makes him great?  The answer is; you do what very few people would dare do.

Batman is a dark and brooding character - we all know this. 'The Dark Knight'. Robin is a splash of boyish enthusiasm in his dark world - Batman's opposite.

What Morrison has set up in his previous run on RIP is a complete reversal of what we know about Batman and Robin. 'Killing off' Bruce Wayne and replacing him with a former Robin (Dick Grayson), and introducing Bruce's son Damien as a new, dark Robin, we seem to now have a more jovial Batman and a borderline psychopathic Robin. In this first issue alone, Damien is shown acting much more like Batman than the new Batman, whereas Dick Grayson is more or less the same old Robin, now in Bats clothing.

If I were working for Batman, I'm not sure this is a move I'd ever dare to take (not that editorial would ever let me, I'm sure) - and I know many other writers would agree that it's a serious gamble... but seeing it in play?

Awesome. It just works.

I haven't steadily picked up Batman in a while - but I do not intend to miss one issue of this new series. Morrison and Quitely are bringing their A-Game, igniting the old franchise with the magical flame that made All-Star Superman and those early Morrison issues of New-X-Men so special.

If you're on a high from reading the new Batman and Robin issue and can't wait a month for some more Morrison/Quitely goodness, pick up either of the two books I just mentioned - or the hugely underrated JLA: Earth 2 - which is equally as good - and features a super-powered dominatrix Lois Lane who uses Jimmy Olson as her sub.

Wolverine is a fantastic character.

I didn’t see the movie. The trailers were enough to suggest that I’m perhaps not in the target audience for that film. I realize how unusual this statement must sound – if a self-confessed comic-book obsessive who dedicates time and effort to writing reviews in a home-made Livejournal with a tongue-twister for a name doesn’t think a movie about one of the most recognizable comic-book characters in the world was made for people like him to watch – then who the hell is it for? Well, everybody else by the looks of things – Hollywood made its changes to appeal to the wider masses and to kids. I know I’m just going to sit through it watching Deadpool and Gambit jump around looking cool in bullet-time – and all I’ll be thinking about is what might have been.

That’s fine by me though, I really don’t mind - because I’ve got my comics.

Ever since those X-Men issues where Wolverine made his post-Hulk debut thirty-odd years back, he’s been one of the most striking, interesting characters in the X-Corner of the Marvel U. The one that readers wish they could be – tough, cool and he takes shit from no one.

However – three decades has taken its toll on old Logan – and the character has slowly but surely started to become a parody of himself. A character who used to be portrayed as quietly intelligent, Wolverine would occasionally reveal a new skill in the long list of different disciplines he was versed in that we were given to believe somehow tied into his mysterious past. More recently- he has been reduced to a string of beer jokes and become a character whose defining characteristic seems to be that he will grow back from anything, no matter how heavily mutilated he might be.

Thankfully, Mark Millar and Steve McNiven arrived to save the day. Their run on Wolverine started about a year ago – entitled ‘Old Man Logan’ - in which Wolvie is given the Dark Knight treatment. The reader is propelled several decades into the future of the Marvel Universe, only to find that Wolverine has become a pacifist family man with a new troubled past concerning practically every Marvel character you can think of.

Millar at once masterfully turns Wolverine’s character upside down – and at the same time takes him back to his roots. He gives Wolverine back the mystery that once defined his character – yet he takes away Logan’s will to fight – his unstoppable pluck. All that is left of Wolverine is a shell of the man he used to be, he won’t fight, he won’t even pop his claws to threaten – even his once seemingly all-powerful healing factor seems to have diminished to the point that it can take him days to heal from a heavy beating.

Much like another brilliant book by Millar (and the always awesome J.G. Jones) – Wanted, Old Man Logan is set in a world where the heroes lost – and the world is owned and run by the Super-Villains. Unlike Wanted however, OML approaches the concept from another angle; for instance, the reader knows that so long as ol’ James Howlett is around – even if he’s not calling himself Wolverine anymore and even if his healing factor can’t seem to heal his broken spirit – then there’s hope for the good guys.

What I also found rather striking is that Millar starts the tale in a part of the USA that is now run by the Hulk and She-Hulk’s incredibly inbred grandchildren (that’s right, the Hulk Cousins did the nasty). This is an obvious allusion to Logan’s character origins in an issue of the Incredible Hulk – and I like it.

In Old Man Logan, Wolverine now works a farm in Hulk-Land and the Hulks beat the hell out of him regularly for rent money. You see him take a beating right there in the first issue. You see Wolverine stand there and take a beating. Wolverine… Somehow that makes him all the more compelling to read about.

What could have broken him so bad?

It’s so good, but I’m not telling you.

What I will tell you to whet your appetites - is that the whole Marvel Universe is given a dark and disturbing makeover to fit in with Millar’s brilliant futuristic Dystopia. Nothing is what it seems – or what you would expect it to be. Hawkeye is now blind and very possibly a drug smuggler, all the X-Men are apparently long dead, Venom… well he has to be seen to be believed – and perhaps my favourite of all – the arc-enemy of the Avengers – the psychopathic killing machine Ultron - is now actually a friendly, hard-working family man raising Hawkeye’s psychotic daughter, who also happens to be Spider-Man’s Granddaughter and calls herself ‘Spider-Bitch’.

Furthermore, there’s a fantastic sense of Geography in the book. In the first part of the story (and every subsequent part) you’re given a map charting Logan’s journey. Written across it you find bizarrely familiar names that hint at what will be seen in later issues. There are lots of fantastically imaginative little ideas scattered across that map - sometimes you only see these things in passing, but that’s enough to suggest the horrible fate that befell all of your favourite characters.

The whole story thus far has been expertly rendered by McNiven’s careful hand, with beautiful colours to compliment every panel. You don’t just get a good story here, every time a new issue is released, you hold a work of art in your covetous, geeky hands.

This is not a book for all ages. I think it skims by on a T+ rating frankly, it is clearly written for the adult fans. There are numerous adult references, some ‘language’ and that’s not to mention a great deal of no-holds barred gory violence – very little of which is directly influenced by the titular character…

We readers are all eagerly awaiting the final part, which is due to arrive some time in the God-Knows-When – in annual form. Everything up until now has been immensely satisfying – Millar will not let us down.

If you’re a Wolverine fan – hell even a Marvel fan, if you’re an Ultimates fan, a Wanted fan, if you liked Frank Miller’s Dark Knight, if you like familiar heroes done right – then this is unmissable.

TTFN

-M

I know I only posted a review two days ago - but I've read something else recently that caught my attention. Another hidden gem of the 'never heard of it' variety that managed to be better than many of the things I have heard of - and hear far too much about.

I'm referring to The Coffin by Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston.



I'm not sure exactly where it came from - probably from the same friend who feeds most of my comic-addiction needs, but nevertheless; I found it in a stack of graphic novels on my living room floor (actually, I only think there's a living room floor under all of the comics, but for all I know - there might just be more comics, going down and down, deep underground twisting and turning until they meet the rest of my collection back home in England...), I was drawn in by the intriguing dark, realistic, colourless art style - and the book's seemingly pulp inspired cover.

Upon cracking it open and reading only a few pages, I found the writing to be as deliciously dark as the artwork - and an immensely satisfying read. The Coffin is a self contained story (which I do like to see) and is essentially yet another look at the superhero design from another interesting and previously unseen viewpoint.

The story revolves around an apathetic man of science named Dr. Ashar Ahmad who creates an Iron-Man-looking suit, or 'Coffin', that kills whoever wears it and traps the soul of the wearer at the point of death. The Coffin's deceased inhabitant can go on living within this horrific shell indefinitely, unless a leak is sprung through which their soul could escape. Essentially, if you climb into one of those shells, you die - and are condemned to go on living as a corpse in a box, possibly forever.

Dr. Ahmad believes in souls - in a clinical scientific way, but he is not a spiritual man - and doesn't understand the soul's significance until he himself becomes trapped in one of the Coffins. His world is soon turned upside down by the realization that bad people may in fact go to hell when they die - and that he may in fact be a despicable person - who deserves no less than that harsh and painful punishment.

The Antagonist, Mr. Heller, is quite frankly, a brilliantly evil character. An ancient business man who has survived well into his second century by harvesting the organs of his unsuspecting employees to replace his old dying parts. An investor in Ashar's work with the Coffins, he'll stop at nothing until he gets exactly what he thinks he is owed.

This is essentially a familiar tale of redemption, beautifully retold - with wonderfully diverse, eerily realistic artwork. It's packed with excitingly surreal imagery, which my wife was quick to point out; may well have been inspired by Japanese Manga. The writing pleasingly amalgamates heavily spiritual tones with a strong science fiction setting in a way we rarely see, making it a unique and a quite frankly - remarkable read.

If you like thought-provoking comics like Watchmen, Planetary, Swamp Thing, All-Star Superman, or if you took my advice on Kinetic a few months back and enjoyed that - then this could well be the book for you.

Go on! Read something different!

That's all for now.

TTFN.

-M

It’s been a little while since I posted an entry (unless you count the cat that looked like the Juggernaut) – but I feel the need to write about a great book that I only just discovered: Bang! Tango.

About a week ago - I was hanging out at my friend's office and I saw some dynamic looking artwork on his computer screen - I read the title; 'Bang Tango'? Never heard of it. Apparently - I shouldn't be surprised - it's one of DC Vertigo's lowest sellers, sadly. Still - the artwork drew me in - and so I asked him about it.

My friend wouldn't tell me what Bang! Tango was about - just that it was good, that he'd give me all the issues thus far (there have been four) and that I had to read it. No question – I just had to read it.

I tried to get a sense of the premise, asking more questions and getting no genuine answers. It felt a little like he was dodging the subject, or like he found it difficult to put into words.

In the end, I took the comics home and started to read it.

Hmph.

To begin with - Issue One seemed a little typical of the Vertigo books I don't often read.

I did like the art (by Adrian Sibar), the gaudy colour palette and design of the whole thing - which reminded me strongly of the Filth for some reason - and the pencils took me back to the nineties. Back then the most important thing someone really seemed to need to be an artist in comics - was to look like they really enjoyed what they were doing. Sibar genuinely succeeds in doing just that – and the enthusiasm rubs off on the reader.

It was the writing I wasn't sure about. There was a violent, over-sexed Hit-Man named Vin – who essentially has two girls fighting over him. The trademark Vertigo quirk seemed to be that the Hit-Man also danced the tango - and he was trying to leave his troubled, criminal past behind him to pursue his dream of being a professional dancer.

Girl one of the two fighting for his attention, Mel - she represents the life he's trying to lead now, safe and legal. To begin with, he seems to be happy enough in that world – even though you quickly get the idea that it’s all a comfortable lie.

Whereas girl two - Autumn comes straight from the troubled world he's escaping - and she brings the unwanted, sexy excitement right back into his life.

I guess that all wasn't exactly bad - but it didn't really grab me - I felt like I'd heard the story before – or some variation of it...

Until the last page of that issue –suddenly it got very bizarre and pretty damn interesting…

I understood why my friend couldn't really explain the title to me. It falls squarely into the category of 'indescribable' - at least, not in a few small sentences - and not without giving away the first big twist in the story.

And it is a good one. Without exposing said plot-twist myself, there's very little I can say about the book that will make you understand just how good it is and why - so permit me to spoil you, just this once:

The second girl I mentioned - the girl named Autumn - Little Miss Exciting from Vincente's troubled past... well - that girl has a penis. Yup. She's a man. As in: born a man, dresses as a woman. As in: the kind of man who has a penis.

It seems like such a small thing really (figuratively speaking) but it changes the book's themes dramatically, turning the series into a challenging, edgy read - all about what it is exactly that defines sexuality and gender - and just how much it should matter.

Fundamentally, it's a story about a man who is haunted by his overwhelming attraction to someone he doesn't want to be attracted to. Vin is someone who is afraid to explore his true emotions for fear that it will change everything he believes he knows about himself.

Often Vin is an un-likeable character - repressed, prone to homophobic outbursts and violence. But genuinely - I think - he is a realistic depiction of a small-minded heterosexual man who might find himself reacting badly to this kind of situation. He's tried all he can to get away and hide from it - but his attraction to Autumn never truly leaves him - even when he is with the first girl, Mel - for whom he seems to hold some measure of genuine affection.

His opposite lead in the book is Autumn, the pre-op transsexual who is so convincing as to fool practically every man she meets into dropping their jaws and gawping at her in awe like teenage boys who have just discovered breasts. You get a genuine sense of tragedy with this character too. She doesn’t seem to have psychological issues with her gender as she knows she’s a woman – she just has one lingering physical issue that she needs an impossible sum of money to take care of.

It’s clear that she cares deeply for Vincente too, even though she can’t be with him – and that his behaviour towards her cuts her deeply - that every time he calls her a ‘faggot’, it’s another dagger through her heart. Like I said – she’s a tragic character.

The Villain of the story is a villain is a fat mob-boss called ‘the Jock’ – a character who brings an element of Garth Ennis style sadism to the tale.

The book reminds me a little of another Vertigo title - American Virgin, in that it isn't frightened to tackle sexuality from multiple viewpoints - although it focuses a little more on one character's unwanted obsessions than on numerous different themes from story to story. The writer (Joe Kelly) takes things slow, and that's okay. He takes the time to weave this odd, gritty plot over the course of a six issue mini, never giving away too much at once - just enough to keep things interesting.

It raises a genuinely intriguing question - and one that not many men want to answer: What would you do if you met your perfect woman, beautiful, interesting - and sexy - only to find that she was – or had been a man? And if that subject matter scares you, you might want to think about it for a while and come up with a good answer for why that may really be.

Think about it as the Godfather, meets the Crying Game, meets… one of those dancing movies I’ve never seen… I’m going to say Dirty Dancing.

Maybe it's a clichéd response – or at least - an overly obvious one, but this book has balls - and if you're a Vertigo reader looking for something a different, something insightful and above all – something that will make you think; then this is the book for you.

My wife found it online:

It's been a little while since my last review - and that's not because I've not been reading great books, it's just that I've been preoccupied with all of the other numerous tasks that clutter my life up.

Today I want to talk about a fantastic little graphic novel called Kinetic.

About a week ago I was talking to my friend Brandon and he started describing the book - it was a superhero story written as if it took place in the real world - apparently as part of a small forgotten DC imprint I'd never heard of which dealt specifically with these types of stories.

Yeah yeah - I've been there, done that and bought every issue of Kick-Ass, Watchmen and the Ultimates. I've heard it before - and though I love those titles, hearing the description again didn't particularly interest me - but I trust Brandon, so I gave it a shot (besides, he gave me a copy, he's decent like that).

The book blew me away.

In many ways this is the antithesis to books like Kick-Ass or Watchmen - where normal people take up the mantle of superheroes and encounter realistic restrictions. In this book, we read about a teenage boy with superhuman abilities who attempts to use them to live a normal life.

Confused? Read on...

Right at the start of the book - even before he's granted superhuman abilities by an eerily realistic scene depicting an accident with a truck, Tom Morell is not a normal teenager. He suffers from a series of genetic disorders that leave his bones brittle, his right hand entirely useless and his life in the hands of his overbearing mother who has to give him regular injections in his ass to ensure that he'll live through the day.

Furthermore, Tom is picked on by the cruel teenagers he goes to high-school with. A social pariah, Tom tries and fails to improve his situation by attempting to befriend the new girl, only to end up embarrassed by his terrified mother - who instantly views her influence on his life as dangerous.

As the book goes on - and Tom receives his powers of invulnerability and superhuman strength, his life starts to get a lot better - and then his mind starts to get a lot worse. It starts to feel as though he might just be as isolated with his new abilities as he was with his disabilities. This feels like a realistic depiction of what such a miracle might do to one person's psychological health.

With Tom's new powers, his mother slowly realizes that she can have her own life back - and their relationship becomes strained as she begins to let go of him. At brief intervals throughout the book we see his mother's story unfold and her character develops masterfully.

I can't believe I never read this book before, or even heard of it. Kelley Puckett's writing is fantastic and subtle. You can read the whole book in about an hour, because the text is limited and only used when absolutely necessary. Warren Pleece's artwork compliments this writing style beautifully - as does the limited choice of colour pallet.

As I said - this book was free to me, but I'd happily buy it again and judge it to be worth every penny. This is something that might appeal to some of the lost Watchmen fans out there, even though it's nothing like Moore's work - it IS a beautifully written psychological take on the superhero genre that turns our prejudices on their head and leaves a reader feeling rewarded. I can also see this interesting fans of Y: The Last Man, Sandman or perhaps even plain ol' superhero fans who are scouring the market for something a bit different.

Anyway - until next time!

TTFN

-M

I know it has been in print since '86 and so many people are treating it like it never existed before 300 director Zack Snyder made the old movie rumours a reality - but I happen to be a long time fan of Watchmen - and I don't think there will ever come a time when I won't think it's worth talking about.

Watchmen is more than just a fantastic book that conjured up tales of extraordinary costumed characters with very normal, human problems and psychological issues. It changed the face of the comic book industry into certain blood splattered jaundiced smiley that many people now associate directly with the very best that the medium has to offer. Watchmen is the only graphic novel to ever make it into Time Magazine's hundred top novels with very good reason. Alan Moore was possibly the first writer out there to take Stan Lee's famous method of adding human issues to superhuman lives several steps forward by posing all the right questions - most important of all; 'What kind of person would be attracted to the lifestyle of a costumed adventurer?'

The book is driven by its numerous protagonists - each of whom seem more real with every additional reading. All of them have their own distinct psychological issues - be it the extremely right wing, violent Rorschach who refused to give in when the government outlawed his costumed heroes like he and his peers, the superhuman Doctor Manhattan - with the power of a god and no will to use it - growing ever more detached from the human race, the lonely Nite-Owl who misses his costumed days - or the sad, lost Laurie who is coming to terms with the fact that she doesn't really know the man she's spent the last eight years with - even if you disagree with them, you'll find yourself learning to love them in spite of yourself.

That said, some of the most engaging moments in the story actually happen when the camera is tilted away from the main cast - and aimed at the human inhabitants of the Watchmen world. Many of them may seem to have been arbitrarily placed there for background colour in the early stages of the story, but ultimately their lives eventually become entwined with the larger plot and their significance becomes painfully apparent. There presence in the story is in actually fundamental - as these seemingly real people draw you further and further into this other world that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created.

In fact, that's what many aspects of the storytelling were expressly designed for. Though many of the methods used are so subtle that you're very likely to miss them - even the covers and the format of the book are intended to draw you right in. Alan Moore once stated that the intention of the simplistic covers - generally depicting an aspect or a whole of the first panel in a specific issue (or chapter) was to act as a 'portal' into the Watchmen world. The covers all show a part of a seemingly inconsequential inanimate object rather than a typical comic book cover image of a character or a large event. The covers show you something real - and as you turn to page one - you see that real thing shrink away to reveal a terrain that's both strange and yet hauntingly realistic.

It's worth noting that Alan Moore - though largely referred to as the creator of Watchmen - is only one half of the creative force that drove the series towards artistic success. Dave Gibbon's efforts are certainly not to be sniffed at.

Now - to be honest - when I first opened a copy of Watchmen - I myself was turned off by the art. It seemed so simplistic and old fashioned - and I guess I was so superficial that if I didn't see some colourful dramatic image of one ripped guy or girl beating the hell out of... well likewise - then it just didn't strike me. But herein lies the beauty of Watchmen's art: - Nothing is overstated. Gibbon's art style on the book is almost poetic in its subtleties. Every time I reread the series - I never look at one panel and think that there could have been more or less to it than I see before my eyes. There's always just enough - and the pudding is never over egged.

(That said - the recolouring was an extremely wise choice - prior to the birth of the Absolute edition - that book did not look like it had aged well.)

Also - if Gibbons weren't at the very top of his game - the book wouldn't be so easy to re-read. If something is meant to have two possible meanings - then the misdirection in any given panel is purely seamless.

Recently I had the good fortune of meeting Dave Gibbons very briefly at New York Comic-Con and though I'm sure he hears it frequently - I geekily told him that the book had changed my life. He simply replied: 'Mine too.'

As for additional reading - in my eyes - nothing ever touched this book graphic novel wise. There are other great literary comic works out there. Grant Morrison's 'The Filth' is among them. There are also other superhero books that give you a rare glimpse into the human minds of the superhuman casts - Ultimates, Superman: Red Son, Ex-Machina, Wanted and Starman to name but a few.

If one good thing will ever come of this movie - it's all of the different art-of type books we're seeing. For instance - I just picked up Dave Gibbon's new 'Watching the Watchmen' book at the con - and I love this behind the scenes look a the series... not to mention - the recent line of action figures that was released. Who doesn't want a Rorschach for their desk?

Anyway - though I could literally talk for hours, that's all I have time for - so TTFN!

-M

 

I've decided to take a different approach to some of my posts here at Krypton Rays Fuel My Ultimate... Cosmic... whatever...

It's a fact that most comics out there share common themes with many other comics. As ever, my goal in life is to convince people to read new things that they will hopefully really enjoy, so if you happen to already read one of the comics I'm reviewing - then my hope is that in my three-review-posts I might be able to link it up with two more great titles that you never even considered trying. And if you've not read any of them? Well then this may still introduce you to new things that you might well be interested in.

Today's theme is 'Police Procedural Superhero Comics'. You see, I've always liked mysteries and deep down, I've got some love for cop-dramas - I used to watch them on TV with my parents or grandparents as a child. I love that gritty storytelling and the feeling you get when all the pieces fall into place and the police get their man. I'm also an unashamed lover of superhero comics - and the two themes go together so well that I've no clue why I can't off-hand think of more times it's been done than in these three titles I'm about to review.

POWERS

I started reading Powers years ago - and I never really expected to like it. I'd read Bendis's writing and enjoyed it, but I was really unsure about Oeming's pencils. Soon I found that the cartoony art-style worked strangely well when juxtaposed with the gritty, mature tones of the book - and in the end, both the iconic art and the dark-but-funny writing really grew on me. Powers is set in its own world with its own heroes. Much like you'll find with a book like Invincible (by Robert Kirkman), there are no limits to the kinds of bizarre powers or origins you might see in the series - even in seemingly small characters. I suppose what really sells me on the book though are the two main characters - Deena Pilgrim and Christian Walker - two normal cops (well, pretty much) working in superpower-related homicide. Though the book is completely original in content - there's a distinct Mulder and Scully vibe to these two. In spite of all of the other great ideas in the book - it's this relationship between the two main characters that keeps you interested.

GOTHAM CENTRAL

This is the only title of the three that is sadly no longer running. Gotham Central took the imagination of Greg Rucka, the gritty crime writing of Ed Brubaker (who killed Captain America) and combined these elements with the down-to-earth art-style of Michael Lark (who doesn't love Lark?). Bizarrely, although the Dark Knight himself rather a tertiary character in this series, Gotham Central is one of the best Batman books I've ever read. It deals with the more realistic human characters who have to try to keep Gotham safe when it's faced with attacks from familiar larger-than-life characters such as Mr. Freeze or the Penguin. The GCPD try to make it work in spite of the overwhelming sense of either complacency or impotence gleaned from being cops who live in a city where if they don't close the case - everybody knows that the man dressed as a giant bat will. Though the series has finished, DC have finally started releasing hardcover editions - and the first is on sale already.

TOP TEN

I love Top Ten. Originally scripted by Alan Moore, with art by Zander Cannon and Gene Ha, the book was recently resurrected with Cannon now taking on the writing responsibilities and Ha back on art - as fresh and brilliant a read as it ever was. The plot-lines are one part dark and one part hilarious. In a single issue you can be taken effortlessly from a story about a decapitating prostitute murderer to a sub-plot about super-mice invading one of the house of one character's elderly mother. Things like racial issues, drug abuse and cross-dressing are often satirically tackled in fresh new ways - and the panels are crammed full of little Easter-Eggs for the wandering eye. I've read the original series twice now and on both occasions found it all but impossible to put down. The Spin-Offs are all excellent too, with the one exception of 'Top Ten: Beyond the Farthest Precinct,' which had about as much of a point as a blunt crayon.

Be sure to look for the Krypton Rays review in the free newsletter - the Weekly Planet at Forbidden Planet this week! Also be sure to look for more in future editions.

You'll find them under the name Michael Bramley - and this week it's a Punisher Review (I know, but we'll talk about all kinds of new things soon!)

For those of you unaware - the store is located on Broadway and Thirteenth - they're one of the only stores left in NYC that give you bags and boards for free, their toy selection is undeniably impressive and their staff are generally pretty helpful (or at least interesting).

Having made some headway into the MARVEL MAX Punisher series, I have come to rather enjoy it.

Although tonally different to the MARVEL KNIGHTS Series, I do recommend this to people who want to see Punisher 'done right'.

I've heard a lot of people say that the MAX series is not in continuity with the KNIGHTS series, but drawn the conclusion that this is inaccurate. Clearly the shift in tone and art-style is designed to separate the book from the mainstream marvel predecessor. There are no superheroes in it for starters - and it deals with more realistic issues, such as organized crime (themes that were touched upon in the KNIGHTS series). Not to mention, you won't see a resurrected strongman with giant boobs any time soon because the supernatural element has been entirely stripped away.

BUT - there is nothing to outright imply that this is a separate series - in fact, quite the opposite. Bit characters introduced in the Knights series reappear in the MAX series - events in KNIGHTS are even referenced in MAX.

Over all though, a knowledge of events in the KNIGHTS books is in no way necessary for you to enjoy the MAX series. You can read MAX as a separate work - or a continuation of KNIGHTS and it's still a lot of fun.

That's dualistic, clever writing, Watson.

Recently I read all of Garth Ennis’s run on Marvel Knights Punisher – and I’m currently dawdling through the MAX series he followed it with.  I suppose it wouldn’t be right to write about anything Garth Ennis writes or has written without mentioning or comparing it to what is clearly his best and most popular work – Preacher.

So here we go!

 

( More ammo cached under the cut... )

I was shamelessly procrastinating today and I found these;





I can't decide if they're awesome, or just plain bizarre.

For a while now, I've been hearing a lot of mixed debate regarding Frank Miller's most recent foray into the world of Gotham's infamous protector - which can be found in the pages of  All Star Batman & Robin. Whether it's been about the quality of Miller's writing, or the fucking printing error that made some swearwords appear just visible in the first printing of the most recent issue - everyone has an opinion.

( Holy LJ-Cut Batman! )

I'm writing this to praise the best run I've ever read on Daredevil.

Most people familiar with the night-time exploits of Blind attorney, Matt Murdock are probably expecting me to shout out to Frank Miller at this point. Now I think Miller's run was good for its time and invaluable when it came to setting the dark, gritty, crime oriented tone for the series, but more recently in its Marvel Knights incarnation, several writers have brought the book to a new level.

( You'd have to be a blind superhero to not see what's under this cut. )