Comic Quickies: Wrapping Things Up

The Massive #1: When this series was announced, I got pretty excited.  The concept seemed cool, and on top of that The Massive provided me with a chance to give Brian Wood another shot.

Basically, what's going on here is that all of a sudden, the weather on Planet Earth has gotten really crazy and unpredictable.  As a result, Economies have toppled, coastal cities and towns have been laid to waste thanks to tsunamis, and the human population has been decimated.  During such shitty times, I guess the best place to be is on board a sturdy sea-faring vessel like the folks of the Direct-Action Conservationist ship,  Kapital.

We meet these folks, all of whom are members of an environmentalist group who are trying to figure why Mother Earth is so pissed at her inhabitants, as they are puttering about near Kamchatka. They're attempting to make contact with their sister ship, the Massive, but not having any luck.  Before too long, they are attacked by Pirates, which provides a little bit of action, while Wood peppers in back-story.  The problem is that neither piece is all that interesting and I couldn't bring myself to care a lick about what was going on in this opening issue.

The art, handled Kristian Donaldson, is solid, but she drove me nuts with her character designs.  Many of the key crew members on board the Kapital, are older than me, (their year of birth is given right in the panel), however, they all look like they are about 19-24 years old.  Even the captain, a guy who is 46 years old, looks super young.  On top of that, they all look and dress like hipsters, which is pretty fucking stupid given the fact that they live on a ship currently hanging around the Arctic.

The issue was pretty boring to begin with, but then it went and aggravated me with stupid looking characters who look nothing like their age.  I don't need a comic to look "cool" and "hip" to make me read it,  suffice it to say that I was not impressed.  I removed this title from my pull box immediately after finishing the issue.

Transmetropolitan Volume 10: So I finished up the Transmetropolitan series.  Yeah, it was great.  The last few trades really flew by and delivered some incredibly entertaining reading material.  Not only that, but the series ended quite well.  I was impressed.  It's not too often that folks are able to wrap up long series and wrap 'em up well, but Warren Ellis was able to do just that.

Robertson's art was phenomenal throughout. I am still a little stunned that he did the art for every single issue in the series.  That is impressive.  Usually artists need a break so they can stay caught up and keep the issues coming out at a monthly rate, but Robertson was there from issue one on through.  Given how much detail he adds to every panel makes this all the more impressive.  To top it all off, there is never a noticeable moment where the art seems rushed or half-assed.  This is simply a very talented artist delivering some top-shelf art issue after issue.

If you haven't had the chance to read Transmetropolitan yet, I strongly urge you to get your hands on the first trade and enjoy.  This is a landmark series in the world of comics and features both a writer and an artist working at the top of their games.  This is the perfect series for Ellis because the story provides a great catch-all for all his wonderful, mad-cap, zany, and genius ideas...and if anyone is gonna be able to draw that shit, it is Robertson.  Really great stuff.

Graphic Novel Review: Transmetropolitan Vol. 4 The New Scum AND Vol. 5 Lonely City

I admit to feeling a little bit guilty as I write this because it has been ages since I read the material I'm sharing with you...and by the time this post actually goes live, more time will have passed between the actual reading of and blogging about. (I read these on April 9th and 10th.) Two reasons for the long delay come immediately to mind:

Reason the first:  I've had a few reads recently that I've wanted to write timely reviews for, so I've bumped them ahead in the queue.

The second: I'm a little unsure of the worth of reviewing anything after the first three volumes or so of a long comic series...if someone has made it this far into a series, they'll probably keep reading regardless of my review right?  And if someone is reading my review of the 4th, or 8th volume of a series, is that gonna make them want to read volume 1?  I can come up with good arguments for and against either question...

In the end, my answer for anything regarding the blog is this: If I have something to say about it I'll say it.

So, in regards to a long comic series; if I think there is something worth mentioning about a particular volume, I'll blog about it here.  So maybe that means there wont be reviews about volumes 6 and 7, but there will be for volume 8, or whatever.

Well, it just so happens that I do have something to say about these books, or maybe more accurately, I have something to say about my comic reviews and the actual reviewing these comics will be a good way to discuss that issue too.

One of my favorite blogs about comics is 4th Letter!, particularly the posts written by David Brothers, a guy who always seems to have intelligent, compelling and challenging things to say about comics and the medium.  Well, he recently wrote a post where he said:

"...if you write a review that’s got one paragraph of art discussion toward the end… mannnnnnn. I looked at the eight most recentreviews on CBR and seven out of the eight have a few paragraphs about the writing, one paragraph about the art, and then an outro. Like they’re writing from a template. Boring.


Listen, here’s a challenge to everyone who writes reviews, especially if you do this lazy words-first thing. Find a comic you like. Write a review that’s predominately about the art, and leave one short paragraph toward the end for the writing. Talking about art isn’t hard. You look at it, you examine how it makes you feel and how it portrays the action on the page. Take a close look and find something you like, and then talk about why you like it.

This is simple, and if you’re writing about comics, you should be able to do this. You don’t have to be fluent at art. You just have to be conversational. Comics is a visual medium. There are words, yes, but when you open a page, the first thing you see is the pictures. So how about you pay attention and talk about the pictures in something more than a perfunctory manner?"

I read these paragraphs and I though to myself: Fuuuuuuck.  I am so guilty of that.

Maybe that isn't true about every comic review I post, but it's true for the majority, and certainly, anytime I've spoken about the Transmetropolitan series, that has been the case for sure. Which is a total injustice because Darick Robertson is responsible for some really great art in this series.

What strikes me as most interesting about Robertson's art in Transmetropolitan is that his art is highly detailed, and expressive and evocative, but there are a lot of times when I don't like looking at it.  The guy is masterful at capturing and depicting the grit and the grime and the ugliness of life and there are times when he does this so well it can be painful to see because it is so true to life.  

There's a single page splash in The New Scum that has just burned itself right into my brain and refuses to be scrubbed away.  There's a bunch of single page splashes throughout the opening sequence of this trade, and they are meant to depict the pictures of the city that Spider Jerusalem has captured via his glasses.  The one that I can't get out of my head is of two men carrying a spitted dog between them and the caption says: "The dogmongers carrying their wares to market."  In the foreground there's a flaming oil drum and the eyes of the two men are just completely lifeless.

It's the lifelessness of the eyes that gets me because I've seen that look, that complete lack of spark in people's eyes before. Even though it is hard to see when I'm reading a comic to escape and forget about life, stuff, whatever, it is an incredible talent that Robertson possesses.  I can't really think of too many other artists that can really capture the human condition and all the craziness and sadness and tragedy that exists in cities, or the world.

I guess what I'm saying is that there's a rawness and realness to Robertson's work. Whether he's drawing Spider in a sumo-suit, screaming at the top of his lungs while charging his assistant, or drawing the absolute worst of police brutality, he brings life and all its joys and harsh truths to the page and that is what makes these Transmetropolitan books special, unsettling, memorable and ultimately worth reading.

For my money, it's Robertson's ability to bring Warren Ellis' nutty, futuristic world to life that really gives this comic an identity.  His art defines the series and raises it up to a higher level.  So, if you are reading this and haven't given the Transmetropolitian series a shot yet, I encourage you to do so.  It's a comic sereis that will challenge your comfort zone as much as it will thrill and entertain. 

Graphic Novel Review: Transmetropolitan Vol. 2 Lust for Life and Vol. 3 Year of the Bastard

My exploration into Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan series got off to a decent, but not stellar, start last September.  However, there was enough quality to the first volume to interest me in reading and exploring more, and my most recent finals week at university provided the perfect window for some comics reading that would provide an entertaining distraction.

In the second volume, Lust for Life rebel journalist Spider Jerusalem is up to his usual antics, causing trouble and cranking out scathing columns for his newspaper overlords.  In this one he manages to piss off a powerful politician, nearly overdoses on television, and raids a religion convention...and that's all in the first third of the book!  From there the surreal future that Warren Ellis has created rolls on to weirder and more wild places.

For example: There's people who get their consciousness downloaded into tiny machines and become sentient pink fog, Spider's cryogenically frozen ex-wife also makes a an appearance in this one, with a team of assassins  bent on taking out our favorite journalist, and a talking police dog with a crazy personal vendetta against, well you can probably guess who...

Things definitely got pretty weird in this second volume, and I gotta say, I'm pretty glad I'm reading this in collected format because I'm not so sure I'd be able to hang with this comic if I was reading it in single issues.  I definitely think this is a comic that benefits from binge style reading sessions, rather than small doses.  Everything about this comic is intense and a bit overwhelming, and I think it is better to just go all in for a while, then come up for air after a good stretch.

Ellis' writing, which has a very freewheeling/loose cannon feel to it seems to mirror his protagonist's personality.  It almost seems like story lines or maybe more accurately, "focal points" in this comic are picked up and abandoned at a whim as Ellis just plows through one aspect of popular culture after another.  That's not a bad thing, it certainly makes for a comic with a frantic pace and unique personality, but if you are expecting a comic that follows the normal rules and trends you commonly see in comic series, this may give you some surprises.  Instead of 5-6 issue story arcs with clear beginnings, middles and ends, Transmetropolitan is more of a stream of conscious rant or exploration of whatever suits Ellis' fancy.  Ellis will see his ideas through to the end, but they often aren't your typical endings, and they can be a bit cynical too.

Still, this is some incredibly entertaining, insightful, and intelligent stuff.  Pretty tough to get all that in one package, but here it is.

Grade: B+

Since I needed lots of distractions during finals week, I decided to stay aboard the Transmetropolitan train and immediately followed up Lust for Life with volume 3, Year of the Bastard.  This one proved to be the most coherent volume yet, as the whole thing focuses on the presidential election, and what Spider is doing, or more accurately not doing to cover the biggest story of the year.

Instead of getting out there and asking hard questions, getting interviews, and endorsing a candidate, Spider has sunken into bitter rut of pills and apathy.  When he finally gets his shit together enough to get out there and cover the debates, he finds the political situation to be quite an ugly one with two very shitty candidates.

Year of the Bastard is an interesting look at how the political machine works, and I found it especially interesting given the fact that it's an election year.  Ellis puts his usual stamp on the bullshit, the backstabs, the drama that always seem to follow a high profile election.

As I said earlier, this is the most coherent volume yet, and I appreciated the tighter focus on one distinct story line.  Unlike the previous two volumes, this has a more familiar comic story arc feel to it, but with all the weirdness, cynicism and dark humor that are the hallmarks of this series.

I felt like maybe Ellis has hit his stride here in this third volume, and has figured out a direction for the series rather than have it be a loosely focused series of rants and futuristic speculations. From a story standpoint that would be a positive, as I feel like this is a comic that so far has sorta gone the way of Sienfeld  and been  a story about nothing, while covering, well, everything.  Time, and the fourth volume will tell.

The Year of the Bastard also has a pretty great shock ending.  One I was nearly deprived of since my copy was missing the last five pages or so.  Thanks printers.  The ending seemed a little abrupt to me, so on my next trip to the comic shop I glanced through another copy of this same volume, and sure enough: the rest of the story.  I'm very glad I checked because I nearly missed out on a great conclusion to this story arc.  

All told, The Year of the Bastard is the best Transmetropolitan volume yet.  I'll be checking back in with this series before too long.

Grade: A-

Comic Review: The Boys vol.1 The Name of the Game

Oh man, did I ever enjoy Preacher.  It is right up there as one of my all time favorite graphic novel series.  Going off the strength of that experience, I thought for sure that Garth Ennis' other big comic series The Boys would also be a sure fire hit for me as well.  You gotta trust your instincts right?  Well, It turns out my instincts aren't as sharp as I had hoped...

The Boys are a C.I.A. backed team of dangerous, quite likely even psychotic individuals.  The team, which consists of a motley crew if there ever was one, are employed by the U.S. government to protect the country from earth's superheroes; who run the risk of finally coming to the conclusion that they could rule the world if they so desired.  Here to prevent that from happening are The Boys, who do their best to keep the superhero threat controlled, and if necessary, remove potential threats.

I'll admit, the premise of this series did intrigue me.  The Boys sorta seemed like the anti-Authority, and with Ennis at the helm, I had hopes that would lead in some pretty interesting directions.  Not to mention the catharsis I imagined feeling when slightly altered yet easily identifiable super heroes got their asses kicked by a bunch of no-names.  Though I did get a bit of wish fulfillment with the latter part, I was sadly disappointed in all other terms.

The first and ultimately most disappointing thing about The Boys is that it is by far the most mature comic I've ever read. In terms of language, and graphic content it is pretty much off the charts. However, the mature-ness of the whole thing is taken so far to the extreme that it manages to become simultaneously the most immature comic I've ever read.  The "humor" registers at an extremely low maturity level, and the excess and raunchiness of the sex might be exciting and/or hilarious to some, but for me it was ridiculous, offending and stupid. Throw in a few other instances that made me cringe and severely question my own judgement in purchasing this title, and you have a complete fail of a read.

It seems pretty clear to me that Ennis tried really hard to make this the most edgy, balls out, extreme, no holds barred comic on the shelves, and he did that by pushing all the wrong buttons.  There is so much useless sex, sexism, and stupidity in this title that it completely lost sight of the concept, which could have been interesting.  I wouldn't mind reading a comic about a group of people who keep the incredibly powerful superhumans in check, and how they do it, but sadly, that shit ain't gonna happen because I'm not reading any more of The Boys, and it is unlikely that this concept will get revisited anytime soon.

I think what is most frustrating for me is that I normally don't mind, and even enjoy a bit of humor, foul language, violence and sex.  They can all be used to make a story better and stronger.  Look no further than Tim Marquitz' Demon Squad books for an example of all four elements done right.  The thing is, humor, language, violence and sex all have a greater impact when they are used in small doses, but with The Boys there is no such thing as a small dose, it is all the time to the point of perversion.  Ennis could have cut back and added more depth to the story, developed more characters, or given more life to the world, but instead he opted for a fairly straight forward plot that did little to interest me.

All told, this one was an epic fail.  I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, and would advise staying away.  I really liked Ennis' Preacher series, but I guess I'll be more cautious with his stuff in the future.  Simply put, this is the worst thing I've read in years.

Grade: F-

Review: Transmetropolitan v1 Back on the Street

Former journalist, Spider Jerusalem is living the life of a secluded artist.  He's got a house in the mountains, tucked away from prying eyes and a decent stash of drugs to keep him happy for a while.  He's also got smartguns, ebola bombs, and proximity mines to ensure this his peace and quiet is guaranteed.  All that peace and tranquility comes crashing down when Spider gets a call from his publisher, informing him that he owes his publishing company a couple more contracted books.  With no cash, and no inspiration to be found in the mountains, Jerusalem grudgingly decides that it's time to return to his natural habitat, the city.

Upon his return to his native throbbing mass of life and activity, Jerusalem scores a job writing articles for a city-wide newspaper.  Along with the new gig comes an apartment, a genetically engineered cat, and access to the mass of humanity that will inspire him to get writing again.  In this first volume, Jerusalem explores, interacts with, and creates an overwhelming air of chaos in such areas of racial tensions, politics, television, and religion.

I think it is fair to say that I was slightly under-prepared for just how nutty Transmetropolitan is.  Warren Ellis does a fantastic job of capturing the energy of a bustling futuristic city and then channeling that energy into the pages of Back on the Street.  The setting of this graphic novel reminds me of the gritty, violent futures of a Paul Verhoeven film, with a healthy dose of  Ellis' black humor.  Somehow, this is a graphic novel with an in-your-face attitude and a chip on its shoulder.  While reading this, I went through stages of shock, disgust, and joy as Ellis dragged me into his futuristic world.

The main character, Spider Jerusalem is clearly an homage to Hunter S. Thompson.  Spider's journalistic style felt very similar to that of Thompson, and his black humored, pull no punches writing.  Jerusalem seems like the perfect guy to hitch a ride with on his travels through the dystopian future Ellis has dreamed up.  He meets each fucked up situation with equal parts of anger, smarts, and black wit.  As far as main characters go, Jerusalem is a great driving force that pushes the narrative in some pretty interesting directions.

Darick Robertson, the artist on Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street is a guy who has been around the comics medium for a while, but is more or less an unknown to me.  Even though I unfamiliar with his works, I think it is safe to say he is the man for the job here.  Robertson totally nails the chaos and turmoil of  the story with his art.  Not only does he wonderfully display just how crazy, and fucked up the city is, he captures the crazy, fucked up-ness of Spider Jerusalem and his ever expanding range of nutty emotions too.

Robertson's art should also get some of credit for the Verhoeven-esqe feel this story has, as his art is reminiscent of the sets of such films as Total Recall and Robocop.  I appreciated the un-perfectness and heavily used feel to the world that his art gives off, and would take it any day over the shiny-and-new futuristic settings  that are too often found in science fiction.

I can't say that I was completely sucked in by this comic.  I did enjoy it immensely, both for the writing and the art, but there wasn't that magic bean that made me want to read the next volume immediately after.  I have no doubt that I'll read the next volume and possibly the entire series, but at this point in the series, I can't say that I'm completely invested in the thing.  Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street is certainly a great comic, and a pretty great piece of Warren Ellis writing.  It was a pleasure to read, but not as wholly engaging as I might have wished.   Sill, a great comic, and I'll definitely be coming back to this well sooner than later.

Grade: B